by Doug Gray | Oct 29, 2013 | change, Coaching, Leadership, Personal Development, strengths, Success, talent assessment
I have recently developed this 3-part formula for success. Let me know what you think.
Draw an equilateral triangle. Label each corner “Action”, “Learning”, and “Service.” Place a dot in the center.
1. Actions define successful businesses. Founders and anyone cited in a history book have one trait in common: an obsessive focus on action. Score yourself 1 (low) to 10 (high) on the question “How action oriented am I?” If you are unsure, focus on actual results, rather than intentions.
2. Learning leads to failure, and failures lead to success. I track “Learnings” in digital folders and update them regularly. I regularly attend conferences and take on projects so that I can fail, faster. Yesterday I had lunch with a consultant who repeated the same points I heard him make 12 months ago. He is not learning much. I cut the lunch short and moved on. Score yourself 1 (low) to 10 (high) on the question, “How much am I learning?” Learning is a messy process. If you are not tracking your learning, you are probably repeating ineffective old patterns.
3. Service is a measure of your relationship with others. Humans are social animals. We yearn for relationships. We exist to serve others- clients, loved ones, communities, goals… The most impact-ful businesses track user engagement. The best nonprofits, like Rotary, reward service above self. Score yourself 1 (low) to 10 (high) on the question, “How well am I serving others?” If you are unsure, ask your clients or loved ones. Or solicit more clients.
Now place your scores on the triangle you created. Use the dot to represent 1 (low) and let the corners represent 10 (high.)
What do you notice when you study your self-assessment triangle?
Where do you need to invest energy and resources?
Who can help you develop ?
You may know that action learning is a methodology, using cross functional teams of 4-8 people to solve a key problem. They are tasked with breakthrough, and with a short deadline such as 6 months. They require executive sponsorship and some resources. But the action learning process is a small investment with proven ROI.
In Europe and Australia, the Action Learning methodology is thriving. In the U.S. there is less adoption. One reason for that lagging adoption may be the fact that the business environment does not encourage accountability between cross functional teams. Yet.
We provide individual and team accountability.
How are you planning to share this Action + Learning + Service = Success Formula with others?
Please call me with your stories!
Here is a sample image to get you started: ALServiceFormula
by Doug Gray | Sep 25, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, digital, Financial Professionals, Leadership, Managers, money, Personal Development, Sales, strengths, Success, talent
FYI in 2007 I submitted the following articles to Horsesmouth.com, a digital library designed to accelerate business development for financial advisors.
You can apply any of these articles to your business or service.
1. 10 Tips for Distinctive Client Service Distinctive client service separates you from everyone else who talks about professionalism but doesn’t deliver on it. Take action with these 10 tips from a recognized, distinctive financial professional.
2. 4 Principles of Selling in the Trust Business Selling defines success. Nothing else is more important in your business. So what is this notion of the trust business?
3. How to Act With Courage Excellence springs from courage, but not everyone chooses to be brave. These advisors share how and why they acted with courage, and how it benefited their business. Consider their insights into the nature of courage, and start using it to build your business, too.
4. 5 Keys to Solid Cold-Calling Performance If your prospecting strategy requires you to consistently make outbound calls, you must pay attention to these five vital elements of a strong cold-calling practice.
5. Customer Delight: 8 Tips for Creating It This top producer creates more than customer satisfaction. He creates customer delight. You can too, with these eight tips.
Call me at 704.895.6479 to discuss HOW you can apply these great ides to your business!
by Doug Gray | Jul 31, 2013 | Business, digital, Financial Professionals, Leadership, Managers, money, Sales, Success
Too many “sales experts” have fuzzy theory and fuzzy results.
Here is a template that I have developed over time. It works great. Steal this template. Call me for details if needed.
Notes:
- Accountability is a hard task. Most people hate it. Most salespeople really hate it. Most software, like Salesforce or Act or the latest app, is a pain to use. You can use this excel spreadsheet, or a pad of paper. Start now.
- Accountability determines success. The three top words in sales are “relationships, relationships, relationships.” Use the attached format to build relationships, be strategic, provide value. Or not.
- These 4 roles determine sales: champions, economic buyer, technical users, consumers. You need all 4. Complex sales evolve. They only succeed when you focus on all 4 roles.
- All successful sales people have accountability metrics and teams. Do you?
Call me at 704.895.6479 or contact us or subscribe today.
by Doug Gray | Jul 28, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, Personal Development, Sales, strengths, Success, talent
This could be a long discussion. But I’d rather keep it short.
Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less.
The word “influence” implies results. The influence may be slight or even negative. The influence could be momentous. The influence could be focused on relationships, such as the number of new people you meet each month, or the value you provide to others. The influence could be focused on results, such as the number of new sales per quarter, or gross revenue per year, or goal attainment percentage.
If you need an academic definition of leadership, here is a current favorite: Leadership is defined as the process of influencing others, and facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives (Yukl, 2013).
Too many people confuse the words “leader” and “manager.” So perhaps another definition is helpful. Here is a distinction based on Marcus Buckingham’s research of the Gallup Poll data, plus interviews with thousands of people.
Leaders: by definition, rally others behind a vision of a better future. The core skills of leaders are optimism and public. Think of your self, or your favorite leader, on a stage, leaning forward, describing a better future. They have influence. Or not. The capacity of leaders is infinite, based on research in positive psychology.
