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The Daly News February 2006 Issue 7

GOALS UPDATE

Many of our readers have attended one or more of my programs and several folks inquire as to how I’m progressing on my “life style” goals. I know this is a double-edged sword designed to joke with me about “flossing” (365 days last year), but also to say that this “goal stuff works”. So, for those curious, here’s a quick snapshot (skip to next section if not interested) or, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, think about sharing a day with me at one of our Workshops!.

• 5 Marathons completed against a plan of 4, making it 11 states in the quest.
• First ever Half Ironman completed, so plan on a full one in 2006.
• 76 rounds of golf played against a plan of 70.
• Ended the year with golf index of 10.4 against a goal of 10 or below.(oops, no lessons against a plan of 6, therefore the shortfall in performance)
• 14 of the Top 100 golf courses played against a plan of 10, bringing total since Jan 2000 to 67.
• All planned vacations taken, with a couple surprise bonus ones thrown in.
• Beginning to learn Spanish was a big goose egg-no progress here.
• A passing note, business results came in as “best ever”. 

While I admittedly am “over the top”, I’m firm in my belief that things that get measured get done. So, it’s still early in 2006 and a great opportunity to wrestle down some goals and go for it! My 2006 goals make my 2005 results look a bit wimpish- love raising the bar.

We continue to search out resources to help our clients grow their business, both at the top line and the bottom line. Along those lines, let me introduce you to Lynn Taylor of Taylor Protocols. Taylor Protocols delivers tools that every manager needs to identify the characteristics of top performing employees so that the right person is doing the right job. Their mission is to provide automated software tools that cause companies to hire right the first time and to get strong performers +80% of the time. Taylor Protocols is the first and only prescreening tool that directly links job process and work tasks to each person’s innate capacities. We recommend that you give Taylor Protocols a good look if you are seeking sure fire ways to hire only the highest producing employees for your top sales positions. You can call them at 877-355-8229 or visit them on the web at www.taylorprotocols.com.

Jack’s 2006 
Smart Selling
Workshop Schedule 

• Mar 02 – Atlanta, GA
• Mar 16 – San Francisco, CA
• Mar 24 – Philadelphia, PA
• Apr 18 – Cincinnati, OH
• Apr 24 – Long Island, NY
• May 10 – Houston, TX
• Jun 09 – Minneapolis, MN
• Jun 15 – Orange County, CA
• Oct 10 – Atlanta, GA
• Oct 26 – Montreal, QB
• Oct 27 – Lancaster, PA
• Dec 12- Toronto, ON

Register Today! Don’t Miss The Chance to Spend the Day With Jack. Call Jennifer at 888-298-6868 or visit us on the web atwww.jackdaly.net

A LOOK IN THE MIRROR

The start of the year is always a healthy time to take a good look in the mirror and see if we are working on the proper fundamentals. Here’s a quick look at five key initiatives on both the Sales Management side of the world and five on the Sales Professionals side. See how you are currently measuring up.

Sales Manager/CEO:

-Start spreadin’ the word. What are you doing to “proactively” communicate the direction of the company or sales unit? One of the best ways to ensure people are in the boat and rowing in the right direction is through regular and ongoing communication. Our suggestion is to get others involved in this communication activity in order to spread that ownership feeling and further secure folks buy-in.

• Recruiting takes time and effort. A growing company (and don’t we all aspire to be that?) is never fully-staffed. In order to recruit and land top performers, there is an ongoing need to be courting them. This includes casual meetings over breakfast, lunch, dinner, attending sporting events with the prospects, meeting at industry events, etc. How many hours do you have booked on your calendar for the next couple months? The worst time to be looking is when you are desperate, as the hiring benchmark gets dangerously lowered.
• Coaching takes place on the field. Take a watch at any game of sport. Where is the coach during practice and game day? You bet, on the field. So, coach, how many days do you have calendarized over the next quarter to be in the field with your sales people? Not only will you have a significant impact on generating new business and solidifying existing relationships with your presence, but the training and recognition value of working side-by-side with your sales people is invaluable. Get out that calendar and “sign up”.
• Customers love hearing from the leader. What is your ongoing customer call program? Lets say your firm has 250 top customers. How about scheduling to call 20 per month and checking to see how things are going and what your firm could be doing different or better to help in the relationship? How many of your competitors do you think are doing this? Imagine the impact!
• The ten most recent acts of recognition on your part over the past 60 days were?. Fill in the blanks. How did you do? Your team is starving for recognition. Doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive. Mom was right when she said it’s the thought that counts. Identify now your next ten acts of recognition and schedule them to happen.

