Conning is selling, but selling is not conning.

Months ago I happened to meet a conman and I was intrigued by the jobs he pulled. We had a short conversation which went on like an interview, and as it progressed I was deciphering some of the tricks of the trade.

In a conning situation the conman (they proudly call themselves confidence man) has, to sell himself. He does not have a product or service to offer back at you because those things only exist in the conman’s imagination.

A perfect con is capable of convincing most of the people. He will know who his ideal prospect is, and who will buy into his pitch in less than seven minutes.

A perfect conning technique involves various stages.

The identity

The perfect cone creates an identity convincing to a plot where they encounter their target. They practice and perfect their poise, mannerisms, and panache convincingly well.  Very often they take the identities of their previous target. A conman is dressed for his part and his identity is well established with intricate details.

In sales, building conviction around what you sell is important. Once you have the conviction then transferring that emotion to a prospect is easy. A sales man must be able to trigger a positive state on his prospect. The identity you must take in sales is that of a consultant who is willing to serve his client’s interest above all else.

The plot

The perfect con finds suitable territories like public places like airport, train/ bust station, bars to set the stage and strike a conversation with a complete stranger. The method is to start casual, establish credibility, break the ice by building a conversation on familiarity, build trust and make any conversation interesting with their target.  As they proceed they will establish their identity by divulging few basic information about them. They are the smooth operators. They work like a spider who makes the web to catch its prey.

In sales building rapport with your prospect is essential. You can’t too forward asking your client to give away their money. Setting the right mood and building familiarity helps you get closer to your clients.  When you show interest in others, they tend to like you. People choose to do business with people they like. Gaining the trust of your client is essential. Prospects often open up to their trusted consultants with their problem.

Finding the target

Perfect con observes and select their target. They usually look out for individuals who are alone. Once they identify their target, they make a casual approach. They eliminate all the distractions and make the conversation engaged. They introduce a topic to strike a chord with their target immediately.

In selling, prospecting is essential. Once you know your customer’s hot buttons, you will know their real concerns and the urgency to do business with you. Understanding your prospects hurts is very crucial for sales. Once you know the primary problems your customers face, you can prescribe the right solutions for them.

The story

The perfect con has a convincing story of how they became helpless with their options of getting away from situations using extreme measures. (In one instance the con was showing off his fake thick gold chain and the lack of time to pawn them to retrieve cash urgently) Con’s story sets the stage where the con enacts his perfect play that can never go wrong and never develop a trace of doubt in their target. The con set the stage eliminating any kind of doubts their target might have. In case of doubt the con will pre-frame their logical defense against their targets suspicion. A story well said and convincingly narrated (rather enacted) gain the attention and trust of their target.

In selling the sales pitch is the story. The pitch must have compelling points, why the prospects must choose only your product or service above all other options available. A great pitch is delivered with enthusiasm and conviction.

The pitch

Con’s pitch will be assertive. They have a domineering carefree approach. They show their frustration over someone  who would have put them in a helpless situation. They never act like they need your sympathy or help. Instead they command subtly reminding you of an individual’s moral obligation to others who are in need. They never let their target know that they are targeted. Perfect con won’t ask for the help. They prepare their target to willingly offer the help they need. The con present options for their target to fall in. The irony is that,  the solutions will come from the target as they voluntarily respond to the con’s pressing need. The con may resist the generous offer of the target, but he will grab it like a smooth operator.

Great sales people assert what they strongly believe in. In sales the seller transfers his faith (in what you sell) to the prospect. Do not make empty claims. Share your faith in’ great service and quality’ or whatever you stand for. Remember selling is a process to help a prospect buy.

Deluding the suspicion

Perfect conman will not give you the idea that you are coned even after they commit the act. They will leave you with a hope guessing that they are going to fulfill their word of commitment with you.

The vanishing act

Perfect con has a vanishing act. They disappear without a trace.

The back up plan

If they are caught they will behave natural and give you a story that will make you feel bad that you thought of him/her  as a con.

SALES TRAINING IN INDIA

Performing organizations in India are now gearing up to a new financial year. Since sales drive most of an organizations income, companies are more focused on setting new sales goals for 2012-13. It’s time for conferences and corporate retreats. Sales champions, mangers and top executives  get together, discuss and celebrate success at exotic locations making learning fun.

The question is; what’s new in sales and motivation?  And what is there to talk about?

The sales paradigms are changing. Business model is evolving. There is a huge shift in consumer awareness, recognition pattern and the decision making chain. The whole landscape of sales is emerging with new marketing trends.

The major concerns are: how to develop new competitive advantages, new customer acquisition strategies, lead generation, lead conversion, client fulfillment, market expansion, increasing the life time value of customers etc.

But strategies and think tanks don’t get to work without sufficient motivation. It is for this very reason companies hire motivational speakers to address specific issues during conferences. The advantage of hiring a professional speaker is that, new perspective are discussed and messages  are delivered in an inspirational way.

Sales and motivation goes hand in hand. Without a great attitude, it is almost impossible to succeed in the world of sales. Without motivation, there is no drive to succeed and no tenacity to overcome any challenges.  Selling is a challenging profession. Sales champions have to go through rejections after rejections to meet their quota. Indeed selling is a numbers game. Watch the following video.

Three must rules for sales success

1. Work on ‘the law of averages.’ Selling is a number’s game. The more No you get, the more YES you get. Remember every No takes you closer to a YES. Perseverance is the key to winning in sales. Sales champions have a winning mindset. They understand rejections differently from the rest of the sales mediocre. Champions know that ‘rejections are the key to more closing in sales’. It is true. The key is this: increase your rejection ratio and you can increase the acceptance ratio.

