What to do when you’re short of revenue and the year end’s looming…..

•  List your clients down column A
•  List your products and services row by row

 This creates a big spreadsheet showing who’s bought what from you.

But the great thing is that it shows really clearly who’s not bought what from you.

Go through it cell by cell: why haven’t they bought this ? would they ?

… always easier to sell to those who have bought from you before.

My Top 10 Time Thieves

1. Fire fighting
   Fire Fighting is defined as working on effects not causes. If all you do is react, fixing stuff that’s broken because it wasn’t done right in the first place, things will never change, will they ? Yes, you must react and respond, provide workable solutions. But this isn’t the real job of a manager or a leader: the real job is to change the way things are done, change the methods and techniques, and sometimes the people, so that the old problems go away. 
2.  Fighting the wrong battlesIn all ball sports, shot selection is critical: you need to play good shots. But just as important, often much more critical early on, are the shots you choose not to make – the balls you leave alone. In business, your success will be decided just as much by the battles you decide not to fight as those you do. Let some things stew for a bit; just as not every conversation is a battle to be won, not every issue is a war to be fought. 
3. DIY instead of delegatingOk, so you can probably do most things faster, and much better, than many. But in the long run, as long as it gets done, does it really matter it took a day longer and was only 80% as effective ? Thought not. So treat this as a coaching opportunity, where you can help someone else learn. And spend your time on doing the difficult stuff that really deserves your attention.
4. Forgetting about facts
   How long is spent in meetings and conversations drifting around opinions and assumptions ? If nothing is checkable, every lame half-baked idea is valid, and the lack of clarity and inevitable frustration ratchets up the emotional temperature. Break that cycle by asking: “What don’t we know ?” A few relevant facts move issues on rapidly.  Ask: “Can we test that assumption ?” At the very least it stops the whinging and gets people moving and directed. If there are no obvious pointers as to what to do next, then create a theory, and test it. It might be completely wrong, but the really good news is that you now know what not to do: only one step nearer wisdom, but it’s a massive leap from ignorant thrashing about.
5.  Thinking that all technology is goodTechnology isn't all good. There is a horrible paradigm amongst the generation that have grown up with Windows that Everything Is Miscellaneous. “Why tidy up my Inbox when I have Search ? Let the technology remember everything for me, I can look anything up whenever I need it, can’t I ?” The consequence of this is a life lived in a continuous present (just like Twitter, in fact), where the last thing to appear is the most important. This destroys any sense of perspective and context, and means irrelevances are given undeserved airtime, and everything needs to be learned afresh every day. Such childlike innocence is seen as invigorating, when in fact it is desperately dangerous, arresting peoples’ development, blinding them to wider truths, and gives them every excuse to drop solid, properly thought-through plans on a whim.
   
   So get the Inbox cleared out every day. Clear your desk. Review your Big Rocks. Write down your do list, with the Big Rocks in BLOCK CAPITALS. Turn off Twitter, Facebook, Yammer, Outlook and your phone. Go on, get on with it.
6. Buggering about working on the Little RocksA Zen master was asked how to make big changes happen in a busy world. The master began by putting large rocks in a pot. Only three would fit. He asked his pupils if it was full, and they said ‘Yes Master’. So he took some stones, and used them to fill in the space around the rocks. Again, he said: ‘Is the pot full ?’, and the answer came back ‘Yes Master’. So he poured some gravel into the pot. By this time the students hesitated when he asked if the pot was full, but still said ‘Yes’. So the Master piled sand onto the rocks, and shook the pot till the surface was completely level. ‘Is the pot full now?’ ‘Oh yes Master’ they said, but were amazed when he poured water into the pot and it took a surprisingly long time before it started spilling over the edge. ‘Students,’ said the Master, ‘the pot is now full. But what is the moral of my story ?’ One student replied ‘No day is so busy that we cannot achieve more.’ ‘Yes,’ said the Master ‘that is true, but not my real point. The really important point is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, they will never go in at all.’
   To achieve major change, focus uninterrupted time on the big, different things you want to happen.
7.  Letting email and the phone interrupt youYou decide what you do with your time, nobody else. Pick up email and voicemails every few hours and then turn them off again.
8. Other peopleAre you a SNIOP ? Are you Susceptible to the Negative Influence of Other People ? If so, don’t despair, we all are to some extent. But now you know the concept, it won’t happen so readily, will it? Worse than negative people, are the poisonous ones: they’re maybe not doing it consciously, but they’re doing you no good whatsoever. The malicious ones are easy to spot (and luckily there aren't that many of them anyway). The hard ones are those who are doing you no favours through their own attributes: they may be incompetent, lazy, or just incompatible. Gently cut your ties with them.
9. Feeling less than positive about a situationYour attitude is your responsibility and no-one else’s. How you feel when you walk in the door in the morning has nothing to do with your Boss or the company. “No-one has the power to change my attitude without my permission” Eleanor RooseveltIf something’s not right then stop wallowing in self pity and do something about it. And if you can’t, and you really don’t like the job then stop whinging, get off your backside and find a better one. As Ted Turner said: “Lead, follow, or just get outta the damn way”.
10. Being a Wimp“Self-pity and resentment are amongst the most toxic of drugs.” John Gardner. Be gentle with other people, but mercilessly hard on yourself. As my brother used to say: "when you look back on your business career, you could always have been much braver than you actually were." What are you waiting for ? Get on with it.

