The Eight-Point Success Matrix™

By Barry Deutsch

To eliminate interviewers’ ingrained tendency to focus on superficial criteria and miss substantive evidence, we developed a structured tool to help each interviewer evaluate each candidate—objectively, fairly, and comprehensively.

The Eight-Point Success Matrix is the tool or scorecard we have our clients use to rate “fit” based on the examples, illustrations, specifics, results, accomplishments, and patterns of behavior that emerge in candidate interviews.intw blockstyle

It is quick to use, easy to understand, and focused on the job itself. Perhaps most importantly, it calibrates interviewer ratings, keeping everyone on the same page. Built around the five key predictors of success in our SUCCESS FACTOR METHODOLOGY™, the Eight-Point Success Matrix forces interviewers to ask the right questions and probe until they have enough information to complete the form. To use this scorecard in the interviewing process, we are assuming the interviewer is well-versed in our 8-step SUCCESS FACTOR METHODOLOGY, particularly the steps involving defining success for a particular role, the process of how to interview for success by using the 5 core questions, and the approach of uncovering the truth behind candidate responses by applying the magnifying Glass Technique. These 8-steps are explained in more depth on our website or in our book titled, You’re Not the Person I Hired. You can also download the Eight-Point Success Matrix from our site.

Accountability to the interviewing group is vital. When interviewers know they will have to justify the ratings assigned to each candidate to the entire group of interviewers—especially if they’ve designated Candidate A’s Team Leadership ability “1” while everybody else assigned her a “2”—the whole process is taken more seriously.

Because each member of the interviewing team fills out an Eight-Point Success Matrix form after each interview, by end of a long interview cycle a candidate’s file may contain twenty or more. The full file allows the person with final hiring power to evaluate full-spectrum of evaluation on all Success Factors. Skimming the right column helps the hiring executive to rapidly compare the same candidate interview-to-interview, and also to evaluate candidates’ qualifications against each other, on equal footing.

How to Use the Form

The most important consideration in using the matrix is this: Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Put Off Completing the Form After Each Interview. Human memory fades rapidly four to six hours after an event. Once details are gone from short-term memory, they are lost forever.

biz timeYou absolutely must ensure that your hiring process does not fall victim to procrastination and memory loss (“Er, gee, I think this was the guy with the orange tie who used to work at Enron, yeah? Or was that Exxon? Shoot, I don’t remember…”) The hiring team leader must make sure each interviewer sits down immediately after the interview (or by that same day’s end, at the latest) to complete the sections for which they have gathered enough information.

It is almost certain that no interviewer will be able to fill out an entire matrix after just one interview. That’s fine—they should leave blank any sections that require more information, and make notes regarding what questions to ask in the next interview in the “Comments” area.

We highly recommend that somebody on the interviewing team—preferably the hiring manager him- or herself—be charged with distributing and collecting the Eight-Point Success Matrix forms before and after each round of interviews. When people know they’ll be held accountable at the end of the day, they won’t put off what needs to be done. While there are few rules about using the Matrix, there are several tips to keep in mind:

  1. The form should be explained and discussed fully among the team before interviews begin.
  2. Each interviewer should understand the difference between a score of 0, 1, 2, and 3.
  3. Each interviewer should understand what each of the Factors is intended to measure.
  4. A candidate who rates Zeros in any category is probably not the best choice for the job.
  5. The “sweet spot” on the Eight-Point Success Matrix form is a ranking of “2.” Not too hot or too cold—just right.
  6. Depending on the job, it is possible that a candidate with one or two ratings of “1” might still be up to the job.
  7. A candidate whose Matrix scores are consistently “3” across the board is likely overqualified. At a minimum you might encounter a fair level of difficulty retaining this individual. He or she would probably become bored with the job and is therefore NOT always a good choice.
  8. Your hiring team should discuss their rankings of the final candidates in great detail to make sure no questions or concerns are left un-addressed.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014

