The F-word

When working with my clients, I refuse to let sales people use a particular foul word.

The use of the F-word shows a lack of professional understanding and a fundamental misconnect about what commerce is based on.

The four letter F-word I am referring to is
the word: F-A-I-R.

There is no such thing as fair in business and no prizes for runner up and locally, there is no concept for fair in regular Japanese business nor regular use of it's direct translation.

Now before the lingo-philes whip out their J-flash application and look up the word, I am saying that the word kouhei (fairness) or byoudou is rarely used in professional settings by business people here in Japan.

When it is used, it is by the side who feels they have no grounds to negotiate on and are in the weaker position.

Fairness is a virtue in a western Judeo-Islamic-Christian cultural paradigm. This virtue was brought to the populace by warriors to the subjugated, and from the nobility to the serfs beneath them.

Charities across the globe seek appeals on this core, western concept.

In a business scenario, fairness is something expected by the weak because without a crafted argument, counter-offer, or rebuttal they have little else to appeal on.

The Japanese do not raise their children to expect fairness or concessions by the other side. “泣き面に蜂”　“A crying face gets a bee-sting,” is a common old-adage in this country.

You don’t get what is fair in life or in business, you get what you work hard for and what you ask for.

In China recently, western tycoons are trying to elicit generosity and “fairness” from Chinese billionaires for philanthropic pledges--any gut feelings on how successful these westerners will be?

Am I weak for being fair?

The proactive offering of more favorable terms to your business partner is a sign of strength and sincere compassion for their well-being and long term success.

The expectation of such treatment for yourself is a sign of weakness, period.

Fair is a word that salespeople and negotiators need to remove from their mouths with a wire-brush and strong soap.

So, we are just cutting at each other’s throat then, right?

Not at all.

As professionals, we manage expectations and trade concessions conditionally based on mutual trust and for mutual success.

If you are asking for me to go into the red on this project, then we aren't partners.

Sidenote: If someone just wants to lower prices, and cause you to go to the poorhouse, lower deliverables or ask for a concession of similar value from their side. “In terms of our agreement, a 16 percent reduction in cost would need to be reclaimed in another area of our transaction, how about you purchase 255 additional cases, to be paid for this afternoon?”

Rather than the word fair, use “challenging” or “inappropriate” when confronted by difficult requests and hard balling.

Smart Japanese use the term muzukashii or difficult, taking the brunt of a flat “no” away from their counterpart.

And yes, changing the word does mean it has a different impact. Language is a powerful tool, and as I said before, use tools but don’t be one.

Always be more professional in your demeanor and language than your counterpart. It imparts sophistication, professionalism, and class. Exposing your perceived weakness and imploring for fairness shows you are insecure in your position.

Stop whining, MAKE A COUNTER-PROPOSAL!

When attacked and undercut, the most powerful form of defense is a one-two punch combination of silence and a conditional trade offer.

Are you doing this, or just using the F-word?

C rms in the new AB-normal

I hate technology, especially in sales.

My dream vacation would be a white sandy beach, and the wrangling of every PC, mail server, motherboard, OS, hard-disk, and CRM that had ever frustrated me. I would grab a shiny new sledgehammer and with loving brute force, smash them all to bits.

Unfortunately, we have been forced into a world where “...you didn’t get my e-mail?”, “Let me check my iSchedule and get back to you”, “Press 1 for customer service options”, “Have no idea who you are, but let’s be iFriends!”, “Hard disk lost, there’s goes our eBusiness”, and my personal favorites: “We’ve never worked together (and hardly know each other), but can iHave a professional recommendation?”, “Server’s down, can’t do any work now” are now incorporated into our reality.

A little less Skynet anyone?

Genuine face to face communication, time-tested hard-earned relationship building, and the sincere question have been downgraded downloaded, left-clicked, dragged, and dumped into the Recycle bin on the great desktop in the sky.

Smash, smash, smash, is what I say.

For westerners trying to break in and do business in Japan, attempting a click-type-click client connection is especially frustrating as a “relationship” created in 1 second has about 2k bytes of value here.

One afternoon tea with a client is worth gigabits of CRM gobbledigook. A sincere conversation with one new person, is better than 10 “Can you tilt your head to the left when you’re talking to me, so I can see other potential connections behind you?” type networking events.

It takes a few summers of melted shoe leather here to realize Japan-area business success is done over copper-wire-analogue and not “gotta go” linked-in wireless.

The new AB-normal:

- Once-in-a-lifetime traumatic happenings: Financial scams & global mega-capitulations, record hot & cold weather, too-big-to-fold got folded, earthquakes, fires, floods and flying pig flu (Wait, how many of these have we had, just this year?).

