The Costs of Not Bridging the Gap Between Generations

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It is now commonplace to hear stories of Boomer and GenX managers having difficulty managing Millennials in the workplace. Most managers look at it as having to deal with differences in attitudes and experience that can lead to frustration and resentment at its worst. The truth is that the actual monetary costs of not bridging this gap between generations can be tremendous. The inability for generations to relate well with one another leads to the following issues:

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About the Author

Marc RobertsonMarc Robertson, MBA, is the founder and president of NewSkills USA and has more than 25 years of experience in the media, entertainment, and technology industries. He is the author of Working with Millennials: Using Emotional Intelligence and Strategic Compassion to Motivate the Next Generation of Leaders (Praeger, February 29, 2016).

Corporate Cultures – Survey Analysis Approach

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StrategyDriven Corporate Cultures ArticleInterpretation of cultural surveys requires application of strong statistical analysis methods and knowledge-based results aggregation. Drawing overall conclusions can be counterintuitive; requiring a fundamental understanding of how surveys extract data about the collective nature of an organization’s culture and how to interpret that data in light of the collective nature of the organization’s culture.

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About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

The 21.5 early warning signals that the prospect is ready to buy.

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Question: When is the prospect ready to buy?
Answer: He or she will tell you if you just pay attention (aka listen).

The link between the presentation and the close of the sale are buying signals. Recognizing the signals to buy is one of the nuance areas in the science of selling. I don’t believe that selling is an art, I believe that selling is a science. There are nuances to the process.

When you get a buying signal, the science is you taking action. The nuance is your ability to recognize the signal. If you listen to the buyer, he or she will give you the signals. One of the problems is that salespeople don’t listen very well.

Buying signal quiz: The biggest buying signal is a…
(A) Body signal or body language.
(B) A question asked by the buyer.
(C) An objection.

Is it (A) body language? NO! That is a manipulative piece of crap!
Is it (B) an objection? Sometimes. The buyer is asking for information in addition to what you said, or different from what you said.

The answer is (C) a question. You may just be thinking of them as questions that the buyer is asking… but that’s a big listening mistake! An objection means you haven’t sold me yet. But a question indicates genuine buyer interest. Your job is to listen beyond the question. Your job is to listen for the motive. Motive is a short word. Short for motivation. Get it now?

When you hear the question, that’s your signal to begin to ask for the sale or know that the sale is imminent if you answer in a way that reduces risk or creates some kind of green light to enable them (you) to move forward.

As a professional salesperson, your job is to recognize the question, the buying signal and then convert it to a sale. Recognizing it is the hard part. Here are the “how to recognize” ground rules…

  • Here’s a rule of thumb: Any question asked by the prospect must be considered a buying signal!
  • Here’s a rule of dumb: Preventing the question from being asked by talking too much, thereby preventing you from uncovering vital elements to make the sale.

Your job is to ask customers and prospects in order to give them an opportunity to think, respond, and ask you. Questions beget questions.

  • Here is a rule of dumb dumb: avoiding the question by being sales cute. EXAMPLE: “Ahhhh how much is this?” “Well, how much do you want to pay?” Or even ignoring the question, which is what they taught you in old, manipulative sales school by saying if they really want to ask that question they will ask it again. Give me a break!

Don’t try and make the prospect feel bad while you use your arrogance and actually go past the sale.

But here is the rule of dumb da dum dumb. Answering the question and not asking for the sale. That would be called a big big big mistake.

So, here are the 21.5 buying signals and questions to look for:

1. Questions about availability or time. Are these in stock? How often do you receive new shipments? Now let me explain something to you. There is a principle in selling, which is the principle of leaning forward. Questions make the prospect lean forward with interest to the answer that you provide. Now, when you understand these signals, you’re going to notice them all the time. Your job as a salesperson is to get the prospect to lean forward with interest. “What is your normal delivery time?” “What’s the warranty?” How much more of a buying signal could you want?

2. Questions about delivery. “How soon can someone be here?” Well, when do you need it? “How much notice do I have to give you?” Answer their question, and at the same time ask them a question to begin confirmation of the sale.

3. Questions about rates, price, or statements about affordability. This is a big one. “How much does this cost?” “What is the price?” “I don’t know if I can afford it.” What they are saying is “I want it!” The only question is how much? So the next part of that would be…

4. Questions or statements about money. “How much money would I have to put down to get this?” Or even, “This costs too much.” Those are huge buying signals. When someone wants to know the price, or what the terms could be or even if they are objecting to it, it means that they are interested in it.

…There’s MORE – #5-21.5 coming over the next two weeks. Stay tuned for more buying signals.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

3 Simple Ways Productivity Leads to Your Best Self

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What do you think of when you hear the term “self-improvement”? If you’re like a lot of people, you might imagine working your way through giant stacks of self-help books, starting an intensive new exercise regimen, or devoting more time to charitable causes – all of which are certainly worthwhile ways to improve oneself.

However, the path to self-improvement isn’t always about drastic lifestyle changes. Sometimes the easiest way to get started on the journey to a better version of you is just by doing the little things to get organized, make a plan, and recognize the everyday effort it takes to get there.

Improving your productivity is a simple place to begin – and with World Productivity Day upon us, there’s no better time than now to start discovering your best self! Here are 3 ways to do it:

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About the Author

Johan GunnarsJohan Gunnars is an entrepreneur and CEO and co-founder of Simpliday – Meetings, Reminders & Email in One, a new iPhone calendar app allowing users to achieve a more organized and efficient life by bringing together meetings, reminders and email in one customizable, beautiful, user-friendly app. Johan experience in productivity, software, e-commerce, consumer electronics, among others, leads him to focus on how companies and products can make a difference while connecting to the overall vision and strategy. Johan is based in Malmo, Sweden. For more information about Johan and Simpliday, visit Simpliday.

Is Your Business a Commodity or a Resource?

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How are your services and the people providing them viewed by your clients? Are you a commodity readily available anywhere? Or are you a resource where skill, judgement, and critical thinking are valued and rewarded? The difference is important to your business future.

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About the Author

Garrett SuttonGarrett Sutton is an author and asset protection attorney based in Reno, Nevada. Sutton’s bestselling books include: Start Your Own Corporation, Loopholes of Real Estate, and Finance Your Own Business. His latest book is Toxic Client: Knowing and Avoiding Problem Customers, deals with the important premise: Not every client is a good client.

For more information on Sutton and his books please visit www.ToxicClient.com.