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Six Keys to Business Success

The Six Keys to Business Success

Running a business can feel like herding cats at times, with so many priorities vying for your attention every hour of the workday. Yet as with most things, the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is something to keep in mind when making a conscientious decision on how to spend your time. Focus on those few things that will yield the greatest impact for your business.

  • Core Focus

The company WHY of who you are and where you are going must be clear not only with the CEO but across the entire organization. Every employee must have their personal Why defined. If an employee is not invested in where the company is going, their performance will slow the organization down. Some organizations call this Core Focus their Mission.

CEO Action Strategy: Host a team meeting to create and/or confirm the company vision and each employee’s as well.

 

  • Culture

The CEO is responsible for creating, exhibiting, and upholding the culture through defined Core Values created with the Leadership Team. All employees must understand the core values internally and externally adopt how they work together, with suppliers, clients, etc.

CEO Action Strategy: Do a survey of your employees asking their perception of the current company culture and how well the core values are implemented. Ask employees for involvement; create an employee committee to poll employees on how well the culture is reflected within the company and what the leadership team or employee committee can do to ensure the core values are implemented across the organization.

 

  • accountability

The CEO should ensemble a Leadership Team with department heads or division leaders to ensure the entire organization has balanced representation like the three-legged stool – Sales/Marketing, Operations, Finance (IT, HR, Admin, Accounting).

CEO Action Strategy: Meet weekly with the leadership team with a set agenda to celebrate successes, review the weekly business scorecard, review progress on strategic quarterly initiatives, discuss employee/client concerns and company issues, and hold each member accountable to follow-up agreed to by the team.

 

  • Leadership

CEOs must develop those around them in order for the company to grow; leadership team members need to continue to grow both individually and with each other or the company will “hit the ceiling” or outgrow its leaders. Utilize Assessments to help the leadership team understand and recognize their strengths and weaknesses and where the best use of their time is related to their “unique ability” – what they do really well – so they can help their direct reports do the same thing independently and together.

CEO Action Strategy:  Create a development plan in areas of soft skills and technical skills; hold each other accountable. Consider reading a leadership book and discussing the highlights together; some options include Good to Great, 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Traction, eMyth, etc.

 

  • Long-term Goals

The CEO must determine with the leadership team where the organization needs to be in five years, 10 years, or longer. This group needs to be able to plan, predict, and execute to end up where they want to go. This ensures the business can maximize market share and stay ahead of the competition, while also providing clients with what they need and opportunities for employees to learn and develop.

CEO Action Strategy: Set aside a full-day off-site meeting with the leadership team for strategy planning to determine the long-term goal of the organization; perform a SWOT Analysis in detail that will help identify the multitude of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats the organization has to capitalize on. Determine what the strategic initiatives are that the leadership team needs to focus on every 90 days to reach the company’s long-term goal.

 

  • traction

The CEO and the leadership team must share the vision, long-term goal, how to get there, and what it means for the company and its employees to create buy-in and participation across the organization. This keeps everyone headed in the same direction and focused on the same goal.

CEO Action Strategy:  Host Quarterly Town Hall Meetings and share successes every 90 days with employees; remind everyone of the core focus, core values, mission, scorecard, trailing 12 months of financials, and refocus on the strategic initiatives for the next 90 days in order to reach your goals.

 

Remember that true leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders. Work with your leadership team to determine the main pillars of your business and then share them openly and often. When your employees know where the business is going and what’s in it for them, they are invested in the journey and the likelihood of reaching the destination together as an organization is infinitely higher. EOS®, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, provides clear concepts and practical tools to help take any business to the next level. Contact Christine Spray, a Certified EOS Implementer™, at [email protected] or 832-380-8224 or visit www.tractionforbusinesses.com to learn more.

 

About the Author:

Christine Spray is a nationally recognized business development keynote speaker, best-selling author three times, consultant, trainer, coach and Certified EOS Implementer™. Spray serves as a CEO and business advisor with a passion for helping people and companies grow.

 

Photo credit: © Roman Samborskyi | Dreamstime.com

Happy Holidays

 

Happy Holidays – Celebrate YOU this season!

‘Tis the season for joy and celebration with loved ones. And ‘tis the season for hustle and bustle, planning and travel, stress and exhaustion!

It can be easy to get overwhelmed. These short reminders can help keep the season bright:

  • Love thyself. Self-care helps you be your best, for yourself and for others.
  • Be present. Stop planning and worrying to create space to savor the moment.
  • Consume in moderation. Practice a healthy relationship with food and drink.
  • Joy and sadness can co-exist as you remember missing loved ones.
  • Gentle, deep breaths ease stress, even if only for a moment.

2018 has been another year full of blessings, a journey of both ups and downs. Yet it is the journey which is the real blessing. However and whenever I encounter you on this journey, I am joyful because of it. You make a positive difference in my life. Thank you.

Wishing you every blessing now and in the new year to come,

♥ Christine

 

Photo: dreamstimefree_27896421

For YOU I am both grateful and thankful

Grateful AND Thankful

The holiday season is upon us, a time when many reflect on their lives. Gratitude and thankfulness fill our heads and hearts. Did you know there is a subtle difference between the two? By definition, ‘grateful’ is feeling deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received whereas ‘thankful’ is feeling pleased. Gratitude is driven from the outside, thankfulness from within. And we need both.

