Friday 10 May 2013

Are you (really) listening to me?

It’s a busy old world, and we are bombarded with so much information coming from many channels of communication. Much of this is one-way and we are just passive recipients. We are ‘talked at’ and it’s hit and miss whether we actually listen to and act on what we see and hear.

And that’s a very big problem, especially when you are actually speaking with someone.

I’m sure you’ve all met someone who can’t wait to talk about themselves and what they do. When you talk, they seem to tune out and if you say you’ve done something, they’ve done something similar or usually better. This maybe because they want to appear superior, or it could be because they haven’t learned how to listen.

With these people, it’s difficult to get a word in and after a while you tune out and just let them get on with it. You take little if any notice of what they are saying, and you take your leave as soon as you can. These are very irritating and boring people!

In selling there is no greater asset than listening 
Listening is the way you learn what challenges the buyer faces, and it’s how you uncover their needs and motivations to buy. But many salespeople still believe that telling their story to as many people as possible is what it takes to succeed. Where you directly interact with people in a sales situation, listening should be your number one priority.

Asking questions is the precursor to listening 
The best way to start a conversation is by asking a question. This will deliver a response that you listen to and act on. You can then either ask a qualifying question, or tell the part of your story that’s relevant to that point. 

Notice I said “relevant to that point” because that’s key. This isn’t an invitation to start a monologue, this is an opportunity to find a point of mutual interest and develop the conversation further. And the best way to do this is … you guessed it … to ask another question! Then you listen to and respond to the answer.

You maybe reading this and thinking “this is so obvious” and that’s the whole point - it is! And that’s why I’m always surprised, and a little irritated when I meet someone who obviously either doesn’t want to, or hasn’t learned how to listen.

Listening is an essential skill in any walk of life from personal relationships to the way we work with colleagues and business contacts. 

Listening is a skill that can be learned, but you must work at it. Think about how you operate. Are you really a good listener? Be honest and ask others how they rate you as a listener. 

You maybe surprised at the answer - that’s of course assuming you’ll listen to it!

Thursday 25 April 2013

“There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch”

Is “Free” a viable business model? 

I was recently asked this by someone who runs a software business and they are introducing a new product into a well established market. They have big ambitions to “shake it up a bit” and they are thinking about all there different ways they can attract attention.

There's no such thing as a free lunchOne of the biggest challenges any business has, is deciding how to set the price of their product. This is a balancing act because if the price is too high they may not achieve the volumes hoped for. If it’s too low they could be perceived as an inferior brand or they could be making less revenue than their product is actually worth. 

Some people think “Free” was developed with the spread of the internet. Of course it’s a big factor, but it’s been used in various ways for a long time before that. Free is very widely applied to software (all social media is basically free) and knowledge-based products such as ebooks, because the only costs of production are usually time and effort. 

There are a number of scenarios where “Free” has been used successfully:-
  • Allow potential buyers to use your product for a limited period to try before they buy;
  • Provide a less functionally complete or feature rich (lite) version. If they want to do more, they pay. This is very commonly used and if the balance is right, the subscribers effectively subsidise the free users.
  • Support the free version through advertising 
  • Get sponsorship from people or organisations who want to communicate with your audience to create awareness for their cause, belief or brand; 
  • Loan a new product to a carefully chosen group of people who will write flattering reviews, which in turn will attract paying buyers;
  • Give the product to a person who has influence and is able to attract other buyers by endorsing your product;
  • Buy one, get one free, which is a way of achieving increased volume;
  • If your product has components, you can ‘give’ something away when a system is purchased. Look at how the price of printers are now so low. Often, a full set of ink cartridges cost more than the printer. How long will it be before you get a ‘free’ printer when you buy a complete pack of ink?
So, can you actually build a successful business using this as a pricing model? 

The obvious answer is no, because it’s a fundamental driver for any business to generate income. But “Free” can and does work very well for consumers. This blogging platform is free, but I need the technology to access it. I know, I could go into a public library and pay absolutely nothing, but I’m sure you get my point.

As a business, “Free” only really works when you use it as a way to drive income from other sources. And that’s the key thing to keep in mind, whatever business model you work with.

Friday 12 April 2013

Driving Growth from Two Fronts


Maximising the potential of people and optimising cost and process efficiencies drives growth and profitability

Ithaka Leadership Development and EPI International announce a strategic partnership to work together to on selected client projects.

