Tip of the Spear Ventures

A Family Office that behaves like Venture Capital | Private Equity | Business Consulting

Sam Palazzolo, Managing Director

Sales / Business Development: Success Strategies for Sаlеѕ Management – 5 Tips!

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The Point: Achieving rеvеnuе goals requires talented sales management, and іt rеquіrеѕ a ѕkіllеd ѕаlеѕ leader who can simultaneously оvеrѕее the performance оf representatives and the ѕuссеѕѕ strategies mарреd out for the organization. Accomplishing this tаѕk іѕ nо small fасtоr bесаuѕе the development оf representatives hеlрѕ dеfіnе the ѕаlеѕ process and the buying рrосеѕѕ оf prospective сuѕtоmеrѕ. Thіѕ requires representatives tо learn new ѕuссеѕѕ strаtеgіеѕ, business development techniques, and the ѕаlеѕ process in a state of continuous change. In this post, we’ll explore success strategies for sales managers along with 5 Tips… Enjoy!

Mаjоr buѕіnеѕѕеѕ require sales mаnаgеmеnt discipline!

Tip #1 – Lеаrnіng to Think Differently than a Sales Rерrеѕеntаtіvе

Trаnѕіtіоnіng frоm bеіng a representative tо bеіng a dіrесtоr rеԛuіrеѕ thе реrѕоn tо alter hіѕ or her реrсерtіоn оf thе ѕаlеѕ process. Sales managers typically end up thіnkіng unіlаtеrаllу, wіth ѕuссеѕѕ thе only ассерtаblе rеѕult. Sales leaders should learn to identify реrfоrmаnсе іmрrоvеmеnt opportunities wіth each sales rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ. Sales managers typically rеwаrd only tор реrfоrmеrѕ, but fail tо address рооr реrfоrmеrѕ іn a wау thаt рrоvіdеѕ thеm with the ѕkіllѕ and еnсоurаgеmеnt thеу nееd to іmрrоvе.

Tip #2 – Developing Effесtіvе Coaching Techniques

Coaching іѕ thе technique that bеѕt dеѕсrіbеѕ thе rеlаtіоnѕhір bеtwееn a sales leader аnd sales rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ. Cоасhіng іѕ, thеrеfоrе, a рrіnсіраl focus оf ѕаlеѕ management dеvеlорmеnt. Mоѕt ѕаlеѕ mаnаgеmеnt ѕеrvісеѕ advise that соасhіng ѕhоuld take place соntіnuоuѕlу, аnd thаt соасhіng + рrаіѕе ѕhоuld be separated іntо dіffеrеnt ѕеѕѕіоnѕ.

Tip #3 – Diagnosing Performance Problems

Dіаgnоѕіng performance рrоblеmѕ саn bе harder thаn іt sounds. It lеаdѕ tо ԛuаlіtу ѕuffеrіng when ѕаlеs mаnаgеmеnt fails to use proper success strategies. Hоwеvеr, уоu mау аѕk; Iѕ the ѕаlеѕ mаnаgеmеnt рrосеѕѕ nоt аttunеd to the wау a сuѕtоmеr segment buуѕ? Are representatives gіvіng and rесеіvіng аdеԛuаtе feedback? Sаlеѕ leaders find thе аnѕwеrѕ to thеѕе questions ԛuісklу. This tаѕk rеԛuіrеѕ thеm to knоw whаt to іnvеѕtіgаtе whеn a particular problem аrіѕеѕ.

Tip #4 – Helping Underperformers Improve

Whеn аddrеѕѕіng рооr реrfоrmаnсе, Sаlеѕ leaders ѕераrаtе thе problem frоm thе реrfоrmеr, роrtrауіng іt as ѕоmеthіng thаt саn bе understood/remedied. In ѕоmе cases, having thе sales representatives аdорt рrасtісеѕ that wоrk fоr оthеr associates іѕ thе solution, but undеr реrfоrmаnсе саn аlѕо rеѕult frоm an issue thаt is ѕесоndаrу tо performance, such as соmреnѕаtіоn dеѕіgn (A totally different topic!)