- Economic buyers turned into committees; The MD of “Managing Director” have sadly become “M-ust D-eny” to save their own jobs.

- High quality, experience, talent, next day delivery AND low cost are one “must-have” G/NG package. Add the fact that developing completely new prospects is as smooth as pulling out healthy teeth with rusty pliers, and Voila! You have the new selling normal.

Realistic 3-year forecasts-ha ha-I remember those. I use them as doorstops now.

Where C hits the RM:

And when the going gets rough, do we further engage clients and prospects to deepen our knowledge? Do we reach out to new markets or become closer partners?

No, not here at CyberDyne.

Management gets rough on their CRMs because when faced with uncertainty, people run to what they feel they can control.

The need for their “C-ertainty R-esults M-anifesting” is the cause of many hours of wasted effort, paper-torture, missed opportunities and disloyal clients.

Because a CRM is nothing more than a tool in your kit for building a solution for your customers.

Your job as a selling professional is to use tools, not become one.

As a depository of pertinent information, a CRM is a great way to organize facts, figures, stages of a deal, internal communication, and other customer data.

But a CRM is never a replacement for YOUR purpose, which is serving customers and helping them build their businesses.

Too many deals to update?

- Get a temp worker to fill in the CRM from your notes or get a co-worker, normally wrapped in a blanket with a USB connected toaster oven, to help out.

- Use an old school voice recorder, or an iApp (Evernote) to record CRM entries; Send voice files to admin staff and have them do the input.

I mean, seriously, do you really think all those admin staff are that busy?

CRM is a “Customer Respect Maintainer” tool to:

- Maximize relationships with customers by recording information. This allows clients to spend less time explaining things to you (and new sales people AFTER YOU) and, in some cases, you may become a source of information about THIER company!

- Merge push & pull on deal progress (So, where were we? What do I need to do next?)

- Allow your manager to further help you assist customers, knowing all background information. (Yes, that’s right, customer accounts are COMPANY accounts, not yours)

Domo Mr. Roboto:

Human brains are best used for serving other humans, not Mr. Roboto.

- Entries should be short, punchy, to the point, take a few minutes per day, with fixed templates for everything (meeting notes, call-in checks, deal progress) to take away as much thought from the admin process as possible.

- For non-Japanese language reading managers, ask local staff to use more basic grammar and shorter sentences in Japanese so when you use “Google translate”, the meaning is easier to pick up.

- Super-billers: Your top 10 percent-ers should be given admin assistance and not have to update CRMs/do tons of paperwork if it takes away from their selling time.

I can 100% guarantee that a top biller’s time is better spent calling, meeting, pushing, pulling, and closing deals then clicking, folding, and typing.

Accounting needs month-end expenses done now...are you serious?

At first, I often hear, “Special admin support isn’t fair to our other sales people” when I recommend this for top billers.

Then I say, “ In life, all people are equal creations of an almighty creator. But not in sales. The only thing that make sales people equal are their numbers billed YOY and profit margins.”

CRM inputting over deal closing? I think not. How about some smash, smash, smash?

Though I have some Skynet hardware, I’ve joined the resistance:

- I have an analogue leather-bound day planner (never runs out of batteries, always handy, fast on the draw, and can get wet).

- Hand-written thank you cards for "close encounters" (truly personal and more impactful).

- Afternoon teas and seasonal snack gifts (like the locals here do…).

- Telephone (more sincere responses, voice, reduced tension on replies, better interaction than e-mails).

As we hit the last 4 months of 2010, ask yourself these 3 questions:

1. Are you hiding behind technology as an excuse to not reach out in person and meet people for new business or get scary answers now?

2. Do you send emails when you know you should go visit in person?

3. Are you focusing all your efforts on your top billers? Are you asking them to do the same data entry/paperwork as non-performers?

Our resistance effort to Skynet isn’t futile my comrades.

Keep your CRMs updated, but pack a sawed-off sledgehammer, just in case.

Forging Arrogance

Arrogance underpins client trust.

Would you trust a doctor who says, “Well, I’m not so sure about this but… Uh, yeah, umm, you wanna try taking a few of the little red pills and see what happens”?

Unlikely.

For some reason, arrogance has been given a bad name, but it's time to set the record straight.

Do “you” trust sales people (yours and those that call you) whose verbal and non-verbal communication conveys self-doubt?

Phrases like:

“To be honest” (= usually, a lie)

“Let’s split the difference” (= no guts to push anymore)

“Can I ask you a question” (= still thinking of what I’ll ask)

“I am looking for… I normally charge…” (= Talk me down 30 percent or more from the base price)

Have you audited the actual language used by your sales team?

