Three Word Podcast

Episode 15 How sending your kids back to school can help your business.

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

This episode is about how you can apply the same lessons you teach your kids about going back to school to grow your business.

 

5 Takeaways:

 

1. Supplies

Every parent gets a list of supplies that their child will need.  Note pads, pencils, paper, computers, books and backpack to carry all these items.

These items are to help set them up for success. What tools are required for you to do your job successfully?  Have you forgotten over the Summer some of the tools you have that could improve your business?  Make a list of what you need to be more effective and efficient in your role.

 

2. Clothes. Parents go shopping for new outfits to wear to school.  We can all recall our back to school outfits and shoes. We were excited to put them on.   Time to assess your current wardrobe.  Could you use a little refresh on what your wearing to work?  In sales, we need to feel confident all the time.

 

3. Routines.  Helping our kids from the Summer schedule of staying up late, sleeping in to now having to get up early and getting ready for school is a shift in their routine.  We need to make certain we set a winning routine.  We have a good nights sleep so we can have the energy and a clear mind to accomplish our daily goals.  We need to create boundaries so most of our day is spent with our clients, providing solutions for them.

 

4. Homework.  We have to help our kids create a mindset and timeline of completing their homework for the next day.  What do you need to get done for the next day? You have to approach your workday just like your asking your child to do.  Have you done your homework or research on your customer, what they need, what solutions you can offer them?  We have a limited amount of time each day to complete our requirements to move our business forward.  We need to be focused and strategic.

5. Grades. How would you grade yourself on your current performance?  A great exercise is to review your current book of business.  Go through all your accounts and grade yourself.  Would you give yourself an A, currently doing business with them, know their needs and providing solutions at a high level or would you grade yourself a C,  great prospect not currently doing business?  If your struggling with an account applies the same principle you would recommend for your child.  You would get them a tutor or extra help.  Maybe you need a little help from your manager, a personal coach, a co-worker who is excelling in that area. for our job. The key is you have to be open to learning.  You need to keep investing in yourself. 

 

 

 

Episode 14 Lessons I learned from playing golf in the rain

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

 This episode I share a story of how playing golf in the rain reminded me of three important words:  Always Be Prepared!

3 Takeaways:

 

1.    Know your outcome.  What is your outcome?  Is it to earn the next meeting to pitch for their business?  Is it to convert them to a key account?  You may realize that its time to let go of this account.  You realize they don't have the funds to properly invest in your program. My outcome in the golf tourney was to play my best over the two days to finish at the top.

 

2.  Be prepared for everything.  Know the conditions your working in. Do you know more about your client than your competitor?  Be prepared for additional guests joining your meeting that you didn't plan for.  You need to anticipate any objections or setbacks you may face. Golf,  I thought I was covered with 4 towels and 3 golf gloves.  My competitors took advantage and they were more prepared.  They scored better than me on Day 1. They had waterproof gloves.  We may only get once chance!

 

3.    Practice makes perfect.  You need to think about all the tools you have to help you during the sales process.   Think of any questions or setbacks you could experience during the call.  Roleplay with your manager or co-worker so you build more confidence before the meeting.  I plan to schedule a round of golf in the rain so I can be better prepared and experience those conditions so in the future I can draw from my experience.

 

Episode 13 Stop Wasting Your Clients Time

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

This episode focuses on how to Stop Wasting Your Clients Time as well as your own time.

5 Takeaways:

1.  How much time does your client have?  I ask this question every time I meet with a client.  I merely ask how much time did you block off for our meeting?  I want to be respectful of our time together. The client appreciates that you care about their time.  I even remind them during the time that we have about ten more minutes. In most cases, I find that if the client is engaged you earn more time with them or a next meeting.

 

2. Be prepared. You need to understand why the client blocked out time for you to meet. If you said you had a big idea then you need to make sure you deliver on that promise.  What is the outcome of the meeting?  Is it to share market research that you thought would be valuable to their business?  Is it a creative concept to connect them to their key consumer? 

 

3. It is not about us, it's about them.  What product or service do you have to offer the client to help them?  It could be something that saves them time.  A better way to approach new clients, a more effective way to help get their current customer to spend more with them.

