1. Writing to Improve Communication skills

The ability to express my thoughts and complex information has been important in my career in sales. Whether it be sales proposals or technical reports, it was essential that I could convey accurately and succinctly information that other people could understand and hopefully act upon.

English Language was my best subject at school, so I have always found it easy to find the right words to express what I was thinking. However, like any skill it needs practising and honing. I therefore started a daily writing habit many years ago, so that I could maintain and improve this skill.

I started this blog, so that my writing could be seen by others and hopefully will they benefit from the information. This evolved over the years, so that I have self-published longer form content into several books.

2. Therapy Writing

I feel better after writing, it is a form of therapy. Often if I am anxious or even just filled with a sense of ennui, writing seems to unblock something in my mind and it can lift myself out of the fog.

I’m not sure of the process of why this happens. My hypothesis would be that thoughts can become circular, as we try to make sense of the world. We are going round in circles in our mind. Maybe writing provides an escape route for these trapped thoughts. Just like the discomfort of trapped wind, maybe we just need a good belch. It goes without saying that I wouldn’t publish this type of writing and I may not even read it back.

3. Work Through Problems

In a similar way to therapeutic writing, I will often write to work through some problem or issue. Here, though, I am looking for a certain insight. I will approach this with stream-of-consciousness writing.

First, I think about the problem and then just write. I will then keep writing, exploring all the angles of the issue. Certain passages will lead to other trains of thought, so I will explore these. If I go dry, I will force myself to write some more. I can take a break if I must, but I will then return to the writing, until there is no more to write. I will then get a feeling inside that I have put all my thoughts down and I am ready to analyse them.

The next step is to then re-read what I have written. Often most of it is gibberish, however I will highlight or underline anything that seems relevant or seems like an insight. It’s amazing that usually some course of action will reveal itself.

4. Organise Your Thoughts

The mind does not operate in a linear fashion. If we let our mind wander, our thoughts will seem to flit from one unrelated subject to another. The subject matter doesn’t appear to be linked logically, but there will be some connection, however tenuous. In a similar way to the two examples above, writing out our thoughts, to get them out of our heads can be a step towards organising them.

Mind mapping

To organise your thoughts, rather than using stream-of-consciousness writing, it can be useful to use mind mapping. Developed by Tony Buzan, Mind Mapping is a way of putting your thoughts, on a particular subject, down on paper. If you start off by writing one word or phrase in the centre of a piece of paper to represent the central theme of the subject, you then draw lines out to represent all the related thoughts, in a spider formation. See below:

Repeat with the sub-themes, by radiating sub-sub thoughts. Keep radiating out until you exhaust the subject. The important thing is to use one word for each theme. This vagueness helps the mind come up with related thoughts. What you are left with can look like a jumble of nonsense, however the pictural nature of the Mind Map allows you to see connections.

I use mind mapping to plan outlines for blog posts and nonfiction books. Once I have an outline, my creative juices are able to fill in the gaps.

5. Creative Expression

Talking of creative juices, I believe that everyone is creative, but just like anything else creativity can be developed with practice. Having a creative outlet whether it is writing, art, music or whatever, can make you a more rounded human.

Don’t be a consumer all the time

Over consumption is epidemic. There is so much to consume today from TV, Podcasts, social media and mindless scrolling. If we are not careful, we will become a species of zombies, constantly plugged into the matrix. Instead of consuming, why not produce content or art.
Writing for me, is my creative outlet. I hope I am perfecting my art, maybe you can let me know. However, even if nobody reads a word I write, I am exercising a core faculty of my human being – my creativity.

6. Find Your Voice Through Writing

Most writing is someone’s opinion. Opinions are neither right nor wrong, they are just that – opinions. I write so that I can broadcast my opinion. Are my opinions not as valid as anybody else’s? Somebody may disagree with my opinions, but that is fine. That is why they are opinions.

In a similar way, your opinion should also be heard, or at least expressed. Why not start your own outlet where you can voice your opinions. You deserve to be heard.
I truly believe in freedom of expression and I believe much of the current cancel-culture is extremely dangerous. Stamping down on freedom of expression, throughout history, never ended well.

7. The Business of Writing

Could you make writing your business? Its feasible although difficult. The best way to look at it is that you may make some extra cash. I myself have made a small amount of money with my writing, although no way near enough to live off. Yet.

If you write non fiction ‘how to’ type books and blogs, you could build up a following, or tribe in the modern parlance. If you truly provide value, some people may be willing to pay you for coaching or consultation work. You will need to have marketing skills as well as writing skills, though.
The first thing to think about is whether you are writing to entertain or inform. Or you could do both as in infotainment.

If you want to make writing your business, be prepared to commit to the very long term. It can take years to build up a following and even then, the remuneration is meagre.

Where can you write?

What platform can you write on?

Daily journal

If you are just starting out writing, I would suggest starting the habit with a daily journal. This can be just for yourself. If you hit on a great idea, then maybe you can start to expand on it.

Weekly blog

Once you get into the habit of writing every day, then you could expand into writing a weekly blog. If you can write about 200 words a day, then you could in theory publish a weekly blog of around 1,000 words. You would write for 5 days and have one day for editing, publishing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Writing 200 words a day is not hard at all. This section is around 200 words and took about 15 minutes, so that gives you an idea.

If you would like to know more on how I write, read my post on How to Write a Weekly Blog Post. In this post I show you how to structure your time so that you consistently manage to create and publish regular content.

Self-Published Books

As you develop your style and your knowledge of the subject matter grows, why not write a book? It may take you a few months to write, format and publish, but the process is as easy as ever with Amazon KDP. I’ve written several books, please check them out.

I’ve given you the reasons why I write. If any of this resonates with you, then start today. Find your voice and get writing.

The post 7 Reasons Why Writing is Good For You appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

Why Find a Niche

The logic of niching down your business or content does make sense. When you are starting out, you need to get traction. You need an audience. In an ocean of information, you will never be found by your audience or customers, if you are too generic. Finding a niche, means that you target a specific set of people with a specific problem or an specific audience who are looking for specific information. The key word is ‘specific’.

For instance, if your industry is weight loss, your competition will be too great. You will not be noticed. However, if you target 50-year-old males, who want to lose ten pounds, without going to the gym, this will narrow down your target audience. The key part of this is that those people who fit these criteria, will more easily find you.