Do you ever record your own calls to hear exactly how “you” sound? Unclear language, unnecessary humility, overly-apologetic speech, plants seeds of doubt in the minds of your clients, that quickly grow into weeds strangling the deal.

Through sales-smithing, you forge a sharp blade called arrogance, to slice-n-dice these weeds to mulch. Arrogance, however, is a finely crafted weapon that only true advisors have license to carry.

-Before you can be effectively arrogant, you must possess real confidence.

-To earn confidence, you must have a high success rate.

-High success rates, require comfort with FAILURE.

-To become comfortable with failure, you need to conquer your fears.

-Conquering fear, means killing lazy impulses (and getting off the couch).

-To kill lazy impulses, you need to practice EFFORT and personal excellence every day.

Clients pay for expertise, not bumbling justification statements or pushy selling tactics.

Clients want answers and solutions, not bet-hedging, wishy washy comments.

Arrogance is required to become an advisor, the highest level of sales craftsmanship.

Advisors are the most successful because they don’t “sell” anything. They share information, position ideas, question effectively, come to agreement, and then “take care of paperwork.”

Notice how I didn’t mention price?

Advisors discuss VALUE not price, RESULTS, not cost per unit.

Price for advisors is academic and rates/cost per unit are never haggled over.

Arrogance resides in the balteus of all advisors, whose best advice starts with a resounding NO.

Meek “Yes” men and brute hackers need not apply.

Conspiracy Theory

A conspiracy of ignorance lurks in your company.

A conspiracy that covers its tracks, throws away wealth and sneaks out by 6, with no cares about what happens next week. 

Whoever said “Ignorance is bliss” didn’t have a target to hit every quarter.

This conspiracy results in; missed targets, budget-cuts, canceled office parties, sloppy bonuses and weekends of hitting the phones. A “conspiracy of ignorance” is one in which workers collude with each other to buy back comfort, with company money.

As Tom Hanks and his sleuthing foretold, all conspiracies have a ring leader, 70% or more “Yes” answers to below will let you, as a manager, know who’s leading that ring. Ask yourself: Are your buyers not pushed for better contract terms, are your sellers not getting what your product is worth? Do you let them settle for less to avoid doing their real jobs, expanding profit margins and growing market share?

Have you heard: “He didn’t call me back yet”, “She couldn’t get those terms through HQ” “ We are not ready for that volume of work”, “Balls in his court now”, “Let’s split the difference”, “That’s not my area”, “It’s only 100,000 yen”?

“An outrage!” you said, but did you let it pass? Do you let your smoking staff take an average total of 48 minutes a day off? Does your non-smoking staff get the same break time to read books, or take a long walk?

Is the answer no, you only give time off for staff to hurt themselves?

Who does all that translation work or take the “Japanese” phone calls that come in, because certain members of your team didn’t bother to learn the language? Is it everyone, or just the poor souls who worked hard to become bilingual?

Are Fridays really Facebookday, where your energy is focused on Saturday’s brunch, the night out with mates, your kids undokai, bank transfers and re-runs of Lost? Do you over conceptualize, over-strategize as a way to avoid fixing problems, answering the question, or making a simple clear revenue commitment?

How often are you hearing " it’s the economy" and letting up on your sales team? Worse, are you saying it?

If you are answering more than 70% Yeses, then this “conspiracy of ignorance”, is lead by YOU, whether you denounce it or not.

Big strategies and open email-based promises do not close deals, do not move contracts forward or increase activity. The excommunication of tiny energy suckers and time wasters does, rome was built brick by brick, everyday.

Exorcise your productivity possessors. (you don't have to do them all!)

1. Select one weekday, say Monday, for 4 weeks when doing any environmental tuning. You can’t ride teams like this everyday, you’ll burn them out (or yourself). Start off slow and focus on specific behaviors.

2. Stop emailing new rules, or new policies. If you can’t even remember them or have them memorized in 2 weeks, forget it, no one else will either. (have a printed document with all policies/work regulations that is used as part of your feedback/quizing during performance reviews).

3. Have “on task” focus sections of the day for back office staff and themed sections for front office to use as they need. Be consistent you'll be amazed at how much time becomes "empty" when people batch-task.

Each batch-section is 2 hours long with a 5 minute brain break to turn off the screen or take a walk out in the hall.

4. Have 4 sections for that day, each representing different parts of your business process (break your process into 4 major stages), for teams to task focus.

5. Observer SILENCE for documentation section or periods of sales research etc, then check the impact at week’s end. Set phones to message if appropriate to your business.

6. Listen to office noise in the front office team and stand next to desks if members stray off the focus section.

Say nothing, just stand there for a few seconds. (don’t speak Japanese enough to understand what they are saying? LEARN!).