EPI works with organisations to identify and eliminate waste, improve efficiency and reduce costs. Their software and consultancy service is called iCEO or Intelligent Cost and Efficiency Optimisation. iCEO combines EPI’s proven expertise and consulting methodology in an innovative software platform called CEOportal. This was developed in collaboration with Warwick University and it has achieved impressive results. For example Computer 2000 saved more than £1.3 million, dabs.com £500,000 and TNT Logistics more than £180,000.
The EPI team consists of vastly experienced business improvement consultants with many years global experience working at IBM, AT&T and Profit Focus Group. They also have a strong track record in Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Retail and the Public Sector.

Managing Director Peter Sturrock said “We like the EPI approach because it’s based on decades of proven experience and we feel it will add significant value to our clients.  Because it’s a holistic process, iCEO considers business process efficiencies and cost reduction strategies as part of an overall programme of continuous business improvement. This has many parallels with the Ithaka model and we share similar values on how to drive and sustain improvements in an organisation.”


 Ithaka has a unique approach to developing excellence in organisational leadership, management, sales and marketing. Their Leadership Development Model is based on decades of experience, and it defines the best practice processes and strategies that deliver  exceptional results. Ithaka provides coaching and training to clients across all sectors.  Their key programmes are ‘Leading a Business Through Growth” and “Drive Sales Growth”. This is complemented by “The Leaders Forum” a group for Managing and Senior Directors to share experiences, ideas and resolve issues in a confidential environment. 

EPI Managing Director Nick Close said “Ithaka has a very impressive track record. Their work on leading a business through growth and their holistic approach to sales and marketing development is unique. The fact that they are also approved coaches under the GrowthAccelerator* scheme makes their services even more attractive to some of our clients and we look forward to developing this partnership.”

More information:

(* GrowthAccelerator is a scheme that offers matched funding for management training and coaching to organisations in England who employ fewer than 250 people and have a turnover less than £40m)

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Is Leadership and Management the same thing?


These terms are often used interchangeably but they really are distinct and very different.
  • Leadership is about creating a vision and strategy which inspires and attracts Followers. 
  • Management is the process of taking action to achieve results.


Every organisation needs Followers who can be clients, citizens, students, patients or anyone else defined as your audience. And you attract Followers by being a “Thought Leader” - someone with a unique viewpoint which makes you stand out from the crowd. 


But attracting Followers is the first step; you really want to create Advocates who continue to follow you and spread the word, because this attracts even more Followers.

Leadership must be woven into the fabric of an organisation, because it covers everything from how you create the environment to attract the brightest talent, to the way you develop products and services and how you describe and communicate these to your audience.

Some Leaders also have the capacity to be great Managers, but are the best Leaders really good at the detailed stuff? Some are, but the best of the best know what they are good at and they leave the detail to others. They delegate and make it their primary goal to attract Followers - or at least they should!

Maybe we need a new metric of performance, a new KPI called the Fi or Follower Index? It may sound slightly odd but that's the basis on which many businesses were built. In the dot-com era that I was intimately involved in, it was all about attracting 'eyeballs'. Maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea after all!

Tuesday 5 February 2013

The key to success in sales is ... Asking Great Questions!


There is an urban myth that great salespeople are good talkers but in reality, the opposite is true. Great salespeople are in fact wonderful listeners.

Sales Conversations
They ask excellent, incisive questions that uncover the information that helps them to solve problems and win business. The key skill needed here is called Fact Finding and Qualification (FFQ).

Understanding where you are in any sales cycle is critical to your success. It’s an ongoing process to ensure you are spending your sales-time wisely; with someone who is interested in what you sell, and has the ability to make a decision to buy. This is why FFQ is so important. 

At the heart of FFQ is the ability to ask the right questions and the best way to do this is in a conversation. And remember, a conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. This is where many salespeople fail, because they try to talk a prospective client into buying. 

Grilling someone to demand information on budget, timescale and decision making process on an initial call is a very bad idea. One of the keys to success is to establish rapport and build trust. And you only really do that by sharing information and delivering on your promises.

