by Art Waskey | Oct 16, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
A change in mindset
How many times have your problems kept you awake at night? Worrying about issues saps your energy and brings on insomnia. This was my experience all too often until I learned how to change my mindset. I stopped meditating on my problems and began to look at them as opportunities.
Change your perspective
My father often counseled me to change my perspective on an issue in order to solve a problem. I found that when I made a conscious decision to change how I looked at things, my outlook improved.
Four steps
I advise that you look at hindrances in these four ways:
- View the hindrance as an opportunity – Change your perspective on the issue that is consuming you. See the roadblock as an opportunity to find a new avenue to success. Positive energy will create a pathway to a solution. In my case, as a Christian, I pray for guidance on negative matters and my mind resets to anticipating more positive outcomes.
- Believe in your ability – What actually keeps you up at night is self-doubt. Remind yourself that you inherently can do good things. That shift in thinking helps you find the right solution and empowers you to tackle bigger goals.
- Focus on solutions – Every problem has a solution. By assuming an optimistic outlook, you release stress and gain the energy needed to focus on the correct conclusion.
- Calculate risk – Assure yourself that you have the ability and focus to problem solve. This allows you to properly analyze the calculated risk versus reward of your solutions in a clear-headed manner.
Problems solved
Viewing problems in these four ways can be instrumental in solving business concerns. I recently consulted with a client who faced a major obstruction that threatened the future of his business. We carefully outlined the problem in writing. Then we went to work. The client’s problem became an opportunity when we changed our perspective, believed in the client’s ability, focused on solutions, and calculated risk for rewards.
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by Art Waskey | Oct 2, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
As managers, we are successful when those who are in charge make the most of their talents. Identifying each individual’s talents and aligning them with their positions, however, is a tall order, as each person is unique.
Here are some tips on how to maximize talent to maximize success:
- Find the right position. Some sales territories need assertive and ego-driven individuals to maximize potential, while others require patient, relationship-building salespeople for nurturing. Both types of people must have a desire and natural intuition to solve problems with and through personal contact. To do that, they need to be self-reliant, self-motivated, and self-directed. Learn the goals and passions of your employees and allow them to find the best positions in your organization to maximize their talent.
- The right position may not be in house. If an employee isn’t a good fit for your company, help them find opportunities elsewhere. Avoid moving people to another area within the company in an attempt to find a fit where one doesn’t exist. Promoting an employee to find a “better fit” only exacerbates existing incompatibilities and should never occur.
- Don’t try to change people. In their book, First, Break All The Rules, authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman suggest, “People don’t change that much. Don’t waste time trying to put in what was left out. Try to draw out what was left in. You will find that is hard enough.”
- Make the most of each person’s talents. Everyone has a unique set of talents, patterns of behavior, passions, and yearnings. Every salesperson has a distinct source of motivation and style of persuasion. A good manager’s job is to make the most of these talents, person by person. Acknowledge weaknesses but don’t try to change them. Focus on maximizing strengths, especially with your best performers.
Maximizing Talent Maximizes Success
Lastly, as managers, we are successful when those we are in charge of can make the most of their talents. Maximizing talents maximizes success.
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by Art Waskey | Sep 26, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
A poor fit
As managers, we are responsible for helping those we oversee succeed in jobs that match their talents. Sometimes we find we are dealing with a good person who is a poor fit for the position he is in. I encountered this early in my career as a sales manager. I worked with a rep who had great technical skills and product knowledge, but his sales territory never hit targeted revenues. He didn’t have the talent for sales. I had to let him know he had 60 days to find another job. He was not pleased. Knowing his technical skills were good, however, I was able to get him an interview with a major manufacturer that was hiring an engineer.
The importance of talent
Gallup defined talent as “a recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied” (“How Great Managers Define Talent,” Business Journal, November 11, 1999). Many people don’t realize their true talent, yet it is the prerequisite for excellence in their role in life. It is how we form opinions, feel the emotions of others, handle confrontations, and pick up subtle differences in each of life’s interactions.
