Miracle(?) On The Hudson
(originally published 1/19/2009 12:00:00 AM)

With the inauguration of Barack Obama taking center stage, the crash of U.S. Air fight 1549 is off the front page news. While it’s being hailed as “the miracle on the Hudson,” there is another way to look at it.

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines a “miracle” is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.” It was not a miracle that a flock of geese flew into the Airbus’s engine. Apparently that happens frequently. After that, everything that should have happened happened. The plane lost power and the captain’s training took over.

Captain Chesley B. “Sullie” Sullenberger guided the plane to a textbook “water landing.” Sullenberger has his own air safety consultancy and an article on TheStreet.com reveals, “He had been studying the psychology of keeping airline crews functioning even in the face of crisis,” said Robert Bea, a civil engineer who co-founded UC Berkeley’s Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.There is no doubt that Sullenberger is a hero. But without all of his training, he might have been a casualty. Commercial airline pilots must constantly update their skills and continue to train until they retire.

And this is not just about the pilot and crew. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at an evening news conference, “The FDNY, NYPD and Port Authority police all worked together. They plan for these kinds of emergencies . . . you saw it in action.”

More training.

Sure a sales trainer is going to try to turn a near tragedy into a life lesson. And maybe there was divine intervention. Looking at an airplane floating in the water is a highly emotional image. But if you watched the coverage unfolding, you actually saw hundreds of highly trained humans intervening. U.S. Air and New York City insist upon continual training and improvement. The airline industry was buffeted by last year’s fuel prices and this year’s economic malaise. Many companies cut training budgets at the first sign of a downturn.Fortunately for 150 passengers, well-trained people were there to rescue them.

What about your sales team. Will they miraculously get better? Or do you need to keep training them?

---

The Good News About Information Overload
(originally published 12/13/2008 12:00:00 AM)

Here’s the great news about information overload: You don’t have to know it all. You just have to know where to go for the answers.

In fact, you can’t know it all.

“The growing dilemma is that we have long passed the point where organizations can expect their people to acquire and retain what they need to know to do their jobs. In a ground-breaking longitudinal study, Robert Kelley of Carnegie Mellon University found that in 1996 knowledge workers stored 75 percent of the knowledge they needed to do their jobs in their own mines. In 1997 that percentage plummeted to 15-20%. Finally, in 2006, knowledge workers reported that they only stored eight to 10% of the knowledge they need to do their jobs in their minds.”(Source: In search of Learning Agility white paper by Timothy R. Clark, Ph.D., Conrad A. Gottfredson, Ph.D.

When I read the next paragraph, I knew the last three years of working on this project (Fuel web site) were not wasted. We’re really onto something, you and me.

“Organizations will move en masse to reusable content and multi-channel publishing. Re-usability is defined as the process of “creating, organizing, storing, versioning and publishing reusable learning content in ca common, central repository for the purpose of creating learning support, regardless of delivery format. The effectiveness of re-usability is ultimately tied to retrieve - or find-ability. The demand and demonstrable financial return for providing current performance support ant all five moments of need will more than justify the investment in this capability.” (Ibid.)

Increasingly classroom training is losing its luster. “As sales teams become more and more diverse (generational, cultural, geographical, experiential) classroom training doesn’t do the job for a larger and larger sampling of the audience.  Research reveals that a mixture of classroom, self-paced learning, coaching, e-learning, etc., is optimal for most situations.” (Source: The 13 Myths of Sales Training article by Geoffrey James quoting Dave Stein of E.S. Research Group.)

You don’t have to know everything about selling. You just have to know where to find the information.

And here it is.

Fuel your future,

Chris

---

What’s Changed About Selling?
(originally published 6/9/2008 12:00:00 AM)

“So, Chris, what has changed about selling since you started?”

At the end of a Webinar last week, a participant asked that question. I had three minutes to describe, thirty-five years of change. This week’s tip is answers the same question with a bit more detail and the implications of the change to you and your sales team. Besides the fact that there were no Webinars when I started out, I will share what I see as the three massive changes.

Massive change #1: The Internet

The prospect can find out everything (good and bad) about your company and its offerings before the salesperson walks in the door. The Internet replaces price sheets and costly catalogs and allows your customer to order whether the salesperson is calling on them or not.