The questions you ask will depend on what you are selling, but as a minimum you must understand the following;

  • The problem they are trying to solve (this is what drives a decision to buy) 
  • What is driving the urgency (this is the motivation to take action)
  • How they make a decision (the process, people and criteria they use to decide)
  • When they will make a decision (this is related to urgency)
  • What you need to do to win (unless you now this you have no plan ... and that's very bad!)

When you think about it, FFQ is something you should do all the time. It makes sense really because the more you know about the people you do business with, the better you can serve them. And that's ultimately what drives strong and sustainable sales growth in any business.


Friday 1 February 2013

14th Century lesson for today's complex world


Occam's Razor is a principle for understanding the world that was developed over 600 years ago by an English logician and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham.

He wrote "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem" 

... and if your Latin is as patchy as mine, this translates as "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." 



The term razor describes the act of shaving away unnecessary assumptions to get to the simplest explanation. Occam's Razor is often used to illustrate simplicity in many areas such as Science and Philosophy, but it also applies to business for example;

"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct."

We are bombarded with information from so many different sources today that it's hard to focus. The ability to develop messages that are clear, concise and compelling is more important today than ever before. William of Ockham was clearly onto something! 

Thursday 31 January 2013

Thinking differently about how to succeed in business

A business that’s in balance has a clarity and simplicity of focus. 

It develops great products and services and There's a laser-sharp focus on building relationships and winning business. There’s almost an obsession to provide excellent customer service. 

And because everyone shares a determination to continually improve, achieving success is that little bit 
easier.

To do this requires a different way of thinking, and that’s where the Holistic Sale comes in. 

This is a model of best practice business development processes, strategies and actions based on decades of research and experience.

It’s an integral part of the Ithaka Leadership Development Model, and we use it to identify the underlying causes of underachievement in performance.  Then we provide with the right mix of training, coaching and mentoring to help you achieve your true potential.

Learn more about the Holistic Sale Model 

Wednesday 30 January 2013

The easy way to create great presentations


The ability to communicate a message or idea to an audience is a core skill. Whether you are a salesperson, manager, teacher or student, if you know how to present well you will feel more confident, get better results and actually enjoy doing it!

Unfortunately many people get this so wrong and this is mainly due to lack of confidence, preparation and know how. It's simple to make a rapid and dramatic improvement by remembering a few golden rules;

Simple rules for developing great presentations
1. Understand why your are presenting. Is it to educate, inform, entertain or persuade? 

2. Know who your audience is and what you (and they) want to achieve. 

3. What's your Big Idea? What's the key thing you want them to remember?

4. Develop your story ... before you open Powerpoint or Keynote!


This simple guide will give you the rules you should obey every time you put a presentation together.



Tuesday 29 January 2013

Create strategy with focus


Developing a marketing strategy for your business can sound like a time consuming and a complicated process and it can be unless you decide to take a minimalist approach. 

Minimalist approach to strategy
This means keeping it as simple as possible by focussing on the absolute basics. In this case I'm talking about generating revenue through sales.

The basic requirement for any business is a viable market with long term growth potential. Stagnant, saturated or declining markets are not a good idea, unless you plan to revitalise them. So the starting point for any business is to assess the market potential, which is code for “How much money can this idea make?”

And the simple equation to use is this;

Average Sales Value x Number of Sales - Costs

This will give you a very high level view of the net revenue potential, which is the right starting point.

Identifying opportunity is one thing but achieving it is another. This is where strategy meets execution and to succeed you need the following;

  • Messages that attract attention, arouse interest and motivate action;
  • A plan to communicate your messages and engage with potential clients to create a vibrant supply of sales enquiries;
  • The right sales skills to win business and develop relationships;
  • A focus on customer satisfaction to win repeat business and referrals
Obviously there is detail behind each point, but if you start from this position you will have a clear view of the important things you must do to succeed.

As American military commander George S. Patton once said, "A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week". And that's exactly the same in business.

Monday 21 January 2013

Are Great Leaders Born ... or Made?


A CEO recently asked me if I thought that great leaders were born or could be developed through training and experience.This is a pretty loaded question to someone involved in Leadership Development and Training!  

This is interesting though, because I’ve worked for some incredibly inspirational  leaders and others who were completely out of their depth. Obviously personality plays a part, so what parallels can we draw from the  nature versus nurture debate, which is one of the oldest issues in psychology.

