by Kirby Hasseman
In business, it’s always important to pay attention to the metrics…right? Well…sometimes. If you read this blog on a regular basis, you might know I really enjoyed the book “The 4 Disciplines of Execution.” I talk about that book and it’s concepts a bit here. One of the concepts I love in the book is the idea of focusing on “lead measures.” It allows you to focus on numbers that will lead to the success you want. For example, if you focus on making sales calls, (which you have control over) you should ultimately push your sales up (a lag measure). I love it because I have control over the lead measure. I decide whether I do it or not. The challenge for me recently, is I was focusing almost solely on the lead measure. The lead measure is great. But at some point you have to sell something. At some point you need to re-evaluate to make sure you are hitting your numbers. This gives you a chance to evaluate whether you are using the right lead measure. If it does not ultimately lead to sales, it’s not a great lead measure. Without sales, you will fail. But don’t worry…I am not throwing out the baby with the bath water. I need to focus on both. I need to continue to track my number of meetings. I need to make sure I am actively sending ideas to clients. But I need to make sure my sales (and the sales of my team) are following the activity. If it doesn’t, then I am missing the point. Our content efforts are up. Our web traffic is up. Our time on our website is up. That’s all great. But as in any effort, the metrics are important…so long as you are focusing on the right ones. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We are posting new content each and every day.
by Kirby Hasseman
One of the mental challenges I have with creating content on an every day basis is “the voice.” I talked about that here. We all have it. My voice regularly tells me that I come off as a know it all. I am writing about personal development issues. So naturally, I must think I know everything. I don’t. As a matter of fact, I really struggle, every day with many things that I am not good at. It’s not that I beat myself up over it. I just don’t get it right. A lot. So in the interest of transparency, I thought I would share some of the things I suck at. My Temper: When my stress levels go up, the length of my fuse goes way down. Then all of a sudden I find myself blowing up at someone (who is perfectly nice) over something stupid. Though my temper is way better than it used to be…I still struggle here. The Numbers Game: This is painful to admit. I have been in business now for many years and reading a P & L is still painful to me. I can do it. But it takes all of my mental energy. So I don’t analyze and work on these details nearly as much as I should. Listening: I know (intellectually) that the number one skill in sales is to listen. I know it. But sometimes I cannot simply shut up! Maybe it’s because I am excited to tell the person something new. Maybe it’s because I have the attention span of a gnat. Maybe it’s because I am a narcissistic jerk. Either way…I need to work on it. Switching gears: Though I believe in single tasking, sometimes business and life requires us to change from one thing to another. Sometimes I struggle with this…and it leads me back to number one (my temper). I need to take a breath…and move on. Meditate: I know I need to meditate. I am learning more and more of the benefits. And I am even doing it…sometimes. But just like exercise (or anything else you want to be good at) I need to do it every day. I am not. This list is woefully incomplete. But I guess…so am I. I struggle with a lot. This is not an exercise in beating myself up. It’s just an exercise in transparency. The fact is, I suck at this stuff. But I am getting getter…slow but sure. Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter and we can try and get better together.
by Kirby Hasseman
Everyone wants to get more done. We want to be more productive. It makes sense. But in order to get more done, we don’t always need some new time management trick. We need our brain to function at a higher level. We need to think clearer and quicker. We need to deal with stress better. Great news. You can help make that happen. “The trick” to a better brain is often not as complicated as we might think. We don’t need surgery or some science fiction drug. There are several very real actions each of us can take each day to help our own brain function. Here are just a few…
Exercise: Study after study shows that 30 minutes or so of aerobic exercise will help to increase brain function. (This also helps the body deal with stress, which helps your brain too). A simple way to explain this is that the blood is delivered to the brain through blood vessels. Consider these blood vessels the highways. These highways get pot holes sometimes…and exercise helps to re-pave the roads. In addition, exercise also helps to create NEW roads! More blood to the brain helps to increase brain function. So just 30 minutes of exercise a day can make you smarter. Go!
Sleep: When I was in college, I never subscribed to the theory of the “all-nighter” before the test. Turns out I was right. By depriving your body of sleep, you can actually decrease your brain function by up to 40% after just one night! So staying up all night to study actually makes you dumber! Feeling out of it or groggy? Just can’t function? Get some sleep. It will help your brain.
