How Much Is Your Time Worth?

When do I hire something out rather than doing it myself? 

Why would I pay someone else to do the work that I know I can do?

Have you ever asked these questions when you had a project that you needed to tackle?

Now that I am into my 40’s I am really having to weigh out how much work I should be doing and how much I should be hiring out.  My father taught me quite a bit to be handy around the house.  I can change out electrical outlets, switches, lights, ceiling fans, tiling, roofs, plumbing, do spreadsheets, sell, etc. 

I can do even more now with all the experiences I have had with homes including flipping one while I did all of the work. Most of the time I would have extra experience as I would have to do it twice do to trying to short cut something.  A good rule of thumb in my experience is that a well performed project should not reveal extra screws, bolts, or other retention components when are you finished. 

What I have sometimes wondered is if I am at a deficit because I am capable of using my own hands and time to do quite a bit.  I struggle with that I can do the project, but is it the most beneficial use of my time.  I want to do it to show myself that I can, but is this approach worth it?  This has been hard because small projects are very therapeutic for me.  I can work on something that is completed in a small amount of time compared to most of my projects that take months upon months to work on.  It’s nice to be able to step back and look at something that I have created with my own hands.  The issue is that I am doing this at a cost that I have never previously rationalized.

My mentor when I first got into sales taught me that wealthy people put a value on TIME.  When working on projects, thinking about investments, they calculate the cost of their time that will be invested in the project.  Time is something that we have a limited supply of.  When we are born time seems to be ticking away until we finally expire.  We cannot add hours in the day, multiply our time, we can only invest our time into those areas that we feel most important.

Lately I have had to start hiring out the work on my house so I can keep moving my business and projects forward.  I have had to put a value per hour that I would have to pay myself to perform the task.  If the quotes from contractors come in lower, or even close to my cost, I typically hire them to perform the work even if I am capable of doing it.   Most of the time they can actually do the work faster as well. 

I had to have two foundation walls on my house dug up, pushed back straight, reinforced, sealed, and then back filled. Now I am fully capable in doing this work, but it would have taken me months to complete.  I did not have the time to do this on top of everything I am working on.  It took the contractor three weeks to complete and I was able to work on other projects.  The cost for them to do all this work and in the time they did it was less than it would have taken me.  Sure, I would have been able to use digging equipment which would have been fun, but they did it for cheaper than I could with all of the time that would have been involved from me to do the project.

When preparing for that next project, career change, purchase of a home, or moving dirt think about the cost of your time as a function of the investment.   Think about the amount of work and hours that you will need to complete.  Then think about how much it would cost for you to do the work compared to hiring it out so you can be freed up to do other things that are more important. 

For those of you looking for a new job, this should definitely be part of your decision if you are going to change companies.  If the new company that you are interviewing is for instance 15 minutes each way longer of a drive, you need to calculate that into your salary expectations?  See 15 minutes each way is 30 minutes a day.  Multiplied by five working days a week is 2 ½ hours a week more driving when you could be doing something else.  Now assuming you have to only work 48 weeks a year that is 120 hours a hear you will be in the car more than in your current position.  Say you make $25/ hour, that is $3000 a year that you are losing to driving.  That is also not calculating the operating costs of your vehicle or fuel.

Next time you are figuring out a budget for a project you are about to take part in make sure you are also figuring in how much your time is worth.  It may reveal that training someone else may be able to do the smaller items so that you can focus on the higher value items.  If you are looking for a new career figure out the time investment and keep the focus on if it will get you closer to where you want to be in the time frame you are working with. 

Time is a precious commodity and we need to protect it’s value! 

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

How Do We Figure Out The Correct Leadership Program

How do organizations make the decision on what is the correct leadership program they need?  How do they implement fast and impactful curriculums with all the options in the marketplace?

A great deal of organizations look for implementation of new educational training for those they want to groom in their succession plans.  No off the shelf program seems to be the perfect fit for these organizations.  Yes ,it’s easy to implement something off the shelf, but why do something that is generic compared to what we want our organization to focus on?

I have been asked this question a few times in recently and the first thing I ask is what does your organization think is most important, besides profits…. Sometimes I get a pretty decent answer, but most times I get a blank stare which quickly refers to the mission or vision statements.

Core values, mission statements, and vision statements, are all good starting points.  The culture that the organization has is the main light for what the organization stands for.  What is the culture of our organization is what leaders need to look at.  What is the culture of  the organization is the heartbeat.    

We also need to know what goals the organization has for the next 1,3,10 years.  Where are we and where are we going is another core to what the leadership needs to focus the messaging of their leadership training on. 

The leadership needs to also look at the team members they want to groom to see where they need improvement on. 

We need to think of leadership like a toolbox.  We need to have tools for everyday use which off the shelf programs offer, but we also need specialty tools for those more complex jobs.  A screwdriver will not work on a plumbing fix, and a wrench will likely not work on an electrical issue. 

The same thought for our leadership programs is where we need to look in and see what our future leaders are going to need to take the organization farther than what we can.  If we want to grow the organization what we know and what our future leaders know is crucial. 

We need to look at ourselves and then grow ourselves.  Bringing in multiple consultants to help with the specific tools that are needed will help the organization gain traction faster.  Specialists are paid more in the medical field because they are higher trained in the specific area.  The same can be said for leadership consultants. 

This will take some time so don’t think that implementation will happen overnight.  The leadership team will need to meet a few times to make this decision.  It’s an important decision as we want the organization to grow and flourish in the future.  Take time and plan accordingly with the leadership team before starting the search for the right program. 

If we do this correctly, then we can look forward to long life for our organization even when we are relaxing in retirement rooting from the sidelines.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Light It Up!

Have you ever thought you can’t make a difference?  The subject matter you are facing is just too big for you to make a dent?  Your light is not bright enough to cast out the darkness ahead?