2. Fear of loss

When you allow a customer to experience your product or service, you are encouraging the customer to experience ‘a sense of ownership’ with your offer. But if you allow the customer to feel that sense of ownership for long, they will soon get disinterested in your product or service. You see, familiarity breeds contempt. The strategy is simple. You let the customer experience ownership for a short time and then you give them ‘the fear of loss’. Fear of loss is a psychological feeling that you convey to the customer. When something is withdrawn from your enjoyment you will naturally feel bad and experience a sense of loss. A disturbed prospect will buy. You job as a sales champion is to restore the ‘motivated state’ in a customer, making them feel that the only way to gratification now is to acquire what you are offering at the moment. Fear of loss works in most cases. This equips the customer to make up his/her mind faster and avoid the delay in decisions.

3. The reverse psychology

People don’t like pushy sales people trying to convince with their typical sales talk. You don’t sell, instead you help a customer buy.  That is the ‘pull’ approach. You let the customer get attracted to your predicament and expertise. Customers see you as a consultant than a sales person. As a consultant your job is to provide valuable information about your product and services. That is an educative process in sales.  Customers love to buy from experts who how what they are dealing with. When you act as a consultant giving your prospect valuable information about what you offer and why should they consider your offer, you are working on your customers favor. You build relationship with your prospect, because you are a free consultant who helps a customer choose from various offerings. When you build relationship with a prospect, the prospect will in turn become your customer. The old paradigm is to ‘make a customer and them a friend’. The new paradigm is ‘make a new friend and then a customer for life.’

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Whatever may be the business you are engaged in all sustainable businesses have an organic growth.  An organic growth simplifies the complexities of a business from time to time. We use all kinds of resources and information to make our business grow. By using resources like man power, capital and applying right strategies and having the access to the right information can help us succeed. Therefore your focus must be on gathering as much information as possible.

That includes customer information, market information, information about competition and their offerings, information about what is going on in your industry and what is likely to happen in the future.

In terms of using resources, you must be able to leverage them and able to use them at the right time. Then you need strategies and systems in place. One of the major keys to unlocking business growth potential is having the right systems and processes along with the discipline to ensure they work every time. Many global business giants like McDonalds, Coke, GE and Toyota started out small and grew through having robust systems and processes in place which are not dependent on one individual alone.

Finally, to double your business turnover, you need a turnover plan and growth strategy in place.

Here are seven ways discussed and when applied strategically can help you double your business turnover in one year.

1. Set a high target.

Raising the expectation is easy and believable if you have a clear plan about how you are going to achieve them. But we seldom raise our expectations, because we tend to think realistic, we look at our past performance and results as a bench mark to determine how much we can expect in the future. The truth is as famous motivational speaker Tony Robbins says, ‘the past does not equal the future’. We can achieve more. The fact is that we are not using our complete potential. We delude ourselves thinking that we doing our best. But are we?!

Setting a high target is one side of the equation; the other side is about equipping oneself and the organization to reach that level. Remember, the current results are produced by the current way of thinking and doing.

If you want to double your turnover, you need to double your efforts and not necessarily on the same things you are currently doing. Doing things differently is the key, but it all starts with- thinking differently.

You can meet any expectation if you can also raise your standard. Therefore you can reach any target as high as you are able to reach your standards for achieving them. Remember that achieving a superior result is always an outcome and a direct reflection of the standard that you have already achieved in your organization.

The question is- how do you raise your standard? I must say that, it is the same way you have done it already- through education.

Don’t be afraid to set a big goal or a big target, but remember to equally raise your standards of thinking and doing. Support yourself by constantly applying your knowledge and insights to work. But remember that, learning is not everything, putting them to action is more important. As Late Jim Rohn says “your learning must not lead to knowledge, but it must lead you to action’.

2. Expand geographically.

Always look for new customers in new geographical locations. There is a saturation point for the products and services we sell or market, if you focus on them long enough to serve only in few territories. The key is to develop and implement a successful model in one territory and then replicate the same system in other geographical locations as well.

Your customers are everywhere. They must know about your product and services. You must reach out to them and serve them when the need arises. Take a blank sheet and write down those territories, you think your product can have a great reach and acceptance. Never prejudice on the market or its customers. Sometimes market surveys do not tell the truth completely. Very often‘test marketing’ is useful but make sure you make a smart entry. Devise any strategy from ‘penetration to viral or sweeper’ but make sure you enter new markets when the time is ripe. Revise your strategy based on the feed backs you receive from the market. Adapting to the conditions and breaking through challenges can give you the edge to capture your market. Be flexible. What works in one situation or place might not work in all places.

3. Add more value to your offering.

Customers may be loyal, but they all expect something more from you as time pass by. You need to keep adding value to your offerings. Customers seek variety and surprises. They want more from what they consume. They have some expectations from their brand- that the brand will offer better product or service in comparison to what was offered last year or last season.

On one side you maintain quality, but on the other side you improve as much as you can on features and benefits. Constant improvement is essential. Customers should feel that the brand is getting better than the last time.

Be generous in your offering. Customers love generosity. It keeps them connected to you and addicted to you. Sometimes the values you add may not mean much to the cost of your offering, but it can mean a lot to your customers. Before you make your generous proposition, find out first ‘what your customers value the most, what can be improved, what is that one area where some customers show disappointment etc. Understanding your ideal customers and their primary concerns are essential in developing and delivering a value addition to your offering.

Some value offerings can increase the transactions. You can also deploy the ‘rehash’ strategy. Every time a customer makes a buying transaction with your business you suggest an additional, complimentary product to go with it. You can increase the volume of the sale also by suggesting annual plans. Make a customer commit to a long term business relation by offering discounted subscriptions and annual plan. Here, instead of a one- time purchase and single turnover, you have established repetitive business and customer retention.

4. Innovate new products and services.

New Product innovation (NPI) gives you greater opportunities to increase your turnover. Adding new products/services to your existing product/service line can get more attention and business from your customers and prospects. First of all loyal customers are willing to buy anything new from you. If you have already built reputation for something, then adding new range of innovation can immediately find its (early adopters and early majority) customers. But all brand extensions you think as an innovation need not be successful always. There are certain innovations that gain market acceptance while many will just remain as mere inventions.