How to run an Exhibition Stand

I've run more exhibition stands than I can remember: here's what I've learned...

DON'T

• waste money advertising the show or your presence at it: why spend your hard-earned marketing dollars inviting people to see competition ?
  
  
• waste money on branded pens, stress dolphins and all the other crap that only ends up i) in a waste bin outside or ii) in their kids' bedrooms
  
  
• do demos on the stand: by definition they're a waste of time to a time-waster, and would you ever dream of doing a demo to a properly qualified prospect in a train station concourse ? No.

DO:

• Make your presence strong, memorable, but above all your message must be SIMPLE and CRYSTAL CLEAR , just single words or phrases about what you do - they must be so big that they can easily be read from 20 metres away. Don't blow up your datasheets into posters. To bring your message to life, have pictures of customers, the company name readable from 10 metres away, and with short, punchy quotes (10 words max.) readable from 5 metres away. I once saw a great stand backdrop which was a parade of life size pictures of all the employees at the show, their name (2 words), job role (2 words), and what they do for customers (10 words) all cleary legible from the corridor. Very effective, and massively motivating for the staff, too, because...
  
  
• ...the most important thing is not to have the best, most expensive stand at the show, but to have THE MOST MOTIVATED, SMART PEOPLE WORKING THERE. Treat it like a military operation: no cosy huddles, staff chatting in defensive groups, blocking the stand from view. Identify and train two types of people...
  
  
• Greeters: friendly, attractive, likeable people. Have them stand in the corridors, in front of the other stands around, blocking the opposition, and your stand has clear sightlines from all angles. Greeters engage with everyone who walks by, asking engaging, chatty questions like "Hello...so, why have you come to this show ?". Their job is to pre-qualify, moving the tyre kickers along to waste everyone else's time, and guiding real suspects to the Meeters. Greeters have a big incentive scheme for the day and the whole show: spend the money you didn't spend on branded Rubix cubes on a prize weekend for two at a country hotel for the person who i) met with the most people ii) produced the highest number of well qualified suspects.
  
  
• Meeters don't work the corridors, the stay to one side of the stand, only talking to those the Greeters have pre-qualified, picking up the part completed clipboard form from the Greeter and completing it seamlessly. Meeters are those who can talk intelligently about what you do, but they MUST NOT get into 20 minute selling conversations: their job is to further qualify, and if this one's a prospect, make them feel special, and arrange a followup meeting, demo, whatever.

GENERAL:

Aim to have at least 3 or 4 times as many Greeters as Meeters - but some of the best shows I've run are where we've had Meeters at all: the Greeters were well prepared, and handled the whole conversation. This is only an exhibition, isn't it ? You're looking for qualified leads, aren't you ? Proper sales activity comes later.

Then make sure after the show you take everyone out, drink the local bar dry, hand out the best performer awards, and stop over in a local hotel: if you can avoid it, don't let them stop over the night before (curry and beer are nice but the worst show fuel). Shows run well are very, very hard work and need to be rewarded - but only afterwards.

Three simple negotiation rules

I have a shelf full of books on negotiation, all promising to change my life. But sometimes you find a simple rule set that really helps.

Recently I came across Larry Brilliant’s 3 rules of How to Negotiate. Google him if you’ve never heard of him, but they’re dead simple, and dead right:

A) Have more points to discuss than the other side.
In wanting a conclusion, it’s only too easy to run out of big things to talk about, and then the other side can start pressuring you for a close. If you’ve lots of points important to you, you always have another reason to call, more concessions to offer (make them small !), and stay centre stage right to the end.

