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. 

The Five Dysfunctions of a (Sales) Team

One of the most popular business books of the last decade is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, written by Patrick Lencioni.

As with any team, the objective is to be effective and produce results.   For a sales team, effectiveness means the ability to produce consistent, predictable, visible, profitable growth, quarter after quarter, year after year.  When mapped against this objective, most owners would agree that their team falls very short of the mark.  In other words, the vast majority of sales teams simply aren’t getting it done.

Throughout my career helping many hundreds of sales teams, it has become obvious that just about all of them possess the same five dysfunctions when I first encounter them.    I’ve listed these dysfunctions here, along with actions you can take today to begin to eliminate them.

1.   The wrong people:  Most salespeople go into Sales by default.  As a result, the profession of sales is rife with individuals who lack the skill, discipline, passion, training, or commitment to produce results.  Consequently, less than 50% of salespeople do not last a single year.  You’ll never win the race with the wrong horses, and most owners don’t even realize how bad their salespeople really are.   When it comes to recruiting great sales talent, the odds are stacked against you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t win and hire excellent performers.   You just need to know how to do it.   You can attract the talent you require (both in Sales and Sales Management) by employing an effective, behavioral, objective, Locate, Land & Launch™ process.   

2.   Sales management doesn’t manage:  Most small private companies don’t manage sales at all.   Many that think they do are totally ineffective. Managers end up spending most of their sales management time doing all sorts of low-value activities rather than actually managing the salespeople and the growth of the team.   More than three-quarters of an effective sales manager’s time should be dedicated to coaching, developing, motivating, recruiting, and holding salespeople accountable to promises.   Is this how your manager spends time today?

3.   There is no Sales Process:  If you’ve been in business a while, you probably have processes for most functional areas in your enterprise.  You likely have processes for payroll, operations, distribution, manufacturing, and more.   However, most companies do not have processes for the one area that should be the most functional—Sales.  In the absence of a sales process, your team resembles a bunch of athletes running around a field without a game plan.   Good luck winning that game.  If you don’t have a sales process in place, the good news for you is that your competitors probably don’t have one either.   If you implement an effective sales process, you will begin to beat them consistently.

4.    Lack of understanding:  While all owners would like to improve their inconsistent, ineffective sales effort, most simply don’t have a clue how to fix it.   They don’t understand how to build a successful sales organization, don’t know how to identify where problems lie, and don’t even know where to start.  They may have attended a few webinars or read some books containing tips and tricks, then tried a few things and didn’t see the needle move.   As a consequence, many believe their sales team isn’t great, but may be as good as it’s going to get.   So they’ve have thrown in the towel and decided to just tolerate the mediocrity.   I know nothing about flying airplanes, but if I needed to travel overseas, I would find someone who did.  Fixing a dysfunctional sales team is no different.  You’re team can be much better, so if you don’t know how to fix it, find someone who does. 

5.   Lack of Commitment:  Upgrading your sales organization is not magic.   It is not easy, but it is simple.  There are no quick fixes, but it is totally formulaic.   If your sales team isn’t getting it done, start by assessing each individual’s commitment to generating results.  The members of your sales team are behaving the way they are behaving because they are choosing to behave that way.   Your salespeople are choosing their behaviors.  So is your sales manager.   So are you.   Most people hate to leave their comfort zone, so if you want to change results, start by leaving your own comfort zone.  Commit to building a world-class sales effort, declare to everyone that you are doing it, evaluate your team, and make it happen. 

Whether you are a sales development expert, or know absolutely nothing about sales, you CAN dramatically improve the effectiveness of your sales effort.   You are currently investing your precious time, money and resources somewhere.   If you’re like most owners, some resource may currently be directed to low-value areas that do not affect the health of your company nearly as much as Sales.   By re-directing some of those resources toward upgrading the effectiveness of your sales team, you’ll find the rewards will be well worth the effort.

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2016.   All Rights Reserved.

The profession of Sales is loaded with mediocrity. More than half of all salespeople hired today will not survive a full year with their new company. More than half of those who do survive will fall short of their quota and forecasted sales in their second year. Less than 5% will generate consistent, predictable results.  As a result, business owners waste billions of dollars every year in recruiting, training, compensation, and opportunity costs.

While there are many attributes that comprise a successful salesperson, and while most of these can be uncovered BEFORE you waste your time and money hiring another dud by virtue of an effective screening process, there are some very basic attributes that any salesperson can employ immediately, but simply do not.  These attributes are so basic, in fact, that the skills to deploy them exist in any child.  Unfortunately, it seems that most sales “professionals” have forgotten the skills and traits they learned as youngsters, or they maybe they just choose not to use them when interacting with prospective buyers. Here are just a few of the effective traits of 2nd graders…: 

Kids don’t have answers. Ineffective salespeople prefer to act like they have all the answers.  Kids make you feel like the expert. “Expert” salespeople are a huge turnoff to buyers.   