First of all, when you innovate, it is important that you are the first to be in that category. If you are late in your innovation, you must learn to distinguish yourself from the innovator. Divergence and differentiation is essential at this point, and if you fail to do so, you will be perceived a copy cat.

5. Innovate new channels of marketing and sales.

In today’s changing market place, the idea of innovation is not only about introducing new products and services but also about developing and implementing new sales and marketing models. Amazon developed a distribution system ‘on line’ to reach out to its customers, so did Domino’s Pizza with a 30 minute delivery model and Dell with its direct marketing model.

Innovative marketing strategies are the need of the hour. You need to develop new strategies to develop more leads. If you can increase the numbers of your prospects list, especially ‘the hot list’, and then you know whom to target and ask for the business.

There are so many products innovated and failed because they could not gain market acceptance, let alone they never knew who their customers were. In fact there is a museum in Ithaca, New York called “the Museum of failed products”.  Products and services that do not get market acceptance are not innovation but inventions.

Individuals and organization must innovate new ways to reach out to customers. Customers are bombarded with marketing messages. They are interrupted and they have developed a deaf ear to marketing messages. Conventional advertising model is not the only thing to reach out to customers. You must define your ideal customers and reach out to them in many ways at many times, so that they will get your attention and you get their positive response. Therefore you must innovate new ways of communicating your product benefits to customers.

New delivery models have to be designed to meet customer’s rising demands. Customers appreciate faster delivery, no hassles and free of tension while doing business with you. The real question is how you can make those happen.

6. Identify new customer demographics and psychographics

There is a new market opening up all the time, but the irony is that the market will not express its need to the manufacturer or the makers of the product and services. You must identify a need or you must trigger a ‘new want’ in customers. Demographics give you information of who your customers are but psycho graphical information gives you information why they choose to buy your product or services. Everything we buy and consume is to satisfy a human need. The ultimate need for most of the consumption is to feel good in our own terms. In order to increase your business, you must identify new demographical and psycho graphical markets. In India, ‘Fair and lovely’ cosmetic company made a market for men and women in fairness crèmes, Toyota innovated the Lexus brand to serve a psychographics of premium and upper class customers.

You can always create new categories for a different gender, age group or build a brand on a criteria that it will serve the purchasing power or tastes and preference of customers.

7. New  acquisitions and diversification

Investing back into your business is essential for more growth. New acquisition, take overs and joint ventures along with a sound diversification strategy paves more ways to make that investment solid. Diversification and acquisitions help you enlarge the pond faster. You must learn to treat your company as an entity that is capable of providing several products and services.

Global consumer giant P&G is started by William Procter ( a candle maker), and James Gamble (a soap maker) and it was incorporated in the year 1890, but today they have more than 300 global brands. Multiple acquisitions made Laxmi Mittal, the biggest steel maker in the world. ‘Virgin’ brand created by millionaire Richard Branson has over 100’s of business diversifications bearing the ‘Virgin’ brand name.   The surprising fact is that the Virgin Group has pursued diversification into completely unrelated business areas like vodka, books, airline, mobile phone etc.

Diversification strategy can include the development of new products or markets, acquisition of a firm, alliance with a complementary company, licensing of new technologies, and distributing or importing a products line manufactured by another firm. Very often diversification is a combination of many strategies. Long term vision and an eye to observe the emerging market opportunities are essential in this area for diversification.

Managers to leaders-21 ways to make the transition

My profession as a keynote speaker takes me to several corporate gatherings every year. This gives me a deeper glimpse at the very fabric of organizational co-ordinance between managers and people. Great organizations know that the internal growth of the organization is in the development of its leaders at all levels, but the irony is that organizations develop managers to step into the shoes of leaders. Those shoes do not fit well, because managers are quite different from leaders.

A lot of people think the words manager and leader are interchangeable.  They are not.  Leaders manage, but managers do not always lead.  In fact, most times managers are not leaders.  First of all leaders do not hate their job while some managers do. In the worst case scenario, some managers do not feel they belong to their organization.

The difference between being a manager and being a leader is quite simple. Management is a career and leadership is a calling. A person becomes a manager by virtue of his position. A person becomes a leader on basis of his personal qualities. Leadership is a vocation. In management people have to follow you because they have to, but in leadership people follow you because they love to. John C Maxwell has said it well “It’s not the position that makes the leader, it’s the leader that makes the position”

Let’s first define the differences between leadership and management. I think that Warren Bennis, an author and leadership expert, best articulated the distinctions that can be made between the two: “The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective. The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.”

If you look back in the leadership studies back in till about 1995, most leadership books that are written were really about management. There was no clear distinction made or a close dichotomy between leadership and management. Both belonged to the same page.  A good manger was expected to perform like a great leader.  But many things have changed in the world of management, shareholder ownership; leadership positions, participative management and management structures are reconstructed and revised from time to time.

Today, managers go through leadership development. They are called to be leaders. In fact you can’t manage people but you can manage things and situations. You must lead people. People management is not about control. It is about direction. It is not about monitoring performance but enhancing it.

It is very apt to distinguish that manager’s do things right and leaders do the right thing. Managers do things right. Managing is about maintaining systems, processes and procedures. Management is about managing the work environment and controlling those workplace elements that we can control, measure and monitor. Leaders on the other hand do the right things. Leadership is about influence; dealing with those things those we can’t control- things like people. Leaders understand that leadership is about getting people to do those things that you require them to do, when they are not obligated to do it. It is not about telling people what to do, using a ‘tell them’ approach but it is about asking people what need to be done (ask them approach). People want to be wanted and asked rather than told what to do.

Bottom-line, when we examine the overall scope of the leadership position, we see that great managers maintain corporate direction while great leaders change it. Both roles are very different.

It is not so easy to teach managers to become leaders. It is as difficult as teaching old dogs new tricks. But if you can teach managers the clear distinction between management and leadership, they will see not only the gap, but aspire to make a transition as well.

My quest to developing great leaders in the organizations I work with, led me to developing some leadership strategies that can make the transition among mangers to become great leaders. My new book on leadership development, the second on my innings after ‘High performance leadership’ is titled as ‘Managers to leaders’- 21 ways to leadership transitions.

