via @ INC by Tom Searcy

I recently read a study that confirmed my suspicion that most people don't remember what we present to them in a sales call. The data suggested that the average buyer in a meeting will only remember one thing–one!–a week after your meeting.

Oh, and by the way: You don't get to choose what that one thing is. Sigh.

So what have sales professionals done about this? They have worked on "honing the message," developing a "compelling unique advantage" and, of course, the ultimate silver bullet: a surefire elevator pitch.

But here's what you're fighting: A world cluttered with information, schedules, packed with more meetings and work than a person can handle. A decision-making process with more people involved in every choice–many of whom know little about your product or service. No wonder so little is remembered; often your audience doesn't even understand much about what you're offering.

What Kids Want to Know

I have a 9-year-old daughter with spring freckles, long brown hair and blue eyes the size of silver dollars. She asks the kinds of questions that on the surface seem so simple:

• Daddy, what do you do?
• Why do people decide to hire you?
• Why don't they hire somebody else or do it themselves?

One of the great things about 9-year-olds: Like many buyers these days, they lack context. Any answer that you provide has to be in a language that they can understand.

What does a procurement specialist know about what you sell–or the IT person, or the finance person? The challenge is this: Can you answer the three questions my 9-year-old asked, for your own business?

Hint: There are right and wrong answers for both.

Daddy, What Do You Do?

• Right answer: "I help companies to grow really fast by teaching them how to sell bigger companies much larger orders."
• Wrong answer: "Our company helps develop inside of our clients a replicable and scalable process for them to land large accounts."

Why Do People Decide to Hire You?

• Right answer: "We have helped lots of companies do this before, so we are really good at it as long as they are the right type of companies."
• Wrong answer: "We have a proven process for implementation that allows organizations to tailor the model to their market, business offering and company's growth goals."

Why Don't They Do It Themselves?

• Right answer: "Just like when you learned to play the piano: Mommy and I could teach a little, but we don't know as much as your teacher, and teaching you ourselves would take a long time and be very frustrating. Daddy is a really good teacher of how to make bigger sales, and people want to learn how to do this as fast as they can."
• Wrong answer: "We are the foremost expert in this field with over $5 billion in business that our clients have closed using this system. Usually our clients have tried a number of things on their own before we work together and have wanted outside help to get better results."

In these cases, both answers are accurate, but that doesn't make them right. In a world in which more decisions are made with less information and context, our responsibility is to get to as clear and memorable an answer as possible for all of the buyers to understand.

I shared this list with my Vistage group members... it is a collection of some of the best business books I have come across.    Below I have listed the book, a description of the value and a link to Amazon:

Leadership is an Art - Best book I have read on high level leadership - Amazon

The Marketing Playbook - Outstanding book on marketing strategy.  How to compete, new products and services.  Well written - Amazon

Top Grading - Discussed in our last meeting.  How to get the right people on the bus - Amazon

The Alchemist - Not your normal business book... this book is about life and work balance as well as priorities.  Thought provoking - Amazon

How to Become a Rainmaker - Excellent book for sales and BD, both practical and inspirational - Amazon

Fierce Conversations - A Vistage endorsed book on having the tough conversations and communicating with clarity - Amazon

Death By Meeting - A must read for executives.  This is a fable about meetings and very practical ways to make the far more effective - Amazon

I have many more listed on my LinkedIn Reading List.

via @inc by Eliza Browning

The word may sound stodgy. But courtesy and manners are still essential--particularly in business.

But the concept of etiquette is still essential, especially now—and particularly in business. New communication platforms, like Facebook and Linked In, have blurred the lines of appropriateness and we're all left wondering how to navigate unchartered social territory.

At Crane & Co., we have been advising people on etiquette for two centuries. We have even published books on the subject—covering social occasions, wedding etiquette and more.

Boil it down and etiquette is really all about making people feel good. It's not about rules or telling people what to do, or not to do, it's about ensuring some basic social comforts.

So here are a few business etiquette rules that matter now—whatever you want to call them.

1. Send a Thank You Note

I work at a paper company that manufactures stationery and I'm shocked at how infrequently people send thank you notes after interviewing with me. If you're not sending a follow-up thank you note to Crane, you're not sending it anywhere.

But the art of the thank you note should never die. If you have a job interview, or if you're visiting clients or meeting new business partners—especially if you want the job, or the contract or deal—take the time to write a note. You'll differentiate yourself by doing so and it will reflect well on your company too.

