I had my shopping list:

-A device to keep my MacBook Pro and iPhone charged during a long flight
-A presentation remote
-A hands free wireless microphone
-A new digital camera

I could have purchased all of this online.  However, I am essentially inept when it comes to electronics.  I need support, guidance and expertise.  I am willing to get into my car and drive for that expertise.  I am even willing to pay more for that expertise (and generally to avoid buyers remorse).  I am inclined to get excited about the notion that the expertise and technology could possibly be available in one place. I am excited about what this technology can do for me.  I have dreams!  I just need a little support to make them come true.

I will also embarrassingly acknowledge that my DVD player died 6 months ago.  I have no idea what model/make to replace it with.  Installation is another issue.  If there is an easy solution and support then sign me up!

Enter Best Buy.  The electronics superstore that offers customers Dream Support!

I entered.  With my shopping list.  Ready to spend.  I was a very engaged potential buyer.  They could have easily had the full inventory on my list and sold me a new DVD player with an up-sell for installation. Let’s keep going.  It has been 8 years since I purchased a television. I could also easily add a television to the home office. Why stop there?

Instead I walked out of the store with nothing.  No sale closed.  Why?

Dream Support is a tough business (a very worthy aspiration no doubt and I absolutely love the enclosed video and positioning).  To consistently execute dream support is a challenge.  In a stalled economy with new competition that takes skill.  That takes expertise.  That takes sales competency.  That takes ongoing training and development.  That mandates preparedness, competitive intelligence and all around sales excellence.

After 30 minutes and 3 mediocre conversations I walked out of the store.  I wasn’t angry.  I was perhaps a bit unsure,  a little overwhelmed and not having an in store experience consistent with my expectations.   I was never asked about my dreams.  I love to talk about dreams.  I was directed to aisle 6.

At the end of the day this has very little to do with what Best Buy does and much more with how they do it.  Dream Support requires an upgrade in the “How“.  Increasingly, so will growth in the new economy.

One stand alone sales expert could have carved out a very nice sale and likely added layers of upside to the transaction.  The difference between several thousand in revenue and the no sale that resulted was skill.  Not attitude. Not desire.  Everyone in that store was perfectly polite and I am certain they would have been more than happy to take my money.  However, in this era of increasingly elevated expectations that often isn’t enough to make the cash register ring.

Multiply this over 1,400 stores and you might have an incredible opportunity to ring the cash register a lot more often through some elevated sales skill and strategy!

When you deliver an experience that meets or exceeds expectations consistently, you can build customer loyalty.  If the experience is differentiated and compelling enough people will keep coming back, pay more and spread the good word.

Often, that comes right down to skill.

(Note:  To my friends working for Best Buy…I am rooting for you!  I am also going back to shop Saturday and you’ll have another opportunity to separate me from my $ and make my dreams come true!  Sales 2.0 TIP:  Start with an effective, open ended question that immediately connects me to my dreams…you will have me at hello!).

Posted in Sales, Social Media, Uncategorized

Tags: Best Buy, Dream Support, Sales 2.0, Sales Training

In an era of all the time connectivity there is increasing competition for the attention required to engage in meaningful conversations that move a connection forward and make a relationship better.  The downside of the being constantly plugged in is that it is increasingly more common to be alone together.

Conversations that connect us matter. They create clarity.  Establish expectations.  Evolve understanding.  Elevate emotional commitment.  Resolve conflict.   Solidify trust.  Serve to validate and acknowledge the ideas, opinions and importance of another person.

If you are finding that technology has replaced talking or simply has become a distraction to deep dive dialogue, consider these 4 keys for more effective interpersonal communication:

1. Power Down: Turn off the technology from time to time.  You cannot have compelling conversation while text messaging, tweeting and updating your status.  You cannot connect when you are consistently distracted.  Demonstrate respect by offering a moment of your absolute, undivided attention.

2. Eye contact:  Maintaining eye contact is essential for elevated engagement during a conversation.  It demonstrates sincere interest and helps you remain focused and present.  It also helps you make a stronger, more meaningful connection.

3. Ask important questions:  I don’t have meetings without a question map (effective, open ended questions prepared in advance designed to serve the agenda and outcome objective).  I don’t want to waste anybody’s time. Skill with questions can be the difference maker between average and extraordinary sales performance (and average and extraordinary leadership).  Skill with questions applies to life.  And this question is still the single best question of all time for initiating new relationships.  Give it a try at your next cocktail party and see what happens to the conversations you are having and the connections you make.

