Running a business is very hard. You have to stay true to yourself, your passion and be consistent. You can reduce stress by not having strong opinions on subjects outside of your expertise. Today, customers expect you to know them and know what they want, in the moment.
Contact me for coaching, consulting, workshops or lecturing via e-mail and let’s arrange a non-binary virtual meeting to discuss the opportunities.
“Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art. - Peter Drucker”
Just because I’m a Londoner, it does not mean that I know what is going to happen with Brexit. The continuation of the global pandemic restrictions means that life has thrown up another challenge and part of our own personal growth and self-responsibility is to be able to meet those challenges and rise above them. And the elephant in the room is climate change…
Here’s a little advice to myself, which may also be relevant for you:
Be a good person and do not waste energy trying to prove it, and continue to focus on the things that are within your power to change.
“There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. - Nelson Mandela”
As we are entering the last days of 2020, I think it’s time to offer some “friendly” advice…
Don't be impressed by:
1. Money
2. Job titles
3. Appearances
4. Experience
5. Affiliations
6. Imitations
7. Big words
Be impressed by:
1. Kindness
2. Trustworthiness
3. Unselfish generosity
4. Humility
5. Good manners
6. Courage to dare, dream and do
7. Integrity and benevolence
Image via Kimberly Amici
I am a father, son, little brother, big brother, uncle, friend, leader, manager, mentor, coach and role model. I’m noticing this thing, here’s how I think it works and here’s how I think it may help you make things better. Would you pay me for that advice?
I made a great product, delivered wow and waited for them to tell other people. What I realised is that they will only tell other people if it will helps them, they will not tell other people if it only helps me. In order for other people to share your story, it must help their status, authority or life and then they will be more or likely to do it.
Earlier this year I became a certified Power of Habits trainer as I believe the biggest influence in life is habit. I think the outcomes you seek are based on the habits you develop and maintain. Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement and a small habit, when repeated consistently, grows into something significant.
It’s almost that time of the year where everyone starts making New Year’s resolution. It’s almost that time of the year where everyone starts “dry January”. It’s almost that time of the year where everyone starts to think about the habits that they would like to change.
I am here to guide you and your organisation, send me an e-mail and let’s arrange a non-binary virtual meeting.
I recently listened to a podcast where L.U.V listening was briefly described and it made me realise how many sales and marketing people preach - bla, bla, bla…
It’s the season of goodwill, so see below a L.U.V tip.
L – One important aspect of effective communication is learning how to listen. Listen without judgment, with your ears, eyes and heart to understand my situation
U – Understand: Repeat back in your own words to show understanding. I think that there is nothing that feels better to a human being than to feel understood.
V – The last step is validation, validate my feelings by expressing empathy even if you disagree. Try to put yourself in his or her shoes and consider how one might see it that way or how one might view it that way.
As a sales professional I think that we should always focus on the buyers needs and how we can solve them. How we can guide the buyers through the decision making process, and if we authentically succeed in this task, we will more than likely close the deal.
Recently, I wrote about how HR hire sales persons, perhaps HR would be better served by writing sales job descriptions from the buyers’ perspective. No one wants to be sold to, everyone wants to be guided through the process - therefore, sales persons do not need to be hunters, closers or extroverts.
I think the buying experience is the most crucial function as in the mind of so many buyers, sales is not necessary. The role of the sales person is to guide the buyer through this process:
1. Identify the needs.
2. Explore the potential solutions for the needs.
3. Define the requirements.
4. Select the potential suppliers.
Remember, influence always wins over persuasion.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. - Viktor Frankl”
I think It’s all about the customer experience, connection and relationships. The goods and services are just commodities! Basically, design thinking asks the following questions:
1. Who is it for?
2. What is it for?
3. What do I seek to accomplish?
And design thinking says, I’m here on purpose with an intent and a reason. And that’s hard because it puts you on the hook and the majority of people don’t want to be on the hook. The reason being is that if you announce it and it doesn’t happen then you have to say I failed - “It didn’t work!”. Whereas if you don’t announce it, there’s a lot more room to manoeuvre.
Do you have a nagging issue? Would you like to know how to rest and finally achieve the 360-degree view of your customers that fuels the relevant, consistent experiences your customers crave? If so, send me an e-mail and let’s arrange a non-binary virtual meeting.
