What One Word Will Define Your Year?

As I was reading through my emails during the snowpocalypse I stumbled upon a fellow blogger’s post that I fell in love with. I met this person at a Blogger Meetup a few months back and she gave me some awesome tips to improve my site. Since then I’ve followed her blog and subscribed to her posts (which you can do for mine as well on the side bar) to stay up on her writing.

One Word

Today’s post was about the one word she will make her mantra for 2014. It was cool to see how this practice of defining the year and how she’s applied it in the past. She’s made some neat things happen recently and you all know I’m a sucker for success stories so it brightened up this frozen day.

This is different from a new year’s resolution, which she dislikes as much as me. This is more of a motif or an overarching  theme. If you had a sports team you’d probably print it on shirts or if you have an office you’d hang banners in the lobby as a constant reminder.

The Purpose

I am writing this today for two reasons: 1.) So you’ll go read her post (here) because it’s thought provoking & 2.) To share my word. As soon as I read it I posted the article on Twitter and it was immediately responded to with someone’s one defining word of their own. I hadn’t thought to apply the practice to myself, what was my word?

I am putting myself through lots of changes personally, professionally, and spiritually. 2014 is going to be defined by transformation and I can’t wait to see where it leads me. I have a number of things I want to accomplish this year and I’m going to forge my way by giving as much as I can. I heard a quote from Anne Frank the other day that has stuck in my head: Nobody has become poor from giving. 

My Word

It didn’t take long to come up with mine, I’ve been living it this past week and I am making it happen each day I write. I am reinventing myself, I am working to become a better man, I am doing things I’ve never done before. My word is transformational.

I am going to give my way to transformation this year. I am going to give my time, my experience, and myself to those around me. Check out The Anonymous Blonde and let me know what your word you choose to define your year with. 

define your year

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Chat with me on Twitter or leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts for 2014!

Stay warm and have a great day!

3 Essential Components: How to Close More Sales

One of my first jobs, even before the furniture company, was selling vitamins in a one-on-one setting. Then I spent most of much of my previous life with furniture in sales, performing and teaching them. I spent a lot of time observing what my sales people were doing and how the best ones operated. These are the best 3 pieces to any puzzle when learning how to close more sales with consumers.

The Theory

In sales, there is a lot to take in and there is a lot of reacting, not just doing. Meaning, walking up to a press in a factory and repeating the same process all day is not the same as making sales calls all day. When on sales calls you’ll have different objections to overcome, personalities to figure out, and rapport to build with each individual customer.

So how can we make that sales job more solid in order to teach people to be better at making sales?

We have to determine which pieces of the sales process are concrete. Some of the best sales people ‘just wing’ some sales calls and get lucky because they have the personality for sales. But the best ones have a plan and they know when to ‘wing it’ and when to go to what they know.

These are the 3 pieces of a sales that I like to call “The Skeleton.” These are concrete and should not be changed, no matter what scenario is in front of the sales person. If these can be done, than there is time and a place to ‘wing it’ while pitching something.

DISCLAIMER: All the terminology I’m using here comes from my furniture days, but the concepts have been shaped so I don’t give away any of their trade secrets and still convey the theory. 

1.) The Greet

In any sales process there is a greeting period where the sales person and the consumer are getting to know each other. In the animal world this equates to butt sniffing, but here it’s more accurately characterized by confusion and cautious body language from the consumer paired with an eagerness from the sales person.

This is a crucial stage for the sales person. Starting off on the wrong foot makes a sale infinitely more difficult and is one of the main reasons I’ve seen sales people blow a transaction. The best way to start off on the right foot is to greet people the same way each and every time. Now this doesn’t mean act like a robot, it means to practice the first few things that come out of your mouth.

In furniture it was 3 lines about “who we are/what we offer, why you need to be ready to buy today, and why you should trust us” that were to be spouted off immediately after they introduced themselves to a customer. This was their way of taking control of the situation.

Every sales person has their second most anxious moment when someone walks through the door. Scripting the greet is the best way I’ve seen to calm them down. If there are things that need to be prepared such as a demonstration or a tour, this is the time to do it and get all the butterflies out at once.