Kids are sincerely interested. While snake-oil salespeople ask leading (salesy) questions and listen with filters.   

Kids are playful. While “professional” salespeople are scripted and stodgy. 

Kids are unpredictable. Most salespeople are simply boring, asking the same questions and adding no additional discovery or value.  Research shows that 86% of salespeople are perceived as undifferentiated.

Kids are infinitely curious. While mediocre salespeople make far too many assumptions. Assumptions = missed information = DANGER.

Kids will ask anything. Most salespeople stick to their list of Tie-down questions. These add zero value to the conversation.

Kids truly love to discover new things. Conversely, most salespeople choose to spend most of their time talking, presenting, proposing and demonstrating, instead of facilitating discovery and LEARNING.

Kids learn something new every day. Many salespeople are committed to “the way they’ve always done it”.

Kids are always testing their limits. Low-growth salespeople refuse to leave their Comfort Zone. 

 If you have any doubt that using child-like attributes would “work” with your “sophisticated buyers”, or if you’ve simply forgotten some of the most valuable lessons you learned when you were a kid, I’d challenge you to give them a try during your next sales interview.  If you would kindly share the result, I’ll make sure to publish it with the readers…   

 Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2016.   All Rights Reserved.

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Most of us know people who have damaged or destroyed their lives by abuse or addiction. Addiction doesn’t only affect the life of the addict, but often has a destructive effect on the people closest to them. In the workplace, any type of abuse and addiction can have a huge effect on productivity.

Whether we are talking about hard drugs, alcohol, gambling, or something more innocuous like caffeine, nicotine, or video games, most of us believe that danger increases as an individual crosses the line from moderation to compulsion. Over time, compulsive abuse is damaging and the symptoms of addiction are universal.

Technology is fabulous. For most of us, it would seem impossible to survive without it. The Internet was one of the most incredible advances in our lives and has created amazing opportunities. But is it possible that we have reached the point of diminishing returns in device use and may actually be losing productivity via abuse? Are electronic devices (EDs) really making us more effective and productive? 

There is no doubt that a huge portion of society has become addicted to electronic devices. The statistics are over-whelming. According to new research from GlobalWebIndex, 80% of adults now own a smartphone, up from 21% in 2012. A study of 1,600 managers and professionals from Harvard Business School found that:

• 70% said they check their smartphone within an hour of waking.
• 56% check their phone within an hour of going to sleep.
• 48% check over the weekend, including on Friday and Saturday nights.
• 51% check continuously during vacation (is that really vacation?)
• 44% said they would experience "a great deal of anxiety" if they lost their phone and couldn’t replace it for a week.

Even more revealing, in a survey of millennials by ME360, the following data emerged in response to the question “At work, how many times per hour do you check your smartphone or e-device for non-work related emails, social media updates, texts, emails or videos?”

• 90% said they check at least 1-5 times per hour
• 42% check at least 6-10 times per hour
• 21% check more than 16 times per hour- that is more than once every 3.75 minutes! And this is at work! One may wonder when the actual work occurs…

Use becomes an addict’s best friend, and we witness ED abuse every day. At the dinner table, it’s become the norm to constantly check for texts, emails, tweets,Facebook, or SnapChat updates. In a theater, you can always find people abusing during the movie.   

In restaurants, in church, while driving, at our kid’s performances and even when carrying on face-to-face conversations, the growing trend of smartphone addiction is becoming pervasive.

In the workplace, device abuse creates a focus upon urgent over important, focusing employee behavior on being reactive, not proactive. If you do not happen to be in the fire-fighting or first-responder business, this reactive/urgency focus is likely very damaging to your company value and bottom line.

Before we list addiction symptoms, please consider your own use of electronic devices. Also consider the use of EDs by your employees. Many executives believe that these devices enhance productivity. Used effectively (in moderation), this assertion is nearly indisputable. EDs certainly can improve productivity. Used compulsively (as a growing majority of ED-addicted owners, executives, employees, and their families use them), device use can actually have the opposite effect. In some cases, a devastating effect. 