2. Know the Names

It's just as important to know your peers or employees as it is to develop relationships with clients, vendors or management. Reach out to people in your company, regardless of their roles, and acknowledge what they do.

My great-grandfather ran a large manufacturing plant. He would take his daughter (my grandmother) through the plant; she recalled that he knew everyone's name—his deputy, his workers, and the man who took out the trash.

We spend too much of our time these days looking up – impressing senior management. But it's worth stepping back and acknowledging and getting to know all of the integral people who work hard to make your business run.

3. Observe the 'Elevator Rule'

When meeting with clients or potential business partners off-site, don't discuss your impressions of the meeting with your colleagues until the elevator has reached the bottom floor and you're walking out of the building. That's true even if you're the only ones in the elevator.

Call it superstitious or call it polite—but either way, don't risk damaging your reputation by rehashing the conversation as soon as you walk away.

4. Focus on the Face, Not the Screen

It's hard not to be distracted these days. We have a plethora of devices to keep us occupied; emails and phone calls come through at all hours; and we all think we have to multitask to feel efficient and productive.

But that's not true: When you're in a meeting or listening to someone speak, turn off the phone. Don't check your email. Pay attention and be present.

When I worked in news, everyone was attached to a BlackBerry, constantly checking the influx of alerts. But my executive producer rarely used hers—and for this reason, she stood out. She was present and was never distracted in editorial meetings or discussions with the staff. And it didn't make her any less of a success.

5. Don't Judge

We all have our vices—and we all have room for improvement. One of the most important parts of modern-day etiquette is not to criticize others.

You may disagree with how another person handles a specific situation, but rise above and recognize that everyone is trying their best. It's not your duty to judge others based on what you feel is right. You are only responsible for yourself.

We live in a world where both people and businesses are concerned about brand awareness. Individuals want to stand out and be liked and accepted by their peers--both socially and professionally.

The digital landscape has made it even more difficult to know whether or not you're crossing a line, but I think it's simple. Etiquette is positive. It's a way of being—not a set of rules or dos and don'ts.

So before you create that hashtag, post on someone's Facebook page or text someone mid-meeting, remember the fundamentals: Will this make someone feel good?

And remember the elemental act of putting pen to paper and writing a note. You'll make a lasting impression that a shout-out on Twitter or a Facebook wall mention can't even touch.

BY JANE PORTER, Entrepreneur Magazine

Tom Szaky didn't even try to get his product--a worm excrement fertilizer packed in a recycled bottle--into small retailers when he started TerraCycle six years ago. Instead, he reached as high as he could: Wal-Mart. "If I want to be big and do it quickly, the best way … is to work with the world's biggest companies," he says. "They can accelerate your cycle much more quickly than any other company can."

The Trenton, N.J.-based conpany's first big partnership with Wal-Mart in Canada was just the start of what has become a $14 million business. TerraCycle now gathers unrecyclable trash and converts it into products and packaging for such big brands as Kraft, Pepsi and Mars. Last year, corporate partners spent $45 million on TerraCycle-related marketing--far more than Szaky could have ever done alone.

But breaking in with big companies is no easy feat. For Szaky, it took lots of research, persistence and trial and error. "The biggest mistake small companies make is they don't do enough homework," says Brant Slade, co-author of Think BIG!: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Partnering With Large Companies (Course Technology PTR, 2009). "They think … more from the small business point of view as opposed to thinking from the large business point of view."Here's a checklist to help your business prepare to partner with big brands:

1. Be unique. Make sure your business pitch is carefully thought out and offers value to your potential partner. After Robin Thurston co-founded MapMyFITNESS.com, an Austin, Texas-based fitness social network that offers online routes, training and group activities, he and his partner realized they had developed a geo-location technology that bigger companies wanting online fitness tools and access to a social network could use. With their first corporate partner, Cadbury's Accelorade sports drink, they collaborated on a web interface enabling users on their site to map and share workouts. "You have to have something that is clearly valuable to that big brand that they might not want to spend the time investing in or doing," Thurston says. Now, the company also builds web platforms and mobile phone apps for brands like NBC Sports, Humana and Skechers, whose customers can opt into the MapMyFITNESS social network.