Barry Deutsch, MA is a well-known thought leader in hiring and peak performance management. He is a frequent and sought-after speaker for management meetings, trade associations, and CEO forums, such as Vistage International, formerly known as TEC, a worldwide CEO membership organization of more than 15,000 CEOs and senior executives. Many of his clients view him as their virtual Chief Talent Officer. Vistage International named Barry “IMPACT Speaker of the Year”… Barry is also frequently asked to present IMPACT Hiring Solutions award-winning programs on hiring, retention, and motivating top talent and leverages a vast knowledge base of 25 years in the executive search field, with a track record of successful placements in multi-billion dollar Fortune 100 companies, entrepreneurial firms, and middle-market high-growth businesses. He has worked closely with thousands of CEOs and key executives to help improve hiring success, leverage human capital, and raise the bar on talent acquisition. Barry earned his BA and MA from the American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to his executive search career, Barry held positions of responsibility in Finance and General Management with Mattel, Beatrice Foods, and Westinghouse Cable. Barry is a co-author of the book, You’re Not The Person I Hired. You can reach him at barry@impacthiringsolutions.com.

Inspiration and Techniques for Building Championship-Level Performance – Lighthouse clients have one thing in common – all are committed to boosting the performance of their organizations. So, we are pleased to introduce our clients and friends to Boaz Rauchwerger — speaker, trainer, author and consultant. We highly recommend Boaz to you. Ask him to deliver one of his inspirational programs at your next executive retreat or strategic planning session.

One of our favorite Boaz programs is “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”. It helps you build on the strengths of everyone’s individual differences. This program helps you discover five steps to get everyone to join the building crew and resign from the wrecking crew. This is a very powerful and inspirational program that receives rave reviews every time.

• Master five techniques to inspire others to perform like champions
• Six recognition techniques including the powerful “good finder” program
• Learn four ways that your team can gain a competitive advantage
• Identify the three prerequisites for maximizing the team’s results
• Learn the two forms of keeping a daily score so everyone wins

Who is Boaz? Over a 30-year span, Boaz, author of The Tiberias Transformation – How To Change Your Life In Less Than 8 Minutes A Day, has conducted thousands of seminars internationally on goal setting and high achievement. He has taught over half a million people how to supercharge their lives, their careers and how to add Power to their goals. His innovative program, for individuals and corporations, is a simple and highly effective process for high achievement. He was voted Speaker of the Year by Vistage, an international organization of CEOs and business owners. How to Contact Boaz – Want more information on Boaz’s Power Program, including “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”? Just click here and we’ll be in touch.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code” please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Your Web Presence

By Michael Utvich

2009 was a big year for Twitter and it is still going strong. Politicians, movie stars and sports figures have made headlines, chirping their random thoughts to masses of admirers, who received their transmissions on everything from a desktop computer to a cell phone. The Twitter media phenomenon has become a rocket sled that has propelled the culture of social networking into public view.biz man on road computer

THE SOCIAL NETWORK WHOOPEE SHOW

At first glance, the numbers are staggering. As of July 2009, an estimated 200 million people are members of Facebook, the leading personal social network. The Twitter website attracted 44.5 million unique visits in June of 2009, with millions more distributing messages through Twitter apps beyond the site itself. LinkedIn.com, the dominant social network for businesspeople had more than 43 million members. The massive media coverage has been rigorously trendy, often vapid, and frequently meaningless. Social networks have been presented as a serial web of connected gimmicks.

What has been lost in all the background noise is that social networks and the larger “Web 2.0” technology evolution are now maturing into a system of powerful communication and collaboration tools that will transform the way we work, interact – even think – and have an impact greater than the original World Wide Web did when it was founded in 1993 – only sixteen years ago.

WHAT’S A WEB PRESENCE? DO YOU NEED ONE?

If you send or receive only one email a year, you have a web presence. A web presence is, very simply, the sum of all the places, or touchpoints, where you maintain your identity on the web. For most businesspeople their web presence has been 1) their business e-mail address and 2) their company website.

