Create Sales Meetings in Minutes! A simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team using three word topics.
Episodes
Tuesday Sep 20, 2022
Tuesday Sep 20, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 170 Honor the Queen!
Hello, Three Word Podcasters! If this is your first time, welcome. I am your host Lisa Thal, and I share my thoughts on three-word topics to help engage and inspire you and those you lead. Three words you can use as a topic in your next sales meeting.
I was driving home from playing golf and heard on the radio that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away. Like many of you listening, it shocked me. A few days earlier, I witnessed her shaking hands with the new Prime Minister. The Queen looked a bit smaller and had a welcoming smile.
After watching all the news coverage about her, I remember laying in bed and thinking, what if my life journey ended tonight? I thought she would live to be at least 100! My mind kept thinking, Wow, in two short days, the Queen is gone. The magnitude of what Queen Elizabeth II accomplished throughout her life I find hard to put into words. I believe in my lifetime, we will never witness someone who profoundly and respectfully touched so many people's lives over her life.
People like you and I lined the streets daily to pay their respects for her service to them. The images of so many enormous farms Combined lining the procession show their respect for a woman they loved and respected. Simple gestures of flowers, notes of gratitude, and many standing for hours and lines miles long to have the opportunity to walk by this gracious lady to show their respect and honor. A projected number of a Million people will pay their respects.
So you may be asking, why are you sharing this story on the Three Word Podcast?
The answer is to Honor the Queen or King in each of us!
Each of you listening is passionate or great at one thing. One thing that fills your heart and soul. I believe we can learn so much from those that have made their transition and left a legacy they built. I understand that each of us may not have the platform or expectations the Queen had; sometimes, it starts in our own families, with our friends, neighbors, and those we may never meet. As I shared earlier, I found myself thinking about my own life. Questions like: Am I making a difference in my world? Can I serve others with the gifts I have to offer? Where do I start so that I leave the world a better place?
So I wondered if many of you have felt the same this past week. I believe we all want to know we matter. A desire to give more and make a lasting impact on others. This is the definition of authentic leadership!
How do you honor yourself?
Many listening is in the financial field. Many people don't know how to manage expenses and how to invest in their future. You can help, even if it's two people or ten. The compounding impact of this is enormous for generations.
Maybe you love animals. Volunteer to work at a shelter or grab your family and friends and volunteer to walk the dogs a few times a week.
Children may be your passion. I witnessed a little girl named Baby Bea raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Children's Hospital by starting a Lemonade stand. She asked others to join her, and she continues to impact others years later.
Another friend discovered a local football team had food insecurities. She jumped in and started making Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and donated healthy snacks for these young men. Now she is raising $50,000 a year to help support their football team and other school kids. It started by making a sandwich for a hungry kid.
Queen Elizabeth led for over 70 years of her life! Yes, she had to make tough decisions that may not have been popular but were always in the people's best interest. She was authentic and honest with her approach, which was refreshing to Everyone watching her moves.
Leadership starts with each of us.
Start in your own community or workplace. Most of us think we have to go big. When in reality, you think you have to help thousands of people. So what typically happens is that you don't begin at all. Start by helping one person, then a few more. Ask a family member or friend to join you in helping a small group.
See people where they are, not where you want them to be.
Be kind and understand that many are doing the very best they can at that moment.
Give back and serve others.
Queen Elizabeth II, you served others well. You taught us to help others and Do what we can do. We just need to start! A life well lived is all we aspire to be.
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
Tuesday Sep 13, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 169, The sales performance formula and the ten traits you want to have to win in sales!
Hello, Three Word Podcasters! If this is your first time, welcome. I am your host Lisa Thal, and I share my thoughts on three-word topics to help engage and inspire you and those you lead. Three words you can use as a topic in your next sales meeting.
I read an article in Success magazine written by Jeffrey Gitomer on the top ten traits of sales performers. I know many of you listening are in sales or coaching a team. I started to think about how many of the characteristics my team and I have from the list. In your next sales meeting, this would be a great discussion to have each team member see how many of these qualities they possess.
Here are the top 10 traits and the essential qualities of a high-performing salesperson. A realistic list of the characteristics needed for success by Jeffrey are:
A consistently positive attitude and enthusiasm
The number one rule is facing the customer, facing the obstacles, facing the competition, facing the economy, and yourself. We all will face setbacks and disappointments in our careers. We have something to learn from each experience. Stay curious and optimistic through the journey.
