How To Get a Job, Grow Your Business, or Improve Personal Positioning

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The numbers of Unemployment are staggering….over 9,000,000 working age Americans. Most are choosing to opt out of the labor force, (which I fail to grasp).

And Underemployment is also staggering…as high as 7,000,000 by some estimates. The definition of underemployment: Workers that are highly skilled but working in low-paying, low-skilled jobs or part time workers that would like to be full time.

Consequently, this article is design to solve a bit of this problem. I can hear your reaction: “Bill, you’re nuts. You can’t solve this in a blog post.” Oh yeah? Watch me.

Caveats. This will be apolitical so you trolls step back. This is about personal responsibility of the worker. And I consider that politically neutral.  This also is not about macro-economic trends. I’ll leave that to people smarter than moi.

In order to get a job, you have to have a System.

And that’s what I will teach you here: A systematic approach to job improvement is essential. If you have no system, you’ll be at the whims of the market. You will lose control. You will be powerless.

If you’re OK with powerlessness, stop reading this IMMEDIATELY. This will not help. Get to therapy now, where you can lay on the couch and discover your self-imposed limitations.

But for others, here we go. Read more

Attention Presidential Candidates: Give Me Some Sexy Process

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A non-process guy like me rarely gets excited about the sexy topic of “process.”

But just once, I’d love it if I heard a candidate forget the lazy platitudes and opinions and get into some lovely process talk.

Process

Here’s what I mean:

Almost every candidate running for President loves the promises, platitudes and opinions. They love to tell you how they’re going to Make America Great, or how they’ll guarantee free college for all, or how they’ll stop illegal immigration, or my favorite, how they’ll create 7 million jobs.

I don’t want to hear them say they’ll “fight for me.” They won’t.

I want to hear HOW you solve problems.

Not how you’ll accomplish the goal from a policy or strategy standpoint.

There’s no disagreement that the country faces many problems. Therefore, I want to hear HOW you solve problems. 

Give Me Some Method to Your Madness  Read more

Are You a Dinosaur?

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We see them all around us. Maybe in our own office. Maybe in our family. Maybe in our vendors.

Or, maybe it’s us.

In this post, I will give you 5 areas that you can test yourself for dinosaur-ism. As I always say, this isn’t meant to shame…only to help. As a coach/consultant, I get asked to come into companies and help them grow, sometimes exponentially. And to do that, they MUST let go of old behaviors that prohibit that growth. I call it “dinosaurism.”

Example of Company Dinosaurism

I went in to a chiropractor’s office last week to order orthotics. Have been having some real foot problems and my chiro assured me that they have the best orthotics around. But what I found was ‘dinosaurism.’

1. When I got there during office hours, no one at the front desk to help. So I waited (20 minutes).

2. When someone finally arrived, I was told that she had no idea where the doctor was. Oh, that’s reassuring.

3. In 15 minutes, in he walks, no greeting. No acknowledgement for wait. Boy, do I feel good about this decision. Read more

Episode #368: Mailbag Monday: Stories We Tell Ourselves

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advancedsellinpodcastgraphicbootAre you eager to find more ways to offer the next product to your client?

Do you have a generation gap in your company?

Do you have customers who take your relationship for granted?

In today’s episode, veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale magnify Mailbag Monday by three. You will hear strategies to get out of a “product mentality” mindset. You will learn how to break down stereotypes about generations before and after you. You will learn to examine the movie you’re playing in your head and what to do about it.

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, you will walk away with answers to questions most sales people have been challenged by for years. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from fellow listeners and dive into coaching from Bill and Bryan on how to improve your sales game.

Also mentioned in this podcast:

Episode #367: Increasing Prospect Conversations

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advancedsellinpodcastgraphicbootAre you looking for ways to increase the number of prospects you talk to? Are you struggling with gatekeepers who prevent you from reaching the right person?

In today’s episode, veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale field a question from Blake to help him rethink an approach to getting in front of more prospects.

Do you feel like the front desk person’s job is to fend you off?

Does it frustrate you to know your product or service is better than a competitor and you can’t get more meetings?

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan break down elements of the Thinking bucket to help you master this challenge. By examining your inner game, you will be able to determine how your energy and language are helping — or hurting — your success and what you can do to change your approach.

Also mentioned in this podcast:

Episode #366: Getting Ahead in Sales

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Looking for ways to get ahead of your sales competition?

In today’s Mailbag Monday edition, veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale respond to David’s question with advice about tactical things you can do to improve your effectiveness as a sales person.

How do you plan and prepare for your day, your week, your quarter?

Do you dig in head-first or do you methodically map out your time?

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan give you techniques you can use to seed your day to make it more productive and profitable. They’ll even share a secret about where to find the best sales people on a Friday afternoon… and be careful, their list just may surprise you.

Also mentioned in this podcast:

Episode #365: Blind as a Bat

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advancedsellinpodcastgraphicbootDo you struggle with creating a plan and sticking to it? How do you balance hyper-competitive DNA with the inner game principles?

In today’s episode, veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale try to stump each other with “blind” questions (no pun intended on Bill’s eye!). They pose a question to the other person with no prep or filter, and you won’t believe the techniques they come up with when put on the spot.

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bryan gives you specific, actionable steps to take to develop your skills if you’re not a planner and want to improve. Bill shares his philosophy and step-by-step approach for coaching someone who is struggling with the balance between being highly-competitive and a healthy sense of detachment.

If you’re a fan of Bryan and Bill’s quick-thinking approach to tough questions, you’re going to love this episode.

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Episode #364: Mental Myths in the Sales Process

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advancedsellinpodcastgraphicbootThere’s only truly one thing you can control in the sales process— yourself. In today’s Mailbag Monday episode, veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale dive into a question from Rocky about how to show up and be helpful in the sales process.

Do you regularly check in with yourself to think about your inner game?

Do you truly have pure intent when talking with clients and prospects?

What myths do you have in your mind that aren’t actually real at all?

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan share strategies for inserting yourself into the sales process while maintaining clean intent. They give you language-based tools to help you know the words to use to truly be intentionally helpful to your prospects. After all, you can’t control other people or what they think… you can only control you. Show up as your best self every single time and watch the world shift around you.

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Episode #363: Margin: Secrets Of The Pro’s

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advancedsellinpodcastgraphicbootHave you noticed that some sales people just seem like they “get it” more than others?  In today’s episode, veteran sales trainers Bill Caskey and Bryan Neale explore what the top 5% do that make them stand out and have greater success than their peers.

What are they doing differently than everyone else?

Why are people afraid to ask those at the top for their advice?

In this episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, Bill and Bryan dive into ways you can up your selling game, including tips for the tiny tweaks that make a big impact. The great news: the differences aren’t major. True sales pros know the growth is at the margin.

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