In my book, I discus about 21 ways to make the leadership transitions. Here is the brief peak into the fundamentals.

1. Managers execute decisions and leaders make decisions.

Managers execute directions and leaders set new directions. Leaders decide on the set of the sail and mangers chart the details.

The transition must be about how managers can develop their decision making skills based on the context they operate and make decisions right and prompt and become responsible for the consequences of the decisions they make.

2 .Leaders lead people and managers manage work and supervise workforce.

Leading people and supervising them are different. Managers measure performance, monitor activities and manage situations with people while leaders direct them, give them a dream and a vision to live up to. The transition is about empowering people. As a leader, you help them design the outcome; you equip them to achieve the outcome by teaching them skills. Here you not only say what has to be done, but you equip people how it can be achieved as well.

3. Managers maintain the status-quo and leaders shake up and challenge the status-quo.

Managers follow rules and leaders break the old rules. Leaders take new path and managers use the existing road. Leaders have the courage to let go of the familiar and embrace the unfamiliar. Leaders set the pace and mangers keep the momentum. Here the major transition for a manager is to embrace the unfamiliar and do the uncomfortable and break away from the comfort zone.

Leaders constitute change and mangers constitute stability. Managers expect certainty and order and leaders envision uncertainty and bring order amidst chaos. Management is a codification of conduct, practices and rules but leadership is about values and beliefs and how they serve in any business environment.

4. Managers are after standardization while leaders are into innovation.

Leadership is about innovating and initiating new thoughts. Management is about copying, about managing the status quo. Leadership is creative, adaptive, and agile. Leadership looks at the horizon, not just the bottom line.

Managers follow a school of thought and leaders are thought leaders. Leaders seek the truth and managers try to establish one. The manager administers while the leader innovates. Here, the transition for a manager is to think differently and innovate solutions with the support of the people they lead.

5. Managers play safe and leaders take risks.

Leaders take on risk and managers minimize the risk. People play safe only in the comfort zone. Growth is about expanding the comfort zone. Goals exist outside the comfort zone and growth in any field is an uncomfortable process of doing the unfamiliar. Leaders take on the risk. They embrace the unknown. They are courageous. The transition for any manager in this aspect is to take responsibility for own decisions and the willingness to plunge into the unfamiliar, trying new things and leap into the unknown with total confidence in the self and others. Leaders have a sense of destiny. Great leaders know that even if they fail several times they will succeed eventually.

6. Managers motivate people with incentives and leaders inspire them with purpose.

When managers try the old method of motivating their subordinates with carrot and stick, leaders inspire their followers with purpose by instilling a sense of direction and mission in their life. The transition for a manager is to trigger the ‘why’ in everything they do.  When people know the ‘why’ behind what they do, they are more engaged in their work. The ‘why’ behind what we do really motivates us. It makes us purpose driven.

7. Leaders are the heart and managers are the brains of an organization.

Leaders appeal to the heart and mangers appeal to the head. Management is about presenting facts and leadership is about presenting feelings. Management is intellectual and leadership is emotional.

Leaders are the heart of a business. The essence of leadership means inspiring a group to come together for a common goal. Leaders motivate, console and work with people to keep them bonded and eager to move forward. That means setting a direction, communicating it to everyone in the organization.

Managers on the other hand, are the brains of a business. They establish systems, create rules and operating procedures, and put into place incentive programs and best practices. Leadership empowers people. To make the leadership transition managers must go beyond short term goals and become active participants in the design of the overall vision of the organization. Leaders set direction with a vision, a mission and operating principles that embody the company’s direction and values.

8. Managers have ‘activity’ orientation and leaders have ‘outcome’ orientation.

Activity and outcome are different as tasks and results are different. Several activities eventually enhance in the completion of outcome. Leaders are focused on the result. They want the outcome and activity is only a means to achieve an outcome. Managers are trapped in the ‘activity trap’ of doing routine things. They do things that were told to do. They delegate the same what they were asked to do, but leader’s eyes are always on the prize. Only outcome matters and leaders know that there many ways to achieve an outcome. They think, strategize and re-strategize their activities and they continue to do so, till an outcome is achieved.

9. Leaders have followers and mangers have subordinates.

Managers are leadership by the title and leaders have no title. Managers have a position of authority vested in them by the company, and their subordinates work for them and largely do as they are told. Management style is transactional, in that the manager tells the subordinate what to do, and the subordinate does this not because they are a blind robot, but because they have been promised a reward (salary or wage) for doing so.

Leaders do not have subordinates – at least not when they are leading. Many organizational leaders do have subordinates, but only because they are also managers. But when they want to lead, they have to give up formal authoritarian control and transactional leadership, because to lead is to have followers, and following is always a voluntary activity. Leadership is transformational. To make the transition happen, managers must strive to be transformational and cease to be transactional while dealing with their support system.

10.  Managers have short time goal and leaders have long term vision.

Leaders are visionary, inspirational and have an eye to the future. Managers are operational, hands on, and based in the ‘now’

Management is about attaining short term goals and leadership is about achieving long term vision. Leading is concerned with future direction and managing is about managing current conditions, implementing plans, sustain order and improve efficiency. A leader is someone who has the capacity to create a compelling vision that takes people to a new place, and to translate that vision into action. Leaders draw other people to them by enrolling them in their vision.

11. Mangers are technicians with few management skill sets and leaders have multiple skill sets.

Managers are technicians with a leadership position. To become true leaders they must assimilate other skill sets like more life skills, executive skills, and conceptual skills. Conceptual skills make you an original thinker, a strategist, visionary and a creative problem solver.

12. Leaders give credit and managers take credit for the work.

Leadership is about giving credits. Leaders enjoy helping others to meet their need for recognition and reward. Leaders develop people. When things go wrong they take personal responsibility for that outcome as their leader. Managers blame others while leaders assume 100% responsibility for everything that they are a part of.