The belief that the customer will be better off
The first three parts are unwavering belief in your company, product, and yourself. But most critical is that you must believe that the customer is better off having purchased from you.
Use of creativity
Use creativity to present ideas in the customer's favor and to differentiate yourself from the competition. Think about the person you are showing your ideas and solutions. For example, if they are analytical, think about how you can show the results from working with them. If they are expressive, you need a creative way to convey your message. They want to know your difference from the other vendors.
Ability to give and prove the value
Show proof of the value of your product or service. Your ability to give value beyond the sale will earn the sale and the loyalty of your customers. Make sure you show up before, during, and after the sale.
Ability to promote and position
Using the internet to blog, shares articles that could interest and benefit your clients. So customers will perceive you as a value-provider and a leader in your field.
Exciting, compelling presentation skills
You must develop communication skills. Ask thought-provoking questions, improve your listening skills, and have a sense of humor. Clients need to understand how your product and service will benefit them and why choosing you is their best option.
Ability to prove your value and claims through the testimony of others
Testimonials sell where salespeople can't. The best salespeople use video testimonials to support their claims. Same with referrals. Think about your best customer and ask them if they would be willing to do a video sharing all the benefits of working with you and your company.
Ability to create an atmosphere where people want to buy (no one likes to be sold)
This is done by engaging and asking, not presenting and telling. Make your customers feel you are working with them to find the best product possible, not just telling them what you think would be best. Your conversation with the client is the difference maker.
Ability to build a relationship, not hunt or farm
We believe we need Hunters and Farmers in our sales organizations to be successful. Great salespeople are relationship-builders who provide value and help their customers win. They possess unyielding personal values and ethics.
The personal desire to excel and be their best
Jeffrey believes, and I have to agree, that the personal desire to be the best is critical. The key is that you must master all 10 in that order for this quality to manifest itself.
Where would you rank yourself today on the ten traits? Can you see some areas of opportunities for you? Your team? Life is all making progress each day. So embrace each situation for you to learn and grow.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
To learn more about Jeffrey Gitomer. https://www.gitomer.com
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Tuesday Aug 30, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 168, What can you do when you face a temporary setback?
What words inspire you to keep moving forward when facing setbacks?
Here are a few of my favorite three words.
Just Do it.
It's worth it!
You got this!
Keep moving forward.
Keep Showing up.
Find a Way.
Keep on digging.
We've all been there – times we would have used any combination of the words above to keep us from facing defeat.
I wanted to share the story from Napoleon Hill's book, "Think and Grow Rich," about how close we all are to succeed. We must keep showing up! After all, if we don't, there's no telling what opportunities we may miss.
You know I love a story that involves anything with three.
This story is about Three Feet From Gold.
The story will have you digging and pushing yourself through any setbacks you may face because you could be one call, email, or proposal way from winning that business or personally finding success.
Keyword to remember, temporary. One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when facing temporary defeat. Every person is guilty of this mistake at one time or another and gives up.
The cliff notes version of the story is an uncle of R. U. Darby who was caught up in the hype by the gold fever in the gold-rush days and went west to dig and get rich. He staked a claim and went to work with a pick and shovel. The going was hard, but his lust for gold was his vision.
After weeks of labor, he discovered shining ore. Ore is a valuable metal or mineral that can extract for gold. He needed machinery to bring the ore to the surface. He covered up the mine, retraced his footsteps to his home, and told his relatives and a few neighbors of the "strike." They got together money for the needed machinery and had it shipped.
The first car of ore was mined and shipped to a smelter. The returns proved they had one of the richest mines in Colorado! A few more cars of that ore would clear the debts. Then the big profits would be rolling in.
Down went the drills! Up went the hopes of Darby and Uncle! Then something happened! The vein of gold ore disappeared! They had come to the end of the rainbow, and the pot of gold was no longer there! They drilled on, desperately trying to pick up the vein again— all to no avail.
Finally, they decided to give up and head home.
They sold the machinery to a junk man for a few hundred dollars and took the train back home. The Junkman was resourceful and called in a mining engineer to look at the mine and do a little calculating. The engineer advised that the project failed because the owners were unfamiliar with "fault lines." His calculations located the ore of the vein about three feet from where Darby stopped drilling. I think you can imagine where this story is going.
