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Entries by Mike Figliuolo

How to Sell Without Selling

July 8, 2013 /2 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

I hate salespeople. I especially hate the ones who doggedly pursue me hocking their wares even after I’ve repeatedly told them I’m not interested. The worst of the lot end up with a special caller ID in my phone so I know what to do when they call: “Don’t Answer,” “Moron – Don’t Answer,” “Clown from New York – Don’t Answer,” and for the worst offender, “DON’T &$^%@*&@!* ANSWER!” I asked myself the other day if perhaps I have a similar caller ID in a prospect’s or client’s phone. I’m hoping I don’t (and if I do and you’re reading this, I’m sorry I was so pesky at some point and hope you’ll take my call next time). I’d like to think I’ve found a way to sell without selling which leads people to want to pick up and take my calls. Before you stop reading and say “I’m not a salesperson” – keep reading. We’re always selling. Whether you’re out searching for a job (selling yourself), looking to hire someone (selling the role and your company), or convince people to adopt a recommendation (selling ideas), you’re always selling something and the following guidance can help you be more successful in those efforts. So here’s the trick to sell without selling: stop selling. Huh? When you’re selling, you’re pushing a product (product, service, yourself, the role, etc.). When you’re pushing, you aren’t listening for the needs of the buyer. If you’re not meeting their needs with what you’re selling, they’re not going to buy. Period. Or if they do buy, they’ll do so grudgingly and will only work with you that one time. There’s a better way to sell that will get you better results.

10 Uncommon Annual Planning Actions that Drive Customer and Employee Growth

July 3, 2013 /3 Comments/in Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is by Jeanne Bliss, author of Chief Customer Officer and I Love You More than My Dog (CLICK HERE to get your copies). Annual planning is the Achilles heel of driving a united customer culture. Every silo or department determines how much money they have to spend, then each creates their individual plans and correlating score cards. Activities frequently focus only on the money – not on the behavior of the organization and what they want to stand for and show up as in the marketplace – based on their decisions and actions. As you begin your annual planning cycle, here are 10 actions that business leaders and their organizations should focus on first – before the financial planning cycle – to increase customer loyalty and drive profitable business growth. 1. Believe in the integrity of your customers. The majority of business policies and rules are created to protect business from the minority of customers. Be bold, like Connecticut Griffin Hospital, which began sharing hospital records with patients and saw claims against the hospital drop by more than 43 percent. Take a leap of faith and believe that trust is reciprocated by customers when they feel that you trust them. 2. Invest in employee trust. Show your employees that you believe in them. Beloved company Wegmans invests in its employees by training them in the skills that remove rules, regulations, policies, and procedures that pen employees in. This enables Wegmans to throw away the rule book and live by this one edict: “No customer goes away unhappy.” As a result, its margins are higher and profitability more steady because the grocer’s turnover is only 7 percent of employees versus the 19 percent average in its industry. 3. Practice democratic decision making. Give good ideas a chance to prosper […]

Leadership Lessons from Master Oogway

July 1, 2013 /1 Comment/in Balanced Lifestyle, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

The first time I saw Kung Fu Panda, my expectations were quite low. I mean, a panda that does kung fu? A jackrabbit I could buy… but a panda? Then again I’m a huge Jack Black fan. The biggest and most pleasant surprise though was Master Oogway the turtle (or is it tortoise? I always get those confused). His wisdom was entertaining and enlightening. The best part is, it’s also applicable to everyday leadership and life. There’s a scene where Oogway is dropping some knowledge (as a kung fu master is wont to do). The dude is pretty deep for a turtle. He states “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” I stopped slurping on my white raspberry slushy and thought for a moment “wow, the turtle has a point.” The implications of Oogway’s statement reverberated throughout the cosmos with a thunderous clap. The dude was talking about how we move through life and, more importantly, how we can show up as leaders. Sure, right now you’re thinking that slushy gave me a brain freeze and that’s why this whole turtle/kung fu/leadership notion is so confusing so allow me to explain.

