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As learned from my mentor Brad Sugars, Founder of ActionCOACH, I am constantly reminding myself as well as my clients that selling is sometimes as simple as knowing the right questions to ask.
Want Advice on How To Sell? All You Have To Do Is Ask.
By Brad Sugars
Being the expert in your business means that you have all the advice to give about your product, so selling should be easy, right? Selling is a tricky thing. Knowing about the product isn’t enough anymore, you need to know the right questions to ask.Have you ever answered a question with a question? Would that be making a difference to your conversion rate? The answer to the latter is most definitely yes! Asking questions not only increases your conversion rate, but builds rapport with your customer and ensures that the sale becomes their idea and not yours.Asking questions also means active listening.
You can ask questions about your customers work, business, kids or hobbies but make sure that you are listening with sincere interest. It may even be helpful to note down some of the answers - such as the names of their kids, interests etc for future communication. By asking questions and listening, you are building rapport and attaching importance to their conversation.
Also, by asking questions you are remaining in control of the conversation. Once you find yourself doing all the talking you are no longer in control. Just remember that the person asking questions sets the direction for the conversation. If the customer is dominating the conversation by asking you questions make sure you answer the question with a question. However, try to vary the questions that you ask. You may remember from looking after your own children or babysitting that being asked “but why?” over and over again tends to get a little monotonous.
Questions can guide consumer interest, discover a need and give accurate information. There are two commonly known types of questioning - open ended and closed questions.
Building Rapport and Qualifying
Open-ended questions are an excellent way to ensure customer involvement in the conversation and are key to identifying not only what they need but a lot about themselves. You can use open-ended questions to build rapport, to find a need, to discover a customer problem and find the right solution. In journalism there are six key questions used in the interviewing process which is as equally useful in sales - who, what, where, when, why and how.
Here are a few example of open-ended questions which are very useful:
Who are you buying the product/service for?
How often would you use the product/service?
What features were you looking for in this product/service?
This type of questioning yields a lot of great information from your customer and helps you determine which product/service is uniquely suited to them. Closed questions tend to get one word answers ‘yes’ or ‘no’. They can be used to gather information quickly - not unlike a check-list. Using closed questions can also confirm a buying detail and help confirm the sale.
By using questions you are encouraging the customer to communicate, building rapport, establishing their needs, directing the conversation, diffusing tension and inviting discussion.
Learning the art of questioning and listening is the key to increasing your conversion rate and well on the way to creating a continuing customer relationship.
You have the power! I continuously coach my clients on this. In the numerous years that I have spent with large and small businesses, the people that are most successful are those who truly believe that they are in control of their future, and that they have the power within themselves. This is a great perspective from Jim Rohn…
The Key to a Better Future Is You – Jim Rohn
Of all the things that can have an effect on your future, I believe personal growth is the greatest. We can talk about sales growth, profit growth, asset growth, but all of this probably will not happen without personal growth. It’s really the open door to it all. In fact I’d like to have you memorize a most important phrase. Here it is, “The major key to your better future is YOU.”
Let me repeat that. “The major key to your better future is YOU.” Put that someplace you can see it everyday, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, at the office, anywhere where you can see it everyday. The major key to your better future is YOU. Try to remember that every day you live and think about it. The major key is YOU.
Now, there are many things that will help your better future. If you belong to a strong, dynamic and progressive company, that would help. If the company has good products, good services that you are proud of, that would certainly help. If there were good sales aids, that would help, good training would certainly help. If there is strong leadership that will certainly help. All of these things will help, and of course, if it doesn’t storm, that will help. If your car doesn’t break down, that will help. If the kids don’t get sick, that will help. If the neighbors stay half way civil, that will help. If your relatives don’t bug you, that will help. If it isn’t too cold, if it isn’t too hot, all those things will help your better future. And if prices don’t go much higher and if taxes don’t get much heavier, that will help. And if the economy stays stable, those things will all help. We could go on and on with the list; but remember this, the list of things that I’ve just covered and many more - all put together - play a minor role in your better future.
