In the Arena

Today’s guest, Bob Burg, has turned the worst of opposition into mutually beneficial relationships. His new book, Adversaries Into Allies, is a toolkit you will need for tough clients and even tougher sales meetings. On this episode, Bob defines the difference between manipulation and persuasion in leadership. He knows that you deal with clients prone to miscommunication and misunderstandings. He also knows that the influence you have as a sales leader is powerful. The difference between being successful, or not, is how you carry out your influence. Listen in to gain the ability to move people to your desired action in the best possible way, on this episode of In the Arena. Manipulation or Persuasion? Persuasion and manipulation are cousins that influence human action and human motivation. But, they begin with different intent, and produce very different results. Today, Bob Burg speaks about how manipulation aims at control, not cooperation. Bob’s own experience with manipulators has provided unique angles in approaching business. Manipulators do not understand that not only is it bad life practice, it is bad business. People can smell your intent. Is yours one of your own best interest, or the best interest of your clients? Commitment will cultivate for you a team, whereas manipulative coercion will simply get you employees. The influential leader will ask questions, take an interest in others, and work with the best scenario in mind for others. Find out today if you are a manipulator or a persuader. Change your attitude toward your adversaries In preparing to deal with adversaries, Bob Burg starts with attitude. The adjustment is with yourself first, not your adversary. When we know we are dealing with opposition, we often resort to protecting ourselves. This sets the stage for how your adversary will respond to you.  Whatever you bring in with you, your adversary will react to. Bob is adamant in his belief that we can create room for our toughest clients to change. Patience and persistence can change any adversary into an ally. Retrain your toughest client to accept your positive framework. Learn to be the tree that yields with the wind, on today’s episode of In the Arena. The clashing of beliefs A belief system is something everyone has and carries into every situation. Listen in to today’s episode as Bob Burg prepares us for inevitable clashes. Your beliefs create the lens for how you see the world. They are formed in the beginning of your life, without your creation or awareness. You are a servant to and run by these unconscious beliefs. We tend to think other people see the world as we see it. The first thing Bob Burg suggests we do is to check why we believe a certain way. Ask more questions. Ask for more clarification. Meet miscommunication head on. When you seek to understand what is already at work influencing someone, you are one step closer to becoming the influence. Empathizing does not mean you’re a doormat Our beliefs create infections we carry around with us, making communication difficult. Empathy is understanding the infections of others. But seeking to understand does not mean you have to become a doormat, or even change your beliefs. You simply let someone know that you know they are feeling something. Responding non-emotionally and non-offensively will buy you the trust and communication that healthy business relationships need. We think we understand others, but we oftentimes do not. What we all want to know that we are understood. Learn how to practice empathy with your adversaries on today’s episode of In the Arena. Outline of this great episode [0:48] Introduction of today’s guest, Bob Burg. [2:26] The difference between persuasion and manipulation. [7:04] The challenge in leadership and influence.

