Encourage Networking

A great employee is one who is driven and focused on improving his or her own career as much as possible. 

 You don't want a complacent team member. Even if they're engaged in their work at the moment, this particular trait will no doubt lead to problems for your organization down the road. 

Encouraging your employees to network with others (both inside and outside of your organization) is a great way to help them focus on building their careers, while helping them to be more engaged in their current roles. 

There are so many ways to network in today's world that it can be relatively head-spinning. Take a look at the popularity of social media and professional networks like LinkedIn, and it becomes quite clear just how much focus is placed on networking in modern society. 

You can encourage your employees to utilize these services for outside networking and implement social business software for internal networking. Send your employees to tradeshows, conferences, workshops, educational talks ... send them to events where they can learn something! 

The possibilities are endless, and the more your employees focus on building their networks, the more your business will benefit in the end.

Push people outside of their comfort zones

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it. ~ Michelangelo (Disputed) 

Did you ever wonder why people hire personal fitness trainers instead of working out on their own? It’s simple. Great trainers push clients beyond their comfort zone and get them to do much more than they thought was possible. 

From time to time, most people need some encouragement to maintain their motivation. 

While it’s the same body doing the same exercises, the trainer is putting them in a different mindset. The trainer is telling them they can do it. They believe it and that belief allows them to achieve much more. 

This is also effective at work. People can meet tighter deadlines. They can build a better customer experience. They just don’t believe they can do it because it would require them to be uncomfortable.  

The most effective leaders get people to be comfortable being uncomfortable with everything they are doing. 

How do the best leaders do this? They invest time to really understand their people, their specific roles and their particular set of skills. 

 If you are a leader, ask yourself this question: What else can the people on your team do that is a step beyond what they are doing today that leverages all their skills? 

Push and push hard. Most people don’t want to stretch beyond their skill set if it involves risking their existing position. Encourage them to “lean in” to the opportunity and discover what else they can do beyond the status quo. 

Some people, when left to their own devices, will choose to stay inside of their comfort zone. However, there is nothing motivating about someone doing the same thing they’ve done before, and long term they will be unhappy. 

So, do them a favor, do yourself a favor, and push them where they are entirely uncomfortable.

Decide. 

Nothing builds momentum like decisive action. Similarly, nothing kills momentum like confusion and a lack of clarity. Just decide. 

Decide you’ll be done with it today. 
Decide you’ll set a new bar. 
Decide it’s time for a change. 
Decide this will not stretch out past the week. 
Decide this month is the month you make it happen. 

In the words of Randy Pausch, decide if you’re Tigger or Eeyore. 

Decisive action is motivating, it builds momentum, and it crowds out excuses. There’s no room for excuses when you’ve made up your mind and that’s exciting.

So you decided to promote your sales star into a management role… 

To increase the likelihood that this person will succeed, here are a few tips: 

Have a conversation with your sales star about what the sales management role would entail. Let the individual express honestly, without fear of reprisal, what he or she sees as both the positives and negatives of the role. Determine whether you can work together to counter any potential negatives. 

Let the sales star tag along with you for a week and see exactly what you have to deal with on a daily basis, allowing time for questions and clarity along the way. 

Explain the expectations for the role. State specifically what this individual will be held accountable and responsible for. How comfortable is he or she in holding others accountable, others who were just yesterday their peers? If there’s any question on your part regarding whether this individual can stand tough, do further digging for the truth. Provide one or two hypothetical situations where a sales person isn’t making his or her numbers and mentor how you would handle the situation. Then let your sales star put into his or her own words how the situation would play out. Debrief in depth. 

Be clear on the amount of training and support you’ll provide this individual. Haphazard training or inefficient systems in place will only lead to frustration and a very long learning curve. You’re obligated to do everything you can to help this individual succeed. Set structure to the transitional process. 

Lead by example. Set realistic goals with timelines that the new manager helps to create. Have ongoing conversations regarding what challenges the new manager is facing and what he or she may need from you in order to experience greater job satisfaction. Don’t watch your clock when it comes to mentoring. 

There are a few, select individuals who can excel as both a sales contributor and a sales manager. These individuals are truly unique in that they can wear two hats simultaneously and succeed in both roles.

What Can Sports Teach YOU? 

In our society, a vast majority of the people view sports as a mode of entertainment, failing to realize that sports can also play a crucial role in their work and life. 

 Consider these five lessons from sports: 

1. Hard Work beats Talent when Talent fails to do the Hard Work.

If you think that you are the best, then you are living in a mythical world. There is bound to be someone who will be more talented than you are. That’s how the world works. But the one thing that talented people forget is the power of hard work that can help them achieve their goals and get them where they want to be. 

 2. The difference between possible and impossible lies in a person’s determination. 

“This is just impossible – How can I do this?” How many times have you heard the same lines echoing in your mind? Everyone has their own dreams. The big question is how many have the courage to follow them. There are times when we feel like giving up in our lives. If you try, no one can tell you for sure if you will succeed, but if you give up, you will not succeed in life. 

3. Negativity will knock at your door, but it doesn’t mean that you have to let it in. 

There is not a single person on earth who has not heard negative feedback about their dreams and what they want to do in life. Some people will laugh at you and your ideas, and tell that you will be a complete failure. Remember, if people are trying to bring you DOWN, it only means that they are below you. 

