February 27, 2023

7 simple things that define an audacious sales team

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7 simple things that define an audacious sales team.

What defines a great sales team and the salespeople in it?

The number of products sold and revenue generated?

No.

Products and revenue are the result of the sales effort; the more effective the sales effort the higher the economic return to the organization and the higher bonus for the salesperson.

Here are the 7 things that define audacious sales:

✔️ Taking a long term view of what the customer needs, not exploiting the moment and driving to make an immediate sale;

✔️ Creating an enjoyable experience for the customer, not using the engagement process as a platform to feed the salesperson’s ego;

✔️ Enhancing the relationship with the customer not not pushing products at them because of the sales quota in place;

✔️ Asking questions as the engagement priority as opposed to telling the customer what they need;

✔️ Respecting silence in the conversation rather than filling the air with the sales pitch;

✔️ Honouring integrity and honesty rather than bending the truth and doing whatever it takes to make the sale;

✔️ Achieving the outcome that is best for the customer which may not completely fulfil the personal agenda of the salesperson.

How do you know if a salesperson puts in an effective effort?

Ask their customers.

Here’s what they say about the standout ones:

— “I refuse to buy from anyone else.”

— “He is the only one I trust.”

— “I often go out of my way to create the sales opportunity for her.”

— “I feel guilty talking to anyone else about what I need.”

— “I don’t feel confident dealing with anyone else.”

— “I am ok to wait until they are available.”

— “I am quite willing to be inconvenienced in order to buy from them.”

— “I am thankful to have him looking out for my long term interests.”

— “I think of her as a close friend.”

— “I honestly believe he cares about me and what my problems are.”

— “They’re in it for the long term with me.”

— “She is always there to talk to me when I need to.”

— “They never push products at me.”

— “She is the best listener I have ever known.”

How many salespeople can claim their customers make even one or two of these statements?

In my experience, very few.

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 2.27.23 at 06:12 am by Roy Osing
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February 20, 2023

Effective differentiation is lost today for these 3 surprising reasons

Effective differentiation is lost today for these 3 surprising reasons.

Even though:
✔️ competition has never been more fierce,
✔️ customers have never been more fickle, and switch suppliers with ease.
✔️ technological change is occurring at the speed of light.
✔️ regulations are getting more complex.
✔️ unpredictable events are hitting unsuspecting organizations with unbelievable frequency.

You would think organizations would be proficient at declaring why people should buy from them and not their competitors; why their value is special and unique when compared to what is being offered by other competitors in their space.

BUT THEY’RE NOT!

PROBLEM?

#1. COPYING IS RAMPANT

Everybody is copying everyone else. Benchmarking is used as the ‘tool of innovation’ by literally everyone.

Copying is the antithesis of originality. Nothing new is created. The ‘old’ is perpetuated.

It’s no wonder that ’undifferentiation’ is happening. The gap among organizations is blurred rather than focused.

What makes one organization special vis-a-vis their competitors is clouded in common rhetoric.

“Emulation gets you to parity. But when everyone does it it gets you to strategic hell.” — Herman Singh, LinkedIn Post

#2. CLAPTRAP DOMINATES

Concepts like ‘better’, ‘best’, #1, ‘leader’, ‘most reliable’, ‘premium’, ‘great’, ‘most trusted’, ‘lowest cost’ and ‘first ever’ pervade the way most organizations declare their ‘special sauce’.

Differentiation claims expressing these intentions are found everywhere.
Most organizations make similar claims.
They’re not believable.
No accountability is established.
Customers are confused.
No differences among organizations are defined.

They don’t answer the question “Why should I do business with you as opposed to your competitors?”

Some CLAPTRAP claims:

▪️“Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network”
▪️“… offers the best coffee and espresso drinks for consumers who want premium ingredients and perfection every time.”
▪️“We work hard everyday to make … the world’s most respected service brand.”

#3. ASPIRATIONS CONTAMINATE

These are helium-filled claims at the 10,000’ level.
What the hell do they mean?
They lack the tangibility needed for people to make informed decisions on who to select as their supplier.
They can’t be proven.
They don’t inspire execution or accountability.

Some ASPIRATIONAL claims:

▪️“Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
▪️“Champions of Customer Service”
▪️“Our mission is to make the world happier and healthier”
▪️“We’re in business to save our home planet.”
▪️“To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.”