Sales Professionals:

li>-”Added Value” separates you from the pack. What added value have you delivered to your customers in the last 90 days? What do you have scheduled in this area in the next 90 days? Several months back in our newsletter I recommended reading “The World is Flat”. If you have done so, how many of your customers could benefit from reading it? How about on your next call, dropping a copy off with a note of two or three big takeaways from the book, and do this with 10 of your better clients?

• I talk often of “Inspecting the Baskets”. Those baskets are comprised of prospects, customers and clients. How many of you have taken the baskets out in the last 30 days and culled out the losers? Too many sales people call on too many people that don’t deserve to be called on. While you are at it, how about adding a few “heavy hitters”? Sure, they will take a longer time to win over and a lot of work before you might see the rewards, but if you aren’t courting them, this much is true- you will never win them over.
• Time is money. How are you doing with optimizing your time? More often than not, sales people are squandering opportunities by being lax in the area of time management. The big key to better use of time is diligent scheduling and following the plan as best as possible. I like asking this question several times a day: “Is what I’m working on right now the highest payoff activity that I could be working on?”. Try mapping out a better week next week, then retool the following week for further improvement.
• -Knowledge is power. What business book have you read in the last 60 days? Listening to a taped version counts just as well as a paper edition. The key is constant improvement and retooling. So, pick your book for the next 60 days and order it now.
• -Carnegie Hall? Remember, the way to get there as stated by the NY cab driver is practice, practice, practice. How much practicing have you done in the last 60 days? Or, did you just “practice” on your customers! I wonder how much practicing Vijay and Tiger have done in the last 60 days? I wonder if the winning team at the Super Bowl did any practicing? Or, did they just show up at game day and rely on their innate skills? Schedule your practice sessions for the next 60 days.

Here’s a fresh look in the mirror! Take a look at the list and the challenge throughout is that there is nothing “urgent” about any of the action items, so they often don’t get done. However, no one could reasonably argue with their “importance”. Let’s take the hard look at the mirror and sign up to do more of the “important”.

Washington D.C.
Sales Management and Sales Summit
November 2 & 3, 2006

We just wrapped up our first Sales Management and Sales Summit in Newport Beach, CA . What a GREAT experience. We had a sell out crowd and garnered terrific reviews from our participants. Throughout the registration process, we had many requests from the East Coast for a Summit on their coast. Well, we have heard you loud and clear and are happy to announce that Jack will offer a second Summit November 2 & 3 in the Washington D.C. area. Please call Jennifer at 888-298-6868 for more information. Seats will sell out fast. We are looking forward to seeing you in D.C..

CONTINUOUS SELF DEVELOPMENT

I’m going to the “archives” for this months suggestion and it’s “How to Make a Buck and Still be a Decent Human Being” by Rick Rose. If you are looking for great ideas for Sales Meetings (and who isn’t?) this is the book. Fun stuff with lots of punch and value. This is real world stuff and guaranteed you will walk away with at least 5 or more takeaways to implement with your team. Be forewarned, this one can be tough to find, but the search is worth it.

Three Part Sales Academy
Featuring Jack Daly
Build Your Way to a Successful 2006
DALLAS,TEXAS

Hosted by The Carter Group & Mutual Capital Alliance

Jack Daly will conduct Three sessions, each consisting of three, 2 hour sales workshops and one, 2 hour management workshop in Dallas, Texas. This 3 part academy is designed to teach you what you need to know to get to the top of your game and provide accountability to ensure that things are getting done! Each session will build on the last and together they will build your personal success guide. Multiple workshop time options give employers the opportunity to send all of their staff in one day. Here is the chance to grow your sales team with this one of a kind event. Call Jennifer at 888-298-6868 for more details. 