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do To Improve Your Communication

June 26, 2013 /5 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is by Lisa Marshall, author of Smart Talk: The Public Speaker’s Guide to Success in Every Situation (CLICK HERE to get your copy). I think we all have instinctive radar that draws us to people who are real, who are authentic, and who are able to share their passions. When I was in high school, my boyfriend Michael and I were offered 8th row tickets for a Bob Seger concert. Although, I didn’t know anything about Bob Seger’s music, but that night I became a huge fan, and not because of his music. It made such a big impression on me, I still remember it vividly in my mind. Bob and his band were having so much fun on stage: it seemed as if they were just a bunch of high school boys enthusiastically horsing around in their parent’s basement. It was if they were just playing around and it didn’t matter that over 40,000 eyes were watching them perform. What I remember most is their excitement and energy. Bob was moving around so much under the hot lights that he kept changing his shirt. It was the same shirt just in different colors: a red one, a blue one, a green one. The energy was contagious! On the way home in the car, I said to Michael, “I want to be like Bob Seger.” He said, “You want to be in a band?” I said, “No, I want my job to be something I enjoy so much that people around me can just feel it … just like Bob Seger.” Yet, at the same time, we sometimes feel somewhat reluctant and somewhat uncomfortable about sharing our passions publicly and whole-heartedly. Particularly, at work and at school, we’re trained to communicate in a dispassionate and objective manner. Certainly […]

The ABC’s of Leadership

June 24, 2013 /7 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Who doesn’t love the alphabet? Think about it – every book, blog post, memo, and any other document is simply a rearrangement of the same 26 little letters (mind = blown). So since the alphabet is so awesome, I figured I’d share 26 leadership thoughts and ideas related to each letter of the alphabet. Enjoy and good luck getting the ABC song out of your head by the time you’re done! Authenticity: it sounds like a challenging concept but it’s actually quite easy – simply be yourself. No B.S. No facades. That authenticity builds trust between you and your team. If you’d like a quick assessment of how authentic you are and how much your team trusts you, CLICK HERE. Bench Strength: if you’re not thinking about and doing rigorous succession planning, you’re wrong. Flat wrong. Your job as a leader isn’t just managing today’s team – it’s also preparing tomorrow’s team and being ready for the inevitable turnover that comes with any organization. Build your succession plan. Now. Courage: take a stand for your beliefs. Don’t let people get thrown under the bus – instead jump between them and the bus and take the hit. Have some intestinal fortitude to right the wrongs around you despite the cost and risk to you personally.

How Do You Help a Leader Lead Change When You are the Leader?

June 19, 2013 /0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is by Phil Buckley, author of Change with Confidence: Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night. (CLICK HERE to get your copy) Here’s Phil… Leaders react differently when tasked with leading a big change. I experienced this when I led change management for a merger. Each of the department leaders I met with while scoping the project approached it differently: some asked detailed questions while others just listened; some expressed concerns while others seemed unaffected; and some wanted help while others didn’t. They all had two things in common – leading a big change was new to them and none of them felt the project would go smoothly. Years later, I realized that confidence is the most important characteristic leaders can draw upon when leading change. They need to be confident that they are speaking to the right people, paying attention to the right things and creating the right environment for team members to take on new ways of behaving and working. All big change projects require significant adjustments. Most require new attitudes, capabilities, processes, systems and relationships. Leaders must confidently lead their people through these unknown, difficult and often uncomfortable changes. Comfort with ambiguity and grace under pressure are essential attributes of the successful leader leading change. Confidence is tested the most when leaders can’t answer questions based on their past experience. Their operational experience doesn’t translate well to the circumstances and issues they have to manage during change. What has made them successful in the past has little bearing on their ability to successfully lead change. Since they have no reference point upon which to form a view or base a decision, they feel like they are trapped in a burning building where going left looks as safe as going […]

