Sefossifoco

Are you the leader or just the boss?

The leader of a symphony orchestra knows how to play every instrument. He also knows how those instruments blend together to create a symphonic sound. The leader of a choir knows every note that everybody has to sing, and knows how the voices and notes blend together to make harmony.

They’re actually called “conductors” – but you know what I mean.

When you can take both of these leadership elements and put them together, you have symphonic harmony. You have a team that knows their individual talents, knows their individual notes, knows their lyrics, knows how to play, knows how to sing, and knows their timing of when to do both – to create team harmony. And IF the leader is prepared, in control, and respected, the results can be spectacular.

If you’re the leader of these people and these elements, it is imperative that you know how each player must perform, or you will fail. Same in sales.

All sales leaders and bosses want their people to be a team. All salespeople resist it, because they just want to sell — but they often need other team members (accounting, production, shipping, service) to make it happen.

THE TEAM SECRET IS: Everyone must know his or her own skill and know it perfectly. Until they know themselves, they can’t play well, or sing well with others.

THE LEADERSHIP SECRET IS: To be able to extract the excellence of their people’s performance combined with the excellence of their own performance.

Often salespeople don’t live up to their potential and don’t do their best, or they make mistakes along the way. This is where leadership can make it happen, or break it down and continue with less than stellar performance.

THE LEADERSHIP REALITY IS: If you’re a real leader, you can’t blame the players for poor performance. You have to be the teacher, the conductor, the coach, and the encourager.

On the eve of a symphony performance, thousands of people pay to watch the orchestra AND the conductor perform. And at the end there is usually a thunderous applause, cheers of BRAVO!, flowers given out all over the place, and, at the urging of the conductor, members of the orchestra standing one or two at a time to take individual applause and a bow.

You, as the spectator (the customer), paid for and saw a one-hour performance.

But the outcome was not determined by their performance that evening. The outcome was determined long ago when they were practicing. If they didn’t practice, their performance would not have been acceptable.

Same with you. And the key is the message I’m trying to transfer.Leaders and orchestra members PRACTICED TOGETHER. It’s the same in sales. You can’t just be the boss or the manager. You also have to be the leader by example, and the coach who knows the game.

If you’ve ever seen the video of the immortal UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, on leadership — you saw him on the court passing the ball to his players at the top of the foul circle leading the weave. He shows his players by example, practicing with them. The more you practice together, the more likely you are to win the championship, or get a standing ovation.

In sales this means go with your people. Make calls with them. Help them make more sales. Be their coach, not their boss.

Your time is as valuable as their time. Invest your time in getting ready to lead and coach your people. Invest your time in preparing new information for your people that they consider valuable. Invest your time in your own personal development by studying attitude and encouragement as two of your self-determining factors of your success.

Here are two more indicators you’re on the winning path:

1. You’re attractive. Not pretty. I’m talking about people calling you up on the phone because they want to work for you. Did you ever have a college professor that everyone would line up for and hope they made it into his class?  The questions you need to ask yourself are:  Who’s willing to line up and wait for me? Who wants to play on my team? Who wants to sell for me?

2. Your former players stay in touch with you. People move on with their careers. I want anyone that leaves to say that you were the best coach, the best leader they ever had. You don’t just win best coach — you win the game of life.

Boss or leader? Boss or coach? Boss or teacher? Boss or encourager? The choices are obvious as they are written. Your challenge is to make them a reality. I hope you do.

Want to share this message with someone else? Send them to this YouTube video I recorded:

Unbetterable

From Inspiration to Process

I had a great question come in from a great person, and I had to share what came of it. The question was: How do you take an inspiration and process it into one of your many projects? For instance, how do I decide that an idea is something for [chrisbrogan.com] versus Kitchen Table Companies, or any of my other projects? And then what do I do with it? This is, of course, a wonderful question because I can walk you through from the very moment of receiving the question and then into how I did something with it.

Illustrating The Process

Once I thought about how to illustrate the process of taking an idea forward, I turned on my video camera and started recording. I felt it would be important to illustrate the process with a real life idea, so I took one of the inspirations that had been in my head for a little while, and went with it.