 

I keep a daily Gratitude Journal, a recording of five things each day for which I am grateful. This reminds me of who and what blessed my day. I often review this journal to trigger my internal thankfulness mode. Doing this ALWAYS brightens my mood. And indeed, thankfulness has been shown to have countless physical and psychological benefits. A mindfulness of gratitude also produces many similar internal and external benefits.

 

Today and every day, know that I am GRATEFUL you are in my life and I am THANKFUL to have a heart bursting with joy. To you and yours, I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving.
– Christine

 

Photo: © creativecommonsstockphotos – Dreamstime.com

Prospecting & Lead Generation – Pt 3, Marketing Tactics

 

Marketing Tactics

In Part 2 of this series, we began looking at lead generation. More specifically, that article outlined ways to set yourself apart as an established and trusted expert. This article wraps up the series and explores another aspect of lead generation – marketing. These are tactics you can execute yourself for your direct benefit, as well as tactics that your internal marketing team or a consultant can execute on your behalf for the wider benefits of others who are a part of your salesforce.

Traditional marketing methods are tried and true. They have been used for years, and they are still effective when done correctly. By blending traditional and newer methods of marketing to prospects, you will improve your chance of success as you approach prospects and generate leads.

Cold Calling

The success of cold calling often depends on the attitude of the caller. A salesperson who does not believe in the effectiveness of cold calling is not going to project the confidence necessary for success. Maintaining a positive attitude will go further than you think. Cold calling has become increasingly difficult, but it is worth the reward. Do not expect to close a sale with a cold call. While it may happen, the purpose is to connect with the prospect.

Successful cold calling requires extensive preparation. You need to understand the prospect and how your product relates to the prospect’s needs. You need to focus on:

  • Introducing yourself and your company
  • Questioning the prospects about their needs
  • Educating the prospect about how you can meet needs
  • Maintaining contact with the prospect 

Direct Mail

Direct mail is a familiar marketing method that uses physical mail, making it simple and affordable. The effectiveness of direct mail requires choosing the mailing list carefully. You must create the list of prospects based on the niche that your company provides, your ideal customer. Once you have created your list, create the piece. Direct mail advertising is more effective when there is a call to action, such as a special offer. The direct mail piece should not be educational, make it playful or creative. You may test the direct mail on a sample of your mailing list before completing the direct mail campaign. This will help you make any adjustments you feel are necessary.

Trade Shows

Many companies can benefit from trade shows. A trade show is a wonderful venue for meeting new prospects, but trade shows are typically crowded, which means that there is great competition. There are a few steps that you can take to ensure that you benefit from the experience:

  • Plan in advance: this includes finding the booth space and choosing how to decorate it so there are no surprises. You also need to choose highly energetic people to handle your booth.
  • Create goals: Do not simply show up. You need to create goals to keep on track. This could include the number of prospects you wish to meet.
  • Advertise: Make sure that you advertise your presence and invite customers. You will enhance advertising if you are a speaker.
  • Follow up: Take the time to connect with prospects after the trade show is over.

Networking

Networking is a frequently used buzzword. Networking, however, is one of the most effective methods of prospecting. Networking requires more than simply meeting people; it requires the time to build relationships. The process is slow and often begins at events. When going to a networking event, you need to actively work the room. Your focus should be to offer value and sell yourself. Network with different people. Once you meet new prospects, follow-up and connect with them. As you build relationships, your network will develop.

As technology changes, so do the marketing methods used. Some newer marketing methods, such as social networking, will be very familiar. Search engine marketing may be less so. When you combine the newer marketing methods with the traditional ones, you have the opportunity to make the most of your marketing strategies.

Social Networking

Social networking is commonplace in the modern world, and it is rapidly growing as a method of advertising. There are different methods of advertising in social media. First, you can advertise promotions directly to followers. Another method of advertising is placing ads on social media networks. Popular networks are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Advertising on social networks does cost, so it needs to be considered in the advertising budget. For example, you can promote tweets for a price or place ads on Facebook that target specific demographics. LinkedIn also offers company promotions or pay-per-click ads. Paid per click ads are more expensive than promotions.

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) increases the visibility of your company online by advertising and optimizing the ranking in search engine results. SEM uses different services. Organic services are based on algorithms that assess different sites. Many people attempt to increase placement by padding the text with search terms. This can damage the quality of the writing and lower rankings. Search engine marketing also includes paid listing options to increase the placement ranking in search engines such as pay-per-click advertising.

When using search engine marketing, you must know your audience and choose keywords they are likely to search. Implement the keywords throughout the text, but make sure that the text is well-written and the website structured correctly. Next, it is important to get the site indexed by Google and other search engines. The final step is implementing a pay per click program and measuring ROI to determine if any adjustments are necessary.

Email Marketing

Email marketing can be very effective at generating leads. In order to reap the rewards of email marketing, you need to do more than send out mass emails. You need to craft emails that will be seen and inspire a response. There are a few things to remember when creating an email campaign:

  • Avoid typing in all caps and overusing buzzwords like FREE! These actions will increase the chance of the spam filter catching the email.
  • Create a simple design someone is likely to read. Limit yourself to three fonts.
  • Include an incentive and call to action with visible placement.
  • Make the subject lines brief but compelling. There is no reason to make them over 30 words.
  • Test the email, make sure the landing page link works and is closely tied to the email.