I was at CMA fest with my wife and friends this past summer in Nashville, TN.  I’m not a huge country music person after say the early 2000’s.  I mainly listen to other types of music.  At the event I was not as knowledgeable of some songs as the rest of the group.  I also didn’t know all of the musicians.  

During one of the sets Luke Bryan was singing and asking people to pull out their phones and “light it up.”  One by one we saw phones lighting up the stadium so much that when they turned the stadium lights it was like nothing had changed. Yes, there were over 60,000 people in attendance to do this. 

These little cell phone lights work good for close up needs for an individual, but for one phone to try to cast out the darkness in a stadium it would be difficult.  To do it together though, the darkness was cast right out.  It was interesting to see thousands of lights making this place light up.

We need others to walk with us on our mission which means we need to reach out to them for help.  This world of social media and movies make it seem like we need to be a lone wolf.  If you know anything about wolves they only survive in their packs.  On their own they die off quickly.

Just like wolves and cell phone lights we need others to come along side us to move forward.  We need to be able to ask for help, use our leadership skills to gain engagement, and be vulnerable.  That’s right we need to be vulnerable and ask for help.  One of the key ingredients of influence is vulnerability.  Yes, just like cooking, if we miss an ingredient the meal does not tast good and is tossed out.  

It is scary, but we have to take the risk to let others see who we are and they will more than likely offer a hand to help. We need to be comfortable in the uncomfortable in order to move forward with others.  Yes it’s messy sometimes, and there are different points of view that we need to work through on different topics.  We need to push through the hard stuff to get to the place we want to go.

There is the quote that says, if we want to go fast go by ourselves, but if we want to go far, we need to go with others.  

Just like scaling mount Everest, we need to have a group of people to reach the summit.  Most of those that have tried to do it by themselves have failed, or paid the ultimate price.  

Work with others and be vulnerable to be able to move forward is key.  

If we do then we can light up the world!

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Not Customer Service, But Customer Experience

Have you ever had to wait an extremely long time for your food at a restaurant when you were starving?  Asking the wait staff for an update on the food seemed to bother them from their already busy agenda.  Meanwhile we believe that death is at our door. 

Upon asking the wait staff for an update, they seem not to care sometimes.  Sometimes we might get a part of the order taken off our bill.  Maybe the manager has to get involved to resolve the issue.  Tips are dwindled and the likelihood of returning to the establishment decreases by the second.

I was in Franklin Tennessee which is about 30 minutes south of Nashville this past summer.  It’s a great city where a lot of country singers live and other wealthy individuals.  It is a great little downtown filled with restaurants and shops.  There is one establishment that people rave about so the group of us decided to stop in.

We weren’t starving, but we decided to venture in and check it out.  I won’t give the name away, but they have these things called BONUTS that are delicious.  We ordered a set to go as well as some sweet tea.  You can’t go south without having sweet tea! 

After we ordered the person taking the order advised us to wait at a table in the middle of the room.  After about 15 minutes the waitress came by with a plate with BONUTS on them and we were confused because we asked for “to go”.  She dropped these off and then said she would get us some to go.

Another 15 minutes went by and nothing.  Now we had already paid so we were getting ready to just stand up and leave.  Figuring we had gotten what we paid for so no really harm done just some time spent waiting. 

We had asked someone working there to see if the order was coming soon and they went to check.  When they came back, they gave us a refund, gave us the to go order, and then another order because we sat for so long.   They also refused repeatedly to take the money back.  I mean we got what we paid for, but they were insistent that we be refunded. 

The running total now is three orders of BONUTS and a full refund because they were sorry for the wait.  I mean that is over and above customer service.  Not just here is your order, but here is your money back as well and oh let’s give you another order.  That is exceptional service and that is what drives customer loyalty.

When we go back to the Nashville area again, where do you think we will be going.  When I hear friends and family are traveling there, what do you think I will tell them when I mention places to stop?

When we are serving customers, we need to think about the customer experience.  Not that others should perform the job that are supposed to, but if we come in contact with the customer and they express a need we need to serve them well also.  We need to make sure we do our best to give the customer a great experience. 

If we do serve the customer well and provide an exceptional experience then they will be like sales people for us.  Just like I am writing about my story to share with all of you.  Our customers will share with all of their friends and family about the exceptional experience. 

Keep that in mind when serving customers and how we approach them.  We need to give them an exceptional experience if we want to drive customer loyalty.  Not just a punch card, but experience is what generates customer loyalty.

Now the flip side to that is if we underserve and provide a poor customer experience, what do you think they will say about our organization. 

We reap what we sow.  Plant seeds of exceptional experience and we will reap a great harvest in the future.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Are You Using A Compass?

Naval Captains, and old explorers used these interesting yet simple tools called compasses to help navigate how to get where they wanted to go.  Yes, they used other tools, but this one tool helped them stay on track for their headings.   Even in storms they used these compasses to stay the course.

Today we use directions and a voice in our navigations tools to tell us turn by turn which way to go.  The early days had us sometimes driving on unpaved roads and some stories of people driving right into water because they believed the navigation units solely. 

In our everyday lives we need to use a tool that helps us stay on track.  There are many names for the tool like mission statement, vision statement, goals, etc.  I like to call it my compass.  I have a compass that I have created to help me use what I know about myself and how I am wired to make planning for the year have the best chance of success with my goals.

Yes, it is something from church, but it’s a took the DISC assessment, a gifts assessment, and our passions to help us make a purpose statement.  We need to live on purpose otherwise will just be drifting along with no direction.  Those that are intentional and lean into their compass do move forward with great speed and intentionality. 

By having a compass (purpose statement) we can eliminate detours that take away the most precious commodity we have available…TIME.  Yes, time is something that we are not able to add, multiple, but only subtract and sometimes divide.  We lose a lot of time and energy if we are doing tasks that don’t align with what fuels us forward.

Ever get to the end of day 30 and you are still worn out, tired, and with an empty tank?  Sure, we did something, but did that something actually get us closer to where we want to go?  Did it give us more tools to help us move faster in the future?