Niching down is therefore sound advice and here are some of the ways I’ve discovered, to think about my potential niche.

Your niche should be a blend of:

• What you are passionate about?
• What will be financially viable?
• Where do your skills lie?

Your Passion as a Niche

What is your passion and what are you interested in? The premise here is that, as with any new business, it takes a lot of time and energy to get it off the ground. There will be times when nothing seems to happen and you want to give up. It is at these moments that your passion will carry you through because you will feel like you are just doing it because you love it, not for the results.

Money

Counter to the passion argument is, what will be the most commercially viable niche? Follow the money.

I would say that focussing on just the money will result in you becoming disillusioned. You are more likely to follow through if you are enthusiastic about what you are doing. Yes, sure, the venture needs to be financially viable, or it is just a hobby. The focus on just money shouldn’t however be to the detriment of what you are passionate about. That said, there is wisdom in saying don’t just follow your passion. Your venture should be something that has a balance of something you are at least interested in and is commercially viable.

Skills

What if you can’t find something you are passionate about, or what if what you are passionate about, isn’t commercially viable? In that case you should consider what your skills are. What are you good at? Any business relies on providing value to the customer or they will not pay for your services. In the realm of content creation, the consumer needs to receive value, either as entertainment or useful information. You don’t need to be the best, or the most expert in your field, but you should be confident in your abilities and knowledge to provide value to your customers or audience.
Usually, your passion in the subject will grow as you become more skilled and knowledgeable.

Can’t find a niche?

What if you just can’t find a niche? Then invent your own niche. Be unique and it will resonate with someone.

Be authentic

Most of all be authentic. This means being real and true to who you are as a person. Fakery comes across. We can all tell when someone is trying to be someone they are not. In the same way, you will not resonate with your audience if you are not being you.

A word about AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for longer than you think. Think about predictive text on your mobile phones. Content creation by AI is in its infancy and I believe you can tell. This will change in the future, but people want to deal with people they know, like and trust. I don’t believe this will ever change. Humans can intuitively tell when something is authentic or not. It does come with experience but we all have this faculty.
I would resist using AI to create content, firstly because I like writing. Why would I outsource something I love to do, to someone or something else.? Secondly, though, I also believe my audience would be able to tell.

People are crying out for authenticity

In an age were content is, sadly, mass produced by AI, people are craving authenticity. Our politicians bend with the wind, to get your vote. I just wish some of them would stay true to their principles, even if I disagree with them. At least they would get my respect.

Just start now – see where you get to

If you are struggling with finding a niche, I would say the best advice I can give you is start anyway. Start finding your own voice. The worst thing you can do is wait to find the perfect niche. Your niche will develop as you develop. People will be attracted to your authentic message.
Then if you are consistent and persistent, you will look back and discover you have created your own unique niche.

If you are an aspiring blogger, then you might be interested in my post on how to write a weekly blog post. In this post I show you my weekly routine to get regular posts out, on time.

The post Be Your Own Niche appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

There is only one question you need to ask to achieve any goal, provided you have already clarified what the goal is and why you want it. That one question is: What is the next action?
You don’t need to know all the ins and outs of how to arrive at your goal. You don’t need to know even what the second step will be. All you need to know is the very next step. So, if you are stuck, just ask yourself, what is the next action I need to take?

Why the one question is so powerful

When you ask yourself this question, you focus your attention on a very small area. This automatically frees up you mind to work on a much simpler problem. What do I do next?
Now the answer may be a small next action step, or it may be a larger series of steps. You can then focus down further by asking, out of this series of steps, what is the very next action? Once you have this answer, then go ahead and complete this task, without any thought of the next action step after that.

The reason it works is that it kills procrastination. Often procrastination is caused by overwhelm, resulting from trying to focus on all of the possible steps in a goal. Focussing on just the next step, helps you narrow down your focus.

Usually during the process of completing this next action step, the subsequent action step becomes clearer. If not, once you have completed the next action step, then just ask yourself again what’s the next action?

I have written more about taking action in my post Take action – how this helps the Law of Attraction, in which I describe how taking any small action can have dramatic effects.

Then repeat the question.

Once you are specific on your outcome and motivations, then all you need is to know what the next step is.
So just like any traveller who knows his destination, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and the path will reveal itself to you.

The post One question you need to ask to achieve any goal. appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

For example, let’s say your goal is to make so many sales this year. Why?

• So that I will earn a certain amount of commission. Why?
• So that I can buy a rental property. Why?
• So that I will earn asset income. Why?
• So that I will be financially independent. Why?
• So that I don’t have to ‘work for the man.’ Why?
• So that I can do what I want. Why?
• Err – so that I will be happy.

I will be happy when

You see in the example above, that deep down you think you think you will be happy when something happens, or some goal is achieved.

I was the same. For years I pursued financial independence and I used to visualise what life would be like. It seemed that when it happened it would be like fireworks going off in the night sky. Glitter and balloons would drop from the ceiling and a man in a shiny gold suit would hand me a laminated certificate and glass of champagne, whilst the local newspaper photographer snapped us for the next edition.

Nothing could be further from the truth. When it happened for me, I didn’t even realise. It took me being made redundant, to sit down and work out that yes, I was already financially independent. I didn’t need to look for another job. My wife and I went on holiday. When we returned, I came back and redecorated the house. Then after a couple of weeks, I was bored and not happy. Well not like I thought I would be. I was back to my base level of wellbeing. Was this what it was all about?

Happiness is a by-product

Here’s a quick exercise for you. Think back to times when you were happy. Choose three memories.
What were you doing, who were you with, what was happening? For me when I think of times when I am happy, they are occasions like being with my family, having a good laugh with my mates, or taking the dogs for a long walk in the countryside. But here’s the thing, at the time you don’t realise you are happy. You are just there enjoying the moment.

So, here’s a suggestion for you, why don’t you pursue these things instead.
Then happiness will come to you.

I’ve written another post called Living In The Now – My Present To You where I describe some of the magical things that can happen if you let go of living for future goals.

The pursuit of happiness is a fool’s errand. Don’t pursue happiness, let happiness pursue you.