B) Have a mathematical formula.
Invent a calculation that justifies your desired outcome. It will of course be high: not too scary, but definitely ballsy. Of course it will be challenged, and you can discuss the assumptions, the multipliers, the variables, and any qualifying factors. But your initial, calculated (and hopefully daringly high) start point anchors a value in peoples' minds, and stops them replacing your value with theirs.

C) Have alternative outcomes.
If you don’t have walk away options, you will lose out. If you're selling a business, have other financing or exit options. If you're selling products and services, work as hard as you can to build a full pipeline.

Handling interruptions

To keep costs down, I asked our receptionists one time if they could answer customer queries and complete simple documentation. I was taken aback when they said "No, definitely not". They were adamant that the constant interruptions from phone calls and visitors would result in errors, and they weren't prepared to do a bad job for me. They said: "If you don't believe us, do it yourself."

So I did, and sat on reception. And they were right: it was impossible to concentrate, and in 4 hours I completed one task only, when normally I'd have flown through dozens. It reminded me of my early days programming: if you lost your thread of thought, it took ages to get it back, and sometimes you'd lost a good idea for ever.

A recent article in Forbes magazine brought this all flooding back, as it described how you could measure interruptions. The quoted studies showed each time flow state is disrupted it takes fifteen minutes to get back into it, and that programmers who work in the top quartile of proper (ie uninterrupted) work environments are several times more productive than those who don’t.

To measure the Flow State Percentage, you need to ask workers to track for a few days how many hours each day are they in flow, divided by the number of total hours they’re at the office. And then brainstorm ways the team can move this number up. For example: a sign at each person’s desk that says “Please don't interrupt me, I’m in flow.” Or maybe you have periods where one person fields all calls. Or agree that for half a day, everyone turns off Outlook.

The modern disease of low attention spans is only made worse by smartphones picking up email. So why not just turn it off, and pick up email every 3-4 hours ? You'll feel less pressure, and suddenly you'll have more time to get things done.

Go on, just try it. Turn off your email, I dare you...

Today's selling hint

Today, when you’re tempted to say something in a meeting or phone call, bite your tongue.

Think: would it be better phrased as a question ?

So for example, rather than saying “this service achieves xyz benefit” you could say “given that this service typically delivers xyz benefit, what would that mean for your organisation ?”

Much more powerful behaviour: it means your prospect will be selling your services to themselves. And it means you talk less (....always a good thing :-) and you've earned the time to think about your next question, and move closer to close

You know it makes sense.

Seven Personality Traits of Top Salespeople

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review published the results of research into the personality differences between top and average performing salespeople. The top performers had the following personality attributes:.

1. Modesty. Contrary to conventional stereotype of salespeople as pushy and egotistical, 91% of top salespeople had medium to high scores of modesty and humility. Results suggested that ostentatious salespeople who are full of bravado alienate far more customers than they win over.

Selling Style Impact: Team Orientation. As opposed to establishing themselves as the focal point of the purchase decision, top salespeople position the team (presales technical engineers, consulting, and management) that will help them win the account as the centrepiece.

2. Conscientiousness. 85% of top salespeople had high levels of conscientiousness, responsibility and reliability, with a strong sense of duty. They take their jobs very seriously and feel deeply responsible for the results.

Selling Style Impact: Account Control. The worst position for salespeople to be in is to have relinquished account control and to be operating at the direction of the customer, or worse yet, a competitor. Conversely, top salespeople take command of the sales cycle process in order to control their own destiny.

3. Achievement Orientation. 84% of the top performers tested scored very high in achievement orientation. They are fixated on achieving goals and continuously measure their performance in comparison to their goals.

Selling Style Impact: Political Orientation. During sales cycles, top sales, performers seek to understand the politics of customer decision-making. Their goal orientation instinctively drives them to meet with key decision-makers. They focus on the people they are selling to, and how the products they're selling fit into the organization, rather than the functionality of the products themselves.

4. Curiosity. Curiosity can be described as a person's hunger for knowledge and information. 82% of top salespeople scored extremely high curiosity levels. Top salespeople are naturally more curious than their lesser performing counterparts.

Selling Style Impact: Inquisitiveness. They ask customers difficult and uncomfortable questions in order to close gaps in information. Top salespeople want to know if they can win the business, and they want to know the truth as soon as possible.

5. Lack of Gregariousness. Top performers scored 30% lower in gregariousness (preference for being with people and friendliness) than below average performers.

Selling Style Impact: Dominance. The results indicate that overly friendly salespeople are too close to their customers and have difficulty establishing dominance, and their recommendations and advice are not followed.