I have been in seasons where I was serving on countless non-profit activities, serving the community as a volunteer fire fighter, playing in adult flag football leagues, etc.  These all seemed fun, but did they help me get to my end goal?  I still support in some ways and have an active community, but I have chosen to put my energy in learning how to communicate better and help others through this blog, my Youtube channel, and my trainings to help businesses and leaders succeed. 

I have been intentional over the past decade to make sure my family will be taken care of, preparing for my later years, and how to help impact others for the better.  I have said no to good things in order to say yes to great things.  It has and is still a charted course I am on, but I know the path I need to take to get there.  Without my compass this would not be possible.

Having a compass to guide our path to the future selves we want to have, we need to be intentional and know what it is that we want to achieve.  It can be monetary, but it can also be relationally.  We should have a compass and a clear vision of where we want to go, before we just start moving because we only have a short period of time to get there before the sands of time run out for each one of us.

What does your compass look like?

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Just One More...

Have you ever wanted to just give up?  This fight is just too much and why am I still doing this?  It’s just too much effort and it shouldn’t be this hard?  Do you still get up and give it one more shot anyways?

We all get knocked down many times in our lives with different set-backs.  Set-backs are not failure.  I don’t like the word failing unless I have totally given up.  Set-backs are just what they sound.  In football set-backs are like getting hit behind the line of scrimmage by another person that loses you a yard or so.  Basically, losing momentum for a short period of time.

As long as we keep getting back up and trying one more time we are not failing.  I have had many set-backs in my life, whether they be relationships, business, financial, health, etc.  One thing that I can pride myself on is that I got back up and gave it just one more shot. 

Yes, we should not just keep running into a brick wall in hopes it will break down finally by some miracle.  There are times when we have to walk away, but those come after we have set our limit of how much we are willing to try.  I have even given one more try even after that limit as well.  I guess I am just stubborn.

I like to make sure that I have exhausted every opportunity before I walk away from something.  Yes, it may have given me more pain, but in most instances, it has been that “one more try” that has elevated me past the issue and I have moved forward. 

Too much of our culture is set up that if there is any kind of resistance then we should try something else, or move away. We have a Failure Culture in this world that says if something is hard, then we should move to something easier so that we can have that sought after “good life.”

I have met many successful individuals and one thing that they all have in common is that they have gotten back up with that “one more try “mentality.  They face challenges, get knocked down, and get back up.  Some may take a little longer than others, but they still get back up. 

We must keep grinding especially if it is that dream that we have had since we were younger.  Our mission that we set out on, the path we were born for.  We need to keep getting back up and driving forward.  Just one more step, one more pushup, one more phone call, will get us closer to the that goal. 

Having that “one more try” mentality will allow up to build up our resilience muscle so we are stronger.  We need this if we are going to grow any kind of life change, business, or movement.  So get back up and give it one more try because you can do it!

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Business Decisions Through This Filter

When I first entered the sales force, I was instructed to view my territory as if it was my own company and make decisions as such.  This was hard for me as an engineer because I was used to thinking about projects that someone else told me to work on. 

I didn’t have a business degree.  I didn’t have any understanding of how a business functioned outside of my little box of fixing and redesigning things.  This was hard for me to wrap my black and white, ones and zeros mind around.  What was this grey area people talked about?

As you can see thinking about my sales territory as if it was my own company was not an easy task for me.  It took me really making efforts to learn about business and learn from a mentor before I was able to wrap my mind around the concept.  This was not an over-night thing either.

I started reading books, taking trainings, and constantly learning so that I would be able to apply this concept.  That is why I am able to run my own company.  Without that prior training this would not have been possible.

Far too often people get into business by making a product / service and learn from one hardship after another.  Yes, it is okay to learn from mistakes and we typically learn more than when we have successes.  We should start out taking a business class when we start to go out on our own.  Not a full four year degree, but learning about business terms.

Not only will it help us learn more about business, but it will increase our capacity at our current job helping us to understand decisions better.  This makes us more valuable at our current job, and then helps us start out better on our future careers.  It’s like deciding to put on shoes prior running over rocky terrain. 

So how do we wrap our minds around this?  How do we decide our current position in finance, or materials would be our business.  By simply filtering our decisions through  this statement. “If this was my business would I make this decision.” 

Most people function as this is someone else’s pocket the cost is coming out of so they don’t think twice of spending the money.  I remember a conference when the speaker stated that we are to reach into our pockets to give something to charity, then follows up it by having us hand our wallets to the person to our left.  Now we are asked how much we would be willing to give to charity. 

Everyone erupted in laughter because we would empty the other person’s wallet without thinking, but when it was our own wallet… 

If we start filter business decisions through this filter as this is my company before we make the decision, we will make better decisions for the organization.   We will be more connected psychologically to the decision as well. 

Next time you are to make a decision in business, frame it in this mindset and see if your view changes.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Profitability vs. Revenue

I pride myself as being a dumb sales guy.  I do that as joking with customers when we have talks to lower the bar so when I over deliver, I look better in their eyes. 

One thing that I had to learn as I played in larger value discussions is understanding that more revenue did not make the organization more profitable.  That’s right, just selling more stuff does not out sell our costs sometimes.  When we are setting up sales prices to drive our revenue, we really need to study the P and L.  That’s profit and loss.

As I have grown my capacity as a sales professional, I have learned that profitability is more important than sales revenue.  If we sell at negative profit margins then we will soon be bankrupt.  Unfortunately, I did not understand this concept when I first got into sales.

I was constantly frustrated when we would have a sales program that would have iteration 4 by the time I booked half of my customers.  I would have to keep changing my prices weekly so some customers would get a price increase, or decrease and there was no way I could control it.

Let me share a word of advice.  If you think customers don’t talk to each other even though they say they are adversaries, you are wrong.  They talk and usually are more friends than we realize. 

What can we do as sales professionals to understand the profit and loss better?  Why not ask questions and continue to learn how the organization functions?  If it is an organization that fosters a culture of growth and service then they will likely see this request as a way to help groom a future executive. 

