Are You Out Of Context?

Have you ever had a persistent telemarketer ruin your lunch hour by calling repeatedly? They're annoying because they are out of your context of having a relaxing lunch. Let me illustrate with a story:

There is a "Wanted" poster with my dog Max's photo on it at a fancy local country club. It lists his crimes as "theft, trespassing, and general menacing." These "crimes" arose from an incident when he was 9 months old. Let me explain. Max and I were in a state park. He was off leash, and I was helping him run off some of his endless, puppy energy. Agreeably, he came when called, and otherwise ran and jumped and played. Until "the sound."

The golf course was beautiful, wide, and seductive to my muddy puppy. He ran until he was out of sight. I followed what I hoped to be his course, and eventually found my muddy, smelly dog begging designer-clad club members for food on the stately patio. I put him on his leash and went away, followed by a barrage of lively comments from club members.

He heard something, and went charging off. He jumped into a stream, scrambled up the other bank, and, covered in thick mud, started racing across a country club golf course, adjacent to the park and only separated by the stream. As I frantically ran to the bridge, I watched him elegantly lope across the golf course. Two men were on a putting green. One man putted. Max, a puppy who wanted to play, trotted over to the ball, picked it up, and ran off with it. The golfer raised his club, yelling and cursing.

Max was out of context. Within his context, he was outside to play with his human. And play he did. Nonetheless, he was wrong. The objective context was that he was cavorting on private property and interrupting the afternoon for club members.

When sales pros approach prospects, we are often out of context. Our prospects are working within their own contexts, and don't necessarily welcome a change in agenda. The very first part of our agenda should be discovering the context of our prospect in that exact moment. Are they up against a deadline? Networking at a luncheon? Filling an urgent need? Are they even happy to hear from us? Is what we're pitching appropriate for the need the prospect is trying to fill? Unlike the telemarketer above, we don't want to cram ourselves into someone's attention at any cost.

It's vital to the establishment of a good professional relationship that sales professionals place themselves within the context of the prospect and act accordingly. If this isn't a good time, sympathize and schedule one that is. If they are having a brutal day, let them vent (and listen closely) before you introduce your agenda. If they are happy to see you, encourage them to expand on why, and how you can be of service to them right now. Present yourself in the context of their day, their needs, and their goals. When we're out of context, we often gain the reputation of someone who "doesn't listen." Instead, we want to be considered someone who "gets it." Context is key.

Ending the War With Millennials

This is the first time in decades (1970’s) that being at the young end of the workforce is a significant detriment to becoming and remaining employed. Some common complaints: Younger employees seem to want rewards just for showing up. No one wants to be “entry level” any more as millennials tend to think they should be valued as a “person” instead of as a worker. Attention span is notably shorter. Every task, system, and request seems to result in a debate. Are the millennials really so bad? No. Rather than fight all these traits, how can we work with them to make the entire organization grow?

The most successful approach to blending the generations I have seen has been to institute a grading/seniority system. A company may have 10 levels in each tier: administrators, manufacturing, logistics, sales, management and executive, for example. Each level comes with an ops manual or thorough job description, a distinct review interval, and a defined pay scale. Unless the ops manual specifies a particular methodology, employees can individualize as long as the goals and benchmarks are consistently met.

The assets to a system like this are it clearly defines expectations based on the job title or level; gender, intangible talent, and seniority are now all under consideration only at review times. Compensation goes hand in hand with responsibility level instead of perceived worth or chronology. Because everyone participates in training when they enter certain levels, it creates a standardized knowledge base instead of perceptions of success or failure. The effect is much like that of school uniforms.

Youth has always been the enemy of tradition, and this generation is challenging traditions all over the place. Is that really so bad? Or is it just a case of growing pains? The road to my office was once a path, then a dirt road, then cobblestone, and then pavement. Things evolve. Due to the explosion of technologies since the 1980s, the millennials literally grew up in a different world from their parents, and they feel like they’re waiting for the Boomers and Gen X to catch up. They see things differently. It’s very helpful to hear them out. When they’re right, your organization improves. When they’re wrong, thank them for their input and move on.

The evolutionary jump created over the last 35 years is unparalleled in history. Millennials are no more different from their elders than the Woodstock generation was from theirs, but they are different, and they should be accepted. Some beliefs and systems they challenge will stand the test of time. But some, like the cobblestone street, need to be put aside.

Don't Grow Too Fast! It's Deadly

You want your business to grow. Are you ready? Can you handle an immediate 10% increase in business, and short-term growth in the 20-25% range? If the answer is "no," you have growth management preparation to do.

Most companies would answer, "Of course! Too much business is not the problem. We need more business!" Unfortunately, as often as not, the company isn't ready. This can be lethal to any business.

