One of the best ways of holding everyone on your team accountable is to play favorites. Don’t focus your time and energy on the bottom performers–play favorites and spend your time at the top. Doing this inspires team members to compete for your attention by developing their strengths and diminishing their weaknesses. Because you are…
Part of creating a winning culture is making tough decisions about team members who continuously perform below your expectations. You do yourself no favors by keeping people in positions for which they are ill suited based on their attributes and skill sets. And you do little for them. Part of being human is enjoying the…
Creating a winning culture sets the groundwork for success, but what exactly is a winning culture? Culture includes the beliefs, ideas, values, rules, and codes of conduct in an organization or a society. It shapes how people within the culture think, feel, and act. A culture that celebrates virtue, for example, will inspire the people…
With the Supreme Court scheduled to rule today on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, and the court-watchers of the nation biting their nails in anticipation of the ruling, now seems a suitable time to remember that there are variables that can affect your business over which you have no control. Things in the…
Social events for your work can be great opportunities to relax, enjoy yourself, and build camaraderie with your colleagues, but they can also get you in trouble if you’re not careful. Here are some simple company or business event rules: 1. Use the two drink max rule, or if you have low tolerance, then soda…
When business professionals create a game plan, they are forced to look at their desired results and stop to really focus on what activities are required to achieve their set goals. Just the focus and thought it takes to create a real game plan is beneficial and helpful. It creates an environment to review what…
“We can always accept a mistake, but never a lack of commitment.” – Mr. John Q. Hammons I love this quote. It captures the spirit of true leadership. A mistake may lead to a sale not being made, but sales leaders can live with this. Mistakes, painful as they can be, can become teachable moments,…
There is not a magic wand you can wave to close more sales, and coming up with witty catch phrases will not do much more than get a good laugh. The real magic is in the preparation and the skill of selling. You can close more sales when you focus on the benefit the prospective…
When your sales are not what you’d like them to be, it’s easy to blame the economy, the competition, some political party, or other external factors over which you have no control. Don’t. Point the finger at yourself. Bad business is your fault. If your sales are down, there are actions you can take to…
When I first met Nathan Jamail a little over three years ago, he impressed me with his practice-oriented approach to sales and leadership. His ideas made a lot of sense to me, and it came as no surprise that these ideas have brought success to those he coaches and to whom he’s given consultations and…