The "Junk" man took millions of dollars in ore from the mine because he knew enough to seek expert counsel before giving up.
So what happened to Darby? He went into the business of selling life insurance. He remembers losing a considerable fortune because he stopped three feet from gold. Darby profited from the experience in his chosen work by the simple method of saying to himself, "I stopped three feet from gold, but I will never stop because someone says 'no' when I ask them to buy insurance."
What a great lesson for all of us!
He owes this to the lesson he learned from his experience in the gold mining business.
Before success comes into our lives, we could face temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes you, quitting is the easiest and most logical thing. That is what the majority of us do. Most successes will come one step beyond the point at which defeat has overtaken.
The question is, what are you three feet from achieving? Have you given up too soon, only to discover that you're close to success? My advice is to keep showing up and digging because you could be Three feet away from realizing your dreams. If nothing else, every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the next time.
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Aug 23, 2022
Tuesday Aug 23, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 167, Back to School "The more you learn, the more you earn."
I was walking my dog Dakota, and we saw the kids at the bus stop. Back to school time, and I thought Summer went fast. Many of your kids are heading back to school in Kindergarten, grade or high school, and College. Dakota gets a bit excited when the school bus drives by us. I want to think he is saying have a great day of learning, kids, or he wants to chase the bus.
Can you remember your first day of school? The excitement to meet new friends and an opportunity to learn something new. Thank goodness for Teachers! I learned many lessons from a teacher I have yet to meet, Warren Buffet.
A quote from Warren Buffett sums up our business and life journey, "The more you learn, the more you earn."
It may be time to return to school and reiterate what has made you successful in the past. Buffett shared that Success is all about making smarter investment decisions. But those decisions may have nothing to do with stocks and bonds.
To make the most of your investment means never stop acquiring knowledge -- the kind of knowledge that betters yourself as a whole person, not just as an investor.
Do you need new skills or knowledge to improve your business and sales? As you become more comfortable with selling, you may have lost focus on what made you successful, like providing research, meeting preparation, and building deep connections with your clients.
Here are three skills you want to learn.
Invest in improving your communication skills
There is a saying that knowledge is power, although that may be true. How you communicate that is knowledge is the key.
Communication is key to any business. If you can communicate thought-provoking questions to ask, you can gain the knowledge needed to help your clients solve their problems.
If you are in a leadership role, you need to be able to communicate your message to the team. You have to be able to adjust your communication style with each team member. The team members have different ways they receive your message. You have analytical, expressive, visual learners on your team; some learn better by hearing or seeing your message.
Warren Buffett shared that investing in developing your communication skills -- both in writing and in person -- "can increase your value by at least 50 percent." Now that is a great return!
You have many options to become a better communicator. Enroll in a Dale Carnegie course on how to communicate, join a Toast Master series, or I recommend calling my friend Michael Davis who helps you communicate and influence those you lead with better communication. https://speakingcpr.com/
Invest in improving your leadership skills
Buffett's advice is about one non-negotiable trait that successful leaders must have: integrity. He said we look for three things when we hire people. We look for intelligence, we look for initiative or energy, and we look for integrity.
Customers want to work with people they trust and value authentic people and relationships. A lack of trust [by the buyer] often results from a lack of authenticity on the salesperson's part. Buyers can see through scripted pitches and lack of engagement.
Successful salespeople curate their sales approach to incorporate who they are, what they believe in, and the tangible value they can bring to the relationship. Honest discussions about the solutions and challenges your clients are facing and the collaboration required to successfully help lay the foundation for a meaningful relationship built on authenticity and trust.
Invest in improving your business relationships
One of the best successful strategies is surrounding yourself with the right people. My mom always said, " You become whom you hang around." So it's essential to associate with people more intelligent than yourself."
As the famous saying goes, we are the average of the five people we spend the most time around. Make sure to associate with those further along the path who can potentially help you learn new things, grow, and advance your career.
Any good conversation involves people connecting, building a mutual understanding, and forming a trust. Think back to a conversation in your personal life where you and another person felt comfortable and understood: Connecting in sales works the same way.