Very close to my office, there’s a woman who runs a little coffee and candy shop. She brews iced coffee. Her sign has a hand-written sign attached to it (over the picture of iced coffee) that says “NO SYRUPS!” What she means is that she brews the flavors instead of just adding a squirt of syrup to regular plain iced coffee. It’s supposed to be a benefit, what she’s saying.

What I told her was, “When I see that sign, I think you’re telling me: ‘there’s no syrup here, so if you like flavors, don’t bother coming in.’” Her eyes went wide. That was exactly the OPPOSITE of the message she wanted to convey. As I’m typing this, she’s taken down that sign and is working on the one I recommended instead: “Brewed Flavors!”

So, for the purpose of this video I’ve shot, I went with that as my example. Watch this quick video to see my thought process, and then we’ll talk about it more:

Can’t see the video? CLICK HERE.

Where Do I Put My Ideas?

If I want an idea to get a lot of attention, I post it on [chrisbrogan.com]. It’s the largest property I own. When I want to create a project that will have more value or premium details, I’ll do that on Kitchen Table Companies or Third Tribe Marketing or one of the places where people exchange value for their experience. If I think an idea is specific to blogging, for instance, I’ll probably share the guts of the idea inside of Blog Topics, because that community has committed to wanting to do more with their blog, and are working with me on improving their blogging experience.

I choose based on that: is it an idea that needs a lot of reach? Then it goes on [chrisbrogan.com]. Is it an idea that will help small businesses or marketers? Kitchen Table Companies or Third Tribe Marketing . Is it for bloggers? It goes on Blog Topics. Sometimes, it’s even a combination of the above.

How Do I Process My Ideas into Something More?

Because I write mostly about human business, marketing, and communication, I tend to use those lenses when thinking about my ideas. Not every little thing that catches my attention becomes a blog post or further learning, but you’re be amazed by how much does. The HOW of what I do next is something like this:

• Consider the value of the idea. Is this something I can turn into teaching or sharing?
• If yes, where do I share it?
• Is there a two-step business value to this? (Free then a membership product?)
• Then, what will I need to illustrate the point? Visuals? Video? What else?
• Is this bigger than just a blog post?
• Do I need to write anything else?
• What else would make this pop?

The process works something like that every time.

Other Processes

So, if I decide to make something of a business product out of an inspiration, then I will have to do some other things. I’ll have to ask whether the project is salable, and whether MY audience will buy it. If not, then I’ll either not do it, or I’ll just leave it at a blog post.

If I make a business product out of it, I have to get Josh Fisher to do some graphics, get Rob Hatch to approve it as another thing we can do, get a sense of what it’s going to do besides sell (because I like my products to drive business). If I do that, where will I sell it? Will I make a sales page (I use Premise [affiliate link] for that). I have lots of questions if it passes from blog post to full on project.

Also, I ask what the yield of such a project might be. When I wrote my business plan ebook and shot the video to go with it, that was a reasonably evergreen project. It will have resale for quite a while. When I finally release my videoblogging project, that will also have some great long-lasting value. But if I decide to turn a post about how my coffee shop lady had to change her sign, then I don’t think that will yield me much, unless I grow it out quite a bit more.

Your Thoughts or Questions?

So, I’ve explained how I do it. Do you do something similar? Any questions? Any parts I missed explaining? I’m here to help.

And, if you’re a member of Kitchen Table Companies, we’re talking about this thread more here. Remember I mentioned that in the video?

Anything You Want

When is it due?

Hootsuite Publisher Function

I really like the Hootsuite (affiliate link) publisher function inside of the Hootsuite Twitter application. Not only can you schedule tweets, but you can see it in a form that lets you better understand what you’ve got planned for the day, week, month, etc. I’ve shot a short screencast to show you why I like the feature. If you can’t see the video, click here. Essentially, I just walk you through how to schedule tweets, and/or what they’ll look like in the publisher.

The best thing this allows you, as a marketer and communicator, is a way to better understand just how self-promotional you’re being. Putting 5 tweets into the day I recorded this that promote myself means that I’ve gotta consider putting 15 or so tweets about other people’s stuff into the scheduler as well, so that I’m promoting people besides myself, and that I’m sharing good information that’s not mine. I do this so that people don’t tune me out as a marketing machine, and so that people know that I care about information that I didn’t create, as well.

What do you think? Are you scheduling tweets? Are you using them as part of your projects or marketing? How are you doing it?

