The Killer Ninja Skill Of Stealthy Research

Sales people have to be good at many things if they are to be successful. They need to be evangelists, counselors, engineers, teachers, politicians, project managers, lawyers, leaders and servants. Yet amidst all these attributes there is one skill that defines a star performer... their ability to conduct stealthy research to identify and then engage the power-base within an organization. There is no value in being able to lead with insight if you are talking with the wrong people.

If you are in business-to-business selling, then LinkedIn is the most powerful database and engagement tool in your arsenal. You know that your potential customers judge you based on the insights you bring and the questions you ask; but before you get to ask your prospect any questions you must first ask the right questions within iterative and Boolean search. This is because research and search are synonymous in achieving results by finding and connecting with the right people.

When it comes to being a master of search there is no-one better than a savvy recruitment consultant and the video below is by Glen Cathey, author of the Boolean Black Belt blog. Strap yourself in and take notes as there is much to learn in how to use LinkedIn's Advanced Search and Saved Searches.

LinkedIn's Advance Search is powerful for those who are adept but which version of LinkedIn do you need to be able achieve your sales goals? Those on the free edition of LinkedIn are subject to commercial use limits which restrict searches and profile views for prospecting or recruiting. But even the free version allows users to view the full names and profiles of anyone in their extended network (1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree) regardless of whether they are directly connected or have a Premium account.

Usage limits for search on the free edition are triggered when LinkedIn's algorithm deems that someone is using LinkedIn for commercial use such as recruiting activities or prospecting. This limit is calculated based search activity since the first day of each calendar month.

When 30% of your monthly searches are left, a progress bar appears in your search results and continues to remind you of how you are tracking against your allowance. You can still use search within LinkedIn even once your limit is reached but you see only a limited number of results. Your limit resets at the beginning of each month. The limit does not however affect searching 1st degree connections.

The overall value proposition in paying for LinkedIn Premium, Business Plus and Sales Navigator is therefore in having larger access to the 380 million members and greater search capabilities. Although LinkedIn Premium subscriptions are designed primarily for job hunters and networking purposes, the search capabilities work well for sellers. LinkedIn Premium licenses do not offer relationship management and have limited features which is why Sales navigator is best for sales people.

Sales Navigator Team is specifically designed for enterprise teams connecting the world's buyers and sellers. Navigator offers the sales and marketing professional a business planning solution including: expanded access to the network, saved leads and accounts, saved searches, unlimited premium filters, monthly bank of InMails and network unlocks. Importantly, the enterprise (employer) maintains ownership of all user licenses and receives usage reporting plus access to LinkedIn consultants and the learning center.

But regardless of the version of LinkedIn you're using, free or a paid, search can transform the way you do social research to target prospects, monitor for trigger events and sell in the most efficient way possible.

Adam Nash from LinkedIn provides great tips here on using Advanced Search with AND / OR Boolean search terms. The cheat sheet below from LinkedIn themselves is also a great resource.

What are your techniques for being a social selling ninja? How do you use search masterfully? Let me know by making a comment.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr: Ricky Romero Ninja!

Compensation Plans Don't Manage Performance

There is a misconception that sales people are 'coin operated' and that paying commission or bonuses creates motivation. Many managers wrongly behave as if a sales compensation plan is a substitute for managing the inputs that actually create the success that the compensation plan is designed to reward.

Financial incentives or sales targets do not equate to 'performance management'. There are many examples of financial incentives actually driving poor behavior that creates massive damage to the corporation's brand and balance sheet

Money is the reward, not the reason for giving everything in a cause to create success. All lasting and worthwhile motivation comes from within. Dan Pink summarizes the research that proves and this video makes for compelling viewing... watch it now and let me know what you think by commenting at the bottom of this article.

Managers today are spread thinner than at any other time in history and any external pressure they apply evaporates the moment they walk away from those they seek to direct. Sustainable team performance instead comes from great leadership and healthy culture. Counter-intuitively, people actually lock-in to generosity rather than greed and Enron versus Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE) is a powerful case study.

Trust between management and staff needs to go both ways. Alignment in both purpose and values is the foundation on which performance can be effectively managed. Personality matching is not the same as cultural fit and the worst mistake a manager can make is to hire the wrong person. Hire based on cultural fit even though it is the toughest thing to get right when hiring sales people, then focus on managing by inputs rather than by results.

Performance management is not about the rewards, it's about the why, what, how and when of execution

Without doubt, the best book written on sales management in the last ten years is Cracking The Sales Management Code by Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana. The book details a framework for leadership by coaching and managing activities that deliver against objectives which are measured with KPIs (Key performance Indicators), which in turn creates business results that are rewarded through a well conceived compensation plan. Jason and Michelle make some important points:

• You cannot manage results, only people and activities. In my opinion we must therefore provide clarity of task and context for emotional connection to what is being pursued as an outcome.
• You cannot manage what you don't measure BUT you cannot manage everything you measure. Amazing, according toCracking The Sales Management Code, 83% of what is measured (typically in CRM systems) cannot be managed at all.

You cannot manage revenue in a CRM and compensation plans are no substitute for leading a team and managing the inputs that create success. Professional selling is changing at a terrifying rate and up to one-third of sales roles will be gone within five to ten years. To succeed today we need to drive human-to-human (H2H) engagement with outstanding customer experience that is power by, not replaced with, technology.

Compensation plans don't attract and retain the best talent; great manager's do. Those with vision, mission and values that connect their team to a worthwhile cause and where they have a positive and connected culture

Vision, mission and values have always been important because they create the 'why' in what we pursue. The who, what, how and when are the detail:

• Vision for our aspirational place in the world and markets within which we operate.
• Mission for the difference we want to make in the lives of others – our purpose and cause.
• Values for how we operate – the behaviors we expect from everyone in our team.

Take the time to design incentives that motivate as well as reward. Dan Pink's video at the top of this article is thought provoking.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr: ffaalumni - Business man shows success abstract flow chart

The Future of Workplace Culture Is Collaborative Innovation

Claire Madden is a unique Gen Y/ Millennial. She speaks to thousands and presented at a TedX event in September 2015 answering an important question: What is the future of work and how do we create a culture of collaboration and innovation?

Claire believes that we are living through a rare period in history where massive demographic and social shifts are combining with huge technological advances that will change society dramatically. Such is the speed, scale and scope of change that within just a a few decades the workplace will be forever different.

I've written about the employment apocalypse where up to one-third of sales roles will disappear within the next five to ten years. The machine age and artificial intelligence will have monumental consequences but Claire adds another dimension that is important to understand for all leaders. We will always live in a human-to-human (H2H) world regardless of technological disruption but the workplace of the future will be transformed from what we know today.

Here are Claire's insights and some staggering facts that every leader needs to be aware of. The rest here is from Claire and her TedX video is at the end... it is compelling viewing.

Generation Z, today’s school and university students, are projected to have an estimated 17 jobs across 5 careers in their lifetime – and many will be working in jobs and sectors which don’t even exist yet. There are overarching demographic and social trends which are going to influence the workplace of the future – population, participation and productivity.

Population. Many nations are on the brink of massive aging with an acceleration in the percentage of population over 65. Baby Boomers, born 1946-1964, make up 25% of today’s workforce and are reaching retirement. They will make up just 8% of the workforce by 2025. We have six generations in our society today, and the workplace is undergoing significant intergenerational transition with Gen Y and Gen Z set to comprise over 3 in 5 workers in the next decade.

Participation. Female participation in the workforce has been increasing and will continue to in the years ahead. We will also be working later in life, with the retirement age being pushed back. However, due to the impact of our aging population, the overall participation rate of people aged 15-64 will decline in the years ahead from 65.1% today to 62.4% in 2055. The impact of this aging population is reflected in the ratio of workers to retirees in our nation. In 1975, there were 15 people of working age (aged 15-64) for every couple of retirement age (aged 65+).  Today there are just 9 people of working age for every couple of retirement age, and by 2055 it is projected to be just 5.4 people of traditional working age for every couple of retirement age. 

Productivity. With the declining workforce ratio, there is going to be greater demands for productivity from our labor force. The need to do more with less to support an ever increasing aging population. Productivity and output has been increasing - the Intergenerational Report outlines that for every hour an Australian works today, twice as many goods and services are produced as they were in the early 1970s. A key contributor to this has been technology which has enabled greater efficiencies.

 The intersection of technology, innovation & collaboration.Productivity will be maximized not only by the effective utilization of technology, but by organizations and people who can innovate, and communities that collaborate. From the accommodation sector being transformed by AirBnB, to transport by Uber, and higher education through MOOCs, it is the intersection of these three factors – technology, innovation and collaboration – which are transforming sectors. Effective organizations, brands and workplaces of the future will understand the opportunity of leveraging technologies, fostering innovation and embracing collaboration.

Collaborative Leadership. Traditional leadership models have been based on position, hierarchy, command and control.  Whilst leadership remains essential, the styles of leadership the emerging generations respond best to are those that foster a context for them to connect, create and contribute. Effective leaders of the future be those who can effectively create a culture of collaborative innovation. 

A culture of collaborative innovation. A culture of collaborative innovation requires focusing on the people not just the process. On shaping a team not just spending on technologies. It requires building on a foundation of shared values such as humility, respect and honesty. 

Productivity and outcomes will continue to be high priorities in the workplace of the future. However as leaders and managers can shift their focus from just process to developing people, from transactional to transformation leadership, and create vibrant, healthy, dynamic workplace communities – the productivity, innovation and output will be generated as people thrive in a culture of collaborative innovation.

