Friday, January 29, 2016

Fwd: Abundance Insider: January 29 Edition




-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Abundance Insider: January 29 Edition
Date: Fri, 29 Jan 2016 14:34:26 -0800
From: Peter Diamandis <peter@diamandis.com>
Reply-To: peter@diamandis.com
To: STeve <stevescott@techacq.com>


In this abridged post-Abundance 360 issue, we've got tech that turns deserts into farmland, a glimpse of the future of sports, and the latest AI breakthrough from Google's DeepMind.

Cheers,
Peter, Marissa, Cody, Maxx, Kelley and Greg

P.S. Send any tips to data@diamandis.com, and send your friends and family to this link to subscribe to Abundance Insider.

Google AI Algorithm Masters Ancient Game of Go

google ai go algorithm game

What it is: A computer has just beaten the world's best Go player. AlphaGo, a program created by Google-owned AI company DeepMind, beat European Go champ Fan Hui all five times they played in tournament conditions, and also won 99.8% of Go games against other computer programs. Unlike IBM's Deep Blue, which defeated chess champ Garry Kasparov, AlphaGo wasn't programmed to play Go. Instead, as Nature reports, it learned how to play via a general-purpose algorithm that interpreted the game's patterns.

Why it's important: AlphaGo's learning technique means it can recognize complex patterns, long-term planning and decision-making: refined skills that were once stricly human in nature. Imagine the possibilities when neural networks like AlphaGo, infinite computing and the Internet of Everything converge.

Spotted by Dan Swift

Prize-Winning Tech Turns Deserts Into Farmland

incentive prize deserts into            farms

What it is: Desert Control, a Norwegian startup, just won first prize at the ClimateLaunchpad clean-tech business competition for its product Liquid NanoClay. The mixture of wtaer and clay effectively transforms any sandy desert soil into fertle, arable land. As The Engineer UK reports, "The treatment gives sand particles a nanostructured clay coating, completely changing their physical properties and allowing them to bind water... [V]irgin desert soils treated with Liquid NanoClay produced a yield four times greater than untreated land, using the same amount of seeds and fertiliser, and less than half the amount of water."

Why it's important: Technology is a resource-liberating force. In this case, Liquid NanoClay enables us to create fertile land anywhere -- including remote, inhospitable land in Africa, China, Mongolia and the Middle East -- thus making farmland abundant.

Spotted by Paul Heiss

Mini Microscope ID's Cancer Cells From the Doctor's Office

mini microscope

What it is: University of Washington engineers have developed a mini handheld microscope that enables real-time differentiation between cancerous and normal brain tissue. Such a device enables neurosurgeons to immediately determine where to stop cutting during brain surgery -- a critical task that's currently time-consuming and imprecise. "[Surgeons are] using their sense of sight, their sense of touch, and pre-operative images of the brain — and oftentimes it's pretty subjective," said study leader Jonathan Liu. "Being able to zoom and see at the cellular level during the surgery would really help them to accurately differentiate between tumor and normal tissues and improve patient outcomes."

Why it's important: Advances in materials science and imaging speed enable microscopes to get smaller, faster and better. Armed with this mini microscope, surgeons can make faster, more accurate decisions and deliver better results.

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

Big Auto Searches for Meaning Beyond Selling Cars

big auto exponential            technologies

What it is: What happens to the business models of automakers like Ford and Toyota when we don't need to purchase cars? This article covers the new experiments and initiatives from Big Auto that don't involve actually selling cars, including Ford's shared-use "mobility services," General Motors' $500M investment in Lyft, and BMW's car-sharing program.

Why it's important: In this time of exponential change, standing still is effectively moving backward. As autonomous and semi-autonomous cars gain a bigger foothold in the automotive market, Big Auto will need to be nimble or else suffer a slow death. These experiments by all the major automakers are worth watching.