Implication #1: Salespeople have to bring business expertise to the table instead of donuts and price sheets. Discussing how your product or service fits into the buying organization’s strategic objectives is big.

Massive change #2: The Buying Team

There was a time when an owner or company president would buy something. Now the president wants “buy in” from end users.”  These stakeholders need to “embrace change.”

Implication #2: The cost of a mistake or failed initiative can be a buyer’s career. There is more fear and inaction. Decisions drag on from the salesperson’s perspective. Ninety percent of deals don’t close when salespeople project them to close.

Massive change #3: Information Overload

See Massive Change #1. The buying team has access to so much information that it can be overwhelming. Salespeople add the most value when they cut to the chase and get the company to focus on one or two key concepts and objectives.

Implication #3: All of us have to do a better job of communicating (messaging). Metaphors and analogies that connect with a prospect’s problem can be better than long proposals and white papers.

What else has changed in your industry? What are the implications? What are you doing about it?

---

Cloning myself and other stupid ideas
(originally published 3/2/2008 12:00:00 AM)

For the first thousand or so seminars I conducted, I was trying to create hundreds of thousands of Chris Lytle “clones.” I actually thought, I could get people to sell exactly like I did. Never mind the gender and generational differences. Never mind unique personalities, schooling and upbringing. Gradually, I came to the conclusion that one of me was plenty. And I quit trying to get people to sell and be like me.

Instead, I shifted my focus to helping them become better sellers by discovering what they were already doing right and making small refinements in their approach to selling. One of the exercises I started doing in my seminars was to ask salespeople the follow questions:

What is selling like when you’re at your best?

1. How do you feel?
2. How do you behavior?
3. How do your clients react to you?

Salespeople talk about feeling relaxed, confident, prepared and totally in the moment. They describe behaviors like solid eye contact, walking tall, appropriate gestures, listening more and confident tone of voice. Their clients react by giving them more time, sharing real problems and buying from them.

After hearing how good salespeople can be, my focus as a trainer shifted to helping salespeople be at their best more often instead of being like me. Becoming your better self is a pretty good thing.

Sales managers can get a great discussion going by asking the questions above. You’ll learn a lot about your salespeople and they will learn a lot about themselves and how to be at their best more often.

Best regards and better selling,

Chris

---

“There Is Nothing So Practical as a Good Theory”
(originally published on 2/11/2008 12:00:00 AM)

Kurt Lewin was a pioneer in the field of group dynamics and a founder of the National Training Lab. His most famous quote is the headline for this week’s Thought. “There is nothing so practical as a good theory” is profoundly important to leaders. That’s because leaders find themselves in situations where they have to to teach or train others. In those situations, it would be practical to have a good theory about how adults learn.

When I was a new sales manager, I did a lot more talking than training.  I know now telling isn’t training and knowing isn’t doing.

Kurt Lewin also said, “Learning is more effective when it is an active rather than passive process.” This “learning pyramid” can help you evaluate how active (or passive) your sales meetings and training sessions are. If you’re a constant reader, you’ll remember this from last week. However, repetition is also an important part of learning.

The Automatic Sales Improvement Process is all about active learning. It’s not enough to hear the module of the week. Doing the real thing in the field and participating in a discussion about the module are what drive home the new learning.

Amy Dillon is a sales manager in Muncie, Indiana. I have an interview with her posted on the Fuel web site in which she describes the “engaging and energetic” sales meetings she is running now. You need to have a Fuel membership in order to access the interview but if you listen to the interview while looking at the pyramid, you will gain new insights into learning theory.

How practical is that?

Best regards and better selling,

Chris

---

Slow Down to Speed Up
(originally published on 11/5/2007 12:00:00 AM

This is your last chance,” barks the supervisor. “If one piece of candy gets past you and into the packing room unwrapped, you’re fired!” The classic scene from “I Love Lucy” that follows is etched indelibly into the collective consciousness of Baby Boomers.

Alas, Lucy and Ethel quickly fall behind in their wrapping duties.

“Ethel, I think we’re fighting a losing game,” Lucy laments.But not one piece of candy gets past them. Classic comedy ensues as they stuff chocolates into their mouths, blouses and-when they sense the supervisor is coming back to inspect their work––Lucy’s hat.

