Recently we have been having trouble with our 7-year-old daughter.  What happened to our happy-go-lucky, agreeable little girl?  Her new answer to nearly any request was some version of “No.”  Hang up your towel?  “No.”  TV time is over?  “No, I’m still watching.”  It’s time to do homework?  “No, not now.” 

We drive her to school each day and that gives either my wife or me some good-quality one-on-one time with her.  Normally we incorporate a few minutes of reading or a workbook exercise into the drive time.  I say normally because recently…that’s right…the answer has been “No.”  No reading, no workbook.

Last Monday was my turn to drive.  My wife handed me a book and a workbook exercise and asked that I have our daughter read to me and complete the exercise on the drive.  “Good luck,” she said as I left.   

After about 15 minutes of talking I said, “Mom sent along a book and worksheet.  I put them next to you on the seat if you want them.”  She replied, “I don’t want to read.”  I responded with, “No problem…only read if you want to.”  After a few minutes she asked, “Dad, would you like me to read to you?”  After the book, she completed the worksheet without me saying a word about it.

When I got home, I handed my wife the book and completed worksheet.  She asked if it was a hassle getting these done—I simply said no.  Two days later, I drove again and I went with the same plan.  This time two books and two worksheets!  Aha…I figured it out.

Recently I worked with a client on a big opportunity with a prospective customer (I’ll call them BCI…Best Choice, Inc.).  After a long pursuit, it was down to two contenders and my client was in second.  BCI gave my client one last chance to present their best offer.  They told my client that they were ready to go with the competition but would endure one last meeting. 

My client and I discussed approaches for the meeting.  One was the ever-popular “Here’s why to choose us” plan.  This plan is normally full of slides and claims of being the best at this and that.  It also often results in the client sitting there feeling like the only choice you are offering and respecting is “Choose us.”  So they sit patiently and at the end, say “Thanks for coming in—we’ll get back to you.”

The second strategy (and the one my client went with) explicitly put the choices on the table and made either option okay.  The central thrust of the meeting became working together to address what would have to change with my client’s solution, terms, conditions, and so forth to give BCI another good choice.  Instead of having only one excellent option, they would have two and they could choose which was best for them. 

It took some work prior to the meeting to gain agreement to this approach.  In the spirit of choice, my client and BCI worked together until they felt good about the proposal.  The meeting ended with the client saying how much they appreciated the approach and that they now had a tough decision to make.  A few days later came the call to say “Congratulations…you won, and the approach to the final meeting made a BIG difference.”

This is one of many stories I can think of where explicitly stating and respecting the choices people have opens the opportunity to work together without pressure and nonsense, and get to a place where the client has our best thinking.  At that point, they can choose what is in their own best interest.  Hence, the old adage—People love to buy and hate to be sold to.

Working independently, I used the standard brainstorming technique and Mahan did a Q-storm.  It probably won’t surprise you to read that we came up with very different lists.  What is more interesting is that the Q-storm opened up thinking and possibilities that we would not have considered and gave the sales strategy a critical adjustment.

Next time you are working on sales strategy and tactics, try a Q-storm.  Make a list of all the questions that come to mind.  It only takes a few minutes and I bet you could find a nugget that will make a big difference.  Let me know how it goes.

We all have an ego, and our ego is focused on getting our needs met—that’s what egos do.  Often our response to client objections or challenges is to defend or attack, which can evoke a counter-defense from the client.  Sometimes we seek approval or acceptance and tend to overpromise and over-represent our abilities, or agree to things we should not.  At other times, we want to show how smart or skilled we are and end up impressing ourselves more than the client. 

In contrast, top consultants have a knack for staying centered, calm, objective, and clear-headed, even under pressure.  In fact, the more the pressure, the deeper their calm.  For me at least, that is a learned response.  It is a skill I can practice and get better at—and I can lose that skill through inattention or lack of focus.

So from personal experience, here are two methods of how to check your ego at the door.