 

4. Ask your client to walk you through their customer's eyes. You will gain a tremendous amount of knowledge about their consumer and discover where you may be able to help.

5. Teach them how to use your product effectively. How will they benefit from your products or service?

 

 

Commit today, to making certain your time with your prospects and current clients are well spent.  You will earn their respect and their business!

 

 

 

Episode 12 The Formula to Win Every Day!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

In this episode, I will share five actionable things you can do to Win Every Day!

How do you create a productive week, month, and year? You start by focusing on one day at a time. The equalizer is that each of us has the same 1,440 minutes each day. How productive we are will depend on how we spend those minutes. We have the opportunity to create small wins,  all these small wins create momentum which can turn into big days. How will you take advantage of your day?

 

 It starts with 3 things that you have total control over!

 

Your talent determines what you can do.
Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do.
Your attitude determines how well you do it."

 

Here are Five thought-starters to help you Win Every Day:

 

1.  Create a winning routine.  How do you start your day? Do get up to meditate, work out, make your bed and you have already won, chose better foods for your body you have won before you even get to work.  What are you doing to win during the day or at the end of the day?  Is it one more call to set the meeting.  One more idea to share.  One more success that a new prospect maybe open to learning more about.

2.    I can’t do everything today, but I can get started on one thing. You have plans, and you have goals to achieve. But you have nothing until you actually do something. Pick one plan, one goal, or one idea, and get started. The first step is by far the hardest.

 

3.    I will do one thing others are not willing to do. Be willing to do what others think about or refuse to do. Find one thing other people won’t do. It can be small. Whatever it is, do it. You’ll be doing it while others are watching. Make it a ritual to do one thing each day that others may be afraid to start. After a period of time, you will develop determination and willpower and more confidence.

 

4.    Get out of your comfort zone. Fear is the most common trait that stops us. Commit to doing something that will stretch you out of your comfort zone. You will gain confidence from the experience and realize that the scenario you created in your mind was less scary than it turned out to be. Call the client sitting on your prospect list today.  Ask for one referral today from one of your best clients. 

5.   Win with Persistence.  Out-hustle everyone. Start your day knowing that it’s your will, not necessarily your skill, that can make a major impact on your day. Approach your day with a strategy of with one thing that must get completed versus a wish list of items you hope to accomplish.

Episode 11 Fun facts that have you making more effective new business calls

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

This episode focuses on the "Reason Your Calling" a new prospect. Picking up the phone is the fastest way to get on a client’s calendar, but too many of us fear the phone. Most of our fear revolves around the potential of being rejected or being hung up on. Every great seller has been hung up on. Those who had the courage to push forward likely found all long-term rewards for the temporary pain they may have experienced when the line went dead.

 

6 Takeaways to think about when making calls:

 

1. In 2007 it took 3.68 attempts to reach the decision maker. Today it takes 8 attempts.  You could be passing on a potential sale if you give up too soon. 

2. The best times to call are between  4:00–5:00 p.m. 

3. The best days to call to reach a contact are Wednesdays and Thursdays.

 

4. Referrals calls are our the most effective way to grow our business. Only 11% of us ask for referrals from our best clients. 

5. Establish a Valid Business Reason (VBR). Before you reach out to a prospective client, know the VBR for why you are calling. 

6. The key is your mindset! Do you approach your calling sessions as “cold calling,” which has negative associations, or have you shifted your mindset to “power hour,” where you’re in control? 

Episode 10 3 Pillars of Greatness from Marine Corp Erik Therwanger

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

 

This Episode is a conversation with Erik Therwanger who shares how he began his career by serving in the US Marines where Leadership, Honor, and Integrity became his foundation. He created the Think Great Collection series from his life experiences.

 

The 3 Pillars of Business Greatness provide business leaders with the Shared Languages required for predictable and profitable growth.   Position yourself and your team for success by mastering the following 3 Pillars.

Build - Strengthen-Expand!

Achieving and maintaining a competitive edge is vital to the long-term success and relevancy of any business.  While every organization is unique, yours has the ability to achieve greater results by focusing on the right combination of key factors- what Erik calls the 3 Pillars of Business Greatness.

