Relationship Selling - "Going for the Green"

"Going for the Green: Selling in the 21st Century" is a "how-to-book" written in the form of a novel about golf. So, it can be read as this - a story of a single mother who, suddenly about to lose her job through no fault of her own, discovers a new world of unrealized opportunity.

Or, you can read this book as a learning tool about how to use your relationships within your organization and with your clients and vendors, to succeed in selling your products or services.

The author, Doug Peterson, uses golf analogies to keep the reader engaged in the process of learning how to deal with challenges in making sales numbers. He asks the questions, and educates the reader through the storyline, about the process of Relationship Selling.

The book includes some practical advice, which includes:

• "Studying the Links". What do you need to know about your customer?
• "Playing out of the Rough". Once you have gathered useful information about the client, how do you analyze and process that information to be successful?
• "Changing your Game". Are you product-focused, or customer-focused?
• "Course Management". How do you develop a relationship strategy in order to build an effective plan?
• "Grip it and Rip it". Can you sell your solution within your own organization?
• "The Approach Shot". How do you 'win' the opportunity?
• "On the Green". How to manage the new strategy?

The book concludes with advice on getting "In the Cup" and "Turning Pro".

A good, and easy read - whether you enjoy golf stories, or want to learn more about Relationship Selling.

Why Should I Hire a Consultant?

"A consultant is someone who provides value through specialized expertize, content, behavior, skill, or other resources to assist a client in improving the status quo in return for mutually agreed compensation"

Alan Wiess

I know that I need someone to help me with my problem, but how do I know that I need a consultant? Why should I invest my company's money and time in a consultant? How can I measure the return that make in this investment?

In his book, "Million Dollar Consulting", Alan Weiss goes on to define the categories of value that a consultant will bring to a company. These are the key areas of value that you can use to evaluate whether the consultant you are considering using to solve your problem to is the right one for you.

1. Content. This is the most common consulting value. The consultant you use must know what they are talking about. Consequently, you will probably be able to find consultants who have worked in a specific field or industry that you need help on. Many people who break out of corporate life to go into consulting base their business on content consulting.
2. Expertise. Many consultants have an expertise that transends a specific industry. For example supply chain management; or change management. These consultants can adapt their expertise to a variety of problems and across multiple industries. You will find people who have worked across diverse industries and companies to have developed this type of expertise.
3. Knowledge. This is a quality of people who have "been there before". Knowledge includes an understanding of process as opposed to content. Real process knowledge come with experience. However, don't expect the consultant to have the same level of knowledge of your business that you have.
4. Behavior. A consultant with good interpersonal skills in virtually never behind the scenes. These interpersonal competencies may be of value to you in facilitating groups, leading teams, resolving conflict, enhance brainstorming and creativity, listen to customer or employee feedback, etc. Mediators and arbitrators are examples of consultants with with this competency.
5. Special Skills. Some people have highly developed, well defined skills that are in high demand. These are often talents and innate abilities. For example, some people have a sense of style that makes them excellent image consultants. These people may not know anything about the content, or have precise expertise of knowledge related to your business. But, these consultants will have a gift or talent that you cannot acquire independently.
6. Contacts. Good consultants are normally well connected and will be able to get the right person for the job at hand, if they themselves do not have the necessary expertise, content, knowledge or skills that you may need for a specifiuc task. A well connected consultant can also be a good lobbyist for you.

Consultants will bring one or more (or all) of these competencies to bear to help you move from the status quo to the improved position.

The Six Disciplines: Building Excellence in Small Businesses

"Unfortunately, many of us are caught trying harder and harder to "whistle a symphony" when we should really be building an orchestra."

According to Gary Harpst, author of "The Six Disciplines", even though small businesses collectively generate $5 trillion in sales in the U.S., the biggest challenge of an individual business is 'survival'. 80% of all new business start-ups are out of business within five years. And 80% of the 20% that survived do not survive another five years! That means that, on average, only 4% of small businesses starting this year will be around in 10 years.

What makes it so hard?

In his book "Six Disciplines for Excellence", Gary Harpst details a roadmap for small businesses to learn, lead and last. This book is based on over 30 years of experience and research into more than 300 small businesses - each with 10 to 100 employees. The result is a book which is lays out a systematic approach for building and sustaining a successful business - driven by excellence. This systematic approach is what Harpst has termed The Six Disciplines:

1. Decide what's important. Based on your mission, values, strategic position and vision, what are your vital few objectives? What are you doing that you should stop doing?
2. Set Goals that Lead. What are your business measures, targets and initiatives? And how do you engage your team?
3. Align Systems. What in your business is not aligned with your strategy? How do you align your processes, policies, measures, technologies and people?
4. Work the Plan. How and when do you define, review, rate and prioritize Individual Plans to ensure that your business goals are being worked at?
5. Innovate Purposefully. How do you tap into the creativity of your team to create new and innovative ideas to solve problems and drive excellence in your business? As business owner, how do you recognize individual contribution?
6. Step Back. How and when do you review the internal and external factors impacting your business? How do you review performance of people?

Gary Harpst and his team have put a tremendous amount of work into detailing the steps within each of these disciplines so that this book can really be used as a small business owner's manual. They have succeeded in developing a practical methodology for those of us who spend too much time "working in the business, instead of on the business". These disciplines define solid well structured approach that supports the small business from strategic and tactical planning to the execution of tasks to meet the business' goals every day.

This approach is not for large businesses - it is targeted at small businesses that employ between 10 and 100 people. It is also not for those who are looking for a 'quick fix'. Success in using The Six Disciplines takes ... well, discipline. You would not expect to see results of this approach within 6 months.

I like the approach and would recommend the book, as it is uniquely tailored for small businesses; it is well written with a lot of substance; and gives business owners a practical tool that they can use to implement business improvement for sustainability, growth and excellence.

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Are you a Change Agent?

"You could not step twice into the same rivers; for the waters are ever flowing onto you." - Heraclitus

In her book, "The Change Agents - Decoding the New Workforce and the New Workplace", Liz Nickles discusses the fact that America in 21st Century still straddles the great digital divide. Workers on one side of the line working 24/7 from virtual offices, while others are still trying to program their VCR's and wondering what this 'internet thing' is about.

In this ever competitive job market; organizational changes; and the ever growing use of the web and digital tools to increase connectivity and productivity, her research is increasingly relevant. Nickles reveals the following trends:

• Lifestyle Entrepreneurialism: Entrepreneurs are starting younger. "I took an entrepreneurial approach to everything in life" said the co-founder of the now-defunct dot-net startup. The age of the internet has allowed young people to sidestep the traditional corporate ladder.
• Full Engagement: The new workforce never feel like they are doing enough; never thinking enough. Always searching the new boundaries, the new terrains.
• Convergence: The boundaries between home and work life blur and Change Agents like it that way.
• Getting a Life: The new workforce believe that work (even if it takes 18 hours a day) is just a job, and that they can and will walk away from it. In the book, Nickles quotes software designers who like to hike in Nepal every year. "You just won't see me in October because it is the best month to go hiking there."
• Early Retirement: The new Change Agents do not believe in working mid-pace until they are 65 and then retire. They plan to work 24/7, cash out at 35, ... then move on.
• No Prisoners: Nickles' Change Agents will do whatever it takes to move ahead. They'll make note sof enemies and squash them.

In these times of change, Nickles also has some good advice for the Baby Moguls, as well as for the Baby Boomers. This is a relevant book, especially for you reading this blog - a product of our 24/7 worklife!

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