Web 2.0 and social networking apps are changing all of that dramatically. These new apps are like freestanding computer programs and systems that allow you to sign in and operate a variety of electronic tools to create and distribute your own content, interact with other members and engage in group initiatives over the web. So the businessperson of today has a growing list of touchpoints that make up a web presence, for example:

YOUR WEB PRESENCE – SOME OF THE MOVING PARTS

• Email: Business address, personal email address
• Website: Company website
• Blog: Personal or company blog site (linked to website)
• Business Social Network: LinkedIn.com or other business network handle and profile
• Personal Social Network: Facebook.com or other social net handle and profile
• Private Social Network: Ning.com-based private membership only network handle
• Instant Messaging: Yahoo IM or AOL Instant message handle
• Internet Phone: Skype identity, profile and access.
• Microblogging: Twitter account for sharing and receiving microblog message streams.
• Information Sharing: Twine.com or other information links service to share information with networks of friends.

This is just a partial list of the apps that could be added to your web presence. Add to all of this that these tools are interconnected and can feed off one another, information generated in one application can be distributed in another, notices and endorsements created through one application can be shared through another. The web has evolved from a few simple functional connection tools into a vast, complicated and encompassing global network.

WEB 2.0 & SOCIAL NETWORKS

A partial collection of new technologies and applications that make up the interactive collaboration and communication system driving the Internet and the Web for the future.social media

Far from being the superficial collection of gimmicks often presented through the media, Web 2.0 and social networking represent a dramatic scale up in human communication tools and capabilities.

To see how dramatic the changes are, compare a Web 1.0 application (the Contact list / Address book in Microsoft Outlook) to a Web 2.0 app like LinkedIn. The two essentially capture a network of contacts, but LinkedIn fully integrates your contact list with your background information, a system of endorsements, interest groups, specialized communications and linking network that enables you to see how you are connected to others in your list, and your common contacts. By contrast, Outlook Contacts is little more than a database for name address, email and phone. The integrated, collaborative Web 2.0 application lets you move faster by connecting your information into greater and more valuable forms and richer meaning.

ITS ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

The smart play to build your Web presence is to understand what the technologies can deliver and to build intelligent business objectives around them. You might need to do some out-of-the-box brainstorming — for example—what if you could:

  1. Instantly find the connections in your network to meet anybody you wanted?
  2. Monitor alliances and connections between your clients, partners and competitors on demand?
  3. Build a free broadcast network to engage the marketplace?
  4. Create a Social Store to present your products and services to customers and their friends?
  5. Monitor and participate in opinion leader dialogues in your industry and marketplace?
  6. Present your personal professional brand to a worldwide network of influencers – as well as potential customers.

Without some creative and well stated business objectives, it’s easy to get lost in the fog of activity, and put up profiles on various sites and share data without any sense of outcomes.

COMMUNICATE…AND LISTEN

Web 2.0 and social networking is a conversation, not a one way presentation. If you are coming at this from a business perspective, your two principal targets should be to:

  1. Outbound: Present yourself, your experience and your value to a global audience through well developed media – website, blog, LinkedIn profile, Twitter streams.communicationcommunication
  2. Inbound: Seek connections who have knowledge, expertise, contacts and creativity to bring value to your business and link to them through social networks and tools.

Keep in mind that your objectives with these tools will likely be both outbound and inbound —- not only communicating yourself, but paying attention to others and engaging them in your dialogue. On the outbound level, you may wish to present your product or service to the marketplace. On the inbound level you may need to create interactive and collaborative tools for your clients, customers, partners or members to comment and interact with you.

YOUR PROFILES: REAL TIME STORYTELLING

Social connections through the web create more interactive and intimate communications than conventional marketing messages and email communications. The computer screen, unlike the printed page, operates in the present tense. An online profile is not a resume, a listing of what you did yesterday, it is a presentation of how you see the world, the things you find interesting and the things you value today, right NOW.

Telling Your Story Through Social Networks

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In the intimate, connected, and collaborative universe of online social networks, authenticity is more important than conventional marketing messages, keywords, taglines and themes. The fundamental premise of social networks is that they allow you to interact directly with real people in the here and now – through information, favorite media, shared pictures and images. These are collectively a multimedia storytelling system. Your opportunity is to tell your story using the most powerful medium to carry the message.