2. Remain persistent. Although Szaky had the worm-excrement-in-a-recycled-bottle market cornered, getting that first deal with Wal-Mart in 2005 still required persistence. After scouring LinkedIn and alumni networks to find the right contact, Szaky called Wal-Mart 10 times a day, every day for three weeks until he finally got through and set up a meeting. Big companies field lots of requests, so persistence is a must. "There are some brands we are working with today that literally were five-year conversations," Thurston says.

MapMyFITNESS co-founders Robin Thurston and Kevin Callahan, Photo credit, Target Brands Inc.

3. Think big. You have to think like a big brand to partner with one. For MapMyFITNESS, that means developing large-scale projects. "A big brand doesn't want to talk about a $10,000 project," Thurston says. "They want to talk in seven figures and really big user numbers." For example, Thurston and his partner proposed that big companies give away their product with subscriptions to the MapMyFITNESS website. The size of their user base--nearly seven million today--was large enough to interest brands like Procter & Gamble's Febreze.

4. Plan for fast growth. If you're growing too quickly to keep up with demand, you'll lose money--and probably your partner. Szaky learned that lesson through experience. "The more we grew, the more we lost," he says. While TerraCycle's sales reached $6.6 million in 2008, it had a net loss of $4.5 million. The next year, Szaky began developing agreements with companies to handle production for him. Today, 40 companies make and sell TerraCycle products for major retailers and TerraCycle turned a profit of $100,000 in the last year.

Polka Dog Bakery, a Boston-based dog treat maker slated to expand into 1,763 Target stores this May, let the retailer oversee production and distribution in order to make the partnership feasible. "It would have been too much for us to expand at that capacity," says cofounder Robert Van Sickle of his 11-person company.

5. Prepare for scrutiny. Make sure your financial and legal affairs are in order. Since TerraCycle works with multinational companies, the company gets audited every two months. After failing the first few audits in his early partnerships, Szaky realized he needed to focus more on developing proper procedures. "If you are going to go down the path of working in big businesses, having your house in order is critical," he says. "You are going to get the growth but you are also going to get a lot more scrutiny."

6. Build on existing partnerships. Don't rush to find the next partner once you successfully link up with a big company. MapMyFITNESS gets a lot of new business from expanding existing partnerships, Thurston says. Companies are often more willing to consider developing a licensing partnership, for example, if they're already buying advertising on your website. "Too many entrepreneurs chase after the next client instead of recognizing the current client could mean a lot more revenue for them if they simply explore other revenue channels," Thurston says. Partnerships now account for a third of his company's total revenue.

by Leo Bottary

A reinforcing loop that is.  One of the most powerful dynamics of the peer advisory group is the momentum created when peers engage in a cycle of learning, sharing, applying, and achieving.  Whether they 

are executives with different skills sets from the same organization or CEOs collaborating with fellow CEOs from entirely different industries and backgrounds, they participate in a process that by its nature fuels continuous improvement.  For larger companies, even those with robust formal training programs, internal peer advisory groups can play a major role in maximizing a company’s Return On Development.  For small businesses, it’s often a brilliantly effective stand-alone solution for developing people and growing the enterprise.

The prevailing model in many large companies today is what I’ve described in earlier posts as Trickle-Down Leadernomics:Traditional episodic training designed to stimulate positive behavioral changes, aimed to build better leaders who inspire commitment rather than mere compliance, in an effort to create a healthier culture, a more productive workplace, and happier employees whom you hope will one day perform like a well-oiled machine and drive double-digit growth and profitability for years to come. (Notice the amount of “trickle-down” it takes to achieve the desired result).

The two big problems with Trickle-Down Leadernomics are 1)  If you believe the axiom that “practice makes perfect,” then you would probably agree that what you learn in training, while inviting and practical, is not likely to find its way into your daily routine unless you have the discipline and support system to assure its application.  And even then, short term behavioral changes tend to give way to old habits.  2) Since most companies don’t have a formal mechanism for helping individuals share and apply what they’ve learned, the organization by definition gets shortchanged.   It’s a bit like planting a garden and not giving it water or sunlight.

