You never forget that terrible boss you worked for who was always angry, stressed out, and absent – that is when he wasn’t always looking over your shoulder. But the good news is you never forget the great ones either. And with a little intentionality, you can make sure the leaders in your organization are remembered for all the right reasons.

Great leaders inspire. They set clear expectations and create a culture of trust and creativity. They care about the team members every bit as much as they do the outcome. The right leadership training program offers simple shifts in thinking. It can literally transform average managers into memorable leaders and prepare your top performers for future key roles.

What is Leadership Training?

Leadership training, also known as leadership development, is a type of program aimed at helping leaders become better leaders through activities that improve their skills, abilities, and confidence. The success of leadership development is influenced by three factors – the coach or program, upper management, and the team member. Obviously, the program needs to be led by a quality practitioner and coach who understands how to get the message across. It’s also crucial to have support and agreement from the leadership of the organization who has brought the training in, and finally, the learning style and willingness of the person going through the leadership training will play a large part.

What are the Types of Leadership Training?

Certain leadership programs can be custom-designed to fit your organization’s processes. This can be more expensive but yield even better results over time. There are also off-the-shelf programs that address the common issues all leaders confront on a daily basis – which is a great place to start if training is new to your organization.

If you own or manage a business, you get it. And by “it,” we mean, a steady dose of life mercilessly slapping you in the face from the wee hours of the morning until you lock the doors at the end of each day. It’s not for the faint-hearted!

There are supplies to be supplied and shipments to ship. The invoices need to be invoiced. There are growth plans to consider, trajectories to watch. Your direct reports show up at your door for encouragement and direction. But where do you find it for yourself?

Many leaders have found relief in a business coach.

What is a Business Coach?

Simply put, a business coach is a trained professional with an unbiased perspective who examines your goals and helps business owners scale their business, getting you from where you are to where you want to be.

The idea of a business coach is a relatively new one. But its roots extend back to the 1990s when boy bands and frosted tips were all the rage. IBM wasn’t just a top brand back then, it was viewed as a “corporate influencer” like Apple, Amazon, or Tesla in today’s world. When companies like IBM adopted business coaching, companies all across the globe took note. Soon, smaller and medium-sized companies began consulting with business coaches to help minimize expenses and maximize profits.

What Does a Business Coach Do?

A business coach is a professional consultant who acts as a mentor for your business. He or she basically offers guidance, support, education, and inspiration for business owners. They are typically expert entrepreneurs or executives who know how to grow successful businesses to reach a company’s vision and goals. The scope of a business coach’s role can sometimes go beyond the business, into personal career affairs, helping you with career or leadership development. But their classic function is to advise on business processes, plans and goals.

Do You Need a Business Coach?

If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, you might benefit from business coaching:

1. Do you feel you never seem to have all the right answers?
2. Do you wish you could get an outside perspective on some of the daily obstacles and roadblocks?
3. Do you believe your company could be operating at a higher level, but you aren’t sure how to get there?
4. Do you have trouble motivating your team? Are you in need of motivation yourself?
5. Are you concerned about growth and wondering if you have what it takes to hit your goals?
6. Do you wish you had an outside perspective, or someone with business acumen to talk to?
7. Do you wish there was someone you could consult on personnel matters, including how to scale your staff?

Any of these questions or concerns are general issues a business coach can help with.

How Can a Business Coach Help Me?

Business coaches can advise on a wide variety of topics. They can include:

• Assessing your business’s strengths and weaknesses
• Laying out a roadmap to meet your goals
• Communicating with clients to better understand their desires
• Monitoring business growth and identifying areas for improvement
• Analyzing past plans that contributed to successes and/or failures
• Implementing better systems and suggesting processes and technology to help you succeed

How Does Business Coaching Work?

A business coach works with you to establish your needs and the meeting frequency. They will more than likely start by identifying your goals, determining how you work, and what methods have worked well for your business. Then they will zero in on problem areas and/or areas where you’d like to see growth or change. A business coach then works with you 1:1 to provide accountability and vision for improvement. As a bonus, along the way, a good business coach will help you reverse any negative thinking patterns and encourage behaviors that will lead to lasting change. Expect some accountability and honest feedback! That’s what they’re here for.

Types of Business Coaches

Here are a few of the more common types of business coaches.

Experienced Business Owner or Mentor

An experienced business coach has learned from running their own company. They’ve found success after suffering through the same challenges you face every day.

Executive Coach

Executive coaches specialize in working with senior personnel in larger companies rather than smaller business owners. They typically focus on improving communication skills, team management, and career development.

Sales Coach

These coaches work can help your team improve sales. If you aren’t particularly strong in this area, a sales coach is an invaluable asset to your team.

Turnaround Specialist

Turnaround specialist coaches work with companies on the brink of liquidation. They understand the legal implications and can help turn shaky businesses around.