Display Advertising

Display advertising is an alternative to basic text advertising. These ads implement the use of videos and images. Display advertising includes the familiar banner ads as well as rich media, which incorporates text, video, and images. You will probably need the aid of an expert to create display advertising. Once the advertisement has been created, they should target specific demographics. You can assess the effectiveness of your ads and make adjustments as necessary. Your cost will depend on the advertising method you choose.

  • Cost per click: You pay when someone clicks the ad.
  • Cost per thousand impressions: You pay with every appearance of the ad.
  • Cost per acquisition: You only pay when there is a sale from the ad.

Like any other method of advertising, you must communicate a clear message to your customer. Useful tips for display advertising include: using a call to action, having ads that complement the website, and testing ad campaigns.

Content Creation

Part of developing the relationship with potential customers requires educating them about you and your company. Sharing knowledge and displaying expertise will develop trust with consumers and expand the customer base. Creating and sharing high-quality content is an important part of establishing yourself as an expert. In order for content to be effective, however, must be professional and informative. There are many different avenues of content creation, and you may develop it yourself or hire an expert. Types of content include:

  • Newsletters
  • Case studies
  • Blogs/ Vlogs (video blogs)
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars
  • Social media
  • Interviews
  • Books

Once you have created content, you need to do everything you can to share it. Apply the skills in marketing methods to help spread your knowledge.

Differentiation

Standing out from the competition relates back to branding. Remember that your brand is your public image. Your brand will help differentiate you from the competition. Once you understand your customers and how your brand relates to them, you need to establish your niche and take on roles specific to your company. For example, a company that offers delivery or free gift-wrap will stand out from competitors. Once you know how you stand out from the competition, you must advertise it to your prospects.

Fill Customer Needs

As we have already established, you will never develop prospects without establishing value for your customers. It is a good idea to gather data about what your prospects want and then find gaps in your competition that your business will be able to fill. For example, you should improve customer service if your prospects have a problem with the customer service of your competition. Once this is done, you must educate your prospects about the ways in which you will fill their needs.

ALWAYS Deliver on Promises

Part of educating consumers is showing that you always deliver on promises. Customers will share their experiences, and it will damage your chances with new prospects if you develop a reputation for not keeping your promises. The best way to deliver on your promises is to avoid overpromising. While you should go the extra mile for prospects and customers, never make promises that you know you can’t keep. If you develop a reputation for keeping your promises, you improve your standing with your prospects.

Mind the Pipeline

The pipeline should be a familiar term for anyone with sales experience. The sales pipeline has several basic steps: make contact and collect information, meet, make proposals, and close. You may alter the stages based on your company needs. Monitoring the pipeline allows you to monitor prospecting and lead generation.

Contact

The first stage of the pipeline is contact. You may contact a prospect through cold calling, but the prospect will often contact you in response to your marketing. Regardless of how the contact occurs, you must take the opportunity to learn about your prospect. Check the website history and look up your prospect online. Take the opportunity to ask questions if the contact comes through a call or meeting.

After making contact, companies typically compile information on prospects after making contact. Use websites, questionnaires, and conversations. Choose a method of storing information that works best for you, a database or even a spreadsheet. As you catalog information, organize them based on needs, interests, etc. This information will be used to connect with prospects.

Meet

After gathering information about the prospect, it is necessary to meet with the prospect. This does not need to be a face-to-face meeting; the meeting may be online or over the phone. Regardless of how the meeting occurs, it is important to be prepared. The meeting should allow you to develop your business relationship and explain ways that you can meet client needs. The first meeting is often too early to present a proposal, but the sequences of the pipeline are not static.

Propose

The sales proposal is based on communication with the prospect. The proposal will depend on your business. Some will be based on standard rates and prices, while others will require more research to develop. Once a proposal is submitted, it is important that you follow up with the prospect. Do not simply trust in fate, be available to answer questions or make adjustments. The proposal must include a timeline, and the details should be based on earlier discussions. You cannot consider the sale to be complete at this stage. The proposal stage leads to closing at a 1:3 rate. The proposal must be officially accepted before the sale is made.

Close

The final stage is closing. The sale is not finished until it is closed. It may be necessary for you to negotiate with the customer to officially close. Closing occurs when the contract or order is signed and the sale implemented. It is important to carefully guide customers through the closing process; just because someone accepted a proposal does not mean the sale is firm. Additionally, it is important to close quickly. The more time that you give customers to consider their purchases, the more likely they are to think of reasons to avoid the purchase.

Follow-up Communication

Without following up, a terrible thing can happen – nothing! You should not allow too much time to pass between making contact with your prospects and moving them towards customer status. Communication will help you better understand your leads and respond to their questions appropriately. Correct follow-up communication is essential to success.

Know your Leads

As we have already established, you need to understand your customer base to meet their needs. It is not enough to research a generic customer base; you need to get to know your individual leads. You need to gather information and then pay attention to it, and follow up communication is the perfect opportunity. Every time that you follow-up with a lead, take the opportunity to get better know him or her. There are steps that you can take to help you.

  • Track what the leads look at on your website
  • Make notes after contact
  • Send online surveys
  • Ask questions
  • Use social media to understand what the lead likes
Move Quickly

Whenever you follow up with leads, it is important that you move quickly. Do not allow time to lapse after making contact. If the customer makes first contact, respond as soon as possible. After the first discussion, you should follow up with the relevant information within 48 hours by phone, email, or social media. You want to stay present in the minds of your leads. Set up a meeting as soon as possible, and establish a date. Make contact with your leads regularly. This does not have to be a long, personal meeting. Maintaining contact is necessary because the probability of making a sale decreases substantially 72 hours after the first meeting. It is important to help the relationship progress without making the prospect feel rushed.