The first I don’t really expect you to choose, yet I’ll offer it.  Lots of years of meditation seem to help.  When you sit calmly, watching your brain generate tons of thoughts and emotions, and experience yourself not reacting, it creates that space between stimulus and response.  I’m not saying that meditative composure can’t be overridden in the heat of human controversy.  However, when you choose to practice checking your ego at the door—to unwire yourself from the buttons people might push—you have a strong reference point for what it’s like when the button is pushed, and you can prepare for it.

The second one is more direct.  And the more I do it the better it seems to work.  However, please have the lawyers insert all the disclaimers of “non-professional at work.”  This is just one human being sharing with some other human beings—nothing more.  My internal process is:  trace it, face it, replace it.

Trace It
Those of you who are familiar with the Helping Clients Succeed content probably recognize the process of peeling the onion.  That’s what I do first—peel my own onion.  In relation to some hot-button response to client statements or actions, I ask myself, “What am I afraid of?”  Usually something bubbles to the surface fairly quickly.  I sit with it for a while, and then ask, “OK, so if that happens, then what happens?  What do I fear will happen next?” 

I don’t rush it.  Answers don’t always come as fast.  And it’s often unpleasant.  Yet if I stay with it, I usually fall though enough holes that I come to some bottom—the root issue or fear.  Typically, it’s not something I would have predicted when I started out.

Face It
I don’t think I’m alone in the experience of facing my worst fear, realizing I can handle it, and feeling a great sense of freedom or release.  And often, that’s exactly the experience.  There have been a couple of times when I got there and said, “Yeah.  That’s something I really don’t want.”  So part of the “face it” was understanding what it was I really didn’t want and starting to figure out what would have to happen to not get to that place—and get to some other place instead.  In either case, it leads to the next part of the process.

Replace It
Again—if you are an HCS fan, you know about flipping from what people don’t want to what they do want.  There seem to be three key steps here.

1. Validate and appreciate what I am about to replace.  It was serving an important service—trying to do something helpful for me.  You can reference Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) as a much better source on how to do this than what I describe here. 
   
   It also has a strong basis in persuasion theory—to change people from previously consistent behavior.  “To ensure our message is optimally persuasive, we need not only to free them from their previous commitments, but also to avoid framing their previous decision as a mistake.”  “Praise their previous decision as correct ‘at the time that they made it’.  Point out that the previous choices they made were the right ones ‘given the evidence and information they had at the time’.”  (Yes!  50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive; Noah Goldstein, Steve Jarin, Robert Cialdini)
   
   
2.  Figure out what I do want and create a “peak performance state” for it.  (Please see how to do this in the HCS reference material.)  For instance, if what I want is calm honesty, I deeply understand what calm honesty looks like, sounds like, and feels like for me. 
   
   
3. Practice wiring the new response to the old stimulus.  I first role play the scenario over and over with friends and colleagues, then I try it out live with clients.  I have a heightened awareness for what it is like when the button is pushed and I just reroute it to “what I want instead.”

There is much more technique we can apply to skillfully resolve client yellow lights and deal with tough negotiation interactions.  However, the ability to check our egos at the door is at the core of effective responses.  I welcome hearing what’s been working for you.

When it comes to improving performance, it’s a matter of focus…what you pay attention to.  Focusing on too many things is like focusing on nothing.  It’s like using a sledgehammer to cut wood. 

With all of the things you could do, which actions should you act on?  It’s the essence of honing in on your own personal leverage points. 

An alternate focus in competition is getting “better.”  Asking, “What can I do to be better?”  This simple shift can reveal the behaviors that are within your control.  It reveals direction and focuses your energy.  It’s easier to act on.

The best way to ensure winning is to become better.  Constantly, in practice and competition.  Become consistently better and the winning will follow.  

Why bother?  My belief, which comes from observing hundreds of sales presentations, is that presentations make a difference.  A good presentation is one that connects the solution to the client’s needs in a clear, engaging, fun, and compelling way. 

