Here are ten errors that leaders and would-be leaders make:

1. Fail to be flexible. You may be in charge but that doesn’t mean that you can undo realities. Competitive pressures change, the marketplace changes, everything changes. If you can’t accept change and devote your leadership energy to helping your staff adjust to those changes, you will never become an effective leader.

2. Failure to recognize the value of lifelong learning. Great leaders recognize that changing times demand new skills and knowledge and attitudes and they seek out opportunities to learn—not only through classroom situations but with the help of mentors. For instance, Jack Welch turned to Steve Jobs to familiarize him with the implications of the Web.

3. Command rather than lead. Dictatorial behavior doesn’t engender followership.

4. Fail to listen. A leader has to listen to many voices: the voices of the group, outside voices clamoring for a solution to a problem, voices of the higher-ups in the organization, and the voice of the marketplace.

5. Think of others’ needs first. Leadership is a set of responsibilities, not an entitlement to the perks that come as top dog. A good leader puts the needs of others—employees, customers, vendors—into the forefront.

6. Recognize that situations change. Savvy leaders know that they have a limited window of opportunity in most situations and they need to take advantage of these.

7. Coach others. Just as leaders need to learn and upgrade their skills constantly, they also have to find ways that their followers grow in skills and knowledge.

8. Laugh. Good leaders have a sense of humor. If you can’t laugh over the reality that every crackpot thinks he or she can do your job better than you, you can wind up very sour about life.

9. Recognize the muted colors in situations. Situations aren’t only black and white. There are fine distinctions in shadings tat are required to solve problems without causing confrontations.

10. Learn from their mistakes. There is no leader who has never made a mistake. The secret of successful leaders is to learn from them.

The exact words you use in your company’s marketing materials can make the difference between success and failure. Choose the right words and your prospects will find you and your company irresistible. Choose the wrong words and you’ll spend most of your time convincing prospects to do business with you. Why waste your time selling prospects on your products or services when you can let strategically written marketing pieces do the work for you? When it comes to writing marketing pieces, your word choices do matter. Following are the top 10 words that sell. Use them wisely and watch your marketing response rates soar.

1. You/your—“You” is the most powerful word in the English language. It’s more powerful than the word “money;” it’s more powerful than the word “sex.” Prospects want to feel as if you’re talking to them directly, and the word “you” accomplishes just that. So instead of writing, “Our clients report increased productivity as a result of using the Widget 2100,” write, “You will experience increased productivity as a result of using the Widget 2100.” Keep every sentence in your prospect’s perspective.
2. Money—Ask people what they wish they had more of, and chances are they’ll say “money.” People love to save money just as much as they love to earn it. So if a benefit of your product or service is that it saves people money or helps them earn more money, state it along with a monetary figure. For example: “Using the Widget 2100 saves you money—over $5000 per year!”
3. Health/healthy—The second thing people wish they had more of is good health. People want products and services that are going to either improve their health or at least not negatively impact it. For example: “Vitamin X improves your health and well being by …” or “Pesticide Y has no known health implications,” or “Product Z is part of a healthy diet.”
4. Guarantee/guaranteed—Most people are not risk takers. They want assurance that your product or service can live up to its claims and that they’re not wasting their money. By giving some sort of guarantee, you put prospects at ease and gain their trust. For example: “We’re so confident the Widget 2100 will work for you that we offer a full money-back guarantee.”
5. Easy/easily—Between 40+ hour workweeks and increasing demands at home, people don’t want products or services that are going to make their lives more difficult. So always state how easy your company makes things. For example: “The Widget 2100 makes it easy for you to…” Or, “With the Widget 2100, you can easily remove spots from your carpet once and for all.”

It is important for a sales manager to training his/her staff to recognize a bad prospect. By becoming adept at identifying these prospects a salesperson can save valuable time and effort.

Bad prospects:

1. Start right off with price.
2. Have been shopping around for “the best deal.”
3. Are short on facts about their problem.
4. Want a quote over the phone.
5. Are not interested in a visit to discuss details.
6. Tend to be impatient or even rude.
7. Are not interested in a brochure or data sheet.
8. Tend to be a know-it-all.
9. Have little or no knowledge of your product or service.
10. Lose all interest if you give a ballpark price.
11. Never seem to be available for return phone calls—or you always get an answering machine or no answer.
12. Ask lots of detailed questions about how you would solve their problem, but they don’t want to see you and they say they will “Get back to you.”

If you have a hard worker who hasn’t been working up to his or her potential lately, there could be a personal problem. Don’t avoid discussing this situation because the performance problem stems from a personal issue. Identifying the nature of the problem and then developing an action plan to return the employee to previous high levels of performance is not prying. You’re justified in alerting the employee to the decline in his or her performance since continuation of the situation could mean termination.

Be gentle, yet professional, when talking with the employee. Don’t demand that the person pour his or her heart out to you, because he or she may feel uncomfortable talking about the problem with a supervisor. If your company offers an employee assistance program (EAP) or other type of counseling service, make sure the person is aware of available services and direct them to your HR department or the company’s employee handbook for additional information.

However, your goal is to get the employee to acknowledge a decline in performance and the need to return to his or her previous level of performance. If it’s a personal problem behind the performance decline, the employee can determine what he or she wants to do. But you need to set a timetable by which time performance should improve. And stick to that timetable.

Reading an advertising industry trade magazine in Canada recently, I was struck by Agency ads positioning themselves as being driven by results for their clients, not by industry awards. I marveled because I have been in marketing in Canada, USA and UK over the past almost 40 years and this iteration of that claim establishes the old saying that “That the more things change the more they remain the same”.