Make sure this greet is not cheesy and it ensures to the consumers that you are here to sell them something. We all hear that nobody wants to be “sold something” but what that really means is nobody wants to be lied to. Be upfront and honest with your intentions and you’ll gain the trust of the consumers.

2.) The Close

We’ve skipped some major dialogue here and I’m sure there will be some critics ready to rip me apart for it. But the next concrete step is the close. After someone is greeted, there will be a rapport building time where a good sales person will find out what it is the customer needs. This is done through questions and answers, not by a sales person telling the consumers what they need. 

The reason the Q & A sessions aren’t a concrete part of this equation is because every industry and product is different, just like every consumer. Some people want to know about warranties, others only care about price, and some want to know every detail no matter how insignificant. If you try and standardize the sales process too much you end up with robots that are too busy trying to ask the right questions instead of making people feel comfortable and listening to them.

The closing of a sale should be the same every time. The same words should come out of your mouth each time, the only thing that changes will be the products and/or prices. If you can condition your mind and your mouth to say the same thing every time, the same way with confidence, your success rate will increase.

How to Close More Sales

I said the second most anxious part of the sale was when someone was being greeted, but the most anxious part is when a sales person is asking for the sale. Athletes have done this for decades, calm the nerves by practice and improve the performance. Use muscle memory to become confident in asking for that sale.

Be sure The Close is delivered in the form of a question. I’ve heard too many sales people just throw out a price in the form of a statement, evoking no response from a customer. Then I’ll come back and say the same thing they did, but ask a question instead of making a statement, and the consumers “magically” want to buy from me.

Questions prompt answers, statements prompt silence. Figure out how to word your close into a question and your success rate will improve.

3.) The Referral Process

Since most sales people are commission based, this is essential to their long-term success. After the customer has given a yes and the transaction has been closed, this is the time to ask for referrals. Some sales people ask for names and numbers of people they can follow up with (insurance agents) and some just ask you to send as many people their way as possible (furniture sales people).

sell some shit

Whatever your method consists of, do it. Do it well, and do it every time. You have already closed the sale, you have already met your objective, what’s the worst thing that can happen? They’ll say no or they just won’t send you any, no big deal.

When you get in the habit of asking for referrals each and every time, you build good habits and those people that are willing to send you referrals will get a genuine pitch on why they should do so. If you only do it some of the time, your referral pitch will be weak and those people that are willing to send you people won’t get the proper message. You know what that means? Confusion for them and no referrals for you.

Just like The Greet and The Close, The Referral Process is essential to closing more sales. Be sure to ask for referrals every time you have a customer in front of you, you will become good at it and you will begin to see your referral business take an upward turn as well.

Please feel free to contact me if you think I’m full of crap or if you have any questions about my theories I’ve outlined, I’ll be happy to expound on anything I’ve talked about here. This post came at the suggestion of a friend and fellow blogger, Ryan Ard, check out his blog here. It’s been fun to explore the ins and outs of the sales game again.

Now go S.S.S.! 

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Chat with me on Twitter or check out these other sales posts if you liked this message.

Have a great snow day!

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The Argument For (& Against) Entrepreneurship

Small businesses make up a very large portion of our economy here in America and it’s no secret that I’m a fan of entrepreneurs. There is a pride among the entrepreneurial community about their freedom and about their success (current or eventual) that they can’t help but speak about. Sometimes they even go so far as to say that’s the only way to be happy is to own your own business.

Yes, there are freedoms that are associated with being an entrepreneur such as making your own schedule, picking your own line of work, and deciding who you get to work with. But there are also downsides too, like the struggling startup years, or the times when you are “on call” 24 hours a day, or the times when your company gets sued. I want to talk about the argument for entrepreneurship and the one against it.

DEBATE TOPIC: Is it better to build your own business or work for someone else?

My Past Experience

The reason I bring up this topic is because of a conversation I had with a friend 2 weeks ago and it has been stuck in my head since. We talked about employment, employers, and the pros and cons of working for others.

We also talked about how we’d both been in positions we loved, as employees.