Look at your current supply line. Add 10% to the number of unfilled orders for every day for the next month. Can your current staff, equipment, and standard timeline absorb that change without causing any disruption? For the second month going forward, bring the additional orders to 13% above current numbers. How does it look? Do you have enough staff? Is your equipment in shape to handle the additional demand? Where is the breaking point? 20%? 30%? You need to know. You don't want to get there by surprise.

Lucy and Ethel have a delicious problem!

Frequently, companies try to handle the growth in business without increasing their staff or capital costs. Big mistake. More output always costs more money, whether in the short term by paying staff overtime and bonuses, or in the long term by replacing frustrated and valuable long term employees.

When an organization grows rapidly, two things tend to suffer - quality, and morale. Infrastructure breaks down under the additional load. Machines overheat. Computers crash. Files are lost. Deadlines are missed. Overtime hours are ordered. Pressure builds. Newer employees don't perform as efficiently or as loyally as long-term employees; it takes time to bring them up to speed and proficiency. Existing employees are suddenly responsible for substantially larger workloads with no increase in their paycheck. New employees frequently interrupt the existing staff looking for help and guidance. Existing employees become tired and discouraged, and quality and morale are in trouble.

Clients notice the late deliveries, quality control issues, and declining customer service. They are frustrated that quality is fading. And like all bad news, it travels fast. Reputation and market share begin to falter. Rebuilding a reputation in an industry or community is a very, very slow process. Many companies don't make it. (Think Target in Canada.)

In a period of growth, it is important to have a growth plan. Do you need to institute a temporary formalized training program to bring new employees up to speed? Is it time to tune-up or overhaul your machinery? Are your computers due to be updated or replaced? Does new machinery mean you need more existing workforce training?

Growth is great. It often comes as a surprise as a competitor pulls out of the market, or a new ad campaign is unusually successful. As soon as you notice the upswing, it's time to build morale and loyalty. Buy the staff lunch a few times a month. Make sure everyone has the best quality, most functional equipment necessary to perform their job. The best performance from your employees comes when they feel important and respected. A couple of overtime hours isn't a reward to most employees. Relate to them as people. You've hired them to do a job, and to do it well. Give them the right physical and psychological tools.

How To Land Your Dream Job

I asked a recent college graduate, "What is your dream job?"

"Too early to tell," came the reply. "What's yours?"

I smiled. "I'm doing it!" I answered, and then realized I was building presentation kits at the moment. I laughed. "I love being a business consultant. I love my entire job - even stuffing envelopes and writing presentations!"

"How did you get your dream job?" she asked. She was serious, and earnest, and almost looked like she might take notes on my answer.

"I treated every job I do as if it was my dream job. I figured if I apply the enthusiasm, thoroughness, and positive attitude I would have for my dream job to everything I do, I'd find more things I'm good at, and do more of them well. Then it was always clear what direction I wanted my career to take. That's how I discovered consulting was my dream job, and that I'm really good at it. People constantly ask for and follow my advice!"

I learned it from a friend. He explained that he tried to never say "no" to a new experience, and even in a job he hated, do it so well he was proud of his work. He looked at each part of his work from a labor and management perspective, educating himself on how the actions fit together into the whole. Within 5 years of adopting this attitude, he had his dream job.

I tried to do the same. I work hard, keep it positive, and learn as much as I can as quickly as I can. What I quickly realized is that when I was focused on my work, and not on my wants, I did a fantastic job, and received terrific reviews. Could it really be that simple? Yes!

It doesn't matter what job you have now. What matters is how well you're doing it. You can build skills, colleagues, and terrific references from the mail room to the board room. Flipping burgers teaches you about labor, management, and inventory control, among many other skills. Learning about management practices is often easiest by being managed yourself. Learning what skills you love and excel in is best achieved by doing. Every job educates you better about what you do and don't want to do next. And creating rave reviews for yourself will always make you an in-demand employee.

Don't expect to jump from entry level to executive level in one step. Move to positions that will teach you more about how to do your dream job beautifully, and look at each position as a specific, important step in the path to your dream job. Apply one or two steps beyond your current position, and be yourself in your cover letters and interviews. Value your own work. You'll be surprised how quickly you get to your dream job.

The Resolution To Keep This Year

Teach your sales staff (and your customer service staff) to sell. There is no degree, license, or certificate program out there to verify that your sales force knows what they're doing, and can consistently deliver customers. Yet, the existence your company depends on it.

Onboarding an employee is expensive. It costs tens of thousands of dollars per employee. New sales pros are hired, trained on the product and the computer system, and then sent into the field for months of trial and error. On average it takes a sales pro 6 months before they are consistently profitable. That's 6 months IF THEY WORK OUT! If they don't, the company starts the process all over again.

Why don't most companies train their sales people to sell? Sales training is an "additional" expense because it adds to the initial cost of onboarding, and because of that companies shy away from the perceived cost. However,over a dozen recent studies show that the opposite is true. It actually makes you money.