The salesperson and the prospective customer are comfortable sharing information and reaching a mutual understanding. This exchange helps uncover real opportunities, develop meaningful alignment, access deeper insights, and open the door to collaborative problem-solving.
With these ideas in mind, I encourage you to spend some time each week with your salespeople to help them refocus, take a disciplined approach to selling, and convert more sales faster.
Creating a lifelong pursuit of learning, investing in yourself, surrounding yourself with more innovative people, and sharing your knowledge with others is the secret sauce to your Success.
I encourage you to think about one skill you can learn today and commit to yourself until you have mastered it. Investing in yourself is the best way to find Success.
Thanks for tuning into today's podcast. If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, do me a favor and rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
Tuesday Aug 16, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 166 The " F" word that stops you from succeeding.
If I asked you, what stops you? Many of you listening would respond to the question, you. The reality is that the answer is not you. Fear stops you from realizing your dreams and what you want. Yes, Fear prevents you from moving forward. When we face Fear, we fight, take flight, or freeze.
I was a part of a webinar discussing the stumbling blocks for many falling short of their dreams and goals. Yes, Fear is the one thing standing between you and the life you want. It's easy to fall into the Fear trap. It's convenient for our minds to focus on what's wrong in the world versus what's right. Think about today, Inflation, competitors, supply chain issues, the economy, and the threat of a recession feeds our minds with Fear and what's going wrong around us.
Our brains are programmed to protect and defend us from harm. We tend to focus on a strategy that includes a plan for the worst and hoping for the best. I am not saying that this is not an option. What if you made one slight shift and concentrated on what is right? What is possible?
What if you could replace the word "F" word Fear with Focus?
Let me ask you a question. Think about something you want to achieve in your life today. Is it better health? Financial Freedom? A new career? A meaningful and loving relationship?
If you are in sales, Is Fear creeping into your mind and keeping you from gaining more new clients? In your mind, you have all the reasons why they have not called you back or that they must be happy with their current vendor. Most give up trying to connect with a new client after three attempts when it takes eight to ten.
If you believe your client can benefit from meeting with you, stay committed until you meet them. You are close to earning that meeting if you stay focused on seeing it through.
This example of Fear versus focus will make sense if you play golf. At the Losantiville, the Country Club I belong to has water you have to shoot over to get to the green. Most people I play with say I think I will lay up short of the water because I am afraid my ball might go in ( Fear). Some players will even pull out an old ball on the chance it goes in the water. Why? Doubt creeps into your mind, and guess what? In most cases, the ball does go into the water because that is where we put our focus.
How would you approach this situation? Because where you focus, it will go. I focus on the green versus the water. I see a 145-yard shot from the fairway headed to the green and take the H2O out of my mind.
I was thinking about a book written in 1908 I read by Napoleon Hill. His book, Outwitting the Devil, further supports why some of us are more successful than others. This is where I learned more about my Other-self.
I believe he is one of the best teachers who discovered what stops most of us from succeeding when facing setbacks. He called this the " Other-self." The Other-self recognizes no limitations and always finds a way to accomplish desired results. We may meet with temporary defeat but not with permanent failure.
You are learning to tap into the " Other-Self," which will teach you how to overcome obstacles, and master difficulty, instead of being mastered by them. That there is a solution for every legitimate problem, you face. He explained that every experience of temporary defeat, every failure, and every form of adversity is met with an equivalent benefit.
Fear is a state of mind, and so is your focus to become fearless. Having the faith that the journey you're on is here to teach you something. It's time to choose the life you want to live versus the I wish I would have life. I wish I would have traveled more, lived a healthier life, changed careers, and loved more.
It's decision time! Decide that you will stretch the "Other-self" to keep learning and moving forward with a sense of urgency. Silence the critics that say you can't do it. Feed your focus with possibility, not your fears. Remember, your focus goes where your energy flows.
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Aug 09, 2022
Tuesday Aug 09, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 165, Complete more tasks in a day by implementing this strategy.
I was having lunch with a client discussing business and life. We both are in management roles, coaching sales teams, generating revenue, seeing customers, leading projects for the company, and involved in multiple meetings throughout the day, zoom or in person. Some days She shared that it's amazing I get anything done.
Can you relate to this situation? Add in family responsibilities to your work, and you may feel like you are getting nothing accomplished.