We need to understand the basics of our profitability if we are going to sit with a customer because they will always ask for a better deal.  We do it whenever we go out and shop, so why wouldn’t our customers ask.  When we understand our profitability then we can truly know why we can or can not drop the price.  We need to understand this if we are going to be successful.

If we go out and sell a bunch of products / services at losses we will soon be “promoted to customer.”  That’s just a nice way of saying fired.  We need to take pride in understanding our profitability if we are going to succeed. 

This does not mean that we need to go to college to get a financial degree to understand terms.  I haven’t done that.  We should learn about those terms and understand a P and L sheet as well as ask questions.  Yes, we have to be vulnerable enough to ask for clarification and understanding.  This is hard for sales people because we want to think we know everything.  The truly smartest people are those that know their limits and are okay with being vulnerable to learn.

Knowing our profitability will allow us to gain more success and a better future.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

It's Hard To Move Away From The Cheapest Price

Have you ever wanted to win business so bad you felt compelled to drop your sales price?  Was there a customer that seemed so good to be true that you needed to decrease the price to secure this new business?  How about a large organization that would be the largest sales volume for you and your organization that you wanted to win it no matter what.

These are some of the stories I hear all the time and then when the win misses the volumes that were guaranteed the sales team is accused of missing the revenue.  Then the sales team is informed they need to get a price increase not tool long after the business is secured.

I have had to do this a few times in my history in sales.  One occasion was when business was won prior to me coming aboard and it was done so at such low profit that when we looked at the financials we were actually losing money every time we shipped something to the customer.

Guess who got tasked with a 20 percent increase.  Before you think 20 percent is not that much, it was on items that cost over $3000 per item.  That impact would affect the customer my millions each year.  Especially since they had orders already secured by their customers.

Typically, there are increases of a few percentage points, less in double digits, and very little that have a two in front of them.  The customer relationship was stressed and that will likely lead them to find ways to sell product for less money.  That is usually done by resourcing product.

I say this to highlight when we are selling to customers, we need to make sure that we stand behind our value and not just try to sell a product / service.  If we stand behind the value then we can have a conversation up front with the customer to let them know that we can offer a product / service for this investment.  We can stand firm in the value we offer and not have uncomfortable discussions in the future. 

We may lose some opportunities, but we will be known to the marketplace as the higher value option and we will still have customers that want to invest.  This also helps us really find who our ideal customer is.  Do we want someone that will try to decrease our price at every turn in the future and treat us like a commodity, or do we want someone that will want to partner with us and invest in the higher value product / service.

Sales teams sometimes forget that we offer value and we should know that we are not willing to lower our value for a new customer unless we have calls to action in the agreement that if the customer does not hit volumes, then we are able to come back for discussions.  We need to stand by our value we offer.

Without setting value for ourselves, the customer won’t either.  We need to make sure that the relationship is a mutual one and not just a one-way commodity purchased.  When we can achieve these kind of customers that view us as true partners that are not just trying to cut out pricing at every turn, we will be more profitable and have less of these price increase discussions in the future.  Both parties will function well and make profits.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

How To Build Rapport

Having rapport with others is crucial if we are going to move forward together.  We need engagement and that begins with rapport.  If we don’t have any kind of relational collateral, then we will not be able to ask people to walk with us on a adventure.

First and foremost, we need to remember that when we are hosting meetings, we are asking others to give up one of their most precious commodities.  Something they can not add, multiple, but only subtract.  It’s their time.  Time is the most precious of commodities to individuals and organizations.

We need to make sure that we are focused on others if we are going to build engagement.  To do that we need to build relationships with them.  The hot word on this topic currently is Rapport.  If you have heard me speak at any event / training you know that I believe rapport is something we should start with, but we need to go deeper with others.

That is why I do the house exercise in my trainings to help individuals take the focus off ourselves and onto the others they are engaging with. 

Now it is hard to build rapport with people at first because most people are guarded.  We need to make extra efforts to build that exchange.  We can do a few things prior to meeting with the individuals.

Social Investigating – we can look up their social profiles to learn a little bit about them prior to meeting with these individuals the next time.  What are their hobbies, what does their family situation look like, what are their interests, etc.  Do they post about certain topics that resonate with us?  Where can we find common ground?

CRM – keep a customer relationship management tool in use when learning about people.  The more we learn the more we can relate.  If they say something in a meeting, or talk about their weekend experience in passing, write it down.  We can’t remember everything especially as we get older, but we can review our crm profile prior to meeting with the individual again.

Social Proof – This phenomenon is really effective in growing trust fast.  Basically, it is having someone that we know and have a good relationship with that knows the person that we are trying to gain trust and influence with introduce us.  The mutual person is actually allowing us to have levels of trust immediately with the new person.  Some call it the Oprah Effect that when someone was on Oprah’s show they immediately were known as someone of trust and an authority in their field.  It was overnight that these people had authority. 

These are a few ideas, but the main topic is taking the focus off ourselves and our needs and turn the focus on others.  When we do that, we will grow levels of trust and engagement with others.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

How To Build Rapport In Online Meetings

How many times have you been on a meeting that people seemed to be bothered to be in?  How many times did people drive a lack of engagement and have to be asked multiple times to respond?  This is a topic that effects most people working in this world utilizing online meetings more than ever before.

Last week I talked about The Ringleman Effect of larger meetings and why it drove lack of engagement.  I ended that topic with the need to build rapport during meetings with others.   

This week we will focus on ways to gain rapport with others so that way we can gain more engagement during online meetings.

First and foremost, we need to remember that when we are hosting meetings, we are asking others to give up one of their most precious commodities.  Something they can not add, multiple, but only subtract.  It’s their time.  Time is the most precious of commodities to individuals and organizations.

We need to make sure that we are focused on others if we are going to build engagement.  To do that we need to build relationships with them.  The hot word on this topic currently is Rapport.  If you have heard me speak at any event / training you know that I believe rapport is something we should start with, but we need to go deeper with others.

