1.  Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper.  At the top, place a plus sign on the left side, a minus sign on the right.  List activities that energize you on the left and those that suck your energy on the right.  If you can’t delete the energy-sucking items from your life, delegate them.

2.   Create an untouchable rounding account.  For every check you receive, deposit everything except the first digit of the check into the fund.  If the check is $3,267.45, put everything except $3,000 into your rounding fund, then watch your savings grow!

3.   While brushing your teeth each morning, reflect upon 3 things you are thankful for, and why.  If your gratitude involves a person, make sure they to let them know.

4.  Identify something (or someone) that really pisses you off or frustrates you, then let it go!   Forgiveness costs you nothing, but the return on investment is enormous.  You will never be free if you become a slave to your emotions.

5.   You already know about the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise.  If you know it but you don’t do it, what is really going on?  Firstly, don’t beat yourself up.  Most people are unable to maintain the HABIT of healthy living.  If you are one of those people, start by identifying the TRUE CAUSE.   Ask yourself what you really gain by breaking this commitment.  This may take some soul searching and you might need to enlist a friend to help, but if you identify and address the root cause in order to change the habit, the reward will be well worth the effort.

Please share at least one short TIP that you have found to be effective for you.

Best wishes for a healthy, happy, prosperous, magnificent 2017!

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2017.   All Rights Reserved.

On Tuesday night the United States experienced one of the most earth-shattering events in its history, the culmination of a totally unprecedented phenomenon.

Most political, media, academic, and polling “experts” were totally wrong in their predictions regarding just about every aspect of the entire campaign season.   And many were totally dumbfounded at the result. 

How can this be and what did they miss?  How could they all be so wrong?

Much of the answer lies in Empathy.

I often ask people what “empathy” means to them.  When I do, I get dozens of different answers, many of which veer far from its true meaning.    So before we go further, let’s define the word.  According to Wikipedia…:

Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other being’s frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feelings with the heart of another.

When it comes to your clients, sales prospects, markets, and other stakeholders, how are YOU doing in the area of empathy?   Do you listen from their perspective, from your own?   Do you actually listen at all, or do you wait to talk?

If you (and your employees) were to become more empathetic, what effect do you think doing so might have on your decisions, culture, and bottom line?

Listening is a skill.   One that can be developed.  Empathy requires the highest form of listening.  As with any skill, becoming a more empathetic listener begins with a commitment to improve.

Unfortunately, most of us are closer to being pathetic listeners than empathetic listeners. 

A view of the USA’s voting map shows two blue coasts, with an enormous swatch of red in between (not withstanding a few small blue dots surrounding major metropolitan areas).    In essence, two Americas, one rural and one urban.   Major media centers and the majority of political prognosticators reside near urban centers.  Their PERCEPTION of the world did not take into account half of the nation’s frame of reference.  They saw the world through their own lenses, and mostly ignored the views of a significant portion of the voters.  They listened selectively and heard what they wanted to hear.   They were blinded by a lack of empathy.  As a consequence, most of their assumptions and predictions were wrong.

As business owners, our perceptions, assumptions, and predictions have a tremendous effect on our effectiveness, growth, profit, decision-making and the overall strength and value of our businesses.   Consequently, it is vitally important for us to commit to making every effort to see things not just through our own lenses, but from the lenses of the marketplace, our employees, our sales prospects, and more.  

There are many ways to improve empathy in your business (and at home).   You can start today committing to improving the listening skills of yourself and your employees.   Joining a peer advisory board can also help tremendously in helping you to see things far beyond your own perspective and assist you in making better decisions.

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2016.   All Rights Reserved. 

Many private business owners tell me they struggle with sales.  Most report little, if any, predictability, visibility, or scalability in their sales effort.  A large percentage of seemingly successful entrepreneurs even have a tough time maintaining any level of consistency in growing sales revenues and profit.

When I ask owners for their reasons their sales are lacking, I often hear the same things over and over.  This destructive self-talk hurts much more than it helps.  Following is a list of popular excuses I hear many times each month.   If you find yourself saying any of these things (to others or to yourself), I’ve offered some actions you take today to make things much better.

“When we get in front of prospects, we almost always win.” 

While this may be true, it is not necessarily good.  If your company is closing 100% of your sales, you (or your salespeople) are probably only meeting with SUPER-qualified prospects.  While it is always a good idea to continually strive to improve your closing percentages, understand that the vast majority of private companies (and salespeople) behave opportunistically, versus proactively when it comes to selling.  In other words, they are not selling, they are taking orders.  Opportunistic (reactive)  selling places a company’s destiny into the hands of external forces (like the economy, competition, new features, etc.).  Very dangerous to say the least.

“We don’t have the time to improve sales” (aka: “We’re too busy”)

Fact#1:  You have the same amount of time as everyone else (24 hours per day).

Fact#2:  You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.