4. Listen:  Acknowledge what you are hearing by reinforcing key points.  Ask probing questions to layer the conversation and create the next level of understanding.  Don’t interrupt.  Don’t focus on what you are going to say while someone else is talking.  Relax and really work to develop understanding.  Perhaps the best rule of interpersonal communication comes courtesy of Dr. Stephen Covey, Habit 5:  Seek first to understand, and then be understood (a habit you will rarely see in practice on Twitter).

Conversations that count can lift us up, move our spirit and serve as the catalyst for making new friends and connecting in our most meaningful relationships.

Sometimes it just requires a little more effort to not be alone together.

Posted in Communications, Leadership, Sales, Social Media, Uncategorized

I will be back up in the air and on the move!  If you are in the AC or the Bahama’s I hope we connect!

I’ll be speaking:

GSCSHRM
Atlantic City, NJ
Monday, 10/24

United States Marines Corps MCCS
Orlando, FL
Wednesday, 10/26

Bahama’s HRD Association
Nassau, Bahama’s
Friday, 10/28
*it is winter in MN and this is good strategic planning

My friends from the Work/Life Expo were kind enough to Flip and forward the enclosed feedback following my keynote last week.  Muchas Gracias! Yes, I did pick up a little bit of Spanish while speaking in Venezuela this week.  A bit of commentary and perspective on my adventure in Caracas forthcoming.

We also added the annual SHRM Leadership Conference to our event calendar and are excited to start working with  AT&T, Giant Eagle and Wakefield. Welcome.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Posted in News, Uncategorized

Tags: AT&T, Caracas, Giant Eagle, Speaking, Training, Wakefield, Work/Life

If you are trying to manage change, navigate chaos, re-invent, ready yourself or your business for what is next and new writing can prove to be a powerful way to accelerate results.

Since that applies to just about anyone and everyone in today’s time of transformation I’ll offer a few ideas related to why and how to write.

Why?

Writing helps you organize thinking.  Identify outcome objectives.  Drive accountability.   Improve focus and concentration. Prepare for success.

Writing publicly vs privately is a personal/professional choice to be made based on the objectives.  Not writing at all is often a missed opportunity.

This Forbes article, 9 Reasons You Should Blog, offers some nice summary insight on the advantages of writing publicly for professional growth. I can assure you that if part of your role and responsibility is business growth (Executive, Entrepreneur, Sales, Marketing), writing is a significant, potential competitive advantage.

Writing publicly can move your ideas to others, differentiate your position, elevate interest, accelerate credibility, expedite important relationships and immediately garner respect and attention from people you want to impact and influence.

Writing connects you to people and opportunity.  I am writing this morning from Caracas, Venezuela. I had the good fortune of having breakfast with leading Argentine business strategist Walter Torre (a professional speaker and author) and Alejandro Eira, our event partner from Uruguay and Alta Gerencia.  Writing was our bridge.  Our shared point of interest and intersection and we all acknowledged, the impetus for bringing us together.  Walter and I will both be speaking tomorrow but in truth, had it not been for writing it is quite likely we wouldn’t be here and now well positioned to evolve these relationships in a more meaningful way going forward.

How?

I’ll preface this by stating first I am not a professional writer.  I don’t make a living writing. I have been writing for myself for some time. I write a blog that has become a part of my business (sales; marketing; strategy).  I know and have the very good fortune of spending time with people that do write professionally (ie. people that get paid to write books).  I listen closely to their advice. My breakfast companion Walter is on his fifth book.  I can assure you from our conversation that writing is hard for him.  It is incredibly hard for me.  It is likely going to be hard but well worth it for you.

For starters, write like you talk. Most people rarely suffer from talkers block but stop and stare cold at the blank screen. Simply start writing and let go.  It will come to you. Over time you might get better.  Eventually, you may want to share your writing with others.

Write like nobody is watching.  Don’t fear judgement or potential criticism.  So what?  Write for you.  Eventually, you could be writing for people that care about what you have to say.  The rest doesn’t matter that much.

Write down what you want to do, be and become. Write down the difference you want to make.  Write down the things that matter most.  Write down your big ideas and dreams.