That is why I do the house exercise in my trainings to help individuals take the focus off ourselves and onto the others they are engaging with. 

We can start with rapport building, but the focus is to really care about others so much so that we want to learn about them and help them.  When we do this, we will build trust and engagement.

For online meetings a good resource is “Virtual Selling” chapter 4.  I am always looking to grow my capacity and I do that even by investing in reading material from other professionals.  We are all in this together.  This book that I am reading has a great deal of ideas on how to grow rapport during online meetings. 

This book goes into the differences between 2D virtual meetings and face to face meetings.  Where we can usually have casual discussion before and after a meeting naturally in real world meetings, but on virtural meetings typically the start right into the meat of the meeting.  There is little if not zero time to have casual discussions.

It’s harder in the virtual meeting to build rapport, but there are some ways that we can do this if we pay attention to details and focus on those in the meeting.  Having smaller meeting sizes will also help us with this.  This book gives 20 questions to ask during the meeting with others to learn and grow rapport.

They also have a few rules like authenticity, similarity, and shared experiences which is similar to what we would do when meeting in person.  One thing they suggest is to ask someone to stay after for a few minutes so we can dive deeper into a comment that person made during the meeting.  Not earth shattering epiphany, but one that will gain small deposits of rapport over time.  We will also know if we have some relational collateral with them if they accept, or decline. 

Learning how to run virtual meetings and building trust and influence is going to be crucial as we go forward with this ever-changing environment.  More and more people are choosing to work remote which makes it harder to build rapport.  We can’t take them out for coffee, or a meal as often.  We can set up a quick call to share coffee online, but I would be hesitant to eat food online in front of them.  It will save them if we spit our food when we talk I guess… 

Focus on learning about people and expanding our knowledge how to build trust and influence will go a long way in growing our sales capacity in the next decade as technology makes it harder for us to meet in person.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

The Ringleman Effect And How It Affects Engagement During Meetings

Ever wonder why some meetings it seems like everyone is engaged, but others people seem to be staring off at other screens.  Some people are busy working on other things and now really paying attention to what the team is discussing?  We are not talking about the mute button issues here either.

There is an effect that occurs especially in large meetings known as the Ringleman Effect.   The Ringleman Effect is basically summed up that as when group size increases, engagement decreases.  That’s right, when the size of the meeting grows then engagement actually decreases.  This is why we have people asking to please repeat the question quite often. 

During large meetings people tend to start working on other tasks “multi-tasking” which is actually ineffective.  Science has shown that we are unable to focus on more than one task at a time with effectiveness.  Think about how many crashes occur while someone is reading a text or email on their phone these days while driving. 

The size of the meeting will dictate the expectation that the attendees will have.  Most won’t realize it until they are in the meeting and see the list of attendees growing.  When I speak about trust there are certain levels of trust that are given in one-on-one interactions compared to larger groups.  So as the meetings get larger trust actually goes down.  Trust effects engagement levels.

If we want to have higher levels of engagement in our meetings we need to start looking at who really needs to be in the meetings for the specific topic.  We need to focus on who really needs to be in the meeting and not just dropping a calendar on every person’s schedule just to get the masses.  I know some people in larger organizations will say that they need to get managers involved as well to move things along.  Do we need them on the initial call to understand the situation though?

People also get irritated when a meeting is set up when they already have one or two meetings scheduled during that time.  They feel like others don’t respect them enough to look at their calendars before setting up a meeting.  That means that trust goes down.

What can we do to drive higher levels of engagement during meetings?

We can look at the topic at hand and only invite those that need to be invited to the meeting as one option.  Do we need to have the finance team, engineering team, and management when there is a small quality issue with the manufacturing plant forgetting to paint the product, or packaging the product improperly?

We can set up a couple of meetings to focus on specific topics.  Yes, it will take more time for us, but in order to get more traction, we need to move forward faster.  We can also only have the specific team members needed for each topic to talk so there aren’t others sitting online wasting their time as well as not paying attention.

We can set shorter meetings and keep them specific in topic so we are only running 15 to 30 minute meetings instead of trying to block out the entire hour which people are less likely to give up.  The smaller window of time will be a smaller investment to the attendees which will garnish more engagement.

We can also focus on building rapport with others.  If there is extra time, then we can catch up with team members even virtually.  We can see how they are doing, catch up on topics they may mention that they spoke in passing during the meeting.  Show others we care will go a long way in gaining engagement during our meetings. 

Focus on the other people we are asking to spend the time with us and how we can better use their time and we will have more effective meetings with more engagement.

Have a great week!

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Why We Need Rest

Do you ever get back from a vacation and think that you need a vacation from your vacation?  Are you able to unplug when you are away from the office on vacation?  Do you feel truly rested after the weekend?  How often when you are supposed to rest are you checking emails for work behind your family’s back?  Like you have some secret mistress known as a J.O.B.

I have been spending the time to relax on my Sundays over the past year.  I take time to rest because I keep a pretty rigorous schedule.  I’m up between 5 and 6 am to get started on my day by prepping with reading, my devotions, and my goals.  This is all before I hop in the shower to get ready to work.  

I work hard and workout hard.  This means when it is time to rest, I need to rest.  Now I don’t have an oxygen chamber, freezing chamber, or any of that scientific stuff.  I take power naps, read, hang out with friends and family, take walks, relax on the boat, etc.   I need to unplug so that I can refresh my mind.  

When our mind is constantly going and firing on all cylinders it gets fatigued.  Our brain needs rest to repair and form new synapsis.  Which is why when we are rested we typically come up with the greatest break throughs for problems that we are trying to solve.   Our creativity goes up, our brain does not feel foggy, our decision making is more clear, etc.  Forbes did an article that is helpful with understanding why we need rest with some action steps we can take to accomplish rest.  