Claire Madden is a social researcher and works with McCrindle Research as Director of Research. She is internationally recognized and masterfully bridges the gap between emerging generations and the business leaders and educators of today. She is a next-gen expert, fluent in the social media, youth culture, and engagement styles of these global generations. Most importantly Claire is a trusted friend who I highly recommend if you are seeking a speaker for your company event or conference.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

How To Outperform Your Competition In Sales

According to Lauren Mullenholz who spoke on October 8, 2015 at the LinkedIn Sales Connect conference in Las Vegas, those with SSI (Social Selling Index) scores above 70 achieve 200% more meetings, opportunities and new clients compared with their peers. Who wouldn't want to outperform their fellow sales people and competitors by 200%? Lauren's video is at the end of this post and includes a case study explaining how Microsoft is modernizing the way they sell with LinkedIn. The screenshots below are from the video.

The average SSI score within LinkedIn globally has gone from 21 to 28 in the last 12 months with North America and Australia leading the world with an average just over 30. But it's lonely at the top... achieving an individual SSI score of 70 or above places you in the top 1.4% of LinkedIn members. Click here forhow to create a strong personal brand in social with LinkedIn.

I've personally achieved a SSI score of 90 and the business results have staggered me. If you're serious about modernizing and improving the way you sell, thenknow the business case for social selling and create your own specific strategy. You can download a free white paper I've written defining 'strategic social selling' here (no form to complete).

I encourage all of my clients to embrace LinkedIn's SSI scores as the new KPI. My framework above is not dissimilar to the following four elements of LinkedIn's approach which drives the SSI score algorithm:

1. Create a strong personal brand to attract buyers and evidence your relevance and credibility
2. Find the right people within your network and identify who can assist with warm introductions and research
3. Engage at the right level with insights that set the the agenda and influence the buyer's priorities, business case and procurement process
4. Build relationships of trust and value

Many companies around the world are modernizing the way they sell by embracing social selling. The illustration below shows the results that Microsoft are achieving in three distinct areas: Enterprise partners / resellers, direct corporate sales and direct sales into the government sector. Watch the video at he bottom of this post to hear their story and how they are achieving these results.

Lauren's LinkedIn video below also features Phil and Brian from Microsoft with their case study. It's ideal to use during a 'lunch and learn' session with key executives inside your own organization. Introduce it by asking: "Could this be the way to modernize the way we sell?"

If you would like to see your own SSI score and understand how SSI scores are created, read this blog post.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr

LinkedIn Publisher Awards – The Winners Are ...

The biggest and most powerful publishing platform on the planet is LinkedIn Publisher. Initially it was available only for those deemed to be 'Influencers' such as Obama and Branson but then they generously opened it up to mere mortals with a selected few also invited to be LinkedIn AUTHORS.

Publisher is the platform on which you're reading this (Pulse is the name given to the channels they've created to stream content) and the stats are staggering. There are more than 1 million unique writers publishing over 130,000 posts per week achieving unrivaled reach and engagement with over 380 million members all around the world with 2 new people joining per second. Almost half of the people publishing in LinkedIn are in the upper ranks of their industries (senior managers, VPs, CEOs, etc.) yet those publishing posts equate to less than one-third of just 1% of LinkedIn members! It's staggering that in the age of personal branding, more than 99.5% of LinkedIn members fail to take advantage of a game-changing feature enabling them to show insight and relevance in their areas of expertise.

Publishing enables you to attract and engage while demonstrating insight and relevance for your target market

Just 10 months ago, I decided to stop blogging on my website and go all-in here in LinkedIn. It was part of a deliberate strategy I formed to go and be where my market is to create audience as an author and speaker. I took this action after reading David Meerman Scott's book, The New Rules of marketing and PR and the results in just 10 months have been staggering: Ive grown my blog followers from 1,600 to nearly 10,000 and with well over 450,000 reads and huge engagement with likes, shares and comments. Note the statistics in the sample of 6 posts below.

I've published more than 250 original content posts here in LinkedIn and theresults have included being recognized as the #1 sales influencer in Asia-Pacific and one of top 100 B2B social media users globally. I've received invitations from magazines and blog sites to write for them and an approach from a New York publishing house for a book deal. I've invoiced substantial new business in speaking and consulting from sales conversations that ask; "Are you available and how much do your charge?" instead of me having to chase anyone or establish my credentials.

Publishing in LinkedIn is transformative and their generosity in providing the platform for free is changing the human engagement in the business world in ways we do not fully comprehend. It's time from LinkedIn to showcase the best and brightest who use their platform as it is intended; not as a narcissistic blasting platform for spamming or selling but for high quality community engagement where valued relationships are built, ideas are shared and value is created.

I write for Top Sales Magazine and they recently published their list of the Top 50 blogs but not one of these was on LinkedIn. The 15th annual weblog awards (The Bloggies) were conducted earlier this year and they are also yet to recognize anyone on the biggest and best platform on the planet which is LinkedIn Publisher with Pulse streaming content through its channels. Here is my question for the leaders at LinkedIn.

When is LinkedIn hosting the inaugural Publisher Awards and what will be the categories?

What's your opinion about LinkedIn Publisher as a blogging platform and Pulse as a publishing channel catering to special interests? What do you think the award categories should be? Share this article as an Update and Tweet this link to LinkedIn executives to get the ball rolling.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow theaward winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr

3 Personas Needed To Pioneer New Markets

The reward for most pioneers is hardship and death – often from hostile conditions or ferocious incumbent natives. The settlers who come later are the ones who tend to prosper. And here is the quandary today... we want to implement disruptive market strategies to find blue ocean to redefine customer value but what's the realty of execution and how can we succeed?

Forgive the religious metaphor but there are three types of people that are needed to pioneer new solutions and markets: evangelists, missionaries and disciples. Or put another way...

"To pioneer new markets we must be able to convert people's thinking, enable them successfully in doing things a better way with us, and then create passionate advocates who support us."

The most important ingredient throughout all phases of building new markets is passionate belief. Here is my own definition of Re·la·tion·ship Sell·ing: Building relationships of genuine rapport and trust for a buying decision in the best interests of all concerned. The sale is achieved through the transference of belief and the delivery of tangible value supported logically with facts and evidence.

This scene from the movie Walk The Line highlights the point brilliantly (and it is a true representation of what actually happen with Johnny Cash during his recording audition. He was selling his happy gospel music but his audience did not believe him. He pivots to something dark but from the heart... his belief in what he was doing was irresistible. Every entrepreneur and sales person needs to be a true believer and then have the courage to share their message.

Steve Jobs, Bono and Richard Branson are examples of leading commercial evangelists. They passionately set a vision and bring people along with them (Steve Jobs past tense). But once you've converted people you need to be an educator and role model to help people become successful with your new approach. Customer churn / loss is the direct result of failing in this phase. It's true that a sale is only a sales when their money is in your bank account but a customer only becomes a customer only when they are realizing the benefits of your product, service or solution.

Are you your own best customer? If not, how can you possibly ask others to invest in what you're selling?

We must be expert in applying what we sell and authentic in the solutions we offer. Steve Balmer reportedly took an intense dislike to anyone at Microsoft who used Android or Apple products. He was passionate about his own products and this video is proof....

Once you've converted customers and helped them become successful, you then need to establish them as advocates who will help you convert others. Be committed to post implementation reviews and accountable for benefits realization. Ask whether the promises you made during the evangelism / sales phase where delivered at the end of the day. Follow-up for a case study. Be there for the customer when there are problems.

Customer Experience is the most powerful form of competitive differentiation so measure NPS (customer satisfaction and advocacy) scores, the number of reference customers and published case studies. The smartest sellers have their customers as their sales force. Monitor social and become an obsessed listener monitoring sentiment, complaints and opportunities.

Modern selling is about creating an agenda of insight and value while utilizing technology to create leverage and reach. We can transparently build trust online to support our efforts, and we can intelligently transform the way we sell.

Be a passionate true believer in the value you offer. Be committed to the success of your customers and help them to become your followers and advocates.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Joel Phillips.

How To Create Your Personal Brand

Before you embark down the path of 'social selling' you must first stop using LinkedIn as your online CV and instead create a strong personal brand as the foundation upon which you will attract and engage a credible network and prospective clients.

This is important because 75% of buyers use social media to research sellers before engaging (Source: IDC) and 74% of buyers choose the seller who first provides insight and value (Source: Corporate Visions). It begs the question: What do people see when they find you online? Do they see a transactional pushy sales person with a profile designed to secure their next sales role or do they see a warm professional person offering insight and value?

No-one wants to be sold to but we all value assistance in making the right buying decision – we want to manage our risk and ensure best value.  Here are the essential things you need to do with your LinkedIn profile to cover the foundation of creating a credible personal brand to enable social engagement:

1. Disable notifications to your network when changing your profile (account / privacy and settings/ turn off your activity broadcasts). This is important because you will be making lots of changes and you don't want to be bombarding your network as your change and refine your profile.
2. Ensure your photo is a friendly close-up head and shoulders shot. It needs to be in focus and well lit (without a bright background). Note that my profile photo has been updated compared with the screenshot a few points below. I moved from 'professional power' to professionally friendly.
3. Instead of your title and company, have a headline under your name that describes what you do for customers. What's the difference you make for clients?
4. Have a Summary panel that describes the business value you deliver and the values by which you operate. Write it in the first person and don't be too over the top. This helps to create trust and set the agenda even before a single word has been spoken or an e-mail exchanged.
5. Complete your contact details and personalize/shorten your LinkedIn profile link (the URL that takes people to your profile). This link should be included in your e-mail signature.
6. Encourage people to both endorse and recommend you for skills that matter to potential clients rather than employers.
7. Move your employment history to the bottom of the LinkedIn page (panels can be dragged up and down when you hover over them).
8. Create three Publisher posts as this fills the panel in your LinkedIn profile as per the illustration below (again note how I've changed my photo).