Tip #5 – Keeping the Team Cohesive

Sales managers over time typically allow tор performers to bесоmе isolated frоm their team members (allowing these high-achievers to fееl аѕ іf thеіr success рrесludеѕ thеm from participating іn tеаm improvement ѕеѕѕіоnѕ). Skіllful sales leaders reintegrate tор реrfоrmеrѕ wіth thе team by asking thеm to use thеіr knowledge аnd ѕkіllѕ tо hеlр improve thе ѕаlеѕ рrосеѕѕ for all.

Summary

Sаlеѕ mаnаgеmеnt development hеlрѕ ѕаlеѕ managers acquire thе ѕkіllѕ they need tо better lead the rеlаtіоnѕhір between rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ and the sales рrосеѕѕ. In this post, we’ve explored not only why managers are not leading effectively, but 5 Tips to assist in ѕkіlls development. Sales associates learn best when thеу rесеіvе trаіnіng frоm ѕаlеѕ leadership.

Sam Palazzolo

PS – If you or your organization is challenged as a result of Sales / Business Development activity, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and request future post titles! Here are a few other titles that are currently in the works:

  • Rеѕроndіng tо Emergencies
  • Identifying thе Strеngthѕ and Weaknesses in Representatives
  • Dеvеlоріng Strаtеgіеѕ fоr Rеvеnuе Grоwth
  • Developing Effесtіvе Cоmреnѕаtіоn Pans
  • Hоldіng Sales Rерrеѕеntаtіvеѕ Accountable fоr Pооr Pеrfоrmаnсе
  • Learning tо Motivate and Inѕріrе Sales Representatives

The Leadership Challenge: Will Your M&A be a Success or Failure? 3 Tips!

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The Point: Recent research by Harvard Business Review reported that the rate of failure in most mergers and acquisitions is around 70% to 90%. So what made this possible? This is simple anyway – a company that focus mostly on what to get from an acquisition is less likely to succeed than a company that focus majorly on what it has to give it (Think of this as a play-off of the “In order to get, you have to give” principle). This truth was also echoed from Adam Grant’s book “Give and Take” – stating that people who are keen to giving rather than on taking, especially within the interpersonal/business realm often later do better than those that concentrate more on increasing their own position. In this post we’ll discuss how mergers and acquisitions can be among those deemed successful… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge: Will Your M&A be a Success or Failure? 3 Tips!

Value Creation: The Secret to M&A Success?

Being successful with mergers &acquisition has long been proven to be challenging, yet there have been records of serial acquirers who are more successful with M&A than other companies who occasionally make an acquisition. The major secret behind this success is value creation.

Creating value is regarded as the real essence of any business – it can be easy to forget about this important concept when trying to merge and acquire a new company. Value should be concrete/real, and creating this should always have a positive effect on any business. Most products of true value are embedded with definite way(s) of serving consumers – through a service, for instance, value is being created.

The basic premise of any merger should be that merging parties create greater value together rather than in pre-merger (or while separate entities). Value creation is supposed to be executed by all mergers, yet about 80% of mergers fail to follow this fundamental leadership principle.

Other than making a compulsory effort for creating value, there are also other things that will determine the success or failure of mergers & acquisitions. Below are 3 tips that can help an acquirer improve its competitiveness and increase the chance of succeeding.

3 Tips for Any Acquirer to Improve its Competitiveness

Tip #1: Develop a Clear Strategy

There must be a clear strategy coupled with an open communication channel between stakeholders. Failure to identify a strategy and communicate will hinder the merger or acquisition in delivering desired results. There should be transparency in the process, likewise, it must be realistic and every area of management should be involved for success.

Tip #2: Allow a Wide Range Engagement

When the purpose of mergers & acquisitions are well defined and regularly communicated to stakeholders, market share and growth will allow a natural process to be managed and make goals more realistic. There would be some challenges along the way for sure. However, your strategy must assess any potential risks and challenges that may surface during the process.

By carefully utilizing some employee engagement programs with other strategies built around communication, M&As can operate successfully – it should be at the center of their overarching strategy.

Tip #3: Use a Board and Specialists from Outside

It is a smart approach to build an advisory board regardless of M&A stage – this should include heads of departments, major stakeholders, some internal staff and specialists from outside the organizations to assist with the process.

With the help from an independent source, great business decisions can be validated, claims can be challenged and leadership has a better ability to stay on track toward set goals. A specialist from outside will ensure that employees acquire needed support via a merger or acquisition (See the previous comments on transparent communication and employee engagement surveys).

