Can't Sell - Won't Sell

This morning I visited electrical retail store Currys to view their range of HD televisions. I had done my research on the quality of different TV's on the internet, reviewing the customer reviews as well as independent professional reviews. I had settles on a 42 inch screen Toshiba. And I was ready to buy!

Consider this. Three males 'sales professionals' are stood in a group within 15 feet of me. I am attempting to find the specific TV I am interested in. If they pay attention, they will be able to see that I am actually looking at the labels on each 42 inch Toshiba - to find the one I want. But no, a full 5 minutes in to my search, instead of a 'sales professional' approaching me to see how (not if) he could help me spend my money, I have to approach them. I decided to speak with the one person who separated himself from the other 2....as last nights match must have been so good that it was far more valuable continuing to discuss it rather than generating a sale.

I advised the sales professional (sorry, it sounds a little sarcastic - BECAUSE they just weren't professional) of the model I wanted and he took me to it. Now, here is where it goes from bad (sales presentation to even worse. I had with me details of prices of the TV set from Amazon and another internet based company. They were retailing at £529 including delivery. Currys were retailing the same TV at £569. Upon being advised of the price difference, the sales bloke (not very professional now, at least in my eyes), said 'Oh, well, they're nearly always cheaper', shrugged his shoulders and then continued 'Sorry I can't help you'. How ridiculous is that? What is a sales professional paid for? To generate sales by helping people want to buy. To help the company create a profit so it can trade. But isn't the time to really hone your skill and competence when there is a recession going on and the opportunities to sell are far fewer?

If the bloke had helped me understand some of the risks of buying off the internet such as returns policy and inconvenience of dealing with a faceless company I may have been open to paying the price difference. But this either wasn't his way of thinking or operating - or the football match really was amazing and he wanted to continue that dialogue with his pals.

The lesson to consider:

When the economy is healthy and strong, virtually anyone can 'take a customer order'. When the economy is struggling and people are taking better care of their budgets - that's when you need to be able to sell. Many sales people get great bonuses for exceeding their targets, but many of them are simply taking an order, not selling.

Beware of complacency, it could destroy your business. And look at Amazon.co.uk - their prices are really good and their returns policy is really easy!

If You Want To Learn More - Fail More

It is all too easy to forget just how easy, enjoyable and fulfilling learning can be. When we commit to learning something new, or even refreshing an old skill, it can be a fun and thought-provoking experience. When we enter in to the learning with an open mind and a willingness to take the little failures that are very likely to appear occasionally, overcoming them can be really quite straightforward. At least if we choose to think this way.

OK, now it may not be very motivational for you to read that, if you try something new, or even not so new, you should expect that you won't get everything right, first time or every time. Sometimes you might not realise 'why' you are failing, but you just are. It can seem like however hard you try, progress is minimal or non-existent. But that thought itself, is part of the problem. When we think that we aren't making any progress, or the progress we are making is really insignificant, it doesn't motivate us to focus on persisting. It can focus us more on generating justifications for giving up. You may have heard some of the following:


-It's not worth it anyway, I've got other things I need to do.

-Well, I've tried everything to make it work but still can't do it.

-S/he (someone who can do it successfully) must have some special ability that I don't possess. That's why they can do it.

-I was never serious about learning it anyway.

-It isn't worth the hassle or effort.

Any of these sound familiar? Not that I'm suggesting for one moment that you would use any of these justifications.

Who struggles most with failing?

The people that tend to struggle most with failure are those people who succeed so frequently that 'failure' appears foreign to them. Why don't they tend to handle failure well? Because they are so damned brilliant that they haven't learned how to manage themselves, their thinking and emotions through the turmoil that failure to achieve a goal can bring. You see, even the most brilliant amongst us has challenges to face and obstacles to overcome.

Failure as a learning opportunity

Let me put some context around this. If you are a trainee pilot attempting to land a passenger jet with 300 passengers on board, it wouldn't be wise to simply think positively to yourself 'I can do this, I can do this' when the technical competence hasn't reached the level required to confidently make an attempt. My preferred approach is small, regular and manageable steps on a daily basis. This way we exercise our self-confidence, self-awareness, motivation and resilience muscles. This way, any 'failure' is small and usually, more quickly overcome so you can get back on track.

If you want to learn more, fail more. But don't keep repeating the same thinking, communication and behavioural patterns over and over again. Persistence is a good thing when used wisely. But if you keep persisting at repeating the failure pattern, all you'll get really successful at failing miserably.

We continue to see how failure, either on a small or massive scale can bring about new learning. An airline crash can bring about a new or enhanced awareness of the need for specific pre-flight checks just as in business, failing to hit an agreed deadline for your boss can help you to realise that you shouldn't simply comply with a boss's demand or request when you truly know that you can't hit the deadline or achieve the required quality standard. The trick is to learn BEFORE the significant learning failure can occur - and this requires clarity of thought as well as a willingness to trust yourself to take appropriate and intelligent action.