Financial Business Coach

Financial coaching focuses on the money aspects of running your business. Winning or losing can often be traced back to the financial management or mismanagement of companies, and sometimes a deep dive into the books from an outside source is needed.

What is the Difference Between a Business Coach and a Business Consultant?

While the two are similar in nature, there are some slight differences. Simply put, a business consultant advises you in a specific problem area, while a coach mentors you and tries to equip you with the overall business acumen you need to help your business succeed.

Say you’re learning how to drive a car for the first time. A consultant might drive the car for you and produce materials for you, documenting how to drive the car the best way so you can teach your team. A consultant may function as a GPS, advising on which routes to take, based on your pre-determined destination. A coach, on the other hand, would have you get in driver’s seat and ride in the passenger seat with you, mentoring you in trouble spots until you feel comfortable driving solo. A coach may also help you decide which road trips to take and give you encouragement along the way.

How to Hire a Business Coach

Not all coaches have been formally trained or have the skills to help you grow your business. There are several self-regulating groups like the International Association of Coaching and the International Coach Federation that certify coaches, but there isn’t a licensing requirement to become a business coach.

Here are a few tips to help you find the right fit:

1. Look for chemistry. You’re not looking for a best friend, but you will need to be able to air your business’s dirty laundry and fears. And you’ll have to receive some tough talk about problem areas from your coach. Make sure you feel comfortable with whoever you pick.
2. Confirm their expertise. Ask questions. Explore their website. Stalk their corporate social accounts. You want to know this person has what it takes to back up their big talk.
3. Talk to past clients. You can get some gold here! Don’t be afraid to ask for a few references and then do your due diligence. If a business coach won’t provide references or gets offended by the ask, move along.
4. Make sure they care. You’re partnering with this coach. You want to make sure they actually care about your business and future. It’s OK to ask a few questions to gauge their interest in your industry and the success of your team.
5. Find someone good at what you aren’t. If you’re weak in team building for instance, find a coach who is strong in that area. If you’re prone to blind spots in business plans, find someone who has a knack for going over things with a fine-tooth comb.
6. Check availability. Your coach should work with you on a routine schedule, but if a coach is only available by scheduled appointments, you may want to keep looking. Make sure there is a reasonable level of access to their advice via phone or email that doesn’t involve an appointment with a two-week wait time.
7. Hire someone who is a teacher. The best business coaches love to teach and share from experience. They should have a willingness to explain things, not just dole out advice and bark suggestions.
8. Ask for a sample session. A sample session shouldn’t be free, but it gives you the chance to take the coach for a test drive. Does their coaching style fit you? Was there value in the session? Is this something you are willing to commit to for the amount of time it will take to get results?
9. Ask the right questions. What’s their process? How will they learn about your business? When are they available? Do they have a mastermind group so you can glean from other leaders? What do they consider to be their strengths, or business specialties? You get the idea.

Get Help Where You Need It

Get back to what fires you up about your business and get help with the rest. Wondering if a business coach, sales coach or leadership coach is right for you? Get a free consultation from Southwestern Consulting. Our knowledge is based on 165-year-old principles, our coaches are experts in elevating sales, performance and helping people just like you reach your goals.

Contact us today!

The Oxford dictionary defines empowerment as “the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights.” For far too long, many women have somehow felt “less than” when it comes to their value or their contributions.

If you have felt somehow less than, or like you’re inadequate in key areas of your life, you can change that line of thinking! You can empower yourself. You’re uniquely gifted to contribute to the world around you in ways no one else is. And we need what you have to offer.

We believe women should feel confident in themselves and their abilities and have a sense of control over the affairs of her own life.

Many women and men have spoken out on the subject of women’s empowerment. We’ve gathered a list of 26 of our favorites. Read them, get inspired, and share them!

Women’s Empowerment Quotes 

“I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” Emma Stone 

“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.” Bethany Hamilton 

“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” Amelia Earhart

“I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.” Dolly Parton 

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall

“The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” Ayn Rand

“Women are not the weak, frail little flowers that they are advertised. There has never been anything invented yet, including war, that a man would enter into, that a woman wouldn’t, too.” Will Rogers

“Women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there, and in some cases, where this is not available, they need to create their own table. We need a global understanding that we cannot implement change effectively without women’s political participation.” Meghan Markle

“Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” Emma Watson

“Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” Serena Williams

“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” Mary Shelley

“Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.” Helen Keller

If men care about women’s rights, the world will be a better place. We are better off when women are empowered, it leads to a better society.” John Legend

“Women have always been the strong ones of the world.” Coco Chanel

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.” Maya Angelou 

“I hate to hear you talk about women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm water all our lives.” Jane Austen

“Anytime I see women being stars—the stars that they should be, and being featured, and being highlighted, it makes my heart happy. Because it’s long overdue.” Terry Crews

“The worst thing that we can do as women is not stand up for each other, and this is something we can practice every day, no matter where we are and what we do – women sticking up for other women, choosing to protect and celebrate each other instead of competing or criticising one another.” Amal Clooney

“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” Estée Lauder

“There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.” Kofi Annan

“I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that’s not pulling the trigger.” Mia Hamm

“There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.” Hannah Gadsby

“A really strong woman accepts the war she went through and is ennobled by her scars.” Carly Simon

“Women are the real architects of society.” Harriet Beecher Stowe

“I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” Malala Yousafzai

Get Empowered with a Life or Career Coach

A certified, professional career coach can help empower you to create vision, goals and momentum towards a healthy, balanced and fulfilling life.