4. A goal is a dream with specifics and a deadline. Every year, many people set goals in the hope that we will accomplish it as early as possible. The goals can vary from I will eat less, or I will lose weight, I will get ahead at work or I will go to gym regularly. Can you see the problem here? The problem is that these “goals” are too vague. Michael Jordan wrote: “I approach everything step by step. I had always set short-term goals. As I look back, each one of the steps or successes led to the next one.” The more specific you are, the more likely you will reach your goals. 

5. Your greatest fear should not be aiming too high and missing; but aiming too low and achieving. 

Failure is a dreaded word in our society and many people fear failure. What if I get rejected? What if I don’t succeed? Many people don’t try at all because they are afraid. Every successful person has failures and yet they still became successful. 

Mark Cuban failed numerous times in his life. Barbara Corcoran, a fellow shark on the show Shark Tank revealed how her ability to come back from failure is one of her greatest strengths. “I am so good at failure, it’s like my specialty.” 

If sports has anything to teach us, it is that we always have a second chance. People who aim high, believe in their abilities and try multiple times, often end up becoming the most successful in the end.  

“I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how many times you failed, you only have to be right once. I tried to sell powdered milk. I was an idiot lot of times, and I learned from them all.”- Marc Cuban. 

 In the end, sports is not just entertainment. It has many lessons to teach. What have you learned from sports?

Developing a Successful Sales Team

What’s a sure-fire way to create a dysfunctional sales team? Encourage quantity over quality. Some executives drive sales teams to increase short-term numbers, without thinking of the relationships that equate long-term success. 

As a sales manager, you are put in the center of these conflicting demands. You must answer to the demands from your boss by keeping sales numbers high. However, you must also have the foresight to craft meaningful relationships with clients, both current and potential. 

Taking the time to create a lifelong client benefits your company more than rapidly closing a sale without delving into the true needs of the customer. The good news for sales managers is that you don’t need to do it alone. 

Change your company’s sales department culture by developing each of your salespeople’s planning, communications and leadership skills. 

1. Work with each salesperson on your team to create a clearly defined sales plan and set of goals. Each salesperson has a different set of interests and strengths. Play to the unique skills of each employee by encouraging them to pursue their strongest skills, while improving their weaker areas. 

2. Encourage your sales team in developing long-term relationships with customers. A lucrative, one-time deal may appear more beneficial than a long term buying relationship with a customer, but many sales people forget about the “spread-effect” that occurs with longer-term customers. Customers who are satisfied with your product and service will recommend your company to business partners. 

3. Develop every salesperson as a leader. As a manager, stepping back during meetings or other company functions will allow salespeople to develop their confidence and presentation skills. It also challenges salespeople to work on their management and leadership skills as they organize the meeting agenda. Another way to develop leadership skills in salespeople is to default to them in conversations with clients. In sales calls or meetings, encourage the newer member to take charge of the conversation instead of immediately looking to the veteran salesman for answers. This will help rapidly build a newcomers confidence, and encourage employees to collaborate on building each other's skills. 

As a sales manager, you play a key role in defining the sales culture of an organization. It’s up to you to support each member of your team in developing leadership and relationship-building skills. Using the tips listed above, you can effectively bring a sales team together to reconcile long and short term sales goals.

Stay Motivated!

Even the most motivated of us can feel unmotivated at times. In fact, sometimes we get into such a slump that even thinking about making positive changes seems too difficult.

Yes, it seems impossible at times. You don’t feel like doing anything. I’ve been there, and in fact I still feel that way from time to time.


But let’s take a look at some specific ways to motivate yourself:

1. Reminding yourself of your goals and ambitions. If you want something badly enough, you're going to get it... Simple. Unless you forget what it is you want, which is easy to do in today's world full of distractions.

2. Track everything! Start writing down your accomplishments to see what made you feel good and to also see what is working. If you find out what's working, do more of that! Of course, the contrary goes for what isn't working. Maybe you've been spending a too much time with distractions and you could afford to give a little more time to your goals. Whatever it may be, remember to have some concrete evidence that you can look at to keep convincing yourself that your progress is real.

3. Check your mental attitude. Try to start thinking positively and change the way the world affects your thoughts. For example, "I can't go to the gym, I'm just too tired" will become a reality. Try saying something like "Yes, I'm tired but it's not going to stop me from going to the gym". You might also think about the benefits of going to the gym and how they outweigh sitting at home.

4. No excuses! Motivation and excuses are arch rivals. They don't get along at all. You might start thinking about working on that big presentation but then the other voice in your head starts reminding you of thousands of reasons NOT to do it. And of course, it's easy to give in.

5. Role Models: Pick someone great. Someone who has done or come close to doing what it is you want to do. This brings a certain level of comfort because you now know without a shadow of a doubt that it is possible and that this person has done it. So, why shouldn't it work for you if you put in the same amount of hours as he/she did?

Once you are motivated to act you have won half the battle. You have thought about what you want. You have made mental and written notes about what you want and HOW you are going to do it. You are amped up and ready to get going.

Now the last step is all on you.