The post Happiness is not a goal appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

The truth is all you need to do is get your thinking mind off the problem, by distracting it with something else. Running, I find is an excellent way to do this. I noticed this myself years ago, as I’ve always enjoyed running. I would often produce answers to conundrums. It seemed like a happy by-product of doing something I enjoy. It was only much later that I realized that I could use a run to specifically solve some puzzles.

I use this method for many other creative activities such as coming up with ideas for blog posts and thinking about different marketing strategies.
Here is how I go about the practise of using running to solve problems.

1. Define the problem

The first step in using running to solve problems, is to define the problem. You should try to be as specific as possible. What is the specific outcome you would like. Asking a question is a fantastic way to define the problem and even better, are questions such as:

‘How can I?’ or ‘What would be a great way to?’

For instance, if you need more money in your life, simply asking for more money is not an effective question. A better question would be:

‘What would be a great way for me to double my income next month?’

2. Meditate on the question

The next step is to meditate on this question for a short while, about 5 minutes should be enough. Once you’ve defined the question, get yourself into a quiet place, turn off any devices so you aren’t distracted. Then close your eyes and repeat the question to yourself three times. Then let your mind go still, by concentrating on your breathing. Count down backwards from thirty to zero with each breath. Once you reach zero, open your eyes, move about then get your gear ready for your run.

3. Let the problem go

As you are getting ready for your run, let the problem go. Act as if you would if you’ve just ordered something online. You place your order then just forget about it, knowing that the parcel is ‘in the post’.

4. Go for a run

How long do you need to run for? Ideally for me it is for 20 minutes minimum, but the longer the better. If you’ve not ran for some time, then perhaps start with a fast-paced walk. Obviously if you are not a runner, then seek medical advise before starting any new exercise regime.
Running outside in nature is the best place to do this exercise. There is something about trees, greenery and open water that seems to get the creative juices flowing. Just enjoy the scenery and keep your body moving. Again, you don’t need to think about the problem, ideally you should try to forget all about it. Allow the answer to come when it is ready, there is no need to force it.
Oh, and one more tip, take something with you to record the answer.

5. The solution will arrive

Eventually the answer will arrive. It will either be a fully formed solution or it will be the inspiration to explore a next action. Either way, just let the answer come. Sometimes the answers come through in stages if it is a particularly complex problem. You will know when you are getting the answer, it will seem obvious to you, as if you should have already known it.
I talked about the subconscious mind before and this is certainly where the answer comes from. But the action of defining the problem, quieting the thinking mind, nature and physical activity seems to be an ideal combination. Psychologists talk about the flow state and maybe this has something to do with it. Either way it is certainly an enjoyable way of solving problems. If you would like to know more about how you can influence the subconscious, then check out my post Six Ways to Influence the Subconscious. In this post I describe how you can communicate with and direct the subconscious mind to change your life for the better.

The post Using Running to Solve Problems appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

I can’t remember how old I was; I was sitting on my mother’s lap as she read The Hobbit to me. The tales of dragons, dwarves and hobbits transfixed me. And treasure. The image of Tolkien’s map of Middle Earth, with the mountains, rivers and a huge dragon were magical. I was always drawn back to this.

Later, when I was older, I re-read the Hobbit on my own and then tackled The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien’s 3 volume 6 book sequel to the Hobbit. This was not the same. The Lord of the Rings is not a children’s book and I struggled to get through it. The themes are deeper and adult in nature .

I have since re-read the Lord of the Rings and everything else Tolkien wrote about Middle Earth, as an adult and here is what I have learned. Before I dive into this however, I do have to say that with every re-reading I do learn more, such is the depth of the writing.

1. Good and evil in the Lord of the Rings

The simplest theme in the series is the battle between good and evil. You have the good guys vs the bad guys. The Fellowship versus Sauron’s forces and hobbits versus orcs. You know straight away whether each character is on the good side or the evil side.

However, this is overly simplistic. You also get to see the internal struggle within the characters, as they fight the power of good and evil within them. The One Ring is the perfect metaphor for the desire for power and earthly riches, which can corrupt. This journey from innocence to evil can be seen when we compare Frodo to Bilbo and to Smeagol (Gollum).

Each of these hobbits, in turn, has borne the ring for a time. Frodo, who has the ring for the least amount of time, fights the power of it to corrupt him, whilst he journeys to destroy it forever. Bilbo, who held the ring for decades, after stealing the ring from Smeagol, is being ‘stretched thin’ by the influence of evil. He must give up the ring to Frodo and leave the Shire for the safety of the Elves of Rivendell. Smeagol originally stole the ring, from his friend Deagol, hundreds of years before and it so utterly corrupted him, that he is no longer the same. He is now the base creature Gollum, who lived in a cave, guarding his ‘precious.’

In the real world, no one is born evil, but we can be corrupted to evil. It is our daily internal struggle over our base habits and thoughts, which will determine where we finish up.

2. Friendship or Fellowship

The most stirring part of the Lord of the Rings, for me is when the Fellowship of the Ring first bands together. The four hobbits, two men, a dwarf, an elf and the Wizard are tasked with destroying the one ring ‘in the fires of mount doom.’ Each of the nine has different personal reasons for joining the quest, but they all have one united aim. When they first come together, they are not all known to each other and there is tension between for instance Gimli the dwarf and Legolas the elf. Elves and Dwarves were once allied but are now hostile. Likewise, the Hobbits are suspicious of the Men. The one aim unites the Fellowship until the reverse is true. Gimli and Legolas become fast friends and the hobbits come to love the men, especially Aragorn. It is friendship or fellowship that helps the company win.

3. Loyalty

Loyalty and disloyalty are both themes that run through the Lord of the Rings. We see how Saruman the white wizard, is quietly scheming to find the One Ring himself, showing disloyalty to the order in which Gandalf also belongs. Eventually, he becomes overtly disloyal, forming an army of Orcs to help him become the new Dark Lord.

Alternatively, there is a prime example of loyalty in Samwise Gamgee, Frodo’s gardener. He agrees to go with Frodo on his mission and sticks with him, from the perils of the Barrow-wights right through to the fires of mount Doom, without shirking his duty. There are many times where lesser people would have said ‘Master, this is too much for me’ I’m going back home to my garden.