Know How to Respond

The success of a sale increases greatly when the initial response is made between five and 30 minutes of the initial communication. While it is important that you move quickly when responding to leads, you need to know what you are communicating. Some companies use autoresponders to make the response immediate, but personal communication is always more effective. If you do implement auto responses, find a system that allows you to personalize it.

When responding to a lead, you should rely on your understanding of that person’s needs. You need for your call back to be relevant to the prospect. Many people choose to base their response on scripts that they tailor for individuals. Regardless of the method you use, make sure that you have the information that your lead needs.

Set Future Meetings

Hopefully, a follow up will result in setting a meeting. A future meeting increases the chance of making a sale. There are a few things that you need to remember when setting appointments:

  • Offer value: I know this is repetitive, but you need to offer a reason for the meeting, such as information, a free estimate, etc.
  • Be accommodating: Agree to the time and venue that your lead prefers. The meeting does not have to be immediate or in person. The point is to set the time and date.
  • Keep trying: If a lead refused to set a meeting, revisit the question when following up.

Track Activity

Prospecting and lead generation requires you to track activity. This may seem daunting at first, but there are many useful tools that can help you keep up with your prospects. Tracking and assessing results will help you determine how to alter your prospecting to convert more leads into sales.

Use Appropriate Tools

There are a number of tools that assist in tracking lead generation. Customer relationship management systems (CRMs) are very popular. They track marketing, emails, and customer interactions. The programming makes tracking easier because it collects information from multiple departments, simplifying the process of finding and tracking leads. Along with full CRM programs, there are apps available for small businesses. Of course, some companies attempt to handle the information on their own, using spreadsheets and other programs to track progress manually, which is very time-consuming. In the end, you must choose the best tool for your business.

Assess Your Advertising Sources

You should have multiple advertising sources in place to attract leads, but you need to assess how each source performs for you and make adjustments as needed. First, you need to determine what you want to assess. You can assess the increase in traffic, the number of leads generated, or conversion rates? Your assessment will depend on the goal of your advertising. Do you want to attract more leads at this point, or are you looking for higher conversion rates. For example, a campaign may attract prospects or social media likes, but this does not translate to conversions. You might need to target your demographic better to increase conversion rates. Once you determine what you want to assess, collect the data with the CRM tool, ROI, or other tools for each individual source.

Record Information About Leads

We have already addressed keeping a database of leads. This should be more than a list of names and company needs. The information recorded should be extensive, and more information should be recorded with every interaction.

  • The source of the lead (referral, banner ad, etc.)
  • Customer needs
  • Competitor offers
  • Objection to sales
  • Birthday
  • Demographic information
  • Conversion

This is not a comprehensive list. Your business will dictate what you need to record. This information should be kept even if there is no conversion.

Assess ROI

As with every other project that your company undertakes, you need to keep track of your return on investment (ROI). The basic ROI calculation is:

(Investment Gain – Cost of investment) / Cost of investment

Prospecting and lead generation are complex because there is not a single investment cost. Common costs include wages, ad posting, the cost of lead qualification, and conversion tracking, etc. The exact cost of your program will depend on the unique circumstances of your organization. Fortunately, there are different calculators and programs online to assist you with the assessment.

Create Customers

It is important that you do more than close sales. You should attempt to create a loyal customer base. Customers have relationships and feel connected to businesses. By showing interest, being professional, and being reliable, you will soon find that leads appreciate your business and become loyal clients and customers.

Develop Relationships

The customer relationship is like any other. The relationship requires time and energy to develop and maintain or it withers. Contact your customers regularly, and always address them by name. This does not need to be face to face. Send out emails or connect on social media. Additionally, it is a good idea to seek feedback from customers to create a dialogue. Customer rewards are another method of relationship development. Examples of rewards include:

  • Coupons
  • Rewards programs
  • Birthday cards
  • Friends and family promotions
Show Genuine Interest

Customer relationships turn sour when salespeople do not show genuine interest. People do not want to feel like they are viewed as walking debit cards. You will improve customer relationships by showing genuine interest in them.

  • Be engaging: Ask customers personal details and remember them. Do not limit conversation to business.
  • Anticipate: As you develop a relationship with your customer, you will learn how to anticipate and fulfill customer needs.
  • Follow up: Thank you notes and phone calls help customers feel appreciated and show your interest.
Be Professional

While it is a good idea to be personable and inviting, you also need to remember to maintain your professionalism.

  • Be courteous (say please and thank you.)
  • Keep your private life to yourself.
  • Dress appropriately for your position.
  • Do not become too familiar (avoid off-color jokes and comments.)
Show Reliability and Integrity

Customers trust companies and individuals when they show reliability and integrity. Integrity displays morality and honesty. For example, a company that mislabels the price to the benefit of the customer will display integrity by honoring the price and taking the financial loss.

Reliability means that the customer can expect a consistent experience when the dealing with your company. Your prices will be consistent and any changes explained and announced. Employees will all be courteous and attentive, and the quality of the service and product will be uniform time and time again.

In conclusion

Effective prospecting and lead generation requires constant commitment if you want to reach your sales goals. It is work necessary to undertake for your business to succeed. Keep these words from the wise in mind during your journey.