We had similar stories: corporate training positions with a wide variety of responsibilities that required travel. This is obviously a very short & generic description, but these were some of the main similarities that our previous lives shared. And for the most part, we both loved them.

When we reflected on them, we only had good things to say about the former positions we held and the work that we did. Of course we had reasons for leaving that didn’t necessarily have to do with the work itself. We found our sweet spot as Dave Ramsey calls it, the intersection of our passions and our talents.

Happy Entrepreneurs

As I scour the internet each week on blogs and podcasts I hear this faint ‘battle cry’ from entrepreneurs for people to not “get stuck in the 9-5” of a boring life. Now granted, people who own a business are typically more prideful and, well, entrepreneurial, so they’ll be the ones starting blogs and podcasts to talk about their experiences in the first place.

argument for entrepreneurship

But they all seem to have a sense of pride that they have broken out. That they are on their own and that it’s a bad thing to work for someone else. They encourage others to do the same, even though the road to a successful business is littered with failure and sacrifice.

There is the obvious argument that entrepreneurs make more money than the average worker bee. But that is still up for debate when we consider the average salary of a recent college grads and the fact that 95% entrepreneurs have a bachelor’s degree. Wouldn’t it make sense that even after a few years of working, they would be able to match that of the average salary of an entrepreneur and have some sort of benefits package included?

Then there is the argument for entrepreneurs that there is more freedom, but many people don’t know what to do with all that responsibility. There are still so many people in this world that need to be told what to do and cannot think for themselves, but let’s leave our education system out of this. I have seen this inability to think for one’s self over the past few years, and we’ve done it to ourselves.

Job Hunting

This whole conversation started because my friend asked me who I would want to work for in a perfect world. I told her I’d found my sweet spot in my previous life, but that it was seemingly impossible to find that again.

I explained that I applied to a few companies, but I couldn’t exactly cram my last 6 years of experience onto an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper since my experience was so varied.

I know that there are people out there in the world that are happy at their jobs and have no inclination to leave, I was one of them for a long time! But we don’t hear from them, and it seems that if they are talking, they are being drown out by the entrepreneurs that are more willing to put their opinions out there.

entrepreneurial spirit

Open Debate

So that brings you up to date and me to my conclusion. I couldn’t find what I wanted to do, so I’m creating what I want to do (new website is not up and running just yet).

I would love to hear from people that have lived in their “sweet spot” as an employee and enjoyed great benefits with a happy work environment, is that a place you’ll stay? Or do you have an itch to start your own thing?

OR

And for those entrepreneurs, do you ever wish you could just have someone pay you and not have so much responsibility? Are you one that preaches to others about quitting and starting on their own?

I know there are two sides to this argument, and I think I’ve seen both, but I want to hear from both sides and why you have chosen your path. Please share let me know your thoughts and share with someone you think has a great opinion on this topic for me.

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Leave comments below or chat with me on Facebook and Twitter, I’d love to hear other’s opinions!

Have a great day!

The 6 Steps I Took to Leave My Comfort Zone Behind

In recent weeks I’ve talked about how I try to leave my comfort zone and I’ve encouraged you to do the same. Finding where I’m not comfortable and doing my best to put myself in that realm helps me see things through a new lens. If we’re always doing the same things, we’re never experiencing new tastes or discovering new passions, we’re just comfortable in our own little worlds.

My previous posts on leaving my comfort zone have been individual situations that I’ve put myself into and how I felt I grew from them. Around the first of the year I realized that leaving my comfort zone wasn’t just something I could do once and then hop back into safety. If I was going to push myself to be uncomfortable, I needed to continually put myself out there instead of periodically doing so after I calculated the risks. Here are some of the things I’ve done in the previous weeks to live where I haven’t yet been.

