Smart But Silent Doesn’t Work

“Steve, so many times I know she is the smartest person in the room, she’s just not showing it.”

That was the feedback I got from a client who was frustrated that one of his managers was not developing the trust of her team. “I’m worried that if she doesn’t start speaking up, the window of trust will close.”

So why would someone who clearly has the confidence of her supervisor not take the necessary steps to establish herself as someone with the knowledge, experience and insight to lead here team?  Based on my experience with so many people in similar situations, here are four reasons.

Overthinking

When I spoke with this individual, she understood right away that she tended to overthink things. She gave an example. “Just this week, I thought of a possible solution to an issue our group was discussing. But instead of voicing my initial idea, I kept thinking about it, determining next steps, figuring out ways to overcome obstacles, and looking at all possible outcomes. While I was thinking of all of this, ten minutes passed and then someone else voiced the same idea. My overthinking kept me silent while my colleague got credit.”

The lesson here is that if you what you believe to be a good idea, voice it! You can have the debate about its merits with the whole group but you’ve at least show initiative and leadership.

Doubt

Naturally, no one wants to be embarrassed by voicing a bad idea. But you’re in the position you are because people are counting on you to come up with ideas and solutions. Holding back because it might not be the “best” solution is not the stuff of leadership. It demonstrates a lack of faith in yourself so, how can you except others to follow you? You can’t so, speak up!

Choking on the Words

Even in a small group, most people don’t like public speaking even when they have prepared what they are going to say. The stress of this rises when you are about to deliver an “of the moment” thought based on the current conversation. With this client, she was prone to choking on her words and not delivering them as well as she would have liked. I worked with her to calm herself down, take a pause for a breath and give herself some time. One trick is to acknowledge what the last person speaking said to buy some time. “As Dave just said, the important element here is….” Now you can deliver what you want to say within the context of the current conversation, giving it relevance while you’ve also started speaking so you can more comfortable deliver your intended message.

Missing the Moment

Patience is a virtue. Yes, it is. But sometimes we are so patient, we miss the moment. With this client, she was so respectful of everyone else, she was prone to letting everyone else speak until it was her “turn.” But many times, she would miss the moment when her comments were going to be most relevant. What this shows is a lack of leadership, taking a “first position” in a meeting and establishing her ideas as a basis for discussion. My client said, “They want to hear from her more…and first! But she waits too long to voice her insight. The moment has passed and many times, they don’t know that she has some really good ideas.” Repeated scenarios like this lead to teams losing faith in their leaders. My advice to her was that she must capitalize on the moment, taking control of the conversation so that her ideas can be heard. Ideas from other may follow but she established her leadership tone by being the first to jump in!

You may be the smartest person in the room. But if no one hears from you, does it matter? Work this week to establish your leadership by avoiding these four pitfalls. Let me know how it goes in the comments below. – sg

Want Business from Existing Clients? Ask for It!

As companies plan for the coming budget year, one question I get a lot from leaders and sales teams is, “How can I get more business from our existing customers?” I have a simple answer: “Ask for it!”

Ok…it is a bit more complex than that. But not much!

Customers Are Like a Village

When you think about a client’s business, I want you to think of it as a village into which you just parachuted. At first, you are in unfamiliar territory and don’t know anyone. But then someone greets you and is genuinely interested in what you are doing there. You are genuinely interested in the village, its inhabitants and what they do there. You establish a relationship with the person you initially met, building a trusted reputation. You are in!

However, for many people, that’s where it ends. They maintain a connection with their initial contact and the amount of business coming from that client plateaus. What many people do NOT do is meet other “villagers,” people in other departments who could benefit from their services or products.

So, how do you make inroads into other areas in the company? You ask about them!

Be Curious and Engaged

“Terry…I’m curious…based on the work we’ve done together, I get a sense that there may be other areas in the company that could benefit from the same type of results. Do you agree?”

It really can be that simple. You’ve now established a dialogue that allows you to learn more about the company and possible opportunities that could exist for you. From this, you could get a recommendation from your contact regarding who you could contact next. That’s gold!

“Terry…that’s great and it does seem like we could help them like we’ve done for you. Could you make an introduction for me?”

Now you are rolling. You’ve asked your contact to advocate for you…without really asking. The act of introducing you to another contact in their company is, in essence, them endorsing you internally. You’ve just had a door opened for you….walk in!

Make Them Look Good

And why would your client contact want to introduce you to others in the company? To look good, of course! Again, a simple answer that merits more explanation.

When they introduce you, they are as much as saying, “Look how smart I am to have hired this firm to advance our company’s goals.” That, in turn, creates a situation where others want what your contact has. It’s a herd mentality…they will flock to you if you’ve proven you can deliver results.

Your responsibility now that you will meet with other “villagers” is to conduct yourself well, ask probing questions, learn as much as you can, and make your current contact proud by delivering exceptional service.

And all of this comes your way because you had the desire and curiosity to ask about other areas of the company. See? Simple!

What is stopping you from asking about other opportunities at your client’s business? Let me know in the comments or send an email.

 

Find Your Client’s Motivation First, Not Yours

Solution.

Problem.

Motivation.