  • Ray Kroc: If you work just for money, you’ll never make it. But if you love what you are doing, and always put the customer first, success will be yours.
  • Ashleigh Brilliant: Good ideas are common – what’s uncommon are people who will work hard enough to bring them about.
  • Zig Ziglar: Every sale has five basic obstacles: no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, and no trust.
  • Beverly Sills: There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

By Christine R. Spray

Photo: © creativecommonsstockphotos – Dreamstime.com

Prospecting & Lead Generation Pt. 2 – Brand Building

 

Brand Building

Part 1 of our series laid the groundwork needed to implement a prospecting process – making it a priority, identifying the ideal prospect, choosing the best prospecting methods, and making it a habit. With a prospecting process in place, it is time to start generating leads.

Generating new leads requires gaining the trust of your prospects. It is not enough to have an online presence. Prospects need to see you and understand you as a brand they can trust. Trust in a brand is created by showing expertise using blogs, webinars, videos, and other tools.

Become a Brand

Never underestimate the power of branding. Your brand is how your customers view you, so it needs to be authentic. Begin by defining your brand.

  • Review your company mission statement and company goals
  • Determine how your product or service benefits the customer
  • Choose how you want customers to see the company (luxury, reliable, affordable, etc.)

Once you determine your brand, it is important that you express it clearly and consistently. Integrate it into every aspect of the business. This includes the voice in communications, décor, and employee activity. For example, you would not want to write casual communications for a luxury retail brand.

Make sure that the brand is communicated in advertising. This includes marketing materials, logos, and taglines. Once the brand is communicated, you must be consistent in the execution.

Webinars

Webinars are wonderful tools you can use to generate new leads and demonstrate your expertise. Webinars do require considerable work and preparation, but they are worth the effort.

  • Create a webinar with a title that is likely to be searched by prospective customers.
  • Choose a provider such as Adobe Connect, brightTALK, and WebEx.
  • Develop a landing page for registration.
  • Advertise the webinar. Use social media, ads, blogs, and newsletters.

The webinar needs to be prepared well in advance of the scheduled post date and completed flawlessly. A well-executed webinar should be rehearsed. Additionally, the technology should be tested beforehand to ensure there are no surprises.

Blogs

Blogs are effective marketing tools. Blogs can be written content or done as a video so anyone can create a blog. Do not create a blog unless you are committed to it; create a blog posting schedule and stick to it. Blog posts need to be well-written or filmed, and blogs should be updated regularly. Your content should demonstrate your expertise and engage your audience with valuable information.

Tips for increasing blog exposure:

  • Comment on other blogs
  • Ask for comments
  • Guest blog for other outlets
  • Make the link to your blog easy to share
  • Choose topics that your prospects are likely to search

Engaging Videos

Companies can benefit from creating videos for various purposes. Videos can be entertaining or educational. When creating videos, however, it is important to produce a high-quality video – both in content and production –  so that they will become visible in the rankings. There are specific steps that must be taken to create effective and engaging videos.

  • Create videos that will appeal to your target audience
  • Introduce your topic immediately (the first 10 seconds)
  • Spend adequate time planning the production
  • Write an intriguing title with likely keywords in search engines

Avoid Common Lead Generation Mistakes

The failure of lead generation to be successful can often be tied to common lead generation mistakes. Being aware of these common mistakes will help you to avoid them. This list is not all-inclusive, but it is a great starting place.

Limiting Channels

A common problem that occurs in lead generation is limiting the channels being used. While it is reasonable to invest in activities that have a history of success, you should never limit yourself. Try new strategies because the marketplace is constantly changing. For example, do not limit yourself to traditional methods of finding prospects and generating leads. This will cost you exposure and potential customers. Likewise, limiting yourself to high tech channels means that you are overlooking avenues to new prospects.

Failure to Provide Value

Part 1 of this series stressed the importance of providing value to prospects; providing value is a critical piece of earning prospects’ trust. Unfortunately, prospecting and lead generation is often relegated to a sales pitch. Your prospects and customers do not want to feel like they are being forced to listen to an individual who is only interested in their money. Failure to provide value will almost always result in potential customers tuning out your message. Remember to always provide value when you are prospecting and generating leads.

Failure to Connect

Lead generation requires building relationships. Failing to connect with prospects often occurs in the follow-up stage. Sometimes people forget to follow up or wait too long to connect. It is important to follow up within the first three days of meeting a new prospect at the very latest. Additionally, you need to do more than making a phone call and a sales pitch. You need to build a connection. This will create trust and help solidify the relationship, which will improve the chances of a sale.

Failure to Try

A far too common mistake is the failure to try. We have already addressed making it a priority, but some people refuse to even try. People use a number of excuses to avoid prospecting and lead generation. This might include time, money, and lack of customer interest. Most excuses boil down to a fear of failure. For example, someone who has failed at lead generation might avoid attempting it again. It is easier to assume that lead generation does not work than to make changes and risk failing.

As stated in Part 1 of this series, success in prospecting and lead generation ultimately comes down to the salesperson. As renowned author and businessman William Clement Stone said, “Sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect.”