So, what’s your solution?

SOLUTION!

In a world of cluttered and confused messaging, you have to put ‘precision to your promise’ in order to make it clear to people why they should do business with you.

I created The ONLY Statement—ONLY— as the way to clearly define what makes you special and unique in a crowded marketplace.

ONLY looks like this: “We are the ONLY ones who…”

Some ONLY claims:

✔️ “BCI Marine is the ONLY complete service partner committed to delivering solutions to grow a boat dealer’s business.”
✔️ “Kimberly Lebbing is The ONLY High-Performance Success & Mindset Expert Helping Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Their Teams Get Mind-Blowing Results in as Little as 4 Hours.”
✔️ “ONLY TELUS PureFibre has upload speeds as fast as download speeds, and a 100% fiber optic connection that runs direct to your home—so you can binge without buffering.”
✔️ “We provide the ONLY permanent solution that prevents biohazard contaminants (such as used syringes) and all other debris from entering manholes.”
✔️ “We are the ONLY team that provides integrated safety solutions that go beyond the needs of our customers ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. We are committed to growing our customer’s business. We ONLY serve safety.”
✔️ “Roy Osing is the ONLY author, entrepreneur and executive leader who delivers practical and proven ‘Audacious Unheard-of Ways’ to build high performing businesses and successful careers.”
✔️ “Roy is the ONLY coach and advisor who offers The ONLY Statement as a practical and proven tool to create a competitive advantage for organizations and individuals.”
✔️ “The North Delta Business Association is the ONLY team that:
1. Links you to other businesses.
2. Connects you with experienced & knowledgeable people to help you lead & grow your business.
3. Constantly challenges you to do things differently.”

Can you see the difference between ONLY and the other claims?

ONLY smokes them all.

Draft your ONLY.

Let me help.

Cheers,
Roy
My 50+ Podcast Shows that will change your life.

Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

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• Posted 2.20.23 at 05:57 am by Roy Osing
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February 13, 2023

What is ‘fingerprint’ leadership and why is it so incredibly important?

How many articles, books have you read on the leadership topic?
OMG! There are so many leadership pundits out there, it’s tough to decide who’s philosophy and advice to follow.

I’ve always recommended that you follow someone with proven achievements in the real world as opposed to theoretical academics who have never felt the heat of running a major league business.

Unabashedly I am one of those people you should listen to because I took an early stage internet company to A BILLION dollars in annual sales using breakaway moves I created ‘on the run’.

This is one breakaway leadership move—Fingerprint Leadership—I made which had a HUGE impact on accelerating the performance of my business.

’Fingerprint’ leadership is my simple proven way to execute better and take business performance to astronomical heights.

Fingerprint leadership, in a nutshell, has a leader strategically micromanaging in their organization.

Yes, micromanaging! The act that most advisors say a leader should NEVER do.

It’s targeted micromanaging.

It’s focussed on the key elements required to hit on all cylinders if their strategic imperatives are to be achieved.

It’s architecting operational elements to ensure execution has a direct line of sight to the strategic game plan of the organization.

It’s serving in disguise. Pressing fingerprints has more than a subtle “How can I help?” component.
In the process of teaching, the leader listens and crafts their approach based on the things employees need to make their jobs easier.

It’s coaching for employees and managers. Leadership fingerprint moments need strong coaching in order to ensure the instructions are sustainable and don’t get sucked into the momentum of yesterday.

What sort of things need the fingerprints of the leader?

These were some of my micromanaging tasks:

#1. The customer moment — Defining what ‘the customer moment’ had to look like.
Since creating mind blowing customer experiences  was an essential strategic move, I was embedded in the frontline to architect what the customer interaction looked like.

#2. Selling the plan — Selling the business plan to employees.
The leader must sell the strategy to the organization. Present, answer questions and convince people that the direction we were going was something they could support. This is something that can’t be delegated to anyone else yet many leaders do. Shameful.

#3. Frontline manager interviews — Leading the interview process for frontline management positions.
Execution of the strategic plan requires the dedication, support and flawless execution of the frontline, which, in turn, depends on the right frontline management team.