I know there are some of you reading that think that sleep is for the weak and the dead.  That is something my mother still says to this day.  The toughest people I have ever met are Navy Seals.  There we twenty years older than me and could outperform me.  These people actually go through something called Hell Week and they are up with no sleep for days.  Not hours, days.  They hallucinate, they have depleted testosterone levels, they have trouble making decisions, etc.  

A gentleman names Kirk Parsley was an active seal and studied health and he actually teaches high performing people on the effects of sleep.  I have put a link here for a quick video of him talking about sleep.  He briefly talks about how these high performers had testosterone levels of young girls because of the deprivation and constant fatigue from lack of rest.

If Seals and athletes need to make sure that they take time to rest, the rest of us humans should take notice.  We need to make sure we are having self care.  I know for some people may think they are stronger than the rest and can go without rest, but it is true.  We need to unplug and rest if we are going to continue to function at high levels.  

If we do not take time to rest then we will not function and it can impact our health with different diseases.  Not just being grouchy, but actual diseases that can kill us.  Do yourself a favor and take time to unplug to rest and recover so that you can get back into the fight rested with more capacity.  

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

How are Your Goals Doing?

New Years resolutions are made each and every December 31st and fail by the first two weeks of the new year.  Only about 8% of people achieve goals according to the university of Scranton.  Only 8% succeed in their goals.  That is staggering.

We wonder why productivity is low and that we can’t stick to things?  It’s staggering to think about how many people don’t take time to work on their goals.  Now I have to say that it wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I jumped onto the 8% train.  I just pushed forward on whatever I thought I could do which is why I did not have much success throughout the years.  When I got disciplined and wrote down my plan, is when I started seeing change.

Each year I take time in December to look back at what I have managed to accomplish for my goals list, what I need to focus on, and what my core values still are.  I actually use the EOS system for my goal setting and I write them down and work through them each quarter of the year.  This allows me to keep reviewing and seeing how close I am towards the larger goals on a quarterly basis. 

Now I am not saying that I am perfect.  I do miss some goals like trying to get down to a weight target, or achieving my annual sales numbers.  Even if I fail for the target, I am still making movement which is better than aiming at nothing.  If we set a goal and hope to achieve it, then we are at a disadvantage because without a plan hopes / dreams perish.

We need to have action to put forth towards our goals.  Other leadership gurus will tell you that you have to have smart goals.  Which means they have to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound.  That has been the system that people have been using for the past few years to describe good goals.  That is fine if you just want to check in every now and then to see how you are doing, but for intentional people we need to be checking on them at least once a quarter if not more.

I’m more of an application oriented / task person, so my goals revolve around me using my goals as steps in a larger process to achieve them.  That is why I like the EOS system that I can make smaller goals each quarter for the larger goals.  

If I need to make so many blog posts per year, or videos per year, I need to break down how many I need to do per month and make sure that I action accordingly.  Because I also like to compete with myself, I try to beat the timing each and every time.

We need to have goals and break them down into manageable process steps that we can work to make our goals come true.  By simply putting something down on paper we will not be able to make goals come true.  We need to make a plan and have a process in place to work towards those goals each and every day / week.  

Kind of like waiting till the last minute of semester to study for a final exam.  It typically does not work out well to wait until the last minute which then seems like an overwhelming task.  If we take it small bits over time to truly learn the material, we will be able to walk into the final exam with more confidence.   

We need to set goals and back up those goals with a plan if we want any chance of success.  What are some of your goals that you are working towards and how are you doing on them thus far?  We are over halfway through the year so we need to pick up the pace to finish strong.  We don’t walk to the finish line, we run!

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Fit people Are Very Productive

I have met with a great deal of very successful people in my life.  Those that are success business professionals, owners, pastors, non-profit leaders, and heads of their family.  One thing that is common with all of these successful people is that they take time to invest in their fitness lifestyle.

By being disciplined with fitness and taking care of their bodies, people are fueling themselves.  I know this sounds counter intuitive as working out and fitness is expelling energy, but things happen when we work out.  Our brains release chemicals that help our moods, mental capacity, and reduces the effects of stress. A study out of BYU helps us understand the benefits of fitness.

I have been working out disciplined for well over a decade.  Now I don’t have the 6 or 8 pack abs that trainers show off on their Instagram, but I do have a greater mobility and strength than I did when I was younger.  I am in better shape now than I was in high school and college.  I have been disciplined on my working out and stretching.  

What has happened is that I have been able to be more focused on other things, have more endurance when tough times happen, be more resilient, manage stress better, and by more disciplined in other areas of my life as a by-product.  

One of my mentors when I was getting into sales who was a successful business man and ex-navy seal always made time for fitness.  He worked about 90 hours a week on his business, but still found time to fitness.  He had hobbies, but was very disciplined on his fitness.  As a result, he was able to make clearer decisions and take risks that he was able to analyze better with more focus.  

In downtimes of our economy, he was able to take advantage and grow his business.  He was disciplined in the fitness area that also allowed him to make more mental decisions without the doubt that comes along with the stress.  

We need to make sure that we are disciplined in our fitness if we want to excel in our lives.  Without being disciplined in this area, we will have a harder time being disciplined in other areas of our life.  I know that some people will say that they just don’t have time to set aside for fitness, but if we read that article referenced at the beginning of this post, you’ll see that we don’t have time not do focus on fitness.  One quote that I am always reminded is the one below from Tony Horton, “The joy of discipline, or the pain of regret, which will it be today?”

Focus on fitness and let that bleed over into other areas of our lives and we will see ourselves improve, have better stress management, longevity, and have great levels of mental capacity.  

Keep in mind that fitness does not mean running a marathon, or doing an ironman, it is getting physically moving and strengthening in small increments over time.  It’s not great leaps, but small steps over and over that will achieve the greatest results.  

Maybe its taking a walk outside, or picking a fitness program that has been put on the back burner, or maybe it’s just paying with kids more so you can get started.  Either way start today and finish stronger! 

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

How Are You Managing Your B-Word?