But he remains loyal to the cause and his good friend. He is rewarded in the end, as Frodo bequeaths his estate to Sam. Sam becomes an upright citizen in the Shire and ends up being the Mayor of the Shire.

4. Persistence

If ever there was a story of persistence in the face of insurmountable challenge, The Lord of the Rings is it. The band of four hobbits set off on their journey, without even knowing what the end would be, but they knew they had to travel, to keep going. It is only at the Council of Elrond, where they agree the purpose of the quest – to destroy the Ring. You would think that defining a task would make it easier, but the task now seems impossible or at least unfinishable. But they proceed anyway. Despite not really knowing if they would be successful or not, they persist.

I’m often struck by this in life, with lofty goals especially. How many times do we settle for easy goals and the humdrum existence because our vision seems impossible. Why bother starting. Or we do start and when the task becomes too difficult, we just give up because its impossible. Then I remember those small hobbits, they continued anyway, even in the grip of despair. I can’t go back now.

The path doesn’t need to be clear, just keep moving forward one step at a time.

If you have lofty goals, I congratulate you. Keep them in mind always. Don’t try to plan every step. Just like Gandalf, who had a vague idea of how things should pan out, he didn’t know every step. Take the first step, then the second step will become obvious. Many people do not start on their purpose in life because they don’t know how. But you just need to keep moving forward in the general direction.

I’ve written more about how you can become successful in my post Is Goal Setting Important. In this post I give you a very quick method to achieve long term goals, which will help you be persistent.

5. Leadership

Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, is the King in waiting. Although he is the heir of Isildur, when we first meet him, we know him as Strider, a course Ranger of the North. In the story we don’t know his full identity until much later. We first see his inherent leadership qualities when orcs chase the Fellowship out of Moria. The band is now leaderless and they grieve at the apparent death of Gandalf. As they rest, after their escape from the orcs, Aragorn realises that the danger still hasn’t passed. He quickly orders the others to move on. Some protest, saying can they not rest and grieve, but Aragorn is authoritative and decisive. They obey him. Without any agreement taking place, Aragorn is now their de facto leader.

In life some people are raised to levels of power and authority, but you can tell they lack leadership. Leadership is not a title, it is inherent. Sometimes you meet a person who exudes quiet authority. Outwardly they may look humble and act modestly, but when the moment for leadership is required, they naturally take the mantle.

Another trait of leaders is that they can be ruthless but also kind. Unlike the sociopath who revels in his power, the true leader is ruthless only when it is required and they don’t necessarily enjoy it.

6. What the Lord of the Rings says about greatness

What makes someone great? Is it the large event that they succeed in? No, it’s the little things, the simple acts of kindness, they show every day. It is also seen in the moments of crisis, when everyone panics, looking around to see who will lead them. Its then that the leader takes charge, decisively directing people. The leader often doesn’t know where their leadership comes from.

You don’t have to be a leader to be great. You don’t have to have titles and be large in stature. Many people quietly go about their business, without fuss, silently pursuing their goals and fulfilling their duties. The silent majority. Just like the hobbits they’re not famous, they don’t perform great deeds, but their greatness comes from their everyday actions. Quietly moving forward, never giving up, until one day out of nowhere, it seems, they achieve recognition. We’ve all seen the ‘overnight successes,’ but we’ve not seen the decades of doing the right thing, when nobody noticed.

The little guy can win in the end, you are stronger and greater than you think. Life is an adventure.

Be the hero of your own journey.

The post 6 Life Changing Virtues in The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

1. Goals

I’m a great believer in goals but these are not the same as targets. Sales professionals are given targets to reach, but these can be de-motivating. If you fall behind your annual sales plan early in the year it can be incredibly hard to get yourself motivated. Conversely, if you smash your targets with months to spare, the temptation can be to ease off later in the year. This can have a knock-on effect the year after.
Getting-better goals are more motivating, rather than targets. Here you breakdown each aspect of selling and aim to improve them one by one. This seems to work, in that you are competing against yourself, to get better every day.

2. Agile Selling Learning Model

The biggest challenge for me, when I changed roles, was the amount of learning I had to cram in, in a short space of time. Konrath gives us a simple model to use in Agile Selling.

a. Chunking

First you map out everything you need to learn and then chunk similar things together. You can then chunk down into smaller chunks.

b. Sequence

You can’t learn everything all at once. This will fry your brain. Instead decide on the first skill or piece of information you need to learn and concentrate on that. Only when you have mastered that, should you go on to the next skill.

c. Connect

Are there any other things you already know, that you can link to the skill you need to learn? This can often give you a head start.

d. Dump

Get what you learn out of your head and onto paper. Therefore, practice dumping this information. Mind maps are a great tool to use here.

e. Practice

With any new skill, practice makes perfect. Doing something once or twice, will mean you never habituate the skill. The author recommends role playing and recording yourself on video. Do not fear this feedback, as it is priceless.

f. Prioritise

I agree with Jill Konrath, in that multitasking is a myth. Therefore, you should prioritise what you are doing and do the most important one-thing first.

3. Situational Credibility

The aim of all this learning is to reach situational credibility in 30 days. This means that within 30 days you should be able to sit in front of a customer and have a good productive conversation. The 30-day deep dive is long enough for you to get this situational credibility. It is also short enough for it to fit into your induction period, in your new job.

4. Dictionary

One of the biggest helps for me in my learning was setting up my own dictionary. As you learn unfamiliar terms and jargon, make a note of it to look up later. Once you have the definition, write this down in a dedicated notebook. I still use my dictionary all these years later as more new buzzwords and acronyms come into fashion. I now use an excel spreadsheet for this, so I can rearrange it alphabetically.

5. Fill out buyer’s matrix.

Konrath gives us some a lot of homework to do in Agile Selling, but it is well worth the effort. One of the tasks is to set up a Buyers’ Matrix. Here you list out each type of customer you have, for instance my list would be:

• Business owner, Owner, MD, CEO
• Factory Manager, Operations Manager/ Director, General Manager
• Engineering Manager/Director
• Project Manager

For each position, fill out their key roles, objectives and challenges. An example for a CEO is below:

1. Role/responsibility – oversee all company functions, maintain and improve profits, increase sales.
2. Business objectives – get new business, increase and maintain business, ensure profitability.
3. Strategic initiatives – sales drives, cost cutting, new product development, branding.
4. Internal challenges – labour costs,
5. External challenges – loss of business, unable to supply business.
6. Primary interfaces – Parent company directors/ managers, shareholders, owners, other business owners
7. Status quo – current profitability and sales are fine, don’t rock the boat.
8. How to overcome Status Quo: costs are rising, labour costs, labour market
9. Change drivers – sudden new business, loss of business, increased costs, pricing.
10. Change inhibitors – ongoing contracts, parent company group deal, other investments required, uncertain forecast.