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

What Could the World of Sports Look Like in 25 Years?

future of sports

What it is: The Future of Sports is a 50-page report that features insights from futurists and academics on what the industry could look like in 25 years as exponential technologies become ubiquitous. One compelling example: What happens to the standard stadium parking lot when self-driving cars are the preferred game-day transportation method?

Why it's important: It's not a matter of if exponential technologies will disrupt your industry, but when. This report has vivid examples of how every aspect of the sports industry will change in the future -- from dematerialized parking lots to AI-enhanced seat distribution -- making it a valuable read even for those who don't follow sports.

Spotted by Geoffrey Kasselman

What is Abundance Insider?

This email is a briefing of the week's most compelling, abundance-enabling tech developments, curated by Marissa Brassfield in preparation for Abundance 360. Read more about A360 below.

Want more conversations like this?

At Abundance 360, Peter's 250-person executive mastermind, we teach the metatrends, implications and unfair advantages for entrepreneurs enabled by breakthroughs like those featured above. The program is highly selective and we're almost full, but we're still looking for a few final CEOs and entrepreneurs who want to change the world. You can apply here.

Know someone who would benefit from getting Abundance Insider? Send them to this link to sign up.


If you wish to stop receiving our emails or change your subscription options, please Manage Your Subscription
PHD Ventures , 800 Corporate Pointe, Suite 350, Culver City, CA 90230






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Fwd: Secrets Behind My 6 Figure Per Month Coaching Business



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alex Jeffreys <aj@marketingwithyou.com>
Date: Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 9:05 AM
Subject: Secrets Behind My 6 Figure Per Month Coaching Business
To: "Im1@Bydf.Com" <im1@bydf.com>


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I posted this important message on facebook and although there have been over 200 comments on the post… however, many of you emailed to say that you can't access it. So I have copied it (in full) into this email for you to read below. - However be warned - this is a long post. And it's only relevant for coaches consultants and information marketers (with mailing lists) looking to dramatically increase profits by selling high ticket coaching programs in 2016. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's time to come clean and finally release the heavily guarded secrets behind my multiple 6 figure per-month high ticket coaching business

Ok, so since making the announcement that "I'm leaving the Internet Marketing niche"

I've been flooded with messages from tons of Coaches, Consultants, Information Marketers (and nosey parkers alike) mainly asking one of two burning questions…

1) What the F am I up to next?

And...

2) How the HECK I scaled my coaching business into the multiple six figures per month while taking monthly vacations with my wife and kids?

Just in the past 90 days alone I've travelled to London, Dubai, Atlanta, San Diego, Thailand, back to Dubai and onto London with my wife and two young kids in tow. All while this system ran itself generating multiple 6 figures in high ticket sales in my absence.

So for the first time ever - I'm going to back the curtain and show you I've been able to pull this off so easily.

But first I'll explain why kept this private until now!!!

Quite Simply… We used this system to dominate our market place and certainly didn't want it in the hands of our competition.

So why share this NOW?

I'm leaving… and there's going to be a BIG void left within the "Internet Marketing niche" for other people to step in.

I honestly feel I'd be doing the marketplace a disservice by not sharing this to allow you savvy marketers to "carry the torch" so to speak and dominate in 2016!

To all the other coaches, consultants and information marketers reading this in other niches - what I share NEXT has proven to be just as powerful, if not MORE powerful outside the "IM" Niche (as proven with a few of my coaching clients I've recently taught this system too)

Okay so let's look at how this all come about…

When I started selling high ticket coaching back in 2011

I really made a mess of things,

always trying to complicate the business with way more than
what was actually needed.

I partly blame those hard times to my hair loss! ;)

However, I can't complain - I was bringing in 6 figures per year.

But the problem was I was working needlessly too hard and I had no systems in place whatsoever to bring in new clients.

It was just one big daily hustle with no light at the end of the tunnel.

So in early 2012 we started to design some automation systems which started to bring in clients "hands-free".

We felt like we were onto something...

So we continued to work on the very promising system for the next two years. Painstakingly I may add.

