Sales tips, leadership communication skills insight and more from Steve Giglio, sales training professional for more than 25 years.

There’s No Entitlement in Business

In one infamous scene in the movie “A League of Their Own,” Tom Hanks’ girls baseball manager character is shocked to see one of his players weeping after he has scolded her for making a bad play. “Are you crying? Are you….crying? There’s no crying in baseball!”

Right!  And there is no entitlement in business. Only achievement.

You’re Only as Good as Your Last Performance

In a post 2008 world, all of us need to heed this realization. I especially recommend my millennial clients pay attention. Times are tough out there still. And though stories of the economic recovery are in our papers every day, you probably still have many friends and relatives not employed.  We need to keep in mind that often in our new world we’re only as good as our last performance to the organizations and company brass for whom we work. There are people out there hungry to have your job…and they’ll work hard to get it.

Plan Your Success

Therefore, to understand your advancement, create your own development/advancement plan with your superior.

I’m sure the person you report to has their own metrics they will employ to determine your advancement. Job #1 for you, though, is to understand these metrics and discuss them with him/her so that you are clear about what your path looks like. Once you have an understanding of this path, you can then shape your own developmental recommendations given your unique added value to the organization.  You can put forth your ideas of your achievement from the understanding of your superior’s ideas. Then, you both own your development plan without any ambiguity. Now you have a clear scorecard on which to concentrate throughout the year to advance.

So, develop your success plan.  Get buy-in from your superior with goals based on clear metrics. Show progress on that plan by hitting milestones. And then…when you’re confident you have achieved the goals, ask for the promotion. Remember…you won’t get it if you don’t ask!  Good luck. Let me know how it goes. If you need help with your plan, give me a call.

Pain Before Process

A few years ago, I was working with very savvy clients in San Diego on a sales development program. One night,I was dining with my client who expressed to me that after 20 years in selling and negotiating he realized this important distinction:

Process vs. Pain.

Selling to the Pain, Not the Process

What he said was: “I focus so heavily on understanding the ‘process’ of my client’s business that I’ve neglected to pinpoint and understand his ‘pain.”  He realized that it was mission-critical for him to locate a client’s pain and truly size it BEFORE delving into the client’s process of how he/she runs their business. 

In essence, finding their pain first then understanding their process.  If you focus your attention too early on fixing the process, you will miss what is really at the heart of the matter.  And thus, you will lose the opportunity to provide a solution for a much larger set of issues and become a trusted advisor. Listen first, ask the right questions and get to the pain first.  The process will come.  

Ask to Understand

The best, fastest way to understand a client’s situation is to find their pain within the first ten minutes of your meeting. Ask questions like:

  • From my research I see that your organization has declared XYZ, what’s essential now to insure this?
  • What are the challenges to this now?

Size their pain with questions like:

  • What’s been the impact of these challenges now to your organization?

Stay in their pain with questions like:

  • How has your revenue been affected by this? And how are you and your team viewed as a result of this?

Find Yourself Tethered to the Truth

If you think your client doesn’t have pain points in his work, then you aren’t digging enough. Do your research, which includes asking your client the right questions. The more you ask questions like this, the more you will find your champion who will act as your tether-line to the truth!

 

Leadership Trait: Being A Good Shepherd

Strong leadership traits come in many forms. One I see often is from those leaders who are able to shepherd an idea/vision that many on their team didn’t, or can’t, see at the start.  It requires  thinking through a situation and presenting a different viewpoint/paradigm than your team can currently envision.   That says easy…does hard. Read more

Executive Development Tip: To Coach…Drop the Fear

I’ve spoken about the importance of on-sight observation (of a direct report) to be bullet-proof when coaching.

We all as leaders need to add to this action the confidence to relationally invade an exec’s turf by articulating our observations and intention to develop them.

The risk here is that many won’t enjoy the process the first time you do it. Don’t let it stop you. Trust your good will and desire outweighing the criticism they may feel you have. Read more

Setting Goals: Make 2013 Better Than 2012

There is a great adage that says “Time and tide wait for no man.” I often think about this when I’m creating my new year’s business and personal goals.

I started this year by jumping ahead to December 2013, and determining what income and type of business I want by then. Then I determine what business I need to produce to achieve the end of year results I want. I also factor in fall out from certain clients (hyphenated?) business and that the income derived from them has to be replaced. My year-end goals factor this in so I have a business cushion when my goals are met.

On the personal growth side I review my aphorisms and reflect on how effective I’ve been with them, which ones I’m doing well with and which ones on which I’ve got to focus more.

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Leadership Tip: Organization is Power

Throughout this past month I have had the pleasure of working with many varied teams crafting their respective value propositions.

I’m so heartened by the fun of this exercise and what it illustrates to teams. The results are incredible.  And all it takes is a little organization.

Put Me In Coach, I’m Ready To Play

There is a great German saying: Ubung, Ubung machen Meister (translated into English) Practice, practice makes a master.

I often coach clients whose direct boss takes the spotlight/gametime from them, essentially relegating them to backup status.

These execs are ready to lead a portion of the client meeting but get put on the bench.  They want to play!

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Mixing the Storm with Business

“I know what your going through, I lived it with Katrina”.

My client’s words of comfort automatically calmed me down and said to me it’s okay, sometimes the world works this way.

He said this to me as I was introducing an upcoming training we are planning together and I realized the adage “People buy people first and product second” works, in fact, it never fails. As a sales trainer and executive development coach increasingly I adhere to this adage.

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Leadership Tip: What’s the Plan, Coach?

Way too often managers coach reactively versus proactively.  A situation arises and they coach based on resolving it, rather than having the coaching as part of a more long-term plan for the associate.

The result is the sporadic development of your team based on immediate needs rather than long-term goals. There is a better way.

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Leadership Tip: Trust Creates a Coaltion

In coaching a CFO last year, I discovered during his 360 Feedback Interview that he could not find his voice at the CEO’s table. I first observed my client’s frustration with this, noting anything I saw as a red flag. But I chose to go a step further. I asked him how long this tentativeness had been going on and what it actually felt like to him.

That’s when I learned a lot about his character….and a little bit about myself too.

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