She asked me how I manage my Time and get so much done. You have your job, Three Word Podcast, a weekly blog, running your dogs daily, weekend golf, and Time with your family and friends.
How do you do it?
I answered that I use a system I learned where you Time block your day.
So, I thought I would share with you the system to complete more in a day that helps you focus on your work with limited distractions and can help you be more efficient in your tasks. I want to make sure you understand that this is not multitasking. It is task switching with focus and purpose.
You will feel more in control of your day, more productive, and get more work done. We all want to feel like we are accomplishing something each day.
So to begin, let me share what I mean by Time blocking.
In football, offensive linemen are looking to protect the quarterback. They form a pocket around the quarterback and block defenders from getting through.
What Is Time Blocking?
Time blocking involves protecting and planning every moment of your day and dedicating specific time "blocks" for certain tasks and responsibilities.
When you fill your calendar with the tasks and things you want to do, it's harder for others to steal your Time.
Yes, we need to focus Time on thinking and strategizing solutions to help our customers and blocking Time with other co-workers to improve processes in your company. Time blocking is effective because you focus on one specific task at a time.
For example, my mental and physical wellness is at the top of the list. I run my dogs and listen to audiobooks that teach and inspire me before I get to work each day. I time block throughout the day to check emails, return phone calls, coach the sales team, and meet with customers, Time to think. For example, I strategically block Time on my calendar to complete the most critical task that is a must to finish.
But how do you use this technique for the best results?
Prioritize Your Tasks
You must prioritize your tasks if you want the Time blocking technique to work. The main idea behind using this process is to enable efficient time management. It means you don't lose valuable Time by thinking about which one to do first.
High priority work at the right Time. That's where prioritizing comes in. By identifying the essential tasks in your schedule, you know which task needs more attention from you. A good way of handling these tasks is to put them in the prime Time of your day. Your prime Time is the Time of the day when you feel the most productive. I am a morning person, so I focus on those tasks first.
When you feel more productive, you also become more efficient. So focusing on your priority tasks at this Time helps you get things done more efficiently.
Add blocks for reactive tasks each day
We tend to overestimate what we can do in a day. You still have emails to answer, calls to take, and meetings to attend. However, the power of time blocking comes in choosing when you do these tasks instead of letting them take over your day.
Get more from your day
With the development of technology, you can use apps and tools online to create your schedule.
You can use a few simple and free tools to make it that much easier.
Any calendar app will do. However, if you want to use Google Calendar, I found this list of power features and best practices to make the most of it.
Either you control your calendar, or it controls you
Other people like to steal our time. Time blocking is only one of the many time management strategies out there. Yet, it's one of the most popular for a reason.
We all live by our calendars. And the more you can be in control of what's on there, the more in control you'll be of your Time, focus, and productivity.
Keep in mind that Single-tasking - Focusing on one task at a time—can make you up to 80% more productive than splitting your attention across multiple tasks. Plus, you will stay connected to others when you know you have time set aside later for checking email, replying to internal messages, and checking in on your social networks.
We all have the same amount of Time each day. How you manage and block time will be the difference maker.
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Tuesday Aug 02, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 163, The other "C" word no one wants to talk about!
What is the other "C" Word? Its Change! Change in careers, in our relationships, our health, finances, and our business.
If you think about it, our lives are constantly changing. But most of us don't like Change. Why? Because it makes us uncomfortable.
So when does Change occur? Typically, when facing challenges or problems. Problems can be an opportunity for personal and professional growth.
Problems can challenge us, encourage us to be resourceful and innovative, and refocus us on what matters most.
I believe Change refines us, not define us!
We all face setbacks throughout life; I know I have on many occasions. And how you face these challenges are the differences. We think the problem is permanent because of years of programming in our brains. I believe we do this to protect ourselves from disappointment. But everything eventually ends, and new opportunities arise.
It's called life!
Whether you perceive it or not, everything is constantly changing – the environment, the weather, the economy, technology, society, your friends and family, your body, everything. And the better you are at embracing Change in what is happening in your world, the easier it will be for you to live your best life.
I want you to stop and think about what problems you are facing today?
Please write it down.
In business, are you lacking sales?
Do you need more new clients to expand your business?
Do you need to recruit more talented employees to boost your company's growth?
Do you need to remove employees not producing?
