Initiators Get the Ball Rolling
Written by Brandon Hull on January 25, 2008
The world needs more Initiators. Initiators get the ball rolling while others stand around talking about the ball and ball-rolling dynamics.
Should we use a ball?
Should the ball be blue? Red?
Who should roll it?
Who wants to roll it?
Where should we roll it?
Should we roll out as we walk, or just push it and let it go?
Where are the instructions for the ball?
Where will the ball end up?
How come we don’t have details on this ball from management?!
Our leadership stinks!
Too many people talk about the dynamics of work rather than actually getting work done. Initiators, really, are uncommon. As far as Initiators are concerned, dynamics aren’t roadblocks, they just, well, exist. Dynamics only frame an action, they rarely prevent it or stop it once it’s going, though they may slow it down. Initiators are optimists. They know that the first key to successfully completing any task is getting it going.
Projects get started, products are introduced, contacts and partnerships spring forth, new markets are tapped into…all by Initiators. People with the vision to get things rolling. Are you an Initiator?
Next up: Finishers.
The World Needs More Finishers
Written by Brandon Hull on January 23, 2008
The world needs more Finishers. Finishers get things resolved. They’re not always creative idea generators, nor are they the best project managers. But they can bring things to a close.
I’ve known a lot of Finishers in my day. The best ones are always looking for powerful, but tactful, ways to get things wrapped up through their team, their network, or by themselves. They want to know if this happens, what will happen next? And then what needs to happen to get things finished?
I hesitate to use the word “Closers” to identify these people, because it’s a bad word with a bad sales connotation. Finishers are valuable for work beyond selling. Having a salesperson who’s a Finisher means you’ve got a person who not only wants to sell business quickly, but looks for ways to streamline procedures internally; who wants to cut through red tape; who wants to strike things off todo lists as completed.
Finishers are great members of teams. Sometimes they ruffle feathers by glossing over details, but the payoff is worth it. They don’t procrastinate. They don’t set things aside. They get things done with little talk or “updates” along the way.
Previously, we talked about Initiators.
Do You Know How To Separate Good Prospects From Dead Ends?
Written by Craig Klein on January 22, 2008
A guest post by Craig Klein of SalesNexus.com in our series called “The One Thing You Did in 2007 to Impact Your Success“. More posts in this series here, here and here.
Prior to 2007, we had struggled to sell profitably. We generated revenue – but we felt we could do much better. Our assessment was that we spent an awful lot of time on sales opportunities that never went anywhere.
We spent time and money traveling, on conference calls and web seminars. We had plenty of activity – but sales just didn’t follow suit. We simply spent too much time on deals that never closed.
Our challenge was to figure out how to know a good prospect from a dead end. And as I am sure you can imagine, that’s no small trick.
What did we do?
How Quitting My Job Made Me Successful
Written by Kevin Sasser on January 17, 2008
Part of a series called “The One Thing I Did in 2007” - other posts here and here.
“I changed my mind on you working remotely, I want you to move to New Jersey”.
Those were the words of the President of the company I worked for, at the end of 2006.
For a dyed-in-the-wool Southerner, such as myself, having a mailing address in New Jersey was about as appealing as “Now Open - Britney Spears’ Daycare”.
I resigned my position as Sales Director for an Enterprise Knowledge Management Organization, giving up my six figure base salary, generous expense account, and a Rolodex of the elite in the Federal Government and Life Sciences industries.
The resignation was inspired in part by the fact that with the perks and prestige came a lot of road time away from my family, a really bad diet, a nice beer gut, and enough stress to support several gastric-centric ailments.
10 Career Saving Tips For Your Next Team Sales Meeting
Written by Kevin Sasser on January 10, 2008
As you prepare for your upcoming sales meeting, I’m taking the opportunity to wish you a Happy New Year, and offer these bits of tried and true wisdom for your upcoming event.
1. Pack Ear Plugs - 2 sets
- If you have to share a room, and your roommate snores, this will be a life saver.
- You pack 2 sets, the other for your roommate in case you snore.
2. Bring a Jacket
- I don’t care if your meeting is in Miami, there will be one room that will be kept at 45 degrees. Odds are that this is exactly the room in which you will have to spend the majority of your time.
3. Dress Nice
- You know those $100 jeans you have that look like they were trashed in a bar fight or that top that is exactly the one you saw on “Dog, the Bounty Hunter”? Yeah, don’t wear those.
- While you should avoid looking like a stiff, you don’t want homeless people offering to put you up for the night.
The One Thing That Made Jill Konrath Sell More
Written by Jan on January 8, 2008
Last week, we asked you about the one thing you did in 2007 that contributed most to your you success.
We asked a few experts for their personal views on this topic. Our very own Brandon Hull talked about the importance of delegating tasks.
This week we have Jill Konrath, who talks about the importance of working with strategic alliance partners, including a few ideas you can use to benefit from Jill’s very own 2007 success strategy.
Comments, as always, are welcome. Let us know what you did to sell more, make more money and live a more rewarding life in 2007.
How You Can Sell More by Doing Less
Written by Brandon Hull on January 3, 2008
The one thing I did in 2007 to improve my results was delegate.
Offloading the tasks you’re either not best suited for, don’t like, or aren’t good at is increasingly preached from the four corners of the consulting world.
Instead of working on your weaknesses, you’re hearing more and more about the importance of focusing on your strengths.
So I gave that a whirl…
I delegated assignments my team was a better fit to take on.