6. Status quo

Looking back on my sales career, my biggest competitor is the customer not doing anything. Jill Konrath calls this the Status Quo i.e. the customer would rather do nothing. There are assorted reasons for this, for instance fear of making mistakes or the time required to make the change. However, we can still compete against this. Therefore, what are the weaknesses or gaps, for them to remain with the status quo? How can we exploit this?

7. Value Proposition

The author advises us to reverse engineer the business case, to arrive at our Value Proposition. This chapter was quite lightweight and Konrath points us to her website to download a Value Proposition Toolkit.

8. Customer Stories

During your first 30 days, start collecting customer stories. What are the stories of how your company got customers? How did you help them? You can ask other salespeople in the organisation or even interview the customers. You can then weave this into your own sales and marketing narrative.

9. Map out the buyer’s journey.

Mapping out the buyer’s journey is a useful exercise in sales and marketing. It can help you to craft the message you are putting out and to whom. Broadly speaking there are four stages to the buyer’s journey, but each industry and customer will have its own sub-stages:

a. Allow access.

The first step in the sales journey is the customer allowing you access to them. Here you need to be noticed by the customer and offer them a valid reason for starting a conversation.

b. Initiate change

The customer allows you access to them and you are now face to face. Your task now is to guide the customer to initiate change, i.e. to realise they might have a problem worth solving.

c. Select resources.

As the buyer now realises he needs to change something, he will now start to think about how he can change. I.e. to select resources. This is the research stage and hopefully you will be involved in it. Otherwise, the customer has already done their research and you are part of a quote gathering exercise.

d. Expand relationships.

You have been successful in gaining some business with this new customer. The next stage is expanding the relationship. This will be traditional account management and will involve selling more of your offering and dealing with the fulfilment side.

10. Create cheat sheets for everything.

I’m in agreement with the author here. Cheat sheets or checklists can help you to remember to do what you should do and they are a plan you can follow. For example, the book includes a cheat sheet for meeting preparation. (See below). I’ve written more about my checklists in the post Checklists and Daily Lists.

11. What are the trigger events?

For the customer to realise they have a problem or initiate a change, there is usually a trigger event. To help you optimise your time, you can identify what these trigger events are and then target these as a priority. Trigger events could be anything from New Legislation or a new CEO overseeing the customer’s business. If you do your homework, you can find these events and get ahead of the game.

12. Gobbledygook test

How will you know if you have situational credibility and are ready to sit in front of a customer? You should be able to pass the gobbledygook test and be able to answers these four questions, off pat.

• What does your company do?
• What are your primary products and services?
• Why should I consider changing to you?
• Have you worked with any other companies like us? Name them.

13. Agile Selling skills

Your professional development should include developing your sales skills, but where do you start. The author tells us to start where you are. I.e. it’s pointless mastering closing skills if you have no prospects.

a. Prospecting

If you have just joined the company and are responsible for generating your own leads, then prospecting should be your first skill to master. These skills include phone use, email and networking etc. I’ve written more about this in my post My Prospecting Process, in which I go through my methods for getting in front of customers.

b. Opportunity creation

Once you have mastered prospecting or you are already provided with leads, then the next logical skill to practise is opportunity creation. Some sub-skills in this area include questioning, listening and needs analysis.

c. Winning business

Winning business will be the next skill to practise. This is a huge topic ranging from presenting the business case, through objection handling to negotiation. When choosing a subskill to work on, it is best to analyse what you are doing now and whether there are areas on which you can improve.

d. Account management

Account management is a whole different skill set. Once you have the business, this area is about keeping and developing that business. How are your customer service skills? Have you networked within the customer organisation to meet all the stakeholders?

14. Personal bests

Sales is a numbers game we are often told, but Konrath tells us to not focus on the number of calls we are making. Instead change your goals to, for instance, connection ratio. This means the percentage of calls that result in a conversation.
Once you’ve improved your connection ratio, to acceptable levels, you can then look at improving your initial meeting conversion ratio. I.e. the percentage of visits that result in a quote.
Again, once the meeting conversion rate is satisfactory, look to improve the closing ratio, otherwise known as the percentage of quotes that result in a sale. The corollary to this could be to look at the percentage of quotes, that are lost to no-decision and improve this.
When you are looking at ways to improve, or to highlight things that might be holding you back, find the root cause of the problem. For instance, your issue might be a lack of presenting the business case rather than closing skills.

15. Meeting preparation

One of the bad habits that seasoned sales professionals can sometimes slip into is trying to ‘wing it’ i.e. not preparing adequately for a meeting. As you become more experienced and your knowledge increases, this can be when danger can strike. You think that you can just turn up to an initial meeting and go with the flow.
In Agile Selling there is a Meeting Plan that you can use to ensure that you have at least done the minimum amount of preparation, before the meeting. Here are some of the questions you need to ask yourself before the meeting:

a. Outcome

At the end of the meeting, what will the next step for me be?
What will the prospect be expecting?

b. Opening

How will you open the meeting? E.g. Make intros, confirm times and review agenda.

c. Set the stage.

Share your value proposition, success stories, ideas or insights. Establish yourself as a credible source. What will you say?

d. Transition

How will you move the conversation into questions?

e. Focus on Business

Lead the conversation about the reason for the meeting. List ten questions you want to discuss, in a logical sequence.

f. Support materials

What will you need to take? Presentations, handouts, case studies.

g. Personnel

Who will to be present, both from your company and the customer’s.

h. Advance

How will you bring the meeting to a close, in a timely manner. Summarise your understanding, discuss open issues, and suggest the next steps.