 

By Christine R. Spray

Photo: ID 56295933 © Rawpixelimages | Dreamstime.com

 

Prospecting & Lead Generation Pt 1 – Prospecting

 

Prospecting

Every business needs customers willing to pay for the product or service the business provides. Finding and cultivating new customers should be a never-ending process for any business with a desire to succeed. Surprisingly, many businesses either take a lackadaisical approach, do the bare minimum necessary, or simply overlook prospecting and lead generation.

Prospecting and lead generation, while critical, does not need to be a complex process in order to be effective. Quite the contrary; a business with the commitment and mindset to consistently nurture leads and prospects has already crossed one of the biggest hurdles. Renowned author and businessman William Clement Stone said, “Sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect.”

This article is the first in a series dedicated to successful prospecting and lead generation. People sometimes ask about the difference between these two. The simplest definition is that lead generation is a one-to-many activity, such as sending out a direct mailer, and prospecting is a one-to-one activity, like a phone call. However, after working with hundreds of clients, my advice is to consider prospecting and lead generation holistically, because both are required for success. This first article is a broad view of prospecting.

Prospecting is essential to any sales endeavor but is often overlooked or poorly implemented. In order for prospecting to be successful, it is essential that it becomes both a priority and a habit. Additionally, it is essential to understand your prospect and choose your methods of communication appropriately. Implementing these steps will help to improve prospecting results.

Make It a Priority

Although everyone knows that the prospecting is important to the success of any company that relies on sales, it rarely becomes a priority. It is often put off in favor of tasks that provide instant gratification. Prospecting must become a priority. This requires:

  • Scheduling: Choose a time for prospecting. Many experts advise people to schedule prospecting early in the day, but you need to choose the time that is effective for you and your prospects
  • Preparation: Prepare what you will say ahead of time but be flexible. Do not simply read a script.
  • Professionalism: Remain professional throughout the process. Do not allow an internal negative attitude towards prospecting affect your communication. Similarly, don’t take it personally should you encounter negativity from prospects.

Identify Your Ideal Prospect

Prospecting is time-consuming, which is why it is necessary to identify ideal prospects before beginning the process. Your ideal prospect is your ideal customer. Your company is able to fulfill the needs and wants of your ideal customer. Conduct research to determine who benefits from your product or service. The information you must find beyond how your business meets client needs includes the following:

  • Values and priorities
  • Budgets
  • Age
  • Gender
  • Buying habits
  • Profession
  • Interests

Once you have identified the ideal customer, you will be able to focus time on prospects who are likely to become your customers.

Choose Prospecting Methods

There are numerous prospecting methods available, which will be addressed in greater depth in a later newsletter. While you will probably choose multiple methods of prospecting, you must focus your energy on methods that your prospects will respond to when they are exposed to them. For example, younger prospects are less likely to respond to cold calling and more likely to respond to social networking and webinars. The better your research on your ideal prospect, the better you can select the best prospecting methods! Prospecting methods commonly used include:

  • Cold calling
  • Referrals
  • Content marketing
  • Email marketing
  • Networking
  • Seminars
  • Social networking
  • Webinars
  • Advertising

Every method is considered a “touch”. It will take multiple touches to convert a prospect into a client. Be sure to provide value in every touch you make with a prospect – how your product or service will ultimately make their life better or easier.

Make It a Habit

It is not enough for prospecting to become a priority; it must become a habit. There is a common misconception that habits are easily made within 21 days. Recent studies, however, show that it takes roughly 66 to 200 days. When you first decide to make a new habit, the first few days are easy. After the honeymoon phase ends, it is easy to become disillusioned and fall back into old habits. When this happens, it is important to focus on the positive outcomes and follow your schedule of prospecting activities. After struggling through this phase, prospecting will become second nature. In order to truly make prospecting a habit, you need to ensure that you are working at it daily.

 

By Christine R. Spray

Photo: ID 5122591 © James Steidl | Dreamstime.com

Leading through change

 

Leading Through Change

At Strategic Catalyst, we do believe great leaders can be made because we’ve seen it happen with hundreds of our clients. The Leadership in the Workplace series we just wrapped up focused on traits of leaders and strategies to sharpen leadership skills. These strategies are intended to build the person in the leadership role. With a strong leader in place, it’s time to assess the current business landscape and identify what is needed to propel the business to the next level.

“The next level” will vary by business – it may be penetrating a new market, increased net revenue, adding key staff, or redefining the corporate culture. Such changes can stir a range of emotions in employees; fear, anger, anxiety, and tension are common and can stop progress dead in its tracks if left unchecked. Leadership can be a lonely road when charting through such changes. Strategic Catalyst can be the objective coach and mentor to navigate leaders along the emotional path to the next level.

Create a leadership action plan

Working together, our first step is to define the action plan needed to ensure a leader is equipped to address the challenges ahead:

  • Set Leadership Goals
    In leadership, as in life, you will never come to the end of your learning, but you want to rank in priority order those qualities you want to develop.
  • Address the Goals
    Determine how you will accomplish your goals. Do you feel you need to learn more about teamwork so you can better lead a team? Join a team sport. Do you want to communicate better? Take a creative writing class or join Toastmasters and get some public speaking experience.
  • Seek Inspiration
    Learn about a variety of leaders, their styles and how they dealt with challenges. Read books and conduct research on the internet or at libraries.
  • Choose a Role Model
    Based on your research; choose a role model that fits your personality. Read several biographies and find videos on his or her life.
  • Seek Experience
    Take a leadership role in a social group or club. Gain experience working with people on many levels.
  • Create a Personal Mission Statement
    Imagine your legacy. What do you want to be remembered for? What do you want people to think of you? What kind of leader are you determined to be? Write a statement that defines who you will become.

