Three Word Podcast

Episode 146, Why we all need a flashlight!

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 146, Why we all need a flashlight!

 

I have a question for you?

Have you found yourself juggling multiple projects and finding it hard to focus?

Do you have trouble remembering things or situations? 

How do you prioritize which task to complete first?

 

I will share a few things I learned that you might find helpful to help you focus. I was listening to Brene Browns Podcast Dare To Lead. Her guest was Dr. Amishi Jha. A neuroscientist and author of Peak Mind's bestseller talks about attention, focus, and concentration. She shares how Three parts of our mind work together to direct our focus, widen, and make us receptive to incoming information.

 

Ever wonder why you choose to remember some things and forget other things? 

 

My Twin sister Lynn and I just celebrated a birthday. We were sharing childhood experiences. She remembers everything, and I had a hard time recalling it. She remembered more about certain situations because she was paying more attention than I was. What I have come to realize through the book Peak Mind is that the first step to memory is attention. It's a process called "Press record," This idea is that we need to pay attention to have it go into long-term memory. 

 

So, What is Focus?

It's our attention!

 

Have you ever experienced driving down the expressway, listening to your favorite radio station, and suddenly seeing red headlights? Then we quickly turn down the music for just a second to figure out what's going on." Why do we do that? Because this situation has your attention - your focus! As if turning down the music is going to change the situation. 

 

You become alert, and you're receptive. If something does happen, you can take action fast because you're ready for it; you're in a readied state. I learned that the definition of attention is prioritizing some information over additional information; focusing is about prioritizing some content over other content. Alerting is about focusing on the present moment now. What is important is right now.

 

So, what happens when we multitask? Multitasking is not a thing. What we do in the brain is something called "task-switching." 

 

A great metaphor is that a flashlight represents where you focus. We don't have flashlights; we have a flashlight. And what you say when you say multitasking, it's like, I got four flashlights, I got them pointing in all these different directions at once. That is not how it works. You may have several focuses, but only one of them will have your singular focus first. 

 

For example, I can walk and talk simultaneously; walking doesn't require any attention if I have a deep conversation with somebody because the brain is programmed to walk. So, I can speak effortlessly or think because I am not trying to figure out how to walk. But now, if I put myself on a ledge or a cliff, and I said, "Alert -pay attention," suddenly I am in a different situation because now, that very automatic act of walking requires my attention. 

 

So multitasking is a myth because it's impossible when we think we're doing multiple things at once. We are only engaged in one task at a time.

Then we disengage in the task, move into the other task, then disengage, and then move it again, so we're doing task switches repeatedly.

 

The attention system exists to solve one of your brain's biggest problems: there is far too much information in the environment for our brain to process fully. Our brain uses attention to filter out both the unnecessary noise and chatter around us and the background thoughts and distractions that constantly come up to the surface of our mind.

 

All-day, our attention system is in action: In the office, in meetings, while we are driving, the five windows you have opened on our computer, your phone with multiple texts, all those distractions.

 

Attention is so powerful and is our "Brains boss" because attention guides how information gets processed in our brains. We become challenged by the constant stream of information we ask our brains to process. At times, we feel overwhelmed and distracted, which no one likes this feeling. So what can you do? 

 

It is all about Mindfulness! We take a deep breath and focus our Flashlight. We pay attention to present-moment experiences without reacting. We have to focus our attention on what's happening at that moment.

 

So, the first step is to point your Flashlight to something, focus, direct your attention. The second step is to notice, "Where am I right now? Where is my mind?" If your mind begins to wander away, you can't clear it because stuff will come up, so give yourself a break if you've noticed your mind has strayed away. Find your Flashlight and bring it back.

 

Follow these three words to focus when you feel like your attention is getting pulled in multiple directions. Focus, Notice, Redirect your attention, and shine your Flashlight to where you want your attention to go! 

 

If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free at 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.

 

To hear Brene Brown's podcast with Dr. Amishi Jha click below:

https://brenebrown.com/podcast/finding-focus-and-owning-your-attention/

 

 

Episode 145 Spring your Sales into Action!

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 145, It's time to Spring your Sales into Action!

 

Hello, Spring! Sunday marked the first day of Spring. We are nearly three months into our year, or months from ending their year for some whose year ends in June.

 

I have a question for you. 

How are you feeling about your year so far? 

Are you on track to exceeding your goals? 

 

I was in a coaching session with one of my sales leaders, and we discussed that Three months ago, we were doing annual reviews, planning, and proclaiming what we needed to do in 2022 to exceed our goals. If you are in sales, one plan may have been to make more money? You detailed how you would do that. Call one new prospect a day? Add another service line or product to your existing customer. Perhaps, asking for a referral from one of your most successful clients. A plan to move your business forward.