comfort zone

  1. New Foods – Each time I go to the grocery store I get a new food that I’ve never prepared. Some I haven’t eaten, and some I just want to prepare. It’s a good lesson on cooking and it’s fun to learn how to incorporate new tastes into everyday life.
  2. Said, “No” – We all want to please our friends and family, so saying no can be hard for many of us. I’m no different, I never want to miss a thing. I had to tell my friends, “No” this week because I couldn’t help them build their brand (hilarious gym shirts). I have to avoid spreading myself too thin, I only have so many hours in a day to work on what matters most and I had to do something I wasn’t totally comfortable with. I risked alienating friends, but ultimately I decided that I have to make sacrifices: they understood and there’s no hard feelings.
  3. Networking Events – Ever been to an after-hours business networking event? Nobody knows you and you have to pitch who you are and what you do to 30+/- people that you’ve never met. For some, that’s not so bad. And even for me a year ago when I had a job and I was secure in it, this wouldn’t have been bad. But as I am starting to pitch myself as marketing consultant and business coach, I was extremely uncomfortable. I have never done that, I don’t have business cards (a cardinal sin at networking events), and I wasn’t even sure what to say. I’m glad I went, I made some great contacts even with an awkward pitch, and I became more comfortable in my own skin.
  4. Pitching & Closing a Client – As you can gather, since I’ve never even told someone I am a marketing consultant and business coach, I’ve never pitched someone on my services either. That changed this week as well. Once again, I put myself out there and I was rewarded. If I never made that leap, I wouldn’t have been able to harvest the reward of my first client.
  5. Volunteering – I talked about volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association last week, but that was from a cushy office and is more fundraising than than volunteering. Saturday afternoon I helped 12 other people feed the homeless in downtown Charleston. It was as rewarding as it was sad. I looked for ways to write about it, but I don’t want to come across as ‘holier than thou’ with all these volunteer posts. Just know that I was well outside of my comfort zone, but at the end of the day I felt that I gave back just a bit and my soul felt good for doing so.
  6. Even for Fun – Since I’ve talked about this so much, my girlfriend Katie decided we’d do all new things for my birthday on Saturday night: go to a New Restaurant, see an Improv Comedy Show, and visit a New Watering Hole. All were new and all lead to great experiences with awesome people. It wasn’t the same old same old, and we found something new and awesome to do in Charleston with the comedy show.

In Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business,he argues that our brains slow down or even go into auto-pilot when we engage in a habit loop. Think about the last time you drove somewhere, do you remember all of the exact steps you took from leaving the house, to locking the door, to opening the car door and starting the engine? Probably not, you just did it out of muscle memory. 

mediocrity

Now if we’re constantly in auto-pilot, our bodies and minds are not being challenged. We are not paying attention to each of the little details around us. Now think back to the first time you drove a car, how exhilarating was that for you? Your senses were peaked to attention and you noticed every little thing around you. That’s what happens to us when we’re out of our comfort zone. Our minds peak up and we take in these new events for the first time with a fresh view: sounds are more clear, colors are more vivid, and we study the details of the situation.

For me it helps to have these new experiences to write about but more so for my personal growth. I am embarking on an entrepreneurial journey that is going to require that I get out of my comfort zone and stay there to be successful. None of us gets better when we’re comfortable, we grow when we’re in new territory. When we spend time here, we are able to learn from it and gain confidence from it to keep stepping out.

CHALLENGE: Get out of your comfort zone this week, do something you’ve never done before, even if it’s buying new groceries. I’d love to hear about it, come back and leave me a comment with what you did to get uncomfortable.

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Thanks for reading, have a great week!

You’ll Never Believe This Customer Retention Technique Worked

I rented my house out in August 2013. I had never done this before and I wasn’t really sure where to start. I was not ready to sell my home, but at the same time I didn’t like being in that part of town and it was just too much room for me. This is a story about a customer retention technique that actually worked. I’ve been able to witness first-hand, here’s what happened.

Price Lured Me

I began the process of renting my house by scouting out property management companies on the internet. I quickly found Aaron from Bluewater Property Management. I emailed him along with 3 other companies to get some feedback and begin weighing the pros and cons of each. Most everyone was prompt in responding to my emails and answered all the questions I had – competitive start – but was looking for an unforgettable experience.

Aaron sent me back a dissertation on why his company was better, but so did another company. I weighed the options and decided to meet with Aaron face to face. He was on top of his game up to this point and I liked that I could save some money with him. He charged $50 per month (for my part of town) to manage the property versus 10% of the rent like most companies do.