I have worked with advertising agencies, big and small, in Toronto, New York, Chicago and London England and held senior marketing assignments with some very sophisticated organizations with huge advertising budgets. But over the decades the base agency financial model has remained the same.

The people who rise to the top and call the shots at the agencies want to keep the client happy to be sure, but let’s face it, they are in the business almost exclusively for their self-interest and enjoyment despite their claims otherwise.

I rest my case on the fact that the advertising business is defined by its mediocre product. Most advertising simply does not work. Worse yet, the self-interest of the advertising agencies and their suppliers depends on keeping new creative ideas moving through the creative and media pipeline replacing product exposed by its lack of impact in the market

My hope is that the new digital media world will finally allow us to determine what creative product truly benefits the clients and what measurably doesn’t work. This then might lead to a new world where the agencies’ self-interest finally aligns with their clients and that will be exciting indeed.

To view the first part of this sieries please refer to the June 6th Sales Training tip post.

7. Always ensure that each sale will endear you to the buyer. At the end of each transaction, the buyer should feel happy to have dealt with you.

8. Confirm that the buyer has gotten the satisfaction she was looking for. Follow up to show your interest and if possible listen for clues that more orders are on the way.

9. Ask a satisfied buyer for names of other people who might derive the same benefits as she has.

10. Have multiple contacts at your key accounts to ensure continuity if someone leaves.

11. Be a resource to your contacts. Be helpful with advice that may not lead to sales immediately, but which will generate goodwill and appreciation.

12. Love what you do. When you stop loving your work, take a break or look for another way to make a living.

Royal Bank, Enbridge, Inc., Nexen, Inc., BP Canada and Deloitte – all based in Calgary, Canada – are jointly launching a senior daycare centre to assist their workers with eldercare demands, now seen as an important driver of work/family balance programs. Situated within an established Calgary senior centre already equipped with senior life-enrichment resources, the facility is a unique concept for the Calgary area, says Victoria Sopik, CEO of Kids and Company, the benefit provider of corporate-sponsored senior daycare services. And, she says, it’s a “natural extension of our childcare program.” Pressures on the “sandwich generation,” which shoulders care demands for both children and aging parents, are fueling an upsurge in corporate elder backup care, according to Ilene Serpa, communications VP for Bright Horizons, the Boston-based corporate childcare provider that began expanding into eldercare programs in 2006. (canada.com [Libin], 2007) (As reported by i4cp)

Preparation is the key to great presentations. Contrary to what you may think, making a speech is not worse than dying. Through focused professional development efforts you can be a success at making presentations if you:

1. Determine what you are trying to accomplish. Each kind of speech requires a different approach, and you should tailor your approach accordingly. Are you trying to convince decision makers they should give you a bigger budget? Are you seeking to educate your audience or train employees in a new procedure? Are you presenting awards to employees in a formal ceremony? Knowing your goal will help you build the major points that you want to communicate to your audience. Keep your key points down to no more than a few. Reinforce key points with visual aids.

2. Write your introduction and conclusion. While you shouldn’t write your presentation, you may want to write down both the start and end of your speech to ensure you are clear in the beginning and at the end. Your introduction should tell your audience what they’re going to gain from your speech, tell them why it is important to them, and get their attention. The end should summarize key points and inspire them to take action of some sort.

3. Develop notes. The notes can be made up of phrases or full sentences to trigger your thoughts on each key point or sub-point. Again, stay away from a word-for-word script. Think how you respond to someone before a group reading a white paper, turning each page, compared to someone who “talks” to his or her audience.

4. Practice, practice, practice. Rehearse your presentation before a mirror. Or ask a colleague to hear your presentation. The more run-throughs, the better prepared you will be for the real occasion.

Everyone has a “brand” story. The question is: who is telling it, you, or your competition? Told well, your brand story will not only leverage your presence in the marketplace; it will become the one great differentiator for your company.

You should be able to tell your brand story in 30 seconds.

Start formulating that story by asking yourself these questions:

• Am I adequately meeting the needs of a buyer who is now more than ever interested in looking at the attributes of brand when considering products?
• Am I typically emphasizing concepts that relate to brand in my presentation to the buyer?
• Do I know how to express the importance of brands?

Don’t be surprised if the answer to all three is no. Brand is the crown jewel of the company, yet for too long it’s been considered the property of Marketing. A great brand story will give you more focus in your profession, boost performance at work, and improve your customer relationships. (Authored by Dan Stiff)

Communication is two-way. Most people think about communication as talking, but just as important is listening. When we don’t listen fully to what another is saying, we miss out on getting the message, which shortchanges both ourselves and the other person. How can you focus on the other person and not be distracted by all the people and things that are competing for your attention?

First, you can give the person your full attention, asking questions to clarify what is being said. Second, make a point of keeping your mind focused on listening to what the other person has to say. If your mind starts to wander, rein it in by asking questions. Not only does it help maintain your attention, but well-thought-out questions can ensure accuracy in communication and demonstrate your interest.

Avoid interruptions. Let the phone ring. You may have been sorting through your mail when the person entered; don’t continue to do so once you are talking.

Equally important, as you hear the person out, organize the information to identify key points. What information is key to the discussion and what information isn’t really relevant? Again, if you are confused about this, ask questions.

Communication involves more than the verbal component. About 90 percent is nonverbal. So watch facial expressions, posture, gestures, and the like to gain insights into the other person’s attitude during the communication.

Finally, take notes when necessary. It can be a terrific help to listening, forcing focus, as well as helping to recall what was said.