 

Today is a great time to review your business plan to see if you're on track or need to Spring into Action to ensure you reach your goals. So we need to ask ourselves what we need to do to create momentum and move our prospects or clients forward.

 

Action is Required

Action is required to move our business forward. Productivity guru David Allen understands how to get things done. His bestselling book, Getting Things Done, is about time management. And many of the lessons he teaches in his book apply directly to sales. One of his most relevant lessons for salespeople involves breaking down a more significant task ( earning the business) into the logical sequence of events required to help the customer make a purchase decision (your sales process.) Allen writes about needing to know the "very next physical action required to move the situation forward at each step of your process."

 

Let's look at that statement in the context of sales. In selling terms, you have to know the action you should take at each step of your sales process to move the customer at least one step closer to making their purchase decision. Each client has a journey to doing business, and it's our job to figure it out.

 

So we have to ask ourselves: What information or insights are the prospect or client expecting from me during our next meeting that will move their buying decision forward? What value can I provide or share that will have them take action on doing business with me?

 

Be Deliberate

We face challenges because we don't know or have developed the following action required to move our clients forward. Too many of us operate on auto-pilot. We show up for work every day and not intentionally but try to apply the same sales process to every prospect. And when that doesn't work, we assume they went with another competitor or didn't want to do business with us and move on to the next prospect. We have to remember each new target customer and client is motivated by different things. Our goal is to discover what moves them.

 

For example, if one of your next action steps is to send a follow-up email to the customer. Before you take that step, you have to ask yourself why are you sending that email? What value are you delivering in the email that will make a difference to the buyer? What information will you provide to move the customer's buying process forward? 

 

And, most importantly, what's the "very next action" that you want the customer to take as a result of receiving the value you delivered? This process would apply to email, phone calls, zoom calls, or face-to-face meetings.  

 

Success in sales requires us to be curious, thoughtful, mindful, and deliberate. Instead of dreaming about getting that order, you should carefully set a series of short-term goals for your prospects that layout the following actions you need to take to help them take action.

 

Let's recap our strategy. Don't make a move with a prospect or customer until you understand the action you want from that client. Following up will rarely make a difference in the customer's decision-making process if it isn't intentional. Be more deliberate and have an action plan for each interaction to deliver more value to help your prospect make a fast and favorable decision to choose you! Again, the question you need to walk through is, What information or insights are the prospect or client expecting from me during our next meeting that will move their buying decision forward.   

 

Close more business by Springing into Action!

 

If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free at 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.

Episode 144, Are you Lucky?

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 144, Is it Luck or Skill that helps you close the sale?

 

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 those you lead during your next sales meeting.

 

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, I thought it would be interesting to see how much Luck plays a role in our business, especially if you're in sales.

The Ole Luck of the Irish or Lady Luck! 

 

Have you heard the famous phrase, "It's better to be lucky than good?"

Or the " The Harder I work, the luckier I get."

 

How would you define Luck?

 

I believe it is the right opportunity at the right time!

 

To put yourself in that position takes more than Luck. You have to do the work, take action every day towards your goals, and be given the opportunity for Luck to become a factor. 

 

I recently read an article in the Harvard Business Review by Joel Le Bon about Why the Best Salespeople Get So Lucky. 

 

The article discussed how Luck could play a role in sales success when combined with effort and skill:

 

Think about this. The greater the sales activities, the more opportunities for Luck! The greater a salesperson's Belief that success is a combination of Luck and effort and the greater their sales activities, such as making phone calls, meeting prospects, qualifying prospects, and gathering intelligence about prospects and competitors. 

 

Joel shared that Belief in the power of Luck seems to boost self-confidence. This mindset created a feeling of optimism in the face of setbacks, especially with inexperienced salespeople overcoming uncertainty and fear of failure. These factors are critical in helping salespeople to maintain motivation.

 

Yes, having a winning mindset helps you believe that Luck plays a role in your success. The real Luck begins with better-executed sales behaviors that set the stage to experience Luck.

 

Here are four behaviors that can improve your Luck!

 

• Competitive intelligence. The more knowledge you have, the more intelligent and the luckier you become. We need to search for intel about customers, prospects, competitors, and the overall market. We have " Google" to help us research everything from the people we meet with and the prospecting companies. 

 

• Set high goals. I'm not talking about quotas. I'm talking about ambitious goals, such as trying to surpass your past performance. Ambitious goals make salespeople more creative and strategic. We should be encouraged to adopt higher goals because they drive forward-looking behaviors.