By the start of 2015 we had simplified the business model so much so that there were just 4 parts! (REJOICE!)

All complexity was removed and we had a constant queue of people wanting to become high ticket coaching clients (way more than we could handle!)

The best part is that the system practically runs itself and it enabled me to take off most of 2015 while bringing in multiple six figures per month whether I was at the computer or not.

One of the best times for me was recently spending two weeks in Thailand and working no more than 8 hours in total over 17 days - yet seeing $100,000+ of sales roll into the account while on vacation.

So if you are coach, consultant or someone looking to add high ticket coaching to your business then pay attention… because what I'm about to share with you is hands down the most powerful and efficient system for generating high ticket coaching clients to your business day in, day out that I've ever seen.

Let me introduce you to "The High Ticket Selling System".

Stage 1) Leads On Demand™

Based on the law of "cause and effect" your business is either growing or dying at any given moment.

Now as we know, lead generation is the lifeblood of your business (we also know this needs the most attention over everything else).

Lucky for us in living in the digital age there are plenty of ways to generate Leads on Demand while automating the process using paid advertising on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram etc.

And there's a way to virtually guarantee you always win when buying traffic and leads too…The saying goes, "he who can spend the most for a customer wins".

By feeding your leads into a High Ticket Pipeline (as I'm about to explain next) it's a surefire way to beat any and all competition in your chosen niche.

Tip: remember to watch these two important numbers in your business. Cost Per Lead & Customer Value….

Okay next.

Stage 2) High Ticket Pipeline™

We really hit the nail on the head back in January 2012. For months previous we'd been struggling to convert leads into high ticket sales over the phone.

Our biggest issue the leads were stone cold. and we were wasting our time on the phone trying to educate them.

So we created a short, but powerful educational Autoresponder series to warm up the leads before the phone. The results were phenomenal.

And here's the trick - we educated them on EVERYTHING they needed to believe in order to want to pay big bucks for coaching.

We not only educated them on the system we were selling, but more importantly we educated them on the most important element - WHY they needed a mentor and WHY I was the mentor that they absolutely had to work with - this changed EVERYTHING!

This first successful campaign has since generated 7 figures for us alone and all we did was add it into our automated High Ticket Pipeline™. As you can imagine - we've since created a step by step checklist to replicate this success and deepen our High Ticket Pipeline™

This is the turning point that took us from 6 figures per year to 6 figures per month.

Stage 3) The Magic Script™


Adam Davies is the genius behind The Magic Script™ and I'm almost sure he created it drunk one evening in a heightened state of consciousness! It's on a serious other level. We've now recorded well over $5million dollars of sales in the past two years from people simply reading The Magic Script™ word-for-word over the telephone and closing High Ticket deals with ease.

In fact, the script alone turned our 20% sales close rate into a 60-80% sales close rate (based on who was making the call).

We even had one guy, Richie join our sales team who had never been in the real sales world before,

(He had the right attitude so we took a punt on him)

And just by Richie reading The Magic Script™ word for word he closed his first high ticket sale on the very first call…and pulled in a few thousand bucks,

Richie then went on to generate $27,000 in his first three week, and recently he closed well over $1,000.000.00 of sales for my coaching business - all from using the script Adam created!

Just think about this for a second.

When you think I have multiple people closing deals [all day every day] in my business using this script - I'm sure you can understand how powerful this can be for creating HUGE leverage in your own business.

Quick Recap:

You Can Have Virtually Unlimited Leads on Demand That Roll Into a High Ticket Pipeline That Then Spits Out Hundreds of Hot Applications Into The Phone Room Every Month That You Can Easily Close With a Magic Script...

It's Perfect.

But there's just one more element needed to ensure you have a GREAT High Ticket business:

Stage 4) The Red Carpet Experience™

This is about making your client FEEL like a VIP.

I'd love to say this comes down to just three things:

1) Empathy
2) Patience
3) Care for the client.


And while I think these three elements are absolutely key to success with coaching clients (without them you shouldn't coach - ever).