16. Debrief meetings.

After the meeting, whilst it is still fresh in your mind, you should be having a debrief. I use a model called the Personal Improvement Grid (PIG). You can read up more about the PIG on my post Skills and Mastery. In this post I explain how I improved my cold calling skills.

17. The Agile Selling 90 days Plan

There is a lot of work to go through when you start your new post at a new company. Aside from getting yourself up to speed or having situational credibility in 30 days, the author gives us a useful 90-day plan. You can of course adapt this to your own situation.

18. Time management

Here are four useful areas to improve in your time management, which I took away from Agile Selling.

a. Prioritise daily.

At the start of each day, or the evening before, list what you are going to doing, with the most important item first. With me, I make sure I prioritise getting at least twenty customer contacts per day. I will do this first.

b. Chunk time

Try to group like tasks together, for example if you have a raft of phone calls to make, then block off a few hours to get through them all in one chunk of time.

c. Set deadlines.

We are beset with deadlines issued by customers, bosses etc, which means that these tasks are focussed on first. But what about the tasks we give ourselves, those things that could move our own performance and development forward. Give these deadlines too, so you make sure they are done.

d. Email scheduled.

Scheduling my email time was a big gain for me. Set yourself 4 or 5 times per day, when you will check your email messages and don’t deviate from it. If you have spaced these times throughout the day, you will not miss anything. For example, I now only check email at 9am, 11am, 1pm, 4pm and one last check at 7pm.

Summary

Reading Agile Selling by Jill Konrath and applying the recommendations, got me out of a potentially sticky situation when I changed from Account Management to Business Development in Capital Equipment sales.
If you are about to start a new role in sales or if you are floundering with the mountain of things that need to be done, then I can heartily recommend getting yourself a copy.

The post Agile Selling by Jill Konrath – my takeaways appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

Where does “You will own nothing” come from?

‘You will own nothing’ was uttered by Klaus Schwab the president of the World Economic Forum. He actually said, “You will own nothing and you will be happy”. What he meant by that is that if the WEF have their way we will all live in a rental society, where only the ‘elites’ will own property.
Here Roth argues, correctly, that property ownership underpins the freedoms we enjoy in our lives. The most fundamental of freedoms is your freedom of where to live. If you own your own home, you decide where you want to live. Ownership of your own vehicle means you are free to travel where you want and when you want.

World Economic Forum (WEF)

This organisation sounds like it is an official pan-government body but is a networking club for the ultra-wealthy, powerful and influential. They meet once a year at Davos in Switzerland (appropriately) to mingle, hobnob and share ideas on how to improve the world (and their bottom lines). Nothing wrong with that, on the face of it. The question is, are the characters who frequent this gathering there for natural self-interest? By that I mean are they doing what most business owners do, when they network with like-minded people? Or, as Roth explains, are some of these individuals there for more nefarious reasons i.e. world domination and the enslavement of humanity? The author does concede that some visitors attend this event out of pure FOMO (Fear Of Mission Out). ‘So and so from such and such organisation is a member, I must see what this is about.’

Social Credit

The author lays out how is this nightmare is being brought about? The first method is social credit. This is where governments will try to shape the behaviour of their citizens with a kind of score. The more you behave the way they want you to, the higher your score. This would be a sensible thing, if you could trust the people who are designing these systems.

If the elites want to silence dissent, then what better way than to mark down the score of people who speak out against the government. It is already underway in China. But how will this work in principle? Well, what’s one of the biggest things that motivates peoples’ behaviour? Money.

Digital currency

The author highlights the trend towards a totally digital financial system, which has accelerated since the pandemic. If we get to a stage where all finance is digital, i.e., there is no cash, then it is just a matter of pressing a button, to be able to prevent us accessing our money. This has already happened with the Truck Drivers in Canada. Also, notably and recently, Nigel Farage had his bank accounts frozen because his bank didn’t like his political views. He successfully fought against this, but you can see how this might play out.

ESG

ESG or Environmental, Social, and Governance is the version of social credit, for corporations. Ostensibly it is a way for investors to be able to decide whether they want to invest in a company who is ethical, in their mind. Again, on the face of it, it would seem a good thing that you want to be able to invest in companies who align with your values. But Roth, shows us how this can be manipulated. If a company doesn’t tow the line of the elites, then they can lose their ESG status. This means that they could be taken off the large Indexes, meaning less investment. The system is also a large time and financial burden on companies as they will have to invest time and resources to make sure they comply. This is to the detriment to their shareholders.

Taxes and Debt

There is a debt crisis both at governmental and at the personal level that is unsustainable. Governments can only raise finance in one of two ways. By borrowing or raising taxes. The borrowed money needs to be paid back and again this can be done with taxation. The other way of reducing the debt burden is through inflation. Inflation erodes the debt relative to the value of your money. This also means that the cash in your bank account is worth less year on year. By stealth your money is being stolen from under your noses. You will own nothing and be happy.
Personal debt is also unsustainably rising. Credit cards, mortgages and loans are the usual culprits, but student loans are becoming more and more pernicious. Young people who rightly want to educate themselves are saddled with debt that they may never pay off. There is also no correlation between the amount of debt borrowed and the payback when the student enters their career. The savvy student should assess whether the likely salary they will receive would be worth the debt that they take on. Not all degrees will offer the same payback.

Upcoming wealth heist

As we come to the close of the book, if we are not already depressed, then the chapter on the upcoming wealth heist may tip us into doom. There is a natural flow of wealth from one generation to the next, as the older generation passes. For instance, the so-called Baby Boomer generation are now entering into retirement and naturally their wealth will eventually pass to Generation X and so on. The Governments and financial elites want a piece of this pie. Inheritance tax already exists, where any wealth over a certain allowance is subject to taxation. That is bad enough in my opinion, but this could be altered so that the beneficiary will have to pay tax on the capital gain.
For instance, at the time of writing in the UK, you will have to pay inheritance tax on estates worth more than £325,000 and you are only liable to pay 40% on the amount above £325k. So, if estate you inherit is worth £425,000 you will pay 40% of the £100k difference i.e., £40k.
However, if these bad actors get their way you will pay IT on the capital gain. Let’s say your parents bought their house in the 1970’s for £10k and its now worth £325k. Under the current system you will pay no IT. Under a new system you could pay 40% of the capital gain i.e., £126,000 (40% of £325k – £10k).