For more on taking control of your life and career, consider professional coaching from Southwestern Consulting.

Contact us today for a free consultation to see if coaching may be right for you.

Who are you? What do you stand for? What matters most to you? What do you want to contribute to the world?

These are deeply profound questions that only you can answer them. And the best way to make sure you’re living out the answers is by creating a personal mission statement.

What is a Personal Mission Statement?

A personal mission statement is a short statement, usually only a sentence or two, that describes your beliefs and how you plan to live out your values. It lays out your personal definition of what success looks like for you– free from the approval or judgments of others.

For years, companies have been crafting mission statements to explain why they exist. It helps guide them as they seek to grow in the marketplace. A personal mission statement is every bit as important and is quite similar to corporate statements.

Why Do You Need a Personal Mission Statement?

The process of creating a personal mission statement will force you to think deeply about your life. It’s an act of self-discovery, in a way. It will help you to clarify purpose and identify what’s really important to you. A mission statement also helps your values stick in your mind and become a part of your daily life. Think of it as a compass or map directing your life and helping us find personal fulfillment and a sense of well-being.

Here are few additional benefits:

• It gives you the opportunity to focus on what really matters.
• You’ll get to know yourself better.
• It makes future decision-making processes easier.
• It’s a means of accountability for your actions. (Either something aligns with your statement, or it doesn’t.)

What Should be Included in Your Personal Mission Statement?

Your personal mission statement is just that. Personal. It should be as unique as you are. You’ll want to include what you want to accomplish or do in life and how you plan to do it.

Here’s a quick glance at sample elements  to include in your statement.

“I will [action] for [audience] by [skills] to [desired result].”

How to Write a Personal Mission Statement

To write a personal mission statement, first start off with a quick brainstorming session. Ask yourself a few questions like these.

• What inspires you? What gets you excited?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your core values? Where are you on matters of principle?
• What impact do you want to have on the world? What problem can you help solve? Who do you want to help? What do you want to do to make this impact?
• What does success look like to you?
• What challenges and obstacles have you overcome? What did you learn from them?
• Who do you want to be? What will it take to get there?

Spend some time with friends and family. Ask what they feel your strengths are. What makes you stand out? Ask them to write out a few words that come to mind when they think of you.

Write down what’s most important to you. Start by considering what and who you value, who you are, and who you want to be. Write out your goals. What do you want others to think of you? What kind of legacy do you want to leave? What do you want to achieve in life?

Now, write a few rough drafts of potential statements and whittle them down to the most important thoughts to you. Keep it clear and short – no more than three sentences long. Keep it positive, and look to the future and the person you want to become.

12 Examples of Personal Mission Statements

Here are some examples of personal mission statements.

“To continue to grow as an individual and an entrepreneur. I will lead others well and create a legacy of kindness.”

“To create innovative ideas and technology solutions that will improve the lives of others. To become a leader in the field of software development”

“To use my gifts as a speaker to improve the self-worth of people around the world.”

“To live a balanced life, serving my family well and making a meaningful difference to those around me.”

“To create innovative healthcare solutions that improve the lives of others.” 

“To inspire my students to become the best version of themselves.”

“I will help men, women and children overcome trauma. I devote my life to help others find hope after tragedy and loss.”

“To raise a well-rounded, healthy family, and bring joy to others around the world through music.”

“To use my gift of public speaking to bring education to women around the globe and empower the underprivileged.” 

“To create meaningful stories that educate, entertain and inspire people around the world.”

“To treat everyone I encounter with love and compassion. I will shine a spotlight on the horrors of abuse and inspire healing for those who’ve endured its trauma.”

“To bring beauty into the world and grow brands through graphic design.”

Once you’ve written your personal mission statement, begin to integrate it into your weekly planning. Keep your vision constantly in front of you. And remember that as you grow and evolve over time, you should revisit your mission statement. Does it still reflect who you are and what your goals are? If not, it’s perfectly acceptable to revise it.

Get Help with Your Vision

For more on mission statements, vision and reaching your goals, consider help  from a life or career coach. If you’re looking to grow your career, 1:1 coaching can help provide the clarity, perspective and accountability you need to get from where you are to where you want to be.

For a free consultation to see if coaching may be right for you, contact us today.

The leaders who make splashes in this world are the ones dared to dream and acted on it. They wrote their vision down and started tracing back the steps it would take to get there. Winning is all about setting and reaching goals.