 

• Fail Forward. We will all face setbacks or what appears to be a failure. These failures, or what I call learning experiences, make us better. We need to remain positive in the face of failure. We should push ourselves to set failure goals, such as being told I am not interested by x number of customers in a day or month. It's a numbers game, and the more you call, the luckier you will get. These setbacks lead to our success.

 

• Change your circumstances. Salespeople should be encouraged to disrupt their habits, get out of their routines and comfort zones, and meet new people. They should do new things, expand their networks by going to unusual places, and build new alliances. In sales, opportunities are created not among the people you know but those you don't.

 

Luck is meeting the right opportunity at the right time!

 

So, how important is Luck to your career success?

 

People usually say that when preparation meets opportunities, Luck is by your side. Luck has several definitions, and each individual has its versions.

 

Now, if you ask, does Luck lead to career success?

 

My answer would be 50% YES and 50% NO.

 

YES, because Luck is also an essential factor for success.

NO, because Luck is not the only factor. To achieve success, you need to have talent, skills, hard work, and the right strategies used at the right time.

 

Richard Wiseman, the author of The Luck Factor, states that people who believe they are lucky are more successful in life than people who think they're unlucky.

 

The primary key here is that Luck will play its part when you put the work in, thus leading you to success.

 

The three principles of Luck.

• People who feel lucky always create and work on opportunities
• Never move back fearing failures and take more planned risks
• Learn from their experiences and work hard to reap the benefits.

 

So put more Luck on your side. Luck is a trait that resides with the one who is confident about themselves and willing to work hard to achieve success! 

 

Stay on the Path of Luck by creating more opportunities for you!

 

If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free at 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 .

Episode 143, Four tips to keep your sales from ”Stalling.”

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 143, Four tips to keep your sales from "Stalling."

 

I was coaching a seller and asked about an account she had been calling on and what kept them from moving forward. She replied, "I am having a hard time getting them to call me back. I feel like they are ghosting me."

 

I replied I call it ghosting, but they are stalling to move forward. I explained the difference between Stalling and Objecting to what you presented.

 

We first have to get clear that there is a difference between "stalls" and "objections."

 

Stalls and objections are what you may hear after you have asked for a commitment, but an objection is a specific reason not to buy. In a stall—"I need to think about it"—your prospect or client offers no particular reason for hesitating.

 

Don't let this keep you from moving your client forward.

 

Again, with stalls, the customer offers no particular reason for hesitating. What the stalling client is saying is this: "They are not quite ready." I need more evidence to decide to work with you and your company. 

 

Your client may be attempting to gain more information more confidence in what you're offering. So we may have a little more work to do.

 

"Do you know the only objection that you can't overcome?" It is the objection you never get to hear. 

 

The clients' objection might be their way of better explaining what makes you different and why doing business with you will improve their situation.

 

You improve your chances of winning the business by changing your mindset and rethinking objections and stalls as simply opportunities to present more information or, better yet, evidence of success.

 

If you're in sales or management, I have a feeling you have heard one of these "Stall tactics."

• "It's not in the budget right now."
• "I have to speak with the owner."
• "It's not our No. 1 priority"
• "We will get back to you ..."

Or worse, they don't call back at all.

 

So what can you do?

We have to learn to overcome Stalls.

A good portion of our business includes getting meetings with the decision-makers that can say yes. 

 

Passion with Purpose

There are many examples of sales success. It starts with Passion! Your enthusiasm is contagious; it affects everyone around you—including clients. It helps you through the setbacks, objections, rejections, stalls, and everything else that affects your attitude and approach.

Reinforce the solutions and benefits you offer to help them solve their biggest problem. That will strengthen your Passion and purpose.

 

Track your progress

Having an efficient process to manage your sales keeps you focused and on track. Every day you need to have a clear map of activities laid out. What activities do you need to do to move the business forward? Is it a phone call? Is it sending client-focused research? Could you share a case study of success? It's your process of progress that will get you there faster.

 

Have a High C

People can sense your confidence level, so you don't want to have a Low C. You want a High C. If you can't bounce back from setbacks and rejection with a positive attitude, it becomes more and more challenging to break through to a new business. 

 

Resiliency also improves when you focus on qualified accounts--and walk away from the ones where the return on investment is low.

 

I would recommend asking yourself or your prospects: "What's our next step?" Often the prospect can give a better way to move through the sales cycle. Don't be afraid of rejection--that's essential information to understand. 

 

Added Value with each attempt

It's all about every step you take. Oh, this reminds me of the famous song from the group Police. 

Every Breath you take

And every move you make

Every bond you break

Every step you take

They will be watching you. 