Believe it or not, I’m a HUGE fan of formal executive development, which is the reason I can’t stand to see so much of it go to waste.  That’s why I believe the reinforcing loop inherent in a highly functioning peer advisory group is worth some thoughtful consideration:

Learning – It’s the first stage of the process and, for too many organizations, it’s often the last.  In Peter Senge’sbook, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization, he describes learning organizations this way: “…where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, are where people are learning how to learn together.”  Senge goes on to say that we wouldn’t suggest we learned how to ride a bicycle if we only actually rode the bike once.  It’s about demonstrating the capacity to produce quality results repeatedly.  It’s the difference between riding a bike and being a bicycle rider. Peer advisory groups create bicycle riders by fostering deep learning.

Sharing – Whether it’s knowledge gained from reading a book or attending an offsite training program, sharing delivers value to our peers and colleagues and, in our role as teacher or conveyor, helps us embed what we’ve learned.  Peer groups not only engage in rich dialogue about cutting-edge concepts, but the group members tend to ask hard questions and challenge each other to tackle complex issues using their newfound knowledge.  Peers reinforce and essentially give each other permission to try new ways of working.  As I wrote last week, peer to peer influence is incredibly powerful.

Applying – It’s hard to stress the importance of applying what you’ve learned.  Can you imagine a football team showing up for a game without having practiced?  It’s unconscionable.   The best of the best don’t rely on talent alone to excel or win championships.  They take what they learn and apply it until it becomes second nature.   Peer groups hold us accountable for practicing our craft and fine-tuning news ways of working.

Achieving – Good behaviors will replace bad ones, but only over time and after repeated success.  Achieving inspires believing.  And once you believe in yourself and grow to trust a newfound way of working, it fuels the hunger to learn more and the cycle continues.  Achieving also inspires others to emulate your behavior.  Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner call it modeling the way!  As a CEO you can model the way for your peers and your employees and, as leaders in larger companies, you can do the same.   It’s about walking the talk and others following your lead.  There’s nothing more powerful.

If you don’t mind getting thrown for a loop, then you’re an excellent candidate for either joining an external peer advisory group or starting one in your organization.   If you’re planting the garden anyway, why not help it grow?

Time management is a vital skill that one must learn to get the most out of life. Learning this skill is relatively easy as long as you know what you want in life and have the drive and passion to achieve it. To complement an individual’s fast-paced lifestyle, here are some of the best time management books to learn from.

The 7 Best Time Management Books:

1. Getting Things Done by David Allen: David Allen, a time management expert, introduces his methodology on how to get things done in his book, Getting Things Done. His philosophy on time management is explained plainly in this book and, in fact, most of the present time management methodologies are based on his time management style.

2. Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management by Mark Forster: Mark Forster is a well-known author and lecturer in the field of time management. His book, Do It Tomorrow, shows his alternative views on time management. In this book, readers will find the seven time management principles that Forster has developed for effective time management. Both novices and experts will find something worth noting in this book.

3. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard: Ken Blanchard is a popular author of many time management books. The One Minute Manager is the first book in the One Minute series that Blanchard has published. This book is very brief and only highlights a few key concepts for effective time management.

4. Putting The One Minute Manager to Work by Ken Blanchard: This book is another Blanchard work that helps the readers of the One Minute Manager apply the ideas in real life. In this book, the readers will learn how to work well with their team in a lighthearted but effective manner.

5. Leadership and the One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard: The Leadership and the One Minute Manager is another installment in Ken Blanchard’s One Minute series. In the above mentioned books, Blanchard has stressed the importance of time management and effective teamwork and monitoring system to become productive. In this book, Blanchard focuses on how to develop the leader in an individual to be a good manager. This book is a good accompaniment for the above mentioned Blanchard masterpieces.

6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey: For seasoned readers of books about time management, this book is a classic. Stephen Covey’s philosophical approach on time management helps the readers have a clear view point in life to determine their personal goals and achieve it. This book is a perfect life coach as well as a time management guide.

7. The Now Habit by Neil Fiore: Neil Fiore has finally discovered the antidote for procrastination. In his book, The Now Habit, he introduces several effective techniques to overcome procrastination. These techniques and systems make time management easy and fun so readers will enjoy applying these lessons in real life.

These books about time management are only some of the best in the market today. Whether a mentor or a learner, one can learn something useful from these books.

Author Info:

Find out more about time management books at this website:time management. 

From Harvard Business Review

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call? Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers.

To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure. 

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.

Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong — abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.

To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken. 
If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger on motivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today. Her personal blog, The Science of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Follow her on Twitter@hghalvorson

Simon Sinek @TED... worth watching...

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html