So how do you motivate your team to move forward? How do you get those old selling techniques overhauled and worn-out training manuals refreshed? How do you get people on board and pulling in the same direction, the one that leads to your goals?

There’s a new kid in town that companies are starting to employ. But truthfully, it’s an idea from the 1960’s that many have won with for years. Roll up your sleeves, grab a cup of coffee, and learn the essentials of Goal-Setting Theory.

What is Goal-Setting Theory?

Goal-setting for teams has been around since before the pyramids. But this theory was developed by Dr. Edwin Locke and fellow psychologist Dr. Gary Latham in the 1960’s. The two spent many years researching goal-setting and identified five key elements that need to be in place to achieve our goals.

The theory they developed is a strategy that engages employees, helping to increase employee motivation and performance. Goal-Setting Theory is based on the premise that setting specific and measurable goals is more effective than setting goals that are generic and unclear.

In Locke’s 1968 article, “Toward a Theory of Task Motivation and Incentive,” he showed that employees are motivated by well-defined, challenging goals, and constructive feedback. He laid out how the harder the tasks, the more they’re likely to dig deeper and stretch their skills to reach the goals. Locke found that 90% of the time, specific and challenging (but not overly challenging) goals led to higher performance than “do your best,” goals. Succeeding at the tough stuff leads to positive feedback and a sense of achievement. And of course, that leads to a happier team who in turn is more productive.

For example, setting a goal for your team like, “Create a bold new take on our company logo that shows some movement and reflects our desire to see leaders get ahead” will inspire your team more than a vague goal like, “Revamp our company logo.”

The Five Principles of Goal Theory

Locke and Latham discovered five goal-setting principles that can improve our odds of success:

1. Clarity
2. Challenge
3. Commitment
4. Feedback
5. Task complexity

Now for a deep dive on each of the five.

1. Clarity

They say to be unclear is to be unkind. Be as specific as possible. Remember to set SMART goals! When employees understand the objectives and deadlines, there’s a far less likelihood of misunderstandings. Include what success would look like for your team. Prioritize tasks and responsibilities for each team member. Lay out the plan and purpose for the goal.

2. Challenge

Goals should be challenging enough to keep employees interested and focused while working the tasks needed to reach each goal. People are often motivated by challenging goals but make them too challenging and it’ll bring the opposite result. Plan rewards for goals met. People love rewards! You can also create some friendly competition between team members or departments. Just make sure each team member is set up for success and has all the tools and information they need.

3. Commitment

Without commitment, what have you got? Disorganization. And that doesn’t get your organization anywhere! Employees need to get the “why” first, then the “how.” For buy-in, throw in some rewards for goals met and make sure they feel like they’re a big part of reaching the goal. In certain cases, it might even be a good idea to let team members set their own goals.

4. Feedback

You want to make sure your team is staying on track with each goal. Regular feedback will help with that. You can offer it in a constructive and positive way, and you’ll need to receive it from your team. What’s working and what’s not? This will help to further clarify the mission and adjust the level of difficulty if necessary. You can always move the goal posts if necessary. Schedule regular check ins, group and one-on-ones.

5. Task complexity

All end goals should be broken down into smaller achievable goals. Hold review sessions after each goal is reached to congratulate and reward the team, as well as assess the effort taken and if future goals need to be adjusted. Make sure they’re stretched but don’t push themselves too hard! If it seems a team member is overwhelmed, consider allowing a more experienced person to help coach or mentor them. Make sure your goals are simple and your timelines are realistic.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Goal-Setting Theory

There are some serious advantages of applying the Goal-Setting Theory to the workplace. Specifically, it can:

• Provide a clear guideline on how to effectively set and reach goals.
• Engage employees, which boosts productivity.
• Offer employees a sense of accomplishment, increases motivation, and morale, making them excited to show up in the morning.
• Grant regular constructive feedback so employees can constantly improve.

There aren’t many negatives with Goal-Setting Theory, but be warned – performance can trail off if the steps needed to reach a goal are just too difficult. Picture stepping-stones placed just a little too far apart. Goals that are set too far above an employee’s skill set can leave him or her demotivated and self-conscious.

As for the “ugly?” Crazy complex and difficult goals can lead to some risky behaviors! Team members may cut corners and do more harm than good when trying to reach goals in the allotted time. If you heed the advice laid out here, you’ll most of avoid that. But if your team is competitive, consider establishing and enforcing some extra “ground rules” if needed.

The bottom line is, goal-setting works. And Goal-Setting Theory is a powerful way to help your team reach their goals.

Let Us Help You and Your Team Reach Your Goals

For help inspiring your team and reaching your career and organizational goals, consider partnering with a professional coach from Southwestern Consulting. Did you know that in a recent survey, those who completed 12 months or more of SWC Coaching reported a 49% increase in vision and goal-setting before and after coaching? Let us help you get from where you are to where you want to be.