The solution is at the end.

One criticism I have of the book, is it is overly pessimistic. I feel it could be made more optimistic by spreading the solutions throughout the book. However, the author saves these up for the end. I do recommend the book to learn how possible trends might play out, but I would urge you to keep in mind that there is always a solution.

My takeaway actions

The solutions to protect yourself from these trends are suggested and these are the takeaways that I will be continuing to implement or start. The author also suggests other remedies.

1. Be free and clear of all unproductive debt. No credit card debt and don’t use debt to buy liabilities. A home mortgage is fine if it is affordable. In fact, owning your own home is a must. You can read more about this in my blog post how to reduce debts. Here I give you a step by step process to reduce and eliminate debilitating debt.
2. Reduce expenses on liabilities. A liability can be described as something that depreciates in value or costs you money. The flip side of this would be to spend money on assets i.e., those things that do appreciate in value or will pay you an income.
3. Have a well-diversified portfolio of investments including tangible items. The author quite rightly doesn’t offer financial advice here, but a broad portfolio will shelter you from all market cycles.
4. Invest in gold. Following on from point 2 & 3, gold is seen as a hedge against inflation and financial turbulence. It is also something tangible that cannot be taken away with a push of a button. It can be stolen though!
5. Own your own business or equities in other businesses. Again, you should shelter yourself from possible downsizing in your job.

Conclusion

All in all, I would recommend this book if you are new to this subject matter, as there is nothing written about, that is not already in the public domain.

The post You Will Own Nothing by Carol Roth – my takeaways. appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

Who are the Media?

The media are the communication outlets that proliferate today. Their job is to education, inform and entertain. To a certain extent, they achieve this, some outlets are better than others.
When I talk about the media, I include Television, Radio and Newspapers, especially online. I also include social media because the media outlets I am referring to here, have presences on these platforms.
Media ranges from free to subscription models and from public institutions to private enterprises. They are many and varied, but they have one thing in common; They need your attention, and the dirty secret is the media wants you scared.

What does fear do to you?

Fear causes distraction and a sense of loss of control. If you are distracted and feel like you lack control, then you are more likely to make decisions that are in the interest of the media outlet or their sponsors. More on this later.

Headlines grab attention.

The first object of the mass media is to obtain your attention. This is usually done by some kind of headline. A particular piece will be summarised into half a dozen words, which will stop you in your tracks and make you engage. It’s not your fault, its human nature. We are evolved to look towards danger.

Eyeballs equals captive audience.

Once they have your attention, the piece will be designed to keep you engaged. A snappy headline will be followed by an opening that is designed to draw you into the piece. Each section will keep you engaged and sell the next section. Once you reach the end, you will be prompted to consume the next article or programme. It’s all marketing and in itself is benign, apart from your time spent, which could have been invested elsewhere.

Advertisements

Most Media organisations make their money through advertising or subscription. Their business model requires predictable viewing figures, either because the sponsors will pay for the number of clicks, they receive or because they know their ad will be seen by a certain number of people.
Therefore, once you are engaged in the media channel, the longer they can keep you engaged, the more beneficial to them.

Read more about how advertisers hypnotise you into buying stuff. I will also show you how you can recognise when this is happening and what you can do about it.

Purchases – you buy what they’re selling.

Back to our state of fear, distress or unease. The human condition is such that a person will always seek to ameliorate pain and discomfort. We will do something that will make us feel better. What do we see on our screens (TV, phones & PCs) after we’ve been shown something disconcerting? Advertising. The copy or script of the advert goes along the tried and trusted formula of:
“Are you feeling bad about X, Y, Z? Then purchase our super flippety gib service and product. You’ll feel great.”
In our state of fear, we will whip out our credit card and make the purchase. Or, more sinisterly, the branding will log deep in our subconscious. Feel bad, buy X.

24hr News

Back when I was growing up, the news on TV broadcasted 2 or 3 times per day, per channel. There were only three channels back then. In my naïve pre-teen mind, I was always astounded that there was exactly 30 minutes’ worth of news, going on in the world to fill the schedule. Now of course, that’s not how it works. The programmers (the hint is in the name) had 30 minutes of news airtime to fill. If a lot was going on, then the news was edited down to fill the time. But what if there was not a lot going on?

Here’s what didn’t happen in the early 80’s:

“And now the 6-o clock news from the BBC”.
“Today, nothing of importance happened. At all.”
“We will return tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a nice film about basket-weaving to music.”

No that didn’t happen, mores the pity, because they would find some news. There’s always something bad happening, somewhere. And if not, we can talk about some dreadful things that might happen.
As TV became digital, more TV channels proliferated and we got 24-hour news channels. And they needed to be filled, usually with shocking news. Are there more terrible things happening today versus 40 years ago? No, of course not. But good news doesn’t sell. If you feel good about the world, you don’t buy stuff.

Politicians

Politicians use this fear factor also. They need your votes to stay in power and they need your money, through taxes. They need your money to enact their policies, once they are in power. Fear sells at the ballot box and government departments are looking for more of a share of the budgets.
If you don’t believe me, wait till the next general election. Both sides will use the fear tactic. The incumbents will plant the side of doubt about what the opposition will do once they get in power. The opposition will highlight all the bad things that are happening, and that they will be the solution.

The real solution

I’ve belaboured this point long enough and I feel quite icky just writing about it. So here is a way you can immunise yourself from being manipulated.

No news

Do not watch any news on TV, especially 24-hour news channels and talking head TV/Radio. Do not read any newspapers either print or online. Online news is clickbait. They earn off your clicks. Don’t feed the monster.
Now, you may think you will become uninformed, but I assure you, you will be happier. You will find out about any real newsworthy events. You will become more mindful of your local community news, because your eyes and ears will be open.

Do not consume social media.

If your business model uses social media for marketing and displaying your content, then you may not be able to completely avoid social media. In that case, only use social media for the purpose of content producing. If possible, you can even outsource the re-purposing of your content onto socials. If you do this you will thank me.

Try it for a day.

