Leadership and Sales Training Blog Archives - Page 18 of 36 - Sales Training and Leadership Development by Steve Giglio

Seven Reasons to Change!

August 25, 2016

As you grow as a leader, you will change, whether you like it or not! How you change and the impact that has on your development, your team and you future is up to you. Sometimes, the changes are requested by others who see your potential, even if you don’t. I work with many people in this capacity. Here’s a quick video where I explain why YOU wanting to change is the first, most important step:

7 Reasons to Change

There are a lot of reasons to change. Here are seven that I’ve found can be strong motivators:

Someone, or some people believe in you: you’ve got a team of people who see more in you than you might see.
Trust people who care about you, beyond your own opinion: the person who desires this program for you wants to contribute to you, don’t get in their way.
Be grateful versus critical with this opportunity: WAY too many of us are not grateful often enough. An executive development program is an investment in your growth, not a scarlet letter, ever.
Think about how many executives and potential peers of yours will never will get this chance/investment in them?: think about this, there are people around you who may have plateaued and have been passed by, don’t let this happen to you.
You can’t do it alone: it takes a village to demonstrably change behaviors. It must be done carefully and professionally.
It’s not about being right with your current behavior, its about being effective as an executive who can lead others.
It’s healthy to stretch yourself: there will always be something to get better at, seize the opportunity now.

Use these reasons to be straight with yourself regarding what might be thwarting your adventure and how these could impact your growth as a leader.

Want to discuss changes you want to make? Contact me at steve@giglioco.com

Fearless Probing Questions

August 17, 2016

In my last post, I listed the 10 Worst Questions to Ask a Client. So, what questions should we be asking? Given the pressures so many of have on producing results it’s important to understand that the pressures we have, our clients have, too. Therefore, to “serve” clients as an adviser, not a vendor, you must probe your clients with intimate questions, NOT peripheral ones.

Nice vs. Fearless Questions

I’ve got to acknowledge Ellen, my spouse for labeling this action with the term, fearless questions.
Its perfect for our conversation. You either have the confidence and homework done to ask fearless questions or you don’t. Asking these questions positions you as a determined solution provider by your veracity.

Too many consultants/business developers desire being liked over being respected. Focus on asking questions that bring respect to you for your insight and prescience.

Fearless questions make you deliberate and empathetic at the same time. To resolve the pressures your clients face you need to adopt these fearless questions into your repertoire.

Here’s an example:

Nice Question: What are your goals this year?

Fearless Question: From my research I see that your organization is rebranding itself, why is this essential now, given your competitive set?

Nice Question: What’s your plan to increase your market share?

Fearless Question: How much has your share eroded from this market loss?

The point is to illicit an emotion form your client that GETS THE FACTS OUT. Being nice doesn’t.

Have you been fearless with your questions lately? Tell me how by replying below. – SG

Leadership Job #1: Finding, Shaping and Promoting Talent

July 26, 2016

I was recently asked to write an article focused on the Private Equity industry. The following is that article. I hope you will find elements that can help you in your business as well.

Do you remember when you first entered the Private Equity business? Maybe it was quite a while ago, maybe just a few years. One constant is that Private Equity is a daunting field. And while the pressures are great for senior executives and managers, they are equally so for those just entering the business. Sure, the situations are different but, well, you probably remember the intensity you experienced when you first got into the game.

Remembering that time as you began your career is an important element as you coach new associates, who present a lot of challenges for you. But when I coach managers, I ask them to first consider the challenges new team members face. From there, you can manage their activities, expectations and interactions from a place of understanding and compassion. Let me explain why that is important, not just for them but for your career as a leader.

What’s On Their Mind?

New employees have a lot on their minds. But a few key questions they ask themselves are:

· How will I handle the pressure?

· Will my boss help me or orphan me?

· Am I just an analyst?

· Will I have a development plan?

You’ll notice none of those questions have to do with salary/money. Ok, maybe they have that on their minds too, which is not a bad thing. But the questions above point to a mindset that says “I want to do well but, I need help getting there. I hope I’m not just left alone to figure out how.” That’s where you come in as a good manager.