Connection Sold Me

When Aaron came over to the house to inspect it, we talked for about 30 minutes about what we could charge for the house, the pros and cons of the paint, and the upside of having a big back yard that was fenced in. He was on point and he didn’t jerk me around or avoid any direct questions I had.

We talked about his philosophy of going paperless to save time and money which aligns perfectly with my values. Then we talked about some books we’ve both recently read like The 4-Hour Workweek amongst others he spotted on my bookshelf. I was sold, I signed the paperwork with him that day and told the other companies I was taken.

As I was signing the documents to have Aaron and Bluewater manage my property, I was still a bit skeptical. It’s not always the lowest priced company that can provide the best value and that thought still lingered in the back of my head. But the deal was done and we were in business, no turning back now.

Customer Retention Horror Wonder Story

Over the coming months Aaron would be on top of his game, putting me at ease that I made the right decision to go with his company instead of the others. My calls and emails were always returned in reasonable time-frames and when there was an issue with the fence in the backyard going over the property line, he saw it through to completion so there were no hiccups. 

Then, just as I thought things were going great I received this email from Bluewater:

customer retention technique

I was blown away. Not only had Aaron done a great job of managing my property, he’s going to ADD SERVICES for free! I had no qualms with the customer retention techniques Bluewater was using up to this point, so this is icing on the cake. He has gone out of his way to reflect on his work and is seeking to improve it without asking for more money from his clients.

The Lesson

When we have clients and customers, there is always something we can do to improve our customer retention. It costs 6 to 7 times more to gain new customers than it does to retain the current ones. I am willing bet the Bluewater team doesn’t lose many clients over poor customer service.

And the best part about the awesome customer service is that I guarantee Aaron is building an awesome reputation for his business. As that reputation builds, in person and online, he will gain more business through word of mouth. Not only am I honestly blown away by this email, I’m also going to try and get him some more business for his great work.

If these ideas sound crazy to you, than it’s time to do some self-evaluation. This is how the best companies are run and this is how small, nimble companies beat the big boys of business each and every day. How can you offer better customer service without driving up the price? If you can find a way to do it, you’ll have a better customer retention rate in the future.

Thank you Aaron and Bluewater Property Management, keep up the great work!

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Do you have a customer service wonder story? Why were you blown away? Did you tell them how great they did?

I’d love to hear your stories, leave me a comment below or chat with me on Twitter!

Have a great weekend!

James Bond and The Alzheimer’s Association

The Backstory

I wasn’t sure if I had anything to offer, but I wanted to help. I inquired about getting involved with the Alzheimer’s Association of SC last year after I did a walk to raise money. It was a simple walk and we raised around $1,500 as a team (Shout out to Katie, Ross, Trent, & Krystin for joining!) in the final 2 weeks leading up to the event.

But it wasn’t quite enough, for me at least. I had an itch to give more, but I wasn’t sure how. Today I went to my first committee meeting to start making a dent in the universe. I didn’t know what to expect and I wasn’t sure if I could offer much besides my presence, but I went anyway.

Lessons Learned

I won’t bore you with the details of the meeting, but I will share a few things that struck me during my time there. First off, it was amazing to see people willing to donate their time and efforts to this cause. The Alzheimer’s Association is amazing and this is what I choose to support, but there are countless other charities and organizations that are run my volunteers as well. Granted, Alz is a non-profit but 6 of the 8 attendees were volunteers! We hear so much about how terrible things are happening across the country in the news, and it was a wonderful breath of fresh air to see these people willing to give their time to this cause.

Second, I realized that so many of our past experiences will come in handy to us at some point or another. As I sat there wondering what I could offer, the head of the meeting spoke about the need for a marketing chair person that would help market The Walk in the city of Charleston via billboard, radio promos, social media, etc. I knew exactly why I was supposed to be there, and I’m looking forward to serving on the committee.

