Three Word Podcast

Episode 93, Why Mom's Know Best when it comes to business!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your Sales meetings. 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.  She has over 34 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience.

 

Episode 93,  I share four business lessons I learned from my 90 Year old Mother.

 

This week my Mom will celebrate her 90th Birthday!  I think about all the groundbreaking inventions over the last 90 years that she has experienced and have changed how we do business—the things we use today and the evolution of the products to help save us Time and be more productive.

 

One would be - Always be Prepared!

 

She taught me to have my clothes ready the night before, anticipating me waking up late ( which, if you know me, that would never happen- 4 am club). Have your lunch packed the night before, and always leave earlier if you experience heavy traffic. If you're not early, you're late.

 

We were talking about my first job interview. My Mom was with me on my first interview at a radio station in Wilmington, Ohio, WSWO, and WKFI; We Keep Farmers Informed. Yep, that's where it all started 34 years ago. See, the station was about 50 minutes away from where I was living. We role-played in the car about the questions I may get asked so I would be prepared to answer them. I went in for the interview, and when I returned to the car, she laughed and said Soy Beans are at a great price. I was happy to share that the interview went well, and I went on to get the job-She was preparing me for my first job post-college! Still, today, is your hair pulled back, lipstick on? She asks which clients are you meeting with and am I prepared for the call? My response, of course, Mom!

 

 

Another Lesson - Show Up!

 

Today we talk every morning before work. My Mom would say, don't call me during work hours unless your hurt. The company is paying you to do a job, and it doesn't include talking with your Mother.  

She would also say give the company more than they expect. Showing up is the first step. Step two is to add more value than they expect or hired you to do.   

 

Another Lesson - The Power of Communication!

 

What I have come to appreciate about my Mom is her ability to communicate. She expresses how she feels - a straight-to-point storyteller. I believe working full Time and raising six kids can create a more direct communication path. Perhaps, that comes from her years as a telephone switchboard operator and then working for Air Care - The Helicopter dispatcher at University Hospital. She had to get straight to the point and be transparent with her communication as lives depended on her.

 

In business, think about how you communicate. Are we listening to those you lead or your customers? Technology has provided us with many paths to communicate or miscommunicate our message. Smartphones are one form of communication. For many of us, we used to have to make calls from a Phone Booth; then pagers were invented, someone would page you when they needed to get a hold of you, then you had to find a phone booth, then the invention of the bag phone you could have in your car was groundbreaking to now the smartphone that we never leave home without that fits in the palm of our hands. The old pager now is texting messages to our phones.

Outlook calendars, CRM's, email, Zoom calls, Micro-soft Team, google documents. All inventions to improve our production and performance.

 

Strive for the face-to-face meeting with your team and your clients. Then resort to the tools available to stay connected and continue to educate and communicate how you can help.

 

She reiterated the power of a handwritten Thank you note. It is so easy to send a thank you text or email. If you want to stand out-, make the Time and send a thoughtful handwritten thank you note- it will make a different impression.

 

I talked with Mom about her 90th Birthday and all the people, products, and innovation she has experienced the last nine decades!

 

And one stood out more than others - Time!

 

As my Mom shares with me, Time is the most incredible resource you have in life and business. How you spend that Time will determine your success and contributions. The Time you invest in learning new and better ways—the Time invest in building your relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and customers matters! Even at 90 years old, she said time flies. She went on to share that Time is limited; make sure you're spending it wisely!

 

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Episode 92, 7 Reasons Why your clients don't want to meet with you!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your Sales meetings. 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.  She has over 34 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience.

 

The question is finding out what they are resisting. Let's keep in mind our goal is to earn that first conversation! So we can reach the next meeting!

 

Please think about this. 1% of companies are in the market to buy something today. That means 99% of other companies may need your product or service tomorrow. So until we find the 1% of customers that need us today, we may be facing sales resistances from the other 99%. That is a lot of sales resistance!

 

 

If you're in sales, you must expect to face some sales resistances; we all do. The question is, what are they resisting, and how do you over-come it?  This would be a great exercise to walk through in your next sales meeting.

 

7 Reasons Why your clients don't want to meet with you:

 

1. I don't need your product?  Most clients are already working with a vendor or may not need your product or service right now. That may be true, is there an opportunity to say a benefit to meeting with you, can be to validate the current vendor they are working with or discover how they can improve your current doing? We need to identify what your prospect must believe in buying from you.

