Proposals, feedback process, and why dogs are wiser than you.

THE PROCESS IS SPONSORED BY: Action-Learning.com

How to make your next proposal better than your last one.

Let’s face it, of all the skills you can bring to bear to help your clients, the limiting factor is your ability to get proposals signed. You need to make money. You want to share your genius with the world world. You need to get your proposal written and sold. You need to deliver value at each step of the sales process. Here are three great ways to write coaching proposals that sell. You can be smarter than your competitors.

  1. Less fluff, more value.  Your job is to add value and solve your client’s problems. Nothing else matters. Your model, framework, tactic or magical gifts do NOT provide value to your client. Your solution is the value. Stay focused on the results you can deliver.

2.  Fewer credentials, more results.  Congratulations, your certification/ degree is a huge accomplishment. But nobody understands what it means. Make sure more space is devoted to results than credentials.

3.  Make it easy to understand.  If your buyer has to exercise their brain to realize how good your proposal is, then you haven’t done the work required to make it great. Keep the structure simple.

The Feedback Process

EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR: Tom Stone

We all talk about feedback a lot. Most leaders think they do it well. But my opinion is that we simply don’t know how to give feedback well. The problem is our inability to give good feedback creates problems down the road.

A lack of feedback gives people unspoken approval for unacceptable behavior. This false approval encourages people to continue patterns of behavior that don’t help them or anyone else.

But it gets worse. Everyone in an organization is constantly evaluating competency. So a lack of feedback not only affects the person who needs to receive, but it also affects everybody else who knows that feedback should be given.

A leader is never out from under the microscope. Giving good feedback is one of the surest ways to encourage effective behavior and to demonstrate leadership competency. It is a skill that can be learned, and we can learn to teach it and demand it as part of our culture.

Feedback leads to learning.

The Leadership Wisdom of Dogs

EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR: Krissi Barr

The attributes, traits and characteristics that separate leaders from the rest of the pack can be clearly seen in the behavior of dogs: loyalty, perseverance, friendship, teamwork, honesty, bravery, ingenuity, playfulness, curiosity and an unflagging desire for more information.I call it the Fido Factor.

Faithful leaders earn the trust of their team and their customers by doing the right things and living up to their word.

Inspirational leaders move people to do the meaningful and the extraordinary.

Determined leaders combine perseverance with a dose of fearlessness to keep moving toward goals.

Observant leaders are committed to taking in as much information as possible in order to make the best decisions.

Get More Krissi:

Her book: https://www.amazon.com/Fido-Factor-Krissi-Barr/dp/0999165607

What the heck is The Process? 

Our Credo: (if you like these beliefs, then you’ll love us)

1.      Chaos in the marketplace for “professional coaching” can be reduced with outcome-based protocols.

2.      The strengths of professional coaches (e.g., integrity, fairness, collaboration, leadership, bravery) can be leveraged to co-create the future of professional coaching.

3.      Teams are stronger than individuals. Collaborative projects reduce individual risk and yield higher rewards.

4.      Expert leadership coaches and authors will contribute best practices and attract more users or followers.

FACT:

There are over 50,000 “professional coaches” in a $7B global industry that lacks professionalism.  Literally anyone with a business card can self-declare that they are a “professional coach.”

OPINION:

The result is chaos in the marketplace, unethical practices, and a market ripe for disruption and consolidation.

The Process is a community of expert leadership consultants and coaches.  Join us.

Your Next Steps (How you can help):

1.     Are you subscribed to the Process? If not, click here

2.     Forward this email to ALL the leadership consultants you know.

3.     Are you an expert?      Yes, you are.   Submit some expert content and share your genius with the world. Click here.

Thanks for being part of The Process,

Patrick E. McLean and Doug Gray

How can I lead my self?

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:

How can I sell more to new customers?

I do not know the answer for you.  Yet.

 

I do know the answer for hundreds of other business leaders.  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 do know the process.  I do know what works.

 

It costs much more money, time, and energy to attract new customers than it does to upsell to existing customers.  That is a fact.  Expenses vary from 2-7x the cost of upselling an existing customer.  Acquisition costs can be reduced when we work together.

 

You will need to 1) define the problems, 2) provide solutions, 3) model accountability.  I call this the 3A Coaching Process.

 

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 determine how you need to present solutions to your target markets.

 

Then I provide a host of best-in-class solutions for you to sell more to your potential new  customers.  They must learn about you.  You must provide tremendous value.  (This website is an example.)  When your prospects receive tremendous value, then they will be inclined to purchase your products and services.

 

Then we model accountability so that you move beyond good intentions.  We want you to sell more services.

 

We have hundreds of executive consultants and behavioral coaches, with expertise in sales, so we can help you immediately.

 

Call Doug Gray, PCC, at 704.995.6647 or contact us to help you sell more of your services to your existing customers.  Schedule your initial consultation here.

What are you waiting for?

Download this list of services and investment levels now:

Audio: Passionate Actions define human evolution

ActionLearningAudio

Yes, I am serious. Listen to this audio.

Consider how many people you know who have ignored their health, or made poor choices about their partner, or refused to relocate, or let a character trait such as stubbornness prevent them from some desire.

Now consider how many people you know who have chosen to define their values, develop daily habits to reinforce those passions, or chosen to serve thousands of others.

Passionate Actions define us.  Just as you choose to take care of your aging parents, or call that friend, or exceed your client’s expectations, or regularly exercise, your passions define your individual actions.

Passionate Actions also define us as a species.

Consider what happens when we build a business, commit to a relationship, care for others, develop long term friendships, congratulate a colleague, show kindness, speak positively about others…. Ultimately, we are choosing constructive acts for our species.

There is plenty of fear in the world.  And we can choose to polarize and divide (e.g. select any blog RE: political, ethnic, cultural, social, economic debates…)  We can choose fear.  Or we can choose passions.

You can make anabolic, constructive choices to live serving others.

What are you choosing to do?