* Top down leadership

* It starts at the top

* “With great power comes great responsibility” – Spiderman

* Sh** rolls downhill

They are all true. What is amazing to me is that the “leaders” are usually oblivious to how what they say and do affects their teams (and, ultimately, their business).

We work with a lot of CEO’s, presidents and vice presidents, all successful in their own right. However, there are definitely some that stand out among my favorites. Oh yeah, my favorites happen to be running highly successful, growing companies with happy employees. Go figure.

The top 3 things that I think make great leaders

Great leaders celebrate and dissect wins. They don’t beat the losses (or their employees) like a dead horse.

The really great leaders that I know realize that the learning is in the
good stuff. Why spend so much time beating a dead horse? Don’t we want to
duplicate wins? Smart leaders take time to dig into things that go right.
Duplicate it. Celebrate it.

Great leaders value their people—and they aren’t afraid to tell them.

Leaders that I admire really value their people. They would tell you they
have the cream of the crop. They hire people smarter than themselves to
keep them at the top of their game. Here’s the trick: they actually SAY
these things to their employees. That’s crazy isn’t it?!

Great leaders have a plan—they share the vision.

Remarkable leaders have big thoughts. Big plans. Most importantly, they
share their thoughts and plans with their teams. The team understands how
they fit into the puzzle. Great leaders don’t need to figure out how to
motivate their team to accomplish the vision. Great leaders have teams that strive for the vision as much as they do.

Great leadership in a word: transparency—transparency to your thoughts,
feelings, dreams. Transparency is powerful.

We often hear that our “way” of training and coaching is “great, as long as you’re not going after big deals.” We’ve never bought into that. Yes, it’s harder to detach from the outcome of bigger deals, but changing the way that you think is effective on any deal—$1 or $1,000,000.

We recently had a client land a $50,000,000 deal!

If you’re reading this, you know who you are. For the rest of you, it wouldn’t be cool to “out” our client, so you’ll have to keep guessing!

I wanted to share with you 3 of the fundamental principles that we’ve worked on with them. Please don’t get me wrong, we are not taking credit for the deal – they get that all to themselves. However, I do think they would agree that our work with them helped lay the foundation for a win.

Principle #1: Identifying and Communicating Your Value

• What is value? It is the relief that your prospect feels when you can find and solve a pain they have. Or, the excitement they feel when they recognize the possibility you can help them create with your product/service.

• What it is not. Value is never platitudes, claims or opinions. The more you claim and opine in your statement, the less believable it will be, and the more your prospect will tune out everything else you say.

• It is as if there is a conversation going on inside the prospect’s mind and your expression of your value meets him where he is.

• In creating your value statement, you should make two lists—one of the conscious pains that you help people solve. And the second of the unconscious pains you fix. The secret in this is that the true differential value you bring is in the discovery and solving of the unconscious pains.

Principle #2: Detachment

• What is detachment? The ability to emotionally divest yourself from an outcome that you can’t fully control anyway. We learned from an early age that there was a WIN and a LOSS—a winner and a loser. And we didn’t want to be the loser, so we became attached to the outcome of winning.

• What it is not. There is a difference between detached and “disengaged.” Disengaged is when you don’t care or your mind is distracted. Sometimes people use disengaged as a way to hide their true attachment. They will say things like “do what you want to do,” or “I don’t really care what you do.” Don’t be disengaged. You are attached to the process and detached from the outcomes. But if you become disengaged, you cross the line.

• What happens when you become attached to the outcome?

1. You are unable to take risks
2. You are unable to do the right thing for your prospect or client
3. You sell yourself short, trivializing your value in the process
4. You default to using someone else’s process even though yours has been proven effective

• How do you get out of it? Simple. Change thought. Thinking must change from “how will this effect me?” to “how can I contribute to the well being of another (prospect/client)?” Have you heard the saying, “when you’re depressed, go help someone else”? It’s true. So one way to “get out of yourself” is to help someone else. In sales, that usually means the prospect.