If you’re interested in a free consultation, contact us today to see if professional coaching might be right for you or your team.

Every profession has a defining moment where the world can see whether you are truly a professional or just an amateur. It only takes listening to a few bars of a song to tell whether the person singing is any good. Think about going out to a karaoke lounge and noticing someone stepping up to the microphone. How long before you know if they are any good?

In the past 25 years we have seen thousands of sales meetings conducted by managers throughout the world. You can generally tell within a few moments whether a sales manager is a professional or an amateur by how they begin a sales meeting. Of all the things you do as a manager, this is the most public thing you do in your business. Holding an excellent sales meeting is a great chance to motivate the team and disseminate information, and it is also a chance to lose momentum in a hurry!

The Essential Ingredient in Every Sales Meeting

Sales managers who have decided to run a sales meeting because they have something important to convey have passed the first test for a successful meeting. They have a purpose! I realize this test seems obvious, but think back to all the meetings you have been to that had no value or agenda whatsoever. The first step to leading a successful sales meeting is to have a clear reason for calling one.

Common reasons for holding a sales meeting are:

• To inform the sales team — Give information on what is happening at the company, like a new product being announced or a new advertising campaign being launched.

• To plan with the sales team– – Discuss future goals and objectives, assess trends in the marketplace and discuss how the company can plan to meet challenges.

• To educate the sales team — Training is a crucial component of any successful sales organization. I find the best companies make training and education a part of every sales meeting.

• To inspire the sales team — Like training, inspiration and motivation should be part of every sales meeting, but sometimes the whole purpose of the meeting is to get people revved up!

• To reward the sales team — Sales meetings are great places to bring everyone together to give out praise and recognition. Remember to praise in public and criticize in private. Never use a sales meeting to criticize an individual salesperson. Use sales meetings only to praise an individual or team.
• To build teamwork among the sales team and the company — Sales meetings can be excellent venues to build teamwork as well as to integrate parts of the company that don’t always work together. Schedule segments of the agenda that the administrative team can participate in as well. This is a great way to build an understanding of what each group does so that each can have more appreciation for the other. We highly recommend that you work participation time into your sales meetings if you have an accounting group, an installation team, a customer service team, or any other groups that work apart from sales. The payoff is a more understanding and cooperative organization.

By following these tips you will be well on your way to running great sales meetings that inspire your team. The most important principle is to prepare thoroughly. This is no time to “wing it.”

Effective Sales Meeting Checklist

After each meeting you conduct, take a few minutes and ask yourself these questions to review what happened and how you can grow as a meeting leader.

1. Was I really prepared, or was I “winging it?”
2. Did I start the meeting on time?
3. Did the participants respond freely and easily to my questions?
4. Did I keep the meeting on track? Did we stay focused?
5. Did I refrain from lecturing or playing the expert?
6. Did I maintain healthy control of the meeting?
7. Did I keep the interest of the participants?
8. Did I make full use of the audiovisual tools?
9. Did I give them clear action items?
10. Did I end the meeting on time?

Make sure you are ready and your team will know that you value them and their contribution to your team!

For more sales and leadership tips like this one, subscribe to Southwestern Consulting on YouTube.

Have you ever felt slammed by the ups and downs of sales? You’re trying your best, but these people are unreasonable. They bark at you to get to the point when you’re trying to be nice to them. Or they chat on and on when you’ve got six other appointments to get to and you just need them to sign on the dotted line already.

When you try to show them the big picture of how your product will transform their lives it seems like all they want is to grill you on endless, mind-numbing details. And then there are the times when you spend an hour with people who nod encouragingly at everything you say only to tell you they’re not interested when you go to make the sale.

Even when you’re on top of your game – presenting every fact, answering every objection, demonstrating the need – you just still can’t seem to close the deal sometimes. Some days your job feels like an endless cycle of annoyance and frustration. It doesn’t help that the colleague next to you connect with all kinds of different people easily and is making money left and right.

You love the high that comes with closing a deal, but the lows of the sales process take a huge toll on you. You’re tired of being stressed out all the time. You’re looking for the piece that will transform your career from a roller coaster into a year-round cruise.

You’re searching for a new way to navigate the sales process.

Selling the Way People Like to Buy

Success in sales revolves around one key thing: trust.

Trust is the honest emotional connection you make with your buyer – a connection that closes the sale. But what makes a buyer trust you enough to invest in what you’re selling? Why is it so easy for you connect with some people and not others?

The answer is actually simple: not everybody buys the way you like to sell.

The Extraordinary Mindset

The first key in becoming a successful navigator is developing an extraordinary mindset.

The difference between an extraordinary mindset and an ordinary mindset is the difference between being a peddler salesperson and a professional sales person who generally wants to serve others and has the prospects best interests at heart – in other words, a Navigator.