Six Skills to Observe and Coach

Here’s the good news: people at all levels desire and appreciate coaching. Consistent coaching says; “I care about you, I believe in you.” Employees fail for a number of reasons but, I have found in my years as a leadership coach that the lack of coaching and direction is a big one. Avoid it at your, and the company’s, peril. Outlined below are six essential skills/behavior milestones to understand and coach so that you can transform your associates into a highly productive, cohesive, profitable team:

I. Provide Fast, Accurate Analysis

An associate’s world must initially focus on this. What’s important to observe at this time is your associate’s ability to capture what you’ve requested in the right spirit. Ask yourself this question as you analyze their potential:

· Are they focused?

· Do they accept the marching order with the right attitude?

· Is their work product correct and clear?

II. Communicate Clearly and Concisely

Mission critical is an associate’s ability to clearly communicate their analysis. Many associates are challenged here. A great skill of any PE executive is his/her ability to teach their analysis to others. This teaching fosters dialogue amongst the team which is essential to lifting the team’s awareness of an issue. Notice an associate’s ease of communication.

· Is their physical delivery strong?

· Do they look at you and others when speaking?

· Are they halting in their delivery?

· Are they verbose when delivering a piece of analysis?

· Do they self-edit too often?

· Are they engaged or disengaged from their communication?

The answers to these questions are important to measure an associate’s propensity to develop as a PE executive. Essentially they need to represent you and your organization professionally and consistently. In your interactions with them, are they at ease? If they’re not comfortable speaking to you, how comfortable will they be with a portfolio company they are assigned to collaborate with?

III. Time Management

Notice how effectively your associates manage their time. Are they locked into doing A+ work at the expense of other analysis they need to produce? Being a perfectionist is detrimental to you and your company’s overall mission. It is possible that an associate driven to perfectionism only relies on the numbers not the overall strategy you’ve forged.

IV. Observe Without Prejudice

An important measure of an associate’s ability to develop into a senior associate/vice president is their degree of maturity and forbearance. By forbearance, I mean the ability to patiently restrain themselves when their opinion of an issue differs from others they must persuade.

An associate needs to develop relationships of trust, not silo themselves. They need to socialize ideas amongst their team to create a shared understanding of the direction the team will head. Much of an associate’s success here lies in how well they organize their thoughts, either informatively or persuasively. The more successful they are at this, the more people they will involve.

V. Being Self-Aware

Having self-awareness is critical to an associate’s growth. Doing a 360° Feedback Review is important along with establishing a clear development plan from this review for every associate you employ. This communicates to your associates you want certain behaviors to transform. It is here that you need to acknowledge inappropriate behavior and its impact on others. If an associate cannot observe/act without prejudice, they become a thorn in people’s side versus an approachable balanced resource.

Associates need to challenge people of different opinions to forward the strategy you’ve established. They must do this in a relational manner, not a condescending one. PE has always had this reputation. Realize that from the first “getting to know you” dinner the management team is skeptical of you. Once you’ve mutually set the strategic course of their company that management team may still alter what you’ve agreed to.

It is your associates who will need to see this “iceberg” first and relationally communicate it to the management team. Notice the pattern of an associate not “getting along” with others. It’s a sign that he/she may not ever succeed collaborating with people.

VI. Framing and Delivering a Recommendation

A sure sign of an associate’s growth and readiness for promotion is their ability to frame and deliver a recommendation to varied listeners. This is an important skill. Finding the correct aperture of a person takes maturity and humility. An associate’s ability to correctly synthesize an analysis is mission critical to their development. From this skill they then must hold a management team accountable for their direction and strategic plan. This is the skill of persuasion. Can they forge a relational climate where they deliver their recommendation in such a way that it’s understood and accepted? Succeeding at this illustrates insight and maturity.

In summary, people buy people first, product/analysis second. Your firm rises and lowers from this realization. Every person on your team represents you and needs to comport themselves accordingly. Your challenge is to define and operationalize this.

Ten Behaviors that Shape a Private Equity Champion

July 26, 2016

Recently, I was asked to pen an article focused on the Private Equity industry. The following is that article. I hope you will find some useful tips for YOUR industry.