Aim for 600 to 900 words in your posts (that's just over one page in Word) and here are three topic categories to stimulate your writing:

• Proactive objection killers.  List the common objections you recieve and then adopt the positive counter position. As an example, this post helps set the agenda for a recruitment consultant about why the customer needs to meet with them and take the time to define and explore 'cultural fit'.
• Insights that hook interest. What are your potential customers concerned about in the areas of risk, commoditization or disruption? This post talks about disruption and the need to have the right culture internally to remain relevant even if you dominate a market.
• Something topical that leverages current events. I published this post within 30 minutes of Harrison Ford's plane crash hitting the news.

Once you build this foundation you're ready to identify the thought leaders (as regarded by your target market) who you will begin to follow in LinkedIn and Twitter to connect with to ‘curate’ their content and share with your network. You can begin to be a "forager for the tribe", as Michael Hyatt describes it, to be a content hub for relevant quality information about a topic domain or industry. You then have a reason why people should connect with you because you provide insight and value relevant to those in your network.

By changing your LinkedIn profile to be a personal branding microsite, you enhance the way you sell but with no downside for future career change with potential employers.

Personal brand reputation has always been important and even before the internet it was possible for it to be trashed. This very funny Budlight advertisement highlights how Jim Scott's social profile was destroyed. It's so much easier for brand damage today in the era of mobility and social media.

Seriously, think very carefully about what you post in Facebook even if you do regard it as a social platform for your personal life separate to LinkedIn for business. It's all one big discoverable pot for those who want to see past the persona you've carefully created.

Does your LinkedIn profile show why people should invest their time, energy and personal credibility connecting with you?

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.

How To Snatch Defeat From The Jaws Of Victory

True story. One of the people I coach was recently in a meeting with their reseller and the room was filled with all the stakeholders and decision-makers for a huge enterprise opportunity they had been working with a large government department for 15 months. Toward the end of the meeting the CIO (who owns the budget and signs-off on a purchasing decision) asked; "How long will it take to stand this up for us?" The channel partner sales person didn't miss a beat and jumped-in; "That's an interesting question... the really good thing about what we're offering here is ..." He went on to talk about the joys and wonders of the features they were offering. I kid you not – it really happened.

The best response would have been to ask; "When do you need to have it up and running?" Then follow-up a little later with; "Why is that date important and what happens if it's missed for some reason?"

We need to really listen rather than simply wait for our next opportunity to speak. So many sales people are not really engaged in listening and instead focus on projecting their message or pitch.  No matter what the situation – counseling, resolving conflict, interviewing, consulting or selling – we need to lead by being fully immersed in the conversation and ask insightful open questions. It's always a mistake to use clumsy outdated questioning techniques to attempt manipulation. Transparent sincerity and a genuine interest in the other person is the best way to build trust and positive influence.

So, how do sales people manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory after they've done so much good work to develop an opportunity and establish value? 

A lack of situational awareness causes failure in business and other areas of life. Here are other things that sales people must avoid:

• Being distracted and failing to be fully there. A sure-fire turn-off for anyone you are seeking to influence.
• Acting without first thinking. Every action can have unintended consequences and all tactics should be executed within a well conceived strategy.
• Failing to plan a meeting or leaving without creating progression. You're not a professional visitor; instead you need to be an engineer of value, process and tangible business outcomes.
• Failing to understand the customer's internal processes for evaluation, selection and procurement process. What date matters to them and why is it important? What's their process and who needs to approve?
• Introducing unnecessary new information or people. Beware your chest beating boss who wants you to take them out there to close the deal.
• Allowing lawyers to hijack the process. Lawyers need to be instructed rather than be allowed to engage in esoteric ego-fests. Especially beware external lawyers who make more money the longer it takes and the more complex it becomes

Join the conversation... what are some other common pitfalls you've seen? Let me know by commenting within this post and I'll add them to the list.

In line with the shark theme here... did you know that more people died this year from selfie mishaps (taking daring pictures of themselves in precarious situations) that by shark attack? This summer has been a record for shark attacks here in Australia where we breed them to be very big. I'm a wakeboarder and every time I jump in the water here in Sydney I have flash-backs of the movie Jaws which I saw as a young teenager at the movies. The video below is breathtaking... this real shark is bigger than the one in the movie Jaws.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.

Cultural Fit Is Not About Personality Matching

The biggest risk in hiring someone into a team resides in whether they're the right 'cultural fit'. This is because skills, qualifications and past performance are easily identified but assessing experience, values and attitudes is far more difficult. It's the less obvious factors that differentiate and determine greatness in any role or career – the things that come out under pressure or temptation.

"Many people who claim to have 10 years experience have 2 years repeated 5 times"

Experience and wisdom can be uncovered with the right interviewing techniques and there are many different profiling tools to identify personality. Here is a comparison of the most common personality descriptors. Hippocrates was first to identify the four basic types of personality in 400BC and his ancient terms of Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy and Phlegmatic are mapped in the illustration below. I've highlightedDr Tony Alessandra's terms in bold because I think they are the most intuitive for business people. Florence Littauer also mapped Hippocrates' terms and correlated them to the bracketed descriptors above each column which also helps to paint the picture.

Over three decades in selling and leading teams and companies, I've formed the strong view that Drivers are best for business development with Amiables to be avoided because they have a personality / operating style averse to creating any positive tension in a relationship or conversation. Matt Dixon and Brent Adamson found through their Corporate Executive Board (CEB) research that 'Relationship Builders' are least able to execute the Challenger method due to their amiable ways.

Success in business-to-business selling today demands that we lead with insight and a willingness to be positively provocative in creating value. We need to be the signal amidst the noise for customers who are seeking to be saved from the destructive forces of commoditization and disruption.

But in seeking Driver personalities for business development we then become vulnerable to the negative side ofLone Wolf Hunter Warriors who can have negative secondary 'look at me, look at me' Expressive traits or manipulative Analytic characteristics. Yes, every personality trait has both negative and positive sides and my table below provides a summary.

"But personality traits do not equate to values alignment or cultural fit"

I've learned that personality is only one part of what determines success... intelligence, values, beliefs and attitudes are far more important. I've written about Leadership Secrets From The Inside and here is the illustration used in the post. You can see that personality is only one part of the equation.

Here is my main point. When we hire people or become involved with others in business it's very easy to be lured by the facade or stand-out factors. We must take the tome and effort to go deeper.  Psychometric testing identifies intelligence and personality type, and the better tools add operating style (which provides clues about values). We can test for skills and knowledge and we can validate track record. But in focusing on these things we fall into a horrible trap.

"We tend to hire based on skills, qualifications and experience, yet we fire based on poor cultural fit"

The biggest mistake a manager can make is to hire the wrong person because they consume huge amounts of time and energy while damaging your personal brand. It's not easy to find the real person behind the facade and it requires more time and energy to get to the truth... but hire based on their values, attitudes and work ethic. Yes we need intelligent people but they must also be committed to continuous unlearning and relearning. They must believe that their value in the workplace comes from the results they deliver and the positive difference they make through attitude and effort.

Whether they be employees or partners, we need values alignment with people with whom we share our cause. This does not mean that we surround ourselves with mini version of ourselves. The best leaders value diversity and surround themselves with those who bring a different perspective and positively challenge to ensure the team is not blind-sided.

Next time you are considering a new hire or a potential partnership in business... dare I say next time you're qualifying a prospective customer; ask yourself whether they share your values. You first need to clearly define your own values which are the behaviors you exhibit and the way you operate. It will make a world of difference in building the right team internally and externally and protect you from failure.

"Don't confuse personality matching with cultural alignment and remember that just one person in your team with poor values can destroy your personal reputation and corporate brand."

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.

World's Most Epic Failure Lesson In Disruption

Imagine you're the world's number one in your category and you've been in business for more than 100 years. You have 85% of the hardware market and 90% of the consumables market... yes, you even provide consumables for your competitors products. You are the giant of your industry, able to squash competitors with your monolithic brand, ubiquitous market presence and multi-billion dollar balance sheet. Then you invent the very technology that will disrupt your own industry, creating the next wave of domination and mega-growth... but you sit on it fearing that you will cannibalize your own lucrative legacy business. For another twelve months you continue to enjoy a continuation of your century old growth curve. The next year's revenues and profits will be the historical peak... record profits and share price... then a decline into oblivion.

"Your unwillingness to disrupt yourself is driven by fear and an addiction to cash-cow revenues... it kills you."

This is the true story of Kodak who invented the digital camera. But Kodak is not an isolated event – history repeats. The Swiss invented the digital watch and also ignored it for fear of hurting traditional watch sales. Apple and IBM are examples ofthose who resurrected themselves by reinventing their brand, transforming their culture and the value they offer their markets. Virgin cleverly defines value in its brand personality. There are many examples of disruption and most are enabled by technology and the blurring of economic and market boundaries. Examples include iTunes and the music industry, eBooks and publishing. The brutal and relentless forces of commoditization and distruption can come from many fronts:

• Technology advances (cloud, social, mobility, robotics, A.I, etc.)
• Economic downturns (the GFC or individual bubbles that burst)
• Regulatory changes (Uber is re-defining the taxi industry)
• Political upheaval (tariffs and protectionism can be dismantled)
• Scandals (VW diesel-gate is an example)
• Low cost labor markets can now 'virtually' cross borders
• Environmental issues (floods, wars, fear and uncertainty)

The video below was produced recently by the Australian Radio Network as the opening for their 2015 annual customer conference where they invest in their clients to help them transform their businesses. It provides three short examples of disruption and how businesses can either adapt and prosper or fail to act and die. The Lego example is inspiring... the others salient.