Companies who specifically train new and existing sales pros in sales techniques lose fewer than half as many sales people, because their sales staffs perform significantly better. (I guarantee my clients a 10% or greater improvement in closings within the first month. Think of that adding up over a year!) New hires who fail the training are let go, and quickly replaced with someone more likely to close business, saving months they would have spent failing in the field.

Sales managers are also usually untrained. For a team to work effectively together, it helps to have common goals and related sales tools. A team trained together speaks a common language. It allows teams to fill each other's deficits, and reinforce each other's strengths.

What does it cost to train a person to sell? It depends on the trainer. Companies who choose to train their sales staff often hire a consultant, at a cost of $2000 to $8000 per week, once or twice a year. The number of employees trained by one consultant in a week can vary by the size of the available teaching space and training style, so those $2000 dollars can train 2 employees, or 200. A week or two is usually enough. One or two day seminars are great refreshers once or twice a year. A very expensive option, sending staff off site to seminars for days or weekends, is popular, usually at a cost of $500 to $1500 per employee, plus travel, hotel and meals. These tend to be name-brand seminars from book authors and TV personalities. Some companies employ a sales trainer, and keep them on staff at all times. In 2014, the average sales trainer who was a corporate employee was paid $65,000 plus benefits. All of these options are cheaper than hiring and replacing just one failed sales pro.

Sales training works. It's cheaper than an under-performing employee, or worse, a failing sales department. If your employer doesn't train in how to sell, ask the best sales pros you know for ideas. Read whatever they recommend, and do your best to learn a new skill each week.

The Staffer To Fire Right Now

Over 80% of employees surveyed in several recent studies indicated their job satisfaction is most

Employee With Negative Attitude

affected by the mood, attitude and cooperation of their coworkers. Almost 100% of who reported they disliked their work reported their primary aversion is to one specific coworker who is unpleasant.

In any operation, most of the staff will look for ways to work together and achieve together. Unfortunately, there is often one, sometimes a few, employee(s) who prefer to stir things up, gossip, create controversy, and generally be an obstacle to peace and productivity. And even more unfortunate, many bosses feel sorry for these Negative Nancys, and keep them on because "no one else would ever hire them." What gives?

"I can't fire her. She knows too much, and no one can replace her." Or, and this one really drives me crazy, "If he knows he's being fired, who will train his replacement?" Seriously? Whose poor management plan was that who gave this person such an enormous amount of power that they can now hold the whole company hostage? Who does their job when your problem employee goes on vacation?

This is an overwhelming problem to a workforce. When an organization has a personnel problem, there are two consistent places the root of it can be found: either the management staff does not model a team attitude and a terrific work ethic, or someone with a bad attitude or work ethic is being tolerated. In either case, the problem infects everyone else. It is very difficult to hold yourself to a high standard of performance if your boss or your coworkers put no value on doing the same. It could be chronic lateness, foul language, sexist or racist behavior, ugly gossip, drinking on the job, or even theft or falsifying records. Like any problem, these things start small, but as they are tolerated they grow rapidly.

Do your staff a favor. Remove the obstacle staffer, and clean up the example set for your employees. You have warned, discussed, reprimanded, and threatened your problem employee for the last time. They are not irreplaceable, and keeping them may cost you the best parts of the rest of your staff!

The absolute worst choice in this situation is to do nothing. Things will only get worse - they always do, every single time. The first runner-up bad choice is to fire the bad apple without a plan, and end up bringing them back on staff. Make a plan, accept that there are going to be some inconveniences and skinned knees, and show that troublemaker the road. Your organization will begin improving immediately!

Make Your Client Sell Themselves

The sales that last, the sales that earn the most referrals, and the sales that earn the most repeat business, are the sales when the client sells himself.  So we sales pros get the day off, right?  Sadly, it's never that easy!

Sales professionals who can persuade the client to sell themselves are, in fact, the most valuable pros out there.  How do they do it?  It seems counter-intuitive, but those sales pros ask the most questions, listen better, and talk very little.  What are those questions?  These questions!

What issue or need with this purchase fill?  When the client discusses the problem, it increases their sense of urgency.

How does this need affect your business?  The more you know about the need, the more likely you will present the best product to fit the need.  The client is also describing their work process, which makes you better able to address them as an "insider."

How often does this need arise?  When the client mentions the interval of need, they are primed for you to set up your follow-up call.

How does it effect your business when this need in unmet?  You are asking the customer to establish the value of the product on their own terms.  There is no better sales pitch.

What are your business goals?  How does this product help you meet them?  The customer begins describing the use of the product in terms of success in meeting their own goals.

When do you want this solution in place? The client returns themselves to urgency, and the sale is made.

You can do this.  Answer each of their questions succinctly, and then follow up with a question of your own.  Present your solutions in the order of the questions they ask you, don't give them a canned pitch.  If you know your product thoroughly, the client will sell themselves, with only a little prompting from you!