101 Great Words to Use in Your Resume (and 5 NOT to)

June 17, 2013 /7 Comments/in Career, Communications /by Mike Figliuolo

I’ve seen a ton of resumes over the years. Some were awesome. Some were okay. Many sucked. Flat out sucked. Why do I say they sucked? Typos, poor formatting, too long, too qualitative, too flowery, too boring, too nebulous. I’ve written about resume writing mistakes and resume myths before so today’s post is written to complement those perspectives. First, remember – all a resume does is get you a chance to interview for the job. It does not get you the job. That said, resumes can quickly eliminate you from contention in the first place if the resume happens to suck (see above for suck reasons). One other big suck reason in addition to the ones above is poor writing. Words matter. If you’re boring, lazy, and unoriginal in your writing, the recruiter won’t even pick up the phone to extend an interview your way. One of the most boring, laziest things I repeatedly see is the use of the word “develop.” It is the most overused, useless word in resume writing. Unless you work in the photo finishing section at Walgreens, you don’t develop anything. Right now some of you are saying to yourselves “That’s fine Mike but I don’t overuse the word ‘develop’ – I’ve used it very sparingly in my resume.” I’ll bet you a cup of coffee right now that if your resume is longer than one page that you’ve got the word “develop” in there more than four times. And no – if the word is in your actual title (e.g., Director of Business Development) it doesn’t count. Are you up for the challenge? Open your resume in MS Word. Hit CTRL + F. Type in “develop” then click Reading Highlight then “Highlight All” and watch the yellow highlighting flow. If it’s in there more […]

Problems Don’t Get Better With Age

June 12, 2013 /0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Communications, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Leadership, Project Management /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is by Maynard Webb, author of Rebooting Work: Transform How You Work in the Age of Entrepreneurship (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Here’s Maynard… In business, as in life, one thing is always certain—you will run into problems. But contrary to popular belief, problems are not bad things. In fact, I think they can be good things—if you look out for them and work to fix them fast. People fear problems and as a result, they love to ignore them. The irony: that’s really what fuels them. If you can find problems early, you often can solve them when it takes a relatively minor act to fix (and you can get to an exponentially better place fairly quickly). The worst time to solve a problem is when it becomes a major issue and either spins out of control or results in public embarrassment. Think about Netflix going down on Christmas Eve due to AWS issues. I am sure that no one at Netflix was expecting to do damage control on Christmas Eve. It should not have gotten to that point. The best way to solve any kind of problem is to build into the corporate culture a practice and process that will help to seek out issues early and take care of them. Andy Grove wrote about this in his epic book, Only The Paranoid Survive. Often there is expertise to solve an issue or concern within the company, but people don’t feel empowered (or sanctioned) to do it. Teams need to acknowledge their biggest issues, understand what can be done to fix them, then know it is not optional to let the current situation continue. When I arrived at eBay people had convinced themselves that availability and scalability issues were okay as what we were doing […]

Ethical Boundaries and Little Old Ladies

June 10, 2013 /0 Comments/in Books, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post focuses on the importance of creating personal behavioral guidelines for yourself. It’s an excerpt from One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership (you can get your copy here). I have been in my share of uncomfortable situations where all the choices before me were painful ones. As much as I would have liked to have punted on the decision, I was the leader and I had to make the choice. Those uncomfortable moments were and continue to be perfect times to rely on my maxims to assist me with my decision making. Over the years I have learned to rely on a maxim for these purposes: – What would Nana say? (For reference, Nana is my grandmother.) The maxim is straightforward and simple. It evokes strong emotions for me. Whose nana wouldn’t stir emotions in their heart? This maxim enables me to step outside myself and ask what another person would think about my behavior. It is one thing to disappoint myself. It is another thing entirely to disappoint Nana. The thought of letting her down and doing something of which she would disapprove is a powerful deterrent to bad behavior for me. The maxim is easy to explain and understand. It is much harder to put into practice especially in high-pressure situations. Permit me to share some examples.