 

Each time you make any follow-up call with a prospect, they are watching you. Make sure you have a new idea or information valuable to the client. Stay focused on how you, your product, and your company provide Value. 

 

Earn it

Passion, planning, high C, adding Value, and earning it are the keys to opening doors and building your business and will be the foundation in helping eliminate many sales stalls.

 

No one likes to deal with objections and stalls but is a part of the sales process. We want to help these clients. So we need to take control by asking thoughtful follow-up questions to help them. By uncovering our prospect's needs for more information, you put yourself in a better position to make the sale.

 

If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free at 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 .

Episode 142, Hello, It’s Me!

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 142, What should you say when calling a new prospect?

 

I wonder if you can relate to this situation when making a new business call and what to say when they answer.

 

Hello, it's me

I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet

To go over everything

Or

I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to buy advertising.

 

Laughing- I will stick to my day job and leave the singing to Adele.  Maybe that's not the best approach, but how many of us may feel that way when making new calls.

 

I discussed this very topic in a coaching session with a team member, reviewing their new business targets. He had chosen these accounts worth his time to call on. I asked the question, why did you decide to call on this one? He replied that we have great success in this category, and I can help the client. I like that he has confidence in a category, creating a better opportunity to call on a client. I then went on to say, what do you say when that client answers your call?

 

Most of us believe that if we get them on the phone, I can find a way to get that new meeting. It sounds simple, but it's not easy. Clients have problems that need to be solved, and the question is will it be you solving it or your competitors? There are many factors at that moment they answer. 

 

What state of mind are they in when you call? 

Will you add value to their day or steal time? 

Either way, you have one chance to earn the conversation to see if you can help.

 

One of the best in the industry at setting new meetings is Caryn Kopp – of Kopp Consulting, and she shared some advice that I believe can benefit all of us.

 

It's essential to get it right when the prospect answers the phone. When you reach someone live, you have less time to get the prospect's attention and get your point across. And, you won't get a second chance at that same conversation. So, Caryn recommends preparing two sentences and a question to engage prospects in dialogue and start a short discussion. 

 

Here is the framework which will help you. 

 

Sentence 1:

Your name and your company name. "Hi, this is Lisa Thal from 2060 Digital." 

 

 

Sentence 2:

Precisely what you do in language which is relevant and compelling to your decision-maker. "We do new business development, and we get our clients in front of the right customers."  

 

 

Question:

A follow-up question to engage the conversation. "How important is showing new customers conversions for you this year?"

If you have done a good job selecting the right prospects to call, the decision-maker will answer my question by saying, "That is important to me." Then, I would say, "Glad we connected!" And the conversation would continue.

 

The key that Caryn shares are to remember what your prospects could gain by talking with you or meeting you versus what they have now without knowing you. In other words, how can knowing you make your prospect's life better?

 

We have to keep in mind that the prospects we call are not expecting our call. Or they would be calling us! Wouldn't that be great?

 

Focus your message from the prospect's point of view. 

 

Will your two sentences and follow-up question engage your prospect in a conversation? Create two sentences that work for your industry and practice them on calls. Make adjustments along the way.

 

Keep your messages short and simple. Avoid saying sentences or phrases that make someone say, "What do you mean by that?" Avoid industry jargon which is meaningless phrases: "best in class," "great service."

 

Be prepared with your two intentional sentences and an intriguing question, and you will be ready for success.

 

If you do this, you will no longer be saying "Hello From the other side."  

 

If you think someone could benefit from this article,  I invite you to share it.

 

Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com .

 

Episode 141, Six words that can help you create a winning season!

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 141, The Six words that turn losing into winning!

 

Are you missing Sunday Football like me? We were talking about experiencing a little Who Dey Hangover in the office. I have to admit it's been a long time since I watched football in February. I am thinking about March Madness or my golf game. But, as I reflected on the Super Bowl, I thought about how the game and how a few plays could have changed the outcome.  

 

In the fourth quarter, with a 20-16 lead, Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd dropped a pass with sizeable catch-and-run potential on third down, forcing Cincinnati to punt with over six minutes remaining. That kept Cincinnati from converting and taking time off the clock. 

 

The Rams' offense marched downfield to the red zone. The Bengals committed penalties on two different plays, which gave the Rams extra chances to score. A 1-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp gave Los Angeles the game-winning score with 1 minute 25 seconds left.

 

Who Dey Nation, hoping we had one more opportunity to either win or tie the game with a Money Mack field goal to put it into overtime. The Rams' defense was a bit more than our O-line could handle, and an incomplete pass on fourth down on Cincinnati's last-ditch possession ended.

 

It ended with a close score of 23 to 20, with our Bengals falling short. I thought about the game and the similarities our teams share to an NFL Football team.