However The Red Carpet Experience actually comes down to the one thing The "After Sale Process".

With a big focus on being super proactive in communication with your clients.

One thing I have learned is communication is everything with coaching to ensure your client is happy!

Now I'm not a tech person so the good news is (No CRM Needed - we actually did this with good old spreadsheets and a simple calendar notification system for many years).

When the client knows you are being proactive about their success - it makes the world of difference to how they feel about you and the program.

I see too many coaches leaving their clients for dead. If someone isn't on one of my coaching calls for 2 weeks running - someone in my office is hunting them down to find out why NOT and looking for ways to support them in between coaching classes.

As a business owner you should understand you are in the customer service business. The business is there to serve the customer. And the best business owners are committed to customer service excellence.

I have dedicated years of my life creating systems and processes to give the best experience while just as importantly delegating it to someone in my office to handle and run. (Freeing me up to just do what I love best - the coaching calls once per week)
And there we have it. the perfect coaching business.

I truly hope this helps xoxo

Alex Jeffreys

PS - So what's next for Alex Jeffreys?

We'll I'm finally moving my family to San Diego next weekend (a long time dream of ours)

However before we jet off…

I have something that might interest you!

...I'm putting together a live presentation Monday 1st February
where I'm showcasing the "High Ticket Selling System" in greater detail using a few case studies from clients who've install this into their own business with great success.

This training is EXCLUSIVELY for COACHES, Consultants and Information Marketers, and it will be dramatically different from "webinars" that others might have invited you to in the past!

So if you think this is a good fit for you and you're interested in joining us live here's what I recommend doing...

Register For The Live Event Here.

Then I can personally shoot you over a Personal Message with an invitation for the free live training.

After this post my guess is you have some questions about installing the HTSS into your own business. (So to save time responding to questions in the comments below - I'll make sure to stick around after the training and answer any question you may have in person - Cool?

I hope this is okay...And it will sure save me time time responding to all your questions below (Especially as i'm going to be busy this week packing with my family)

Hope you have enjoyed this post.

And remember if you want free access to this training, Simply follow these steps.

Register For The Live Event Here.

Okay I'm signing out.

It's been a pleasure sharing this with you - and I'm really looking forward to talking with you about this if you're interested.

Peace & Love

Coach AJ
10785 W Twain Ave #102, 89135, Las Vegas, United States
You may unsubscribe or change your contact details at any time.

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Friday, January 8, 2016

Fwd: Abundance Insider: January 8 Edition




-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Abundance Insider: January 8 Edition
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2016 12:04:28 -0800
From: Peter Diamandis <peter@diamandis.com>
Reply-To: peter@diamandis.com
To: STeve <stevescott@techacq.com>


In this week's Abundance Insider: Human-animal hybrids, single-molecule disease detection, and manmade Martian concrete.

Cheers,
Peter, Marissa, Cody, Maxx, Kelley and Greg

P.S. Send any tips to data@diamandis.com, and send your friends and family to this link to subscribe to Abundance Insider.

3D-Printed Ceramics: Flawless and Super-Strong

3d printed ceramics

What it is: HRL Laboratories have created a way to 3D print flawless ceramics, including heat-resistant varieties that have never been 3D printed before. As Popular Mechanics describes, "The printing process is done by carefully etching 100 micron thick layers of the resin with a UV light, which fuses small molecular clumps (called monomers) into long plastic-like chains (called polymers). Once the plastic-like pre-ceramic part is printed, it's forged in an oven, where it's slowly cooked to 1,000 degrees Celsius in the presence of argon gas."

Why it's important: Ceramics are currently used in racecar brakes, jet engines and other high-temperature, high-pressure applications for a reason -- they're durable. But they're also currently difficult to manufacture. 3D printing dematerializes kilns, demonetizes ceramics manufacturing and democratizes the ability for us all to be creators.

