The Salesby5 Blog

Years ago I wrote a short paper on de-motivation in the work place and steps to overcome it. I have referenced this many times in our posts and at events we speak at. We have people who write us on advice on how to deal with a de-motivator in the workplace, friends and clients. This post is geared to the bosses, leaders, managers and supervisors since the word has not gotten out.

Take this for example: You hear your employees laughing, joking, having fun.

You do the following:

A. Have a meeting to discuss lack of productivity
B. Yell at them to get them to quiet down
C. Have a talk with them to make them more serious
D. Join in and find out how to do this all the time, every day

A, B, and C, can be complete assumptions unless you know for sure productivity has been hampered. My office has their most productive days when we are having fun. D may not be the answer for everyone and maybe not even be for some but at least you should ask. If one person is disturbed by the enjoyment of others, they may need to have more privacy or move locations within the office.

Yesterday I took my kids to play work. Here is my observation: My daughter does not like idle time and loves learning on the job.  She enjoys seeing the fruits of her labor, she wants to earn money, but the work matters to her most. She wants a high quality outcome and does not like the least bit of imperfection. My son wants to know the pay (reward) first and evaluate if it is worth his effort. If he deems it not worth the effort, he will go without the reward. He like to have fun first and if the work is fun and seems less like work, he is all for it.

Yesterday was a great reminder to make sure the companies and people I work with are paying attention to their employees and co-workers and to make sure they are putting them in situations where they will excel. Look at where these people feel the most energized, where they are the most engaged and what their currency is. For most, it is not about the money, it’s about the feeling they are helping others and contributing to the vision.

On Saturday, my buddy, Choco and I were driving back to San Antonio from an event we put on in Victoria for a client. As we buzzed along US 87 we spotted a guy walking with a cross. For the record, I have never stopped for a hitch hiker or a person doing something out of the ordinary on the highway. Saturday, though, was a different day. Choco and I looked at one another and decided that we should stop and have a chat with this guy to see why in the world he would choose to do such a thing. Here’s Steven Hope’s story on why he is carrying a cross.

After watching his video, you could come away with a million thoughts.
“This guy is crazy.”
“I wish I had the faith to do that.”
“Just another radical Christian”
“That’s amazing”

I simply thought “I wish I had as much passion, conviction AND action as Steven.” Most of us, simply bounce from one day to the next, guided by our social norms, bills, families and the like. Our lives turn out to be shaped much by the consequences of our circumstances, more than being shaped by a vision of what we want from our lives, our relationships and our careers.

After I turned the camera off, Steven, Choco and I discussed the amazing things that have happened to him along his 60+ city tour and how he was repeatedly delighted. Choco and I simply listened to the seemingly magical events that affected Steven. Now, I live an incredible life, surrounded by wonderful people, but I feel that I could easily take a lesson on clarity matched with action from Steven. Meeting Steven has inspired me to renew my search for even greater clarity and action. Steven’s words and actions were tied together. That’s why his message was so impactful. If nothing else, Steven’s story is a great example of how powerful it is to do what you say you’re going to do.

If you’re already acting on your passion and you know it, can you share your experience? How did you figure it out? How did you know that you were on the right track? What did it take for you to get started? Was there any confusion if you were on the correct path?

Rules are helpful. They put order in our lives. They reduce risk and minimize variance. “I’m sorry, I can’t give you a free room, the rules don’t allow it.” In fact, I will enact rules to suit me and you likely do the same. At trade shows and conferences, I hate carrying the terrible and bulky marketing materials that the drones distribute. To ensure that I don’t have to bother, I carry an impossibly small bag that fits a few choice items and say “I’m sorry, I’m unable to carry anything larger than what can fit in this bag.” “Oh, of course, sir. Absolutely.” Rules can be established willy-nilly. Our society has built us to believe that if a rule exists, there must have been a far smarter person who developed the rule for a greater good. Although this may be true at times, I suggest that some many of these rules are ruining your life… well, at least your day, and that many of the people that developed many of the stupid rules ranged between myopic and mouth breathing fools.

Last week, we talked about corporate culture’s existence and it’s potential effects on the people who come into contact with it. There are certainly issues that each organization faces from this culture and the decisions made along the way. An old adage says that the new ascending sap crowds off the dead leaves on the tree. It would be next to impossible to knock all the leaves off with a stick, but the sap can clear them all.