Be the change

In their book, The Leadership Challenge, authors Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner identified five abilities that were crucial to successful leadership:

  • Model the Way
    You must lead by example. You can’t come into work 10 minutes late every day if you want your employees to arrive on time.
  • Inspire a Shared Vision
    If you capture the imagination, you will inspire creative thought and increase loyalty.
  • Challenge the Process
    Don’t continue doing something just because “We’ve always done it that way.” Situations change, and sometimes a policy or procedure never worked well in the first place. Think outside the box.
  • Enable Others to Act
    Truly empower people to act on their own within their level of authority.
  • Encourage the Heart
    A positive attitude is infectious.

Understand your leadership style

Christine works with leaders to identify their leadership style, and how to leverage it. The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership model addresses four types of leadership styles:

  • Telling
  • Selling
  • Participating
  • Delegating

 

Identify SMART goals

You are prepared as a leader to be the champion everyone in the business needs to follow in order to reach the next level. Now is the time to identify what that next level is and define the parameters of success around it. List the SMART goals and be sure to share them with everyone in the business. Remember the emotions employees may be feeling and help them understand what’s in it for them as the changes are being implemented.

  • Specific: The vision itself is general while the goals are specific targets to be met.
  • Measurable: Goals must be measurable in terms of progress and attainment.
  • Attainable: Clearly, a goal which cannot be met is not a goal, it is an idea.
  • Realistic: A goal may be attainable, but not with the resources at hand.
  • Timely: All goals need to be accomplished within an established time frame.

Change is not easy. People don’t like it. Leaders must be willing to walk alone because some of the team who started the journey with you will not finish with you. And that’s OK. Strategic Catalyst is here to help.

By Christine R. Spray

Photo: ID 128940008 © Daniil Peshkov | Dreamstime.com

Leadership Pt 4 – Create a Thriving Workplace

 

Create a Thriving Workplace

This fourth article concludes our Leadership in the Workplace series. To reiterate what is the foundation of this series – great leaders can indeed be made. By focusing on a few basic traits, it is possible to develop leaders who are the backbone of a strong business.

The previous articles addressed how to cultivate meaningful relationships, building trust, fostering positive workplace values, and coaching and motivating others. We wrap up the series with a trio of related topics to take your leadership skills from good to great – clarifying issues, conducting better meetings, and strategizing for improvement.

Leaders are responsible for creating and fostering the workplace environment. All the articles in this series address some aspect of crafting a positive, engaging, and fulfilling workplace. The leader’s role is to regularly set the stage for success through all the cycles a business naturally takes.

All businesses face issues, things that challenge forward progress toward the established goals. Leadership requires the ability and skill to address issues head-on as soon as they occur.

 

Clarify Issues

  1. Create a committee clearing house to identify, define, and prioritize team issues.
  2. Carry a small notebook to jot down information, opinions, and ideas you hear from the team.
  3. Identify a personal mentor or coach who you can meet with regularly to talk openly about leadership issues.
  4. Establish a feedback group to get insights into your leadership style and behavior.
  5. As you gather opinions and viewpoints on an issue, make sure you get a diversity of ideas from diverse people.
  6. Stop on occasion and identify those things that you feel are working well and those things that are causing stress.
  7. List the major issues that you have confronted over the last two years. Is there a pattern? Is there a type of issue that keeps emerging?
  8. Keep a log of the time it takes you to handle an issue. Determine if you are handling issues in a timely and efficient manner.

Meetings are what some might call a necessary evil. Yet meetings should not be the time suck they so often are in many businesses. Take disciplined steps to make meetings a better experience for all involved.

 

Conduct Better Meetings

  1. Develop a list of things that you can say to let meeting latecomers know that tardiness is unacceptable.
  2. Complete the following metaphor: “My style as a meeting facilitator is like ______.”
  3. At your next meeting tell the participants that you are working on one or two meeting facilitation skills. After the meeting ask the group how you did with each.  Ask for suggestions.
  4. Identify three to five adjectives that define your style as a meeting facilitator.  Then, ask selected team members to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a meeting facilitator.  Any Patterns? Similarities? Surprises?
  5. At your next meeting stop midway and ask the participants how the meeting is going.  Ask for suggestions to improve your meeting facilitation.
  6. Establish an assessment group and identify ways to keep meetings focused and on track.
  7. Make a list of ways to replace meetings with other forms of communication.

Leadership is the constant pursuit of excellence, making your business the best it can be for employees and customers.

 

Strategize for Improvement

  1. Work with a small group to create a “stop doing list.”  These are procedures, actions, or policies that are outdated, cumbersome, redundant, or annoying.
  2. Set a few minutes aside each day to reflect on how things are going professionally.  You may want to ask a few team members to reflect with you.
  3. Make a point to recognize team members who successfully implemented positive change.
  4. Make a list of procedures, functions, and/or policies.  With a committee of key players, grade each from A to F. Then talk about improvements.
  5. Make a point to talk to numerous team members one-on-one and ask them the following two questions: “What is quality?” and “How do we achieve quality?”  Take notes.
  6. Review your current process of delegating.  Then develop a list of guidelines for the delegation of tasks.  Ask yourself how you can do it more effectively.