Bond, James Bond

For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, think about a James Bond film. At the beginning of every Bond movie, 007 gets a bag of toys and a cool car that has all sorts of gadgets. You have no clue what he’ll use them for, or why he would ever need a watch that shoots a steel cutting laser out of it, but they always look fun. Then at some point in the movie, Bond is about to be killed off and he suddenly remembers that he has that bag of tricks. He begins to creatively use them to fight the bad guys and always seems to come out on top.

We all have a bag of tricks that we can use, we just need to be creative enough to know when and where they come in handy. I wasn’t sure how my marketing and sales background would be useful to these people that already seemed to be doing a great job of promoting The Walk. But after listening to their needs and thinking about my past experiences, I was able to find a match for my skills.

 

Questions – Where can this be done in the workplace? How can you use your skills to help another co-worker or another division of your company? How can you use your past experiences to help you solve current day problems?

Your Turn

I wrote this for 3 reasons:

  1. I am excited about this and I wanted to tell the world
  2. I wanted to share that anecdote about past experiences
  3. I want you to get involved

I’m not pressuring you to join me, but if you would like to donate or hop on my team, you can follow this link to Alz.org and get involved. You can also read a brief story about why I’m getting involved and how to do so with me.

If you don’t want to get involved with this, I encourage you to get involved in something! Imagine if we all donated 1 hour of our week to a charity or to someone in need. How much better would if we were all just a little more self-less and a little less selfish?

Have a great day!

Giving Up on Your Goals: When Quitting is Good

I’m a big advocate of goals. I use them, I teach them, and I encourage others to incorporate them. But as of recently, I’ve had some feedback from readers about giving up on your goals. Many of us will start on a journey towards a goal, and for some reason or another we have this urge to quit. At what point can we give ourselves permission to quit?

Many of you know me outside of the blog, you know I’m not a quitter. I’m not someone that just rolls over and gives up on anything I do. So I initially avoided this topic for a bit, until I realized I had a perfect story to help illustrate my point. There are times we need to quit and move on to bigger and better things.

The End of an Era

At the end of 2012 I was having some reservations about my work at the furniture company. Decisions were being made that I didn’t agree with and there seemed to be some sort of power struggle, though I couldn’t put my finger on it. I am an easy going person and I had been the bridge to mending a lot of communication issues in the past within the company. But something just didn’t seem right for a while.

Then there came the fateful night that I cracked. It was an argument over something on which I normally had a wealth of input. My opinion was silenced and I was told my point of view was not worth anything, so save my breath. I’d never had such a professional smack in the face. It was on that night late in January of 2013 that the first thought of quitting Atlantic Bedding and Furniture crossed my mind.

But how could I quit? I helped build this thing from the ground up? I poured my heart and soul into the company for over 6 years and helped recruit or hire over a 1/3 of the people that worked there. This was my company! I always treated it that way at least…

From that night (I slept about 3 hours over the next 36) until the day I received an email prompting my responsive resignation, I couldn’t ever shake that thought of quitting. I’d never given up, I’d never quit on something. I wrestled with that choice for many months, even after I sent in the resignation. 

Hindsight is always 20/20, and from this view I can clearly see that I made the right choice by quitting.

Real Reasons

We all have different reasons for quitting something. Mine was because I didn’t want to be in that environment, I knew it was toxic to me and I shouldn’t stay there. I didn’t know what was next, but I knew I had lots of opportunity. I had lots of connections and a great level of education mixed with experience, so the upside was there. I had to walk away from many goals that my life revolved around for years. 

Sometimes if a goal consumes your life you need to reevaluate whether or not it’s worth the sacrifice. I determined that all I was sacrificing was not worth it.

At other points I thought it was, and I don’t regret those, but I wouldn’t make the same choices today. I missed out on a lot of family time, friend time, and personal time while I worked towards my dreams, but I was ready and willing to make those sacrifices back then.

But not everyone can make a leap like that on their own, many times we have to be pushed. Some people believe that as one door opens, another one opens. Some people see the next door open even before the first door is finished closing.

Some people look to their spiritual side for direction in times like this. Prayer has always helped me through trying times like these. For others it may be meditation or talking with mentors.