Fact#3:  The more your focus on a problem, the more likely you are to improve it.

So we’re really not talking about time here, were talking about priorities.  So ask yourself:  “Are the issues we’re focusing on today really more important than Sales?”   If so, continue as you are.  If not, what will you stop doing today so you can focus on growing revenues and profits?

“I don’t have enough money”

Same goes here.  Of course you don’t have unlimited funds.  No one does.  However, every owner is spending money on something.  The real question to ask is “am I investing money and resources in accordance with my goals and priorities?”   If your sales are consistently falling short, the answer is NO.

“If my salespeople (or sales manager) would only…”

Here comes the big pill.   All of your salespeople are currently behaving the way they are behaving because that is the way they CHOOSE to behave. You are also behaving the way you are behaving because that is how you are choosing to behave.  So if you want something to change (improve) in your sales effort, the change starts with you.  If your sales aren’t cutting it, YOU are the problem, but you are also the (potential) solution.

The success (or lack of success) of any private business is a 100% function of the decisions made by its owner (CEO).  The wisdom of how a CEO chooses to invest his/her limited time, money, and resources determines everything.  So choose wisely.

Running a great business is not magic.  Creating a great sales organization is not magic. Both are formulaic, time-tested pursuits.   If you’d like to share methods or processes that you currently use to make wiser choices, or would like to discuss practices that I have seen work many times, I’d love to hear from you.

Many private business owners tell me they struggle with sales.  Most report little, if any, predictability, visibility, or scalability in their sales effort.  A large percentage of seemingly successful entrepreneurs even have a tough time maintaining any level of consistency in growing sales revenues and profit.

When I ask owners for their reasons their sales are lacking, I often hear the same things over and over.  This destructive self-talk hurts much more than it helps.  Following is a list of popular excuses I hear many times each month.   If you find yourself saying any of these things (to others or to yourself), I’ve offered some actions you take today to make things much better.

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2016.   All Rights Reserved. 

 Have you ever wondered why the “busiest” people are often the least successful?

Each month, I meet with dozens of business owners. Some consistently set and achieve their goals.  Others seem to be in a constant state of struggle.  Interestingly, the owners that struggle the most also consistently seem to be mired in a conversation about how “busy” they are.  When asked what they are busy doing, their response usually relates to addressing urgencies or reacting to situations “outside their control” that likely fall far below their pay-grade. They often discuss the things they “have” to do, and they sincerely believe that they “just can’t find the time” to work on the things they would like to do.

Do you know anyone like that?

Conversely, the most highly successful owners I know seem to always have plenty of time to plan, to act strategically, to keep their commitments, and to work ON (versus IN) their businesses. Almost magically, they also seem to be able to find time to calmly handle all of their personal interests, desires, and obligations.  These CEOs are able to prioritize effectively and are able to manage their respective calendars in a much more proactive fashion.

How do these successful owners do it? After all, there ARE only 24 hours in a day…  Here are some facts (and some patterns I’ve noticed) that might help you become less busy and more productive.

1.  It is rare to meet an owner (successful or not) that does not have a full plate.  I can’t remember the last time I met a CEO that wasn’t juggling multiple priorities that needed to get done.  We all have stuff we want to do. The alternative to a full plate for most entrepreneurs can be a sign that they should probably be doing something differently (or better).

2. “Busy” is a state of mind. Great entrepreneurs achieve more and get more accomplished than weaker ones, but rarely tell you that they are “really busy” when you ask how they are doing.  Conversely, unsuccessful owners are addicted to busy-ness.  They almost always feel busy and reactive, versus feeling focused and proactive.  Even though their “busy-ness” is destructive and isn’t getting them where they want to go, they still get some kind of rush from having a lot to do. They have no problem finding things to do but have no process or structure to determine whether they are working on the right things or the wrong things. Their mindset has nothing to do with the number of hours in a day.  Most of these owners would feel addicted and over-whelmed whether a day included 24, 48, or 2400 hours. 

3.  The problem of effectiveness and productivity is never due to the number of hours in a day or the fact that we “do not have the time”.  

4.  We all have only 24 hours in a day. That is the one single thing that none of us can control.   

5.  We CAN all control how we CHOOSE to invest our time. 

6.  There is only one difference between a super-successful owner and a mediocre owner that wallows in crisis mode. The difference is how they CHOOSE to invest their precious time (and resources). Successful owners choose wisely and skillfully and focus on the IMPORTANT. Struggling ones choose unskillfully and focus upon the URGENT. 

7. The most successful owners understand they are personally the single biggest contributor to (or detractor from) exceeding their goals and the ultimate achievement of their company and personal vision.  In other words, they are personally the biggest problem.  They are also POTENTIALLY the biggest solution (IF they make wise, skillful choices).

8. Owners that understand this simple success formula also know that it would be absolutely foolish to attempt to make these choices in a vacuum.  