I routinely work with the C-suite to develop leaders. While not all employees have the ability or desire to lead, leadership can be honed in those willing to pursue the greater good. Use these closing tips to constantly keep your company’s vision in mind.

  1. Hold informal “round tables” to discuss the future of your team.
  2. Keep a professional journal in which you focus on four aspects of visionary thinking: needs, wants, desires, and dreams.
  3. Write out the “best case” scenario for what you want your team to become.  Give it to your team and ask for responses and additions.

John C. Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership has so many concise and clear thoughts on leadership. This one sums up what has been addressed in this Leadership series. “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

 

By Christine R. Spray

Photo: ID 134046195 © Fizkes | Dreamstime.com

Leadership Pt 3 – Coaching and Motivating Others

 

Coaching and Motivating Others

The previous article in this leadership series focused on building trust and reinforcing values. Part 3 builds on this positive momentum through coaching and motivating others.

Leaders are expected to model corporate values and set the bar for desirable employee behavior. Leaders should also be expected to motivate and grow other leaders from within the company. When leaders coach their team, not only does knowledge transfer occur, mission building occurs too. Motivating and coaching are also critical for the future of the business, empowering employees to hone their abilities and prepare for greater roles within the organization.

Coaching is a formalized practice, practiced by thousands of certified professionals. This type of internal coaching is focused on leading by example, demonstrating corporate values, and strengthening relationships with the executive team.

Coach Others

  1. Give selected individuals short but pertinent readings on professional strategies.  Ask them later what they thought of the reading.
  2. Meet with individuals and identify personal goals.  Ask them how you can help them achieve their goals.
  3. Form “new hire” focus groups to discuss workplace excellence and what it means in your business.
  4. Form Learning Circles, peer groups with a variety of skills sets and roles, to share best practices.
  5. Conduct open meetings—no agenda, just open talk.
  6. Don’t forget the easiest strategy of all—ask team members … “How are things going?”

Your coaching should take a more organized approach; schedule regular meetings, record and track goals and outcomes, and consistently take and share notes (or assign someone to this task) from group meetings.

A less organized but no less important way to build future leaders and promote a more cohesive workplace is to make a mindful practice of motivating others. The key is to make motivation a habit, something done without even having to think about it. With the tips below, find the frequency for each that works best, then stay the course.

Motivate Others

  1. Write an “open letter” in which you extol the achievements of your team.  Be certain to use specifics.
  2. Establish peer coaching partnerships to help inexperienced or stressed team members.
  3. Arrange open forums in which volunteers’ exchange ideas and encouragement to support and motivate one another.
  4. Design and administer a team “morale” survey.
  5. Initiate a simple rewards program that offers prizes or recognition—even if you just draw names out of a hat.  Explain that the process symbolizes how you appreciate their hard work.  Note that the prizes can be humorous or donated by team members.  It is the symbolism that counts.
  6. Go a full work week without using attacking or discouraging language when dealing with your team members.

One closing thought is from John C. Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”

 

By Christine R. Spray

Photo: © Adam Borkowski-Dreamstime.com

Leadership Pt 2 – Building Trust

 

Building Trust

The second article in this leadership series is on trust, one of the most critical traits of a strong leader and necessary for success in the workplace.

Trust is defined as the reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, or surety of a person or thing – confidence. A 2016 survey by consulting firm PwC found that 55% of business leaders believed lack of trust in the workplace was a foundational threat to their company. Yet, to have a trusting workplace, leaders must first be trustworthy.

Below are exercises that can help develop and strengthen in all leaders. Remember to execute these steps with a clear purpose in mind, and then reflect on each upon completion. Build these exercises into your daily, weekly and quarterly schedule, to ensure completion and achieve greater frequency.

Building Trust

  1. Work with a small group and identify “trust busters.”  Discuss ways to avoid or eliminate trustbusters.
  2. Identify three team members who you trust the least and list those things that you distrust about them. Are there some common threads in all three? What is it that drives you to react to them cautiously?
  3. Over the next few weeks try at least one strategy to build a positive connection with each of the identified team members.
  4. Find a short article on trust and give a copy to each of your team members. Ask them to discuss it with you over lunch or before or after work.
  5. Establish a feedback group in which you discuss the level of trust on your team. Identify positive things that you can do to build trust.
  6. If you made a leadership mistake, admit it, and discuss it with your team. Note how the team reacts.
  7. Define authentic behavior for yourself.  Set some standards for authentic behavior and hold yourself accountable to them.
  8. Make a short audio tape in which you affirm your commitment to building stronger levels of trust. Listen to this tape periodically for motivation and affirmation.
  9. Survey your leadership peers to discover what they do to build trust with their teams.

Driving Positive Work Values

As you continually build and model trust, be mindful that it is only one of the values critical for success. While the specific values of each business will vary, a regular and mindful focus on developing those values is necessary to instill them at all levels of the workplace. Try these exercises with your core leadership team:

  1. Engage team members in casual conversations around the question…” What is a values-driven team?”
  2. Discuss ethical standards with your team members.
  3. Develop a matrix that shows the relationship between your values and your management behavior.
  4. Research managerial ethics. Report your findings to the team.
  5. Identify and clarify team norms or rules of professional interaction.
  6. Link professional behavior to workplace values.
  7. Write down the workplace values that define your approach to leadership.  Share them with your team members.

 

By Christine R. Spray

Photo: ID-143486928 © Peerapong Peattayakul_Dreamstime.com