6. Lack of Discouragement. 90% of successful salespeople were rarely discouraged and only occasionally sad. Less than 10% of top salespeople were classified as having high levels of discouragement and being frequently overwhelmed with sadness.

Selling Style Impact: Competitiveness. Top performers are able to handle emotional disappointments, bounce back from losses, and mentally prepare themselves for the next opportunity to compete.

7. Lack of Self-Consciousness. Over 95% of top performers were not easily embarrassed: they weren’t bashful or inhibited in their behaviours.

Selling Style Impact: Aggressiveness. Top salespeople are comfortable fighting for their cause and are not afraid of rankling customers in the process. They are action-oriented and unafraid to call high in their accounts or courageously cold call new prospects.

How to find at least another hour every day

There’s nothing new in the world: Peter Drucker in 1967 recommended that you should “…reserve large blocks of time on your calendar, don’t answer the phone, and return calls in short bursts once or twice a day.”

I recently turned off remote email access on my iPhone. It's as if I have another hour every day. Why ?

1. Rather like not missing TV when you're on holiday, you just don't miss your email when it's not available. It means your attention is not fragmented, and you can focus 100% and be fully engaged with the moment.
2. Reading email on the phone was pointless: only very rarely did I reply to it remotely, but waited till I was in front of a proper keyboard...so why process messages twice ? And if anyone wants me urgently, then text or phone call is much, much better in all cases.
3. And above all this, I found I was becoming hooked on checking it, simply because I could. I am much happier now I've taken back control of my behaviour.

Go on, try it, what's the worst that could happen ? It won't hurt, I promise. You'll have more time, and be happier too. How many pieces of free advice can deliver that so easily ?

No-one is indispensable

There are plenty of indispensable people in the grave yard, even those who thought they were the most powerful.....

A farmer has an ox and a mule pulling his plough. The soil is stony, and life is hard. The ox is clearly the biggest and strongest animal, but is tired of shouldering more of the burden than the mule.

One winter's morning, it's dark and frosty outside, and the ox decides to throw a sickie. It lies in the hay, pretending to be ill. The farmer is full of concern, mixes up a bucket of warm oats, wraps him up in a blanket, and sets off with the mule to plough the fields. That evening when the mule returns, the ox says "Did the farmer say anything about me ?" The mule replied, "No, not a word. He helped me pull the plough, and it's late now but we got the work done."

Next morning, the ox was warm and comfortable in the hay, and decides to act ill again. The farmer wraps him up warm and leaves him hot oats, and spends the day with the mule in the fields. When the mule returns, tired out, the ox asks again: "Did the farmer say anything about me ?" The mule replied, "No, not a word. But he did have a long talk with the butcher on the way home."

Be careful !

A pen and pencil together cost £1.10. The pen costs £1 more than the pencil. How much does the pencil cost ?

Most people's gut answer is 10p, but they'd be wrong.

Very few of the really good business people I've met would have been fooled. Not because they're better at maths, but because they don't take things at face value. They question, query, seek to understand, reach answers for themselves, and are not swayed by others' opinions.

Only when they feel they have a good grip of the situation do they come to a conclusion.

Got the right answer yet ?

Answering difficult questions

It happens to us all: things are going so well, and then suddenly a question arises we have no idea how to answer - sometimes you genuinely don't know the answer, other times you definitely don't like the direction the question will take the conversation.

One word is all you need to remember: REFRAMING...

Step 1: Repeat the question, check you've understood tight (you know most people like the sound of their own voices, they sometimes let you off the hook by just carrying on talking...:-)

Step 2: If it's still up to you, then reframe the question: go back in time, how did we get into this position ? what are the real issues at stake ? what did we both want out of this situation in the first place ? what's changed since then ? then you can say: so perhaps the real question is.....and ask it in its new shape.

At least then it's a question you'll be happier to answer.

How to Prevent the Price Objection (2)

My previous Blog on Objection Prevention talked about positioning: setting the landscape so your price is viewed in perspective.

Here’s a magic question to ask that complements that approach perfectly, that enables you to turn the tables on the buyer, make them feel awkward about price for once.

During the probe, look the prospect in the eyes and ask: “so….er…do you mind sharing your budget with me in round figures ?” You’ll get one of three reactions:

“Yes, it’s £x”. One in a million will be telling you the truth, the rest are lying: undercutting to give you a hard time. Whatever they say, it’s nowhere near enough. Look thoughtful, perhaps even a little shocked: “Mmmmm, that’s not really enough to really achieve what you want…” or “that’s right at the bottom end of what’s needed, you won’t get x, or y, for that amount”

“I don’t have a budget.” Yep, lying again. “OK, wouldn’t expect you have a detailed budget at this stage, but broadly speaking, what would be reasonable given the problem, and it’s likely impact on the business ?”