Today, between 17.30 and 19.00 (Central European time) we can watch solar system’s two largest planets (Jupiter and Saturn) side by side in night sky. It will be the closest ‘great conjunction’ since 1623 and it will be 2080 before the planets align so closely again.
It is well understood by the human resources community that engagement translates into profit. We have all seen or heard about people around us that have been dreadfully treated by business people, whether it’s #MeToo, exploitation or psychopathic bullying. I think that organisations’ who create an environment where their people can thrive and achieve will see increased profits, sales, greater customer experience, etc.
How can we help individuals and departments develop to match the future challenges your organisation will face? What motivates them to get excited about what isn’t yet known? Send me an e-mail and let’s arrange a physical or virtual meeting to discuss a workshop for your organisation.
My favourite part of sales is solving problems and maintaining relationships. You need to be able to formulate a conversation, you need to be intelligent and you need to be genuinely curious if you want to work in sales. I mean that you REALLY have to have a genuine curiosity to understand your clients, their needs and ultimately tie those needs to a solution.
You will need to be good at listening and asking the right questions if you want a career in sales. You will need to be good a storyteller and be coachable. As it’s the season of goodwill, I am offering a free 30 minute non-binding discovery consultation from today to the 30th December. Send me an e-mail to book your time.
“To inform is for free, the ‘how too’ requires a fee.” I have been using this quotation for almost 30 years. Anyway, here is a workshop idea based on an exercise from the wonderful “Kill The Company” book by Lisa Bodell.
Play the role of one of your top competitors for a day and see how if you switch perspectives you could figure out ways to kill your company metaphorically. When CEO’s speak about change and innovation they are usually asking the cliche questions, for example, “How do I think outside the box?” or “What’s the next big thing?” Cliche questions generate cliche answers.
Think about ways to eliminate and put your company out of business. Play the game and ask your executives to come up with ways to put your company out of business, then they by definition will be moving out of their current perspective or box, and look at it from the perspective of a competitor, who wants to destroy your company. Once you identify the threats, you then switch to the opposite perspective and return to being company executives and figure out ways to defend against those threats. You can also use this exercise in other contexts, e.g. “Why did I not get that job that I am applying for?” or “Why are people buying our competitors products?”
The answers may be simple! Maybe it’s because they see something that you are not seeing or because they believe something that you don’t believe. Perhaps this is because they are telling themselves a different story and you are not able to see that story if you are looking at the world from your own limited perspective. Kill the company is a great way of forcing yourself out of that perspective and into the perspective of someone else. This is better than a collective brainstorm session or being told to think outside of the box. Send me an e-mail and let’s arrange a physical or virtual meeting to discuss a workshop for your organisation.
Growing up in London meant that were raised to be polite. Back in the days when we tripped on the pavement or kicked a stone, we apologised. Intelligence to me meant emotional intelligence, and I think that this is being able to have a conversation with any human being using common sense and being street smart.
I always wanted to experience success and significance. I wanted to fully understand about what I learned and more importantly acknowledged the understanding in the way that I actualised it in my life. I think that you have to prepare yourself to be extraordinary in what you do if you want to experience success and significance.
The old Chinese proverb says, “I hear, and I forget, I see, and I may remember, I do, and I understand.”
Cultural and societal shifts over the past 9 months has seen a rise in working from home, a substantial increase in e-commerce and dependency on technology. This in turn has led to a change in the sales function for many companies.
Time - Safety - Meaning
I think that we can increase human psychological safety with training, insight and connection by taking root in moments of vulnerability. In my experience learners should be challenged to connect the learning to what matters to them as this is a reliable formula for creating self connection. Send me an e-mail to book a Zoom meeting.
“Thanks to the fundamental legacy my parents gave me, I’m always at home because I’m the same person no matter where I am. It’s that consistent definition of self which has allowed me to get through the tough times, when others were more than happy to try to define me according to their own prejudices. - Sidney Poitier ”
Detroit in the State of Michigan came into my periphery as it was the home of Motown. Detroit is also known as the motor city - back in the days the Big Three car manufacturers (Chrysler, Ford and General Motors) had their headquarters there. Nowadays, it is the second poorest city in America and famous for D12 and Eminem. Well done to Pepsi for recognising the talent in the city.