Many times, I see people frame their “ask” of clients in this order. Right out of the gate, they speak about a great service or product they’ve come to discuss. They move next to saying that the solution will fix a problem the client has. And lastly, they will relate that solution to something they believe will motivate the client to say, “Yes…I’m in.”

This is all backwards, as a client of mine found out recently.

He asked me for some help in framing an “ask.” He was worried his client would take it as a condemnation of how things were being handle by him, and his team. He knew he had a good solution but, it would involve a new process that dealt with a serious shortcoming. Product….then solution.

The issue here is that you are telling a client they are doing something wrong or, they are wrong for not knowing something could be done better. That’s not a strong motivator for anyone. And there’s the key focus…motivation. That’s really what you are there to do, right? Persuade your audience so that they are motivated to accept your solution?

In business we’re often pressed to produce a result or fix an issue with no time to design our “ask.” Try asking yourself, “What’s the motivator for the person I’m presenting my ask?”
Here’s a hint, 9 out of 10 times their motivator is NOT yours.

By declaring your “ask” too frequently you risk getting the reputation of “its his/her way or the highway/she’s difficult to work with”, or worse “she’s quite selfish”…etc.

Its better to to pause/think and ask yourself, what’s the motivator for my listener?

I did this with my client and he suddenly had a revelation…by instituting the process he was recommending, his client’s head of sales would actually sell more product at the best margin. “That’s how you initiate the conversation,” I said to him. And we crafted his ask by starting with, “I’ve got an idea on how to increase sales with the best margin.” Now they are on the same wavelength.

 

Try re-ordering your next presentation with motivation as the lead. Let me know how your communication goes!

Timing a Sales Call

Many factors come into play at a sales meeting, and it’s impossible to control them all. But, one you CAN control is the timing of the agenda. By stating clearly at the beginning of the meeting exactly what you intend to do and how long the process will take, and then getting agreement to it, you command the situation and stay in charge of the meeting.

However, like many things…this says easy, does hard. Clients aren’t always amenable to your agenda and timing. Here are a few tips to make that easier to handle.

Ask for the Time

We’ve all done it….run out of time. This is especially disturbing when you don’t get to the “close” of a presentation. A lot of factors contribute to that happening but, I’ve found the biggest is when people don’t stick to their own timing.

Critical to this is asking, up front, how much time your client has, especially when you are greeted with “I don’t have much time today.” I recommend you probe further about this to eliminate the guesswork. “I’m sorry you are rushed today. How much time do you have for us to discuss your [fill in their critical need here].” At this point, you have gotten a commitment of time. That’s a start.

But how do you break up that time so that you accomplish your mission?

Set the Timing

Below is a chart with my recommended timing for a one-hour sales call:


Starting with your Opening Comments, everything has a time limit. Yes, the “chit-chat” at the start of the meeting always happens and it is a time to break the ice but, you have to know it is eating into your opening volley. Take up four minutes with introductions and you’ll have just one left to introduce your intended purpose.

Use this guide when putting together your agenda. Each element is critical because it has either your client or you delivering important information. That’s right….your presentation is not just about YOU talking. You’ll see that I dedicate 10 minutes right at the beginning to “Probing and Listening.” You might have entered the meeting thinking you’ve nailed your recommendations but, this is the time to find out new information and adjust your recommendations so that your information is relevant to their current situation.

Stick to the Timing

Each element in this presentation guide is critical so, don’t bypass one just to get to the other. Believe me, that’s easy to do. So many times, I’ve seen even veteran salespeople skip the last step…the closing! Many times it’s because they’ve run out of time. That’s a cardinal sin in my book. You are in charge of the time! Be sure you give yourself the space at the end to ask for what you came there for or, you risk the meeting being a waste of everyone’s time.

“Yes, but my client wanted to discuss some other stuff and that messed up the agenda.” It happens…a client wants to go on and on about issues that may, or may not, be relevant to your presentation. Again, you have to take control here. “I understand that these are important issues and I’m happy to address them. However, given the time you’ve allotted us today, can we either extend our time or, focus on [critical issue] today and I can return to discuss those issues?” Either way, you’ve just regained control.

“But Steve…what if they don’t give me a full hour?” Sure….60 minutes is a good bit of time and clients may not give it to you. So, once you find out (hopefully well in advance of the meeting) how much time they do have, scale the timing to fit it. But keep the proportions the same so that you can be effective delivering your presentation and reserve time at the end for questions and the closing.

You may get only one shot at this meeting so, stay in control of it by organizing and adhering to your agenda.

Using this timing chart as a guide, let me know how your next meeting goes with a reply below. Thanks! -sg

What Is a Mentor (and Can You Be One)?

Mentors are often assigned, but often not successful. Throughout my client base I have begun coaching mentors on …how to mentor.

It’s been my experience that rarely does a mentor understand their importance and the gift they have just been given. Coaching and shaping another person is an important responsibility. It requires a formal set of observations and meetings not an ad hoc series of tips. Read more

Developing Your Future Leaders

As leaders of organizations, we have an obligation not only to find future leaders but to contribute to their development personally. But today’s future leaders, call them “millennials” or by some other name, require alternative ways of being groomed for success.  Too often, I see that this is not embraced and reacted to by companies.   Read more