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Coaching

Leadership: Your Team Is a Reflection Of You

Team

For all leaders, everywhere

I recently had an impromptu conversation with one of my favorite leaders. She was talking, with frustration, about a couple of people on her leadership team who had not produced their most important deliverables for this time, this year.

As I listened intently, I asked myself – what is in the way of this happening? Where are the obstacles – tangible or intangible? I asked her if I could ask a couple of questions, which she agreed to – after a deep sigh. I asked if th…

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Resistance

For everyone, everywhere

You are not alone in your resistance to improvement…or rather to the actions that deliver improvement. In fact, you are human in your resistance to taking new actions changeresistance.jpgthat will produce new and desired outcomes. As am I.

I hired a coach in January, had an initial meeting and brainstorming session, was given homework to produce before the next meeting (which was yet unscheduled) and have only produced 25% of that work and have not yet scheduled a follow-up call. To be fair…

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What do we really think about “Just Browsers”?

For showroom sales professionals, everywhere

 In a recent coaching call I was startled by the simple articulation of how one of the salespeople/designers viewed people who say that they are “Just browsing” and those people she’s been unable to connect with: “I think they are killing time and wasting mine.” Wow. I asked her to explain more about this…and it was more about her perspective, which unknown to her, was furthering her inability to connect with browseincoming customers.

Consider this: what do y…

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Ask Commitment Questions

For sales professionals, everywhere.
 
In keeping with the lifelong practice of asking questions is my lifelong practice of talking about them. Imagine a conversation where YOU really drive the exchange by completing EVERY response you have with a question. Think about it. Even if you answer a question posed by the other person, you keep the volley going with a question of your own. You: “Lobster is my favorite food…what’s yours?”
One of the more challenging types of questions is Commitment Que…

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Customer Service Cancellations

 
For everyone, everywhere
As you might be doing at the start of the new year, I am scouring my expenses looking at what is nice versus necessary and can be cut. As an avid reader, my news subscriptions paper-business-finance-document-previewstarted to add up and I considered how much I read of each publication and I decided to cancel my digital subscriptions to both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. The latter could be done via their website and it was a simple process to execute, followed by a confirming email from …

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This Equals That

For Sales Managers, everywhere
I  love Sales Managers, especially selling sales managers. I love that they love to sell and engage with the customer and that they are interested in developing their team members for greater achievement.  managers810
You know that I believe the sketch is the Holy Grail for the salesperson and the customer. Those salespeople who sketch and take notes during the interaction and gather great data that they use in their sales presentation have a higher close ratio, higher ave…

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“Helpful” is Not an Outcome

For sales professionals, everywhere
 
I had a great call today with the sales leadership of Interiors Home in PA. We have been working together for a couple of years and discussing how to break some habits and create new, more effective ones. One of the actions we were discussing I have mentioned Handshakebefore: Sales managers interrupting sales/customer interactions on the sales floor to help the salesperson to overcome concerns and to help them to close the sale (or get the appointment).
Today we dis…

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You Won’t Win Them All

For sales professionals, everywhere
 
And you don’t have to win them all.
You want to win them all, will do your best to win them all, and sometimes obstacles will arise that will prevent that from happening.
There is ALWAYS something to learn that can be improved, eliminated, or adjusted.
You want to engage so that THEY feel heard and fully expressed and so that YOU can accomplish something - the sale today or to forward the sale today.
And when you fail to produce a result, look to see if…

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