And they know that they don’t know what they don’t know.  

They, therefore, choose to surround themselves with other successful owners who are committed to help, such as the peer advisory board structure of The Alternative Board.  A structured peer process like TAB’s helps owners make skillful choices and invest their incredibly valuable time wisely. Wise, skillful choices have a huge positive impact on the bottom line.

9. Successful entrepreneurs choose to spend one-third or more of their time working on, versus in, their business. Wow. This may seem like a lot, especially if you are young, new, or small business owner, but if you don’t set a goal, you will certainly never achieve it. In this context, I recommend to all of my clients to COMMIT to themselves to spend 33% percent of their precious time working ON the business within 3 years. If you commit to this goal to get yourself out of the weeds and make it the most important one in your portfolio, you’ll notice that the rest of your business goals will tend to take care of themselves.

This singular choice provides an owner with FREEDOM. It allows him/her to abandon the addictive habits of busy-ness, urgency, and fire-fighting and to adopt the effective habits required to build a consistent, effective, growing, scalable profit-generation machine.

So if you feel like you are “really busy” or “overwhelmed”, if you “never have enough hours in the day”, or if you often say “yes” to the urgent to the exclusion of the important, please know that you are not alone. Freedom and productivity are just a few simple steps away.

There is no better time to commit to your personal freedom than today.  

If you have any questions about how to begin, or simply feel like you are too stuck to get started, I’d love to hear from you.

If not, enjoy the fruits of making wiser choices.

To Your Freedom,

Joe

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2016.   All Rights Reserved. 

If you are like many CEOs, your company may be experiencing the perfect storm of increased competition and price pressure, combined with a limited supply of great sales talent and financial resources.   Many business owners are frustrated with the lack of new business generation and the fact that few, if any, of their people relish the role of hunting for it.   Some owners even feel they being are held hostage by mediocre performers who possess valuable information or customer relationships. 

The answer to this seemingly perplexing situation is YOU.  By virtue of a simple choice, you possess more power than you could possibly imagine to dramatically upgrade your Sales Team and to grow now.  Creating an Overachieving Sales Culture will not only fuel top line revenue growth, but can also improve your net profit.  If you decide to go for it, here are some simple steps that will be required:

1.     Face the Brutal Facts:  Please realize that the very people you would like to change have chosen to behave the way are currently behaving.  They act the way they act for only one reason–because they want to.  So despite your strongest desires, they probably will not choose to do what you would like them to do – Hunt and Close.   Most people, including salespeople, do not like change and will resist leaving their Comfort Zone.

2.     Needle in a Haystack:  Hunters & Closers represent a microscopic portion of the “salesperson population”.  In fact, only a very small percentage of people are really suitable for taking on any part of a sales or business development role.  

3.     Use Effective Tools and Processes:  You must be able to identify that small percentage of productive salespeople.  This takes discipline, but isn’t hard to do if you use the right types of assessment tools and processes.

4.     Raise Your Expectations, Change Your Focus, Trumpet Your Intentions:  This is no time to be wimpy or ambiguous.  You must loudly and clearly broadcast your unconditional commitment to create a new, effective Sales Culture.   For example, let’s say you want the regional managers at your professional services company to go out and find local business clients, your customer service group to become proactive by making outgoing calls, or your service providers to bring new clients into the firm.  In each of these cases, a common management mistake is to neglect the clear communication of expectations to those very people they would like to change.   Be Clear.

5.     Appoint a Competent Culture Transformation Director:  Again, this is going to take steady commitment on your part.  But it will pay off.  Appoint someone who understands what needs to be accomplished as well as how to accomplish it.   If your company is very small, you may need to wear the CTD hat yourself.

6.     Train and Coach:  Make sure that your team members are equipped with the training they’ll need to succeed in this strange new world of big selling and new business development.  The assessment tools can provide you with a development roadmap.

7.     Demonstrate a Path to Success:  Don’t throw them out to sink or swim.  Even with the most talented of salespeople, it is up to you to clearly define what it is they should do and how often they should do it.

8.     Swim in the same direction:  You must get complete buy-in from the people that will participate in your culture transformation.  They must be All-In.  Remember, your forecast and plan must be derived from your goals (not the other way around).

9.     Transparency–No Surprises:  Everyone must be clear as to how success will be measured, the rewards of success and the consequences of shortfalls.   No Gray Areas…

10.  Accountability:  You and the Culture Transformation Director must create an organizational mindset where everyone is open, honest, and personally accountable.  Any member of the team that doesn’t fit, doesn’t belong.  

This transformation doesn’t happen overnight, if you follow these steps, it will happen.  But again, it all starts with YOU.

 An uncertain economy is the absolute best time to upgrade your Sales Culture and create predictable, profitable growth.   With a simple choice and the right tools and processes, you’ll be well on your way to higher revenues, consistent performance, and a stronger company.

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2016.   All Rights Reserved.