Today’s guest, Jonathan Farrington, is a speaker, coach, author, consultant, and sales strategist leading the way in managing change in business. He is the CEO for JF Consulting, a successful globally influential consulting business. You might also recognize his name from Top Sales World and Top Sales Magazine. Jonathan sees the big picture, and has big ideas, for changes in sales. Listen in as he leads you and your team to greater performance levels, on today’s episode of In the Arena. Finding your way out of a financial meltdown Your host, Anthony Iannarino, fires questions for Jonathan’s expertise, specifically addressing what exactly is affecting the change in sales. The implications Jonathan has uncovered will impact your reality and your team. Jonathan looks at the financial meltdown of our day and age, in North America and globally. His prediction? 80% of sales jobs are going to change in some way. Some will turn into customer service roles. The important roles will become marketing and customer service. Is your role in sales diminishing? Join Jonathan today for the good news that your role will change, not disappear. Can you still create uniqueness? It is more difficult than ever to create and communicate value as a salesperson. The developing transaction purchasing model eliminates the need for uniqueness and differentiating yourself. As Jonathan Farrington tracks the changes in sales, he sees the top 20% surviving and thriving, which forces 80% to shift their strategy. Will you be in that top 20%? Are you taking into account your clients comforts and needs? Have you asked your clients if they mind more computer interaction and less face time? Creating and embracing a new flexible relationship is key. The new breed of sales professionals will have to build their foundations from attitude plus skills plus knowledge plus process. Start today, by listening to this episode of In the Arena. Insight If you want to continue differentiating yourself, you are going to need insight. This buzzword has some salespeople emphasizing product knowledge with their team and clients. But insight reaches beyond product knowledge. Learn today, how to stay relevant and stay focused. None of your clients have time for irrelevant meetings. They do not even care about your product. What they do care about is what you can do for them. Demonstrate that you have the commercial depth and breadth they need and will continue to need. Want to count yourself among the sales survivors? Now is the time to develop your commercial bandwidth, with Jonathan Farrington. One size never fits all Jonathan Farrington knows that many salespeople say we need to tailor solutions uniquely to our individual clients. But do we actually do that? One size fits all training, coaching, and counseling has never worked. Have you considered the realm of values, personality traits, etc. that will make your individual clients or sales teams work? Jonathan’s goal has always been to raise the bar in the business world. Today’s episode is just one more free resource you can use to tap into your true potential. Get In the Arena with Jonathan, today! Outline of this great episode [0:42] Introduction and biography of today’s guest, Jonathan Farrington. [2:30] Will there be far fewer salespeople in the future? [7:40] Are we moving away from creating value as salespeople? [9:09] What does a salesperson need to be in the top 20% that survives? [14:34] What is insight and why is it necessary? [16:44] Age as a disadvantage. [18:13] How to make sense of distractions and stay focused. [21:19] How you consider your clients creates your future. [23:58] How to connect with Jonathan Farrington. Resources & Links mentioned in this episode

Today, we hear from Dave Stein about the skills necessary for any sales team and manager. Dave has spent his career researching sales training programs. Early on, he discovered that companies were investing millions of dollars in sales training and seeing no return, or a negative return, on that investment. Dave took on the task of tackling this problem. Listen in today as he shares how he evaluates, compares and contrasts sales training programs. His insight will send you in the right direction to train your sales teams, with a return on investment like you’ve never seen. Get In the Arena with Dave Stein, today! Where sales training goes wrong Dave Stein discovered many reasons why sales training goes wrong, but if there were one single reason it would be fixed by now. There are a range of mistakes being made, starting with the inability of sales leaders and organizations to simply hire the right people. There are currently plenty of people unsuited for the jobs they are in. Another huge problem we hear about today is the lack of clearly defining requirements. Start with your customer: what does it take to sell to them? From there, decipher their buying trends, history, methods, and preferences. When you know your goal, you can communicate requirements to your teams. The gap between what the salesperson can do and what the customer needs is the sweet spot for sales training. Listen in to today’s episode and find your sweet spot. The DNA of a good sales manager and team A good sales manager knows how to leverage their experiences to create value for someone else. If you want your sales performance to improve, listen in to Dave Stein’s findings in the trends of hiring. Your sales team needs to be able to talk to the customer about value, in the customer’s terms.  What will your team do to help your customer meet their financial and business plan? To be more successful, effective, and efficient your sales team needs to be able to answer those questions. If you do not develop your own team in knowing the answers to those questions, you will struggle. Today’s episode is an opportunity to amplify your impact that you won’t want to miss. A business savvy perspective Want to learn how to infuse any selling approach from a business savvy perspective? Dave Stein has worked with many companies, selling a lot of stuff, the right way. How do they sustain high volume business? Time to get savvy! This is an unleveraged component to sales effectiveness that Dave has discovered makes a giant difference in your businesses lifespan and growth. Get In the Arena today and start approaching each opportunity with a business savvy perspective. Don’t get left behind in social selling Social selling is not just about having a blog, or having a presence on the various markets. Social selling is a guide to professionally engaging with your customers. It is a platform for creating relationships and connecting with customers. It is time to take ownership of your marketing approach. On this episode, we receive training from Dave on how to set up policies and procedures for social selling. This is a scene that should have clear cut policies to utilize social selling in the right way. Otherwise, you might find one of your go-getter salespeople digging the company’s grave with one mistake on Twitter. Tune in today and cultivate the value social selling can have for you! Outline of this great episode [0:51] Introduction and welcoming Dave Stein. [2:55] Where does sales training tend to go wrong? [5:23] Hire your staff with your customer in mind. [6:35] The DNA, makeup, and mindset of a successful businessperson. [11:34] Consultative Selling, by Mack Hanan. [14:50] New rules for social selling. [19:57] Opportunities and lessons from the economy tank.