This is you, right now, coming through the screen. When people confuse an online profile with a resume or Curriculum Vitae, what emerges is often flat and uninteresting, a list of happenings and facts without context to provide meaning. Storytelling, anecdotes, illustrative quotes are all effective ways for you to profile and present the truly individual aspects of your character and accomplishments, including things other people have said about you in the form of quotes and comments.

OPERATING YOUR NETWORK

Once you have built your presence on a social network such as Facebook or LinkedIn, you now have contacts, your profile, endorsements and other information, you are now in a position to operate that network to generate interest and activity.

Social networking software contains a variety of sharing tools and triggering frameworks, such as photo sharing and user walls for posting of content that enable you to keep a high level of visibility to your audience. In effect, operating your social network allows you to create a persona not unlike a television news reporter or commentator, someone who brings things of interest to your network.

The challenge in operating your social network is to have a clear sense of the voice you wish to project. Just randomly throwing pictures and articles up or overwhelming your audience with useless links or information out of context will exhaust even your best friends. So we come full circle to the beginning of this article and the overriding concept of Web Presence — you need to have clearly defined objectives of how you wish to communicate yourself, your knowledge, and your value, and use those objectives to select the ways you operate and interact with others through the social networking system.

You may find that you use one larger network like Facebook or LinkedIn as the ‘base station” or “mother ship” in your social networking context, you can then add other tools around it. Share Skype IDs with Facebook friends to for free voice conversations Skype to Skype anywhere in the world. Use Twitter to build followers and share items that come out of your LinkedIn or Facebook community. While it is true that the possibilities are endless in this world of many tools and apps, the reality must be carefully considered, focused and designed to stay in line with your business objectives.

To receive a worksheet on creating Your Web Presence… please click here.

See below for a list of social networking sites and social networking.

SOCIAL NETWORK SITES – BUSINESS

• AdvisorGarage – It is an online directory of advisers who are willing to assist budding entrepreneurs.
• ArtBreak – ArtBreak is an artist community for sharing and selling artwork.
• Blogtronix – Blogtronix promotes corporate social networking, enterprise 2.0 and wikis.
• DoMyStuff – A good site for working professionals looking to find online assistants.
• Doostang – An invite only career community for professionals.
• Fast Pitch – It is a quickly growing business networking community in corporate world. Its online provides users with a one-stop shop network to market their business.
• iKarma Inc. – iKarma is a specialist in providing customer feedback for organizations and professionals.
• ImageKind – ImageKind is a community and marketplace for professional artists.
• Jigsaw – An online business card networking directory for users to establish contacts with each other. Each business card is listed with an email id and a contact number.
• Linkedin – LinkedIn is a professional social networking website for business users, one of the most popular such sites out there.
• mediabistro.com – mediabistro.com is for professionals in content or creative industry.
• Ning.com – Create your own public or private-secured list social network for your business
• Ryze.com – A site for establishing new connections and growing networks. Connections for jobs, building career and making sales.
• Spoke.com – Spoke offers access to business network of over 40 million people worldwide.
• XING – XING is a networking directory of business contacts powering relationships between business professionals allowing users to connect with each other.

YOUR WEB PRESENCE / SOCIAL NETWORKING PLAN

The key planning steps shown below are simply a way of looking at the big picture of what you wish to accomplish. Having a central ‘web marketing plan’, even a quick scratch sheet from these notes, will help you focus your presence more effectively than randomly filling in profile forms without a core objective.

The most important is Number 1: Your Web Presence objectives. At the simplest level, you may want to present a clear and compelling vision of your current expertise, the value of the work you do and the quality of expertise you possess. In other words, you can use social networking to convey both your personal and professional value proposition. The more you can focus on the key elements of your background, personality and expertise for emphasis, the more you can develop a clear and accessible profile; adding media, narratives, anecdotes, even video clips bring a rich dimension that both enhances and confirms your image.