13. Management is about processes and leadership is about people.

When a manager makes the shift from process to people and outcome, they become leaders.

14. Management is about problem solving leadership is about possibility thinking.

Leaders are possibility thinkers. They think about what is possible. They think outside the box. They are the blue sky thinkers. They ask questions like ‘what if?’’ why not?’ and ‘how can I?’. These are the magical formulas of possibility thinking.

15. Management is about doing things right and leadership is about doing the right things.

When managers do the right thing, pro actively, without being told, voluntarily, knowing what is right and taking the courage to do it, they act like leaders.

16. Managers light a fire under people and leaders spark the fire in people.

Lighting a fire under people and putting pressure on them is different from inspiring others to act. Leaders light up the fire, they help them fan the fire. Leaders help people to aspire for more. They bring out the best in oneself and others.

17. Managers are into organizing and staffing and leaders align people for a purpose.

Leaders align people under a common shared vision. They bind the people together under common beliefs and values. They unite their people and transform them into a powerful force aligned to achieve a common outcome. Managers see people as departments and divisions of labor but leaders see them as a reflection of oneself striving to succeed and contribute.

18. Leadership is strategic and management is operational.

Managers operate under certain protocols while leaders reinvent all operations. Leaders generate ideas. Remember, they are conceptual thinkers. They invent strategies. When managers begin to give constructive suggestions and ideas for organizational improvement, they are stepping into the shoes of a leader. Often times, managers won’t be heard and they get discouraged, but the real success is in persuading their ideas and making it work with constant perseverance. Great ideas stimulate powerful strategies. Leaders are readers. Managers must know that knowledge is power and consistent learning will accentuate that power. The knowledge is power and the best way to be powerful is to be knowledgeable. But power is only potential power. The real power is when you take action on what you know. Sharing the knowledge and implementing strategies manifest that power. Sharing information is a sign of true leadership and concealing them from followers as an act of manipulation makes a bad leader.

19. Managing is about efficiency. Leading is about effectiveness.

Managing is about how. Leading is about ‘what’ and ‘why.’ Management is about systems, controls, procedures, policies, and structure. Leadership is about influencing people, motivating them and aligning them under one direction.

20. Managers exercise power with authority and leaders exercise power with humility.

One of the major impediments to success in this area of leadership and management is the “pride factor”. Too often managers let their own pride get in the way of providing recognition and sharing or directing credit to others. But sharing credit for a job well done and directing credit to others represents a hallmark of the best leaders. When managers shift from positions and powers to responsibilities and service to their followers, the real shift emerges as they focus on people rather than their egos. When leadership is exercised with humility in the spirit of service, a leader is not only setting an example but he creates an atmosphere of respect and honor among people.

21. Management is professional and leadership is personal.

Managers operate under duties, responsibilities and power structure within a corporation. Leadership operates under the virtue of ‘personhood’ for the ideals one stand for and the value they uphold. Great leaders focus on people development. They build and live great ideals. They share the passion. They enhance the growth of their people. Great leaders are self less. They give from their heart. They stand by their people in good times and bad times. They are committed. They have the peak vision. They aspire people to do more and achieve more.

Managers can make the leadership transitions when they change their focus to personal development and people development. Personal development is essential to discover and embrace one’s own strength and to develop the ability to spot and nurture strengths in other people as well.  Managers must rise above their egos to let go of the pride in the position that is given to them. They must become a coach than a critic. They must let go cynicism in people and must learn to value others highly.

We can make that transition in every organization and we can build leaders at all levels.  As a professional keynote speaker (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad) and thought leader, I help organizations to make that shift in India and abroad (Motivational Keynote speaker in Singapore,Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Manila, Hong Kong). Contact 09902815613 to deliver a customized leadership keynotes in your organization.

“A single conversation across a table from a wise mentor is worth a months study of books.”

Do you want to accelerate your growth, reduce the learning curve, improve your performance and get a push every time you cease to take action or when you tend to procrastinate; then find a person who can guide you and mentor you?

Welcome to the world of improved productivity and performance through expert mentoring. World class organizations and companies that aspires to be one has already realised the importance of mentoring and many are embracing this idea as a unique tool to excel in their chosen field. Now you too can adapt this as a strategy in your organization and take your business to greater heights.

Who is a mentor?

A mentor is a reliable and trusted friend, a wise counselor, or teacher whose knowledge and experience in a given field render him well suited for the role of a guide.

A mentor is someone who guides and stimulates an individual’s reflection and actions for improved personal and professional outcomes. A Mentor will provide his/her vast experience and knowledge and he/she is willing and available to share this information with another individual. Therefore a  mentee will seek another person’s experience, knowledge and skills in a specific area to make himself competent and result oriented. Mentoring is a trusted learning process. It can be transformational and inspiring to both the parties. But remember a mentor is not someone to lean on, but someone to learn from.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is a two way process of communication and relationship between a mentor and mentee. Mentoring may be on a regular basis or a one-time basis. It can be done face-to face or it can be done remotely e.g., via the internet (E-mentoring via skype) or by telephone.

Mentors are not merely advisors; they listen actively and prescribe various options. A great mentor shares experience and foresight to explore various options for the mentee. Discovering multiple options become a solution seeking method when a mentee feels road blocks. Questioning and listening are the mentor’s major modus operandi when it comes to offering their expertise. “Have you considered…?” and ” What do you think about this…” are typical ways of introducing mentoring methods.

How to mentor?

Mentoring is done on confidential grounds in an open and mutually trusting environment. Good mentoring develops the mentee’s skills. Mentoring is a stretching process for a mentee.  Stretching happens when a mentee is willing to expand one’s own horizon and ready to act own one’s own potential.  A good mentor helps the mentee to break away from their comfort zones. Growth is an expansion of comfort zone. Therefore a mentor will challenge the mentee to get uncomfortable and grow in the learning path and at the same time supports them to gain skills necessary to achieve their challenging goals.

Good mentoring leads to action: if mentoring is to be purposeful and effective for the mentee, it must surely not only define actions desirable but actually entail their execution. The mentee must not only know what to do and how to do it but be motivated (why) to do so.