 

2. Your product is not a good fit?  I would bet about 25% of your list prospects are not a good fit for what you have to offer. In the media industry, we are very clear on who is consuming our product every day. For example, we have a female-driven radio station that targets Moms with kids. I need to remove the clients I am targeting that want men 18-34 or 55+. Why? Because they have other options that may be a better fit. So Step one remove those targets and replace them with accounts or categories of business in your wheelhouse. Create case studies of proven success that you can share with them. Focus on the clients that can benefit from your product or services, so you are a good fit!

 

3.  I don't know your company? Unless your Apple, Amazon, Mercedes, or State Farm may not be familiar with your company. We may get some sales resistance when calling if they have never heard of our company. What can you do to make them more familiar? Market yourself and your company. If you missed Episode 91 on how to the 3 Strategies to generating leads on Linkedin with Jennifer Starling, I highly recommend listening to that podcast. Perhaps sharing a competitor's name, you do business with can bring fewer resistances to moving forward to learning more from you. Find a better way to market yourself, so you become more top of mind.

 

4.  Your price is too high?   You mean you haven't heard a client say you're not charging me enough, changing the proposal, and raising your price? Most of us listening has listened to the price resistance before? Our price is only too high when we have not proven that investing their dollars would have a payoff for them. What proof of performance can you share, so they stop resisting? A great way to address that would be Sharing proven case studies from other clients; other markets are having success is a great way. Client testimonials sharing I invested X thousand and got an X return. Digital Marketing shows you the metrics for every dollar spent. Every smart decision-maker expects an ROI. 

 

5.  This is a Bad Time to buy.   Perhaps many of you have heard, Not Now? Try to uncover the Why? Why is now the wrong time to buy? I don't know about you, but most first calls don't result in, " Thanks for calling, I was waiting for your phone call, I cant wait to meet with you and hear about all your solutions to helping me"! More than likely, you will face resistance. Ask are you happy with where your sales currently are? Could they be better? I find it's only the wrong time when you don't have the right tactical plan to accomplish what they need.

 

6.  Resistance to Listen.  Are we tuned into what our client is telling us? Or are we thinking about what we will say next? Asking probing questions and repeating what they say shows them you are listening. Getting clear on how you can help them is critical.

 

7.  Your product or service is not a good fit.  Remember, about 25% of the prospects on your list are not great leads. Determine whether your product or service is a good fit. If it is not, they move on to clients that are a better fit for you. Identify the categories that are performing well for you and your company. Ask your best customers the number one reason they do business with you, of course, outside working with you! You may find verbiage to use when reaching out to other prospects.

 

 

So expect a little sales resistance. Research your prospect before you call or email them so you can identify the Why, the problem they have, or the opportunity or solution you can provide! Remove the 25% of accounts that are not a good fit. Keep marketing yourself and your company. Provide proof that working with you is a great decision!

 

And remember, to exist, you must persist!

 

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Episode 91, Learn 3 Strategies to Increase Your Leads with LinkedIn

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience.

 

In Episode 91, Learn the 3 Strategies to Increase Your Leads with LinkedIn

 

Podcast Guest: Jennifer Darling

LinkedIn is exploding right now with opportunities for you to build significant influence. 

 

This podcast has strategic and tactical ideas on how to upgrade your LinkedIn profile to enhance your professional brand, create expert status among your target market, showcase your skills, and connect with prospects to grow your business. 

 

You’ll learn why LinkedIn is different (and better for your business) than other social media platforms and why having the right words in your profile is critical to your business. You’ll receive tips on how to measure your Social Selling Index to ensure you’re maximizing your social power and measure your presence. You’ll also discover how to take advantage of LinkedIn’s publishing tool, which is phenomenal for increasing your searchability on Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

 

Other vital discussions are how to find more prospects using LinkedIn. The three most important things you can do today to become more successful using this platform.

 

 

Jennifer’s Bio:

Jennifer Darling is a revenue-generating machine! She brings over 25 years of experience in advertising sales and sales management and running her own business to show salespeople (and non-salespeople) how to market themselves to get more sales. 

 

She went from the corporate sales manager at media giants Comcast, NBC, and FOX to building her own successful business as a professional speaker, trainer, consultant, and coach. Jennifer's LinkedIn success includes 10,000 views of her LinkedIn articles, including one article that generated over 6,000 views worldwide, 1,000s of views of her LinkedIn videos, and generated above 10,000 views of shared updates, all with the power of the free version of LinkedIn. She’s generated leads that resulted in $10k, $100k, and 1 million dollar proposals for herself and her clients.