 

What do we have in common? We learn persistence, perseverance, confidence, determination, persuasion, and Teamwork. More importantly, what we gain from each experience is invaluable? If we keep learning, we will keep making progress throughout our careers. We must understand that we may not win every time. But, we do win if we learn something from each attempt.

 

We are very much like an NFL Team - which is a business! We have owners, shareholders, coaches, and players who perform at a high level every day to achieve the year's goals. In the end, we have to score more to exceed our revenue expectations.  

 

The question is, how do we do it?

Persistence & Perseverance

Salespeople and Athletes have a lot in common; it takes a lot of perseverance and hard work to get to the top. Keep in mind that most prospects do not buy what you are selling immediately. Vince Lombardi, former Green Bay Packers Head Coach, said: "It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up." Successful people do not give up; they get back up and work towards their goals. They see a setback as an opportunity to make a comeback!

 

Confidence & Determination

Determination, the focus on your purpose, comes from persistence and perseverance, mixed with the confidence you gain from success after experiencing failure. It may feel impossible to be 100% confident 24/7; however, sales will teach you how to project confidence when everything feels out of your control. Joe Burrow led with preparation. He walked and talked confidently and had his team emulating the same. How prepared are you and your team each day? Joe had to think on his feet with each play, and so do we. We have to be ready to overcome objections and stay determined and confident.

 

Persuasion

What persuaded us? It took some persuasion early in the season to get the City to embrace the Bengals and believe they had the talent to make it to the Super Bowl. The team believed they could win every game and played full-on until the end. We have the opportunity to do the same. We have to find a way to persuade our clients to help solve their problems. We have to come ready to play every day!

 

Team Work

The chemistry of a team matters! One player or play can ignite a team, and we saw that all season long. Joe makes a play, and the defense creates an opportunity; Money Mac kicks the game-winning field goal. The energy and enthusiasm you bring to work every day matters. You have the opportunity to do the same on your team. One call or one sale may be the one thing that encourages another co-worker to have the courage to do the same. So have the right mindset and say, let it start with me! Let me be the one that inspires those around me.

 

The Bengals' dream season may have ended in heartbreak, but the vision of where the franchise is going is crystal clear and optimistic. So until the new season begins, I will hold on to what Joe Burrow, the leader of the Who Dey Nation, shared at the end of the game, "We'll take this and let it fuel us for the next few years."

 

If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free at 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 .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Episode 140, Learn how to take price out of the client’s equation?

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 140,  Learn how to take price out of the client's equation?

 

Yesterday we celebrated Valentine's Day! It is a memorable holiday shared by couples to express their love for each other and a day shared with your family and kids. I can remember growing up and getting a little box of chocolates or candy hearts. You know the little box sweethearts with the words on them, "Say Yes," or "Be Mine."

 

Growing up, we were excited about the possibility of someone asking us, " Will you be my Valentine."  

 

You could get into a bit of trouble in business if you asked your client to be your Valentine. I am not recommending that strategy. But, we want to ask the question perhaps a little differently, " Will you be my client?'

 

To have the other person say yes to our question, we must do a few things.

 

You Relate to them. In the word Relationship sits Relate. So if you want to have long-lasting relationships, you have to continue to find a way to be relevant and relatable to them.

 

It sounds simple but not easy unless you invest your time finding out what is important to them.  

 

We have to create client relationships, positive, long-term connections. Building client relationships should focus on clients' needs. Some companies interact with their customers briefly during the business transaction, while others maintain close relationships with their clients for years.  

 

Stop and think about a client you have been doing business with for an extended period. I guess that you're doing something over and above what your competitors are offering.  

 

How do you develop and maintain a relationship with your clients?

 

Get to know your client.

The first step in establishing any long-lasting relationship is to learn about your potential new partner. You cannot build good business ties unless you find out how your clients and their businesses operate. It's essential to understand what they want from the relationship and need.

 

You need to know your client and their business model, practices, and short- and long-term goals. This way, you can approach them from a place of knowledge from the start. You are not interested in a surface relationship, so dig deep to understand the market your client is trying to compete in and do research to find out more about competitors and the industry. You are interested in helping them for a long time.

 

Educate your clients

I'm a big believer in educating prospects and customers. What kept us from working together with them. Even if they decide to work with someone else, we want to understand what it takes to achieve their results. Keep providing research content that can benefit them, and you will become a valuable partner to them.

 

Share knowledge with your client who may not know or understand the details involved in your company's workflow. Explain clearly how communication between your company and the client works, describe how the product or service functions, and provide a clear timeline for the project with regular updates. Keeping your clients informed allows them to feel comfortable throughout the process.