The key steps in building a Social Networking Plan are to identify:

  1. Your Web Presence objectives: What is the business, personal or professional goal or goals you have to realize through creating a Web Presence
  2. Your Web Presence profile: Who are YOU, and how to best present it?
  3. Information about you today, your background and experience.
  4. Individuals and groups of people you wish to interact with
  5. Content you need including video, audio, presentations
  6. Web 2.0 social media select to meet your purpose.
  7. Timing which elements of your network to build first, and what follows progressively

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014

Michael Utvich has over thirty years experience in strategic communications, product launch and business development marketing. Michael has worked with high technology organizations from Fortune 500 to start-ups to define a deep and relevant customer value proposition that provides the anchor for a smart product launch program including brand, marketing, sales, product knowledge and customer learning programs. He is the award-winning author of 9 books on high technology software and technologies and a frequent speaker on new technologies including Web 2.0 and Social Networking. Epsilon Interactive provides a variety of strategic consulting, coaching and business solutions, helping clients effectively integrate Web 2.0 and social networking technologies their marketing, sales, customer service and internal operations. For more information on this topic, please contact Michael at Michael@utvich.com or (323) 655-4476.

Inspiration and Techniques for Building Championship-Level Performance – Lighthouse clients have one thing in common – all are committed to boosting the performance of their organizations. So, we are pleased to introduce our clients and friends to Boaz Rauchwerger — speaker, trainer, author and consultant. We highly recommend Boaz to you. Ask him to deliver one of his inspirational programs at your next executive retreat or strategic planning session.  One of our favorite Boaz programs is “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”. It helps you build on the strengths of everyone’s individual differences. This program helps you discover five steps to get everyone to join the building crew and resign from the wrecking crew. This is a very powerful and inspirational program that receives rave reviews every time.

• Master five techniques to inspire others to perform like champions
• Six recognition techniques including the powerful “good finder” program
• Learn four ways that your team can gain a competitive advantage
• Identify the three prerequisites for maximizing the team’s results
• Learn the two forms of keeping a daily score so everyone wins

Who is Boaz? Over a 30-year span, Boaz, author of The Tiberias Transformation – How To Change Your Life In Less Than 8 Minutes A Day, has conducted thousands of seminars internationally on goal setting and high achievement. He has taught over half a million people how to supercharge their lives, their careers and how to add Power to their goals. His innovative program, for individuals and corporations, is a simple and highly effective process for high achievement. He was voted Speaker of the Year by Vistage, an international organization of CEOs and business owners. How to Contact Boaz – Want more information on Boaz’s Power Program, including “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”? Just click here and we’ll be in touch.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, Cracking the Personality Code and Cracking the Business Code, please go to www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Ten Surefire Ways to Improve Your Sales Calls to Meet Monthly & Quarterly Goals

By Rob Hupp

In pursuing and successfully closing business with prospective clients or customers, it is often necessary to conduct one or more sales calls. Depending on the nature of your business (and location of your prospect), these calls can be biz man phone callconducted in person or by phone. The experience and information shared in this article are applicable to either type of sales call.

The purpose of the sales call is for both seller and buyer to determine whether or not there is sufficient overlap between the buyer’s needs and seller’s capabilities to merit considering doing business together. If this critical overlap is present, there are a number of questions, issues and challenges that both parties need to discuss and work out to achieve a mutually-beneficial business arrangement. The ten tips in this article are for sellers endeavoring to conduct more effective sales calls with their prospective buyers. (That said, prospective buyers, these tips are also relevant to you and your purchases.)

1) Follow a communications and discovery process and share the process with your prospect

Enlighten your prospect as to how you suggest going about determining whether or not it makes sense to work together. Outline the steps in the process and solicit their input and concurrence. “Typically when I first meet with the owner of a firm like yours, it makes sense to discuss Item A, Item B, and Item C. Are there any additional items for today’s meeting and do you agree with this list?”

As adults, surprises do not generally lead to positive outcomes. When both parties know what is going to happen next, it reduces anxiety and increases ability to focus resulting in enhanced communication.

2) Know what you want to accomplish in each meeting

Specifically what do you need to determine and communicate in your next meeting with a prospect? Just keeping the dialogue going is probably not a sufficiently specific goal for the upcoming call. You may need to determine delivery timeframes, budgetary constraints, and approval process.