Similarly, you’ll find that with your organization, “dead leaves” have accumulated on the branches. To properly push the new sap through your organization, you’ll have to make the tough decisions. For some, this could mean revamping the vision or purpose of the company, adjusting responsibilities of key players, or possibly, sell the mills a la Kimberly-Clark. What have you done to move the old leaves off the branches? What is keeping you from doing so?

photo by essjaynz

Recently, my wife and I traveled to Europe. One of our favorite places that we visited was Prague in the Czech Republic. The city was magnificent and we’re dying to return. I did notice a few differences while there and after our return. The most interesting was how quiet the people were while walking in the streets. If you walk San Francisco, New York or San Antonio, you’ll overhear conversations between people at coffee shops, on their cell phones or with the other people walking along. Interestingly, in Prague, even on the busy Wenceslas Square, you primarily heard foot steps and doors opening and closing. Rarely did you overhear conversations. I later found out from my friend, John, that it was rude to ask Czech’s about their lives prior to 1989, before the fall of Communism. Interestingly, Communism also helped shift a city that was formerly the capital of the Holy Roman Empire with some of the most beautiful cathedrals we’d ever seen, to 61% of the population becoming Atheists.

Interestingly, I find that companies are similar. We’ll notice in some companies that people are more matter-of-fact with their way of presenting thoughts and ideas, while others are more diplomatic. In some, the people are chatty, while others, like Dave Ramsey’s company have a no tolerance policy against gossip (one warning, then you’re fired).

Whether you realize it or not, your office and your company has a culture. It may be affected by a leader that is no longer there, but people remember “the good ol’ days” or how they felt when the one person was there that made it miserable for the rest of the team. It’s important to keep this culture in mind especially during hiring. Nearly all new recruits will second guess their decision for coming to work at a new company within the first thirty days. Have you taken a step back to evaluate the culture that your company keeps? Is it one that’s kept with pride? Are there things that need to be changed to better fit the goals of the company?

Whether you choose to listen to music, read books and blogs or just hang out with friends, the story remains the same: it’s the journey and the experience that you should enjoy the most. Interestingly, the older I get, the more I see this and the more I’m also reaching for the next goal. It’s an interesting split trying to appreciate the day to day as we’re driven by the upcoming accomplishment. Not surprisingly, though, once we get there, we feel a sense of relief followed, at least by me, with a sense of concern. I begin to ask “what’s next?” I’m already looking for the next opportunity to move the ball forward, which can become frustrating, scary and exciting all at the same time. Unfortunately, at these moments, when I’m trying to figure out which vine I want to swing to next, I end up missing out on the day to day.

So, I turn to you, my friendly reader. What do you do to ensure that you don’t miss the fun moments along the way when you’re too busy moving to the next adventure to pay attention to the here and now? Do you have a support system that disconnects you from time to time from your future endeavors to help you celebrate the day? Do you mentally make the leap? Share with us in the comments!

Photo: Tarzan by Disney

One of the struggles I’ve continued to experience in my life is making tough decisions. We’ve all had to make them. They’re those decisions where no matter how much you research, talk to your trusted advisers in your life and ponder, you don’t seem to get very close to knowing the “right answer.” Sure, you recognize the choices you have. You weigh the pros and the cons of each, but there doesn’t seem to be a clear result for either choice, until the choice has been made.

Before I can get to my insight, I have to rewind a bit. I was in New York City last week for the Search Marketing Expo where our client, Pear Analytics, was presenting. My friend, Peter, in New York, helped me get in to see former President Bill Clinton speak at the World Business Forum. Now, no matter your political affiliation, seeing a US President speak is an opportunity to appreciate. President Clinton spoke of his time in office and his initiatives now to make the world a better place. The part that resonated most with me, though, was what he said regarding decision making as a President. He explained that 90% of the decisions for a President are already made by the time they hit his desk. You rely on your advisers heavily during this time, check a box and sign your name and you move on. Being President isn’t about this, though, it’s about the remaining 10% of the decisions. This 10% is where the tough decisions are made. You don’t really know the exact outcome; the best you can do is study, understand, listen to your trusted advisers and make a decision. At times, he says, you’ll make the wrong choice, but you have to adjust from there and continue forward. As he said, being the President is being the Chief Decision Maker.

Hearing this provided me some comfort in my decision making process. If a Rhodes Scholar and former President of the United States says that you’re not always going to know the right answer, make an informed decision, then adjust accordingly, it tells me that I certainly am also afforded the same latitude. To some, this information may seem self-evident. In fact, I hope it is and that you’re further along in your evolution than I am. For those that struggle with those tough decisions, take heart; just do the best you can and adjust accordingly.

Thanks again for the opportunity, Peter, it was life changing.

Ed Wallace, a “recovering CPA,” was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule speaking and consulting to talk about his new book – Business Relationships That Last. Some of us instinctively know how to manage business relationships, but most of us need a system. As W. Edwards Deming said, 94% of failures are due to poor systems, only 6% are human error. It’s worth noting that just because you have a system for managing relationships, it doesn’t mean that it’s mechanical and rigid.