Stop Multi-tasking: This is not my opinion folks…it’s fact. The human brain cannot focus on more than one thing at a time. It has to stop focusing on one thing and then re-direct every time we change our focus! So by focusing on many things at once (i.e. music, phones, Facebook alerts, Snapchats, texts, etc.) while trying to work on a paper or a project is a recipe for (brain function) disaster.
Our brain is a complex and awesome part of us. I believe it is the number one indicator of whether we lead a successful and (more importantly) happy life. Why not give it the best chance for success?
So consider these 3 things to make your brain a better tool for you! The best part? These three (for the most part) are totally up to you. Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for our VIP newsletter here. We send out an email each week that gives a synopsis of our content of the week! Oh…and sometimes we include some sweet promo specials too. Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
I love to read. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not because I love the feeling of “curling up with a good book.” That’s fine, I guess. But my personality does not really lend me to a curling up kind of guy. I love it because I feel like reading pushes me. It makes me think. It inspires me to push harder. But sometimes it’s hard to recommend books because your need depends on your area of interest or need.
So I usually default to some of the books that I have enjoyed lately.
That’s cool…but I thought it might be helpful to break it down via “area of interest.”
So here are 7 sales books that I have loved and have helped me grow.
1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: You might be saying “but this is not a sales book.” You would be wrong. It’s a “better human” book. If you follow these principles, you will be a better sales person. Period.
2. The Ultimate Sales Machine: I loved the overall sales process that Chet Holmes outlined in this one. It inspired me. And if you look at the life of selling results (regardless of industry) Chet had the goods.
3. High Trust Selling: This book changed my business. I love the concept of the 80/20 rule of sales that Todd Duncan lines up in this book. For me, this is when I took the “next step” in my sales career and hired an assistant. It was a leap of faith for sure. And I took it because of this book.
4. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion: If you want to affect people’s behavior, you need to understand their psychology. Why do we do what we do? This book, originally written as an academic text for psychology, has become a sales “must read.”
5. The 10X Rule: If you need a red bull style kick in the pants, Grant Cardone has you covered. I love goals. But Cardone takes it to the next level. I listen to this one and he gets me fired up to attack the day.
6. Fanatical Prospecting: This book was another book that really grabbed me by the collar. It tells you things that (as a salesperson) you might not want to hear…but you need to hear. If you want to have more sales, you need to do Fanatical Prospecting.
7. The Sales Acceleration Formula: This is one that taps in the science of the sale when it comes to the basics of content marketing. From one of the early leaders at Hubspot, this one will make you think of your sales process…and how to turn it on its ear.
This is hardly an exhaustive list. But there are some really good ones here that have inspired me at different times on my sales career! What are your favorite sales books? Let me know! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for the VIP newsletter here and we send out a weekly wrap up of everything!
by Kirby Hasseman
In a recent podcast with Roger Burnett, I mentioned the 80/20 rule of sales. I was referencing a great book from Todd Duncan called High Trust Selling. After that conversation with Roger, I got a question from Mendy Klein: “In 80 20 in sales episode that took your business to the next level from Tod Duncan’s great book. Can you describe in detail what are the few vital tasks that will bring the 80% of success?” Thanks so much for reaching out Mendy! So let’s start from the beginning. In the book, Todd Duncan says that Pareto’s rule (the 80/20 rule) is in full effect in sales. The idea is that 80% of your results in sales come from only 20% of your activities. The challenge is, that most sales professionals spend 80% of their time on the activities that only bring 20% of the results. One of the most important (at least to me) parts of the book was that in order to achieve great sales results, we need to flip that. We need to spend 80% of our time on the areas that bring the most results. So back to Mendy’s question, what are those activities. The simple answer is: sales activities. In nearly every sales job there are things you “have to do” for the sales process. They are important. But they are not revenue generating. They are things like getting proofs to clients, making sure things ship on time, organizational activities. You get the idea. The idea from Duncan is you need to spend less time on these activities (and potentially even outsource them) and spend time on sales activities. These are the ones that actually move the sales needle. So they might be: 1. Meeting with clients2. Making product presentations3. Making prospect calls You get the idea. These are all client facing activities that drive behavior. As I heard Greg Muzzillo from Proforma say once “There is no money behind your desk! Stop looking there!” I love that. So get out and “see the people.” Or as I said in this blog, let the people see you. Thanks for the question Mendy! If you have any questions you would like me to answer, please email me here. Otherwise, now is a great time to sign up for our VIP newsletter to make sure you never miss an update.