Spotted by Dan Swift

Bone Foam May Replace Cumbersome Casts

injectable foam

What it is: University of Nantes scientists have developed Si-HMPC, a foamy cement that could revolutionize how we set and treat broken bones and osteoporosis. Instead of a bulky cast, bone-filling glue is injected directly into the affected area, where it quickly sets and supports the surrounding bones.

Why it's important: Biocompatible foams like this one could end bone diseases like osteoporosis. Another benefit for patients is the minimally invasive nature of this procedure (a simple injection).

Spotted by Yvan Bamping

Ukrainian Startup: We've Solved Long-Range Wireless Charging

wireless charging

What it is: Ukrainian startup XE claims it's solved the biggest problem in wireless energy: proximity. Inspired by crystal radios, the XE team has created an efficient transmitter-receiver combination that will charge any of your smart devices' batteries within a 5-meter (16 feet) radius. "The main breakthrough we've achieved is the antenna," said XE founder Ivan Chuba to Ars Technica. "On our working frequency, which is in the SW band, you'd normally need a large antenna to receive the signal and pass it on to the converter. We have built an antenna capable of doing this that can be housed in an iPhone 6/6S case."

Why it's important: Wireless power is integral not just for consumer devices, but the entire Internet of Everything. As we move to a trillion-sensor planet, the ability to charge each of those gadgets, sensors and objects without plugging each one into a socket is crucial.

Spotted by Lukasz Bednara

GM Strikes Strategic Autonomous Car Alliance With Lyft

lyft gm partnership

What it is: Lyft and General Motors have just formalized a strategic venture that cements both parties' commitment to autonomous vehicles. GM will invest $500 million in Lyft's $1 billion funding round, plus create a rental program for Lyft drivers and a network for self-driving cars. The partnership marks the most aggressive indication Lyft has made regarding its future use of autonomous cars.

Why it's important: This is a glimpse of the near future, in which car ownership is unnecessary. Combine this news with our item last week describing Google's partnership with Ford on self-driving cars, and we may be witnessing an inflection point in how U.S. automakers tweak their business models.

Spotted by Peter Diamandis

Vinli Dematerializes In-Car Internet

vinli in car internet

What it is: This week, Uber cars in Las Vegas are sporting a new accessory in honor of CES: Vinli. The hardware turns any car into a roving WiFi hotspot rife with in-car entertainment apps -- just plug it into the car's OBD II port and connect a smartphone to the device using Bluetooth. T-Mobile's built-in 4G LTE will offer speeds equal to or better than average home Internet service.

Why it's important: Vinli dematerializes the in-car dash entertainment system. By using a smartphone as the user interface, Vinli can offer a content-rich experience without being tied to any automaker's technology.

Spotted by Greg O'Brien

Can Human-Machine Superintelligence Solve the World's Most Dire Problems?

ai human machine solving            problems

What it is: Joint research from Cornell and the Human Computation Institute supports a core Abundance 360 principle: human-technology teamwork can solve the world's biggest problems. Researchers specifically cited "human computation," or the act of combining human and computer intelligence in crowd-powered systems, as a potential approach to solve global challenges like climate change and geopolitical conflicts. YardMap.org and WeCureAlz.com are two human computation projects mentioned in the article.

Why it's important: Peter often says that the crowd is the interim step for full-blown artificial intelligence. Until AI passes human cognition capabilities, the crowd is a powerful mechanism for near-infinite image processing and data analysis -- especially when paired with computers that crunch, organize and prioritize this data.

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

Wind Turbines Now Power 19 Million U.S. Homes

wind power in the us

What it is: We don't hear much about wind power here in the U.S., but a recent report from the American Wind Energy Association reveals incredible progress. Today, over 50,000 wind turbines spread across 40 states and Puerto Rico provide 70 gigawatts of energy -- enough to power 19 million homes. Wind power now represents 4.5% to 5% of total U.S. energy use, and has created 73,000 jobs.