 

1. Leading - Assess and develop leaders at all levels while increasing engagement throughout your entire organization.
2. Planning - Create a Flight Plan and build the Flight Crew required to elevate your business to new levels of success.
3. Selling - Transform the mindset and results of your team by creating a high-performance sales engine.

 

To learn more on how you can implement the 3 Pillars of Greatness or contact  Erik Therwanger at saphire@thinkgreat90.com or call 952-807-3887

Episode 09 Your Someday Is Today!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

 

This Episode focuses on shifting from living in the future - Someday, to saying Yes to Today!

 

We love using the word “Someday.” But the problem with someday is that it is not Today! We only have today to live whatever dream we may be holding. We only have today to do the most important work, the work that counts, the work that can’t be put off.

Tomorrow is about procrastination, about avoiding what needs to be done today for any number of reasons.

 

 Three procrastinator types:

 

1.Thrill-seekers. They wait until the last minute to get things done, creating stress for themselves and anybody around them.
2 Avoiders. They adopt the “out of sight, out of mind” attitude, hoping against hope that the task or project will magically go      away.
3.Non-deciders. They subscribe to the “analysis paralysis” theory of life and become obsessed with minimizing risk before moving forward.

 

To be great someday you have to start today!

Episode 08 How a Round of Golf changed how a client looked at his sales

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

  What are the most impactful things you can measure?

 

1. Your attitude.  You are in control of your energy and how you approach your day,  your co-workers, your current and new clients.  Be energized that you are in control vs the day controlling you.

 

2. Measure what matters to your customer.  You need to discuss how your service and product will be measured. What's important to them needs to be your number one priority.

 

3. Measure the number of new business meetings you set each week?

 

4.  Measure the number of presentations it will take to create a new customer?

 

5.  We realize where to make adjustments, and where to focus our energy. 

 

More importantly, by making everything measurable, we can make smarter decisions about our business.

Episode 07 Get your client to say Yes every time

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

 

 This episode focuses on getting your client to say Yes every time by  "Owning The Objection".

 

3 Takeaways:

 

1.Your relationship and ability to think like your client is key. You gain a tremendous advantage over your competition when you’re able to eliminate or navigate their objections.

2. How you prepare yourself and your team to master the objections is critical.  See the business through your client's eyes and their customer's eyes. Ask them to walk you through how their customer views them and why their current customers buy from them. Is it price or value they receive? Do your research so that you’re ready and have the confidence and enthusiasm through the process.

 

3. What do you imagine are the top three objections you will face during your meetings? How would you overcome these objections? Your ability to understand what is prohibiting you from doing business is key. Asking what is keeping you and a client from working together may open up the real objection.

 

Episode 06 Take back your Life and Control Your Destiny!

Lisa Thal is an Author, Speaker, and Life Coach.  She wrote the book, "Three Word Meetings" for you.  A Simple Strategy to Engage, Inspire, and Empower Your Team.  Lisa helps provide fun and interesting 3-word topics to get your sales team motivated and inspired. It is guaranteed to save you time and have your team more engaged during the sales meeting. Make an impact on those you lead by using 3 words!

This episode focuses on how to "Control Your Destiny" and not allowing someone else too.

7 Key Takeaways:

1. We discussed the meaning of Control: The ability or power to decide or strongly influence the particular way in which something will happen! 

 

2. Control your day - Focus on how can you break your day down.  Client meetings; paperwork; Prospecting; answering emails and client requests;   Scheduling it on your calendar will help you take control of your day.

 

3. Focus on growing your current accounts.  Is there an opportunity to get more revenue from the relationships you have established.

 

4. Prospect for new clients - again your one email or call away from a cancellation.  It is critical to have new customers in your pipeline. So you minimize the impact of a current client canceling.

 

5. Ask for referrals- get more business from those you do business with. 

 

6. Eliminate distractions- this is big.  Get out of the office away from the distractions that steal valuable time away from you.  In some offices, our co-workers steal time from us.

 

7. Control your thoughts - Create the mindset of sharing new ideas and solutions to your client's needs.  

 

8. Stay positive in the midst of cancellations or outcomes you can not control. You have a plan to cover any shortfalls for the month.