The debate has raged for centuries on the relative importance of genetic inheritance and environmental factors on human development. 
Are great leaders born?
Great thinkers like Plato and Descartes suggested that certain things are inborn, or they occur naturally regardless of environmental influences. Others like John Locke believed in what is known as “Tabula rasa” which is a Latin term that roughly into ‘blank slate’ and it believes that personality and social development comes from experience and perception. 
Both schools of thought were partly right because today we believe that both have an influence. There are many examples of people who come from poor, disadvantaged backgrounds and still achieve great things.

What we do know is that great leaders create the right lens through which to view the world. They see things differently and this allows them to motivate others to see the same thing. They help the team see the ultimate goal and then challenge their brightest people to build strategies to get there.

There are many examples from famous explorers who ventured where no-one else had been to inventors and businesspeople who changed the world and created entire industries. But they didn’t do it alone. They had collaborators, supporters and stakeholders who also believed in their vision of what was possible.

So my answer to the CEO was that whilst I do believe that good leaders are born, truly great leaders study and emulate the best. She shared my view but that's just our opinion, what do you think?

Sunday 20 January 2013

What is leadership really about?


Leadership is one of the most used words in the business world today because most people are aware of how vital great leadership is to the success of any organisation. But what is the essence of great leadership ?

That's a question I posed to Mike Shinton, Director at Ithaka Leadership Development. Mike worked for many years in a global pharmaceutical company, so he saw at first hand the profound difference that leadership has on an organisation. 

Mike said, "I believe leadership is essentially simple. It’s all about people, and getting the best out of everyone within an organisation.

They model the attitudes and behaviours that they want everyone within their organisation to adopt, thereby creating a culture where employees can thrive and grow and be the best that they can be. They do not seek power, but they take responsibility. They use their positional power to empower others. 

Inspire through leadership

" Great leadership is not about lighting a fire under people, it’s about lighting a fire within them."




They also create a compelling vision for the future, a vision that inspires and excites others to join them on the journey. They communicate this vision loud and often, and invite contributions from all, in the knowledge that real success comes from everyone pulling in the same direction, and feeling that they are a vital part of the team.

They also challenge the status quo. They constantly strive to look for better ways to do things, to implement positive change within their organisations, to improve process, efficiency, and the bottom line. But they don’t challenge in isolation. They are also very happy to be challenged, and will always listen to the thoughts and ideas from others, whatever their position.

One of the most forgotten attributes of great leaders is also in my opinion one of the most important – support. Great leaders will support their staff to do their work more effectively. They will enable them rather than get in the way, and then stand back and give their trust that the job will be done well.

Finally, for this article anyway, great leaders will always recognise the good things that their teams do. They will recognise in a way that is appropriate for the individual or team, and encourage them to do more of what they are doing. Most people go to work to do a good job, and to make a positive contribution. Just a simple pat on the back and “well done” can be so important.

Leadership is the engine that drives any organisation. Great leadership provides the power and acceleration to put an organisation firmly and securely on the winner’s rostrum. And that's what it really should be all about."


(Mike Shinton is a Director at Ithaka Leadership Development) 

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Is Social Media killing the art of the sale?