Quitting News and social media may seem drastic. I would therefore recommend trying it for just one day. Plan this day in advance so that you will not be tempted. Plan to get outside into nature, if you can. Make it a day that you will not need to be contacted via phone, so you can just put your phone away for the day. A long walk in the country is ideal for this.
The day before your media fast, sit and feel how anxious you are. Give yourself a score out of ten. One being zen-chilled to ten being highly anxious. Then that night, hide your devices and remote control.
Then enjoy the day, free from the jabs and prods of the doom-mongers.
At the end of the day, asses your level of anxiety. Did it work? Let me know.

The post Why the Media Wants You Scared appeared first on Mike Holden Sales.

Should you be living in the present, totally, or should you have goals to strive for? There are two conflicting pieces of advice on how to live our lives, but which is correct? Are they mutually exclusive or can you live with both and if so, how?

Living in the present

What do we mean by living in the present? To live like this means that we are mindful of what goes on around us in our present environment. We are not concerned about what tomorrow brings and we let go of the past. We are completely in the moment.

Sense of flow

In our work or play, we can get into a state, which psychologists call flow. Think of anytime you’ve been totally engrossed in something you are doing. The sense of time seems to disappear, and we can be often surprised to see that hours have passed.

I get into this state when I am writing, driving or long-distance running. Its deeply meditative and helps me be more productive. Compare this to multitasking or distracted work. Think of a day when you were totally distracted or interrupted. As soon as you got started on one task, a thought popped into you mind about something else you should be planning, or a notification pinged on your phone. We can be certain that we weren’t living in the present then.

Happiness

Looking back on times when you are happiest, I’m sure that you were living in the present. You might have been spending time with friends and family or you were engrossed in some worthwhile project.

This sense of happiness is derived from the fact that we have everything we need in that moment. We are fulfilled. We’re not worrying about how to pay the bills or regretting some past indiscretion. We are in the moment – in flow.

Tennis balls

But surely, we can’t operate in this state all the time. We are not tennis balls floating down the gutter of life, as Rabbi Daniel Lapin describes it. Going with the flow all the time, means that we are at the mercy of whatever life throws at us. So surely there is another way?

Goals

The opposite of living in the moment could be said to be living in the past or future. Setting goals is a way of taking us out of the present to envision some future time and what we would like to achieve.

How to form goals

To set a goal or outcome, first think of something you would like to be, do or have. Then try to make this as specific as possible, preferably with something you can measure. Common examples of goals are to reach a certain weight or earn a certain amount of money. The numerical value of these goals makes them easier to manage. We can clearly see where we are in relation to them and how far we need to go.

The benefits of goal setting

The benefit of goal setting is that we can use our will to defeat the forces of entropy. Think of the neatly coiffured garden. If no further work is done on this verdant delight, it will soon become a jungle. It will revert to its natural state. This is the force of entropy at work, and it governs everything in the universe. Order into chaos.

Our lives our no different. Without constant vigilance and good habits, our lives will become chaotic. Setting goals and outcomes is a way we can bring back order. It could be as simple as having a goal to clean and tidy the house once a week, to maintain order.

Another benefit of goal setting is that we can develop ourselves into some better version. If we are unhealthy today, we can visualise a time when we are healthy. We can put an action plan in place to eat well and exercise, so that we reach this healthier version.

The negatives of goal setting

I’ve been a proponent of goal setting for most of my adult life and I’ve grappled with apparent disadvantages of them.

Rigidity

Having too rigid an outlook can shut us off from opportunity and spontaneity. We cannot tell what the future will be like. What seems like a promising idea to pursue today, might not be so rewarding in the future.

If we are too fixated on a certain outcome, we can miss the opportunity to adjust our focus. On the other hand, if we are too flexible, we can start to drift and be susceptible to the shiny object syndrome.

Future focus

Living in the future is not a healthy way of living. Life is about the journey. Being totally focussed on a future vision can make us blind to the beauty that’s right in front of us.

Constant state of wanting and failure

If goals are the ideal, we are striving for, then by definition the present is not ideal. We want something else. This constant wanting is a sure way to unhappiness.

Likewise, if we are not a certain weight but are striving to it, we are not successful until we reach this weight. Ergo we are failing until the very end.

Goals are empty

The act of striving to reach a goal is where the happiness lies. Either you reach your goal, or you fail. In the moment of failure, or giving up, you can choose to start again or try something new. At the precise moment you achieve your goal, there will be elation. This feeling is transitory and quickly wanes.

I remember running my first marathon. After 16 weeks of hard training, I finally approached the finish line, with 100 metres to go. The crowds were cheering all us participants on. I felt elated and reached the finish line in a state of euphoria. My family were there to meet me, and we were all emotional, at what was achieved and the money we had raised for charity.

This feeling lasted about 5 minutes.

As the adrenaline wore off and my body began to ache, there was also another feeling which grew. Emptiness. This feeling of emptiness, I still remember. Looking back over twenty years later, the happiness I remember was from the training and the raising of pledges. The actual goal itself is empty. Sure, I have a medal to show for it; it’s in a box, in the loft with all my other running medals.

The meaning I get from completing marathons, is in the process of training my body and mind, in the present i.e. back when I did it. The feeling of happiness, is the memory of the happiness I felt, whilst I was pursuing the goal.

How to live in the present and have goals

So, we are in a bit of a pickle. Live in the present or live for goals? After over twenty-five years of personal development work, I have the answer. The answer is that we should live in the present and have goals at the same time. As ever, the answer to life’s conundrums is often to choose the middle ground, to walk the tightrope in between.

By all means formulate your goals using the SMART method or whatever. you choose. As soon as your goal is formulated and you have your action plan, bring yourself back to the present. Detach yourself from the outcome. Be grateful for what you have now. Find the joy in the everyday actions that will lead you to the goal.

As you progress towards your goal, look back to where you’ve come from, not forward to how much farther you have to go. When you climb the mountain, the joy comes from stopping every so often to admire the view and amaze yourself on how far you’ve climbed. Looking up towards the summit, shrouded in mist, only brings dread.

You can read about How to Set Effective Goals, where I show you how to overcome this problem of living in the present and having goals.

It’s All Ok

If you can get into a state where It’s All Ok, now, whether you’ve achieved your goals or not, you will improve your happiness. You will have goals, but you won’t be attached to them. Try to treat your long-term goals as if they were a series of stepping stones. You will then be truly living in the present and you will be astounded by the progress you make.

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