7. When members make calls or are doing a good job, a post it note with “awesome call”, “keep it up”, “nice way to handle objections mate!” is more impactful than an email or comment made during a performance review weeks or worse, months later.

8. Make notes, on your notebook, of weak areas, class clowns and deadbeats. Bring up concerns, which will be concrete examples of inappropriate behavior at the next group meeting. “Last Thursday at 15:36PM you were going on and on about XX, please stay on target” is better than “c’mon guys, stay on target” type flaming/screaming emails.

9. Require staff to send you an email explaining why they need to do overtime before doing it (everyday). For 90% of the requests a "No, catch up tomorrow" is an appropriate answer. Send your people HOME!

In the end, weak managers just want employees to like them, so they do nothing, err, until they have to fire one of them.

If they were really nice, they would ride people until they break out of their trance and get them to focus on working effectively and closing deals. No, that’s too un-comfortable, let HR fire them, we can still be friends right?

Stunt man, get “danger pay”, as a leader, you get “discomfort pay”.

Are you earning it, or one of the Conspirati?

Weener Management

Weener Management

Chili & beans, chopped onions or covered in French’s classic, we have all been handed one with one at some time or another, during a public speaking event, seminar or workshop input session.

“I don’t get it” for the 3^rd time, crossed arms, and I guess waiting for me to spend another 

7 minutes of everyone’s time trying to justify the new workflow model we were presenting to the group.

Going up to his seat, “Thanks for the input A-san, when you have had a chance to clarify what you don’t understand, I’d be happy to readdress your question, thank you.”

This is an example of what I have coined as “weener management”.

A “weener” is a delegate with a habit of inappropriate snide comments, unnecessary challenges, “questions” that are just negative statements, loud sighs and groans aimed at one thing, attacking the speaker, facilitator or presenter to damage their credibility or show the group they don’t want to be there.

This habit needs requires “weening” to change and thus to the term.

People who challenge arguments, make comments based on listening, ask questions in an effort to learn and debate, are NOT weeners, they are always welcome.

Having a genuine disagreement with the speaker based on content or delivery method is acceptable, simply trying to trip them up or ruin the experience for everyone else, is not.

Weeners create adverse atmospheres and cause most professionals to avoid speaking, leading presentations, fearing the experience of being boiled in public.

When running workshops, presenting or doing public speaking, you may want to consider the following as part of your weener management condiment tray.

• Know your weener:

Weeners are basically insecure people who attack facilitators & presenters to make themselves feel better. They don’t think anyone can teach them anything and instead of listening, they seek to spoil the learning opportunity for everyone to take the pressure off of them.

As in life, there are many types of weeners, below are a few types that I have experienced here locally.

“Oswaldo” - These grassy knoll enthusiasts will sit back and ignore most of the contents covered, only to pop up and take sniper shots at any “in-consistency” in your message. They don’t take notes or notice examples, but rather glance at materials and wait for their chance to trip you up.

“Clifford” -  “Nope, I know everything and I’m only here because I have to be”. No need to learn anything, know everything and can’t benefit from listening. 

“Murmurs”  - Always talking to their desk-partner but never having anything to say. This droning can keep you off your game and distract your group. 

• Engage your weener:

For Oswaldos, ask them to clarify themselves and how the comments apply to the topic at hand, usually they don’t and the sudden attention will have them drop their rifles. 

For Cliff the postman at the bar, who knows everything, ask them occasionally for a specific opinion that directly applies to the discussion topic, being careful not to let them take over. 

I have converted these people to be great assets during long training sessions as sometimes, they just want to be recognized as experienced, give them that chance.

For the general murmuring, cut the weener duo in half by asking questions to the one doing the listening, waiting silently for an answer you know they won’t be able to give. 

This embarrassment will either bring them into the discussion or at least keep them quiet so others can benefit from the learning.

• Control your weener:

No matter how senior-the-weener, do not allow them to run-or-ruin your workshop despite nerves or how inexperienced you feel.

You need to believe in yourself that you have a valuable message to share.

Your mustard can be sweet or spicy, you decide which is best at the time to use.

• Use your weener.

Weeners are actually great to use in preparation for speaking of workshops. Imagine what a “Oswaldo” would say, if you try delivering this model without clearly showing it a a case by case tool.

Do you have enough case studies or users feedback to back up claims made? Cliff the postman may ask for it, are you ready?

Have you created enough engaging content to keep people from wanting to chat the time away? Do you seek participant feedback in real time?

• Avoid weener over-fixation

In the end, it’s your workshop, not their hotdog stand. 

You are there to help delegates learn, share ideas and challenge beliefs that may be holding them back.

Though difficult to do in the “boiling pot” of the moment, controlling your weeners is key to developing true confidence and delivering real value to your delegates.