There are usually two facets of communication and discovery that are going on here: first, substantive discussion of needs and potential solutions and second, based on this interaction, do we believe we can work together effectively? Most sales calls focus on the substance of the discussion and often minimize the significance of assessing ability to work together. If after several meetings you have misgivings about your ability to work together, it probably makes sense to address this concern in one of several ways.

3) Set an Up-front Contract for each meeting with the prospect

An Up-front Contract is more than a meeting agenda, but an agenda is a good start. In addition, it is worthwhile to explicitly identify beforehand the purpose of the meeting, how much time is set aside, attendees and acceptable outcomes of the meeting. The Up-front Contract is reviewed with the prospect and agreed to in advance of the meeting. It helps to eliminate those pesky surprises such as walking into a boardroom full of people when you expected to meet only with your prospect and the firm’s marketing director.

4) Prepare your list of questions and discussion paths beforehand

It is advantageous to formulate your list of key questions and discussion items prior to the meeting. By being prepared, biz woman with listyou are less likely to forget raising a very key item. More importantly, you are better able to focus your energy, intellect and attention on really listening to and absorbing what the prospect is saying. If you are less worried about what you are going to say or ask next, your listening and bonding and rapport are heightened.

5) Dial in to the prospect’s communication style and cues

As we are reminded, communication is more than merely words exchanged. Tonality and non-verbal cues such as body language can convey critical feedback. If you sense your buyer is being increasingly uncomfortable, take the heat yourself and offer up “I may be reading the situation incorrectly, but I am sensing you are uncomfortable with this discussion. Do I have this right, and what can we do to alleviate your discomfort?”

6) Follow the 70/30 rule

The rule is simple to state and more challenging to implement consistently: listen 70% of the time and talk 30% of the time. Use your 30% ‘talk time’ to ask the questions you prepared as well as to pose additional clarifying questions based on the prospect’s responses.

Sales calls are not the place to inundate the prospect with features, benefits, history of your company, etc. Sales calls are for you and your prospect to discover his problems/issues, constraints, etc. and agree on an approach to solve. By asking great questions, really listening, and seeking further clarification, you are facilitating more effective discovery and agreement. (Your prospect will not feel like he is being ‘sold.’)

7) Resist the urge to dispense free advice

As a professional in your field, you possess a wealth of knowledge and experience you are anxious to share with the world. STOP! At this preliminary stage of discussion, you may not yet know enough to accurately diagnose the prospect’s problem(s). You may be doing your prospective client and yourself a disservice. If you do solve the problem now or the prospect thinks you have offered up a solution, chances are you’re done and out.

Complete your discovery discussion with the prospect prior to proposing a solution, even if this means holding multiple sales call meetings. If the prospect pushes you for information prior to completing discovery, indicate you will summarize key findings at the end of each sales call.

8) Validate your assumptions and question what does not make sense

question mark manPattern recognition that comes with experience is a powerful tool in solving problems and offering solutions. That said, validate your key assumptions with this prospect. For example, if your prospect is going to have to undergo an extensive financial review to get approval for financing, determine your approach and timing for discussing this with him. Don’t assume everyone already understands such requirements and associated processes.

If in the course of discussion, you hear statements or assertions from the prospect that do not make sense based on your experience or industry practice, respectfully ask for clarification. Don’t provoke an argument but be brave and seek to achieve clarity.

9) Recap and summarize the results of the sales call with the prospect

At the end of the sales call meeting, compare notes with the prospect. Did you both hear the same things and reach the same conclusions? Are there specific issues or differences of opinion or perspective that need to be further analyzed and discussed? What will probably happen next in the discovery process? Can we set an Up-Front Contract for our next meeting or agree to a process and timeframe to set the next Up-front Contract?

10) Debrief the sales call just completed

Congratulations. Together we have made it to Number Ten. After each sales call, sit down with a colleague, an growing moneyaccountability partner, or just yourself and objectively debrief the call. How did you perform on the previous Nine Tip Areas summarized in this article? From the list of nine, identify 2 areas where you performed well and 2 areas for improvement. Be specific as possible. Additionally, review and handle follow-up items from the sales call meeting with your prospect.

Regardless of your business or profession, conducting effective sales calls is a critical skill to acquiring, developing and retaining customers. Don’t leave these important interactions to chance. Follow these steps and watch the impact on your business.