Moreover a mentor can point out hidden opportunities to the mentee. They can show the pathways, support the plan and, when needed, provide a reality check. They can also enable connections that build networks, access information and stimulate sound decisions.

Introduce ‘Mentoring’ in your workplace:

Mentoring is about building relationships in the workplace.  It is also an effective way of transferring knowledge and skills. Companies employ mentoring as a solution for ‘personalised training’, ‘skill building’, improvement of ‘workplace productivity’, ‘building morale’, fostering of ‘team work’ and ‘leadership and management development’.

Mentoring programs offer companies an efficient and economical way to manage and develop human assets. Mentors can give high potential employees an extra push or inefficient employees some needed discipline. A mentor can transform an average employee into an exceptional leader. A mentor can even improve the production levels of low-performers. Bottom line mentors can guide decisions about workplace issues, personal goals and ongoing professional development.

Mentoring, when well designed, properly implemented and adequately resourced can:

1. Attract and retain talented employees;

2. Develop people – those who mentor as well as those mentored;

3. Facilitate career planning and progression;

4. Increase the return on your investment in learning and development and reduce turnover costs.

5. Mentoring allows the transmission of knowledge, skills and experience, in a supportive and safe environment.

It’s not only the mentees who benefits from mentoring but also mentors get a real sense of satisfaction from their contribution as well.

One of the greatest challenges for professionals is asking for specific help. Once you have a mentor at your workplace, you can use your mentor’s expertise to improve upon your skills. A Mentor is always approachable. The level of comfort with seniors in the organization makes the workplace free from politics. Very often, Mentors and mentees remain close friends, and mentoring continues informally, as needed.

If your organization is going through changes right now including a major downsizing due to the economic environment, now is the time to initiate a Mentoring Process.

There are different types of mentoring relationships in the work place, ranging from upwards (with your manager or boss), peer to peer, cross functional and most commonly downwards (experienced and a novice). Peer mentoring is increasingly common in organizations. This is a way to ensure that successful knowledge transfer and succession is ensured  with less-experienced workers.

Mentoring is a great way to boost morale in the work place.

People don’t leave jobs, they leave environments that don’t support and satisfy them. Abraham Maslow identified that once basic survival needs are met, people seek a sense of belonging. Effective mentoring caters to that need. By establishing a relationship, both parties feel connected, engaged professionally and personally valued. Work place mentoring is also a great way to boost each other’s self-esteem.

Introduce a mentoring program in your company today and see the transformation in the work culture, camaraderie and co-operation between teams and management.

Paul Robinson’s mentorship services:

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.” -John Crosby

Aspiring entrepreneurs, successful business people, those just starting out, and everyone who wants to be a successful and career confident person can benefit from having a mentor.

If you are looking at building a great career, develop skills and talents, overcome weaknesses, solve problems and attain certain goals, you can turn to the mentorship services provided by Paul Robinson. Mentoring is done face to face, through telephone, electronically using emails and ‘Skype’ and it is done for duration of ten months.

Mentoring is not for everyone. Before someone embarks on mentoring, they should be quite clear about being accountable for their own development. Consider the Chinese proverb: ‘When the student is ready, the teacher shall appear.’ So it just makes sense that the student must first know what he or she is looking for in a mentor.

If you are clear that your development need requires the personalised approach, then you must consider mentoring today.

Paul Robinson’s Mentoring Program is the answer to micro consulting (consulting at a smaller level). The mentorship program is designed to help each person to fully understand where they are now, where they want to go, and how to achieve it in the best way possible. It also provides a highly confidential way to share and explore problems, difficulties and strategies whether it is personal, professional or business related. Remember better results need wiser decisions.

If you are mentor worthy, you can request for a paid mentorship program from Paul Robinson. For details, call Bangalore 09902815613, 09620547115

Innovation is increasingly becoming the heart of enterprise today

Today, innovation is absorbed into every fabric of an enterprise. The CIOs are the ‘innovation officers’ and leadership has assumed a new role of applying innovation to drive profit and growth. Decisions are turned into ‘best innovative options’, and corporate strategies are discussed as ‘market leadership through innovation’.

Bottom-line, this decade of enterprise will be about ‘innovation’ and executing ‘change.’ Now, the most important factor here is to understand innovation and determine what kind of innovation can be adapted into your business. To understand this concept and to absorb its ideals, you must first learn to understand different types of innovation.

I have come to realize that there are four types of innovation and my classifications are:

1. Open space innovation (AKA Disruptive Innovation)

This is the ‘creative destruction model’ where you can make a contemporary business, product, service or system can go completely obsolete by introducing something that is ‘out of the box’ and out of the world. This is the highest form of innovation where candles are replaced by electric bulbs, or walkmans are replaced by digital music ipods etc.

2. Competitive innovation (AKA Incremental innovation)

This is when you ‘innovate’ on a product or service that is better than the competition. This is achieved by adding value, reducing cost and thus its price, offering something better than the rest of the pack. This can also be achieved by ‘convergence’ and ‘divergence’ practices by clearly defining a new market or niche for your products or services. When you add more RAM and GB to your PC and sell it at a lower price, you are innovating but the risk is how long this kind of value added innovation can really last? On the downside this kind of innovation can become a short term cosmetic affair, but if you can establish a niche for your product and services, you can also reign in this market.

3. Breakthrough Innovation

Breakthrough happens when you turn a problem into a solution or an adversity into an   advantage.

Examples of breakthrough innovations are when Radi Kaiof invented REWALK because he no longer wanted to be stuck to a wheel chair and wanted to walk with motorized leg supports. It is a breakthrough innovation, because he really wanted to breakthrough from his challenges and problems. Many great innovations are born out of desperation, breaking through personal challenges of a breakthrough innovator, but later they all become a great boon to the humanity.

4. Customer Centric Innovation.

This is the practice of connecting with your audience, especially your customers and developing solutions together. This can also means ‘co-creation’ because you are co-creating solutions for your customer with your customer. Customer Centric innovation is also about identifying a need in the marketplace and filling that need with an innovative solution.