 

She was named one of SweetFish Media’s Top 50 Female Sales Speakers and Voted 2020 Best In Show by the Professional Convention Management Association, Convening Leaders. Jennifer is a professional member of the National Speakers Association.

 

Contact Info:  Connect with Jennifer and receive your Free LinkedIn Tip Sheet.

Jennifer Darling

916-204-3923

jennifer@jenniferdarlingspeaks.com

www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdarlingspeaks.com

 

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Episode 90 Tom Brady's secret to winning the Superbowl!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience.

 

Episode 90 - This episode focuses on Tom Brady's secrets to winning the Superbowl and how you can apply the same system to your business!

 

I decided to do a little research to see who were the most winningest quarterbacks of all time. 

 

Quarterbacks with the most Super Bowl wins all-time:

• Tom Brady – 7.
• Joe Montana – 4.
• Terry Bradshaw – 4.
• Troy Aikman – 3.
• Eli Manning – 2.
• Peyton Manning – 2.
• Ben Roethlisberger – 2.
• John Elway – 2.

 

This year's Superbowl story was the youngest QB Patrick Mahomes vs. The oldest QB at 43 years old - Tom Brady.

 

How does he do it? More importantly, what can we learn from him and apply it to our business?

 

I love what Tom Brady said about the Superbowl.

"Playing well matters. The team that wins is not going to be the most experienced team; it's going to be the team that plays the best," Brady said. "So we've got to prepare the best, we've got to execute the best, we've got to perform the best under pressure. If we do that, we'll be champions. And if we don't, we won't be." Well, we know how that story ended. They won!

 

Here are three sales lessons we can all learn from Tom Brady.

 

1. Tom Brady believes he will win

It doesn't matter whom he is playing or what the situation might be. He thinks he will win. So the question is, do you believe you can win? If you're in sales, do you believe you have the best solutions to help your clients? Do you think you deserve the opportunity to have a conversation with a prospect on your list? 

 

If we don't believe in ourselves, what makes us think customers should believe in us? Believing in ourselves starts with the realization that our goal is to help others. Sales are not about selling; it's about helping others. When we make assisting others in our mission, then we'll finally be in a position to believe in ourselves.

 

2. Tom Brady leads others to share his beliefs

His confidence is contagious. Tom created a culture of Seeing is Leading!

The first step we must take as a leader is you must SEE.

You must SEE all others as people with all the values, needs, and hopes you have. Those people on Tampa's Team were Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, and the entire offensive line!

 

The Bucs wanted to win a Superbowl in their hometown!

 

You must realize that leading someone does not involve getting them to do what you want but putting a value on what they want. 

So as a leader,  always try to see others as people.

The ability to see those around you as they are and to recognize their needs or wants, and desires is the first step to being a true leader.

 

That leads me to my final point. Yes, it would help if you believe in yourself and those around you. But that may not be enough to win a Superbowl or your next sale. The question is, how prepared are you?

 

 

3. Tom Brady is always prepared 

How did he prepare? He spent 12 days alone in an empty house leading up to the game. That's the most focus time that Tom created on what he needed to do from a football standpoint." What a commitment to be away from his wife and family.

 

I hear you saying, yeah, Lisa, we don't have 12 days to focus on one sale like he did to prepare for one game. I hear you. The question is, do you have 12 hours or 12 minutes to put focus time on what you need to help prepare you?

 

The other most impressive thing about Tom Brady is the work he does when no one is looking when the cameras are not following him. The food he eats, the workouts he puts in every day to maintain his strength, and the mental preparation watching hours of film on his opponents to maximize every opportunity. He Practices until he knows he is prepared. He puts himself in the best position to lead his team to win! To play well, you must put yourself in the best possible place.

 

We may not be playing for a Superbowl, but we are playing to win. So the question is, how much time do you spend preparing to become the best in your industry? How much time do you spend visualizing your sales success? How often are you scheduling time to practice so you can play at a high level and improve your sales skills?

 

How do we set our people up for Superbowl success? 

The most important questions a leader can ask. 

What do you need from me?

Followed by how can I support you?

As a leader, we set the strategy, select the best talent and then empower them.

Three things we can focus on as leaders.

(1) Their development

(2) Their accountability to achieve success

(3) Reduce or eliminate roadblocks that interfere with their success.