Becoming, and remaining, successful in Private Equity presents many challenges. Champions figure out how to overcome them so that they can stay ahead of the always-changing trends and triumph over their competition. Over the past 20 years, I’ve worked with many top-level PE executives and observed key behaviors that lead to their success. Here are ten that can help you achieve your goals while developing teams of champions:

#1 Listen Without Bias

From investors to management teams to lenders, having the ability to listen without bias or agenda is essential.
Listening to understand a person’s frame of reference, values and beliefs is key to communicating your position into the aperture your listener can appreciate.
Too often executives communicate in too declarative a fashion versus a relational one.

#2 Communicate Effectively

Being clear, concise and engaged are essential behaviors of a leader. Many times, we communicate to people as though they were us rather than the person they actually are. We forget they have a completely different frame of reference and ability to grasp what we are putting forth.
Tailoring how we deliver our recommendations is critical to being understood and accepted.

#3 Team Player

Stop the siloing. People have a tendency to hoard their information, believing they have an edge over their peers in a discussion. Actually, it’s the exact opposite. The more transparent you are, the more powerful you are.
Acting as a team and being in one-voice with your message is mission critical to an investor. Your team must be aligned and clear-of-communication or your idea/recommendation will be lost in translation.

#4 Trust Others

Always assume positive intent. It’s important to share your knowledge of an issue and your desire for people’s opinion. Everyone must drop their “righteous” behavior; it serves no one. The more a team trusts one another the more aligned and cohesive their message will be to a management team.

#5 Groundedness

The ability to remain focused during a reactivating situation is the mark of a professional. Manifesting a high degree of forbearance in these situations illustrates your maturity and balance. Remember, everyone on your team is watching you. Don’t obsess over this, just be responsible for your behavior.

#6 Debate Cleanly & Objectively

Discussions and debates are essential in PE. When done correctly, they lift everyone’s understanding of an issue.
What’s important is to facilitate the conversation in a relational, structured way. This means tying down issues and presenting other issues in a chronological fashion that makes sense to all participants. What it doesn’t mean is forcing your will on people.

#7 Investment Maturity

Great executives maintain a level of maturity and patience. At times these two behaviors are tested by portfolio companies. Management teams often do what they want versus the strategic plan you’ve created with them. Remaining mature and resolute with your plan illustrates your confidence in the plan and consistency as a leader. Management teams and direct reports need to observe and emulate this comportment.

#8 Delegate Work

What is the highest and best use of YOUR time? Be maniacal about this. When you do others’ work you do not affirm them, rather you stunt them. Direct reports need to experiment and discover their abilities through the work streams you create for them. This is essential for their growth and you as a leader.

#9 Develop Others

Followership is important along with retention. The more you develop your direct reports the more they will follow you and think like you going forward. You need this.
Being involved in a direct’s development says “I care about you and I’m formalizing your development.” Way too often executives manage on an ad hoc basis versus a formalized one.

#10 Have Alacrity

Definition: a cheerful willingness to engage with people. You either have this quality or you don’t. Do your best to be enthusiastic when you meet, greet, engage and lead others. They will emulate you going forward from this behavior. You will set a tone of confidence and positive engagement throughout your organization.

Review these ten behaviors and determine which you are currently excelling in and those which need more attention. Come back to this list often as you check in to see how you are doing. If you are constantly looking for ways to develop your skills that align with this list, you will be, and stay, a PE champion!

Knowing Client’s Business Helps Your Business

July 12, 2016

It has certainly helped mine!

Several years ago, I was hired by a tutoring company to design their value proposition and work with their executives to demonstrably strengthen their ability to procure business. Through our relationship together we brought to the surface many of their challenges and neutralized them as they manifested.

Last year the CEO of the organization and I were having lunch together and she asked me an intriguing question; “Would you like to know why we hired you to develop our team?” I was taken slightly aback but automatically said, “Yes, I’d enjoy very much knowing why you decided to hire me.”

She said quite matter-of-factly, “It’s because we knew exactly what we were buying when we met with you. You were crystal clear with your recommendations and what our deliverables would be along with how you’d develop our team. With other consultants, I was never quite sure what I was buying or investing in, they didn’t make me feel confident in their solutions.”