The very best leaders head commoditization off at the pass by choosing to disrupt themselves before anyone else does. They commit to being agile and innovative. They form disruptive teams than run scenarios and propose bold ideas because past prosperity or market dominance does not assure future success. Our ability to creatively innovate for both value and customer experience is what creates a positive future.

"Our obsession must be about our customers to provide best value and best engagement experience. The way we operate is more important than what we sell"

How will you disrupt yourself by transforming both the value and experience you provide your customers? Australian Radio Network (who produced this video) face disruption through fragmented media channels and they understand the value they provide is not radio advertising but instead a trusted partnership to create revenue through trusted brands that engage with their markets over the air-waves and online. They constantly innovate and know that sacred cows make the best burgers. Thanks Brian Blacklock, Adam Williams and the ARN team for allowing me to share your conference video.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

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Real World Results. Phone vs LinkedIn vs E-mail

John Dougan is someone I respect and he delivers real transformation for his clients. He recently conducted a test to see which channel is most effective for inviting business leaders to an event. We've been told that e-mail is blocked or ignored as spam, that telephone cold calling is getting harder with success rates below 3%, and that social selling is now all the rage. But what is the reality?

Here is a real world case study conducted by John Dougan that targeted 300 senior executive contacts. The database used for all outreach was comprised of known contacts and all three used similar language in the text or script. These are the results from 300 outreaches using an equal spread of LinkedIn's InMail, outbound phone calls and traditional e-mail:

• 100 InMails sent generated 67 responses and 44 event registrations
• 100 phone calls generated 32 connections and 20 registrations
• 100 e-mails sent generated 12 responses and 6 registrations

LinkedIn responses outperformed e-mail by 558%

LinkedIn responses outperformed phone by 209%

Drop-out rates for the event on the day were similar across channels. The most successful channel was LinkedIn and the lowest cost per registration was also LinkedIn. The phone remains an essential and powerful tool in anyone's social selling arsenal.

The very best sellers today adopt a modern approach where they leverage technology yet execute in a personal human-to-human way. LinkedIn is massively powerful because it enables you to personally connect with context but avoid the biggest sin of social selling which is to connect and sell. Always be asking yourself whether you're providing value for your audience or falling into the trap of interrupting and pushing.

"The key to modern selling is to attract and engage rather than interrupt and push"

John Dougan and I have both experienced amazing sales results by intelligently using social channels and adopting a 'pay it forward' approach to providing value for everyone in our networks. I asked John for an example of how using LinkedIn created revenue for him and here was his response.

"I was awarded a $250,000 piece of business by simply monitoring trigger events in LinkedIn. A senior executive in my network joined new company and I sent her an InMail to congratulate her on the new role. I simply added that if she was ever going to market for something I could help with that I'd welcome a conversation."

John didn't push in any way and the communication was natural. Importantly he had already delivered for her at the previous company. John went on.  "Her response was to let me know that she actually was planning to procure services and that I could potentially help with. She invited me in for a chat and the result was no tender, just a request for an proposal and then and purchase order."

John concluded with, "LinkedIn is simply part of a communications strategy andI compare modern communication channels to the Fibbonacci sequence: Their respective connectivity value is increasing but you cannot negate what has gone before." But John and I want to make a plea here to everyone using LinkedIn.

Please do NOT use LinkedIn for spamming, pushing or blasting marketing messages or sales campaigns. The #1 sin of social selling is to connect and sell. You'll damage your reputation and undermine the real value of the platform.

John is constantly listening to the market and testing sales strategies and techniques to provide trusted advice for his clients. Click here to see his research infographics which are becoming legendary and connect with John here in LinkedIn.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

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The Value Of Sales Meetings... Have Your Say

I recently wrote about how [not] to run a sales meeting and it generated much conversation. This post gives you the opportunity to participate in a research survey being conducted by John Dougan, one of the most influential sales leaders in Australia. John and I are part of Sales Masterminds Australia and he's conducting a survey to uncover what people think about sales meetings and the value of attending them.

There is a perception that sales meetings don't provide value for sales people but instead serve the manager in ticking their boxes and gathering forecast data to report up the line. Do you agree? Whether you're a sales manager or individual sales contributor, you can have you're say now about sales meetings.

Click Here To Complete The Sales Meeting Survey

If you complete John Dougan's survey you'll have access to the infographic when it is published to reveal the results. I asked John what prompted him to do this research and here is his response.

"Before a sales manager can have any chance of making sales meetings more effective, they have to first be clear about who the sales meetings id being conducted for. I've watched many sales managers run the all too familiar, sales administration checklist meeting - ticking boxes for their exact same meeting with their superiors. My point is that if managers run a sales meeting that only works for them, then they fail to see the true value that exists in it. That is, the opportunity to coach sales people to commit to better sales behaviors and achieve more sales!"Connect with John Dougan here in LinkedIn.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

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The Big Lies That Kill Success and Happiness

I was speaking at a CEO conference recently and one of the other keynote speakers said from stage; "The purpose of life is happiness." I sat there thinking to myself, that's completely wrong. It's a lie and don't fall for it. Happiness is a byproduct of purpose, meaning and making a difference. It comes from service rather than focusing on yourself, pumping yourself up or buying yourself status symbols and expensive toys.

Too many of us are addicted to the endorphin sugar-hit of winning or the thrill of reckless behavior. We long for the fleeting feel-good factor associated with recognition; often in [look at me, look at me] social media. Many seek to escape with alcohol or drugs while some retreat into the mind-numbing distraction of entertainment. The goal of life (and lasting happiness) is not found in being the center of attention or meeting our own needs. Happiness is a state of mind and I want to share with you the true value of what we pursue.

"Although our actions and behaviors define us; it's who we become that determines the real value of everything we pursue." From the book: 

Lasting success is the result of our positive choices and habits. Success is rarely an event; it’s a process. The key to living a successful life is to develop the right habits and make the right choices. We must thoughtfully choose our environment and beliefs as they create outcomes within us.

These are the big lies that will rob you of success and happiness in life, both professionally and personally:

1. Happiness is my primary goal. No, happiness is a byproduct of having meaning and purpose in what you do. It also comes from having a grateful state of mind about how you see yourself in the world.
2. I am entitled. A sense of entitlement causes you to lack gratefulness and repels those who can help you. It also undermines the necessary work ethic needed to create what you want. Position and qualifications are merely a 'ticket to the dance' and we need to earn the support of others in how we behave and contribute.
3. It's all about me. Narcissism disconnects us from relationships. To have good friends we must first be a great one. We must provide exception value to our employer and customers. Zig Ziglar famously said "If you can help enough people get what they want, then you can have what you want." Serve others with integrity and commitment and you'll attract success.
4. I don't need to learn anymore. We must be the person worthy of the success we seek. If you don't read then you're not a leader, plain and simple. Disruption is a powerful force being exerted constantly on every business and individual careers. Our ability to unlearn and relearn is essential for staying relevant.

Be open to new ideas and committed to learning. Avoid a narcissistic sense of entitlement and instead pursue worthwhile activities that make a positive difference in the world and the lives of others. Serving is what sets you on the path to happiness and fulfillment.

What does great leadership look like?

The very best leaders live by example and embody unbreakable determination in pursuing their cause, yet they do not bully or manipulate. Rather than create pressure they provide clarity, focus and energy for the people they lead. They focus on providing the right environment and ask the right questions rather than give answers. They are humbly self-aware, not self-absorbed, and they are honest, direct and accountable in their commitments and behavior. They understand that a good leader is first a good human being.

Much can be achieved when you don’t care who receives the credit and when you surrender the need to be constantly right. Leaders seek to understand before attempting to be understood. They know that lasting motivation comes from within and they therefore encourage their people to personally take ownership of outcomes. They build their people’s self-esteem and promote their team’s ideas by encouraging them to take calculated risks, stretching their capabilities. When things go wrong they provide support and do not lecture or punish. Neither do they rescue when the consequences are not catastrophic; instead they regard ‘opportunities to fail’ as useful. Later, without negative emotion, they facilitate reflection.

Great leaders are morally grounded in enduring values yet adopt purposeful pragmatism rather than judgmentally hold to narrow dogmas. They value difference, suspend judgment and accept diversity. Our ability to build other people in teams is more important than having all the ideas. Be counter-intuitive in your leadership style by humbly serving rather than grandstanding. Do what it takes rather than merely your best. You cannot lead from behind; pull people through rather than push. Accept the blame when things go wrong and learn the necessary lessons from criticism and failure so that you can adjust accordingly. Genuinely pass the credit on to others when things go well – success is always a team effort.

Time is the only critical limited resource. Invest your time and treasure it rather than spend it. There is no such thing as wasted time if you always have a good book with you when you travel. Do not allow the trivially urgent to prevent you from doing the important. Make time for what matters most. Set goals and priorities, and regularly measure your own progress.

Less is more – less talking creates more influence and more learning; less clutter and distracting noise creates more clarity; less information creates better cut-through in the message. The best way to improve something is to reduce it. Cut the unnecessary elements away rather than add complexity or overhead. The more we take the less we become; we only become greater when we give and contribute. We can become our very best when we let go of what we treasure and embrace the very things we fear. What does not kill us can make us stronger. Building character and developing emotional resilience is a valuable foundation for future success. Failure can educate, and with resolve to overcome, we can gain wisdom and prosper.

