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Recent Newsletter Articles It's Why Football Teams Practice September is suddenly upon us and some of us will shift our perspective a bit, moving from the breezy thoughts of summer to getting back to basics for the fall. Of course, football season is here as well, so today's newsletter focuses on taking some advice from the NFL - and poses a key question.... Read more If You Aim at Nothing... The late Zig Ziglar often said, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time!" True words for sure. And Mr. Ziglar's wisdom can be applied to much in life, leadership, and in sales as well. For example.... Read more I'm Calling Because Most people agree that, when making prospecting calls we only have a few seconds to make an impression on those who pick up the phone. Hopefully it will be a good one! Read more... Beyond Sales & Marketing Let's think about what we're doing now to grow our organization, and then think beyond. Sales and Marketing are two key processes, but there is a third that we should not overlook. Read now. The Truth About Habits Habits play a significant role in shaping our lives. Whether it's maintaining a healthy lifestyle, achieving professional or sales success, or nurturing positive relationships, the power of habits cannot be underestimated. In fact, Aristotle claimed that ninety-five percent of everything we do is a result of habit! But forming good habits is a challenging process... Read now... You Gotta Believe! Frank Edwin “Tug” McGraw Jr. was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher and the father of country music singer Tim McGraw. He is likely best remembered for two things… recording the final out, via a strikeout, in the 1980 World Series, bringing the Philadelphia Phillies their first world championship… and his pithy quote referenced in the title above. Read now... Making Things Happen! In one of his books, the late Howard Wight suggested there are three kinds of people in this world. Which type are you? Read more... Are You a Better Leader Than You Think? Some interesting perspective on the importance of communication as a leadership skill and the role it plays in inspiring others. Read more... Oscar is Coming! Who Will Be the Stars of Your Presentations? Honoring the performance of others can be a gratifying experience… and we can do the same thing in our professional introductions and selling presentations! Read more... Why Managers are the Heart of Your OrganizationIn a recent presentation, Gallup shared some powerful data on why an organization’s mid-level and front line managers are so important. Read more... Are You a Good Decision Maker? As organizational leaders or managers we may feel comfortable with the decisions we make. However, it can be helpful to recognize what constitutes “good” decision making, and also the fact that "how" we make decisions is just as important as the decisions themselves! Read more Is This the Secret to Sales Success? The Most Important Workplace Skills to Develop Just before the pandemic hit, Gallup indicated that employee engagement levels across the U.S. had reached an all-time high since they began tracking the metric in 2000; and they shared a straightforward reason why. As it turns out, it's all about development.... Read more. What We Can Learn from the 250 Best Managed Companies... The Wall Street Journal recently announced the Drucker Institute’s annual list of the 250 best-managed companies in America. You might be surprised at the list of criteria that is used to compile the list! Read more.... Making Your Value-prop Stronger As we all know, the acronym T.M.I. stands for “too much information,” and is often used when someone over-shares things of a personal or private nature. As it turns out, it can also apply to how we sell or present. Read more... Derailed by Details In a recent post published by makingthenumbers.com, author Jack Falvey suggests getting the business first, then dealing with the details. Good advice for sure! Consider why.... Read more... Today's Leaders An English proverb says, “Cometh the hour, cometh the man.” It’s the idea that the right leaders will emerge or step up during times of crisis. And it’s not just CEO’s or top management, but rather leaders at all levels that must step-up to engage and support their teams during this time of need. The question is, how? Read more... Well Done v. Well Said Since many organizations are beginning to make strategic plans for the New Year, it seems an ideal time to reaffirm the fact that “planning” does little good without execution. Or, as Ben Franklin put it, “Well done is better than well said!” One method of improving our ability to execute involves "4Dx," a strategy for putting plans into action... Read more... How Effective is Your Feedback Style? A recent Gallup article revealed that only 14.5% of managers strongly agree that they are effective at giving feedback to team members. While we all need feedback in order to grow and develop our skills, if that feedback is ineffectively delivered it can backfire. Read more... Terrible "Toos" Too many sales people talk too much and listen too little; and these "terrible too's" can sabotage a sales effort in numerous ways! Fortunately, there are some simple solutions... Read more... The "5th" P As you may know, these basic principles are commonly referred to as the four “P’s” of marketing: Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion. But there is still one more critical ingredient that will, ultimately, separate your approach from those of your competitors! Read more... Sales Leads Looking at a familiar phrase from a different perspective, how does your organization's leadership support or impact the selling process? Read more... Assume the Sale, But Never the Reason It's the New Year, and time to reflect on how we can improve our sales effort. Successful sales professionals are able to more effectively close sales not because they are silver-tongued or aggressive when it comes to asking for the business, but rather because they are diligent and proficient when it comes to implementing three important things. Read more... |