List Building with the Blue Sky Boys

I shot a quick promo video with DJ Waldow from Blue Sky Factory, my email service provider, for a FREE webinar about list-building that takes place tomorrow (Wednesday). If you can’t see the videos below, click here.

And if you want a bonus video, check out also Jason Keath:

Want to hang out with us? Sign Up Here.

Jeffrey, I want to know, what do YOU do to maintain success?

As my sales career has evolved over the years, and I have emerged as a leader (maybe THE leader) in the sales industry, I’m often asked if I have any secrets for success or what’s been my path to personal success.

The answer is pretty simple. There are no secrets. There’s nothing I do that I consider out of the ordinary. It’s what I do on a consistent basis that makes me extraordinary.

I READ. I wake up every morning, and I read. I read two pages from some kind of personal success book that’s more than 50 years old. If you want to know the best ones that I read, it’s anything by Napoleon Hill, most often his earliest writings from The Law of Success, or the Magic Ladder to Success – just a couple pages. It’s anything by Dale Carnegie. His public speaking book. His How to Win Friends & Influence Peoplebook. His How to Stop Worrying & Start Living book. Now, I’ve only been doing that for 39 years, so I don’t know if it works yet. I’m going to do it for another 39 years, and that’s it – I’m going to quit. That consistency leads me to new ideas. Every time I read something old, I come up with a new idea, which leads me to my second non-secret:

I CAPTURE AND COLLECT THOUGHTS AND IDEAS. When I think of things or things occur to me, or I read something that inspires me, the first thing I do is go to my computer. I write this column every week on selling skills, but I don’t just write the column, I collect ideas so I can always be ahead.  I’ve written more than 950 columns to date, but I’ve got 500 more ideas waiting to be evolved. That leads me to my next step of success:

I WRITE.  When I write everything down, it clarifies my own ideas, it generates new ideas, and it creates content for my speeches, and for my books.  My challenge to you is:  If you want to be a success, you can’t just read, you have to write.

I SPEAK. The next thing you have to learn how to do is present – give a speech in public. The best way to learn how to present is to join Toastmasters.  If you go to Toastmasters, and give 10 speeches, you can get your Competent Toastmaster Award (CTM) – it will give you a little more self-confidence, and the understanding of what makes a talk a good talk. Most people only talk one on one, but if you ever present to a group, that’s the ultimate. Can you sell the entire group? When you learn to present to a group, selling one on one becomes a piece of cake.

I POSITION TO WIN WITH “VALUE FIRST.” The same goes for marketing (attracting people who are interested to buy). I position myself to be seen and read as a person of value. My marketing mission is as follows: I put myself in front of people who can say yes to me, and I deliver value first. I promise you will never see that in a marketing textbook, nor hear it from a marketing professor.

I STRIVE TO MASTER. There are models you can use to make sales, and there are all kinds of processes and strategies that you can use. But if you don’t have those fundamental elements at your fingertips – you have to be the master of these things – not just the Mr. of them, not just the Mrs. of them – you have to be the MASTER of them.  In order to be that master, you have to study.  In order to be that master, you have to practice them daily.  In order to be that master, you have to have deep focus, and take that internal daily dose, so that you can, day by day, become great.

I LOVE IT. I wake up in the morning, and I can’t wait to do whatever it is that I have scheduled that day.  Sometimes it’s give a speech, sometimes it’s write more for my books, sometimes it’s interview people, sometimes it’s meetings, and sometimes it’s making sales to big corporate CEOs. I love making sales, and I try to do two or three sales calls every week, so I can stay at the top of my game. I don’t just teach sales, I make sales.

IT’S NOT ONE ELEMENT. But, if you only read, or you only write, or you only speak, that’s not quite enough. You have to love what you do, and you have to believe in what you sell, and you have to have the right attitude and enthusiasm to carry you forward. These are the principle pieces that will lead you to some kind of success. You see, once you believe in it, once you love it, it’s not work anymore – it’s the most fun thing you can do.

I WORK HARD. People ask me, “How’d you get great at sales?” And I tell them, “Well, I just worked my rear end off for 20 years, and then, all of the sudden, I was great.”

The same thing can happen to you, but you have to love it. If you don’t love what you do, it’s tough to get beyond the next plateau. I’m challenging you to go back, and re-read to this formula – there’s no magic to it, but add passion, and the results will be incredibly magical.