The supervisor returns to find them seemingly on top of things. “Fine. You’re doing splendidly,” says the supervisor. “Speed it up a little,” she orders the person in charged of controlling the speed of the production line.

Now the chocolates fly past Lucy and Ethel an even faster pace. They lose the wrapping race and their jobs on their very first day at work.

Today, all knowledge workers live and work in “the information chocolate factory.” The impossible pace at which information comes at us today makes us feel as overwhelmed as Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory. Productivity expert David Allen says, “The typical businessperson experiences 170 interactions per day (phone calls, hallway conversations, emails) and has a backlog of 200 to 300 hours of uncompleted work” and a gnawing sense of anxiety that he or she will never get it done.”

It’s not funny.

It is relentless.

The solution to increasing the impact of training and corporate education today is counter intuitive. You have to slow down the line. The Automatic Sales Improvement Process slows down the process to increase retention and utilization of the content.  Salespeople get time-released bites of information and then get a chance to digest the information and, more important, apply the new learning in the field with real customers before we “feed” them more.

Lucy and Ethel could only eat so many bites of candy in the quest to keep their jobs. Companies can try to force-feed training and corporate education programs, but consumption does not equate with retention or the critical transfer of learning.

Lucy and Ethel could only wrap so many pieces of candy per minute. Today’s salespeople can only wrap their minds around so much information at a given time.

How many times have you heard someone say, “If I can get just one good idea this meeting will be a worthwhile investment”? It doesn’t seem to matter if the event is a half-day seminar or a three-day conference. Most attendees show up looking for one good idea.

One good idea is not enough to last a lifetime, but that may be all that anyone feels comfortable applying. If that’s true, then do we really need a six-hour class to get one good idea across? Couldn’t we get one good idea across in about 5 or 15 minutes and let salespeople put the idea into action with a real prospect or customer.

Then, hold The “Honors Class in Selling” Sales Meeting to find out how things really worked. Let salespeople share their experiences. Adults learn by doing and discussion. Socrates said, “I can’t teach people anything, I can only get them to think.” Each week, we want our salespeople thinking about how they can make small refinements in their approach to customers.

There’s a big payoff in that.

Bombard your people with content for hours on end and they get so overwhelmed with information that they often do nothing.

Best regards and better selling,

Chris

---

If Your Sales Meetings Were Optional . . .
(originally published on 10/29/2007 12:00:00 AM)

. . . would your salespeople attend?

If you charged your salespeople to attend your sales meetings, would they pay?

If the answer to both questions is not a resounding “YES,” you have room for improvement. I get paid for talking to salespeople and most of them willingly attend my programs. But here’s the insider information: Professional speakers joke it’s easier to get a new audience than to come up with a new speech. Sales managers don’t have that luxury.

I know.  I used to be one.

It’s hard to impress the same salespeople week after week, sales meeting after sales meeting. When I was a sales manager, I had come up with 50 new meetings every year. That’s tough duty. Today, I blow into town, do my 75-minute keynote and catch a plane to the next city. That’s great for me, but 75-minutes is not enough to impart all of the skills the people in the audience need.

That’s why The Automatic Sales Improvement Process is so revolutionary. Your salespeople can listen to the professional speaker (me) and his friends (Joe Healey, the late Bill Brooks, Tony Allesandra, Tony Parinello, Roger Dawson, Patricia Ball, and many more) week after week. They can get immediately applicable sales information and you can lead The Instant Sales Meeting on the Featured Module of the Week.

And best of all, your salespeople are coming to the meeting prepared to discuss the lesson. You don’t have to worry about holding an engaging sales meeting. Because they are coming to the meeting with opinions and stories to share, they will do most of the heavy lifting.

This is powerful. You’re running meetings that add value to the salesperson’s week.

So, if your sales meetings were optional would your salespeople attend? Ask them. They will be flattered that you care enough to ask. And they will give you great feedback on how to make the meetings more relevant to them. Now all you have to do is figure out how much to charge them to attend these powerful meetings. And even if you never do charge them, isn’t it better to be leading meetings for salespeople who are glad to be in the room?

The best sales meetings include highly participative discussions of real world issues. That’s what I’m working to make happen for you and your sales team each week–automatically. Thanks for being a part of The Automatic Sales Improvement Process.

Best regards and better selling,

Chris