If it is important, write for other people.  Write down what you want to read.  Your experience set is unique.  Your expertise is valuable. Your ideas and insights are special, worthwhile and can most certainly have an impact.  If you let them go.

Writing has changed my business.  In many ways, writing has changed my relationships and my life.

Also, did I mention that writing is free?

If you want to write I would also suggest reading the book:  If You Want To Write:  A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Euland.  Her writing will help you find your authentic voice.

Still not convinced?  Don’t take my word (or writing) for it.  Have a listen to what Seth and Tom have to say:

Posted in Brand, Communications, Sales, Uncategorized

Tags: Blogging, Brenda Euland, If You Want To Write, Seth Godin, Tom Peters, Walter Torre, Writing

“In this new world of business, companies and leaders will have to show authenticity, fairness, transparency and good faith. If they don’t, customers and employees may come to distrust them, to potentially disastrous effect. Customers who don’t like a product can quickly broadcast their disapproval. Prospective employees don’t have to take your word for what life is like at your company—they can find out from people who already work there. And long time loyal employees now have more options to launch their own, more fleet-footed start ups, which could become your fiercest competitors in the future.” {Forbes Magazine, September, 2011}

Welcome to Social Power & The Corporate Revolution according to the recent cover story in Forbes Magazine.

The resistance is still powerful.  Legacy leaders struggle with the loss of control.  Fear a shift in the balance of power. Underestimate the impact and influence of the revolution.  Discount a new breed of competition. Resist the notion that the way we connect, communicate, collaborate and choose has changed.

Shift.

The days of command and control communication, leadership and operational strategy are over.  Welcome to an era where collaboration and connectedness flourish.  We are just getting started.

This isn’t a marketing conversation.  This is a business performance conversation where the outcome is about the impact on results.

What you do is increasingly a commodity.  What you do is easily replicated.   What you do is readily available elsewhere. What you do isn’t that special.

How you do it is the ever increasing opportunity to differentiate in the people economy.

A question worth considering:

What are you willing to do for people that the competition simply isn’t?

The onus is on companies to care more.  About customers.  About employees.

I illustrated this notion in the enclosed video excerpt during my keynote last week referencing my relationship with Delta Airlines.  This is one example of a company that embraced change, evolved communication and turned challenges into a real opportunity to care and connect customers to a better brand experience.

 

Posted in Brand, Communications, Leadership, Social Media, Uncategorized

Tags: Brand, Delta Airlines, Forbes, Revolution, Sales 2.0, Social Media

I remember it like yesterday.  A crisp winter day that would easily pass for fall in Minnesota.  College Basketball season.  I was in Raleigh-Durham walking on the campus of Duke University toward Cameron Indoor Stadium with the two men who had the most significant impact on my life.  My father.  My brother.

We put together what would be our first and only Father-Son’s weekend retreat as a gift to our Dad for his 70^th birthday.  It was the perfect gift built around the thing our father loved the most.  College Basketball.  Specifically ACC Basketball.  He was a player.  He was a coach.  He was back on Tobacco Road with his two boys.

We were about to take in the first game of a double header. A Saturday matinee featuring Duke and Georgia Tech followed by a Sunday showdown between North Carolina and North Carolina State (where he first attended school on a basketball scholarship).  It was a special weekend.

That weekend was about so much more than two basketball games.  It was about history.  Tradition.  Rivalry.  Competition.  Camaraderie. Respect.  Passion.  Love.  Lessons.  The kind of lessons that may not be so abrupt.  That you may not recognize until later.   It was about a walk down memory lane and sharing story, after story, after story, after story.  Our father had more than a few and on that weekend we just let him go.  This was his place.  His moment.  His memories.

It was a weekend we wouldn’t soon forget.

I am actually back in Raleigh, North Carolina for the first time since that Father-Son weekend.  The memory of my last visit is certainly on my mind.  So are those lessons.

I am reminded how important it is to take the time to make those meaningful memories happen.  They are the treasures you get to take with you, wherever life takes you.

I am reminded to see the teacher in all things.  Losing someone reminds you not to take people for granted.

I am reminded that our time here is short and to spend it wisely and in worthwhile pursuits.

I am reminded to always do my best.  I intend to do that today.

I actually feel quite inspired to be back in North Carolina.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share my ideas and inspiration with this wonderful community.