 

In the end, Tom Brady believes he will win. It doesn't matter whom he's playing or what the situation might be. He is always more prepared than his competition, he leads by example, and Tom thinks he will win every time.  

The question is, do you!

 

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Episode 89 Are you up for the Challenge?

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of marketing, sales, and leadership experience.

 

In episode 89, I ask you to join me in the challenge to "Look For Good"!

 

Let me start by saying it's not your fault? The world is consumed with negative news. We have come to understand that from the past year. In media, the stories that get the most attention are always the negative ones. Why are we drawn to doom and gloom? Here is a little insight into why this happens. There is a term for this, and it's called Negativity Bias.

 

Kent Campbell ReputationX wrote an interesting blog on Negativity Bias.

 

Why are people so negative? Humans have what is called a "negativity bias" because we've evolved to react to threats. Like Google, we're pattern discovery machines; when something stands out, our minds highlight it like a threat. Why is the news so negative? Because the media leverage negativity bias to increase profits. The fact is, bad news gets more attention, more clicks, and leads to generate more revenue. Negative media coverage reports show that negative words such as "bad," or "worst," and "never" are 30% more effective at catching people's attention as opposed to positive. The majority (95%) of headlines have been reported as being blown out of proportion!

 

Take, for example, airplane crashes. They always make the headlines, but car crashes hardly do. Yet every year, car crashes kill thousands of people more.

 

And Google knows this, so they react to this pattern by giving you what you seemingly want - that often means more bad news.

 

So your thinking, ok, Lisa, what does Negativity Bias have to do with Look for Good? Stay with me. What if we shifted from the doom and gloom and Looked for good? Think about it, instead of focusing on everything going wrong; we looked at what was going right? We Looked for Good!

 

So I am putting out a challenge today to start to look and recognize good things happening, Positivity Bias. 

 

Are you up for a challenge? How do we do it? It starts with you. I recommend that you become an observer of your thoughts for a day. Agree to be an observer pay attention to your thinking loop going on in your head. You may be overwhelmed, frustrated, or had a bad day; a client cancels their business with you, so your day and thoughts shift to Negativity and start to focus on scarcity. Where did your focus go? Did you take a drive down a negative alley? Keep in mind those thoughts travel throughout your day. No one wants that.

 

None of us are perfect; yes, we have bad days. We are going to shift it to the positive happening in your Life. I have my health, family, friends; I get things done, solve problems, I have a job, and I have great clients that I get to work with. I have so many opportunities every day. I am sidestepping that negative thought of lack in my life. I am having a great day, vs. my day is so so. The world has shifted, but you can too. You focus on people doing good things. I like to reframe some of these setbacks, opportunities, and possibilities! 

 

When you feel stressed, you smile or laugh. Ha..Ha. Goodbye negative Bias, not today.

 

Be the observer or your thoughts. Shift your focus at that moment to get things done. I am going to provide solutions to my clients. Smile and thank another co-worker for a job well done. Good for you! Send a thank-you note to one of your best clients.

 

Audit whom you spend time around. Are you spending time with battery drainers or battery chargers? You know the difference. You get a call on your phone, and you say ugh. I will answer that call later; you don't have the time or energy.

 

Conversely, a call comes from someone that lifts you, makes you laugh. Take that call. You audit your focus on where and with whom you are spending your time. There is so much good happening. Think about the clients that can benefit from your ideas, your energy, your positivity. Replace a negative experience with something positive.  

 

Think about your word association and change it. When feeling pessimistic or overwhelmed, it puts you in that state. You may tend to stay there, which is not good for you. So then you don't have the energy. Change the word overwhelmed to opportunity. Change the word Anxiety to action—negative thought to positive thinking. Every time you start to feel frustrated or overwhelmed, laugh and say yeah, this is a moment. Ha. I will see this as an opportunity for me, and I am up for the challenge.

 

So I was hoping you could help me spread the word of saying goodbye, Negative nelly, and hello to more Positivity. Start to look for the good in Life. Look for good things happening with you, your kids, family, co-workers, and clients. Let's start a movement of momentum and possibilities.

 

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

 

 

Episode 88 Learn 7 Big goal-setting secrets!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of sales, marketing, and leadership experience.

 

Episode 88,  Learn the 7 Big goal-setting secrets!

 

Are you climbing or sliding towards your goals and dreams?