Why it's important: Evidence that renewable energy -- and in this case, wind turbines -- is continuing its deceptive growth. While 5% of total electricity use coming from wind doesn't sound like much, consider that in 2007, this figure was under 1 percent.

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

Materials Scientists Make Martian Concrete

martian concrete

What it is: Northwestern University researchers have created concrete using materials commonly found throughout Mars. This Martian concrete doesn't use water, but sulfur: researchers heated it to 240 degrees C, at which point it becomes a liquid, and then mixed it with Martian soil as an aggregate. As the sulfur cools, it solidifies and binds the aggregate to create concrete.

Why it's important: If we're going to colonize other planets, we need to be able to create permanent structures. As humankind moves off the planet and into the solar system, the field of materials science becomes crucial. This Martian-friendly concrete enables us to replicate proven manmade building materials with elements and substances found elsewhere in the universe.

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

Indiegogo Wants Huge Companies to Crowdfund Its Next Big Products

crowdfunding indiegogo            enterprise

What it is: Crowdfunding platform Indiegogo has just launched Enterprise Crowdfunding, a new service that helps large companies use Indiegogo to crowdfund their next project. While large companies have always been free to use Indiegogo, this process offers a substantially improved support process and more robust analytics. As The Verge reports, "Companies that sign up will get Indiegogo's assistance in picking out the right project to crowdfund, setting up and optimizing their campaign, and promoting the campaign once it's up."

Why it's important: Crowdfunding, as we've shared at Abundance 360, is the ideal way to conduct market research and product development. Entrepreneurs of all shades have already been using crowdfunding to launch new initiatives, with great success -- this Indiegogo initiative will help corporate giants disrupt themselves before they get disrupted by exponential entrepreneurs.

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

Human-Animal Chimeras Are Gestating on U.S. Research Farms

human animal chimera

What it is: Last year, the National Institutes of Health announced it wouldn't support studies that involve growing human tissue inside animals like pigs and sheep, but that hasn't stopped some U.S. research centers from creating animal-human chimeras. "The human-animal mixtures are being created by injecting human stem cells into days-old animal embryos, then gestating these in female livestock," MIT Technology Review reports. "The experiments rely on a cutting-edge fusion of technologies, including recent breakthroughs in stem-cell biology and gene-editing techniques."

Why it's important: When we can grow our own heart, liver and organ tissue on demand, transplantable organs transform from a scarce resource to an abundant one. This article also covers both sides of a controversial question: do the massive overall health implications of this form of tissue growth outweigh ethical concerns?

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

Single-Molecule Detection of Contaminants, Explosives or Diseases Now Possible

single molecule disease            detection

What it is: Imagine being able to detect contaminants, diseases and explosives from a single molecule. That's exactly what researchers at Penn State have done, using a technique called SLIPSERS (a portmanteau of "slippery liquid-infused porous surface" and "surface-enhanced Raman scattering"). It can be used on a number of gaseous, liquid or solid samples of chemical and biological species.

Why it's important: This specific technique could revolutionize environmental detection, but another abundance-minded nuance of this article caught our eye: the Penn State team is intentionally not seeking patent protection on SLIPSERS. "We believe that offering this technology to the public will get it developed at a much faster pace," said Professor Tak-Sing Wong. "This is a powerful platform that we think many people will benefit from." Putting this capability in the hands of entrepreneurs and researchers all over the planet opens up a new realm of possibilities.

Spotted by Marissa Brassfield

What is Abundance Insider?

This email is a briefing of the week's most compelling, abundance-enabling tech developments, curated by Marissa Brassfield in preparation for Abundance 360. Read more about A360 below.

Want more conversations like this?

At Abundance 360, Peter's 250-person executive mastermind, we teach the metatrends, implications and unfair advantages for entrepreneurs enabled by breakthroughs like those featured above. The program is highly selective and we're almost full, but we're still looking for a few final CEOs and entrepreneurs who want to change the world. You can apply here.

Know someone who would benefit from getting Abundance Insider? Send them to this link to sign up.