I hope it becomes a new memory.  One we won’t soon forget.

Posted in Performance, Uncategorized

Tags: ACC, Tobacco Road

I have.

This weekend I was fortunate to deliver the closing keynote for the global leadership community of Meeting Professionals International.

This community of committed leaders professionally plan meetings and events.  They know how to make meetings matter.

Meetings are meant to inspire action.  They serve as a catalyst for change.

Truly great meetings change lives.

A great meeting changed mine.  I was young.  I was broke.  I was lost.  I went to a meeting (almost by accident).

3 hours with Jim Rohn changed my life.  Forever.

He gave me permission and ignited my passion and purpose.  He also provided the tools.

I still have those meeting notes from 19 years ago.  I still have my 3 BIG goals.  I fondly recall implementing my post meeting action plan. I still use Jim’s core principles today.

Jim shared some truly transformational information that night.  He was also realistic in acknowledging that for every 100 people in the room only 3 or 4 would take his suggestions for success and actually take action.  We are all creatures of habit.  Change is hard work.

The most important part of any meeting is what happens next.

Here are a few meeting metrics to assist with post meeting assessment:

What did you do differently as a result?  The next day?  100 days later?  The rest of your life?

Who did you meet that matters?

How did your world change?  Your world at work? How do you intend to change the world?  The world at work?

Why did this meeting produce such a powerful result?

The What – Who – How – Why test is a pretty good assessment.

Inspiration helps.  An action plan holds you accountable.  If you’ve heard me speak live you know that I refer to the post meeting action plan as the TAN Plan.  TAN is simply an acronym for TAKE ACTION NOW.

The assignment:  Write down 3 things you will take action on in the next 100 days that will have high impact post meeting.  Write down 3 people you will reach out to as part of your network to offer support in the next 100 days (working with a sponsor who is going to call you in 100 days to check on your TAN Plan progress is GOLD).

Content is critical to meeting success and I know people covet information that can keep them on the cutting edge.  However, the reality is that for most people new information simply isn’t enough.  The ability to execute on the information is the key.  The plan to turn big ideas into action and results is the difference maker.

Have you been to any good meetings lately?

Put a TAN Plan together.  See what happens next.

Posted in Leadership, Performance, Uncategorized

Tags: Leadership, Meetings, MPI, TAN Plan

Increasingly, when a client partner has a meaningful, high impact experience they feel compelled to share.  They want the world to know. Smart sales leaders recognize this opportunity and invite their best customers to share their experience with the world. For example:

Simply stated your own customers are your best brand ambassadors.  If your customers aren’t telling your story, evangelizing the experience and sharing the outcome perhaps you need to consider:

1.  Are you delivering enough value?  Value your customers simply cannot live without?

2.  Are you developing real, meaningful relationships?

3. Are your customers invested in your success?  Are you invested in their success (or just making sales)?

4.  Are you really listening to your best customers?

5.  Are you Social Selling?  Do you have the platforms and requisite participation to create an impetus for your customers to socialize your brand experience?

Writing and sharing takes time.  It is hard work.  It is also the work that makes sales easy. It sure beats the hell out of cold calling.

For example:

As a seller your own opinion of the value, differentiation and impact of your solution is increasingly insufficient. Invite your best customers to share their experience with the world.  Make it easy for them.  Flip the sale.

You might soon find yourself spending a lot less time time doing the thing that sellers dread the most (cold calling) and more time in business development meetings that matter.

Posted in Sales, Social Media, Uncategorized

Tags: Sales, Sales 2.0, Sales Training, Social Selling

A few months ago I had the opportunity to coffee shop with an executive who, ironically, had decided to resign from her job the very same morning of our meeting (see my post about her decision: Resignation Day) . It was bold decision and beginning of an entirely new chapter in her professional journey. I didn’t know her then. I do now. I am proud to call Teresa my friend.

When I first wrote about Teresa I referenced a “transformational event in her personal life” serving as a catalyst to move her toward meaningful change. Teresa isn’t just a careerist. She is a whole person. Devoted wife. Mother of two. When her husband suffered a life threatening injury in a near tragic accident she shifted her perspective. Through that experience she handled more than most while managing to prepare to walk away from work that provided her with all of the comfort one might seemingly covet during such a challenging time. She describes her process as finally “finding the courage to listen to her inner voice and align with her purpose.” She wanted to feel alive at the office again. Work on work that matters. She was intent on taking her shot.