Whatever your decision is, make sure to take your time before dropping a goal. Be sure to take your time and ask yourself if you can live without this thing or this accomplishment before you completely make the break.

Quitting Early & Quitting Often

Tim Ferriss and other entrepreneurs talk about quitting all the time. They say it’s a good thing.

I mostly agree with what they’re talking about. If you aren’t having fun or whatever you’re doing is not working, just quit it and move on. But where I’m fundamentally different than these people is the start of the process.

I talked at length about goal setting and how we should reflect on our past before making goals for the future. If we take the time to really think about what we want to do and set forth a plan for that next goal, there is a much smaller chance we’ll want to quit it. But if we haphazardly jump from goal to goal without really planning things out, we’ll definitely quit a lot of stuff before we are able to see it through.

Made-Up Reasons

Many of us start off towards our goals strong. We are enthusiastic, we are motivated, and we are focused. Then The Resistance sets in. The Resistance, as outlined by Steven Pressfield in The War of Art, is that voice in your head that says, “You’re not good enough! Who are you to accomplish that?” and if you aren’t motivated by your goals and the people around you, you’ll begin to believe it.

Some of us may not get that sort of voice talking to us, but maybe they get are overthrown by their Lizard Brain. Seth Godin describes the Lizard Brain as that urge inside of us to avoid the most important work. We’ll settle on cleaning the house instead of writing our novel (guess who does that one), we settle on answering emails instead of mentoring our new employee, or we’ll even convince ourselves that it’s too cold outside to train for that upcoming race.

giving up on your goals

If either of these pops up, we must shut them down. The Resistance and The Lizard Brain have stopped people in their tracks while well on their way to accomplishing some of their greatest works. When you recognize them creeping up, find that accountability partner I talked about and ask them to help you stay focused. Remind yourself of why you started, don’t give in! When you recognize it and acknowledge it, you are half-way to overcoming it.

Push Pause

Sometimes we are able to give up on our goals momentarily. Think about the college athletes that have gone back after years in the pros to finish their college degree. They just put their dream on pause and came back to it when they were ready.

I talked about pausing on projects a while back to clear your mind. Sometimes those pauses may take years or decades to sort themselves out. Sometimes we may come up on something that we’re truly unprepared for. Being unprepared and being fidgety a la The Resistance, is totally different. It is OK put that goal off to the side until you are more prepared to attack it.

Don’t be afraid to fail

I’ll wrap with this: Don’t be afraid to fail. Trav and I were talking about how proud we are of Epic Day even though we technically failed at making money. We put ourselves out there and we jumped at that goal of starting a company. No, we didn’t make it, but we sure learned a lot in the process.

You know what that means? I’ll be much more prepared the next time I’m ready to make that leap. I can’t tell you exactly when you should walk away from your goals, but I hope this has provided some good thinking points and an outsiders perspective for you.

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Have you ever given up on a goal? Were you filled with relief or regret? Leave me a comment below or chat with me on Twitter.

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Thanks for reading, have a great day!

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How Managers Can Decrease Turnover Ratio & Increase Productivity

As I’ve recently been searching for jobs I’ve been contemplating the question, “What makes people want to work at and stay with a company?” Some companies have great pay structures, others great perk packages. The ones that get the most notoriety are those that have both. But I think there’s something else that plays into the equation.

I thought about my days at CSU playing football, many guys would have left the program had it not been for their individual position coaches. They didn’t stay because of the head coach of the program itself, they stayed because of the coach that believed in him and his teammates. The position coaches had a personal connection with their student-athletes, something that a head coach didn’t necessarily have. Let’s dissect how managers can decrease turnover ratio while increasing productivity.

What NOT to do

Sometimes managers take the stance that employees owe them something other than work. They do owe an employer a good day’s work, but they don’t need constant reminders of how lucky they should be to have a job in the first place. That’s like the unforgiving mother that reminds her kids of the pain she had to endure to bring them into the world, “Remember, I carried you for 9 months went through 14 hours of labor!” at every chance she gets. Some really awful people will use ammunition like this for years, a scarring tactic.