Do you need to focus on your health?
Get your finances in order?
You have three choices when facing any problem.
- Accept it.
- Change it.
- Leave it.
Accept it.
Your response to any event, not the event itself, determines your experience's outcome.
You can't change the events that happen out of your control. But you can learn from those experiences.
Think about Global warming, floods, droughts, fires, earthquakes, financial crises, and cyber-attacks are all events that represent Change.
You cannot do much to change those events.
You CAN change your response to them and ensure that the outcomes you experience in your life are as positive as possible.
In my experience, a turning point in our lives leads us to change -a better job, a more fulfilling relationship, new friends, more profound wisdom, more freedom, the discovery of our life purpose, the development of new skills, and spiritual growth.
See, Change is a gift to us!
Please take a moment later today and think back to some change you feared or resisted and all the good that eventually came from it.
Once you begin to see that, you can anticipate the good that will come from the changes you are facing now.
A good question to ask yourself is, "What's the opportunity that this is?"
If you look, you will find it.
And Change will become something to appreciate and embrace rather than to fear and resist.
Remember, YOU always have control over how you choose to respond to things.
And when you respond with an attitude of curiosity, optimism, and confidence, you'll find it so much easier to survive and thrive during the Change.
Change it.
The word change sounds terrifying because Change often involves risk and loss – possibly of something big, like your job, money, friends, family, or the loss of whatever is comfortable and familiar.
Some people see Change as something to fear or dread instead of a new adventure that can potentially improve your life.
That's what Change is: it's an opportunity for you to experience something new and to grow and evolve as a person.
Change asks you to:
- Have an open mind to see things from a new perspective and learn something new.
- Develop qualities like flexibility, optimism, courage, and persistence.
All of which ultimately results in you becoming a better, more capable person.
And that's a good thing!
Life is all about making progress, and that includes making changes.
When you resist Change, you take away the experiences that can transform your life professionally and personally.
When you welcome and embrace Change, you open and allow yourself to grow and expand.
Leave it.
Your third option is to leave it! By definition, Leave is to depart permanently. What do you need to leave behind so you can move forward?
I advise that if you are unhappy with something in your life or business, change it or leave it!
Or take this oath with me and Say this out loud; I accepted it until today!
It is time to Make a Change.
If you can't accept it, change it. If you can't change it, it may be time to leave it.
Either way, it's up to you!
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
Tuesday Jul 19, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 161, Top 3 Reasons new prospects don't want to meet with us.
I was having a conversation with a sales executive, and they shared that they were trying to connect with a prospect they were targeting. I asked them to walk me through how many attempts they had made to connect. We reviewed was the account a good fit for our product and services? The answer was yes. They went on to share that they left a voicemail, emailed, and sent industry trend research but still no response.
I shared that connecting with a new prospect takes about eight attempts. Many of you listening may be experiencing the same and having challenges getting that prospect to call you back.
Did you ever wonder why prospects don't want to meet with you?
I recently read a sales blog by Anthony Iannarino that was a great reminder as to why a client may be resistant to a meeting that has nothing to do with you. The first step is that we must uncover why they don't want to meet with us and create strategies to change their mind.
Here are the top three common reasons why prospects refuse to meet with us and some recommendations to help you stand out and show value in meeting with you.
Unprepared for change
One factor causing prospects to refuse meetings could be that the buyer and their company aren't ready to make a change. They may be happy with their current vendor. Most people do not like change! It takes time and energy to make changes. Change can be scary, especially during times of uncertainty. The past several years have shown us.
But a change can improve their results in many cases, but that doesn't make it any less scary," he explains. Anthony shared, "Some of it stems from the increasingly challenging internal process for any change initiative."
You can ease these concerns by acknowledging the difficulty of change and showing empathy. Showcasing compassion sets you apart from sellers who aren't as understanding. Nurture a relationship immediately with this dialogue, which will help put the prospect at ease.
No need for a salesperson
Another reason prospects refuse meetings is that they believe they don't need assistance from a seller. This is rooted in the trend of decision-makers "consumerizing" B2B sales. As Iannarino writes, "Rather than risk allowing another salesperson into their office and their life, these stakeholders decide to go it alone: researching companies on the internet, mistaking information for insight, and overvaluing facts where experience and good counsel are needed."