An ordinary mindset is self-serving an ego-driven. Many salespeople are wired this way. They communicate with others with the goal of serving themselves. Normally, they frame their words to make themselves look good or to protect themselves from appearing incompetent. They treat others the way they themselves want to be treated without realizing that assuming everyone else in the world wants to be treated the same way you do is a form of self-centeredness.

A salesperson with an ordinary mindset:

• Focuses on the sale and pressures people to buy
• Talks more than listens and presents solutions without understanding the prospect’s true needs
• Oversells, presenting every aspects of the product regardless of need
• Neglects to answer objections up front and drags out the sales process
• Closes weakly and fears losing the sale
• Lies or exaggerates the truth to get people to buy
• Hesitates to ask for referrals
• Takes shortcuts and tries to get rich quick
• Makes excuses and has a negative attitude
• Treats prospects the same, regardless of buying style

On the other hand, an extraordinary mindset is focused on serving others. When you have an extraordinary mindset, you take the time to ask questions of the people you talk to, and you care about the answers. You use the knowledge. You gain to connect with others in a meaningful way. When that happens, people want to do business with you, because they see that you’re genuinely concerned about their wants and needs.

A salesperson with an extraordinary mindset:

• Focuses on providing value and taking the pressure off the prospect
• Listens more than talks, asking great questions to uncover the prospect’s needs quickly
• Tailors the sales presentation to address the specific needs of the prospect
• Answers objections before they come up and sells real value
• Closes with the sincere goal in mind of helping the prospect get to where he or she wants to go faster
• Asks for referrals from a place of passion for helping more people
• Does what’s needed to get the desired results, even when he or she doesn’t feel like it
• Treats people the way they prefer to be treated by Navigating

With an extraordinary mindset, your focus is on serving, and the byproduct is selling. You close far more deals with an extraordinary Navigate mindset than you do with an ordinary one.

The Four Navigate Behavior Styles

Our years of research have found that people tend to fall into one of four dominant behavior styles: Fighters, Entertainers, Detectives, and Counselors.

Fighters are cut-to-the-chase, bottom-line drivers with little time and less patience. They are motivated by results, and it’s important to them to be in control.

Entertainers are social butterflies and enthusiastic extroverts. They love people, possibilities, and rapport – and they care more about emotions than facts.

Detectives are practical analysts. They are always on the hunt for details, and unlike Entertainers, they rank the value of facts over emotions every time.

Counselors are “steady eddies.” Laid-back diplomats, they have the interest of the team at heart. They love security and consistency, and they make decisions by consensus.

These people probably sound familiar. You’ve met them all before in some shape or form, and a few of them have most likely driven you up the wall in the past. But when you begin to sell to the four behavior styles the way they like to buy, that paradigm of frustration changes fast.

All you have to do is learn to Navigate.

Excerpt taken from Navigate: Selling the Way People Like to Buy, by Steve Reiner, © 2016 Southwestern Consulting.

The confidence in asking for and expecting referrals comes from the knowledge of what to say.

When it comes down to it, the core of why people don’t consistently ask for referrals at every single opportunity and expect to get five or 10 referrals from every person they meet with is because they’ve had a bad experience from asking. That one bad experience sticks in their mind and the fear of that rejection holds them back.

With creating a script for referrals, one of the things to keep at the front of your mind is that asking for referrals is an art.

There are seven steps in asking for referrals that apply whether you’re at an IT company, a real estate brokerage or selling widgets.  These seven steps can be customized to fit any type of process when asking for referrals.

Step 1: The Referral Transition Statement

The most common step that is skipped in this whole process is step one, the transition statement. A good analogy for this is to remember the first time you ever drove a stick shift car. When you don’t have a transition statement in asking for referrals, imagine that you’re missing a gear when you’re shifting gears in a car.

One of our favorite transition statements is doing two steps where you warm them up. First, you thank them, and then plant the seed for the referral: “You know what, Emmy, thank you so much for who you are and making an investment into your future. I wish I had ten more customers or ten more people to talk with every day who are just like you.”

This does a couple of things. Number one, it makes them feel good. Number two, it plants the seed that you’re not going to ask for one, or two, or three referrals, but that you’re going to ask for multiple referrals in a minute.

Step 2: Clearly Ask for the Referral

The next step is to clearly ask for a referral. On this step the key is making sure you clearly ask for the referral without using the word “referral.” There’s something weird about the way society has branded the word referral. It’s seared into their mind as a bad word and creates an objection that doesn’t need to be there. Instead, say something like, “You know, based on who you are and who you know, who do you think would at least be a good fit to talk with about their needs?”

Watch their body language when you say this and if they start to cross their arms and show you that they are going to put up their defenses, then use this next line – “You know Steve, my job is to at least meet with everyone, and I’ll show them the same professionalism that I showed with you.” This lets them know you have everyone’s best interest at heart, just like you had theirs with the initial sale.