Final Thoughts

According to Dana Borowka, CEO of Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC and author of “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code”, hiring the right people is key to future growth. If you would like additional information on hiring, please click here to see an article on this subject.

Permission is needed from Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC to reproduce any portion provided in this article. © 2014

Rob Hupp is President of Roth|Hupp Growth Partners, Inc., a business development consulting firm specializing in helping organizations and individuals increase their revenues through more effective sales and management practices. Rob can be reached at 310.890.3704 or via e-mail at rhupp@rhgp.com.

Inspiration and Techniques for Building Championship-Level Performance – Lighthouse clients have one thing in common – all are committed to boosting the performance of their organizations. So, we are pleased to introduce our clients and friends to Boaz Rauchwerger — speaker, trainer, author and consultant. We highly recommend Boaz to you. Ask him to deliver one of his inspirational programs at your next executive retreat or strategic planning session.

One of our favorite Boaz programs is “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”. It helps you build on the strengths of everyone’s individual differences. This program helps you discover five steps to get everyone to join the building crew and resign from the wrecking crew. This is a very powerful and inspirational program that receives rave reviews every time.

• Master five techniques to inspire others to perform like champions
• Six recognition techniques including the powerful “good finder” program
• Learn four ways that your team can gain a competitive advantage
• Identify the three prerequisites for maximizing the team’s results
• Learn the two forms of keeping a daily score so everyone wins

Who is Boaz? Over a 30-year span, Boaz, author of The Tiberias Transformation – How To Change Your Life In Less Than 8 Minutes A Day, has conducted thousands of seminars internationally on goal setting and high achievement. He has taught over half a million people how to supercharge their lives, their careers and how to add Power to their goals. His innovative program, for individuals and corporations, is a simple and highly effective process for high achievement. He was voted Speaker of the Year by Vistage, an international organization of CEOs and business owners. How to Contact Boaz – Want more information on Boaz’s Power Program, including “Playing Like a Championship Team Every Day”? Just click here and we’ll be in touch.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services LLC, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.com & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Lighthouse Consulting Services, LLC provides a variety of services, including in-depth work style assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, career guidance & transition, conflict management, 360s, workshops, and executive & employee coaching. Other areas of expertise: Executive on boarding for success, leadership training for the 21st century, exploring global options for expanding your business, sales and customer service training and operational productivity improvement.

To order the books, “Cracking the Personality Code” and “Cracking the Business Code” please go to  www.lighthouseconsulting.com.

Your Secret Sales Machine (It’s Not What You Think)

By Tom FitzGerald & Linda Brakeall

It all began simply enough when a branch of Heartmann Woods (72 employees, two in sales) performed an audit of telephone calls.money catch biz woman

This was part of a biennial cost containment drive. The audit revealed that while the two sales people made about 40 calls a day, the other 70 non-sales people were making 200 calls a day, 1,000 calls a week, 50,000 a year.

Nearly all those outgoing calls were to clients. The 70 non-sales people received just as many incoming calls from clients. That totaled 400 calls a day, 2,000 calls a week, 100,000 a year. Previously all these calls were viewed as interfering with the serene production of information.

But this time a new thought occurred: Could those calls be an opportunity?

The 70 non-sales people understood at the gut level that when they connected with clients they reached people who wanted to talk, were willing, even eager, to make relationships. These clients were serious buyers and influentials — but did not think so. The 70 were inside the corporate defenses, inside the barriers to sales.

Every call, every conversation, contains the seed of a sale. A seed that extends the business relationship. A seed that identifies the influentials and the real buyers. A seed that uncovers new needs.

Recognizing this opportunity, the 100,000 seeds now fell on fertile ground. A new secret sales machine had been born — with 70 “stealth marketers” at the wheel.

Within two years that 70 became 300.

The Concepts of the Stealth Marketers

As with all successful business concepts, stealth marketing is profoundly simple. Underlying it are just six ideas:

1. Every “non-sales” call has already bypassed the corporate sales defenses.
2. The best source of business is current clients.
3. Every person in a client organization is a buyer, whether they know it or not.
4. Every person in your organization is a salesman, whether they know it or not.
5. Every call is a sales call.
6. Sell is not a four letter word.