And some managers will use this tactic in an effort to ‘motivate’ their team. If you’ve ever used this tactic and you’re reading this, it’s probably about now that you realize this is pretty shallow and self-serving. Keep in mind that anytime an employer uses this tactic to ‘motivate’ their team, the exact opposite happens. Every time that reminder of ‘generosity’ to give them a job is brought up, those words go in one ear and out the other along with a little bit of their respect. The more it is repeated, the less they respect they give. 

Investments

People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. I learned this early in my professional career and I preached it when I taught sales courses. Although that was for building rapport with potential customers, it is applicable to management as well.

 

decrease turnover ratio

When I had a team of guys that did sales I would get to know them on a personal level and ask how their personal lives were going when we had down time. I would sit down and review their goals with them. I would invest my time in them and when they did well, I would publicly praise them. I was not concerned about them taking my job or anything along those lines. I knew my position was secure and when they did better the organization as a whole did better.

Plus, the way the company was structured allowed anyone to come from the bottom to learn the business and eventually start their own store. I knew that there was no reason to beat people down or keep them in their place. That doesn’t work and people won’t stick around for it.

Start with buying your personal team lunch. Don’t expect anything in return, just buy them lunch one day and see what kind of reaction you get. It’s little gestures like this that strengthen the fabric of an organization. If you can’t afford that, write them a thank you note that lets them know you appreciate them and the work they do.

The other day I was asking my friend Rachel about her job and she told me how landed the job, what she did, and then she almost shouted, “And I f*cking love my boss!” What if all employees thought about their superiors like that? How different would your organization be?

Speaking of lunch…

If you do something for a co-worker that is out of the goodness of your heart, don’t expect or ask for anything in return. There is a difference in doing favors and blackmailing people into owing you something. But this sort of exchange happens often, someone asks a favor of us then offers to take us to lunch or repay us in some way. The key to it is communication and expecting to be repaid in some way.

We had a store owner that would buy lunch for his team nearly every day. As a new person came on they just thought it was a random act of kindness, a perk of the job. But then one day the owner hung those lunches over the new guy’s head. He had been paying for lunch because he expected some additional work out of them. It was not talked about ahead of time and it was agreed upon, it was just assumed.

My point is this, perks are perks, perks are not payment. A perk of the job means it’s in addition to the pay. If it was payment, well we’d call it payment. It may cost money to provide from the employer or managers’ standpoint, but that isn’t going into the pocket of the employee. Pay is a basic need, perks are icing on the cake.

I don’t want to defend all employees here, some take advantage of the perks of a job. Employees also need to do their part and work hard to be able to say they’ve earned those perks. Employment and management are two way streets, there has to be give and take on both sides or the relationship will never work. 

But I’m not a Manager

It doesn’t matter. Leadership is action, not a position or even a title. If you feel strongly about the people you work with, do something for them. Do it out of sincerity, do it because you care, DO NOT do it because you expect something in return. This is a toxic practice. Nothing makes people want to run more than a manager or a boss that does things for others just because they want to be praised for their actions.

In football, if a running back or quarterback has a great season, they shower their offensive linemen with gifts. They show their appreciation for their teammates by giving them rolexes, suits, segways, and even cars (Tom Brady is always showing off). The lineman keep their teammates healthy and allow them to do their jobs, so they get rewarded for their hard work.

This is so often seen in football because there are clear lines about what peoples jobs are. Jeff Saturday and Peyton Manning were never competing for the same job in Indianapolis, so it was easy to praise each other publicly. However in the workplace, many people can be looking to get ahead and they don’t want to tell their peers how great of a job they’re doing. Or more accurately, they don’t want to acknowledge publicly how great of a job they are doing, that might put them in line to get the next raise or promotion.

I am a believer in full transparency and when we can openly and honestly praise each other in the work place, we will have a much happier and healthier environment. Don’t get me wrong, pay and perks are essential to keeping good people. But a great management team can keep an organization sticking together when the going gets tough.

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Has a manager ever made you want to stay at an organization? What did they do for you?

I’d love to chat with you about your great (or not-so-great) experiences with managers. Leave me a comment below or chat with me on Twitter.

Thanks for reading, have a great day!