Step 3: Paint the Picture

The third step is to paint the picture. In painting the picture, you want to put them in your shoes. You want to tell them specifically who you are looking for. It sounds something like this: “If you were me helping raise the bar in people’s lives, who would you go talk with first? Who would you see?” They could already have a name stuck in their head, and might say, “You should talk to my friend Karen,” but that usually doesn’t happen. This is why you need the next step…

Step 4: Isolate the Faces

Next you need to isolate the faces. When you isolate the faces, there are two things you must do.

You start broadly: you identify their circle of influence and then you get specific. When you get specific, that is the “closing question” in the process of getting a referral.

1) Find the circle of influence. The best time to find that is at the very beginning, when you meet them and are building rapport. My favorite question to ask people is, “What do you like to do for fun?” It sounds like a random, broad question, but people love to answer it and this is where you get the gold. When you ask them what they like to do for fun and they tell you yachting or racing sailboats, that’s where you get tapped into their specific circles of influence. Now you know where you can get referrals and you can do it in the rapport-building phase. It should sound something like this: “Basically, Dan, what I’m looking for is anyone who has recently had a job change, has kids, or is moving in or out of town. I know you’re really involved with your PTA group. Who is somebody that you’re closest with in the PTA?” This starts broadly because there are several people in the PTA. One of two things can happen with this question. They may instantly think of someone that’s a good fit for you, or – more likely – they are going to give you a slight objection and say that they can’t think of anyone.

2) Next you may have to get specific. The next question is the “closing question,” where you isolate it all down to one face. You want to make them think of one specific person. The question that you ask next will definitely have an answer to it. It can be as simple as, “Who did you sit next to in your last meeting?” Or if you’re asking about who they know at their country club, “Who did you play golf with last?”

Usually the first name they give you is not the most qualified name for what you do, but that’s OK. You’re trying to do is create momentum. Once that momentum is going and you get that first name, you’ll be able to get more. A shortcut to this step is called the “barbeque technique.” The barbeque technique is where you say, “You know what, Dave, if you were to have a barbeque who would be the first five people you would invite?”

Step 5: Write Down the Referral

With those names, you then go to the next step where you write down the referral. This may sound strange, but a lot of people forget to write down the referral. Here are the steps to writing down the referral.

Once you say the closing statement of, “Who did you sit next to in your last meeting?” you need to break eye contact and be quiet. Don’t talk until they give you a name, no matter how awkward the silence is.

Also, you need to have a referral pad. Get a legal pad and at the top write “referrals.” Go ahead and write five referrals on there from the last person that gave you referrals. Pre-fill out your pad before you use it for the first time so that the perception is that every single person is already giving you referrals.

Step 6: Ask “Who Else?”

The second to last step is, you ask “Who else?” Do not get “pre-approach” (all the nitty gritty details about this person) immediately. If you do get pre-approach immediately, you will leave with only one referral. Write down as much information as possible and then thank them for giving you the referral and always ask who else. It will sound something like this:

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate this. Who else do you know at the country club?” Keep talking about the different circles of influence until they are out of people in that area and then you say, “I know you’re really involved at your church. Who do you know at church?”

Step 7: Get Pre-Approach

Once you have the list of 10 people to call, then you get pre-approach. The main four things you want to know are:

1) What is the decision-maker’s name?

2) What’s the best time to reach them?

3) How do you know them?

4) What kind of decision-maker are they? (Are they straight to the point, detail-oriented or outgoing?) Write down what they say because that will identify their buying behavior style.

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So you want to be an expert at closing the sale? It’s not hard, but it does take some practice! Fortunately, there are several key tips that can help.

Here are 11 things all great sales closers have in common.

1. Great closers have a burning desire to close the sale.

They know that closing one additional sale per day, per week, or even per month will greatly increase their income. Great closers often have a score sheet on the wall or in their car, and they can’t wait to fill in the numbers after closing the sale.

2. Great closers really believe that their prospect is going to buy.

Believing the customer will buy and selling with conviction greatly increases your chance of making the sale. Great closers expect success. They don’t think it was just “their lucky day.” In the car on the way to the presentation, they do a lot of positive self-talk, assuming the person is definitely going to buy. They say things like: “I am now pulling into the parking lot of my next big client!” or “I know that I have the best product and the best price for this customer, at this time. Now I will prove it to be true!”

3. Great closers are sincere.

People can tell when you are not sincere. Sincerity will always sell more than anything else you do, and your lack of sincerity will almost always kill the deal. Look people directly in their eyes and tell them the truth. Listen and really care about what they are trying to accomplish.

4. Great closers talk low and slow.

When you are calm and talk low and slow, your prospect will listen and believe you. If you get nervous and talk too fast, you come across as pushy and tend to sound like someone they cannot trust.

5. Great closers keep the close simple.

Your prospect must fully understand what you are talking about, so be straightforward.

6. Great closers ask a lot of questions that will elicit a positive response.

The more you get prospects saying “yes” during your presentation, the more likely they are to say “yes” during the close.