The Hurdles

Stealth marketing requires:

1. An environment of continuing sales to existing customers. Most companies fit into this category.
2. A volume of customer contacts that exceeds official sales calls by a factor of five or better.
3. A commitment by the CEO to have all members of staff participate in and feel responsible for company sales.
4. A little ingenuity.

But when it came time to implement stealth marketing at Heartmann Woods, one difficulty could have stopped it cold: People were afraid to sell.

machineThough the company had been talking “sales” and “sales culture” for more than 15 years, most people still didn’t like the idea. Their resistance showed mostly in body language and performance but it was often articulated in words like, “What? I’m not in sales!”

Fortunately, the CEO had embraced the idea and encouraged managers to become entrepreneurs. But to get stealth marketing through the all too human inertia and built-in prejudice against selling, something extraordinary had to happen.

How to Start the Secret Sales Machine

The process can begin simply enough. Here’s how it worked at Heartmann Woods:

1. Non-sales staff, section by section, reviewed and tallied up how many human-to-human connections they made.
2. Non-sales staff listed their contacts and described how those contacts might buy for and influence their companies.
3. The boss introduced the raw numbers that underlie the company’s sales function — the first time most people had ever seen them.
4. The sales people told real stories. They described how difficult it is for a salesperson to get through on the phone. How nearly impossible it can be to get a prospect to disclose anything that they can use to begin a sale.

As the two salespeople opened up, the non-sales staff grew in awareness and sympathy. It became a kind of therapy for the sales department.

After that things got easier. The concept of the easiest sale being with current clients began to be understood at the gut level. The “non-sales” people could feel what such sales could do to the bottom line. And their paychecks.

Gradually, the “non-sales” 70 began to talk of the two sales people as “outside sales” and sidled up to the idea of themselves as “inside sales.” Non-sales as a term disappeared from use.

How to Overcome the Fear of Sales

For over 50 years, most people who are not in sales (and many who are!) have felt that selling is somehow distasteful. It is a feeling that many do not express, even to themselves. Unless that attitude is changed, major sales increases won’t happen.

If you doubt it, just ask your people what comes immediately to mind when you say “salesman.” The answer can be scary.

Here’s how Heartmann Woods overcame the bias:

1. Everyone took an anonymous “Sales Readiness” survey.
2. Each department got together with a sales person. The responses to the survey were the launching point for discussion. The deepest feelings, the hidden prejudices were brought into the open.
3. The discussion helped transform distorted beliefs.
4. Each section “adopted” a sales person to become his or her support system. She became their mentor.
5. Every section, every worker, discovered a way to contribute to the effort.
6. Supervisors helped refine the process.

One by one the departments accepted the challenge. They faced the truth about themselves and selling. They transformed their attitudes. They brainstormed and wrote scripts. They practiced. They called. And the clients loved it.

Rewards helped. And recognition, especially recognition, fueled the fire.end of rainbow

Almost from the first day, sales began to grow. Just a little at a time. But a month later, their average order had increased with almost every major client. Success bred optimism. Optimism bred success. Profits grew. Paychecks grew. It was a fun place to work.

Almost every company owns a gold mine of opportunity — a secret sales machine. It exists buried in the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of daily calls to and from existing clients, to and from people who think of themselves as “non-sales.”

Stealth marketing generates good will and sales. It gives staff a sense of deep participation in the life and future of their company. And it is fun.

Created for Vistage View. Copyright 2014, Vistage International, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tom FitzGerald is President of FitzGerald Associates (www.ManagementConsultants.com) headquartered in Lake Forest, IL. FitzGerald Associates specialize in Profit/Productivity Improvement, Corporate Performance Prediction, Corporate Renewal and Preemptive and Early Decline Turnaround. They have worked in this arena since 1976. Tom is the author of Fire in the Corporate Belly: Renewing the Company – Body, Soul & Bottom Line. Tom can be contacted at Fitz@ManagementConsultants.com or 847-599-9960.

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