Perception Is Important

I’ve thought a lot about her comment and realized I’m very sensitive to how I’m perceived as a consultant. I’ve modeled my consulting behavior closely to my doctor father’s bedside manner. With him, you always knew how the operation would go, what he’d do first, second, third, etc. He would watch his patient understand and essentially “get it;” then he’d proceed.

I asked him once why he was so tenacious with this process and he said, “I want my patients as confident as I am going into this operation. It’s part of their cure.”

The training and executive coaching I do is also based on that mentality. First, I want my clients to be confident in what I do and how I do it. But secondly, though equally as important, I want them to instill their own confidence in their clients so that they can establish a partnership, not just a vendor relationship.

And that all starts with understanding your client’s core business. Here’s why that’s important to me and my business.

Where do you see your confidence lacking when working with clients? Is it based on not knowing their business well enough? Let me know with a “reply” below. – SG

Helping Clients Handle the Brexit and Other Dramatic Events

June 29, 2016

“Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
-Helen Keller

The Brexit for many is a daring event, one rife with stress either real or conjured. Living in a world where the global economy affects so many businesses, right now your clients and business partners may be at a point of panic. What next? This is your time to demonstrate why they have you as a trusted adviser. Are you going to figure out the answer to the financial crisis? No. But the larger question is how will you allay clients fear, worry and trepidation when these type of events occur. Here are four actions to take right now:

Action #1: Listen

Similar to 9/11 or the 2008 market crash, people will need to vent their Brexit frustrations and fears. Let them. Listen without any bias. Just understand HOW they’re feeling. Don’t fix anything (like we could). The more clients feel you’re there for them the more they will share with you. The more they share their issues with you the clearer of thought they become. Once they’ve turned this corner you can then offer your context to the reactivating event that has rocked them.

Action #2: Over-communicate

Let your clients hear from you…often. Find out what they need. Keep them up to date on your actions. They need to know you are “on it” and that whatever they might be fearing as a result of a major event like the Brexit, you’ve got your stuff covered. That frees them to focus on other areas that are unstable.

Action #3: Be Available

I remember throughout my childhood how available my father was as a surgeon to his patients. Some nights after dinner he’d get dressed and be out the door on his way to a house call. This never went over well with my mother but, throughout the years, it showed me how deeply connected my father was to his patients. Many never forgot my father from his deep empathy and availability. Show that same level of connection with your clients. Answer their calls, respond to emails or texts at any time of day or night (for now…don’t get trapped in that habit). Let them know that you are there for them “in the fox hole” and are operating at the same level of heightened urgency as they are.

Action #4: Understand Their future

Know their future. It’s important to understand the future your clients see. Once they feel you’ve captured their future, they’re then in a position to action the initiatives you recommend to neutralize their upset.

As they say, this too shall pass. For now, you can remain calm and let your clients know that they’ve chosen wisely in you as their partner. They will remember that when they assess how the crisis was handled.

What’s the biggest issue facing your clients as a result of the Brexit? Let us know with a reply below. Thanks! -SG

Change the Conversation

June 21, 2016

On a recent client assignment, I realized my client’s team could greatly increase their resonance with current and prospective clients by changing their conversations with them. Far too often business development consultants and leaders of teams have too many peripheral conversations, not intimate ones. It happens outside of normal business, too.

Here’s an example from my recent visit to the hospital for what turned out to an appendectomy. While I spent a good amount of time under the care of nurses, the doctor was almost a no-show…except the for the surgery of course. His visit was all of two minutes, during which he diagnosed the issue and said I needed surgery. Never saw him again. Imagine if you tried that with your clients! Sure, he discovered what was wrong but, in no way did he establish any kind of rapport or relationship. Now…his resume/experience kind of speaks for itself or he wouldn’t be a doctor. Yours, however, doesn’t. You need to work at it and you can start by changing your conversations.

Peripheral vs. Intimate Conversations

By peripheral I mean being at the edge of something with a client or direct report but NOT actually inside the issue. By intimate I mean being closely acquainted and familiar with the issue along side the client or direct report. I recommended to my client they forge two types of conversations; a discovery conversation then a solution conversation.