The major key to your better future is you. Lock your mind onto that. This is a super important point to remember. The major key is you. Mr. Shoaff always answered when asked, “How do you develop an above average income?” by saying “Simple, become an above average person. Work on you.” Mr. Shoaff would say, “Develop an above average handshake.” He would say, “A lot of people want to be successful, and they don’t even work on their handshake. As easy as that would be to start, they let it slide. They don’t understand.” Mr. Shoaff would say, “Develop an above average smile. Develop an above average excitement. Develop an above average dedication. Develop an above average interest in other people.” He would say, “To have more, become more.” Remember; work harder on yourself than you do on your job. For a long time in my life, I didn’t have this figured out.
Strangely enough, with two different people in the same company one may earn an extra $100 a month, and the other may earn a $1,000. What could possibly be the difference? If the products were the same, if the training was the same, if they both had the same literature, the same tools. If they both had the same teacher, the same compensation plan, if they both attended the same meetings, why would one person earn the $100 per month and the other person earn the $1000? Remember here is the difference…the difference is personal, inside, not outside, inside.
You see the real difference is inside you. In fact, the difference IS you. Someone once said, “The magic is not in the products. The magic is not in the literature. The magic is not in the film. There isn’t a magic meeting, but the magic that makes things better is inside you, and personal growth makes this magic work for you.
The magic is in believing. The magic is in daring. The magic is in trying. The real magic is in persevering. The magic is in accepting. It’s in working. The magic is in thinking. There is magic in a handshake. There is magic in a smile. There is magic in excitement and determination. There is real magic in compassion and caring and sharing. There is unusual magic in strong feeling and you see, all that comes from inside, not outside. So, the difference is inside you. The real difference is you. You are the major key to your better future.
10 Reasons to Manage as a Coach
The Management Attribute Most Desired by Employees By Mike Hawkins
Relationships between employees and managers take many forms. Some are collaborative while others are competitive. Some are vibrant while others are antagonistic. There are managers and employees who have great respect for each other and work closely together like partners who help each other out. Others hardly see each other or wish they never saw each other. The nature of employee-manager relationships depend on factors related to the manager, employee, and organization. An organization’s culture, policies, and HR systems have an impact. The manager’s leadership style, span of responsibility, and leadership competence have an impact. The employee’s level of performance, skill level, role, and attitude have an impact. But more than any other factor, it is managers and their leadership style that most determine the nature of the relationship.
Some managers operate as “super-contributors” who are individual contributors with a higher level of responsibility. They often have a peer level relationship with their employees. Some act like military commanders who tell their people where to go and what to do. They have an authoritarian relationship with their employees. Some act as charismatic politicians who like to make promises and strive for popularity. They have a superficial relationship with their employees. Some managers are disengaged and not materially involved in managing or leading at all. They have no relationship with their employees.
The most effective relationship and approach a manager can employ is akin to a coach working with an athlete. It is a coaching style of management that utilizes coaching best practices. It is a style that inspires people to be their best. Managers as coaches not only hold their employees accountable, they encourage and enable their employees. They help their employees develop and improve their skills. They establish a nurturing and motivating relationship with their employees.
Here are ten reasons why managers should lead as coaches and develop a coaching approach to leadership:
1. Managers spend weeks if not months recruiting, interviewing, and hiring top talent to put on their team. Employees are their most important assets. Employees are worth the investment.
2. Coaching improves employee performance. Studies find that employees who receive coaching perform up to 200 percent higher than employees who don’t.
3. Surveys find the top attribute most desired by employees in their manager is an ability to coach. Employees want individualized help in improving their skills.
4. Annual performance reviews are pathetically insufficient to helping employees become top performers. Annual reviews are not a substitute for continually working with employees on their professional development.
5. Manager conversations with employees about sales forecasts, budgets, project status, and other operational issues don’t get to the root issues that prevent top performance and are most deserving of discussion.
6. Practicing and honing basic skills are what differentiate good performers from top performers. Yet employees don’t regularly practice and work on their skills without the exhortation and attention that comes with coaching.