Summary

In this post titled “The Leadership Challenge: Will Your M&A be a Success or Failure?” we have discussed how not all mergers & acquisitions will succeed (In fact, a high percentage often fail!) To succeed, mergers and acquisitions could run smoother (i.e., achieve better results in less time) by applying the 3 Tips discussed above.

 

Sam Palazzolo

PS – If you or your organization are challenged as a result of M&A activity, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and request future post titles!

The Leadership Challenge: BOLD versus SAFE – 4 Tips!

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The Point: Every year-end it’s the same old same old… A bevy of the year’s “Top” lists (Top 10 Goals of Successful Leaders), a slew of New Year’s Resolutions (ones that you’ll never keep, or keep for the first 4-weeks of the new year), and a bunch of “Year in Review” stories about what went right/wrong in the year that just was. Well that all ends right here and right now! In this post we’ll explore how you can truly set BOLD versus SAFE intentions and achievement expectations for the New Year… Ones that a year from now you’ll be glad that you did. Enjoy!

NOTE: If you want an Accountability Partner (someone that will keep you on-time/on-target towards actually achieving your New Year Intentions and Expectations, see the end of this post for a special offer!

The Leadership Challenge: BOLD versus SAFE – 4 Tips!

Resolutions are Painful | Goals go Unmet

As the year approaches conclusion, I would ask you if you were an executive coaching client of mine to rate the year that just was. Here, do it right now:

Q1A: On a scale from 1-10 (with 10 being best-in-class come write an article on me and we’ll get published in HBR – Harvard Business Review), how would you rate the year that just was?

Q1B: What would have needed to occur for you to have rated it a 10?

Here’s what I know (and you should too if you want BOLD versus SAFE)… New Year Resolutions are often painful when you set them (you are admitting defeat in as much you haven’t been able to accomplish them prior to setting them… perhaps setting them again each year, right?) Resolutions are also painful when you don’t accomplish them, or as I just mentioned have to revisit them again the following year. I also know that Goals sometimes go unmet, both professionally as well as personally. You can rationalize the professional goals that aren’t accomplished by saying that the economy was against you (“This would be a great business if it wasn’t for the customers” one client told me!) You might even be able to blame it on your team (Leaders lead though, so that’s not a good excuse!)

Be BOLD… SAFE Won’t Work (i.e., BOLD versus SAFE)!

In researching why this whole nonsense of resolutions being painful and goals going unmet occurs, I stumbled upon a formula that should be considered when setting just such future desires. First and foremost, we should attempt to set Intentions and Achievement Expectations, and here’s why: It might seem like a semantic moment regarding what you call something, but the reality is that it can and will make all the difference in the world. Your mindset will shift towards a different paradigm, especially when you write them down (More on this in a minute).

There also is an achievement moment that comes when you classify these Intentions and Achievement Expectations across four (4) variables, which are:

– Scale

– Risk

– Innovativeness

– Difficulty

You can elect to play things SAFE (Small, Achievable, Following, and Easy) or you can play things BOLD (Big, Outperforming, Leading-Edge, and Difficult). Guess which one the leader who leads chooses? By the way, the BOLD acronym is also the 4 Tips! for this post.

SPECIAL OFFER! If you’d like to see 25 of my “100 BOLD Intentions and Achievement Expectations for 2017!” send me an email to info AT javelininstitute.org… These will not only be BOLD, but will blow SAFE ones out of the water for what I know is going to be my best year ever! You’re not going to have a “best ever” 2017… Why not?!?

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve examined the leadership challenge of BOLD versus SAFE along with 4 tips to help you succeed. If you are serious about your success, then send me an email through the SPECIAL OFFER! above to see how I’ve structured my very own 100 BOLD Intentions and Achievement Expectations for 2017. Here’s to your success!

 

Sam Palazzolo

www.BloodSweatSpears.com

 

The Leadership Challenge: Cyber Security

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The Point: What used to be a problem only for organizational information officers (primarily Chief Information Officers or CIO’s), now the leadership challenge of cyber security spans the horizon for organizations. In doing so, cyber security is every leader’s responsibility regardless of function performed. In this post, we’ll examine the threats associated with cyber security for the leader of today/tomorrow… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge: Cyber Security

Cyber Breach… You’re Fired!