“I’m not telling you !” “OK, I understand, but I don’t want to waste either of our time….so broadly speaking, what would be a reasonable amount to consider, given the problem, and it’s real impact on the business ?”

You need to be careful not to be too confrontational with this one, keep the tone of voice gentle, but when it works it raises the discussion onto business levels, and away from your price in isolation.

How to Prevent the Price Objection

All buyers do it. In front of the mirror every morning, they practice saying “So….how much ?” and then knotting their brows, saying “How much ?!!!”. And you know when that happens to you, it’s all about price from then on, whatever you’re selling, they’ve got you on the run.

There are hundreds of sales techniques for handling objections, but they all make you sound evasive when it comes to price. It’s far better to prevent the price Objection, and drop in one or both of my all-purpose Price Objection Preventers. Let’s say you’re selling IT Consulting or Support…...

Preventer #1: Set the bar really high

In the middle of describing what your company does, and what the benefits are, just drop in the phrase “…..now to achieve that, you might well have to pay two grand a day with IBM or Accenture….” and don’t stop, just carry on with the benefits. They’ll invariably say “….so what do you charge then ?” and you can honestly say, “….ooooh, a lot less than that, and the benefits are proven in organisations just like yours. Let me give you an example….”

Preventer #2: Ensure they’re comparing your cost with the real cost of doing it themselves.

Again, while you’re describing what you do and the benefits, just drop in “…..now to achieve that using just your people alone would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds…” and carry on fast with the benefits of you doing it. Yes, they’ll break in with “no it won’t my people are free, they’re already employed….” and then you can have an intelligent discussion about the real costs (and the opportunity costs) of them doing it themselves.

Both these preventers show you’re not afraid to talk money….but they give you the chance to talk about it in the way you want to, comparing it with other approaches to the problem, not just an absolute amount.

How to run the Perfect User Group/Reseller Meeting

It’s always great to get resellers, or users, together to review and discuss issues. And as long as it's in an interesting/comfortabled venue providing decent food and drink, and you put on some entertainment and fun, they’re a a captive audience for your latest sales pitch.

But what to present ? Rather than the usual boring old list of product features delivered by each Product Manager, how’s about….?
· The Marketplace: analysis of current market needs, the competition and your positioning
· Peek into the Future from R&D
· Product Strategy - the big industry and business trends and how you satisfy them
· User stories (preferably given by the users themselves)
· The Ideal Prospect: a workshop to define the perfect user (you can use it to define questions to identify them !)

When you’re preparing, remember to:
· Poll all attendees asking them what they’d like to see, or vote on possible topics
· Create special interest groups and workshops to break things up
· Run parallel tracks for sale and technical: cross-train each group (but don’t tell the techs you’re giving them sales techniques, they’ll tell you their integrity will be compromised: tell them SPIN is a consultative approach used by doctors and therapists).

During the meeting:
· have a Twitter feed on a large projector screen in everyone’s view so a proper many-to-many dialogue can take place
· old-fashioned flip charts are also still essential for recording actions/key concerns that arise, so the meeting leader can refer to them in their closing speech.

Make sure the Closing Address is impressive. Recut your last Company Kick Off presentations (see previous Blog) into a suitable form for this more specialised audience: call it a company update to disguise the selling :-)

How to run the Perfect Kick Off Meeting

They just come round too often: quarterly and yearly Kick Off meetings. What to say this time ? In 30 years I’ve been to many hundreds of KOs. Here’s a long list of possible topics: keep roughly to this order and you won’t go wrong….

· Our market:
o definitions of technologies and markets and why we exist
o vision of industry and wide perspective
o market research/industry trends

· Last Year:
o How did we start ? issues/Critical Success factors/plans
o What was our product fit and strategy ?
o What were the expectations ? up/downsides ?
o What was our approach ? what we did/who did it
o Numbers/highlights
o Prizes – recognition for top performers/contributors and jokes/wooden spoons for idiots
o Conclusions on last year/period

· This Year
o Where are we now ? Any new factors/issues/technologies/opportunities
o New products and services overview
o New strategy ? What’s the big story ?
o What do we have to do ?
o What’s the new Plan: who/what/when, activities and performance expected

· Reaffirm Mission of company
o Critical Success Factors
o Why this is a good business to be in
o We are part of the future of the industry (link back to the start)

And the best Kick Off line of all……the bar is now open!