Take a look at the following list of symptoms and behaviors demonstrated by addicts:

• The addict cannot stop – Loss of Control.
• Social and/or recreational sacrifices – addicts consistently decline invitations for personal interaction or conversation. Degradation of intimacy.
• Obsession/excess consumption - the addict invests increasing time and energy focusing on ways of getting another fix.
• Withdrawal symptoms - in the absence of using, the addict will experience mood-related (and possibly physical) symptoms.  These include cravings, moodiness, bad temper, poor focus, depression, frustration, anger, bitterness and resentment.
• Insomnia – There is a compulsion to use first thing in the morning and last thing before sleeping, and even in the middle of the night.
• Addiction continues despite health problem awareness - the individual continues abusing regularly, despite possible physical degradation. The desire to exercise diminishes.  
• Taking risks - in some cases the addicted individual may take risks in order to use (such as texting while driving)
• Dealing with problems - an addicted person becomes dependent upon using in order to deal with their problems. Even worse, they increasingly ignore their problems, missing deadlines and commitments.
• Secrecy and solitude - many addicts prefer to indulge alone, often in secret.
• Stress & Anxiety - these escalate when the addict cannot use.
• Forgetfulness – addiction consumes the mind and saps attention and focus.
• Increased Narcissism - addicts have difficulty being concerned with anyone but themselves and develop a lack of respect and courtesy for others.
• Reduced Self-Esteem - as an addict continues to surrender control, their self-worth declines.
• Denial - most addicts are in denial. They are not aware (or refuse to acknowledge) that they have a problem.
• Dropping hobbies and activities - addicts choose a fix over almost any other form of pleasure, and over important or productive activities. As addiction progresses, the individual may stop doing things he/she used to enjoy.

Do you know any device addicts that might be exhibiting some of these symptoms? If they work in your company, you may wish to consider an intervention. If the addicted individual happens to appear in your own mirror, if checking and rechecking your phone comes as naturally to you as breathing, or if you feel anxious or restless if 5 minutes pass without a smartphone fix, you are addicted. Depending upon the severity of your addiction, you may not require a full twelve-step program just yet. However, you might want to start with acknowledgement: “Hi, my name is Tom, and I am a device addict.” After making this declaration you may begin the detox and rehabilitation process:

Rule #1: Make a DECLARATION to live proactively.  “I will only use my device during the following hours”.  Pick 2 to 4 hours per day and shut it off for the rest of the day, perhaps an hour in the AM and an hour in the PM. Add 15 minutes midday, but only if absolutely necessary.   Inform your employees, stakeholders, and family members that you are detoxing, and ask for their support. If you seek to improve productivity, it would be a good idea to ask your employees to follow suit. 

Rule #2: Don’t text while driving.  This rule isn’t only for you, but also for the safety of others.  Risking lives just to give a quick response is simply insane.

Rule #3: Keep your phone out of the bathroom & bedroom. I can go on for days with this, but let’s just say that technology is not worth the sacrifice of intimacy or hygiene.

Rule #4: Respect others. Always turn off your smartphone during meetings. Using devices in meetings sends a clear message—“The person that is pinging me is MORE IMPORTANT to me than you are!” When ordering or checking-out, put the phone down and take care of business.  There are customers behind you and they don’t want to hear your drama.  

Rule #5: When going to bed, no more falling asleep while staring at your screen. Sure it’s fun to tweet, check the lives of friends on Facebook, and play games before zonking out, but overcoming an addiction requires discipline. Pick a shut-down time and stick to it. Turn the phone completely off at that time.

Rule #6: Turn your phone off at meals and when you’re with friends.  Not on vibrate, OFF.  I promise you will not miss out on anything life-altering. Each time you do this, you will become stronger and it will become easier.

Rule #7: Find a Support Group. This should be easy.  Just look around. I would suspect that you know plenty of people who share your device addiction and would also like to get clean.

Rule #8: Go For it! Last but not least, when you’re able to manage these rules without suffering a panic attack, shortness of breath, dizziness, or fainting, start leaving your phone at home. This is the big, personal-freedom step - graduation day. Set a goal to spend a day each week without technology. If you feel strong and committed, go cold-turkey. If not, you can unplug yourself in small doses. Start off with a couple of hours and then progress to a whole day. Again, I promise, the world will not come to an end.

History has proven that just about anything that can be abused, will be. Technology is awesome.   Electronic devices, used effectively in moderation, provide enormous advantages. If you have the discipline and self-control to use EDs without letting them rule your life or hinder those around you, congratulations. However, if you feel like your smartphone is an appendage, think catching up with friends and colleagues can only be accomplished through a screen, or consider Facebook, Twitter, or texting to be your BFFs, I’d encourage you to take some effective action today.  

 Joe 

Copyright ©   Joe Zente  2014.   All Rights Reserved.