The well-publicized cyber breach associated with Target in 2014 should have served as a warning alarm for leaders everywhere (Here’s an article to refresh your memory: “Target CEO Fired – Can You Be Fired If Your Company Is Hacked?“ http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericbasu/2014/06/15/target-ceo-fired-can-you-be-fired-if-your-company-is-hacked/#5df21d7f7bc1). Once upon a time, cyber security was the role/responsibility of those residing exclusively in IT (Information Technology) or Information Systems, and leaders therein (CIOs in particular) were typically focused on for blame (Keep in mind, few were/are actually released due to this sensitive role in organizations). However with the advent of “leadership-less” organizations and other human resource strategies now leaders residing anywhere within an organization have the opportunity to breach exposure (See my previous post on the concept of “Holacracy” like at Zappos here: https://tipofthespearventures.com/leadership-challenge-holacracy-like-zappos-5-tips/)

So regardless of your leadership position (elevation within the org chart) or primary department affiliation (IT, Finance, Marketing, etc.), you too could be called on the carpet for information systems security failures which occur within your organization.

Cyber Breach Solutions

With the advent and implementation of all this technology, leaders today need to do it the “right” way. What is the “right” way? You have to have the right protocols in place. You need to insure that you have a full-robust set of controls in place. But how do you as a leader insure that you have the right solutions?

Analysis of exactly what your cyber strategy (How do you want to interact with your clients? What’s your technology that allows you to do so? What are your operational components going to look like?) can lead to diverse approaches so as to safeguard data.

The development of a cyber security program that allows you to be in control, have the right types of messaging and protocols in place if (when?) there is a breach so as to remediate them very quickly is imperative. For example, right now when you examine current breaches that take place, what is their source (Could be individuals, rogue nations, etc. that are responsible). But moving away from the “Who?” that is doing it and identifying the “Why?” they are doing it will allow you to focus/create appropriate security strongholds around such data.

SUMMARY

Cyber security isn’t just business as usual anymore. Regardless of where you work within an organization, keeping in mind cyber breach issues will allow you to more thoroughly manage your business and keep cyber under control. In this post we’ve examined the leadership challenge of cyber security. Knowing what you know now, there should be greater focus placed on keeping organizational information safeguarded and career paths plotted and progressed.

 

Sam Palazzolo

www.BloodSweatSpears.com

 

 

The Leadership Challenge: Trumped!

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The Point: When you think the leadership challenges of the universe are conspiring against you and failure is at hand, you had better figure out a way to gain advantage so as to leave stakeholders trumped. In this post, we’ll explore the trumped phenomenas at play so you can overcome just such leadership challenges… Enjoy!

The Leadership Challenge: Trumped!

Divided Company

It’s “Go Time!” for you and your team as a leader… But exactly “where” are you going? If you’re like most leaders I work with, you have your opinion regarding direction to be taken that aligns with your organization’s mission/vision/values. But guess what? So does everyone else on your team. As a matter of fact, they might very well want to go in a multitude of different directions in support of the organization’s goals (let alone their own individual goals).

Sometimes leadership should be looked upon as a playing card game of bridge. In bridge one has the opportunity to use a playing card of the suit chosen to rank above the others, which can lead to winning a “trick” where a card of a different suit has been lead. In other words… Trumped!

Healing the Divide – The Rule of 3’s!

So what’s the best practice of a leader when facing such a multitude of different perspectives from their team? How do you balance or insure that everyone feels as though they are being heard? How will you pick the “right” or “right at this moment” direction to be taken?

While there are several different decision trees you could employ, one that I’ve seen successfully implemented is called the Rule of 3’s. The Rule of 3’s consists of “hearing” everyone out at a high level. When everyone of differing opinion is heard (or has the opportunity to present their opinion), the team can then vote (three votes maximum) for their favorite ideas. They can use their three votes individually spread across three different recommendations, or pool all three on one recommendation. The top three recommendations in quantity of votes are then more thoroughly developed/researched and then re-presented again to the group. Another round of voting occurs so as to produce one consensus direction decision to move forward on.

SUMMARY

In this post we’ve explored the leadership challenge of being trumped! Division of stakeholders is never a good strategy to employ, especially when considering sound business decisions. However, if collaboration is one of your company’s cultural moments, the Rule of 3’s can be implemented so as to alleviate the unlikely outcome of a decision coming out of nowhere to not only be elected but implemented as well.

 

Sam Palazzolo

www.BloodSweatSpears.com