Principle #3: Clear Future / Presentation of Solution

• What is a “clear future”? You need to understand the decision making process of your prospect. How does the decision get made? Who makes the decision in their company? Are you talking to them? Can you live with that process of getting to them? When you get really good at managing your process, you will be the only one laying down the decision process – not them.

• Presentation. Present to the pain. If it’s a written presentation, then a review of the pain is in order at the top of the document. If it’s a spoken, delivered presentation, then a review of the pain should happen first. This is not the time to talk to them (your prospect) about all of the other great things you can do for them. DO NOT take your eye off of the ball, and by all means, don’t force them to take THEIR eye off of it either.

By Brooke Green

What’s the hold-up?
Almost daily, I hear that one of the hardest aspects of selling is waiting for the prospect to catch up with you.  “Why do they take so long to make a decision? “ “They said they needed help.  I laid out my solution to fix their problem.  So what’s the hold up? “  Maybe this dilemma is a gift.

Discovery
Think about it.  Sometimes when we talk to prospects, we uncover problems that they didn’t realize they had; or, the problem is much bigger than what they had thought. Shortly thereafter, we work with them on how to solve that problem they didn’t realize they had – asking them to invest time, money, resources.

Then, when they can’t tell us immediately that we are the people they believe can help them fix this problem that is bigger or new to them, we get frustrated.

What is your intent?
We need to meet people where they are.  What does that mean?

A really good salesperson is really good at uncovering problems.  He/she also operates from a place of “how can I bring value to this situation?” not “how can I sell something?”  If your intent is to help, truly help, you’ll wait until the prospect can accept your help.

We’ve all been in the situation where we’ve pushed our solution on someone, and if they aren’t ready, it’s more painful for everybody than the original problem.

Sometimes it’s about the prospect believing that the problem is real, and then believing that you are the person that can help them solve it.  If you can help them get to that place (and be patient in the process), you become an invaluable resource, a trusted advisor.         

So remember, if it doesn’t happen on your time, it’s probably happening exactly the way it’s supposed to.

So close…How many times have you been in this situation:

*You meet a prospect
*You take them through your process
*You ask them the right questions, tough questions
*They reveal that they have a problem
*They know it is costing them money
*They think you can help them fix it
*They say “NO” because they can’t afford your solution

WHAT? WAIT A MINUTE! EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL.

What’s really happening…

I think our first instinct is to believe what they’ve told us – our price is too high. We obviously didn’t hear something right, or our pricing process is flawed. So, maybe I should discount. STOP! If your arm is falling off and you’re bleeding to death, do you negotiate with your doctor for a lower price?? Do you decide to let it bleed a little bit longer before you do something about it?

No, you realize you have a problem, you know you have to invest something to fix it, and you believe the doctor can fix it for you. If you have a prospect with a problem as big as a “dangling arm” should they behave differently? My experience is that it’s not about price at all. It’s a belief issue.

What to do about it……..

If you have helped a prospect identify a problem, denominate the cost of the problem, and you and the prospect have decided together that you can fix it, what does price have to do with it? NOTHING! It’s about belief; belief that the problem they have exists, belief that it’s worth investing time and money in to fix, and the belief that you are the person to fix it. So, if the prospect wants to keep making it about price, what can you do? Go back to your process……….

• Historical Review – How did you get to this point?
• Up–Front agreement – “I want to find out what is really holding you back”
• Compelling Reason – What was the pain that was revealed to you? Remind them of it – over and over and over.
• Economics – What is the cost of not fixing the problem? How much is the problem costing them currently? Is the value your solution higher than the dollars they will invest to fix it? If yes, than logically, they should move forward with the solution.

If you take them back through your process and they are still hung up on price, you have to lay it out for them:

“My experience is that the problem here is really not the price. Maybe your gut tells you that the problem is not worth fixing, or that I really can’t help you. That’s okay, but if that is the case, I will have to walk away.”

If they allow you to walk away, they weren’t serious about fixing the problem. The thought of you leaving them with their problem will force them to “get real” and get you back on track for the real, true conversation.