 

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Remember that getting to know your client should always be a give and take. You want to keep the lines of communication open between yourself and your clients. Always listen, ask thought proving questions, and ask for feedback.

 

Giving your honest advice about what may need improving in your client's business will generally be seen as a sign of goodwill and will help build rapport and trust. Sometimes the advice you give will not be directly beneficial to you; however, it will help strengthen your client relationship in the long term.

 

How do you communicate?

Establish open, consistent lines of communication with your client. Offer them multiple ways to contact you, such as a cell phone number, office phone number, and email address. 

 

Be available to speak with your clients should they need you to show you care about them. Ask them the best form of communication for them. Is it email, phone calls, or in-person? Is there a day or time that works best for their schedule? It will show you care more about their time than yours. Establish regular communication along the way and answer any questions.

 

Learn something from each meeting

Learn their needs. When you first begin onboarding your client, take the time to learn about their business needs and operations. The better you understand how their company functions, the better positioned you'll be to create the ideal sales, project, and recommendation for them. Keep in mind that things change, so when you meet, ask if anything has changed with your business needs? 

 

Celebrate Their Wins

The magic happens when you get to know them as people and have a genuine interest in them as humans. Find a way to know them personally and celebrate their life wins. Know their kids' names, pets' names, hobbies, where they graduated from, favorite sports teams, and share milestones with them. Send birthday cards and customized gifts; it goes a long way. 

 

Business relationships can be fun and meaningful throughout your career. Just make sure you always find a way to add more value and become more relatable as you build your relationship!

 

If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free at 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 .

Episode 139, How do you make Winning look easy?

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 139, How do you make Winning look easy? Work For It!

 

We are days away from the Super Bowl! And Who Dey Nation - The Cincinnati Bengals are in the big game. The last time our city was this excited and united was when the Reds won the World Series in 1990, thirty-two years ago. 

 

The Bengals' last time in the Super Bowl was 1989 when they played against another Joe - Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers. Thirty-three years later, a new Joe has emerged -Cool Joe Burrow. Along with Evan McPherson and Ja'Marr Chase. After each win, there have been words shared to describe this team.

You know I love three-word phrases for apparent reasons, but there have been many shared: Why Not Us! It IS us! It's Our Time!

 

Well, in addition to those three-word phrases are three words that have defined their season: Worked For It!

 

Sure many of the games came down to seconds on the clock. Money Mac Pherson- kicking a game-winning field goal to advance us or the defense stepping up big and creating a takeaway. Again, they Worked For It! 

 

And now they have loyal fans so Worked up and excited that grown men and women (count me as one of them) are crying over these come from behind victories with seconds left on the clock and the possibility of winning Super Bowl LVI!  

 

What can we learn from the Cincinnati Bengals team, a team a year ago only won four games and is now heading to the Super Bowl? They believe in teamwork, focus, dedication, hard work, resilience. The key is that they don't just say it; they put it to practice!

 

I started to think about the team I have the privilege of coaching and how I could apply what I learned from the Bengals to create the best game plan for my team's success. 

 

Here are a few things I thought I would share.

 

Prepare for each game - Prepare for each call. 

Each week the team prepares for its opponents. They know their strengths and areas of opportunity.

What skills do you and your team need to perform at the highest level?

As a Coach, have you prepared your team with the knowledge necessary to have a successful call? 

We must Define the Goals. Make our objectives clear. 

The Structure calls. 

Know our Value.

Do the Research. 

Visualize Success.

 

Practice for the big call.

Practice makes perfect! Or, at a minimum, practice prepares us. If you don't create the time to practice your first call, your presentation meeting, how can you expect to win by winging it? You learn by being in the field with your team on calls. If you cannot join them on the call, you can practice and role-play the call before meeting with the client. You can support and coach your team to be better each game. As a manager or leader, you have to design the best game plan for your team and each player by understanding their strengths. You, too, are trying to create game-like situations. If you do this enough times, your seller will gain more confidence to perform at a higher level.

 

Accountable.

In Football, each player is accountable for themselves and the team. Sales accountability is both a "how" and "what ." It is how you, as a sales manager, work with your team to stay on the same page regarding expectations and sales goals. And it is what allows reps to take ownership of their activities, efforts, and performance.

 

How do you hold your sales team accountable?

 

Set and Communicate Clear Expectations and Goals

To be accountable, salespeople need clear and consistent instruction on their responsibilities. Consistency and clarity in sales expectations are essential for maintaining motivation and accountability across the sales team.

 

Establish your expectations individually and as a team. Set specific sales goals for your team to get buy-in and create a healthy sense of competition and camaraderie.