 

I want to make sure your climbing. This is the Year you experience growth, contribution, financial freedom, better health, better relationships, more certainty in your life and business. The question is, are you ready for your next level? Your best Year? Is it time to Clear the Fear?

 

The best advice is to remember Success doesn't typically happen overnight. The little things aren't the big things. The little things are everything! Success comes from stacking the little things—the compounding effect of your efforts.

 

Here are the 7 Big goal-setting secrets you can implement today.

 

1. What are your goals?  The goals you set for the Year. Better Health, more meaningful relationships, improve your business? How much income do you want to generate? Get clear on what you want.
2. Visualize it's One Year from today.  It's February 2, 2022. I want you to visualize that all your goals came true. You blew your revenue goals away. You made more money this year than any other year. You are in the best shape of your life. In a meaningful and loving relationship. How do you feel? More alive? More Confident? Happy? 
3. What are the emotions you would feel?  Your business is thriving. Are you feeling more in control? Financially Free? Life with Purpose? Impacting others on a larger scale? Remember when you got your first job? First relationship? First Sale? You felt amazing, In control, powerful, and you went for it. 
4. Move Away or Move Towards something?  Many of you listening do things based on avoiding pain. You move away from something uncomfortable. Move away from your job or an aspect of your job, something you think will cause you pain. Picking up the phone and talking with new clients, doing the work to grow your business. Others move towards a bigger future. You know there's more to life. So where are you? Stop and close your eyes. Think about if one Year from now nothing changed with your life and business. How do you feel? Are you angry, disappointed, sucks, shame? Stop prolonging your future and create a Fear of staying where you are. Clear the Fear! 
5. Let's get clear on Fear? What are your biggest obstacles standing in your way? Think of that one word that is blocking you from success. Do you want to make more sales, but? Do you want to be in better shape but? Do you want more meaningful relationships but. Most of us would say that one word is Fear, failing, rejection, or worse, being judged. Think about this- your afraid to fail- but by not taking action, your failing! I was scared to fail, so I didn't do anything. I want you to remember this, your next level of life is on the other side of what you fear the most. Create a fear of staying where you are today to move you towards your dreams and goals.
6. How do you want to be remembered?  There is another level of life. What type of character do you want to be known for? At the end of your life, you are getting ready to make your transition, and five people are around you. What would you want them to say about you? 
7. Create a compelling future.  How do you restart today? How do you restate your goals today? How do you rewrite your future today? You have to look forward and get emotionally engaged. Craft your compelling future. Who are you meant to be? Who are you designed to be? Realize the setbacks, the disappointments happen, and you say thank you. You understand that Circumstances don't predict your future - your perception, emotions behind the circumstances, predict your future.  

 

I am challenging you to create that compelling future and look at it every day. If you want something bad enough, you can achieve it. Focus on the small steps- progress, start today at this moment. I know you have more to give, more to live to your full potential. No regrets, and No Fear!

 

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

Episode 87 , What do you see?

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of sales, marketing, and leadership experience.

 

Episode 87, Helps us get clear on our Vision and Plan for our business.

 

What is a vision?

Your Vision is the meaning and purpose of business. It reveals what you hope to achieve long term, what you see for yourself. Your drive and intentions!

For example, an early Microsoft vision was "a computer on every desk and in every home." 

 

"The Vision is the Why? Why you do what you do every day! It's you leading with your Heart. It's about your goals for the future and how you will get there.

"A vision is aspirational. A plan is a process."

 

"Your vision should be thought of as part of your strategic plan," What you see for yourself, Who are you, and what do you do? 

 

For example:

 

• What ultimate impact do you want to have with your clients and in your industry? Do you want to be seen as visionary?
• Why is it essential for you to interact with your customers and clients?
• Why is it vital for you to be apart of something bigger than yourself, apart of a team?
• Your Why is all about the contribution to helping others. 

 

Three examples of inspiring visions. 

1. Amazon: "To be Earth's most customer-centric company where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online." 
2. Google: "To provide access to the world's information in one click."
3. LinkedIn: "Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce."

 

Your Vision should stretch the imagination while providing guidance and clarity. It will create direction and set priorities while challenging you. It's what you stand for - your standard!

 

• Project five to 10 years in the future. What do you see for yourself?
• Dream big and focus on your success.
• Use the present tense.
• Infuse it with passion and make it inspiring.
• Align it with your business values and goals.

 

My Vision is to inspire and impact others! 