To ensure we recruited correctly, I sat in on interview panels to test potential candidates.
✔️ Did they understand our customer experience strategy?
✔️ Could they define the key elements of the customer engagement process?
✔️ Did they ‘love’ humans?

#4. New Moves — Introducing new programs to employees.
It is critical that employees understand the strategic fit between individual programs that are introduced, and the strategy of the organization.
Who else should be on the front end of an employee session introducing a new program?
The nuts and bolts can be explained by someone else, but the positioning of the new program must have the leader’s fingerprints.

#5. Execution roadblocks — Determining roadblocks to executing the strategy.

If you’re in for a nickel, you’re in for a dollar.

How can the leader be the Strategy Hawk of strategy execution if they’re unaware of the things preventing a clean implementation process.

Fingerprint leaders bravely enter The Bear Pit to understand what’s not working so they can fix it.

Fingerprint leaders are a breed unto themselves.

They are different from other leaders who follow the pedantically common leadership traditions.

You can tell who the fingerprint leaders are.

Look for the organizations that consistently perform at breathtaking heights.

Cheers,
Roy
My 50+ Podcast Shows that will change your life.

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• Posted 2.13.23 at 05:45 am by Roy Osing
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February 6, 2023

Why amazing leaders spend their Wednesday as the Strategy Hawk

My book, BE DiFFERENT or be dead, A Weekly Calendar for Leaders highlights Wednesday as the day the audacious leader embeds themselves in the workplace looking for strategic clues.

As the leader, today is your opportunity to walk about the organization and audit how well the strategy of the organization is being executed. It is the chance to discover for yourself how the strategy is being implemented in every nook and cranny of the organization.

The success of the strategy doesn’t happen on paper or in the bowels of the planning department.

It succeeds in the trenches where people deal with the “unreasonable” demands made by customers, the pressure inflicted by competitors and the rules, policies & procedures mandated by your organization that sometimes impede progress.

On this day, you are looking for things that work in favour of effective strategy EXECUTION  and barriers and roadblocks that work against it.

You are also a teacher on this day.

When you spot an issue or behavior in the workplace that impedes progress toward your strategic goals, stop and take the time to paint a picture of what actions are required to brilliantly execute.

You are not criticizing or chastising anyone; you are showing them the way as a coach and mentor.

This day requires you to be intimately knowledgeable about how every function in your organization must act to deliver your strategy.
What new actions do people have to take in marketing, sales, customer service, internal audit, human resources and engineering?

I’ve frequently discussed my concept of Line of Sight , which describes defining the specific critical actions that must be taken and behaviours that must be exhibited by the various functions and departments in an organization in order to effectively execute its strategy.

Line of sight means behaving in such a way that the employee is able to “see” the strategy and deliver outcomes (revenue from specific customer segments, premium prices, customer experiences and products for example) that the strategy demands.

Direct line of sight is the ability to describe in absolute clarity the specific actions and behaviors people need to exhibit to precisely execute the chosen direction.

Indirect line of sight, on the other hand, clouds the path between strategy and action.
The relationship between what the strategy demands and what the employee does is vague and imprecise.
There is limited ability to see the direct relationship required between employee action and strategic outcome.
It is not clear which actions and behavior are necessary to brilliantly execute the plan.

As a result of indirect line of sight, energy is wasted, inconsistency reigns and the strategy is compromised.

As the Strategy Hawk , you must know your strategy on such an intimate level that you can define in specific terms what people need to do to deliver the strategy pristinely all day, every day.

The Hawk is a translator in this sense with the rare ability to make the strategy real for every one in every department in the organization.

Plan your days. List the departments you intend to visit over the coming weeks.
Prioritize them according to the influence they have over delivering your strategy’s results. If marketing’s role is the most critical, spend more time with them.

Observe, ask questions, take notes and teach. And be prepared to delve into the details.

If people don’t know what specifically they need to do to deliver the strategy, they will invent their own actions and behaviors resulting in a strategy that is delivered inconsistently and ineffectively.

Organizational “chaos” is the result of people creating their own meaning of the plan and doing what they think is right.
You don’t want everyone doing their own thing when it comes to strategy execution.

Audacious leaders reinforce the behaviors that don’t need to change; emphasize and demonstrate those that are DiFFERENT and need to be adopted.

Cheers,
Roy
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‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 2.6.23 at 04:40 am by Roy Osing
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