Are you wow blind?

The Fabulous Thunderbirds and a Dream

If you can’t see the video above this sentence, click here

To be perfectly honest, I don’t remember where I met Steve Markowski. It was at an event where I gave a speech, and none of that is important. What I remember was telling Steve about a weird dream from the late 80s. Think about how weird and serendipitous that conversation is for a moment. I told Steve about a dream from over two decades ago.

I dreamed that I attended a concert of the band the Fabulous Thunderbirds. In the 80s, they had two hits: “Wrap it Up” and “Tuff Enuff.” I wasn’t very much into the band before the dream. In the dream, I saw them, then sat in for a song with the band, and found them to be really nice and fun guys. Somehow, after that dream, I ended up liking the band much more than I did before the dream. Weird, right?

So Who Cares?

This story and meeting with Steve ended up being something that Steve remembered. As I said when I started the post, I barely remember the speech, and I remember Steve only because he’s quite the character. But Steve remembered me, remembered the dream, and when he heard that the T’Birds were coming to Lowell, Massachusetts (about 30 miles from where I live), he asked if I’d want to go to the show. Oh, and did I want to meet the band? Oh, and did I want to go backstage?

Steve gave my daughter, Violette, and I quite an experience.

Seeing the Fabulous Thunderbirds

Steve Markowski introduced us to Steve Thomas, tour manager for the band. When we arrived at the show, Steve Thomas (friend of Steve Markowski) took us around, introduced us to the security team, let them know we had all access, and then we settled into the show.

Neither Violette nor I are especially blues fans. But we both appreciated the music. The moment they opened, Kim Wilson (leader, vocals and harmonica) really sets the tone that we’re going to groove and have fun. Violette liked the drummer, Jay Moeller, very much. I was impressed with their guitarists, Johnny Moeller (brother of Jay) and Mike Keller, not to mention Kim, himself.

At one point, I tweeted that I was listening to the most amazing harmonica solo ever, and I added the snarky hashtag “#thingsyouneverhear.” The point is, who thinks harmonica is an amazing instrument? No one, really. But when Kim Wilson plays, you get a whole new appreciation. Don’t say Dylan. He sounds like a wheezer compared to Wilson (Yeah, I said it). Don’t say John Popper. That’s like calling french fries the same as French cuisine. But Kim Wilson? He made me think there was a whole band stuck in his mouth and that he was 95% lungs.

Wilson did a solo that I can’t even begin to explain. It was maybe 10 minutes or longer. Remember, this is a guy’s BREATH controlling this. The whole band left, took a break, and came back in the space of time of this solo. In that span, every bit of what he played sounded soulful, energetic, varied, and extremely mind-blowing. Here’s a clip of it (can’t see it? Click here).

Going Backstage

Violette heard only one thing from the moment we met up with Steve Thomas: I’ll take you backstage at some point to check out some of the set from back there. She was as patient as she could be, and we got to see the whole second part of the set from backstage. That involved also meeting Kim Wilson and the rest of the band.

I’ve been backstage once before, at a Clutch concert (thanks, Lindsay Maines), and it’s a strange thing. You’re SO aware that you’ve gotta stay out of anyone’s way (all the tech crew), plus you can see the audience (in smaller venues) so that means they see you, and you know they’re thinking, “Who’s that weird guy and girl back there?” Beyond that, it’s pretty darned cool. We saw all kinds of neat perspective from back there.

Thanks, Steve Markowski

What’s most important in this story (besides how cool it was that my nine year old daughter got to experience what it’s like to go backstage with a band), is that Steve Markowski remembered this little detail about a guy he met through social media, a story about a dream from decades ago, and he put it into action. Total serendipity. Steve and I don’t do business together. He doesn’t benefit from this (well, some people will say that my talking him up in this post is a benefit, but that’s pretty minimal in the scheme of things). He just did something nice because it was in his power.

That is human business, friends. And that is cool.

Oh, and if you’re into blues at all? The Fabulous Thunderbirds totally rocked. Kim Wilson and the band (the only guy I didn’t mention by name was Randy Bermudes, so hi Randy!) really have it. One could say that they’re tuff enuff. But you can check them out for yourself.

The whole photo set is here, if you want to see more.