Happiness is a state of mind concerning how we perceive ourselves and our place in the world. Be grateful for what you have. Laugh as often as you can. Reject judgment, bitterness and revenge – they are self-destructive forces, devouring the host. Do not take yourself too seriously; instead have an optimistic attitude and positive sense of humor. Freely admit when you are wrong, and say ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ every chance you get. Forgive and move on. Be prepared to take risks but without foolhardy recklessness. Never be a victim; instead be fully accountable for your own success and happiness. Do not blame others or bad luck for failure and set-backs. Believe in yourself and earn the right to ask for what you want. Never bully or manipulate and do not allow knowledge to manifest within you as arrogance. Do not allow success to make you egotistical; instead, learn genuine humility in acknowledging the contribution of others as well as good fortune or blessing.

Choose your friends and work environment wisely as both will change you through osmosis. Avoid those who are addicted to destructive gossip. Encouragement is far more effective than criticism – believe in the competent and help them become better. Expect the best of others and treat them with respect regardless of their station in life. Serve your employer, team and customers ahead of your own interests – trust the law of reciprocity to reward your integrity and ability to create value. Show thoughtful initiative and a strong work ethic. We learn nothing while talking, and making a noise rarely makes a difference. Instead become a great listener who is genuinely interested in others, asking insightful and powerful questions.

Success is living a life of purpose and achieving your goals, yet the passage of time is the only valid perspective for measuring achievement. There is no excuse for not being your best or failing to fulfill your potential. Barriers and difficulties are there to exclude average people, and for the purpose of ensuring the worthiness of those who achieve. Scarcity is what creates value. We all wish our circumstances would improve but it is usually we who must change first. Become better rather than wish it were easier. Be the change you want to see in the world – start with your own bedroom, garage, and backyard. You cannot manage an enterprise if you cannot manage yourself. Avoid gossip, criticism and judgment. There is genuine peace in not worrying about things that don’t matter (inconsequential trivia) or are outside your control.

Knowledge and technical competence is not enough. Your value to your employer and customers is defined by your ability to positively influence and deliver results. Thinking strategically and executing masterfully is more important than adhering to methodologies. Think RSVP in every commercial endeavor and obsessively pay attention to excellence in execution.

Success or failure is the accumulated result of thousands of tiny decisions. Most people become disempowered through inner-corrosion rather than a catastrophic external event. Sustained success is the result of painful and diligent growth occurring below the surface, for the most part unseen by the outside world. Work on yourself rather than criticize others. Self-awareness, self-discipline, self-leadership and positive attitude are what attract success beyond mere knowledge and skill.

Work is not different from the rest of life – bring all of yourself to your work. Treat your sales career as a profession that creates value rather than being a competitive game. It has serious and profound lessons to teach if you are open to learning. Be the person worthy of the life you seek – success and failure, belief and doubt are necessarily conjoined. You can find the problem and the opportunity in the mirror.

Here is another post that explains my framework for leadership.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

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Sales Transformation – Don't Do Software Trials!

The most difficult part of an enterprise to transform is the sales organization. Many leaders see their revenue machine as a mystery black box filled with a little bit of science and a lot of art. On this, the allure of sales and marketing software tools (CRM, Methodology Playbooks, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and social selling platforms) promise to bring increased reach, accelerated results, buyer alignment, consistency in sales execution, transparent pipeline creation, timely opportunity progression and predicable forecasting.

Yet the failure rate of software projects is alarming. ERP implementations fueled by Y2K fears back at the turn of the century had failure rates of 40% (source: Dr Michael Hammer). Hot on the heels of the ERP craze (Enterprise Resource Planning – eg; SAP and Oracle enterprise management systems) was CRM (Customer Relationship Management – eg; Salesforce, Siebel, Oracle, Sugar, Dynamics, etc.) and the statistics are sobering:

• 73% of companies do not have high confidence in their CRM data. Source: Miller Heiman Research Institute, 2014 Sales Best Practices Study which is an ongoing program with >30,000 participants over 11 years.

• Up to 70% of CRMs fail in the USA according to Gartner Research in 2012 and they stated that they did not anticipate any improvement through to 2015.

• 70% of CRMs fail in Europe according to Butler Research and published by Dun and Bradstreet infographic 2013.

I think the failure rates of CRM today are approximately 30% - 40% today based on anecdotal and 'show of hands' surveys when I speak at conferences. But does this mean we should avoid implementing CRM and other sales transformation technologies? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

"You have no chance of being customer-centric and driving effecieint process to create best customer experience unless you have a brilliant CRM"

You also have no chance of improving sales success without embracing social selling, especially LinkedIn's platform.

Every leader knows that they must drive transformational change. I've been preaching for years that "the way we sell is more important than what we sell" and our ability to leverage technology and create superb customer experience is the biggest point of difference as we go to market.

Using technology and people to create sensational customer experience is the key to dealing with the forces of disruption and commoditization. The best leaders and sales people embrace technology and social platforms to remain relevant and prosper in competitive markets. But how do you manage the implementation risk of CRM, Sales Navigator, Playbook methodologies or social selling tools?

I've been the regional leader for a CRM technology provider and I've also been on the other side as sales Director for a public corporation implementing CRM and LinkedIn. I now work with clients helpingthem navigate the risks in achieving the outcomes they need from investing. Ironically, I see many increasing their risk by sending the message that they are uncommitted in driving the necessary change; and they do so with ill-conceived trials and pilots.

"Doing software trials with sales people is like hitting them on the head with a hammer and then asking them what they think"

The stakes are high in any change management program and that's exactly what's being done when implementing LinkedIn's Sales Navigator, CRM, Playbooks, qualification methodologies or opportunity management tools. Success is not an option when you consider the fact that B2B sellers have somewhere between 40% (Corporate Executive Board research) to almost 70% (TAS Group) of their sales people failing to achieve their revenue numbers!

Here is my candid advice for anyone considering the implementation of CRM or LinkedIn's Sales Navigator.

• It must be a strategy and process before being about technology.Be crystal clear about what it is you're automating or seeking to enable. CRM, SFA (Sales Force Automation) and Social Selling must be designed for internal and external users including staff, partners and customers.

• It's a change management program rather than a technology implementation. You're seeking to bring people, process and technology together for transparency and better execution. Bring people along with you on the journey and lead with why it's important before communicating the detail of what, when and how.

• Don't send mixed messages to your sales people or the inmates will continue to run the asylum. Be committed and don't 'play' with software, process or methodology to see what people think. Do your homework, prepare, plan and fully resource for success. The power of Sales Navigator is in the network effects of having everyone using the platform. The power of CRM is having it used by everyone as the single source of truth about clients.
• Forget having an 'executive sponsor', you need executive commitment. The leaders of the enterprise must fully understand and use the tools themselves. Everyone should transform their LinkedIn profile away from being an online CV to instead be a personal brand micro-site in harmony with the employer. If a sales person wants resources for opportunity pursuit... the deal must be up to date and well qualified for an approval to be granted. Any time a senior executive is asked to talk with or visit a client, the call plan must be there in CRM.
• Measure the right things and carefully select the best KPIs.Interestingly, only 17% of metrics being reported in CRM systems can actually be managed.Source: Cracking The Sales Management Code by Jason Jordan and Michelle Vazzana.

"SSI is the new KPI for stategic selling"

Click here to get your LinkedIn SSI score now with links explaining how your score is calculated by LinkedIn

Independent researcher C9 Incsurveyed 36 companies and 9,000 sellers, finding that those who embraced LinkedIn's Sales Navigator tool created 7 times more pipeline and 11 times more revenue. LinkedIn themselves analyzed a cross section of new and existing sellers who increased pipeline by 45% and the probability of achieving their sales targets by 51% simply by improving their social selling index (SSI) scores.

For LinkedIn Sales Navigator or any other sales enablement technology; build your business case, understand user experience, be clear about the problem your solving and the results you expect. Carefully design and communicate KPIs and then drive change with committed leadership. If your considering LinkedIn's Sales Navigator, deploy to the entire organization just like many others have done to realize the network. See case studies here. Avoiddoing small pilots because they achieve nothing but damage momentum and the probability of success.

"The risk is not in the technology, it is in your ability to lead and manage change within your sales team"

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

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The Business Case For Social Selling – Why You Need To Get On Board

Without doubt, there is a problem in B2B selling. Gartner Research believes 85% of interactions between businesses will be executed without human intervention by 2020. Buyers are clearly in control today and in many B2B sales organizations only 40% to 60% of sales people meet or exceed their sales targets.

I believe that 30% of B2B field sales people won't have jobs in professional selling by 2020 and this will be due to their inability to adapt to the forces of commoditization and disruption to deliver the necessary value to funds their roles.

Inadequate management is a key contributor to poor sales performance and sales managers need to focus on coaching and driving the activities and behaviours that create success in their teams. According to Jason Jordan, co-author of Cracking The Sales Management Code, 83% of sales metrics being reported in systems such as CRM cannot actually be managed. Sales people need guidance to become truly consultative and create the right conversations and value for both customer and employer. According to Corporate Executive Board research, 95% of buyers expect insight from the seller yet 86% of sales people fail to differentiate. Forrester research findings state that 85% of sales engagements fail to meet buyer expectations.

Sales teams need to step up and execute at a higher level and when they do, the results are transformative. According to Corporate Visions research, 74% of buyers choose the seller who first provides insight and value. The best sellers don't talk about themselves, what they do and how they do it; instead they establish their credentials before a meeting to instead focus on why the conversation is important and what can be achieved for the customer supported by a strong business case.

The biggest issue for sellers is therefore securing meetings with the right people at a point in time where they are able to shape requirements and help set the agenda. When leads come to the sales organization it’s then very difficult to exert the right level of influence and that’s because buyers are typically 57% (Corporate Executive Board) to 70% (Forrester Research) through their change and procurement process. According to IDC research, 75% of buyers research the seller before meeting or agreeing to engage.