The good news is that through training and practice, you can acquire the skill set you need to become a good presenter.  Years ago, when I realized how important it for a sales professional to be a dynamic presenter, I took the first of many training classes (which included being videotaped, and then analyzing my presentation).  It was painful and exhilarating at the same time.  Each year for the next few years I attended a presentation course.  I began presenting at association meetings and other low-risk opportunities.  When presenting to clients, I always invited a colleague along to take notes and give me feedback.  I went on to hire a personal coach and to this day continue to invest in my presentation skills. 

It’s easy to recognize and appreciate when someone makes a great presentation.  It’s harder to analyze your own skill, but it’s worth the time and effort.  Are your presentation skills what they could be?  Are you confident when you present?  Do your clients tell you that your presentations are helpful, insightful, and relevant?  Do your colleagues come to you for help with their presentations?

Getting good at this can make a BIG difference.  Do you have some examples of good and bad presentations?  Pass them on and let me know. 

In addition to my blog this week, I have included a 10-minute audio interview I did with Mark Wells, Global Director of Sales Operations at insurance giant Guy Carpenter and an expert in the field of sales presentations.  Listen in to hear some pointers from Mark.  I’ve also included a link to Acres of Diamonds, the story Mark refers to during the interview.  What will be your Acre of Diamonds?

^{Use the controls to Play, Pause, or Stop Randy's interview with Mark Wells.}  

In the next few days, I will share my new ideas with each client.  And I’ll bet they will receive those ideas with delight.  Not because they are earth-shattering, novel ideas—my clients are probably way ahead of me when it comes to running their businesses—but because it will be an unanticipated affirmation of my investment in both our professional relationship and in their success. 

When someone pays for the next person’s coffee at the Starbucks drive-thru, it makes national news: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004084452_webstarbucks20m.html.  Think of the last time you received an unexpected sign that someone values you.  Then think what could happen if we all develop the habit of delivering that kind of unanticipated benefit to our clients. 

Yes, this is common sense and I bet you might be thinking “I know this.”  Do you do it?

Before your next presentation, print out your slides (six slides or so to a page), then answer these five questions:

Is there a clear “end in mind”? 
Is it clear in the first few slides what you feel would be in your clients’ best interests to say, do, or decide at the end of the presentation?  I find it continually surprising how many presentations, allegedly intended to gain a decision, never make it clear what that decision is.  They give tons of information and conclude with the tremendously powerful, “Any questions?” or perhaps, “Next Steps?”  Any questions about what?  Next steps towards what?

Granted, formulating a good end in mind is an art form that improves with practice.  That’s no excuse for not having one.  I’ll share some thoughts on well-formed ends in mind in a subsequent blog.

Is there a clear path to the end in mind? 
Again, in the first few slides, have you proposed a few questions or actions, which if checked off successfully, would allow the client to comfortably and confidently respond to the end in mind?  For example:

Does our solution enable you to achieve the opportunity you described?
Do we meet the decision criteria that you said were important?
Does our solution effectively use the time, people, and money you feel are available and appropriate?

Is this slide about Us or Them? 
If the slide is primarily about us, write the word Us on the slide.  Slides about Us focus on things like: 

• Our Company, Our Experience, Our Solution, Our Methodology, Our Tools, Our Team
• Why we’re great
• We’ve done good things for others
• We’ll do good things for you

If the slide is about them, write Them on the slide.  Slides about Them focus on things like:

• What you told us was important.   
• What you said you needed to feel, think, believe to be true. 
• How what we do would address what you want or would meet your criteria. 
• What you would gain?  What’s in it for you?

Take a quick glance at the balance.  Is your presentation more about Us or Them?  Let’s say you were receiving this presentation rather than giving it.  Does that balance seem appropriate or would you change it?  Is there a way to make the slides about Us connect more to something about Them?

Talking about your company during a presentation is not a bad thing.  While during Inquiry (seeking to understand), we’d like the client to do about two-thirds of the talking, during Advocacy (seeking to be understood) it is appropriate to talk about ourselves and what we will do perhaps two-thirds of the time.  However, 95% of the time is usually not a good thing.

