Malcolm Butler, The New England Patriots and Being Ready

Last night, Malcolm Butler made a huge interception at the right time in Super Bowl XLIX.

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Photo Credit: ESPN.com

If you heard his interview this morning, you heard him say that he failed in practice last week to stop that very play. But inside, that interview he said, “But this time I was ready.”

“I was ready.”  Read more

The One Question

What’s the question you want answered? It’s not the answers that you receive. The power is in the questions you ask. The clearer you are with the prospect, the better you can help solve their issues.

Are You an Amateur or a Pro? Here is a Simple Checklist

I’ve been reading a lot of Steven Pressfield lately. He’s written a couple of books that are really good – namely “Turning Pro” and “The War of Art.”

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If you’re a client of mine, I’ve probably sent you one of those books to help you grow your business. If you’re not a client, then I urge you to go to Amazon and purchase them both immediately, especially if you are interested in creating a new future for your business.

Most of the readers of my blog are sales or business development people and I thought I would create a very simple five-point checklist to help you assess whether you’re an amateur or a pro (or whether you have amateurs or pros working for you): Read more

Prospecting System

Have you ever heard of system thinking or checklist thinking? I think you should have a checklist for everything meaningful in your life. What more powerful tool can you have than the effective mechanics of how to do something?

Are You In Your Element?

Sir Ken Robinson wrote a book called “Finding Your Element” that I recommend to all sales leaders I work with. You can find it here.

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FindingYourElementThe essence of it is that all of us have that specific area that we are uniquely competent in. (Dan Sullivan, The Strategic Coach, calls it your “unique ability.”) Robinson says it’s where “natural talent meets personal passion.”

This notion came to mind recently, when I watched a series of sales presentations given by a sales team. They were presenting their 2015 Business Plans, which by the way, is an awesome way to give people practice at presenting as they work through plans.

I see the mistake lots of sales leaders make which is putting people in roles where they fail to use their element. While impossible to spend 100% of our time in our element, it’s useful for leaders to do a quick assessment on each of your people – to see where their strengths are.

And then ask the question: Are we using him/her in the best possible way? 

And if not, what do we need to do to make sure they are spending more time in their element?

In my coaching practice, I often get asked to turn someone into a top sales performer. But if it isn’t their element, it’s a waste of time.

So do a quick survey on your people and come away from that with a plan of emphasizing people spend more time doing what they’re naturally great at.

Off Track Thinking

Have you ever felt derailed? What is the track you are on? What do you want out of life? If you can determine what your track is, it is much easier to obtain your goals.

Why Do You Do The Work You Do?

In my training and coaching practice, I have frequent occasions to question new clients as they’re on-boarded into my program.
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A question that I always ask – and am never quite satisfied with the answer – is “Why do you do what you do?” Read more

Fallen Short Of Your Vision

As you look at your life, have you fallen short or gone beyond the vision you had for yourself? If your vision is clear, you are much less likely to fall short. It’s time to take charge of your life.

Going All The Way

Are you Going All The Way With Your Sales Message?
Or, are you dancing at the margins? It’s time to get in the game with delivering your unique message!