I had the opportunity to visit with her again this week to catch up on how she was progressing a few months into the new chapter. As we settled into the coffee shop conversation she indicated that she was about to experience another, unplanned and fairly significant life altering event. I pressed and she replied:

“We are expecting twins.”

Life is an unpredictable story. This is her version. Let the magnitude of that sink in for a moment.

I was prompted to inquire about her career trajectory in the midst of so much significant personal change. Did she regret leaving her big, stable corporate job? Did she go beg for it back? What was she going to do?

I don’t know that she has it all figured out. I don’t know that any of us do. I do know that she embraces change and is emotionally invested and excited for what is next and new. That includes the new chapter in her work life which I believe is appropriately called Life Meets Work.

I couldn’t quite do the story of her career choice, confidence and courage justice. So in her own words:

Life Meets Work by Teresa

“I’m the one that gave up the office with a view. That walked away from the six figure salary. That left ten years of earned respect and professional equity sitting on the table. And for what? All because I felt like I was missing my mojo?

Foolish? Maybe. Courageous? Certainly. Worth it? Absolutely!

A former colleague just reviewed some of my new work and validated what I’ve been feeling since resignation day. She said “You absolutely made the right decision. Your passion for this topic is so clear. You can tell this is work you love”. It got me thinking. How long had it been since I’ve done work I love?

Over the past couple years I started to realize I had lost the passion for my job. But instead of taking action, I settled for the comforts that came along with the role and ease of doing work where I could perform exceptionally well.   The familiarity of the same company & co-workers. The safety of not having to put myself “out there”. What I didn’t immediately see setting in was the unhappiness. The stress. The lack of enthusiasm. The loss of vitality. The impact of those feelings on my whole life.

I finally generated the courage to listen to my inner voice and and get aligned again with my purpose. It is amazing how different I feel. I feel healthier. I have more energy. I wake up each day eager to get started on the work I love. I I have more to give to the important people in my life. The effects on my life have been profound.

I am truly a happy person.

While getting to resignation day wasn’t easy and came with hard work and a ton of risk, I can say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My only regret? Not reawakening the idle passion inside of me sooner. Some say that it is irresponsible to leave stability in pursuit of passion. That is fine for them. For me? There is simply nothing better than feeling alive again. Then being happy.”

NOTE: If you would like to meet Teresa we will both be speaking at the 2011 Work/Life & Flexibility Expo on October 11 in Minneapolis. Join us!

Posted in Employee Engagement, Leadership, Uncategorized

Tags: Career, Change, Flexibility, Job, Work

If you invest enough time cultivating real relationships with clients they will often tell you what they want.  They will tell you how to earn their business.  They will tell you how to keep their business.  They will tell you the difference makers that determine satisfaction or elevate them to loyalty.  If you ask the right questions, the right way and really listen you’ll learn the secrets to accelerating growth.

I have a client who defines success in our partnership with what she describes as the WOW metric.  What does she want?

She wants to be blown away.  She wants to be fall on the floor excited.  She wants to feel an overwhelming sense of pride.  She wants to feel inspired.   She wants the experience of working together to make a huge impact (which is defined by yet another set of metrics).

But make no mistake, she is clear in her conviction that the work needs to make everyone around her say, WOW!

We talk about what it takes to get to WOW.  Investment.  Resources.  Collaboration.  Risk.  Trust.  Teamwork.  Time.  We define the road map to WOW success in our project planning.  We build in contingencies.  We benchmark along the way.  All so we can have a direct hit on WOW when we cross the finish line, together.

Too subjective?  Impossible?  Unfair?  I suppose some vendors would think so.  I don’t.  Although most customers might not articulate it this way, I don’t think what they want is all that different.  Building in more WOW Factor is good for business.

What does success look like for you today?  When 5 pm arrives will your clients, colleagues and co-worker say WOW!

Part of the WOW experience isn’t just WHAT you deliver but HOW you do it.  You can put more WOW around the HOW right now.

WOW wins business.  WOW keeps business.  WOW builds evangelism.  WOW is tough to beat. WOW is work worth doing.

Posted in Brand, Leadership, Sales, Uncategorized

Tags: customer service, Experiecne, How, Service