 

I encourage you to create your Why! The Vision for yourself. 

 

The Plan is how you will get there—the actionable steps you need to take to get there. The process to help you stay on track. You have to be clear on your goals, the results and activities you need to take, and make sure you track your progress. 

 

Your Plan may include:

• You are increasing monthly sales. What is your Plan for accomplishing this?
• You are creating one new client each month. How will you do this? The Plan and process you need to take.
• Upselling one current customer or asking for one referral from a Happy client. The Plan to do this?  

What is your Plan for holding yourself accountable? I know you want to hold onto the vision part. So how do you ensure your Vision becomes a reality?

 

My Vision is to inspire and impact others! 

 

What Plan did I implement to ensure my Vision? 

I created the Three Word Podcast to connect and inspire others.

Wrote the Three Word Meeting Book to help others engage and inspire their teams. I use this process every week with the team I lead during my weekly sales meetings.

I listen to thought-provoking podcasts and read books that continue to educate and inspire me.  

I challenge myself to take uncomfortable action so I can continue to stretch myself.

 

Now it's your turn.

So I am asking you to take uncomfortable action.  

Have a vision for yourself, your business, and your life!

And then add the process, the Plan to which you get there.

 

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

 

 

Episode 086, What needs to be renovated?

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of sales, marketing, and leadership experience.

 

In episode 086, we discuss what needs renovation vs demolition!

 

With most of us spending more time at home, have you noticed yourself looking around at opportunities to make some improvements? Whether it's sprucing up your new office space, upgrading your kitchen or bathroom, maybe you have your sights set on a new deck or patio. You have decided to renovate something in your home.

 

So is there something that needs renovation at work?

How is your culture at work?

Most business leaders understand the power of a positive culture―but almost every effort to change culture fails. Why? The approach is often all wrong. Most companies attempt to "transform" a new culture from the ground up vs. focusing on a culture of renovation instead. It's all about keeping what works, shifting what needs to be changed, and ensuring proper care and maintenance―much like refurbishing or renovating a home and improving its overall value. 

 

Have you completed your annual reviews on your team yet? We are in the middle of  meeting with our team to review the prior year. We can all agree last year was a year of learning and renovating.  

 

We walk through a process that allows the employee to share how they think their year went. You know I am a fan of threes. So we ask them to list Three Successes to Celebrate and Three Opportunities for Growth or renovations they wish to make.  Based on their feedback, you see whether they feel they need to renovate their business moving forward.

 

The number one resource for exceeding our revenue goals is our Human Capital, our people. Our people are the greatest asset to a company.

 

I find it helpful to walk myself through this exercise.

What was Three Successes to Celebrate?

What are the Three Opportunities for growth for me and the team I lead?

Remember, the key to happiness is progress. So how do we continue to create a culture of improvement? It recognizes what renovations you need to do to make sure your organization's foundation is solid. 

 

My most significant growth opportunity is supporting our people! Turn uncertainty into certainty. I am an optimistic, inspirational leader that believes the people you surround yourself with makes a difference. I ask myself, what more do I need to learn, and where should I focus that effort?

 

Another great question you might ask yourself, what else do I need to do to keep developing other leaders around me.

• Solve one key issue that may be holding them back. 
• Ask your team what I could do to be a better leader in supporting them? 
• Ask your team, "Do you have what you need to do your job?"

 

I listened to Brene Brown's podcast, "Dare To Lead," I highly recommend, by the way. She was interviewing Kevin Oakes, the head of the world's leading HR research firm―the Institute for Corporate Productivity. Kevin consults companies on how to improve productivity.

 

During the podcast, they discussed how employees play a critical role in creating the culture. Most teams consist of various personalities and talents. So how do you identify the proven leadership actions to ensure you have a culture of innovative high-performance?

 

First, we have to Evaluate our team!

 

Do you have Influencers? Most of us are aware of Social influencers who earn compensation to build a companies brand or service. It's important to note that we all have employee influencers. These employees help you create a winning culture. Or remove those that are undermining what you're trying to build. Are they willing to lean into change? Do they thrive and understand that they want to be apart of a culture of progress. 

 

Do you have Energizers: They are optimistic about the future. They bring focus, energy in everything they do. They accept and are willing to lean into change. They share ideas on how to improve your operation. More importantly, their enthusiasm gets others on the team, moving in the right direction. 