7. Great closers realize the importance of names and examples.

They will “name drop” appropriately throughout the closing process. Once again, remember that the close is supposed to be a natural ending to your presentation that makes people feel comfortable enough to move forward. By using names of other people whom they know, you subtly make them feel comfortable because they feel they are not taking such a huge risk. After all, others they know have done well with your product or service, and so should they.

8. Great closers never argue with their prospects.

They agree with objections and continue closing the sale. Whenever they must disagree with a prospect, they do it in a light, agreeable way. The principle to keep in mind is: “If I win the argument, I lose the sale!” One way to disagree in an agreeable way is to say, “I totally understand how you feel. Let’s move on to the next point.” If the disagreement occurs on a major point that could derail the sale, you could say, “If we were to work together, what would it take for us to move forward on this point?”

9. Great closers never lose their cool.

If customers upset them occasionally, they never show it. They always keep their voice low and have a friendly expression on their face. If you get the reputation of being a friendly sales rep, you can more easily build a large client base. Remember, more often than not, if people like you, they will overlook some of the negative points of your product or service.

10. Great closers are politely persistent.

They are not overbearing, yet they give prospects a number of chances to buy before judging whether or not the sale will actually happen. The key here is to walk the fine line of trying a little harder to get the sale without the prospect feeling any pressure from you.

11. Great closers leave people happy.

They make sure their prospects are in a good frame of mind before they leave. They want to brighten people’s days. They are also aware that their reputation precedes them in the community. Additionally, they know that by leaving prospects happy, they too will be happier, thus increasing their chance of making a sale at the next appointment.

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Golf fans: pretend you are down one stroke at the Masters and you are on the 18th hole. A fan is near the green eating a hamburger when all of a sudden, a gust of wind pulls his McDonald’s bag out onto the fairway. Amazingly, the ball takes a huge bounce and then rolls right into the bag. Under PGA rules you cannot cause the ball to move once it is in rest or you face a one stroke penalty. What should you do?

Solution: Light the bag on fire then hit the ball.

That is problem-solving!

As salespeople, we run into problems every day when we are out selling. We forget our presentation materials. We get stood up. We run into traffic on the way to an appointment. Meetings cancel. The financials sometimes do not work out. A surprise decision-maker gets involved. We put our foot in our mouth.

To be good in sales or sales management, you have to be good at thinking on your feet. You have to be a good problem-solver. In fact, that is why sales can be such a lucrative profession. If just anyone could do it, there would not be so much financial opportunity. The world will pay almost anything for a good problem-solver.

With just a little intentionality, you can solve almost any sales problem in five steps.

1. Identify the problem.

Some people don’t even do this. (Example: Wife that is mad at her husband, and he doesn’t even know why she is mad.)

2. Change your perspective – identify three positives.

Let’s say you drive all the way across the city during rush hour traffic in the morning to a breakfast meeting, and just as you walk in the door, you get a call on your cell and your prospective client says, “I’m sorry to have to do this to you, but I just don’t think this is a good fit, so I’m not going to be making our meeting today.”

What are three good things about that? Of course, you don’t want to get stood up; but when it happens, you have to learn to look on the bright side. You can say to yourself, Now I have more time to call and set up another appointment. Or you can say, I am thankful every day for a job that teaches me patience. Or Every ”’no” gets me closer to a “yes.” etc.

True Story: While selling books for Southwestern Family of Companies, one of my colleagues got 13 flat tires in one summer. After the first few, he turned it into a game to see how fast he could change a tire. By the end of the summer, he could change a tire in under three minutes.

3. Identify all your possible solutions.

You can sit around and feel sorry for yourself. You can take a break. You can emotionally eat and gorge on the most fattening of breakfast foods to help you cope. You can call a friend and complain about your job. You can project that it is just not possible to make money in your profession. I know all the previous “solutions” sound stupid; but believe me, people do them. I have seen many off-track sales people take a nap in their car or decide they need to go shopping during the day, when they get an unexpected break. Another solution would be to go straight back to the phone and try to replace that cancelled appointment with another.

4. Determine which option is best.

A good rule of thumb is to pick whatever solution gets you in front of another prospect the quickest. That helps you to get over it quicker and builds your self-esteem, because you know you can work through anything. It allows you to realize that problems are no big deal.

5. Do It!

Sometimes we know what we should be doing, but we still don’t do it. My dog is even guilty of that. He will stick his head in the trash can to pull out the scraps; and while he is doing it, he will wear a cheesy, toothy grin on his face because he knows he is doing wrong. Remember, whenever we don’t do something we know we should be doing, it takes our self-confidence down a notch. When we do something that we don’t want to do because it is the right thing to do, that increases our self-confidence. Action cures fear!

Bonus tip on having a problem-solving attitude: Always focus on the solution. Are we always solution-oriented? How many times do you hear someone complain about the market, about their company’s pricing, or how much they have to do? If you find yourself, doing any of those, that is not being solution-oriented, that is being problem-oriented.

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