The key to influence is obviously early engagement yet a Harvard Business Review article highlights that 90% of decision makers never respond to cold outreach and according to Corporate Executive Board research, 97% of cold calls yield no result.

The corollary of the negative statistics is in research conducted by C9 Inc who found 7 times more pipeline and 11 times more revenue (36 companies and 9,000 sellers) with those who embraced LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator tool. LinkedIn themselves analysed a cross section of new and existing sellers who increased pipeline by 45% and the probability of achieving their sales targets by 51% simply by improving their standard LinkedIn social selling index (SSI) scores.

According to Steve Richard at Vorsight, “In B2B selling only 3% of your market is actively buying at any given time, 57% are not ready and 40% are poised to begin.” Importantly, their buyer’s journey begins online and this is why social selling matters.

Social selling also matters because social buying is a reality – we live in the age of massively empowered buyers. Our customers can research and commoditise what we offer with just a few clicks. They can assess our assertions of value and then introduce competitors with ease. Sellers therefore need a framework for attracting customers through strong personal and corporate brands that enable early engagements of influence. Individuals as well as corporations need social strategies for complex business-to-business (B2B) selling where, according to CSO Insights, there are on average 6 people involved in the typical buying decision.

Before we explore social selling it’s important to again understand that those who spam, push, annoy, narcissistically drone or aggressively sell are unfollowed and disconnected as quick as a click. Connecting to someone new and then immediately seeking to sell is a serious mistake. I define strategic social selling for business-to-business (B2B) as follows:

Social Selling Definition: The strategy and process of building quality networks online that attract clients and accelerates the speed of business and efficiency of selling, as achieved with personal human engagement through social listening, social publishing, social research, social engagement, and social collaboration.

On a foundation of a strong personal brand I have identified the 5 pillars that enable the best results in social: 1) Social Listening/Monitoring, 2) Social Research, 3) Social Content Publishing, 4) Social Engagement and 5) Social Collaboration.

In my definition, technology is merely an enabler but can be leveraged to create truly incredible results with the right strategies. Obviously, social initiatives are supported by the use of technology and social platforms but it’s really all about human connection and interaction to provide real value through insight or assistance with relevant content and conversations.

Social platforms, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google have driven the era of personal brands and a new reality of transparency. The days of being able to project a manufactured persona are gone… people can quickly uncover the reality of who you are, how you operate, how well you’re connected, and the value you offer… all before you ever get to say a single word on the phone or face-to-face. Social proximity is a real factor that enhances or undermines potential connection, often without the seller ever discovering how their network (or lack thereof) helped or hindered their efforts.

Your social strategy will depend on what you’re seeking to achieve and where your market is but don't fall into the trap of becoming busy in social without having a strategy for both connection and content. For example, think about the reasons for posting in LinkedIn Publisher or creating Facebook pages. Are you seeking to attract and build an audience platform? Are you wanting to evidence your credentials? Are you wanting to provide insights and credibility to support your new business meeting requests? Are you wanting to proactively deal with potential objections you could encounter? Are you seeking to associate yourself with admired brands and thought leaders? Are you perhaps chipping away at commonly held myths about your disruptive solution set to cause a sea change? 

Social selling is a strategy, not a set of technologies. Most importantly, you need to know exactly who your target audience is and what insight or value you can provide before they would be interested in what you sell. Once you know what you’re seeking to achieve and have defined goals and metrics, then you can design your strategy and action plan to cascade down to the individual elements.

The business case is simple. Those B2B sellers who consistently improve their LinkedIn SSI scores increase pipeline by 45% and the probability of achieving their sales targets by 51%.

Click here to get your LinkedIn SSI score now with links explaining how your score is calculated by LinkedIn

SSI is the new KPI for B2B Sellers

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Why Social Customer Service Changes The Game

Social media is giving businesses an opportunity to rewrite the service rulebook and early adopter companies are already reaping the rewards. To get a local perspective, I sat down with Nick Ogle who heads up Asia-Pacific for a leading Social Customer Service vendor, Conversocial. Nick has been working extensively in the Social Care arena and his insights are worth sharing. Here's his response to some questions I posed.

Why should brands conduct Customer Service over Social?

Quite simply it’s because Social Media is where the customers are for most brands. Social Networks have become the first place we go for share opinions, and news. Brands already know this and that’s why so much money is being spent on advertising on Social Networks.

Facebook’s recent Q2 results are testament to this with total revenues of $4.042B and 95% coming straight from advertising. If you think this is North American phenomenon then think again as only 17% of Facebook Daily Active users are from the USA & Canada. The other statistic from Facebook’s Q2 results worth noting is that 87% of Daily Active Users check in via a mobile.

Whilst brands like to use their social networks to push advertising at consumers, these same consumers are taking to interacting with these brands over social. These interactions can cover the following example areas:

1. General references to a brand’s products & services
2. Positive experiences of the company’s products & services
3. Indirect references that are relevant to the companies industry
4. Customer asking the brand a direct question
5. Customer expressing dissatisfaction
6. Customers that have an urgent product/service need

What we can glean from all this is that customers are increasingly using social networks, using them whilst mobile, interacting with brands over social & more often than not, using these networks for Customer Service questions. It's a natural way of engaging for consumers who use social and there are also some great benefits for brands, as outlined by McKinsey in a recent article titled:Social care in the world of "now":

• Savings: It costs as little as $1 to solve a customer issue on social media, which is nearly one-sixth of the cheapest call-centre interactions.

• Satisfaction: Best-in-class social care companies improved customer satisfaction by 19 per cent, versus 5 per cent for all others. And 82 per cent of customers who have a good customer experience on Twitter are likely to recommend the brand based on their interaction.

• Sales: Companies that developed social care capabilities improved year-over-year revenue per contact by 6.7 per cent through effective up-selling, cross-selling and customer-churn reduction versus a 12% decline for those without that capability.

Are Brands exposed to risk due to the uncontrolled nature of social?

I truly believe that brands are exposed if they don’t participate. Sure, social can be a raw, emotive and an in-the-moment medium but in some ways that's the appeal.  Social provides a tremendous platform for brands to show they are human and listening. I personally have had a couple of experiences with brands that disappointed me and I have taken to twitter to express my disappointment. A good example is outlined in this blog post Driving Volvo to Customer Service Heights.

What's interesting about this experience is the power social media has as a medium to amplify. 89 people viewed my initial complaint tweet, in the first week. Whilst my thank-you tweet, was seen 885 times in the same period.  This is pretty amazing when you think about it. For the price of a $240 battery, Volvo have managed to not only solve my problems thereby having a very happy customer but they also got 885 people to see that they listen and that they provide service in a very human way.  That is pretty cheap advertising in anyone’s language.

What are the Challenges for Brands wanting to provide Customer Service over Social Channels?

The first major challenge is that social media has reversed the traditional ownership model for Customer Service. Brands have traditionally controlled how customers access their support over phone, chat, e-mail, etc. but social media is the first channel created and controlled by customers.  Customers now have a public voice concerning customer service. Consider these facts:

• Customers have more choice of suppliers and channels. 66% of consumers stopped doing business with a provider and switched to another in the past year due to a poor customer service experience, up 17% since 2005 (Accenture 2013).
• Customers are more connected. 53% of consumers will talk about a bad customer experience they have received on social, while only 42% will share a good one (American Express 2012). This trend and the viral nature of social media show how customers can wield their power.
• Customers demand more speed and simplicity. 71% of consumers say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good service (Forrester 2013).

Yet delivering customer service effectively within social media is challenging because the medium is: 

• Noisy: Unlike other channels, agents must sift through a lot of content in order to identify customer service issues on social.
• Confusing: Multiple public and private messages from a single customer are hard to track, and can get lost between agents.
• A slow process: Lack of efficient approval workflows mean slow, rigid and manual process with extra complexity when resolving an issue that requires involvement from other departments.
• High stakes: A single error can result in a full-blown social media crisis

All of this means that brands need to really look at the process, structure & metrics needed to properly conduct customer service on social. Getting the process right at the beginning is key. Once you open the gates for Social Customer Service then the volume will follow. If you have a flawed process and non-enterprise tools then you will find yourself overwhelmed.

What's the real state of Social Customer Service?

Social Customer Service can be split three phases: Reach, Respond & Resolve and here is a summary of each element:

• Reach is when brands are using Social media for marketing and listening only. Social is used as a marketing channel exclusively. Companies are “reaching” out to customer and this is predominantly a one-way conversation.
• Response is when consumers start to interact with the brands over Social & the Marketing department starts to recognize the need for some help from Customer Service experts but the volumes are still low and there are no strict customer service processes or KPI’s to adhere to.
• Resolution is the final stage where engagement over social media has moved into the Contact Centre with dedicated Customer Service Agents, SLA’s, Monitoring of Service Metrics & Volumes of incoming content on Social.

Some customers are executing at all three levels but the vast majority are in the 'Reach' or 'Response' phases. There are some good examples of companies in the Resolution phase, especially in the Airline and Telco industries.

Although many companies are attempting to use their Social Marketing tools for Customer Service, there is a mistaken belief that you can purchase a social suite of tools that will combine social listening, social reach, social depth and social relationship. But Forrester recently released a report that slams this approach and they recommend buying point solutions rather than social suites.

Traditionally in software segments, there's a structural advantage to buying an integrated suite. You wouldn't go buy a general ledger system and a separate accounts payable system from two different vendors. It wouldn't make any sense. Yet with Social suites you need to buy the best point solution. Why? Going deep drives revenue; that’s why. Being a mile wide and an inch deep is a waste of time in Social.

