Inspiring Conversations, LLC

By Marsha Petri Sue

Great salespeople are great listeners. Period. Case closed. They have developed the ability to hear their customers and clients, understand their needs, and meet those needs with products and services. How great a listener are you? Answer most given: Not good enough. Here are four key points to help improve your listening skills:

1. Turn off your self-talk. We cannot hear what the other person is saying if we have our own thoughts getting in the way. We talk to ourselves while others are talking to us. The rate of speech in our own heads is about 600 words per minute (WPM). Most people, customers included, only speak about 150 WPM. So slow down and focus on their words.
2. Hear what the other person is saying. Often we allow our filters to interpret what the other person said. A filter is anything that becomes a barrier to hearing what the other person is saying. When thinking ahead for your response--bias, background, culture, education, socioeconomics, and such, act as filters. The salesperson must eliminate filters to hear the message of the customer.
3. Physically let the person know you are listening. Eighty percent of our message is delivered in how we appear to the other person. A positive nod of the head, a verbal "Uh-huh" or "OK" are clues that you are still with them. Open body language is critical. Folding our arms in front of our body is a closed position that signals to others we are mentally turned off to their words. Solution? Keep your hands at your sides (in the listening position).
4. Paraphrase using "I" language. To make sure you hear what the other person said, repeat key words to verify what they said. For example, say: "So, if I understand you correctly... People don't always say what they mean. Successful salespeople paraphrase the important parts of what they heard.

Secret to improving your listening skills: Place a tape recorder in the top drawer of your desk and record your side of the next eight telephone conversations. Find a quiet corner and listen to what you said. Identify one element you dislike and focus on changing it. Then put a rubber band on your wrist as a reminder of the habit you want to change and be patient. Most habits take an average of 30 days (of constant practice) to change.

Great listeners become great salespeople. How great are you?

Source: Marsha Petri Sue P.O. Box 15218, Scottsdale, AZ 85267

By Susan Nielsen

In past issues, I've written about my personal fitness trainer, Herman, and our cardio-boxing workouts. Back in May, Herman suggested I "try it with the gloves on," and I've been hooked ever since. I'll be honest. I didn't know how physically taxing boxing was until I tried it. What really caught my attention (and continues to astound me) is the mental workout.

Herman calls out combinations, and we work them together, him holding the pads and me working the gloves. We start simple: jab, left hook, right. Then we add on: jab, hook, right; right, hook, right—adding new combinations, putting old combinations together, mixing it up.

Some times things really click. We're both right on target, focused and productive. Sometimes not so much. I'll throw a right instead of a left. Or he'll call a hook and set up for an uppercut. Thankfully, no one has gotten hurt, and often we get a good laugh. Ultimately, we recover, refocus, and try again.

Success at anything requires a willingness to try and retry. Each failure requires recovery, and each new attempt requires a new commitment (refocus). As you work the process, you move closer and closer to achieving success. It works if you work it. It's worth it!

– Copyright protected worldwide. Susan Nielsen. (888) 850-2206 Ext 701

By Arno Ilic

Recently a company was looking for a consultant to evaluate their Human Resources Information System. They bought a system but did not have much luck getting cooperation (buy-in) from their employees. They are not sure whether it is the system that is at fault or the employees simply do not like it because it appears to be too complicated.

This put me in mind of an incident in the early 1980’s where we consulted with a shoe company that had run into financial difficulty, partly because they could not keep up with the changing customers’ demands and styles of an industry that had been relatively stable for years. When we started to look at the company’s operation, we noted that they did all their forecasting with a very sophisticated (at the time) computer, an IBM System 7. It was at the time the leading edge technology and it was very sexy to own one. The problem was, the people who bought the system did not take into account that what it would be used for could easily have been done by purchasing a calculator.

The employees were told that they would be using this new computer and should feel fortunate that they are getting such a sophisticated piece of equipment. They will not be required to do anything but put their sales numbers into the computer and the computer will do all the rest. It would forecast future sales and trends. The problem was that the employees felt they had no say over what the company required. To make matters worse, the system calculated their sales on a rolling average over a yearly basis. By the time they saw an impact of their sales, or lack thereof, six to eight months passed. As you can see, it took too long for the system to tell them there was a problem that the sales force knew virtually instantly.

Before looking at a system, we should be looking at our processes. Do they provide the information that is needed? What is currently not working with this process? What needs to be done in order for the process to provide the information needed? Can the present system accommodate our needs? If not, what are the key elements that are needed in order to get the information that we need?

These are some of the questions that should be asked beforehand. Work on your requirements first, and then try to find a system or software that answers those needs. Too often we look for a system and then design our processes to fit the system. Usually this will be a recipe for disaster.