 

With clear expectations set and your team focused on success, there should be no excuses for not reaching goals or making progress. You want a team that has resilience.

 

If you want your team to succeed, you must recognize their successes. In Football, someone gets the game ball for making a play that impacted the win.

 

The Salespeople I know are very competitive. In fact, according to a recent study, about 55% of salespeople prefer competition. Leverage your team's competitiveness by making sales numbers and activity across the team completely transparent.

 

Tracking performance is a great way to improve sales team accountability. It gives you the data to better understand where you are winning and perhaps need additional practice or a new game plan to win the sale. You could do this by showcasing a scoreboard or leaderboard (and other performance graphs) on a screen prominently displayed in the office or shared each week.

 

Here is what I know for sure—every member on your team wants to contribute and be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to get better on each call because progress equals happiness. It does not matter if you are new to sales or have been in the game for a long time. You can make an impact today. It's about how you Prepare, Practice, and hold yourself accountable.

 

More importantly, you have to Work For It!

 

Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com .

 

Episode 138. The 4 Step process to working with a client.

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 138. The 4 Step process to working with a client.

 

How do we close more business? We get more assignments to solve from our clients.

 

It starts with our first meeting with the client; we have to discover several things to help them. What do they need to accomplish? What is their desired business goal or results? How can we ask better and more thoughtful questions to help solve their problems?

 

This is where you come in to help. Yes, our title may say account executive, account manager, sales representative, sales consultant, or sales manager. All these titles and many more have one goal in common - we are problem solvers. We are meeting with new clients to see how we can help solve a business problem they are currently having, and we must uncover this in our first meeting.

 

Let me ask you a question? As a Leader, have we prepared our team to ask questions that can help uncover their desired business results. If you have the questions, is your team using them on calls? Could this be a step that we rush through, but taking a moment to slow down and making sure we have this right could accelerate the sale process faster. This topic would be a great discussion in your next Leadership and sales meeting.

 

I went looking for the best way for us to help our teams. I discovered a process that Kurt Sima from the Center for Sales Strategy recommends using, and it involves a 4-Step process that you can implement with your teams.

 

Before we dive into the 4 Step Needs Analysis Process, remember that First Impressions Matter, be knowledgeable about the person you are meeting with and that it is all about them, not us and our products at this stage of the sales process.

 

Let's review the 4-A Steps that can help us:

 

Assessment

Assess the desired results the business is looking to achieve. Don't just accept the first desired business result; uncover several more to ensure you end up with a meaningful assignment.

 

Ask questions like:

• Help me see the business through your eyes. When you look at your P&L, what do you pay the most attention to?
• What areas of the business account for the bulk of your sales?
• Do you have some emerging or growth areas that are showing strong promise? 
• What key business results are you focused on achieving this year?
• Which results are you having trouble reaching?
• What opportunities do you want to capitalize on in the future?

 

Assignment

Summarize all the desired business results and select one to focus on first. The goal is to have an assignment after your meeting.

 

Follow these steps:

1. Summarize the desired business results you've uncovered so far.
2. Ask if anything is missing from the list.
3. Focus on an actual business result you have the capabilities to address. Ask the business to prioritize the list. Which is most important? Most urgent?
4. Test the emerging "Assignment" by asking questions about already-existing plans, potential spending to solve the problem, and how soon the prospect wants to see possible solutions.
5. Agree on one or more Assignment (s) the prospect wants help with, and you will work together.

 

Analysis

Once the Assignment is clear, analyze the problem to solve. Find out what is getting in the way of achieving the desired business result. Lead with the consumer journey—focus on what they are trying to get the customer to do.

 

Ask questions like:

• Why are you focused on this business result? What makes it so important? What makes it tough to achieve?
• Who is the target consumer? What consumer behavior will need to influence to achieve this result?
• What benefits do they seek? How does this advertiser stack up to competitors when delivering on those benefits?
• What is getting in the way currently?
• Describe the journey that brings them to make the purchase you want them to make.
• What are some of the things you need to see in the ideal solution?
• What has prevented you from having a solution already?

 

Agreement

Agree on how to measure success. What expectations do they have, and how will they measure the results. It's a good idea to have 2-3 ways to measure success.

 

Get your client to agree by asking questions like this:

• How would you describe the ultimate measure of success here?
• What return on investment are you looking for?
• Given our conversation about the consumer journey, how can we measure success along the purchase path?
• What would be an early indicator of success?

 

I encourage you to have your team do a Discovery Call with you as a practice. Let's keep in mind that some of our discovery meetings are in person and others done remotely. We must ensure our team has practiced doing these Discovery calls using Zoom or Teams platforms to give them the best pathway to success!