Why did you write this book? (Ed answered this question in two parts – personal and professional)

“The personal reason I wrote this book is that I was a senior VP for a software company and one afternoon I was at my
desk when I was supposed to be out of town. My wife called and said our 8
year old son Grant fell and to meet her to see Grant. As I was leaving the office, my wife called back and she said we have to meet
at the helipad. Let me tell you, Nan, nothing can prepare you for a MASH scene where you see
your son laying on a gurney. It’s petrifying. You don’t know what’s
happening. It looked like he had a severe concussion and he’s
semiconscious. This was the cathartic moment that showed me how fast
things can change. I realized that I had the whole dream, but I notice
I wasn’t leaving anything behind. I had always wanted to write about
relational platforms. This was the moment when I needed to do this.
Within 6 months, my boss bought me out of my contract and gave me 6
months severance. During these same 6 months we had to take Grant for MRIs
because he had a spot on his brain, but don’t worry, he’s good to go now.”

“Professionally speaking, it’s a big message and it’s perfect for the times. This is a process to build business relationships using 5 steps to turn an acquaintance into a high performing contact. A research firm asked senior VPs the secret to their success. 88% of them said relationships. They followed up asking them what they did with that information. 24% track relationships in their CRM systems. Great, now what did they intentionally do about them? Less than 5% said they have strategies to manage the relationships. Shouldn’t you have processes for your relationships when 88% of Senior VPs say that’s the key to their success?”

What are the essential qualities of a solid business relationship?

“Credibility, Integrity and Authenticity build solid business relationships. Credibility is the power to elicit belief. So once you’re credible, people begin to share their Relational GPS – Goals, Passions and Struggles. This lets you make commitments, that when deliver on them, gets you integrity. During the process, you have authenticity. This convergence builds relational capital, the distinctive value created by people in a business relationship.

Your client’s Goals Passions and Struggles matter. When you understand their goals, you can help them. A GPS in the traditional sense gives you directions from satellites that have converged. They tell you where you need to go. If you’re trying to build a relationship, you really need to learn about all the aspects of your prospect’s/client’s GPS as well. Passions are things that people care deeply about. The way you hold a conversation or provide a referral builds credibility, which opens the door for people to share their passions. As they share their passions, they realize they can share some of their struggles. When people reveal their goals, passions and struggles, they’re laying out their road map. It’s important to note that this is not linear, but once you’re credible, people will typically share their goals first, then struggles and finally, passions.”

Tell me two things I can start doing immediately to develop better business relationships?

“First, every meeting you have is a perpetual audition, even in a good relationship, so don’t take a relationship for granted. Second, be prepared to ask good questions. Questions lead to credibility which launch the relationship. Have worthy intentions about the relationships, where their needs come first. Don’t take any of the meetings for granted. You can always advanced the relationship a little further. Do you want to get really good at asking questions? Sit down and interview a young kid for 5 minutes while they’re doing
something, like playing with Legos. Go ahead, ask follow up questions with a 5 year old. This helps you
get good at asking adults questions. It’s the 2nd, 3rd, 4th questions
that get you in.”

Ed, you write about the concept of “common ground” in the book, what does that mean?

“Common ground is the first rung on the Relational Ladder. What we suggest is to not guess whether the person we’re speaking with wants to build rapport or talk about business. Let them lead you down the path about what they want to talk about. It’s their meeting to decide whether they want to talk about business or personal.

Let me share a story. We had a meeting with the VP of Talent of a company. She had a week old vase of two dozen roses on her desk and had to move them to see us. We didn’t bring up the roses. We go through our meeting and at the end, she wants to hire us. As we’re preparing to leave, she asks, “why didn’t you ask about the roses?” We told her that we like to model for our clients what we talk about. She still hasn’t told us what the roses were for! It’s crucial to let the client steer you. This means we start by telling her “we’re glad to meet with you today” and then wait to see how the meeting should go. Did they start talking about rapport, asking questions about your trip and whether you found the location easily or does the person get right down to business? Pay attention and follow their lead.”

Can you tell me what the five rungs are on the Relational Ladder?

1. Establishing Common Ground: launch the relationship
2. Displaying Integrity and Trust: secure the relationship
3. Using Time Purposefully: invest in the relationship
4 Offering Help: share relational equity
5. Asking for Help: realize returns on your investment

Can you share some examples of how your clients have implemented what you teach and what the impact has been on their business?

“Some clients have built the Relational Ladder into their CRM systems and made the terminology of the ladder into their system. The conversation goes around the relationship first, not about where are they in their pipeline. Sales cycles have been reduced significantly. One internal team implemented this and had a customer satisfaction increased by 55% after the account manager and the CSRs implemented the system. Another high tech sales firm reduced their sales cycle 22% in 6 months.”

If you’re interested in learning more about Ed or Business Relationships That Last, check out his website or drop him a line.