I have posted multiple blog posts and Youtube videos on the B-Word.  That word that people often think about as a curse word, but one that used properly will help you succeed.  Yes, I’m talking about budgets.

Using the B-word sounds like it is taboo and most people don’t talk about it much.  The issue is because people don’t like talking about how much money they have.  They don’t want to risk others looking poorly on them because they make more or less than the others around them.

People do however like to talk about their cars, extravagant vacations, large homes / kitchen renovations, and other stuff.  They like posting to social media about all their stuff and experiences, but not how they are paying for it.  Budgets have become a taboo word just like talking about paying with cash.  People talk about cars and reference their monthly payment instead of the total cost.

I used to do this too to impress all the people that I didn’t like just to show my status.  What I found out though is that the really wealthy people actually use fundamental financial terms when they talk about doing things.  What is the budget for doing thing?

The really wealthy don’t even reference the financial part of budgets.  They refer to the time investment for this new venture.  The really wealthy actually talk about time as a part of their investment criteria.  Time is one of those things that no matter how much money we have, we can not add, or multiply time.  We can not add more time.  We can minimize the time required for a venture, but not buy more time.

We should be using budget into our vocabulary if we want to get to a better quality of life.  Whether it is a time commitment, financial investment, or energy commitment, we need to make sure we are budgeting for all aspects.  This will help us understand if the cost is worth the investment. 

I recently detailed my wife’s and son’s vehicles.  Total investment on a nice warm Saturday was about four hours.  Their vehicles are smaller than my truck and are easier for me to do.  I decided that I would work on their vehicles because combined it would cost me about $250 for five hours of my time to do both.  The cheapest detailer I could find would cost that much for one vehicle.  

The investment of my time was good and my son actually helped so it was a teaching moment.  For my truck that would take me at least four hours to do, I am going to pay to have that done.  The reason being is it will be able to be done while I work and the trusted individual doing the work will do an amazing job for me.  

I grew up with not a great deal of money so I value being able to do things with my own hands, but as I have gotten older and make more money I am realizing that by outsourcing some things it will free me up to do more meaningful tasks that will provide me a better return on investment. 

I will be allowed more quality time with my wife and kids by having someone else do some of the work as well as possibly skipping the potential for a harmful accident.  Another example is cutting down a large evergreen tree in my back yard.  I have the tools to do this, but paying someone to drop the tree that is in a tight spot will likely cost me a great deal less than dropping the tree on the neighbor’s fence, sending me to the emergency room, etc.  I would gladly pay someone the few hundred dollars to avoid a ride in an ambulance and potential to damage property.

Just because we can do something, does not mean we are less of a man or woman because we chose to let others perform the work.  By using budgets to figure out the payoff and decisions we will be able to make the most impact with our resources.  

We need to use budgets in our vocabulary in order to get to a better place.  

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

What Are You Learning?

It has been said that learners are growers.  Those that are constantly evolving in their learning are those that are successful.  Those that have excelled in areas typically don’t stumble into those successes.

I have been reading and learning trying to add new tools constantly by reading at least 12 books a year.  One a month.  I do this by reading ten pages a day.  Small steps over time to accomplish a larger task.  I also invest in myself for trainings as well.  I then take time to apply what I am learning.

Just because we are learning new items, does not mean that we have it automatically engrained.  We actually lose about 50% of what we learn in the next 24 hours.  If we don’t apply the newly gained knowledge then we will forget it and that is actually just a waste of time.  

We need to apply what we learned so that our mind and body start to really save this information for future use.  Whether it is a book, training, trick, etc we need to apply what we are learning if we want to record it for future application. 

It’s like learning to waterski.  It took me about three years to learn how to waterski and gallons of water up my nose.  I thought I was going through an interrogation at some points.  I kept trying to learn how to get up on two pieces of wood and a rope that was tied to a boat.  

After I learned how to waterski on two ski’s I learned how to ski on one.  Balance was not something I had a lot of when I was younger so this took some time.  There were a great deal of highlight reel wipeouts.  I’m sure if digital cameras and social media were around back then, I would have been one of those celebrities of fails.

I finally got good enough now that I can start from deep water on one slalom ski and cut across the wake at speeds of 50 mph without wiping out.  I also don’t have to attempt every day to do this.  I actually only do this once or twice a year now, but because I learned and applied, I am able to show up now and do it without too many attempts.  I can enjoy all of the work that went into learning and go out and have fun.  

By applying what we learn we are able to achieve higher levels.  We need to keep learning and keep growing if we want to get to a better place.  We have to keep up with this process to accomplish more.  It’s okay to want more and to work towards it.

To do this, we need to apply a date to when we want to accomplish by.  Having that target out there will keep us focused on moving forward because it is real.

What is something that you have been putting off learning, or applying that you have been nervous to?  It’s okay to try and and have set backs.  If we don’t try that is actually failure.  As long as we try we are not failing.

Post in the comments something that you have been wanting to learn / apply that you are going to do now.    

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Celebrate Good Times!

This is. The time of year in the US that people are out enjoying the warm weather celebrating independence.  BBQ’s are fired up cooking all sorts of meats, beverages are flowing, and people are getting tank top tanlines from not applying sunscreen.  It’s a great time of year!

We all enjoy the celebrations that we get to attend.  In sales it’s when we win that $100 million contract for our organization, the new platform launch that has finally rolled off the manufacturing line, or any other large event that we get to celebrate all of the hard work.

Everyone likes the celebration, but often complains about the work to get there.  Work is often thought of as an obstacle to get to the celebration.  We want the easy life, we hope for a restful relaxing retirement, but don’t want to spend the years of working to get there.

I sometimes get caught in this rut of complaining that I have yet another task to complete before the business award.  I understand it.  I’d love to just have everything handed to me sometimes when my pride is high.  I’d like the easy road in those moments.