By Brooke GreenI posted a blog a few weeks ago about the Fear of Learning billcaskey.com. In that blog, I talked about how the fear of learning can stop us in our tracks.   It’s hard to believe that we would want to stay stagnant.  Why wouldn’t we want to get better?

Sounds crazy, right?  Not really. Think about all of the ways that you self-sabotage.  You complain about how your jeans are too tight as you stuff another Girl Scout cookie in your mouth. You talk about getting out of debt, but then come up with a reason to put those great shoes on your credit card.  Not that I have any personal experience…

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. 

Diagnosing The Problem
When we go into companies and do a diagnostic on the current situation, it is usually clear why we’ve been invited in.  As we talk about how we can fix problems, the discomfort in “what might be” starts to show itself.  Sometimes the pain of doing nothing is so much less than the pain of change.

What are we afraid of?  Will people’s expectations of us increase?  Will we have more to lose?  Will we just be TOO fabulous?

Can You Handle Change?
Maybe you’ve imagined what life looks like when you’ve accomplished the learning.  Are you afraid it will turn out differently than your plan?  My experience is that I can handle learning (change) much easier in small bites.  Instead of looking at the end of the learning, take it as it comes.   It’s kind of like not looking at the total amount of your mortgage, but just the monthly payment – much easier to stomach, isn’t it?

What is one thing you would like to learn / change? (Hint:  What is not working in your sales process?  Can’t get to the decision maker?  Not enough activity?  Deals fizzle out?) What is the smallest step you can take?  Once you’ve accomplished that, what’s the next step, and the next and the next…. You’re on your way.

By Brooke Green”Fear” Installment #1

I read an article recently in Fast Co. (www.fastcompany.com) magazine about the Fear of Learning.  Marcia Conner states that while some people say that they need fear to excel, too much fear about what there is to learn can actually shut you down.   It started me thinking about how fear manifests itself in training.

Of course, when we start working with a new client there is a lot of fear:

*Fear of the unknown – What if I find out something about myself that I don’t like?
*Fear of what you aren’t very good at being revealed – What if I appear stupid in front of my peers or my boss?
*Fear of not being able to “get it” – What if everyone else catches on and I can’t?  What will they think?
*Fear of losing the familiar – What if everything I thought I knew was wrong?  What if I learn something new and people expect more from me?

Ms. Conner goes onto ask the question, “Are you afraid of revealing the terrible secret that you aren’t as brilliant as you’ve led people to believe?” 

Are you afraid of looking dumb to get smarter?  We are in a constant state of learning.  Sometimes that means being open to not knowing everything.   I had a mentor once tell me “If it doesn’t hurt, you aren’t learning.”  It’s so true.

Think about one part of your sales process that isn’t working.  Maybe it’s your income overall.  Do you find yourself looking to the outside – bad prospects, bad territory, bad product?  Try looking inside – is it really something that you’re afraid of fixing that’s holding you back?

Stay tuned for “Fear” Installment #2…

By Brooke Green

I was having coffee with a friend of mine today.  He’s a bright, strategically-minded guy, however, he made the oddest comment.  He is an owner of his company and is in front of prospects and clients on a regular basis.  He also happens to know a lot of high level people in the business world. 

We were talking about his sales process, and he said, “I don’t do a great job of getting in front of people, but once I’m with them, they want to buy.”  I asked him how he targets his accounts and he said “cold calls.”  WHAT!!!?  Here’s a guy with a rolodex full of people that respect him and would love to help him – so why is he making cold calls?

Should it Hurt to Grow Your Revenue?
I talk to business development people everyday that feel that it should “hurt” to grow your revenue. Why is that? Is the money worth more if you have to cold call, get lied to, chase someone forever and finally land a piece of business? 

Wouldn’t we rather use our rolodex, ask for referrals, and work with people that want our help? Ahhh–quick and painless and just as (or even more) valuable. When I asked my friend this, he kind of chuckled and said, “I guess so.” 

Is Revenue Growth Right Under Your Nose?
Think about the people that you know and the clients that you are already working with. Instead of working on a cold call script, work on a referral process. My experience is that people will gladly refer you, they just need to know how to do it.  Lay it out for them.