7. No one is successful on their own. Top performers are part of an ecosystem. It is the help, encouragement, advice, facilitation, and enablement from others and in particular from their manager that enables their top performance.
8. A primary reason that top performers join an organization and subsequently stay with an organization is the potential for professional growth. Top performers place great value on learning and development.
9. When successful people are asked about the aspects of their career that most enabled their success, they consistently mention a mentor,athletic coach, or boss who took the time to work with them individually on their development.
10. Studies find that over three-fourths of organizations have a skills shortfall that will prevent them from reaching their goals. Helping to improve people’s skills has to be a manager’s top priority.
Consider your relationship with your employees or boss. Think about how your relationship could be improved through coaching. Talk to your boss or your employee about improving a skill or leveraging a talent through coaching.The time you invest in it will pay huge dividends in improved performance and relationship.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to ride in a small private aircraft from Elbert, Colorado to Steamboat, Colorado. Typically this would take four hours by car, and can be an exhausting drive.
It dawned on me as I was enjoying this quick and relaxing flight, how flying verses driving is similar to a business owner running their business on their own verses having a coach. A certified pilot has the aptitude, skills, training and license to give passengers the luxury of sitting back and taking advantage of the view from above. Why drive up those treacherous mountain roads white-knuckling the steering wheel during the drive and risk your car as there are many environmental factors which could render your vehicle useless at any moment along the way.
A certified business coach much like a certified pilot has the same qualifications and license to guide your business to new heights. Why take your business through tough roads with many hills and valleys before arriving at your final destination of achieving your goals when a business coach can pick you up and get you to your desired destination “straight-line” while avoiding many hurdles along the way.
One of the most common mistakes businesses make when they first start writing advertising copy is trying to impress people with their ability to write humorous or “clever” copy, rather than simply getting the sales message across.
People fall into this trap because it’s what they’ve learned from what they’ve seen, heard or read. It’s what we’ve all been exposed to through years of advertising copy in magazines, newspapers, television commercials and radio campaigns.
That’s because all around the world advertising agencies spend thousands of dollars trying to produce award winning advertisements.
These “clever” advertisements are not designed to make sales for their clients but to impress judges presiding over major awards. The judges themselves have no interest in how successful a campaign has been. They simply look for the best play on words, the biggest or funniest advertisements to the extent that they miss the point to the whole exercise: Making Sales.
Advertising is about one thing and one thing only; getting people to buy your product or services- and “clever” advertising simply doesn’t make people buy.
Think about how many ads you read, see or hear in the course of an average day. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that most people are exposed to over 1,500 advertisements every day.
Of those 1500, how many do you stop and take notice of? How many can you actually recall seeing?
In many cases people would be lucky to remember ten.
It’s hardly surprising we can recall only a handful because if we were to stop and pay attention to every ad we were exposed to, we’d spend the entire day reading advertisements.
When you write “clever” advertisements, people don’t have the time to stop and think about what the ads trying to say. If your ad doesn’t get the sales message across fast, it will fail to achieve its true purpose, generating leads that turn into sales.
So forget about being “clever” and remember the principles of “Target, Offer and Copy” when writing your ads.
Be sure you are targeting the right market, that your offer speaks to that target market and your copy educates them. By following “Target, Offer and Copy”, you can avoid writing “clever” ads and start to produce the types of ads that bring you the customers you need.
Action vs. Self-Delusion by Jim Rohn
Knowledge fueled by emotion equals action. Action is the ingredient that ensures results. Only action can cause reaction. Further, only positive action can cause positive reaction.
Action. The whole world loves to watch those who make things happen, and it rewards them for causing waves of productive enterprise.
I stress this because today I see many people who are really sold on affirmations. And yet there is a famous saying that “faith without action serves no useful purpose.” How true!
I have nothing against affirmations as a tool to create action. Repeated to reinforce a disciplined plan, affirmations can help create wonderful results.
But there is also a very thin line between faith and folly. You see, affirmations without action can be the beginnings of self-delusion. And for your well-being, there is little worse than self-delusion.