Today we hear from Mike Weinberg, author of New Sales Simplified. Mike joins the podcast today with strategies for your toughest sales struggles. He offers insight to develop your sales story and equips you with the weapons your sales arsenal needs. Tune in as Mike addresses complacency in your sales team, building hunters, and common sins your company might be committing. You don’t want to miss Mike, in the arena. Opportunity Acquisition Why are so many sales people struggling to create new opportunities? Mike Weinberg says it is not that you can’t, it’s that you won’t. Are you avoiding prospecting? It will always be easier to babysit your current clients and talk to people you know and trust. If your time and effort is focused on what you already have, you miss the top of the funnel and struggle to pick up new business. Mike keeps it simple with steps you can take to change the trajectory of your company. Discover the discipline of controlling your calendar and start time blocking to transform your acquisition of new business. Rewire yourself and your sales teams to proactively go after new clients. Join us in the arena today, to own the outcomes you sell. Compensated and complacent Are you compensating your team to manage the business you already have? Mike Weinberg points out common pitfalls we create that lead to complacency. With less and less A-players in the sales game these days, it can be tough to determine who is a legitimate hunter. The way people manage their sales organization plays a key role in developing and keeping sales hunters. Is your management burdening your best hunters with other management tasks and projects? Taking the great hunters away from hunting can hurt your ability to acquire new sales. When no one is inclined to find new clients, you have a recipe for stalling. Get out of your comfortable ruts and in the arena today. Your sales story is your strongest weapon Your sales story is simply the thoughts you string together about your business. It may be simple, but Mike Weinberg says it is the most powerful weapon you have. Your story needs sharp, succinct, and compelling selling points. In Mike’s experience, most sales stories are terrible. Take a look at your marketing department: are they equipping the sales team with a client issue focused story? A good story can change the dynamic of your sales dance. Instead of pushing product, lead your story with the points that communicate problem solving. Your clients want to know you can help with the issues on their mind. Watch your business grow as Mike helps you craft a sales story on today’s episode. Sales sins If you think your prospectors care what you do, you are guilty of a common sales sin. Mike Weinberg knows that a self-focused sales story or approach to clients leads to no, no, no. Your clients want to know if you can help them further their business goals. If you are talking about yourself, your company, and your solutions you are missing it completely. The only way to earn a seat at your dream client’s table is to have their outcomes in mind. Address the issues your client is facing with power and passion. If we were all doing this with excellence, Mike’s book, New Sales Simplified, would not be selling as well as it is. Rid yourself of sales sins today, in the arena. Outline of this great episode [1:15] Introduction of today’s guest, Mike Weinberg. [2:02] Opportunity acquisition. [5:26] What do we do about hunters? [7:59] Time blocking is transformational. [9:03] Addressing the farmers. [11:30] How much improvement does Mike’s magic bring to targeting? [16:09] What is a sales story and why is it often missing? [20:21] Prospects do not need us like they did before. [21:46] Telephone prospecting tidbits.