Showcasing talent
Identifying whether a person is competitive, generous, or ego-driven helps define the nature of their talent. As a sales manager, your responsibility is to steer an employee toward success. As I matured in leading others, I recognized the importance of helping each person I worked with find a position that showcased their talents.
The talent match
Ten years after I had let the rep in my opening story go, I saw him at a national convention. Fearing a confrontation, I tried to avoid him. He chased me down, but instead of horror, I received a hug. He apologized for his previous behavior when I had to let him go and was now the engineering manager for the manufacturing company I had recommended. Lastly, he had embraced the right opportunity and found a good fit. It was a talent match.
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by Art Waskey | Sep 18, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
As a Sales Manager, I learned the importance of spending time with the right people. While it is logical to focus attention on reps who may be underperforming, to help them improve results, it is equally important to acknowledge the work of your best reps.
The superstar
The greatest salesperson I had the privilege of managing complained that I didn’t praise her enough. When we made calls together, we invariably either closed new business or picked up a large order from an existing account. We clicked with decision-makers and would end most days excited and motivated. Yet, she felt I didn’t spend as much time with her as I did with some of the other lower-performing reps. My superstar was right to point this out. Here’s why.
Spend time with producers
In their book, First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, I was reminded of the importance of giving most of your attention to those who produce. If you spend your efforts with those struggling and ignore your best performers, you can inadvertently alter the behavior of those who get you results. Remember, your stars are who they are because they have talent and drive. They deserve your best because they are your best.
Why invest in the best?
In interviews with great managers, Buckingham and Coffman were told that investing in their best was,
- the fairest thing to do,
- the best way to learn; and
- the only way to stay focused on excellence.
Lesson learned
“When you see your stars acting up, it is a sure sign that you have been paying attention to the wrong people and the wrong behaviors”, say Buckingham and Coffman.
A lesson learned. Invest more time with your best because they are deserving of it.
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by Art Waskey | Sep 11, 2024 | Art of Sales Weekly, Featured
One of AI’s greatest advantages is its ability to significantly reduce the time required for routine processes. By automating tasks such as order processing, data entry, workforce scheduling, and forecasting, AI enhances efficiency and accuracy. Identify areas with repetitive tasks and high labor demands, and let AI streamline these processes to boost productivity and reduce operational costs.
Also, I recently attended a Distribution Strategy Group (DSG) webcast on “The Role of AI in Digital Transformation”. In the webcast, panelists Alex Witcpalek, CEO of Continuum.ai, and Jared Helenic, Senior Account Manager at Infor, reviewed the three most commonly used applications for AI today.
Three common uses of AI
- Automation of routine tasks – One of AI’s greatest advantages is its ability to reduce the time it takes to complete routine processes. However, tasks such as order processing, data entry, workforce scheduling, and forecasting can be automated with AI. Look for areas that are routine and have high labor demand. Let AI take over these processes.
- Customer engagement – Intelligent chatbots can handle customer order processes. Powered by AI, can provide information on when an order is picked up, on a delivery truck, or at your dock. This type of AI improves customer engagement and can replicate many of the functions of a tenured account rep. Also, intelligent chatbots can handle traditional rep responsibilities like quotes, proposals, recommending the right part, and pricing.
- Product offering expansion – The use of AI is critical to expanding the scope of product information management. Independent distributors must incorporate omnichannel product sourcing to remain relevant with existing alternative internet channels. Lastly, by enabling you to expand your product offerings, AI allows you to provide a consistent brand experience. Customer can do one-stop shopping at your expanded site.
A catalyst
AI is the catalyst and is rapidly emerging a disruptive force changing the way businesses are executed. Ask yourself how you want AI to help you maintain a competitive edge. Use AI to automate routine functions, improve customer engagement, and expand product offerings. In conclusion, these three common AI applications lead to success in today’s business environment.
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