Another One Bites the Dust!

When I first stated my career in sales, I prided myself on relationship building. My father, who is a consultant in the oil and gas industry would tell me all the time growing up that the most important part of selling is who you know. I use to ask him, "what if you don't know anyone that wants to buy what you have to sell?" He would look at me and smile and say," Well you better go make some friends, because its all about who you know, not what you know". When I first started out in sales, I realized one important thing about myself. I was a procrastinator, uggg. Not because I meant to be, but mostly because I was disorganized. I was very fortunate the meet an incredible mentor that helped me figure out how to fix a few things that would help me get on track! These are her lessons: 1. The fortune is in the follow up Following-through is critical to being a success. Remember, people get busy and sometimes need a reminder of why the two of you should get to learn more about each other. I use to be a card gatherer, now, instead I set up meetings with the people I want to do business with or better yet, if you were introduced by a friend or client, have them set up the meeting, edification is huge and will increase your potential of having a successful meeting. I also immediately email every person that I meet or speak to and thank them for meeting with me or let them know about exciting events or opportunities that may be coming up that would benefit them. Managers and Bosses who are poor at follow-through cause a myriad of problems: late for appointments, botched projects, broken trust with employees and higher-ups, wasted money and time, and even layoffs or firings. Follow-through skills are the interpretation of the goal and implementation and therefore should be a huge priority to making a success out of the opportunity or project at hand. Without follow-through a breakdown of communication usually follows. This can happen when the person who initiates a project or goal is not the one implementing it. As the instructions trickle down through the ranks, inevitably, something is lost and the project goes awry or fades away altogether. Communication and clarity is extremely important in understanding what is before you. 2. Make a daily to do list Franklin Covey has some great resources to help you stay on track, if you are someone that loses their keys once or twice a day, can't find the paper that you need for your next appointment, have to dump out your purse to find your cell phone or constantly misplace, well everything. This is a great way to remember to follow up. I also make a daily checklist of things to do and prioritize them, checking or highlighting as I go about my day. Things that are not accomplished due to time constraints or unexpected meetings with clients, immediately go to top of list for the next day. 3. Constant initiative shifts can cause a loss of focus As you well know, employees are being asked to do more (and more) with less. Those in leadership roles or small shops must juggle the ever-changing priorities of their organizations. We have become a culture of the attention deficit workplace. It often is worse within IT, where there are big egos, aggressive personalities, and top performers can create a culture of demand and instant gratification. Managers are enthusiastic at the beginning of a project, but before the midway point— This is when attention deficit should not exist—they lose interest and move on to something else ( ie. another project or new idea that is less important). This is problematic because the client is the one that starts to feel the repercussions. 4. Keeping your ducks in a row There is a show/book called the secret that enlightens us to look within ourselves to succeed. One small problem is once we find that secret how do we stay on track and follow through? I once read energy is everything and everything is energy, and I believe by having lots energy and staying involved and gathering the right team or professional skills and personality traits, all of your projects can be a success. To become an expert at following through, you’ll first need to get organized. Keeping task lists, holding regular meetings, and learning how to delegate are the basic steps for anyone wanting to hone in on follow through. Trust me it sounds easier than it is, but you have to practice! A lot of organizations fail because they don't set themselves up for success. Being organized and following through with your clients and prospects is huge! Here are a few things that are good to begin practicing: * Organize thoughts and activities in brainstorming sessions * Take time to think through your ideas and reflect on what the outcome may be * Absolutely DO Not operate in crisis mode * Know who needs to be in the loop or on your team * Have a fundamental desire to complete things and put a timetable of deadlines to facilitate these needs Polly Schneider Traylor of tech Republic reviewed Mike Hugo, CIO of Chicago-based Network Services Company, is clear on another aspect of follow-through success: Don't overbook your staff. A common mistake of IT managers, he said, is to blur the lines between development and operations people. It's also critical to put feedback processes in place, without becoming a micromanager. "You need to give the people on the business side a quick update every week," Hugo advised. Hugo asks his team members to complete a five-question form every week, requiring yes or no answers. Here is a sample of Hugo’s weekly status report: 1. Has the scope of any task in the project changed? (Yes/No) 2. Will any major activity or milestone date be missed? (Yes/No) 3. Does the project team need any outside skills or expertise? (Yes/No) 4. Are there any unsolved technical problems? (Yes/No) 5. Are there any unresolved user review or approval problems? (Yes/No) He also allows space at the end of the form for elaboration. When there is bad news, he encourages his staff to refrain from finger pointing and whining, and instead come up with at least one response to the problem. "I tell people that the only way they will get in trouble with me is to hide bad news until the last minute," he said. He continues to ask his team of commitment instead of delegating with authority and disdain. "People know that I'm relentless about maintaining a public dialogue and that if they miss a date, they will simply have to commit to a new date, which will in turn be posted to the general public," he explains. "This way, I keep up the pressure on them but am not easily attacked for being pushy, because I am merely facilitating decisions and reporting what actually happens." A few small steps can really help your longterm outcome and remember the more you succeed in following through, the more success you will have with your prospects.