Bottom-line you can adapt different types of innovation practices into your business and there are many ways to achieve this objective. The real key is – executing innovation as a practice and culture in your organization. During my intensive study and consulting I have developed some innovative tools to achieve innovation outcome to organizations of any size and challenge.

I will be talking about some of them during my keynote on ‘The art of creativity and innovation’ at the ICCA 2012 summit at Pondicherry, on 30th January 2012.

Click below to know more.

 
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The world of selling is going through major changes. Today customers havenumerous options to choose from a highly competitive market.  People close the doors to the pushy sales person. The aggressiveness and being ‘pushy’ is discouraged. ‘Go givers’ sell more than ‘go getters.’ Traditional selling methods are not producing the result you are expecting because in every sense no one wants to be sold to. Why do you think a sales process takes more than five to six visits to close a deal? Why so many visits to your prospect’s place? Why customers take ‘so much of time’ to make up their mind? What has been missing in the traditional sales is ‘educating’ your prospects about your value and ‘relationship’ with customers.

Sales people’s real job is no more to sell but to help customers make the right decisions to buy. The new key words in selling are ‘educating your customer’ to be a smart shopper and ‘relationship’.

‘Education based selling’ is the process of making your prospects better, more informed customers, so that they know why they are paying so much to your products and services. During this process you make your prospects smarter by giving them valuable information about the products and services you offer. This will in turn build trust and credibility. You make your offer superior to the competition by explaining key and critical information that makes your offering superior.

Now put yourself in the customer’s shoes. What would you rather have, a business owner ‘SELLING’ you something, or a one that EDUCATES you about their product or service?

As a sales person you are educating your prospect to make better buying decisions. Here, you give prospects what they want… information and advice. You remove what they don’t want which is a sales pitch. You establish yourself as a business expert because prospects view you as a provider of information.  You take up the role of a consultant and give support to your prospect’s decision-making process.

Famous ‘Dell computers’ is one company who has understood the value of education based marketing. This innovative sales firm engages in upselling through education during all customer service interactions. The process is to turn a stranger into a friend and turn that friend into a customer.

If you want to breathe ‘the education based selling’ in your company, help your sales people to walk into the customer’s shoes. If you want to know your customer, you must know their concerns above all else. You need to observe their business and listen to them. Ultimately your prospect will buy for their reasons and not yours.  As a sales professional your job is to educate your customers through demonstrations by giving them a feel of your product or services. You must focus on providing solutions at the highest level. Make the process of doing business with you hassle free. And above all help the customer make a decision explaining them about the upside and down side of different products and services offered in the market place.

‘Education based relationship selling’ is the future of sales. In traditional selling methods you solicit your prospect with a biased sales pitch. The pitch is really not based on customer needs but rather your needs. There is no customer feedback requested and interaction is basically avoided by merely presenting your product or service and persuading rather than offering a solution that the customer wants and needs. Traditional methods are more of a numbers game. Love ‘em and leave ‘em or ‘convince them or confuse’ them rather than focusing on the long-term benefits of relationship building.

Long term relationship building is the key here. The new finding in a market research explains that it is five times more expensive to secure a new client than to maintain an existing one.  Relationship is the sustainable factor in continued business and loyalty with customers. People don’t buy from companies; they buy from people, and especially from people they trust the most. Therefore gaining the trust of your customer is essential in the relationship selling. You build the trust of your prospect and customer by acting on their interest rather than your own.  As a sales person your job is educate the customer to be a better buyer. You achieve this by providing valuable information to your prospects. And as a process while you continue educating your prospect, you gain a friend and a customer.

Business can be called as a transactional process built on the bed rock of relationships. Relationships are extremely important to success in all businesses today. Without having a strong, core relationship with all your customers or potential customers, it’s likely that your business will fail miserably. Following a good guideline when developing those relationships and carrying it through the entire sales process will assist you to improve revenue, retain customers and more often than not assure recurring business.

Here is the ultimate formula for sales. If you want to be successful in the world of sales, stop selling! You don’t need to convince the prospect to do business with you; they must convince themselves that you are the person they prefer to buy from. Prospects and customers don’t just buy the products and services they need, they buy a relationship with someone that they know is looking after their best interest.

‘Education based relationship selling’ is all about building friendship or relationship with your prospects and listening to their needs and concerns. Once you’ve built that relationship, shown you care, and earned their trust, you are on the road to making them a customer. Knowing the needs and finding the secret fears of your prospect will help you design the best solutions for them. With a relationship in place, working out details becomes a friendly process. Those details can become obstacles if you don’t have the existing relationship. Why not build customers for life! Go out and make some friends and then make some sales.

The truth is that, even if there is a ‘fool proof’ system, corporate excellence comes with vulnerability. There is no escaping, even if you are the mightiest of all. The bigger you get, the tentacles of collapse can engulf you-more like you are targeted at the perils of ‘slow ruin’.  Being the king of the industry now can’t boast of an unchallenged future. Many of the multinationals, more than half of them which Forbes magazine called as ‘great companies’ since 1995 have suffered precipitous decline in the last 15 years.  Seventy percent of the Fortune 500 companies listed in the year 1955 are now extinct. Of the companies on the 1979 Fortune 500 list, 40 percent no longer exist. Of those on the 2000 list, 30 percent are already disappeared.

What makes companies go extinct? What makes the mightiest fall? One answer is pretty clear- organizations that are not prepared to handle crises presented by the worst times of economic climate are prone to suffer badly. Companies that are built for only good times have to stop dancing when the music stops. But the real winners are the ones who make their music, even at the worst of times.

The economic climate is changing; the change has become the order of the day. Recessions and economic paranoia spreads like wild fire. The good news is that change creates opportunity. The bad news is that many don’t see things that way.

Our instincts are primal. They are rooted by fear and courage. Many people see danger while some see opportunity in crisis. Those who see opportunity pauses between the stimuli (what is causing the problem) and response (how we must react to the problem) and arrive at solutions.