The next step is to assess the change management needs. How well will your employees adapt to the change. Who are your stakeholders? What are their expectations? Have they agreed to the changes? Who are the employees that are impacted? What are their views on changing? Do they think the changes will make their lives easier or have they just been told it will? What degree of change is there from the present system to the new or proposed system? Which employees will be impacted? To what extend are those employees impacted? The knowledge of this will allow you to assess how much training and development you will need. Do you have a communication plan that will deliver the information on a timely schedule? When will you know that your employees are ready, that they understand the changes and become champions of change?

Not only is it important to have the right system in place, but you also need your employees to buy in. Without their involvement you can have a great system and it will not work to its optimum potential.

At Inspiring Conversations, we can lead you through the processes and ensure that employees are engaged in change. We aim to make them owners in the change process. Call us to assist you in identifying your change management needs and to ensure you are buying the system that fits your needs.

– Copyright protected worldwide. Arno Ilic. (888) 850-2206 Ext 705

By Louise Dobish

We have all read headline after headline of losses—personal and corporate—over the past few years, particularly in Michigan. These include pay and benefit reductions, job loss, foreclosures, personal and corporate bankruptcies. Adding to the feelings of personal loss, scarcity and insecurity is the failure of institutions that have been a foundation of the U.S. economy and our financial security. Banks, insurance, and large, historic corporations such as General Motors and Chrysler have accepted bailouts from the Federal government in order to survive.

It is easy to understand how these events trigger increased feelings of fear, anger, uncertainty, and scarcity for business owners and employees. These emotions can bring up an increased sense of competition for decreased rewards and less willingness to share information and collaborate in the workplace. In addition, psychological and organizational studies have demonstrated that employees experiencing negative emotions (i.e., stress, depression and anxiety) and feared job loss were found to have counterproductive behaviors and poor job performance.

Emotions, particularly those we call “unpleasant” or “negative” affect our ability to think clearly and to take appropriate action. Our beliefs and emotions impact both our ability to recognize appropriate action and to take action, and therefore, to deliver desired results. Negative experiences continue to affect us until we are able to release them from our consciousness.

At Inspiring Conversations LLC, we are starting to integrate processes and tools, to help individuals to constructively deal with these negative emotions, into our work place teambuilding, goal setting and professional development services. As one of their associates, I have completed Levels 1 and 2 of coach training in The Sedona Method® (www.sedona.com). Over the past thirty years, hundreds of thousands of people have used The Sedona Method to let go of unwanted thoughts, feelings and beliefs. This method allows individuals to free themselves, without feeling more pain or having to figure out the cause of the problem, to create what is best for them now. Pete Bissonette, President of Learning Strategies Corporation and founding member of the Transformational Leadership Council wrote “I am always astounded at how easy and effective the method is. The Sedona Method is nothing short of life-transforming.”

During this time of enormous institutional and economic change, it is critical that individuals are not held back by fear or insecurity, and that they have access to their creativity for solving problems in new ways and for innovation. The importance of creativity to an organization and to the U.S. lifestyle is summarized in these quotes taken from BusinessWeek, June 15, 2009 “Innovation Interrupted” by Michael Mandel. “A high-wage country such as the U.S. either has to develop innovative products and services to compete with low-cost countries such as China or accept a lower standard of living.” Although findings have been mixed on the optimal conditions for creativity in the work place, there was a consensus on the important role of emotions in the process of generating novel and useful ideas and solutions in the workplace (James, Brodersen, and Eisenberg, 2004).

At Inspiring Conversations, we are committed to personal, corporate and economic growth in Michigan that will benefit our community. We recognize the powerful impact of emotions and beliefs and how recent events have added to feelings of fear, insecurity, and scarcity for individuals and companies. We are integrating proven methods that have helped individuals to release unwanted thoughts, emotions, and beliefs with proven business services to deliver exceptional results for our clients.

If you would like to join us for a free local Introduction to The Sedona Method that we are providing to the Metro-Detroit community, please visit www.DoYouLoveYourLife.com and select “Events in Michigan”.

– Copyright protected worldwide.  Louise M. Dobish.  (888) 850-2206 Ext 703

Pressured Grace

A valued employee comes to you, head hanging low, to confess a mistake that's likely to set back an important project. You could go ballistic. But what can you gain by further demoralizing a dejected worker?

Instead, praise the employee's honesty, recognize past accomplishments, and acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes. By practicing forgiveness, you can motivate this employee to quickly resolve the problem and move on, and you can show others that honesty really is the best policy.

– Adapted from "Chapter 26: Motivating Others," by Bryan Bell, on the Lessons in Lifemanship Web site
Contact Jeff Johnston.  (888) 850-2206 Ext 704

The secret of success in life is for (one) to be ready for opportunity when it comes.
— Benjamin Disraeli

Image creates desire. You will what you imagine.
— J.G. Gallimore

My attitude has always been... if it's worth playing, it's worth paying the price to win.
— Paul "Bear" Bryant