Sales tips, leadership communication skills insight and more from Steve Giglio, sales training professional for more than 25 years.
I observe between 60 to 100 executives per year as they hone their consulting/advising skills. I am always amazed and impressed with the ones who have the innate ability to quiet themselves so that their audience has time to process and respond. They resist the temptation to interrupt with more information.
I need to see more of this. Read more
“I object!”
Your clients are probably not that direct with your team. But often, clients will question your recommendations or the direction your team is suggesting. How well do they handle those situations?
I hear this question every week and enjoy determining with my clients if they, in fact, have the right team in place. It’s possible that they may need to further shape and develop certain members of the team to match the current times. And that’s a challenge.
But there are ways to keep evolving based on what your team is doing today. Read more
Feedback that criticizes your work can be difficult to accept yet, we’ve all had our fair share of it.
My focus this week reinforces the importance of putting feedback in its proper context. Read more
Over the years, each time I meet a school teacher, I ask them what they’ve discovered as the key to teaching. This past weekend in San Francisco, I met a sixth grade teacher who thoughtfully responded to my question with one word…rapport. He furthered his answer by saying that without it no teaching can occur. Read more
In my last post, I gave a few interviewing tips for those looking to advance their career with a new position. Equally as challenging are things on the other side of the desk. Finding the right person for key positions in your company/department should be an ongoing process, echoing the oft-used statement from companies “we are always looking for good people.” Here is why I believe you should never stop recruiting. Read more
Coaching my niece in succeeding with her job search is an important mission and one I take quite seriously. As I coached her, I realized how similar her job interview is to a sales call. Think about it; you have to establish a climate of interest and enthusiasm, ask insightful questions and present yourself (i.e. what you are selling) as the solution. In my 20+ years of leadership development, I often coach people through a job transition as they prepare to interview. Here are a few of my key interviewing strategies.
With both a sales call and a job interview, it’s critical that you know what the company’s issues are so that you can present your solutions. In the case of an interview, YOU are the solution. When speaking with your potential employer, discern what your interviewer’s major goal is for the position by asking questions such as:
Every job, and every customer, has challenges. When applying for a job, you need to be confident that your skills can help the company overcome those challenges. Otherwise, why would they hire you? Just like with a sales call, if you don’t know what challenges the company is facing, how can you possibly know if you are the right person to find a solution? Find out what “keeps them up at night” by asking these questions:
In an interview, it’s important that you demonstrate you understand the company and it’s key issues. When you restate what you’ve learned in the interview, it shows that you have been listening and comprehending what you have been told. This is when you start selling yourself as someone who can help. Don’t rush to provide your solutions before you make sure you understand the problems. Present yourself and skills too soon and, you could find yourself talking about skills that don’t apply to the company’s situation. Play the stated goals and challenges back to your interviewer to prove you’ve heard them and are tuned in to their plight. You then get to tailor your comments about your solutions directly in line with what your interviewer most desires for the position.
By the close of business that day, send your thank you email to your potential employer, repeating their goals and challenges to further illustrate your alignment with them. Then remind them of your conversation about your solutions and your confidence in how you can help move their company forward.
Try it and let me know how it goes! I wish you great success!
Last week, I wrote about the importance networking has in developing relationships and communication skills. The point was that you should embrace networking events, not avoid them.
But once you are in the thick of one, what then? If you remember to do just TWO things, you will discover the true benefits of effective networking. Read more
My answer? Yes.
But, if I had to choose one or the other…selling is a science. But I will acknowledge that possessing artful selling skills is very important.
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