• SESSION 1- Wednesday, May 3, 2006
  9am-11am- Sales Management
  Noon-2pm- Sales
  3pm-5pm- Sales
  6pm-8pm- Sales
• SESSION 2- Wednesday, June 14, 2006
  9am-11am- Sales Management
  Noon-2pm- Sales
  3pm-5pm- Sales
  6pm-8pm- Sales
• SESSION 3, Wednesday, October 11, 2006
  9am-11am- Sales Management
  Noon-2pm- Sales
  3pm-5pm- Sales
  6pm-8pm- Sales

OLDIESbutGOODIES

For the past 6 years we have historically produced a newletter from Professional Sales Coach, Inc. With this Daly News newsletter as replacement, we wanted to remind our readers of a feature each month pulled from the archives which continues to be content rich. Professionalism requires life long learning.

10 Things to Start Doing Today

We can’t expect different behavior than what we offer as an example. “We are the message” in our companies.

Business leaders today must develop ways to thrive during times of constant change. Below are ten specific actions designed to gain peak performances from our most important resource – the limited number of people in our operation.

Never before have we seen companies put so much pressure on their employees to work long and hard. John Hinrichs, president of the consulting firm Management Decision Systems, observes that ” ten or 15 years ago we used to talk about job enrichment. Now we talk about job engorgement.” Reasons for this stress-inducing tendency include:
· Corporate restructurings which have wiped out layers of managers without reducing the amount of work they used to do;
· New technologies – which eventually will lessen the need for supervision – currently are causing tough transitions for managers and employees;
· Increased competition coming from both large, efficient players and niche opportunists.

Our challenge as leader/mentors is two-fold. First we must energize our associates so they can optimize their performance now. Secondly, we need to maintain balance and perspective in our own lives in order to have a proper working relationship with our associates.

YOU ARE THE MESSAGE

Communication is based more on action than on words. If we come in Monday morning out of sorts, walk straight to our office without saying ” hello” to anyone, and then shut the door – in what manner will our associates answer the phone that morning? We can’t expect different behavior than what we offer as an example. “We are the message” in our companies.

Here are the ten things to think about, and then proactively implement. If you think some of these ten “energizers” need to come from the top of your organization to be successful, we remind you that leaders start where they are. Do these on your own, and then see what happens around you.

1 – Energizers set direction for their units by writing quarterly mission statements. As part of this process, the team commits to established values. Enthusiasm is generated within departments as they formulate their shared missions. Revising those statements quarterly rekindles that energy and commitment, while also providing an opportunity for each person to develop appropriate short-term goals.
Planning’s value is in the process, more than in the plan itself. Once your associates have “bought in” to your shared mission, you’re on your way to success! An obstacle is something you see when you take your eyes off the goal you are trying to reach.

2- Energizers truly listen and thus are plugged in to reality. They are both open and inquisitive, and their search for ideas is never-ending and boundless. Useful suggestions come from competitors, suppliers, customers, front-line associates, trade groups, and your own mentors. Don’t assume that listening is one of the things you do best. Our booked calendars, busy travel schedules and constant phone calls don’t help us become better listeners. And as an opportune occasion for listening occurs, too often we are talking.
So ask yourself, “how much time did I spend truly listening?” Good listeners practice “zero-based thinking,” which requires that we forget the way we’ve always done things, and instead look at situations in new light. One way to judge how much we value input is to figure the amount of time we spend in our offices, sitting safely behind our own desks. But energy new ideas emanate from where things are happening. Most of us thus need to spend more time in the field. You can start this process by talking with your customers, and then acting on their suggestions.