 

Do you have Blockers:  They are skeptics and non-believers of what you're trying to achieve. In most cases, we will work hard to convince these people to shift their mindset and join all of us. In most cases, the only answer is to move them along to another company. 

One key identifier will be if someone says this how we have done it around here. Red Flag! Alert!  

 

So I ask you to think about what type of work environment are you building? What renovations do you need to plan, build, and maintain to create a culture that drives profits, growth, and business sustainability now and well into the future?

 

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

 

Episode 085, The Story behind the Black Box!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach.  Simplify Your meetings. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of sales, marketing, and leadership experience.

 

In this episode, you will learn the difference between Customer Service and Experience.

 

What is customer service? 

Customer service is one part of a customer experience. Customer service refers to the customer support function of a business. It's the help and advice offered to customers when they have a question or an issue concerning a product or service. Most companies have a service department or are there to solve a customer's problem with their product.

 

What is the customer experience?

It's the entire customer journey a consumer takes with your business. It involves many different touchpoints. It starts with awareness of the company, research about the company, initial purchase, and post-purchase experience. The personal interaction you have with that business.

 

Customer experience is all about anticipating the needs of the customer. Great companies have a strategic customer journey map. They ask for customer feedback to continually improve the experience and avoid issues in the future. Pro-active vs. reactive. In doing so, they build brand ambassadors and lifetime customers. And with the right experience, price becomes less of a factor.

 

Customer service is nearly always initiated by the customer. The customer faces a problem, so they reach out to a business' support services via the phone, email, social media, or live chat. 

 

What can you do to improve your customer experience? 

 

In your next meeting, review your customer journey? Think about your best customers, not the customers that buy you off the price, although I know that may be a factor. Engage your team by asking them what companies they think of when it comes to outstanding customer experience. How does it make you feel to do business with those companies?  

 

What are your multiple touchpoints to your customer? You have an opportunity to impress those you do business with or get prospects started with your customer journey.

 

In the podcast I share several ideas you can implement today to creating a better Customer Experience.

 

Think about how your clients are greeted on the phone, through email, through your social channels. How can you stay connected with that consumer on a deeper level?

 

So back to the black box. My customer experience began when I was online looking for the perfect vehicle for me, followed by on-site experience at the dealership, the vehicle's purchase, the stress-free experience of maintaining my car, and the surprise-filled black box that I received. Because of all the touchpoints, I think it is safe to say I will be driving a Mercedes for a long time.

 

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

 

Are you looking for a simple concept to engage your team during your next meeting?  The Three Word Meetings book can help.

Available at amazon.

 

Episode 084, Face The Truth!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Business Coach. She wrote the book "Three Word Meetings."  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa coaches leaders on how to take their sales and business meetings to the next level with fun and interesting 3-word  topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired.  She has over 34 years of sales, marketing, and leadership experience.

 

Episode 084, This episode is about Facing The Truth! The truth of where you are today and where you want to go moving forward.  

 

I have a candid conversation with Monica Weakley, who owns her own coaching business and works with the fastest growing real estate company in the world, eXp Realty. Her specialty is coaching Realtors who want to grow their business through relationships. These principles apply to all aspects of our lives.

 

There is only one person that is responsible for the truth – YOU! We have to find a way to eliminate the reasons and focus on the Results! So, where are you today vs. where you want to be?

 

List one goal you want to achieve. You're here X---------------- X Want to be Here

( the dashes are the small activities needed to get you to your goal) It's the compounding of the daily action steps that gets you there. Not the big climb to get to the mountain top. 

 

The four-step process to discover your score. Using a scale of 1-10, determine where you are today.

 

1.  Desire - On a scale of 1-10, how bad do you want to achieve this goal. Be honest. For example, if you were in the desert with no water for five days. Water would be a 10.

2.   Belief – 1-10. Ten is a full belief in yourself, and you got this. Do you believe you can achieve it?

3.  Patience – 1-10 Ten being it must happen now! Patience is acceptable as long as you have a sense of urgency.

4.   Activities – 1-10 How are your daily activities are matching up with your goal. I need to prospect more to fill my pipeline of potential customers. What are you doing every day to take steps to get you there?

 

Add up your score and Face The Truth of where you are today and where you want to be moving forward. If you're short in one area, what can you do to improve? Action and desire are essential.

 

Great news – it's all up to you. It's about you being honest with yourself.

 

To connect with Monica or learn more about eXp Realty, contact her at 513.600.7296 or http://www.myagentMonica.com

 

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