SalesFuel's research supports this; our Voice of the Buyer survey found that 40% of B2B buyers attempt to solve a problem/meet a goal with current resources before seeking assistance from a vendor.
To overcome this challenge, be prepared with research or something of value you can give to the client. It could be something that will save them time, create a better process or solve their most significant business needs. You are making the pathway to answering why meeting with you is so important.
Bad experiences.
We all have bad experiences, whether it's a restaurant where the food or service was average. You have a terrible experience with a company or service provider. Let's face it; our clients have bad experiences with other vendors.
Our prospects hold on to those experiences with salespeople, which may be why prospects refuse meetings with anyone new. Those situations present a big challenge for us. While you can't erase their past experiences, you "can make certain that every interaction you have with a prospect provides such a good experience that they will open to a conversation or schedule time on their calendar for you."
Credibility is vital to show the prospect that you are a sales professional who engages in buyer-first selling and best practices; you must show that you are different from everyone else. SalesFuel offers plenty of tips for establishing credibility, from establishing social proof to weaving valuable research into your conversation.
Remember No, means not yet. When prospects refuse meetings, don't give up. You can create many reasons that meeting with you will be a valuable and insightful experience worth their time. Remember, "Your number one initiative should be increasing your effectiveness as the person guiding your prospective client through the process of exploring change, pursuing better results, and delivering new and better outcomes."
Just as Winston Churchill famously said, " Never give up, never ever give up."
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Jul 12, 2022
Tuesday Jul 12, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 160, Six Ideas to attract new clients!
Prospecting! I think I heard some of you say, Ugh.
What if there was a better way to gain new clients? Everyone listening to the podcast agrees they want to use the most effective and effortless process to gain new clients. Yes, sign me up; your saying.
The reality is that our business success depends on this one word – Prospecting! Find clients that we can help. This step takes a winning mindset, focus, and a system to get in front of our best prospects.
We want to identify the clients that match our company profile of success and stop targeting those that don't so we are not wasting valuable time.
If your job is to generate leads, below are six ideas to help you get in front of the client faster than your competitor.
Yes, there are many ways to prospect new clients. Pick up the phone and call someone. Target your competitor's key accounts and find a way to engage them with your company. Referrals are a tremendous prospecting opportunity if you ask your best clients and the fastest business conversions.
In the end, people buy from those they are more familiar with, like, and trust.
Here are six ideas that you can implement to attract new clients.
1. Establish yourself as a thought leader
By establishing yourself as a thought leader or subject matter expert in your industry, you can show your credibility and trust before reaching out to new prospects.
For example, suppose you're in Marketing. You can write an article or post a blog on Linkedin with tips on how to better market your company, post a video that you believe can help companies save time when marketing, write guest articles for industry publications and speak at trade shows and conferences. Be a guest on a business podcast that gives you more exposure to new companies.
Make comments, and share or like the content on your prospect's Linkedin or social channels. They will become more familiar with your name and company. Use five or more words to help your Linkedin Selling Index score when commenting.
2. Be a resource.
To be successful in sales, you have to do more than sell your product or service. You want to provide research and ideas to help solve their most significant business needs. Become a solution provider versus a salesperson.
You will likely gain referrals when you solve your client's most significant business need.
3. Use video.
Capture the prospect's attention by adding "video" in the subject line and including a thumbnail image that links to the video. Use it to introduce yourself, provide additional content, or use to humanize your brand. Video is also great to recap your discovery calls as well.
4. Host a webinar.
Webinars can create leads for you because you know the attendees have a demonstrated interest in the topic. Not sure you can do a webinar on your own? Think about Partnering with another organization in your industry to host a webinar on a mutually beneficial topic.
After the webinar, poll your audience to see who's ready to learn more about your product/service. Consider a polling form that asks them to answer "Yes" or "No" to statements like "I'm ready to learn more," or "I'd like to learn more about [Three Word Meetings.]."
You now have a lead list! Follow up with those who responded positively to your poll or post-webinar survey within 24 hours, and schedule time for them to learn more. And don't give up on those who said they weren't yet ready to buy. Remember, no, means Not Yet!
Stay in touch over the next few months to see if their buying position changes.