Help me to learn to walk


Think of it this way. If you are the parent of a new born child, when it reaches 18 months old would you expect him or her to be learning to walk on their own? If so, when would you stop helping your child to learn to walk? Would you really have a tough talk with him or her stating that 'I've tried everything I know to get you to walk and you're not. So, either it's you can't be bothered or you're just not designed to walk or you're just being silly.' You'd never have such a conversation would you? Firstly, the kid wouldn't understand a word you are saying, never mind the significance of your communication. But more importantly, you place such a high value on your relationship with your child, and it with you, that you are going to persist and persist UNTIL your child learns to walk by itself, unaided. What an experience that would be eh? How proud would you be when those first unaided steps were walked?

So, why use the metaphor of learning to walk as a guide for yourself? What do you want to learn that you're not finding time or energy for? What do you need to learn if you are to achieve the goals you set yourself, or those set by your organisation?

You've already learned to walk, possibly drive a motor vehicle, speak at least one, if not more languages, program a computer, use the internet and so much more. Why not make your next learning something so important and exciting that you actually stick with it, even during the tough times?

Top Ten Ways to Make Your Management Training Really Work For You

When the economic outlook was bright, choosing an external training partner was a pretty tough task. But now, with the economic outlook being rather bleak, my company has noticed a significant increase in the number of enquiries for associate relationships. How can a corporate buyer be certain, or at least, very confident that they are making a good decision when appointing an external partner? Here are my top 10 tips to make your management training programme work really well. Apply these tips and you will not only minimise the possibilities of things going wrong, you will proactively be ensuring that your management training programme delivers excellent quality and (with your involvement) the results you want most too.

1. Do your homework - Be clear on why you want/need the training now. What organisational pressures or goals are driving this training programme and what contribution are you expecting from your training partner?
2. What is the rationale for outsourcing your management training programme? Make sure your organisation is clear about WHY you are looking to outsource. Do you need external expertise and skills? Is it a project deadline you can't achieve on your own? Or is there another reason? Either way, clarity really helps.
3. What is the level of risk involved? The consequence of a poorly chosen PC repair service provider (if you catch the damage early enough) might only cost you a couple of PC's and a few annoyed colleagues. But outsourcing your whole custoemr service support to the wrong provider could cost you a great deal in sales. Be very careful outsourcing your recruitment and development of managers who can't demonstrate a consistent level of competence and client satisfaction. Clarity on how performance will be measured is a real key point here.
4. Think past the consultants sales pitch. Word of mouth referrals are almost always the safest way to select a management training partner. A recommendation from a trusted colleague, acquaintance or advisor is far safer than simply seeing who is listed on the internet or Yellow Pages. And then you have to ensure that the provider has credentials that meet your requirements. Some points to pay attention to: Establish early on exactly who will be allocated to your training and development programme.Ask about this person's expertise, track record, qualifications and level of authority within their company.Don't take a cv or personal profile as a statement of fact. Dig deep and check client testimonials.
5. How consistent is the expertise level? Bait and switch is one of the most annoying practices employed in the outsourcing sector. Providers show up to the sales meetings with senior personnel but when the contract has been secured, you rarely if ever see them again - unless there is something they can sell to you. Agree who will be involved in the day to day work before signing a contract.
6. Are reliable client testimonials available? A client list is one thing, and they can look impressive. But to maximise the possibility of your potential partner actually delivering their commitments, look for client testimonials. Real feedback from real people in a similar situation to you. Having to choose an external training partner. If verifiable testimonials aren't available, perhaps you would be best not making such an appointment.
7. Are the deliverables actually deliverable and realistic? Beware of providers who promise you the world. Their intention may be genuine and well-intended but even the most impressive sales pitch will end in frustration (and possibly litigation) if agreed deliverables aren't achieved. Remember to be reasonable with your requests, however important your project. Don't be so relaxed that any results, however small, appear like success. And don't be so difficult and expect so much that even very positive improvements/changes are deemed to be failure. This is a two-way relationship and win-win is vital.
8. How will the provider will assist with in-sourcing. You don't want to be locked into a provider in such a way as to militate against switching providers or bringing the function in-house in the future. Answering this question will help you to identify potential partners whoc should be able to provide what you need. Once you have chosen the provider, include the transfer of knowledge, skills and expertise in your contract document. This will ensure that both parties are properly protected.
9. Get the contract right. The contract is where all the assumptions about how the provider will work with you are made explicit. It is also the place where the provider's expectations of the client are also made explicit. Enter into negotiations with a genuine win-win relationship in mind. You want to achieve your outsourcing objective with your partner as smoothly and effectively as possible. The contract should allow the provider and yourself to be clear on your expectations of each other, an element of flexibility to change project timing, logistics and allow both parties to feel they are contributing and receiving value for money.
10. Use honesty as your standard in all of your dealings. Appointing an external training partner can be like a boxing match on some occasions. You don't want to be hit with an incompetent provider so you are a little cagey to start with. The external training partner doesn't want you to 'steal' their intellectual property so they give it to you one small piece at a time. Start your initial discussion with a clear commitment to honest dialogue and transparency in every aspect.

This is an excerpt from Scott Watson's book 'Win Every Time - Essential lessons for existing and emerging leaders'

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Win-Every-Time-Essential-Existing/dp/1425983405/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236611346&sr=8-1