Managers: by definition, maximize the productivity of others. The core skills of managers are coaching and private. Think of your self when you need to make sure that others produce a result, such as increase a sale or host a remarkable executive retreat. Note that the skills you use are different than the skills you use as a leader. You will coach Shawn differently than you will coach Ellen. No one likes to be managed. And no one boasts about being a manager. But when I ask an audience “How many of you are managers?” over 60% will raise their hands. Virtually all managers are now “working managers” tasked with both maximizing productivity and getting the work done.
However, everyone wants to be a better leader.
A key coaching question is: What influence are you having on others?
Call Doug at 704.995.6647 today if you want to have a greater influence on your self or your team.
Or schedule your initial consultation here.
What are you waiting for?
Download this list of services and investment levels now:
by Doug Gray | Jul 27, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, Featured, Leadership, Managers, money, Personal Development, Sales, strengths, Success, talent, Uncategorized
Many people ask me this question. So you are not alone. In fact, self-leadership is an ancient subject turned into a multi-billion dollar industry. It is MUCH harder to lead my self than it is to lead others. And it requires daily deliberate practice for me to lead my self.
My purpose in life is to teach others how to be better leaders. I know what works. Hopefully the following two steps will be useful to you.
There are two ways to lead your self:
1. self awareness
2. self care
Self awareness requires core skills such as openness, self appraisal, clarity, self esteem. There is a massive amount of research in psychology and organizational development on the subject of self awareness. There are countless religions and faiths and daily practices on the subject of self awareness. Amid these conflicting and spurious theories there is a need for clarity. We use assessments to provide data. There are over 15,000 validated assessments. We can provide assessments for any individual behavior or competency imaginable. Evidence-based consulting is mandatory in any profession, from law to healthcare to psychology.
A key coaching question is “What assessments do I need to increase my self awareness?’
Self care requires core skills such as expression, sustainability, resourcefulness, action. Consider the fact that humans now have more digital information available than EVER in the history of mankind. We now KNOW what we should do. However, we do not always DO what we should do. Imagine a grandmotherly person. She towers over you with an apron and shakes a wooden spoon… as she tells you what you should do. That image of a wise, older person may help you.
A key coaching question is “How can I take care of myself today?”
One more point. There is a myth that leadership is a personal act. By definition, the word “leadership” means influence at two levels: on my self and others. The goal of self leadership is not to attain some mystical state in isolation on a mountain. Humans are defined by relationships. No one develops as a leader when living in isolation. And too many people spend hours alone, writing in journals, or focusing on their weaknesses. When Maslow described self actualization it was not thought to be a resting place. The goal is to improve the quality of relationships with others. Leadership is both a personal act and a team act. We adopt evidence-based research in positive psychology because it works. We want YOU to flourish.
The goal of self leadership is to have a greater relationships with my self and others.
We all need a coach at times. Call me at 704.995.6647 or subscribe now or schedule your initial consultation here.
What are you waiting for?
Download this list of services and investment levels now:
by Doug Gray | Jul 25, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, digital, global, Leadership, Managers, Resources, Sales, strengths, Success, talent, talent assessment
I do not know the answer for you. Yet. And it would be presumptuous or disingenuous if I offered a trite response.
Instead I will give you some facts. Then the process. Then what I do know.
Many studies confirm that your cost of good sold (COGS) is 7x higher for a new customer than for a returning customer. So you should focus on providing new value to old customers.
There is a former client who comes to mind. He happened to be a 30 year old financial advisor. But the story is relevant for most of us in specialized fields. He wanted to grow his business. After 3 years he had exhausted leads from his friends and family. He had networked so often that people avoided him at chamber and business development groups and even at Rotary meetings. I asked him, “What kinds of clients do you want to serve?” and “Who is likely to retire in 10 years with a strong book of business that needs to sell the bottom portion to a younger professional like yourself?” and “How can you guarantee that you provide excellent service to that older partner or lead source?” As you can imagine, he had a new partner and provided tremendous value for that person’s clients for many years. However, his answer is not your answer.
I do know the answer for hundreds of other business leaders who are former clients. Since 1997 I have consulted and coached business leaders in manufacturing, health care, education, HR, safety, technology, finance and accounting. I have guaranteed results for clients ranging from executive teams at F500 companies to small business owners struggling to make ends meet. I can provide best-of-class solutions or referrals to other consultants who can likely help you solve your problems.
I do know the process. I do know what works.
Here you go: you need to 1) define the problems, 2) provide solutions, 3) model accountability. I call this the “3A Coaching process.“
These “A letter” words are Assessments, Constructive Actions, and Accountability. Too many “coaches” stop after providing assessments, or constructive actions, because they do not know how to provide individual or team accountability. That’s about as smart as running 2/3 of a marathon and stopping. Make sure that you hire a coach who will get you past your finish line goals.
You are probably struggling with the following challenges:
people challenges
strategy challenges
execution challenges
cash and financial challenges
Typically, I define the problems using organizational and individual assessments. I determine where you are making money. And where you are losing money.
I may ask the three big questions: 1. can you define the problem? 2. do you need to solve that problem? 3. who can solve that problem? In today’s market, the buyer-seller dance has evolved into a transparent process of answering those 3 questions. Then adopting the best solution. Vendors are secondary.
Then I provide a host of best-in-class solutions for you to sell more to your existing customers. They already know you. They are inclined to purchase more products and services.
Then I model accountability so that you move beyond good intentions. I want you to sell more services.
Ready to talk? Call us soon at 704.995.6647 or contact us here. Once we determine your needs, then we can define a more specific answer to this question. Schedule your initial consultation here.
We all need to sell more to our existing clients.
What are you waiting for?
Download this list of services and investment levels now:
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