 

If you think someone could benefit from this article, I invite you to share it.

 

Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com

 

Learn more about The Center for Sales Strategy http://www.centerforsalesstrategy.com

 

 

Episode 137, It took two seconds to Win!

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 get your sales team motivated and inspired.

 

Episode 137, It took two seconds to Win!  

 

In the past several weeks, I have been sharing insights from James Clear's book Atomic Habits to help us exceed our goals this year.

 

As a recap, we set the foundation. It centered around step one, which is getting clear on your Identity, whom you want to become, and the steps to supporting that Identity you wish to create for yourself.

 

Then we focused on building systems and processes to help you achieve your goals. You want to focus on building a system and developing a process rather than achieving a goal or an outcome.

 

We then looked at what James Clear says One effective way to insert a new habit into your life is with an "implementation intention." An implementation intention is a plan you make beforehand about when and where to act. That is, how you intend to implement your habit. It's all about finding the right time and place for your habit.

 

The simple way to apply his strategy to your habits is to fill out this sentence using Three Words - you know I love this.

 

I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].

 

One of my favorite James Clear quotes is; You don't rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.

 

Before we dive into this week's topic, I am still smiling from the weekend. It was an exciting weekend with Who Dey Nation, The Cincinnati Bengals, upsetting the Tennessee Titans. Who Dey!

 

If you allow me to relive that moment, the score tied with The Titans heading down to the field to win the game possibly. The Titans quarterback throws the ball down the field, our player tips it up the air, and we recover the ball.

 

Here comes Cool Joe Burrow with twenty seconds left in the game to get us in a position to win the game. He answers with a nice pass down the field, and with seconds left on the clock, Rookie Even McPherson comes out and kicks a 52-yard field goal as time expired, helping the Cincinnati Bengals win their first postseason road game win in franchise history.

 

Cincinnati upset the top-seeded Tennessee Titans in Nashville, 19-16. McPherson provided 13 points by kicking four field goals in one game.

 

The fifth-round draft pick had already hit a 54-yarder before heading out for the game's final play. His teammate Joe Burrow said "Money Mac" was confident before stepping on the field.

"That guy's unbelievable," Burrow said after the game. "As he was going out to kick, he gave a little warm-up swing, and he said, 'Ah looks like we're going to the AFC Championship.'"

 

Coach Zac Taylor gave McPherson the game ball, noting that no moment is too big for the former Florida kicker.

 

I am sharing this story because what Evan does week in and week out is all about building winning habits!  

 

It starts with your mindset. Your brain builds habits. A habit is a behavior that's repeated enough times that it becomes automatic! Whenever you encounter a new situation in life, your brain has to decide. You carefully analyze the situation and make a conscious decision about acting. Evan McPherson has made it an automatic habit to kick winning field goals!

 

As we wrap our discussion on James Clear's book Atomic Habits, the Four Laws of Behavior Change are the framework that applies to human behavior. These four laws can be implemented no matter what challenges you are facing. These changes apply to nearly every field of work, sports, politics, comedy, sales, and management.

 

James Clear shares that whenever you want to change your behavior, you ask yourself:

1. How can I make it obvious?
2. How can I make it attractive?
3. How can I make it easy?
4. How can I make it satisfying?

 

Make it obvious. We discussed this in last week's episode. "I will (behavior) at (time) in (location)" with intentions; you must make it obvious.

 

Make it attractive. You reward yourself for doing something. This is the motivational force behind every habit you build. We need some level of motivation or desire-without it; we have very little reason to act.   

 

Make it easy. Human behavior follows the Law of Least Effort. As a result, we naturally go towards the option that requests the least effort. We tend to look for the easy way out. This is where we apply the two-minute rule, start with a habit that you can start doing in two minutes. It makes it easier for you to create a routine. Try not to begin with difficult habits; start with easy habits, and gradually increase the difficulty; it is easier to build your success.  

 

Make it satisfying. Rewards are the end goal of every habit. These rewards teach us which actions are worth remembering in the future. We are more likely to repeat doing something when the experience is satisfying. The practical way is to track your habits, and progress equals pleasure! Take the time to celebrate your wins; remember, small changes lead to significant results.

 

We may not be Evan McPherson, a field goal kicker for the Cincinnati Bengals, but we can apply these easy habits to Kick start our way to winning!

 

If you think someone could benefit from this episode, share it, rate it, or subscribe for Free at Itunes or Spotify, so you don't miss out on the next three-word podcast.

 

To learn more about Atomic Habits: http://jamesclear.com

 

Learn more about Simplifying Your sales meetings using 3-word topics at http://www.threewordmeetings.com .