 Is the message Clear (C) or Not Clear (NC)? 
For the slides that you marked Us, is it clear what question this answers in the client’s mind or how specifically this slide moves the client forward, toward the end in mind?  At ninety five 5, we have the saying, “Nothing Extra.”  Give the client exactly what they need to make the decision at hand; nothing more, nothing less.  When you are offering “our this” or “our that” is it because the client needs it or you need it?  Many, if not most of the presentations we see are information rich and decision poor. 

Is this slide visually easy to absorb (E) or hard to absorb (H)? 
Use the 5-second rule.  Show someone the slide for 5 seconds and ask that person to tell you what it is about.  Visuals ideally supplement and crystallize the story; they don’t repeat the story.  A picture is worth a thousand words—you don’t have to give them both on one slide.  Give them the picture and you speak the words.

Some good resources for slide design are PRESENTATION ZEN by Garr Reynolds, SLIDEOLOGY by Nancy Duarte, and BEYOND BULLET POINTS by Cliff Atkinson.

To summarize making the most of your slides:  Is there a clear end in mind?  Is there a clear path to end in mind?  For each slide, Us or Them?  For each Them, clear or not clear?  For each slide, easy to absorb or hard to absorb?

This checklist isn’t everything you need to make a great presentation, but it is a great start.

Then the Sales leaders get back to work and return to old ways.  No GROW Coaching, no breakthrough performance.  I am often asked, “What interference is keeping the Sales Leaders from putting into practice what they know is a good idea?” 

We have found that awareness of a few key obstacles can help to develop better Coaching habits.

Realize that Coaching is a Quadrant II activity.  It’s Important, but not Urgent.  It is a high-leverage activity that can reduce the “firefighting” that tends to rule a Sales Leader’s day.  You must be proactive and make it happen.

Set time aside each week for Coaching.  Prior to the start of your week, plan when you will Coach and who will be your focus.  Set 30 minutes at the beginning of each day to hold Coaching discussions.  Plan it into your schedule and honor your commitment to yourself.

Five to ten minutes can get you great results.  GROW Coaching can be a quick “check in” to help remove big or little obstacles that hinder performance.  Even a little bit of Coaching goes a long way toward dramatically improving sales performance.

If you believe Coaching is key to achieving what’s most important to you, commit time to make it happen.  Set goals for yourself that enable you to practice every day.  You will be surprised at the leverage that comes from bringing out the best in your teammates.

How would you like to get to the end of this year and know, beyond any doubt, that you are substantially better at sales than you were at the beginning of the year?  Most people would like to and most people won’t.  In fact, “Extensive research in a wide range of fields shows that many people not only fail to become outstandingly good at what they do, no matter how many years they spend doing it, they frequently don’t even get any better than they were when they started.”  (G. Colvin, Talent is Overrated). 

Your production capacity will grow in direct proportion to the quality and quantity of time you devote to improvement.  If you don’t put in the time, you won’t improve.  It doesn’t matter how valid your reasons are.  You won’t improve.  If it is important to improve, here is a path forward. 

FOCUS

Select a specific aspect of your sales performance and commit to significantly and measurably improving it by the end of this year.  For example:  Increase the number of times I get a good Decision Grid for an opportunity from ____  to _____  by ______.  Select something that you are confident would really make a difference.

PRACTICE—APPLY

Get expert help in designing a regimen of practice and application.  Ninety five 5 is one source of that help.

Commit to and employ lots and lots of repetition.  In real estate and retail, the key is location, location, location.  In performance improvement, it is repetition, repetition, repetition.  (Actually, it’s repetition, reflection, reinforcement, reward.)  Practice every week; don’t bunch it up or postpone it for a more favorable time in the future.  Practice, don’t procrastinate.

Combine repetition with reflection.  Your goal is conscious competence.  You will know exactly what is working, what isn’t, and why.  A high degree of self-awareness is a consistent factor of top performance.  Both when you practice (not with clients) and apply (with clients), reflect as follows:

Before: What am I going to do?  How specifically?  How will I know it is or isn’t working?
During: Red, yellow, green:  How is it going?  What’s happening with me (self-awareness), with them (other awareness), and with the task or process at hand (task awareness)?
After: What worked well?  What didn’t?  What lessons learned will I apply in the future?