If you wish to stop receiving our emails or change your subscription options, please Manage Your Subscription
PHD Ventures , 800 Corporate Pointe, Suite 350, Culver City, CA 90230






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Sunday, January 3, 2016

Fwd: [New Post:] 7 Commitments for Sales Executives and Salespeople to Increase Sales in 2016




-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: [New Post:] 7 Commitments for Sales Executives and Salespeople to Increase Sales in 2016
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2016 17:11:13 -0500
From: Mike Weinberg <mike@newsalescoach.com>
To: Steve <stevescott@techacq.com>


[New Post:] 7 Commitments for Sales Executives and Salespeople to Increase Sales in 2016
 
Image
 

Figuring you've read enough predictable New Year's predictions to make you gag and that you're tired of being pandered to about how to make your resolutions stick, I wanted to offer a different approach to help us maximize sales performance in 2016.

Skipping the pleasantries and softening statements and fully expecting to labeled as politically insensitive/incorrect, here are the commitments I'm asking executives, sales leaders, and salespeople to make heading into the new year:

Executives and Sales Leaders:

  1. Commit to providing crystal clear direction to your sales team. Don't abdicate your responsibility to point the team toward strategic target markets/accounts. Provide help and input to ensure your sales fighters are attacking the right target prospects/customers.

  2. Free the sales managers so they can actually lead the sales team instead of burying them with non-sales leadership, non-revenue-driving tasks, and dragging them into corporate meetings and nonsense. If you don't think this is an issue, I challenge you to calculate the amount to time the sales manager spends on high-value, high-payoff sales leadership activities (meeting w/ individual salespeople, leading team meetings, working w/ salespeople in the field, seeing customers)  versus the amount to time playing desk jockey, administrator, exec. committee member and good corporate citizen.

  3. Stop pretending that "salespeople" who've spent their entire careers in account maintenance/management/service roles are somehow magically going to turn into sales killers who become proficient at hunting for new business. Do the hard work to further define the sales roles in your organization. Commit to setting your few true hunters free to hunt. Unburden them from day to day management of the business so they can find you more new customers, and let the people on your team wired like zookeepers do what they do best - serve, nurture, feed, clean and protect customers entrusted to their care!

  4. Commit to a formal, scheduled, results and pipeline-focused 1:1 meeting with each salesperson every month. This can be done in-person or via phone or web-meeting. It's invaluable and this one practice is a transformational game-changer. Don't tell me you don't have time; that's a lie. Make the time. I'd argue that this is your job, and these meetings can take as little as 15 minutes per rep. Chapter 20 in Sales Management. Simplified. offers a simple, powerful blueprint how to maximize the effectiveness of these meetings and ramp up accountability and visibility without coming across as a micromanager.

  5. How's this for a novel and contrarian commitment: Stop attempting to lead the sales team via email. Just. Stop. It. Your ability to send a high volume of sharply worded emails does not equate to leading anybody anywhere. In fact, the sad truth is that the way most managers use email diminishes their leadership effectiveness and how they're perceived.

  6. Commit to coaching up or coaching out your under-performers quickly. Just to be clear, that's actually two commitments. Part one is coaching (translation: helping, investing in, guiding, spending time with...) your people. I'm seeing so little coaching that it's mind-boggling. And part two is making the decision and acting on it once it's clear the salesperson cannot or will not perform at the level you require. Nothing good happens from keeping around a long-term under-performer. In fact, a lot of bad things happen, the most dangerous of which is the damage to your high-performance sales culture.

  7. Speaking of sales culture, commit to creating the type of  healthy, pro-sales culture that not only engages the hearts of salespeople and drives sales increases, but also ensures your company attracts and retains top talent.  If you're not sure what that type of culture looks and feels like, Chapter 19 in Sales Management. Simplified. is dedicated to describing the healthiest sales cultures I've seen. This old blog post provides a good brief description, and here are a few challenge questions for you: Is your sales culture helping or hurting your sales team's effectiveness? Is the sales team respected and appreciated or belittled by the rest of the company? Are sales victories celebrated, or are your salespeople more likely to face criticism, complaints, and arbitrary commission deductions that sap their energy and disengage their hearts?