3- Philosopher John Gardner refers to what he terms “tough-minded optimism.” Energizers possess such a spirit, which combines hope and realism as the driving forces in building a business. Again, focusing on customer needs helps make this happen. A leader is more interested in serving his customer than in worrying about what the board of directors will think. “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me” is the rallying cry for energizers who nevertheless remain prudent and balanced. They are neither foolish dreamers nor impassioned extremists. Instead, leaders are positive cheerleaders who each day provide a message of optimism for those they work with.

4- Energizers are forever thinking about and articulating their company mission and values. At least once a year give a speech reinforcing what you and the company stand for.
Nearly every successful leader relates the concern of repeating the same message too often. Yet his or her supporting team usually feels they can’t hear such a message often enough. Providing an over-all mission statement helps each unit to construct its own specific mission. Studies have shown that 74 percent of employees rank information sharing as very important, whereas only half of all executives felt this was what their associates wanted.

5- Whereas procedure manuals give rules, company stories offer morals. “Storytelling’s power is timeless,” says author Tom Peters. “The marketplace is demanding that we burn the policy manuals and knock off the incessant memo writing; there’s just no time. It also demands we empower everyone to constantly take initiatives. It turns out stories are a – if not, the – leadership answer to both issues.”
Stories which in a simple manner describe “who we are and what we do” influence thinking and action more than procedure manuals do Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication, and the energizer turns it into a powerhouse management tool which works in both large and small companies. Corporate success stories are a great recruiting tool, and the best form of training. An energizer either wears, shares, or entrusts to an associate the storyteller’s role.

6- Energizers are bureaucracy busters. “It’s no wonder we manage our way to economic decline,” says Stanley Davis. “Our managerial modes don’t suit today’s business. We are still using the model GM founder Alfred Sloan developed for organizing corporate America back in the Twenties. As a result we have industrially-modeled organizations running post-industrial businesses.” Energizers know the value of the motto, “If it’s not broke, break it.” They work outside normal rules, and thus stand out in the eyes of customers and their own associates.
By unleashing your creativity, you can spark the energy within your organization. Even simple changes can mean a great deal to your unit or company.

7- Great benefits can be found in delegating without abdicating. Remain accountable for your group, but don’t allow a decision to be made at a higher level in the organization than it needs to be. Your associates know the daily specifics of their jobs better than you do. Foster an environment in which they design their function in a framework consistent with the company mission and values.

8- Energizers understand the Pygmalion Effect. People usually accomplish what they believe they are expected to do. If we have high expectations as leader / mentors, our associates probably will show excellent productivity.
Ambitious expectations are built by energizers who believe in their own abilities to train and motivate their associates. Simply being demanding is insufficient. Your associates actually will rise to the level of your trust, or fall to the level of your mistrust.

9- Energizing and leading people is more powerful than managing a process. By building trust with associates and customers, a leader / mentor puts together the team described in his or her mission statement.Effective leaders usually are appreciated for their interpersonal skills, rather than for their managerial abilities. People care more about what’s in a manger’s heart than about what is in his or her head.

10- An energizer surrounds himself with associates who are positive and realistic, rather than negative.
A “can-do” attitude characterizes the energized leader / mentor it is seen in the unwillingness to take “no” or “it’s never been done before” for an answer. Hiring wisely lowers loan production costs as productivity rises. Marketing expenses also go down, since fewer clients will be lost due to poor service.To make this possible, an energizer’s mission statement should include minimum production standards and continual training of staff. You also should spend most of your time assisting your best producers, rather than motivating and supervising marginal performers. Good recruiting practices are the basis of a productive office. In addition, consider hiring an administrator to handle your routine paperwork, so that most of your efforts can be given to increasing production.

The characteristic of energizers which moves organizations to their highest levels of performance is that of a dreamer. Fred Smith’s college term paper was graded “impractical” – but he used it as the basis for building Federal Express. Steven Jobs acted on his dream of having personal computers in every home and classroom. Energizers mange their dreams; and each of us has a like capacity with regard to our business. If we resist change, we will only fall further behind. If we merely go along with change, then we will just keep pace with it. But if we create change, we will be the ones who lead it.

If any articles in this newletter would be of interest to your co-workers, customers or clients we would appreciate having you forward it along. Thank you!