Using Power to Empower

June 5, 2013 /2 Comments/in Books, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is by Dr. Marilyn Jacobson, author of Turning the Pyramid Upside Down: A New Leadership Model (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Here’s Marilyn… During a one-on-one meeting with Ann Yee-Kono, Executive Vice President of Investment Operations and Technology with Ares Management, we spoke about her prominence in the firm and her participation in Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit. She asked me what attributes I thought were needed to be a truly outstanding CEO. I replied with a few points, but I have continued to think about her question ever since. She is a rare example of how leadership adds value in a dramatically growing and changing organization. Her emphasis on both individual and team development is what smart leaders must adopt. Ann started her career at Ares by implementing a global technology platform. While the system proved to be highly effective, it was the thorough, dedicated manner in which she conducted the project that won her praise. As a positive agent for change, she has built a multi-skilled team that is entrepreneurial, disciplined, and accurate. She cross-trains people so that they are continuously learning and being challenged. Her reports describe her as someone who motivates them and differentiates the way she works with individual team members. She is very conscious of being a leader with all the responsibility that it entails, especially in a company like Ares, which consists of many separate and distinct businesses. As a private equity firm, Ares has several partners, each with unique staffing and team requirements. Being knowledgeable and staying on top of all aspects of the firm is critical. Ensuring that each of her team members is capable and reliable in their effort to support their partners’ increasing demands is also a constant challenge.

Grow Your Business by Not Charging for Your Services

June 3, 2013 /10 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Sales, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Want to grow your business? Give it away. I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Great tunes especially at 3AM on a Friday night. They’ve also got an incredibly relevant message for how you can grow your business: Give it away, give it away, give it away now! (I’ll spare you the repeats). No. I haven’t fallen and hit my head again. I routinely give away our stuff. Our services. Our content (ummm… yeah, you’re reading a FREE blog full of our intellectual property and the only price I ask is comments and telling your friends – you are telling your friends, right?). But I give it away deliberately and with purpose. Have you ever been in that “free seminar” that was nothing more than a disguised sales pitch? Infuriating, huh? Did you buy the speaker’s stuff? Didn’t it grate on you when they’d say “so those are the first two steps in our secret ten step process. Buy the other eight steps for just $999.99!” Those folks aren’t successful long term. They need to learn how to give it away. So do you. Allow me to explain.

Why You Should Become an Entrepreneurial Actuary

May 29, 2013 /0 Comments/in Books, Innovation, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s post is by Mark Hopkins, author of Shortcut to Prosperity: 10 Entrepreneurial Habits and a Roadmap for an Exceptional Career (CLICK HERE to get your copy). Here’s Mark… While I think being an entrepreneur is awesome, I know it’s not for everybody. But being an entrepreneurial actuary is. What do entrepreneurial actuaries do? They learn to be aware of those moments when an opportunity presents itself (the essence of entrepreneurship) and learn how to quickly sort out the risks and rewards of pursuing the opportunity (the function of an actuary). It’s not all about entrepreneurship—you can and should leverage these skills within an established organization. The problem is, we are not typically trained to do this. Our education system works best when students pay attention and avoid distractions. Focus on the work in front of you and accept the solution you’re offered. How many times were you encouraged to think of a problem in a different light or to develop your own solution in school? Probably not often. The goal of formal education is to give you the tools you need to gain perspective, communicate, reason, and solve problems that you are likely to encounter in life. The problem is that the same “color inside the lines” system is employed in most colleges and virtually every workplace that I have ever experienced. Static Companies Focus on Productivity Employers value productivity in the workforce, especially from employees at the entry level. And productivity comes from doing the same activity, the same “right” way every time, getting faster and more proficient each time you do it. The result is to drive quality and productivity up, but the unintended consequence is to deemphasize the use of your brain to figure out better ways to do things. No ad-libbing please. That’s how mistakes […]