How to talk directly and openly with a Sales Director

Most Sales Directors are very confident, and strong communicators, focussed on building a very positive feeling with customers. But sometimes you need to get beneath the surface, and understand what’s working and what’s not working. They don’t like admitting weakness in their own organisations at all: their professional training kicks in and your questions are treated as objections to be countered and sold round.

So if you have to interview a Sales Director or Manager, use the fact that no-one can do, know and control everything to your advantage. Ask for facts. Politely deflect their sales lines, opinions and ego riffs, and just keep drilling down into the detail. Even the best of them will reach a point where they have to admit they don’t know everything, and then you can have a much more direct, open, constructive conversation…

1 Start with the Top 10 deals (…good ones sail through this). For each deal, ask: What’s the decision making process ? Where are you in it ? When was your last personal contact with the account ? When's your next ? What ‘s the closing plan ? Do you have a Plan B ?

2 Ask to see their Ideal Salesperson definition in terms of skills and qualities (see my other Blog on Ideal Salesperson Definition). They should have one of these too, and be able to talk you through how each of their team compares.

By now, you’ve sorted out the bluffers from the serious boys. Now for the detail…..ask them to divide their team into three:

3a Top performers (on target, good pipeline)
How do you reward and recognise excellence ? What’s their territory plan ? What’s the enhancement plan ? Will they get a trainee ? Who’s offering them a job right now ? Why will they stay ?

3b Just good enough performers (patchy, off form)
What’s the development/coaching plan ? Timescale for improvement ? Do they know it ? Is their territory right for them ? Is the product right for them ? Should they become specific hunters or farmers instead ?

3c Those below your belief threshold (long term under performers)
Why are they still here ? Are they investments in managerial ego ?

4 And now the killers….for each salesperson….
What are their stats (calls made, conversion rates, RoI)
When was last phone call you listened in to from them ? how did they perform ?
When was last meeting you made with them ? When, which client, how did they perform ?

How to answer all objections with a Yes

In all roles we have to work with other people, and gain their agreement: but it’s often hard to avoid saying no. Here are five proven ways to handle objections by saying Yes.

1.       Just say Yes and no more ! Nod wisely. Pause for reflection. Then completely ignore whatever they said. (Sounds weird but try it – it works !)

2.       Feel-felt-found….”Yes, lots of people feel that way....my client ABC felt that way....but they found that…”. This validates their objection while answering it with a reference story

3.       Yes but…“Yes. Good point. But that’s more than compensated by the fact that ...”. This counterbalances their issue with a benefit.

4.       Yes...however that will hurt you more than me....“…lower cost means reduced support, lower certainty…” or “…if we miss the deadline, we lose the benefits…”. Bit cheeky, but very effective.

5.       Yes, that's true...are there any other reasons why that’s a good idea....? Then keep asking till they give you a bad idea, and use it to bury their whole point. 

Yes ! Yes !! Yes !!!

How to avoid the “I’ll think about it” blocker

It’s happened to all of us: we’re selling, or driving a new project, proposing change, and the other party hear all your arguments and then say “I’ll think about it”. You just know it’s an excuse for avoiding a decision. Grrrrr.

Here’s a simple and very effective method for avoiding “I’ll think about it”.

Step 1: As early as possible, say “…to make sure our final agreement is exactly right for you, we’ll work through a series of draft proposals together….we call them Pre-Proposal Reviews”

Steps 2,3,4, etc: At each meeting and review, write DRAFT in big letters across your documents. Discuss them, change them, but never agree it’s final. You never have a final  document: there’s always the need for another meeting to finalise the Proposal.

So when they say “I’ll have to think about it” you can say “Yes, so do I…let’s agree a date to review the next draft…”

You have just 2 minutes….

2 MINUTES to take action on immediate requests (phone, email, chat)
...handle it quickly or move it on

2 HOURS to hold face-to-face meetings

...if it takes longer than that, you’re not planning

2 DAYS to respond to electronic requests

...if you can’t get to it by then, you’re wasting your own time and everyone else’s

2 WEEKS to assemble a work team and commit to a plan

...without the right people, or the right plan by then, it will fail

2 MONTHS identify a business opportunity and test it with customers

...if you can’t do it by then, your competition can

...2 YEARS to do nothing at all

...if your plans reach out too far into the future, the world will have passed you by

From The Future of Work by Charles Grantham