Don’t reinvent the wheel – roll with what you have.

By Brooke Green

I don’t know how you feel about Karma, but I believe that in order for things to come into your life you need to make room for them.  The same goes for your Sales funnel.

If you have stagnant, energy-draining deals in your funnel, you must move them forward or move them out. It’s kind of like you have a mental bank account.  Stagnant deals are like the buddy who’s always borrowing a buck and promises to repay you. But you never see the money, and trust me, you’ll never see these deals. 

If you continue to let the stagnant deals take up space in your mental bank account, it makes it tough for your mind to be “right” about the real deals that are in the funnel and out in the world waiting for you.

What to do? How to get your sales process back on track?  I like to write  “Dear John” or “Goodbye notes” to these prospects.  It’s not that they’re bad people – it’s just bad timing, or maybe they don’t know how to say “no.”  Let them off the hook.  It could sound something like this……..

Dear (insert your prospect name here):

We have been talking about (insert your solution here) for several months.  It seems that something has changed and working on this issue is no longer a priority.  I’ve enjoyed working with you, but I am going to back away.  If this issue becomes a priority for you again, please feel free to contact me.  Good luck to you.

Thank you,

Brooke

Simple and to the point.  Sometimes walking away is the wake-up call that your prospect needs.  However, your intent is truly to walk away; this isn’t a “move.”  If they won’t let you go, consider that just a bonus.

By Brooke Green

There have been plenty of conversations in our sales training programs lately about something that hits all of us, the loss of “mojo.”  We’ve all been there – one day you’ve got a bunch of deals on the brink of landing, you’re counting your money, and within 24 hours those deals collapse and it becomes obvious to you that you don’t know what you’re doing!!  Now, that’s not the truth, it just feels like that.

Things fall apart because you don’t pay attention to your gut.  What happens when you don’t listen to the voice within?  You…… 

1. Don’t ask the right / tough questions
2. You know you don’t have all of the decision makers in the room, but don’t do  anything about it
3. Skip steps of your sales process

I could go on and on, but basically you wimp out – you go to your prospect’s process because, at the time, it feels less painful.  How much pain are you feeling now????  So, how do you get your “mojo” back? 

Being from Indianapolis, our minister couldn’t help but integrate the recent Colts comeback win into his message on Sunday.  As he said during our sermon, “hope saves.” Hoping isn’t enough, but it has to be alive to get you back up and out there.  Hope is a synonym for faith and trust in my book.  Go back to what you trust – YOUR PROCESS! 

Remind yourself what your process is, how it has worked for you in the past, and how temporary pain saves you serious pain later.  Our minister also reminded us of the hope that the Colts hung onto when they were down 21-3 at halftime.  Coach Dungy didn’t remind them of their mistakes during halftime. 

Instead, he reminded them of what got them to this point – their PROCESS, their game plan – sticking to what they know works, even when it’s painful.

So, don’t continue to beat yourself up.  Take the lesson and move on.  Trust what you know, stick with it.  Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t, but you always know you did your best on your terms.

Bill Caskey: mailto:bcaskey@caskeytraining.com

Bill is a sales development leader and experimenter. His ideas about selling are convictions about life, money and meaning. He has coached sales professionals and executives for over 19 years. And his philosophies and strategies have fueled explosive growth in sales and profits for clients.  Click here to learn more about Bill Caskey.

Bryan Neale: mailto:bneale@caskeytraining.com

Bryan brings 14 years of leadership, training, sales and sales management experience to Caskey. Bryan has trained in industries such as professional services, consumer goods, financial services, freight and logistics, distribution, and many other B2B industries. Click here to learn more about Bryan Neale.

Brooke Green: mailto:bgreen@caskeytraining.com

Brooke specializes in B2B sales teams in transportation, logistics and professional services industries. She has been a practitioner of Caskey for over 12 years. Brooke began her career in sales with no customer base, no leads, no experience, nor training. Using the strategies that she learned from Caskey, Brooke moved away from transactional selling to a collaborative, consultative approach that tripled her personal income.  Click here to learn more about Brooke Green.

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