Get continual feedback on your progress from:

A.  A coach, mentor, expert
B.  Your sales leader; colleagues
C.  Ninety five 5 community members
D.  Clients, when appropriate (“Was this helpful?”)

Your best bet would be to obtain feedback from as many of the above sources as possible.

EXCEL

Define excellence.  How, specifically, will you know you have nailed it?  How will you reward your success?

Our formula for this process is Focus + PACE = Improvement.  Remember, PACE is:

P   =    Practice
A   =    Apply
C   =    Confirm
E   =    Excel

Your production capacity will grow in direct proportion to the quality and quantity of your deliberate practice.  We’ll supply the quality if you supply the quantity.  Don’t allow the need to increase production be an excuse for ignoring production capacity.  Make increasing production capacity be the reason you increase production.

Check out this small passage from the movie Passengers.  A woman psychologist, who is an expert in helping survivors of disasters, is being asked some questions by a friend: 

Friend: How did you come to do what you do?  How does one become an expert in disasters? 

Psychologist:  I study children with severe traumas.  Children who have shut off.   

Friend:  Where do you start? 

Psychologist:  By learning their language.  Most of these kids dress up the facts with fantasies, imaginary friends, storytelling.  I find my way into their story and then I find my way back to the truth. 

I would never suggest that clients dress up the facts with fantasies, imaginary friends, and storytelling.  Nonetheless, that last line really jumped out at me.  “I find my way into their story and then I find my way back to the truth.”  Okay, perhaps a bit overdramatic when applied to sales—yet I feel it points to the essence of what good salespeople do.  Well, to keep it more real, I’ll say it’s what I feel I do when I’m “on.”  I find my way into the client’s story and explore with an open curiosity what the client thinks, feels, and believes to be true about the present, the past, and the possibilities of the future.  I try to understand how the client perceives and interprets events and then the meanings and conclusions they draw from those interpretations.   

To do that, I need the discipline to put aside my own beliefs temporarily.  That’s not always easy for me. It takes repeated practice.  Yet if I can’t do it, I keep listening to my internal running commentary on what the client is saying rather than listening closely to the client.  I wind up back in my own story rather than staying present with the client’s story. 

In sales dialogues, as in physics, there is an “observer effect.”  No matter how pure my investigation, the fact that I am inside the story and asking questions influences the story.  Certain questions may cause the client to examine perceptions, interpretations, and conclusions in a different light and to perhaps even change them on the fly.   

When I eventually end up comparing the client’s beliefs to my own (it’s only a matter of time), there are likely to be beliefs we share, beliefs that differ, and beliefs that contradict or conflict.  Of course, in the beliefs we share, the client is astute and accurate.  In the other beliefs, I have to judge how much I should correct his or her misunderstandings of the truth (hopefully, I’m just kidding).  It’s certainly possible that the observer effect will work both ways—my story, my “truth,” will be influenced as well.  That’s something I have to be willing to accept as a price for “finding my way in.” 

Ah, the truth.  How indeed to we find our way back to the “truth”?  To the extent that the truth is the underlying reality without any stories—theirs, mine, or anyone else’s—the “truth” is elusive by definition. Stories are representations, abstractions, beliefs, and opinions.  What we can work our way back to is an accurate and clear understanding of the story.  What that gains us is the opportunity to tell our story in the language, the metaphors, the rhythms of the other person’s story.  It allows us to compare and contrast our stories.  It allows us to see if we can find a common story that makes sense to both of us or whether our stories don’t have enough symmetry to be told together.  And many people seem to appreciate the opportunity to have their story understood—however reluctant they might have been to share it in the first place. 

The more skillful I am in learning the client’s language and finding a way into their story, the more successful I seem to be in finding a way back to, if not the truth, a more viable path to helping the client succeed—whether it ends up being with me or not.   

At least that’s my story.  And I’m sticking to it.  Until I hear a better one.  Do you have one you want to share in this regard?