When we are challenged with business problems or overwhelmed by an economic change, often triggered by the human nature, we tend to take three critical positions.

My in-depth study of companies and individuals has helped me name three primal human instincts. When we are encountered by a threatening proposition or a changing situation at large, we tend to embrace one of these three primal instincts. They are namely:

1.The resistance instinct.

This is the most dangerous proposition. This is the instinct to disapprove the very existence of danger or a situation even when they are vividly present.  Some people live in a state of denial. Common behaviours are ignoring the situation, just like how an ostrich buries its head when encountered by danger.

As a matter of fact, the people who get into trouble during a downturn are invariably the ones who go into it unprepared. Many people were affected by recession because they thought that recession will not affect them. They were unprepared and by the time it hit them, the unprepared ones were the most who suffered from the economic disaster and paranoia.

The state of denial is not a solution to any problem. Problems do not disappear by ignoring them. What you resist will persist and since you do nothing about solving the problem, the problems will remain eventually unresolved. Here; an organization or an individual who ‘resist’  changes will be wiped out by the tides of change.

2. Survival instinct.

When there is an economic paranoia or recession, usually the economy becomes smaller. Business activities shrinks and markets go down. People get into conservation mode than spending mode. People want to hold on to every penny they have. People will begin to believe in scarcity. The fear grows rapidly and the only thought you have is to survive.

In order to survive; individuals and organization begin to cut costs and downsize jobs. When they do that for survival, they will also drain most of their talent and resources, similar to the panic actions of a captain when the ship is sinking. Very often good projects are pushed to the back burner waiting for the right time. Someone once observed that there are no bad predictions; there’s only bad timing. Everything that booms at one time must bust another time like the bubbles. Today a larger concern is growing for the sustainable growth versus making bubbles based on economic deregulation and exaggerated speculations.

When an unmanageable change hits you hard, it is natural to reveal your survival instincts but what is very often forgotten is that survival instincts must be used as a short term strategy till you stabilize the unmanageable situation. Companies who use survival instincts for longer term tend to settle for mediocrity and they perish on a longer term. Those who tend to be overcautious after the crisis situation, remain in a bigger unresolved crisis. Mere survival instinct of hibernation can buy you time but this is no sure guarantee for success. The survivors take long time to recover from change. They act cautious and suspicious to the market changes and seldom notice the window of opportunity.

3. The evolutionary breakthrough instinct.

This is the winning formula. You not only breakthrough the challenges but also adapt to an evolutionary change. This is the winner’s instinct; which is the ability to breakthrough a problem to bring about favourable changes out of the most unfavourable circumstances. Here ‘crisis’ is understood literally as what Chinese letters that mean-danger and opportunity. When a disastrous situation is at hand, winner’s instinct will ask problem solving questions like ‘how can I turn around this obstacle into an opportunity or this adversity into an advantage’. Winners look for the flip side of an adversity or a crisis. They become solution providers and hence enterprising people who profit from their problems as well as others.

The evolutionary breakthrough instinct is responsible for keeping the mightiest from falling. Your ability to breakthrough challenges and problems give you the power to navigate and direct your destiny from any breakdowns. Remember every breakthrough in history is preceded by breakdowns. Breakdowns are actually empowering. As Robert Collier once wrote- ‘In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage.’

As part of the evolutionary process, new steps will be taken. During economic crises, the vital indication would be that, what you do is no longer giving you the result that you are after. It is time to change and switch patterns. May be it is an invitation to take on new projects. Whatever it may be- it is the call for action. Here you do not survive- you thrive- you adapt, revise and revive your strategies. The truth of the matter is that change is nothing but a revision for constant improvement. You will embrace change with your breakthrough evolutionary instincts.

Let’s assume that you are enraptured in a global economic crisis. How do you really thrive in an economy that is headed for a massive decline? Or better yet, how do you really profit from a recession?

Here is the strategy:  In a recession economy, what makes you more competent is the price factor. The reason is that primarily the attitudes of customers change during the recession. When the economy is growing the major concerns of customers is on quality, service, reliability, and fair prices. In good times, the customers are very loyal to the suppliers who provide all these. But when the economy goes down, customers get very calculative and cautious in their spending.  They aren’t satisfied with a fair price anymore; they want your lowest possible price. There is no loyalty factor. Customers shift their loyalty to a supplier who can cater to their need at the lowest price possible. Now, here is the advantage. Become a low cost provider of products and services. Start competing on price.

Competing on price is possible if you know how to reduce your prices and yet maintain your profitability. Cost cutting becomes a mandatorily process. But you should be cutting them when you see the first warning signs of a possible collapse.  You can’t wait for a customer to tell you that your prices are too high. Watch out for the warning signs. You must make your move as soon as you see clear indications of an economic crisis. Don’t wait for the statistics to show up, instead pay attention to everything that is going on around you. You will see clear indications in your market; means if it is not growing, it is declining. You’ll see the signs, not only in your business but among your friends and other acquaintances. When customers spend less, often they do because they expect bad times ahead.  Anticipating slower sales, companies stop hiring. Projects are put on hold. People don’t pay their bills on time. Everyone acts conscious and cautious with their cash.

Having an awareness of what is going on in the market, gives you an advantage to prepare for the worst times. The right time to prepare for the worst times is in the good times. In good times you can think clearly and logically. Having mentally disassociated from a problem gives you an edge to think clearly and strategize better. The secret of lasting organizations is that they are prepared for the worst times. They do not panic when crisis show up, instead they deploy strategies to use the challenging times to their utmost advantage. When others sink in problems, they breakthrough and evolve. When others complain, they compete.

Apply your instincts wisely. Bottom line is that unprepared people get hurt in an economic downturn. But if you have a plan, you can come out stronger than ever. Have a breakthrough plan. Anticipate and arm yourself with counter measures. If you still keep a spare tyre in the trunk of your car, spare yourself some time to manage tomorrow’s crisis today.