5. Network with a purpose
Attend networking events that allow you to connect with the right people. Identify why people are attending a particular event or conference. If the agenda has topics relevant to your ideal customer, or if someone attending is from a company you are targeting, then attend that event.
Once you identify the events that will give you the most significant ROI, map out which sessions you'll attend and which happy hours or networking events make sense.
6. Answer questions on Q&A forums.
Seek ways to engage your prospects on trends and best practices in your industry — and eventually educate them on your product.
Online forums, like LinkedIn Groups, allow like-minded people to post questions to the group members or audience and source answers from experts in the field. Join these platforms, and build trust and expertise.
Successful people do things that other sellers are not willing to do.
The question is, What are you willing to do?
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Tuesday Jul 05, 2022
Simplify Your Sales and Business meetings. Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She has over 35 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings." Lisa coaches leaders on simplifying sales and business meetings with fun and interesting 3-word topics to motivate and inspire your sales team.
Episode 159, 3 Skills you need to succeed in business!
I have a question for you? Why do some salespeople hit their goals and others fall short? I know there may be exceptions to losing a significant account that could impact your year. Aside from that, there is one reason.
Accountability! Yes, the difference is that those understand that their success starts with them!
They don't wait and watch others do it; they do it.
It starts with you! You set the tone for your day.
We hold ourselves accountable. The definition of accountability is an obligation and willingness to accept responsibility. We are proactive, acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes.
Yes, we need accountability skills?
What Are Accountability Skills?
Accountability is taking ownership of your actions. It is being responsible for you and your results. When you are accountable, you are committed to the goal and outcome. More importantly, committed to making progress.
Here are 3 Tips to hold yourself accountable!
Set Your Own Goals and Accountabilities
Goals are the expectations. Accountabilities are where you stand and what needs to be changed.
Once you determine your goal, what is the process to achieving them?
I love James Clear's quote from Atomic Habits book "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
What is your system to ensure you not only achieve and exceed your goal?
You have to understand where you stand today with your business to know what systems and steps you need to take next.
Once you have determined your goal break it into a more manageable and actionable short-term plan.
For example, if you need to generate $2,000,000 in revenue annually, you know your short-term goal is to generate $500,000 each quarter.
You must close ten accounts each quarter if your average sale is $50,000.
Or your accounts may vary; you close a few $75,000 accounts and grow your current account base by $25,000.
The accountability skill is understanding your numbers and owning them!
Own your Opportunities
Do you have enough clients to exceed your goal? More importantly, have you planned for account attrition? It happens to all of us. For example, your best account goes with another vendor.
According to Marketing at Work, the average business loses about 10 to 25 percent of its customers yearly.
Accountability skill number two is having enough clients and new prospects in your pipeline.
Do you have enough opportunities to reach your quarterly goals? This tends to be an area most of us fall short of. A pipeline review is all the opportunities you are pursuing and where they are in the sales process.
To understand your pipeline, start by asking yourself these questions:
- How many opportunities do I presently have in my pipeline?
- What is the total value of these opportunities? 25% of the accounts we have as a target are not a fit for our products. Let's remove those.
- What percentage of these opportunities would I have to win to make my number?
- Do I have enough business to make my number this quarter?
- Have I factored my 10-25% attrition rate into the quarter?
The next question we have to answer is, are your activities producing the desired outcomes?
How well is your plan working?
What changes do you need to make? Conducting these self-reviews will allow you to understand what's working, what's not, and what changes need to happen.
Be honest with yourself.
Accountability skill number three, Honesty, is the best policy! Be honest with where you are today and what you need to do moving forward.
Hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else will.
- Do I have enough accounts and business to exceed my goal? What is one adjustment I can make today?
- How do I attract more new clients?
- Can I upsell my current accounts?
- What do my future opportunities look like today?
- What process do I need to do to ensure my next month improves?
- What have I learned? What needs to change? What is working? What do I need to do more of in the future?
I recommend scheduling a meeting on your calendar for a self-review on the first day of each month. We don't want to wait for our end-of-year review; it will be too late to make the adjustments.
Taking responsibility and owning the result, regardless of the circumstances, will allow you to make adjustments and improve in the future.
Successful people do things that the unsuccessful aren't willing to do. They create better systems, look for ways to improve daily, and take action.
I will leave you with this phrase: If it's to be, it's up to me!
If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free on Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.
Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com.