The man who dreams of wealth, and yet walks daily toward certain financial disaster, and the woman who wishes for happiness, and yet thinks thoughts and commits acts that lead her toward certain despair, are both victims of the false hope that affirmations without action can manufacture. Why? Because words soothe and, like a narcotic, they lull us into a state of complacency. Remember this: To make progress, you must actually get started!
The key is to take a step today. Whatever the project, start today. Start clearing out a drawer of your newly organized desk-today. Start setting your first goal-today. Start listening to motivational programs-today. Start a sensible weight-reduction plan-today. Start calling on one tough customer a day-today. Start putting money in your new “investment for fortune” account-today. Write a long-overdue letter-today. Anyone can! Even an uninspired person can start reading inspiring books.
Get some momentum going on your new commitment for the good life. See how many activities you can pile on your new commitment to the better life. Go all out! Break away from the downward pull of gravity. Start your thrusters going. Prove to yourself that the waiting is over and the hoping is past, that faith and action have now taken charge.
It’s a new day, a new beginning for your new life. With discipline, you will be amazed at how much progress you’ll be able to make. What have you got to lose except the guilt and fear of the past?
Now, I offer you this challenge: See how many things you can start and continue in this, the first day of your new beginning.
TAKE ACTION!
~Coach Susan
On Saturday I started out with my friend Stuart for a 30 mile bike ride. We are both training for long rides this summer and are both experienced cyclists, so the 30 mile goal was just a normal Saturday ride.
What we didn’t realize when we started was that we would hit a wind storm to the tune of 29 mph (we checked the internet when we returned) straight at us. We had to turn and ride for 8 miles straight into the wind at that force. This was, so far, the most challenging ride of my life. We were riding far east of the airport and didn’t have any options for a “bail out” as there was no auto traffic and nowhere to stop.
The motivation that I used to get home was thinking of each of my clients. I thought of how I ask each and every one of them, every day to do things that are hard, that are like riding into the wind! I ask for things that they don’t want to do! Things that they know if they do it will make them stronger. Things that will change their businesses forever if they find the courage to do them!
I know my riding season is going to be a GREAT one!! I highly doubt we will have to ride another day like that, so I know I will ride strong this year.
Thank you to my clients for the inspiration and the motivation!!
I know that if I challenge you to “ride in the wind” it is for the benefit of growing your business.
As I write this, I am reminded of how quickly it feels like various seasons in Colorado. One day it can feel like spring is on the horizon, and the next day it is snowing. This very much parallels the business cycle and the challenges that accompany the cycle.
How a business overcomes these challenges is what makes the difference between a profitable business and a business that is barely thriving. The true character of the forces driving the business is shown during the toughest of storms.
Just like bracing for a tough blizzard, or a hail storm, every business must be prepared. A crucial part of preparing for the storms is by systematizing your business. As I have taught my clients, your business should be an enterprise that works without you, even if temporarily while you are taking cover from the storm. The systems that have been put in place should continue to operate, even without the operator-YOU!
ActionCOACH has hundreds of different systems, each playing an integral role in the overall business strength. Are you ready to plant your seeds for spring and reap the benefits to tide you over during the seasons of your business?
Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren’t sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.
1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. “Lose 5 pounds” is a better goal than “lose some weight,” because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you’ll “eat less” or “sleep more” is too vague — be clear and precise. “I’ll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights” leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you’ve actually done it.
2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it’s not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.
To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., “If it’s Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I’ll work out for 30 minutes before work.”) Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.
3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don’t know how well you are doing, you can’t adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.
4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don’t underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.
5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won’t improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.
Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.
6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The good news is, if you aren’t particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don’t have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking …. well, there’s no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.
7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control “muscle” is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn’t get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.
To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you’d honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don’t. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur (”If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.”) It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that’s the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.
8. Don’t tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it’s important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don’t try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don’t put yourself in harm’s way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.
9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., “Don’t think about white bears!”) has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.
If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like “If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down.” By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.
This is valuable information, a lot of which has already been incorporated in my personal and business life. Grit is what I consistently have my clients strive for in their business. ActionCOACH is all about Effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies to succeed. Grit, Grit, Grit!!!