You’ve read the book, seen the video and maybe even have the T-shirt so you know how the story goes … “This is Sales 2.0. and we will build momentum by using Social Media, Sales Automation and CRM to reduce the cost of sale and improve sales productivity.” This sounds great in theory and some businesses think the technology can and should take over. I don’t.
This approach may work well when selling to consumers, but selling in the business (or B2B) space is different, because trust and credibility are even more important. The strength of a story and the way you tell it, plus an ability to build a relationship can best be achieved by direct human contact. This can, of course use technology called a telephone or a video conference call. Face to face is not always possible, but it is still the best way to connect with others.
We all know that automation is excellent at making mundane tasks more efficient, but some businesses have taken this to extremes. They have lost that human touch. And it’s getting more complicated as Sales Automation and CRM systems connect with Social Media platforms to build automatic sales engagement models. Maybe the aspiration is to do business without having to make a sales call, give a presentation or even shake someone’s hand!
Many businesses use systems to ‘process’ potential buyers. They send auto responder emails at certain stages based on the actions people take. They only actually make contact with those who jump over enough hurdles at the right time to warrant a call from a human being.
The real danger in all this is that while you wait for the buyer to reach a certain stage of ‘sales readiness’ the opportunity may have passed. Either they are fed up with receiving obviously system generated emails, or a competitor beats you to the punch and has already engaged them in conversation.
Evidence shows that this automated approach is becoming less effective. According to recent findings, trust in online content including blogs and tweets is plummeting fast. Marketing-speak is widely used and most platforms have now become bloated advertising channels. It’s easier than ever to build a following of thousands on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, but what does this prove? Is this an endorsement of the quality of your brand, or evidence that you know how to use Social Media to maximise your exposure?
I’m not a Luddite though because I’ve spent all my working life in the technology space, so I know how it helps people become more efficient. The problem arises when it’s used as a replacement for human interaction and this is happening more and more.
During my career, I’ve used various sales processes that were far too complicated and convoluted. The emphasis was on ‘strategic selling’ by building power maps, identifying buying personas and preference grids and looking for blind spots and red flags. Many processes have now been automated and systems tell salespeople when they should actually call someone. It sounds crazy and it would be funny if it wasn’t true.
I’m not saying you don’t need a sales strategy because you do, but it should be as simple as possible. While some businesses spend far too much time strategising and waiting for the system to tell them the time is right, others are seizing the initiative and actually talking with people. 
Let’s be very clear here, the ability to build trust, inspire confidence and develop deep and meaningful relationships can never be achieved by a sales process or a piece of software. People will always make the difference.
Social Media and automation definitely does have a place in business because it enables us to connect with many people at the same time. It’s excellent at building a profile and sharing ideas, but don’t rely on it as your primary means of sales communication. Don’t allow it to dictate how and when you engage with people. Use it to share your big ideas and attract attention and when someone shows interest, call them and start a conversation. That’s where you make a connection and that’s where the selling starts.

Saturday 12 January 2013

A new way to think about how to create sales success


"Reinventing the Sale" is a book by Ithaka Leadership Development Director John Rees, which is based on one simple fact - the nature of business has changed but many businesses haven’t adapted. 

In today’s globally connected economy, buyers have access to more information about you than ever before. They have the power to make or break your business unless you provide exactly what they want, when they want it.

But many companies don’t realise this and they still rely on the old ways of sales and marketing. Either they don’t know how to adapt, or they refuse to believe there has been such a fundamental shift.

To succeed you must be fast to serve or face extinction, and the way you do this is by reinventing the way you sell. Essentially this means simplifying the way you do things to make it easy for people to do business with you. 

It sounds simple, but in reality it’s hard to achieve and that’s where this book will help. It’s based on the Holistic Sale model which looks at a business as a whole, to identify the real reasons why sales performance falls below expectations. It then addresses these issues with best practice processes.


Friday 11 January 2013

Making Management Intelligent


It’s a new year and we are full of good intent, making resolutions we really believe we will keep. But many of us quickly fall back into the comfort zone of doing the same things we’ve always done. 



This has been well documented by thinkers and authors such as Malcolm Gladwell in his book ‘Tipping Point’. We often expect different results but we keep doing the same things, which Einstein defined as insanity. 

The reality is that to effect real and lasting change in anything is difficult unless you change your behaviour. And nowhere is this more true than in management.





I recently completed an Insights Discovery personality profile which was fascinating. As well as confirming what I already thought I knew, it also gave me real insights into areas I hadn’t previously been aware of. In particular there are sections on how to communicate with me, work with me and manage me. 

I’ve done similar profiles many times before but this time I thought about it more deeply. I thought about the experiences I’ve had in the way I’ve managed people and also the way people have managed me. Or maybe “mis-managed” is a better description. 

If we manage everyone in the same way, we are not being particularly bright. We have a way of working and we treat everyone exactly the same - irrespective of their personality and the way they think and respond to certain behaviour.

I’m sure you’ve experienced the micro-management approach of someone who literally sits on your back and asks you many times a day (or hour) for an update on a task. The drive people to deliver results but they are generally feared and mostly disliked. 

Another style maybe the ‘hands off’ manager who just lets you get on with it. This can work well for total self-starters, but some people need support and close co-operation to be effective. 

And that’s the whole point isn’t it - making sure that the right approach is used to get the best from people. The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was reputed to have said “There is nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.”  That ancient wisdom is still relevant today and perhaps instead of making resolutions you won’t keep, take a closer look at your own behaviour. 

It may just be the smartest thing you do in 2013.