Salespeople:

  1. Commit to taking full responsibility for the results your produce. Instead of looking for excuses, playing the victim, and pointing the finger at everyone (your company, your parents, Congress, Obama, the customer, your competitor, your manager) except yourself, own it!

  2. Commit to improving and taking ownership of your personal and professional development. Find a handful of sales authors/bloggers you like and commit to reading their content. Sign up for webinars (like the Virtual Sales Kickoff described below) and programs that will help sharpen your sword. Befriend a top producer and discover what they're doing to win. If you are already a top producer, start a peer or mastermind group with other top producers - especially if they're outside your company. Share best practices. Set goals with each other. Get input on tough deals. Hold each other accountable.
     
  3. Commit to a finite, strategic, workable list of target accounts you are going to pursue. This is step one in my New Sales Driver framework for a reason. Do the grunt work on the front end. Finish the research and refine the list so you can focus on selling. And if you manage existing customer relationships, segment your accounts and decide going into the year which ones deserve more of your attention because they represent the biggest opportunity to drive new revenue.

  4. Commit to using all means necessary to secure discovery meetings with target prospects. Yes, use social selling. Yes to emails. Yes to asking for referrals. Yes to associations, trade shows, networking events. Yes to content marketing and inbound. Yes to "pop-in" cold calls if appropriate in your industry. And most importantly, yes to picking up the telephone, interrupting a prospect's day, sharing a tidbit of value about how you help others who are similar, and asking them to visit with you (three times if necessary). 
  1. Commit to changing your attitude and approach so customers upgrade how they perceive you. Too many salespeople are coming across as nothing more than "vendors" or suppliers, instead of value-creators, problem-solvers and trusted advisors. If you're tired of being treated as nothing more than a vendor and you've had it with buyers trying to commoditize your offering, please take seven minutes to grab and read my free new eBook.
     
  2. Commit to sharpening your "sales story." Your story is your most important sales weapon. I spend as much time helping salespeople sharpen their messaging as I do on any topic. It's that critical. Have you done the hard work to make your story as compelling, relevant, and succinct as it should be? Are you leading with the issues that you/your solution address for clients, or are you spewing meaningless statements about your company and what you do? See reasons #2 and #3 in the Seven Deadly Sales Sins ebook, and the sales story exercise in Chapter 8 in New Sales. Simplified. for help with your story.
     
  3. Commit to maximizing your selfish selling time. So simple, yet so challenging. Along with nailing down your target lists and sharpening your story, nothing will impact your sales results more than taking back control of your days and your calendar. Commit to saying "no" to others. Push back when people in your company try to put non-sales work on your desk. Stop starting your day by cleaning out your email inbox and allowing others to dictate how you spend those precious first few hours! If you are serious about selling more then get serious about spending more time selling.
  4. Imagine what would happen to sales results if sales executives, managers and salespeople made and kept these commitments in 2016! You'd have more sales and I'd have less demand for my services :-)

Imagine what would happen to sales results if sales executives, managers and salespeople made and kept these commitments in 2016! You'd have more sales and I'd have less demand for my services :-)

Virtual Sales Kickoff 2016: Join five of my favorite sales gurus and me for the Virtual Sales Kickoff. All you need to know is that it's free; no one is selling anything, and there's one goal: to provide you with ideas to supercharge your sales year. Click on the image below for more details on the speakers and how to register. Even if you can't join us on January 20th, sign up anyway so you can view the recording that will be available after the event.

 
Click Here toImage see why Sales Management. Simplified. is being called:

"arguably the best book that has ever been written on sales management" and "an unequaled blueprint for both leading salespeople and building high-performance sales teams"

For more blunt, practical new business development and sales management insights, visit newsalescoach.com
 
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