What are some future trends in social customer service? 

There are two big trends: Peer-to-Peer resolution and Mobile Messaging. 

Customers trust their peers more highly than brands. Online forums andcommunities are the traditional platform for peer-peer support, but these are an archaic technology because you need to register online, supply an email address, etc. Research shows that 50% of customers aged 18-29 are more likely to turn to social media when they have a technical issue rather than a support forum. It’s time for peer-peer support to move into the mobile and social era. 

A company who is leading the charge on Peer-2-Peer support on mobile is Google who recently announced a program where customers tweet to #gHelp to then get help from Google’s army of Top Contributors. There is no onerous signup process, the brand isn’t collecting email addresses or details. Instead Google’s designated Top Contributors around the world will be answering customer’s questions via twitter. Interestingly Google’s Top contributors are not employees but devoted customers who simply love the brand and want to contribute.

Mobile messaging consists of applications that provide messaging functionality on phones and tablets delivered via data, rather than SMS. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are the biggest in the West; WeChat is huge in Asia. These messaging apps are the biggest new force in communication, and still growing. The daily message volume on WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) is now 50% bigger than global SMS volume.

There was a very good article recently that look at how WeChat works - When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China. This article provides some interesting figures on the amount of commerce that is transacted over WeChat. This is why Facebook’s recently released Messenger Business will be an interesting product to watch. The aim is to steam line the way users shop online. Messenger Business is designed to let users communicate with participating online retailers one-on-one, creating one thread with all the necessary information. The Messenger thread will allow for package tracking, providing feedback, and even reordering or returning items. Because Messenger Business is tied to a user’s Facebook account, there’s no need to log in or verify your identity.

Facebook recently opened the Messenger Business API’s to allow 3rd party applications to hook into the platform. I’m very excited about the potential for brands in ANZ to use Messenger Business for Commerce. Think buying movie tickets, hotel room service, mobile plan upgrades etc.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.

Jarryd Hayne's Triumph. 5 Attributes For Success

I'm calling it... Jarryd Hayne is in the final 53-man San Francisco 49ers team. During the four pre-season games he proved his lethal ability in special teams and he's also shown real potential as an offensive running back. It's an almost unbelievable feat for a rookie with no real game experience to make it to the top on his first attempt. This post lists his personal attributes that everyone should aspire to if they want their career to transition to the next level.

For those reading this in the USA, here is a highlight reel of his career playing in the NRL (National Rugby League) where he was rated as one of the best players internationally. In Rugby you can't throw the ball forward and no-one is allowed to block for you. Only the person carrying the ball is eligible to be tackled and you also have to place the ball on the ground in the in-zone to score.

Jarryd comes from a very humble upbringing... wrong side of the tracks and wrong side of the Pacific Ocean for NFL. His dream when embarking down the path of being a professional footballer was simply to buy his mother a house. He is driven by good values and passion for the sport he plays. He earned his spot at the pinnacle of Rugby League and while at the peak of his game he announced he was walking away to try American Football. You could have heard a pin drop... 'it's a joke – right?' People thought he was insane as he explained that he had recruited a handful of nobody amateur American Football players in Sydney for practice in a local park before deciding to burn his bridges and move to the USA.

Remember when Michael Jordan switched to baseball? Very few can successfully change sporting codes and we don't have a [worthy] American Football competition in Australia on which he could have built any experience.  For Jarryd Hayne to make the playing roster for the 49ers as a mature age rookie, and with no real American Football experience, at any level, is a massive achievement. Does John madden agree?  If the video below won't play here in LinkedIn, watch it in YouTube directly.

John Madden isn't the only person who thinks Hayne has got a big future in NFL. Brian Mitchell, the greatest returner in NFL history, says Hayne has rediscovered a lost art in how he runs the ball and makes players miss. Brian Mitchell won a Super Bowl and earned Pro Bowl selection in a fourteen-year career with the Redskins, Eagles and Giants.

After the first three pre-season games, Hayne ranked third in the NFL for punt return yardage (120) and every return eclipsed the best return yardage from the previous regular season at the 49ers! In the 4th quarter of the final pre-season game today against San Diego he really shined. His teammates went crazy on the sideline when he should-blocked Rose to the turf at the end of a reception and yardage run. With many sporting fans in Australia now 49ers devotees and with sport as the number one religion here, there will be calls for and end of season 49ers exhibition game in Sydney... it will be a sell-out and the biggest coverage NFL will every receive outside North America. So how did Jarryd Hayne do it?

1. He has transferable skills. Jarryd can catch, step (cut), find a gap, fend (stiff-arm) and run hard and fast. He can also tackle and compete for a ball in the air... man can he catch. Although he has innate talent, he has invested thousands of hours developing his skills. His only NFL weaknesses are inexperience and the fact that hat he runs too high (upright).

2. He is committed with unstoppable determination. Jarryd didn't leave any options option open with the Australian NRL to go all-in on a shot at the NFL. He committed to his new path and moved to the USA... he was all in. He will do whatever is needed to un-learn, re-learn and adapt to his new game. He will learn how to better read the plays and get low and forward at impact when he runs.

3. He has an impeccable work ethic. He has already changed his physical shape to become more explosive. Rugby is an endurance sport (no special teams and time-outs) and with a limited bench of just 4 players for interchange. Jarryd will endlessly watch tapes, listen to advice, take coaching and work-out to be in peak physical shape. He will also drill like a golf pro building the perfect swing. He knows that mastery takes 10,000 hours and the faster he can get that time under his belt the better.

4. He's a team player. The 49ers have signed a player that is high on confidence and low on ego. If the best place for him on the team is on the bench; he'll do it with a great attitude. If he is limited to special teams then that will be okay with him while he learns his craft and hones his skills. He knows how appreciate the efforts of those around him who enable him to shine on and off the field. The blockers will work hard for him knowing that he fearlessly gives his all.

5. He has genuine gratefulness and humility. Jarryd is very conscious of the fact that just being on the 49ers team is 'living the dream.' He won't implode with fame, fortune nor will he buckle under pressure. He is already a world class athlete, mentally and physically, and he's embracing a new challenge with both hands.

These attributes make career transition viable for anyone seeking to change their vocation. Build skills that are portable and have an attitude that makes you irresistible. Young dogs and old dogs can both learn new tricks.

I lived in the USA for a few years and love NFL. Most Aussies however, and the British for that matter, have no idea how American Football works. This video is proof... and very funny ;-)

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.

The Buy-bot Disruption of Professional Selling

I was a keynote speaker along with Andrew Vorster at a conference last month and he delivered a provocative presentation titled: The Rise of the Robots. I believe that automation is taking sales jobs away and I had a coffee with him to ask if sales people are all destined to become extinct sometime soon. Here is his response.

"I get a range of reactions but most importantly I aim to get people to think about their preconceptions so they can decide on the future they are going to create. Hollywood has done a great job over the years entrenching the idea of the inevitability of a future robot apocalypse."

"Arnie’s terminator might be a good guy in the movies but each time the franchise is rebooted, Skynet has managed to foil the pesky humans and there is some other dastardly plan to rid the earth of people and by the end...  well, you know it’s not the end and the next sequel will reveal just how futile resistance is."

But is it inevitable?

"We humans essentially all yearn for an easy life and in today’s world, robots are increasingly taking over mundane and routine tasks. The most common form of these are software robots – which most people might not even consider robots at all. As we embrace the opportunities of the Internet of Everything, we allow the software robots to remove friction from simple everyday activities. Examples in my own life are my connected thermostat that adjusts the temperature of my house depending on our habits and will turn on the heating while I commute home based on my location, or my bedroom blinds that open and close based on sunrise and sunset, or my home lighting that reacts to the music I’m playing based on my mood or my front door that unlocks as I approach the house (my next project). These small insignificant but frequent interactions begin to build a complex digital profile of me – a virtual representation of me that makes my life easier."

How far away are digital assistants that will disrupt sellers?

"When Apple introduced Siri, it seemed like a bit of a novelty but we have since seen Google, Cortana and many other “digital assistants” follow suit, all based around fairly simple search and response style constructs. A Kiwi company called MyWave have a digital assistant called Frank which expands on the concept and Frank can potentially start carrying out more complex tasks on your behalf.

Wow, could this automated buying have a disempowering impact on Business-to-business sellers as it matures?

"It's here for B2C today and B2B levels of sophistication are coming. Their demo shows how Frank can help you find a new pair of jeans, based on your brand, style and color preferences; and I have no doubt that in the future this could include an indication of who in your social network has already bought the jeans and maybe Frank could even make alternative suggestions based on what events you are attending from access to your calendar. To some people this might sound a little creepy but I think that over time the cool factor will kick in and the use of digital personal assistants will become more and more commonplace. As adoption increases, so will our expectations of the technology and we will begin to accept that in order for these assistants to become infinitely more useful, they have to become even more like us – they are going to have to “think” like us"

"Moving away from the idea of personal digital assistants, if software hardware it controls “thinks like us” then there is of course much more it can do to help us and it could potentially replace us in many walks of life. For a sobering view of what the future of work might look like, take a look at this article that highlights why men are more vulnerable than women to robot replacement."

"And here comes the warning of the “singularity” – that point in time predicted by the greatest minds on the planet when Artificial Intelligence becomes self aware – or when the distinction between humans and machines is blurred. Indeed, Ray Kurzweil (the founder of MIT’s Media Lab) predicts that by 2030 humans will be directly connected to the cloud – something that just a few short years ago would have sounded insane, but now sounds like something that for many is infinitely desirable."

"Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates are among the high profile names that are warning of the possible dire consequences of future AI and they have signed an open letter published by the Future of Life Institute calling for careful consideration of the focus and control required in developing this technology."

So, the future sounds like it could be bleak but you and I are optimists. What does the future really hold?

"I’m going to answer your question with the closing statement that I used in my session –  the future is not something that happens to us, it is something that we create. If we are all wiped out by killer robots, it will be our own fault – what kind of a future are you building?"

Thanks Andrew Vorster and connect with him here in LinkedIn.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.

Humans Need Not Apply For These Roles

The bots are coming, make no mistake, and they're not just taking blue collar or low skill roles. Manufacturing bots have been here for decades and now writer-bots are disrupting journalism, driver-bots are taking over warehouses, and software-bots are driving web traffic and eCommerce. If you think that Uber is disrupting the taxi industry... wait until Google Self-driving Car. Ashley Madison was using software sex-bots to dupe male members... cheating the cheaters; how ironic. Buy-bots and Sales-bots are here now; you just need to open your eyes. Not convinced... watch this compelling short video and then we'll discuss how you can bot-proof your own career. Seriously, watch the video now.

There will always be a role for human-to-human (H2H) selling but if all you do is provide a form of connection or information dissemination... then you're doomed just like the dinosaurs. The machine age is upon us and singularity (the moment individual computers match the level of human intelligence and become capable of recursive self-improvement) is projected to will occur in approximately 2030 (2050 at the latest).

An article published here by BBC News summarizes research carried out by Oxford University and Deloitte that reveals 35% of jobs are at risk of being computerized in the next 20 years (thanks Jonathan Farrington sending this to me). It is worth reading and ranks jobs in order of which are most likely to be lost to machines.

Natural language has been one of the biggest challenges for computers due to nuance, ambiguity, humor and syntax. English language is one of the most difficult but look at the progress Siri, Google Now and Cortana have made in dealing with these challenges plus the problem of accent. When a computer first beat the world's best chess player we thought that was no big deal because chess is game of pure logic and what-if scenarios. But A.I is a whole new game... Watson reads online encyclopedias and trolls the internet to create its own databases. It doesn't forget and has photographic memory. It can also understand weak links and attribute meaning to obscure questions. ... it can understand the spoken word and then respond at lightening speed to mop the floor with the very best Jeopardy players in the world. It's a stunning achievement. This video clip is short but the full documentary is worth watching.

So, how important is it to fire-proof your sales career?  According to Andy Hoar at Forrester Research, there is only one segment of professional selling that will continue to grow. In his April 2015 report, Death of a (B2B) Salesman, he details the results of surveying 236 buyers. Andy says “B2B buyer behavior has changed significantly in the past few years” and he believes that more than 1 million sales reps in the United States will lose their jobs by 2020. That equates to more than 22% of sales roles that will be gone and he claims that 93% of buyers prefer buying online when they’ve already decided what to buy.

Here is the brutal reality for those in sales concerning job prospects:

   - Order Takers: 33% Job losses by 2020

   - Explainers: 25% Job losses by 2020

   - Navigators: 15% Job losses by 2020

   - Consultants: 10% Job gain for those who can adapt

I've mapped Andy's [Forrester Research] terminology into my own quadrants that I've used for years (from my first book in 2010) and here's the stark picture.

Forrester says that only 25% of B2B businesses actively sell online today yet the cost of sale reduces from $24.50 to $1.50. Any business selling a commodity must explore ways to reduce cost of sale and those who operate on the left side are in trouble. Those in the bottom right need to elevate because relationships alone are not enough... insight and value is the new black.

So how can sales people avoid digitally driven extinction? The answer is value – the creation of value for customers and employer through traditional concepts leveraged through technology.

We live in a human world and emotional connections are what influence us, motivate us, and inspire us. Everything old (value selling, solution selling, insight selling, trusted advisor, etc.) will be new again because it's how to best differentiate in a human world. Challenger Selling has a real role but only for those who can adopt blended engagement models where differentiation is created through the combination of digital and human interaction.

"I predict a great future for those in sales but only if they can create relationships of trust with the most senior people and then provide value through insight and innovation"

Learn to also innovate in the way you sell through mash-ups of proven selling principles combined with new world digital engagement to meet and serve your markets and customers, where they are and how they prefer to interact. Sales must move higher up the value chain to conduct the digital symphony. In many ways, this will bring you closer to the customer than ever – if they let you in. You must be the signal amidst the noise to break through and this is why leading with insight and having business acumen is so important.

Finally, watch this short video that captures the thoughts of Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking... the bots here are real (no CGI) and online salesbots are more advanced than those seeking to navigate the physical world to go to war.  Look at marketing software such as Hubspot for lead scoring and nurturing to see how automation and disruption is real for professional selling. Wake up if you don't want to be replaced; define the value you bring your employer and customers.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.

How [Not] To Run A Sales Meeting

Sales management is the weak link in the revenue chain. Sorry if that offends anyone but it's the truth. Leadership sets the tone and creates the focus in every organization; and culture is nothing more, nothing less, than the behavior of the leaders. Sales meetings often reveal short-term or lazy mindsets and sadly waste the time of most of the participants.

First a confession. I've held roles as sales manager and director of sales for public corporations and then Managing Director of global technology companies where I ran the Asia-Pacific region. I've been part of the problem in years past so this is a mirror just as much as a floodlight.

We all need to recognize that we cannot manage by results; only by activities and actions. If your sales meetings are dominated by the CRM on the big screen and blowtorch accountability sessions on forecast commits, then you're focused on the wrong thing.

"83% of sales management metrics do not measure sales activities" - Jason Jordan, Cracking The Sales Management Code

In a group setting we need to inspire, educate and create the right focus. Individuals need to be encouraged to share their wisdom with others. Publicly embarrassing anyone is a sales meeting is a form of bullying. Weekly one-on-one sessions are where strong accountability should be driven and direct feedback given but even these private sessions are not the forum for any Gordon Ramsay style of coaching. There are no excuses for bullying... ever!

It's almost always a mistake to fire-up the blowtorch and apply pressure to your sales people to go and explode a deal by applying clumsy pressure or making ill-conceived discount offers or announcing hollow threats. Instead acknowledge that opening is far more important than closing and that understanding the customer's timing and process is how to achieve accurate forecasting. We should always be asking the right questions of sales people at the beginning of the quarter and help them identify and execute the right actions that create progression. Applying the flame-thrower with just days to go in the quarter after neglecting the inputs that create success is a sure-fire way to damage relationships and drive-down price and margin. Pic in this paragraph by Jeff Warren (mike-lin-blowtorch).

In a sales meeting; by all means discuss key deals if multiple stakeholders are there and the group can contribute or learn. Here are some important principles for making sales meetings an effective use of everyone's time:

• Motivate and inspire by celebrating success with individuals and recognize those who are over-achieving in their KPIs that ultimately create revenue. Highlight corporate wins and new customers. Always emphasize team effort along with the commitment of key individuals.
• Ensure that your marketing team is part of sales meetings and that you drive sales and marketing alignment and collaboration. This is a critical success factor for strategic social selling where sales people are content amplifiers and potential content creators. Sales people can learn from marketing to improve their messaging and branding on platforms such as LinkedIn.
• Collaboratively share market intelligence concerning competitor activity and tactics. Insights from both loss reviews and win review insights should be shared including trigger events that created interest with prospects early and then workshop how to create the most powerful conversations.
• Foster information sharing and train a skill or technique that can help people improve their skills to drive results. Invite a guest to speak or present briefly create better understanding of other parts of the business or how to best engage with partners.

I phoned a fellow sales leader, Wayne Moloney and askedhim for his thoughts as he just published an excellent book on sales management and here are his thoughts. He agreed with my list and offered additional thoughts.

Sales meetings should be about the team, not an individual,  and meeting should be more about the customer than your company.  The objective should be to ensure consistent communication of company messages.

Consider the teams overall performance and address any issues to get back on track. Seek feedback on what assistance the team needs to over-achieve their targets but don’t allow this to become a complaint session. Provide the team with something of value to help them succeed and be specific. Share examples of how a sale was won.

The meeting agenda should not be around the performance of individuals and limit it to one hour. Always start and finish on time. Don’t get stuck in a rut, change the order around and don’t have the same people talking each week. Ask one sales person each week to share something they have tried that's working for them. It could be a way of getting into a new account, a way of presenting a new service/application (max 15 minutes including questions).

Ask individuals to present on a competitor or a new product, service, technology, process or solution. This will enable the manager to assess their skills and provide feedback and coaching later.

Tip of the Week – the sales managers chance to earn some ‘street cred’. Identify a weakness and provide suggestions on how to address, provide some market intelligence that they would not be aware of and could help them address a problem. It doesn't need to be complex, just a positive to finish the meeting and help them leave thinking they got something they wouldn’t have if they didn’t attend.

Wayne's book is excellent and the key point in all of this from me and Wayne is that sales meetings should inspire, educate and equip sales people to execute better with customers. Sales meeting should foster collaboration and serve the sales team, not the sales manager. Wasting everyone's time going through individual deals may help the manager avoid 1:1 sessions with sales people but it's not best practice.  If you run forecast updates then call the meetings exactly that. Preserve the title of 'sales meeting' for sessions that sales people want to attend and that provide value for all in attendance.

And now... the classic movie sales meeting from Glengarry Glen Ross with alec Baldwin.

If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' and ‘share’ buttons below. This article was originally published in LinkedIn here where you can comment. Also follow the award winning LinkedIn blog here or visit Tony’s leadership blog at his keynote speaker website:www.TonyHughes.com.au.

Main image photo from Flickr.