What I have learned though is that we actually find a great deal more satisfaction in the achievement when we work towards it.  If we have hours of blood, sweat, and tears in the gym we are a great deal more grateful for the process when we look in the mirror of our accomplishments.  

When we are just handed things, we typically do not hold them as close as when we have some skin in the game.  

I started to realize this when I viewed how my son takes care of the things that he purchases than what is given to him as gifts for Christmas or birthdays.  When he has to work to earn the money and save, he takes a huge pride in his possession.  I mean making sure they are in tip top shape.

He works hard and enjoys the things he worked for a great deal more.  

The same is true for when I work on these large multi-million dollar deals.  They take a great amount of time and effort to capture, and when the day to celebrate arrives, I am able to really sit back and enjoy the accomplishments.  I find more satisfaction when I work for things than when they are just given to me.  It gives me a real sense of accomplishment.

I know that is different than what we may think, but really take stock and look at the things that you find more valuable to you.  Are they the simple gifts you have received, or the things that came from the accomplishment of hard work that you poured in?  

We are wired to work and we should celebrate those wins when they come.  We need to not just hope for easy life, but to enjoy those accomplishments.  The United States when through a great deal of struggle to become free so we could enjoy our freedom.    

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

Be The Bridge

Have you ever wondered how some people just seem to build influence with others so quickly?  That they just seem to gain engagement without much effort?  

Today let’s talk about one of the concepts that I teach in my Unmatched Influence training, and is also part of my online Trustworthy training below.  It’s called being the bridge. 

This concept was something I stumbled onto when I was new to a particular sales territory that I moved into for one of the organizations that I worked for in my career.  I was not the only part of the organization that was new to this territory.  The entire organization was new.  

We had no previous relationships in this territory so we were starting from scratch.  We were hustling to get the business growing and fast.  This part of the United States was also considered a good ole boy network.  If you were an outsider, good luck…

I started building relationships with customers and prospects as fast as I could.  I was working extra hours and getting to know the territory and who were the top prospects.  While doing so I was building my CRM (Customer Relationship Management) database as I went.  I was asking all sorts of questions.

There was a lot of caffeine and memorization as well.  Back when my memory was great…

One day I was calling on a customer that was asking me about a software they were looking at using for their business.  I knew nothing of the software and was curious as to why I was being asked.  It was because I was an electrical engineer by training.  Like just being an electrical engineer made me understand all types of software.  

Granted I could probably debug some software issues and fix windows issues, but know all software was not something that I could sign up for.  What I did know is that another customer about three hours north of this customer actually used this software.  

I reached out to this other customer and asked if they wouldn’t mind answering some questions for another customer not in their territory.  The answer was yes and they had a call which resulted in the customer asking the question to avoid some pitfalls that the other customer had.  They switch over to the new software was a success.

What I didn’t expect is that the customer that I helped get in touch with this other customer was grateful and started confiding in me more and more.  Asking me questions about more business solutions and ideas and telling others that I was the go to person for help.

This began a snowball effect which resulted in me getting more phone calls from potential customers than me having to chase them down.  I was building influence faster and faster.  Now the initial help that I offered by connecting the two customers did not result in sales that day, but it did build a relationship and influence in the entire territory fast.  

I call this “Being the Bridge.”  By connecting others that are able to help each other I am also granted influence and credibility as well.  By being the bridge, I was able to gain much faster influence in my territory that I actually was being asked to stop in to help.  It also netted me a great deal of business.  I was growing my territory at a fast pace, I won the award for top sales person for the United States, and grossed more income all by serving the customers by bridging them together.

To build influence, we need to serve those around us whether they be customers, or team members.  We need to use the open hand and not the closed fist when interacting with them.  If we do so, we will be successful in building unmatched influence that will allow us to go further faster with others.

I hope this helps you on your journey to building influence.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training

What Are The Ramifications?

Ramifications are all around us.  From the decisions we make, to decisions that others make that affect us.  These ramifications come about from all sorts of different directions.  It’s like pushing a domino and watching them race forward knocking down the next and the next.  We have ramifications for our decisions that we make and we need to help others navigate their ramifications for their situation and issues as well.

Today I want to focus on the ramifications of our customers and team members decisions on how they respond to their situation and issues.  The past weeks we talked about issues and how to help understand the customer and team member’s current issues they are facing from the situation they are in.  

We need to also understand what the ramifications are if the issues and situation are not resolved to the outcome they want.  This may mean that they end up buying a competitor’s product / service, or joining another organization to where we have to find a new person that fits our culture, has the tools we need to perform the task we need them to perform, etc.

It benefits us to make sure we are reaching out to help our customers and team members that are facing a situation and issues to avoid the ramifications that hurt our bottom line.  Not so that we are just focused on our bottom line, but that of serving.  By doing this we can actually build trust and engagement with customers and team members.

A great deal of sales professionals and leadership people think that it’s just a numbers game and to a small point that is true, but for the majority by showing up and showing we care we can maintain long lasting relationships and avoid the waste of money on onboarding new customers and new employees.  We need to put a value on others in order to build lasting relationships and trust.  Otherwise we risk spending more money to onboard.

Every customer and new employee has a cost involved with getting them set up and up to speed with our systems and processes.  We lose time and money when we have to consistently perform this loop.  Now we can’t eliminate every instance of this, but we can minimize this by focusing on serving our customers and employees.

Asking questions to understand the situation, the issues, and the ramifications will help us to understand our customers and employees.  When we truly understand these three areas, we can then help find solutions for them that likely will minimize cost impacts to our organization.  

When we are successful in helping them, trust goes up which means speed goes up and costs go down.  

This means more PROFITS!!!  

Who doesn’t like more profits?  We also gain more engagement from this process of understanding others as well which means that we will be able to make it through the hard times together.  

We need to take the focus off ourselves and serve those around us if we are going to gain traction.

For more information on building trust and understanding people check on the links below for my online trainings that you can do at your own pace.

Have a great week!

“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers.  How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits?  I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”

www.kevinsidebottom.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet

https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training

https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training