Discovery, Then Solution

The discovery conversation must be facilitated in a confident, wise, unflinching manner. This requires homework. It also requires a bit of curious assumption.

Asking questions that begin with “From my research I noticed that XYZ has occurred…how has this affected your business?” illustrate a good level of homework and courage.

You can also drive an intimate conversation with questions such as these:

What is mission critical to your business this year?
What are the challenges/headwinds that have prevented this from being achieved?
What have you and your team committed to this year?
What factors make up your top three challenges?
What’s the consequence if you’re not able to surmount these issues?
What must success look like this year?

Asking these questions requires a sincere desire to be intimate with your client. They also change the conversation by finding your client’s pain and remaining in it to drive the urgency to resolve it.

What kind of conversations are you having with clients? How is it working? Can you see the questions listed here helping? Let me know in the replies below. – SG

Presentation Tips: Planning, Controlling and Closing

June 13, 2016

I’ve been coaching executives and sales teams for a while now. And I have found there are three main areas in which people have at least one weakness when it comes to presentations or sales calls. It’s either they aren’t planning their meetings well enough, they lose control of the meeting, or (in some case AND), they avoid closing for fear of “selling” or looking bad.

In this video, I take a look at all three:

If you watched that video and at any point said, “That’s me!”…don’t worry. I get that a lot when I talk about these three areas. Setting an agenda, staying in control of the conversation and then effectively closing are skills that, once developed, can help you produce stronger results. The three combined will help you be heard and create a relationship, which is paramount to gaining and keeping the trust of your clients. What you’ve also illustrated is a good degree of empathy towards your client and confidence to run a productive meeting. They will appreciate that, and you, in the long run.

What area resonates with you the most? Let me know by replying below. Thanks! – SG

Barriers to Achieving Objectives, aka No Client Left Behind

May 18, 2016

Recently, a client lamented that he and his firm lost a multi-million dollar order. The CEO, who had not been involved in the process, stopped the expected transaction…after my client had invested a year’s worth of relationship building with the two execs that reported to the CEO. Hence the phrase; no client left behind!

I felt terrible for my client when I heard the news. As we deconstructed the crime, we realized there were THREE other executives who factored into the decision making process that were not met with, let alone tucked in. We’ve all heard and respected the phrase, “Selling starts at ‘No.'” My client didn’t get a chance to hear “No” from many decision makes until it was too late. A great client once said to me “In business, it’s always good to be a little paranoid.” He’s not wrong. In fact, this needs to be an operating principle.

The Money Guy Does The Talking

When you operate from the idea that something can always go wrong, you naturally understand it’s mission critical to determine early on in the process who the decision makers are who will factor into choosing, or not, your product or service. As I explain in the video below, it’s paramount not only to know who these people are but, to meet with them separately. Otherwise, you’ll only hear from the person in the room who makes the most money!

Do not only meet with people in a group. As you meet/vet each decision maker, you will uncover what’s core to them relative to your recommendation. This will move you closer to a “Yes” and further away from the “No.” The executive will start to get a feeling that their individual wants and goals are being considered, giving them a vested interest in the outcome…not just a group mentality.

Understand Everyone’s Barriers

Many years ago, my first sales manager, Nick, once said to me “You’ve got five minutes to understand what the barriers are to your recommendation…and it’s the first five minutes.” That’s a little too abrupt, but he was correct in that as you initiate relationships with these four to six decision makers, you must understand what barriers could block you early on in the process. As Nick also said, “If you get the objection when you’re closing, it’s too late.” Give yourself a chance early to discover roadblocks and determine how to resolve them.

You’ve got to endear yourself first, then your recommendation, to each decision maker. You will do that by listening first, selling second. The deeper you understand what’s important to each decision maker the clearer you’ll be in how to communicate and compel them.

Ever get blind-sided by a “silent” decision maker…the person you never knew about who holds the strings? Tell me about it in the comments. – SG

Seven Tips for Managing Millennials

May 10, 2016

Millennials: the workforce born between 1977-97 that some estimate make up half the workers in the world. And with this diverse group, many of whom were raised in the “me” generation of the 1980’s, comes new challenges for companies looking to train executives and keep their talented sales teams motivated. Read more