Small Business Leadership and Sales Blog

Having a bunch of good and bright employees can be both gratifying and stressful. It is because efficient employees greatly contribute to the company’s productivity. It is stressful at the same time since it would be very disadvantageous if these employees suddenly leave the company. Not thinking about keeping these employees, and actually keeping the personnel resources intact with great people, could jeopardize the company’s continued success.

Ideal Employee Requirements

No one wants to work with lousy employees. Most business owners want their employees or work team members to be ideal as much as possible. Just like the requirements of American business magnate Warren Buffett on his employees:

• highly intelligent
• highly energetic
• have high integrity and
• have at least an intermediate skill in computers

Any company may not afford to take time in training new employees about computers. To have these employees is to scout for them, and continually do so. Even if they are already around the organization, they might leave someday for greener pastures, considering they, being of high demand.

Scouting for Ideal Employees

During the hiring process, the employer would get the vision and concept of the prospective employee about the business. The entrepreneur can also gauge the chemistry of the new employee and the management. Experts also said that in order to hire the right people, they rather convince them not to take the position. They explained the bad side of the company like work pressure, long working hours, etc. By being honest to the applicants, they already filtered who shall stay long or not. This minimizes turnover and waste of time. They do not want to train the employees only to see them leaving too soon and this is a way to eliminate prospective employees who wouldn’t have made it to the job anyway. Telling the applicants the truth is just being honest which would also do justice to both the applicants as well as to the employers.

Myths About Keeping Employees

Many believe that employers have multiple ways to keep their employees with them, even those who are on high demand. The following are some myths about keeping them:

• Key employees will stay especially when economy is tough as they are afraid of losing income. This is wrong because uneasiness caused by the tough economy can threaten security. When they are undervalued, employees would be unproductive and start looking for something better.

• Employees can be loyal when treated well. Even if treated well, employees would change jobs if they are not happy with the positions they are holding. They would only stay if they also have the feeling of fulfillment in their respective corporate roles.

To keep the talents happy and stay put is to determine the objectives of the company, and find individuals who are able to meet these objectives. Employees need to be motivated as well as engaged so they will stay long.

More Numbers Creates Stability

Sometimes, employers hold on to their employees because they stop scouting for more talents. Or do not have the right strategy to attract the right employees. As the main drive of the organization, employees are people; and people are the only ones capable of achieving the company’s goals by carrying out systems and perform deliveries. New ones can bring fresh vibe to the organization while keeping the balance in the human resource so as not to lose productivity. More numbers can create more stability and strength. To attract more talents, the recruitment process should be in itself strategic, interesting and exciting.

Need some motivation for your group?

Pick my brain, bring me to your group, or get signed up for some one on one coaching. Click here for information or drop me an email at marvin@marvinleblanc.com

Building Client Relationships with a Different Twist

I just got off of the phone with one of my top 200 clients. I called them
for a completely unrelated subject that had nothing to do with their
current program with me or the sale of any products or services to them.

I called my client because my Business Network Group had an opening for a new member. I felt my client would be the type of member that would be great for our group & our group would be great for them.

Point #1: People can find out how you think, how you do business, what
your integrity is like and all sorts of important things that may not have anything
directly to do with the sale or services your company offers at that exact moment.

Point #2: Think like your customer. Brainstorm with your team. Ask the question,
"if I was the CEO of our customer's company, what opportunities in the marketplace
should I be taking advantage of?" Then connect your customer with those opportunities.

Folks, this type of strategic thinking makes you irresistible to your customer & it becomes
very hard for them to leave you. Why? Because you are offering something of VALUE to
them far beyond the sales transaction.

Slow down, re-read this blog.  Think it through. Alone. Then with your people. This is an
excellent topic for your next meeting. It's amazing what kind of ideas your group can come
up with. What "out of the box" strategies & opportunities can we offer our clients?

"THINK - and then - GROW RICH!"

If you are looking for some one on one coaching or a motivational message for your team get in touch with me.  I am always happy to help make others more successful.  

The best way to reach me is to email tina@marvinleblanc.com. 

Peace, Love and Gumbo, 

Marvin 

Hello Marvelous People!

Do you ever feel like you are running behind on technology or what's going on in the world?  If you're like most people, there just is not enough hours  in the day to do, see and learn all there is to know to keep you on the cutting edge.

Remember if you don't stay on the cutting edge, the edge will cut YOU!  

With that in mind, I strongly encourage you to pick up the book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. I promise it's a fast read with great stories that will put you on the cutting edge.

Have you already read Blink?  Tell me what you thought!

Don't miss a moment of excitement!  Click below to get notified of events, specials and monthly business building articles. 

Are you holding onto a team member because you have no monthly strategy to interview, scout, and attract new, energetic talent that has heart, character, and Windows based computer skills?

Great Employees Are Assets

Having a bunch of good and bright employees can be both gratifying and stressful. It is because efficient employees greatly contribute to the company’s productivity. It is stressful at the same time since it would be very disadvantageous if these employees suddenly leave the company. Not thinking about keeping these employees, and actually keeping the personnel resources intact with great people, could jeopardize the company’s continued success.

Ideal Employee Requirements

No one wants to work with lousy employees. Most business owners want their employees or work team members to be ideal as much as possible. Just like the requirements of American business magnate Warren Buffett on his employees:

• highly intelligent
• highly energetic
• have high integrity and
• have at least an intermediate skill in computers

Any company may not afford to take time in training new employees about computers. To have these employees is to scout for them, and continually do so. Even if they are already around the organization, they might leave someday for greener pastures, considering they, being of high demand.

Scouting for Ideal Employees

During the hiring process, the employer would get the vision and concept of the prospective employee about the business. The entrepreneur can also gauge the chemistry of the new employee and the management. Experts also said that in order to hire the right people, they rather convince them not to take the position. They explained the bad side of the company like work pressure, long working hours, etc. By being honest to the applicants, they already filtered who shall stay long or not. This minimizes turnover and waste of time. They do not want to train the employees only to see them leaving too soon and this is a way to eliminate prospective employees who wouldn’t have made it to the job anyway. Telling the applicants the truth is just being honest which would also do justice to both the applicants as well as to the employers.

Myths About Keeping Employees

Many believe that employers have multiple ways to keep their employees with them, even those who are on high demand. The following are some myths about keeping them:

• Key employees will stay especially when economy is tough as they are afraid of losing income. This is wrong because uneasiness caused by the tough economy can threaten security. When they are undervalued, employees would be unproductive and start looking for something better.

• Employees can be loyal when treated well. Even if treated well, employees would change jobs if they are not happy with the positions they are holding. They would only stay if they also have the feeling of fulfillment in their respective corporate roles.

To keep the talents happy and stay put is to determine the objectives of the company, and find individuals who are able to meet these objectives. Employees need to be motivated as well as engaged so they will stay long.

More Numbers Creates Stability

Sometimes, employers hold on to their employees because they stop scouting for more talents. Or do not have the right strategy to attract the right employees. As the main drive of the organization, employees are people; and people are the only ones capable of achieving the company’s goals by carrying out systems and perform deliveries. New ones can bring fresh vibe to the organization while keeping the balance in the human resource so as not to lose productivity. More numbers can create more stability and strength. To attract more talents, the recruitment process should be in itself strategic, interesting and exciting.

Don't miss content, special offers and articles!  Click below to stay connected to Marvin's content! 

Is your current team member compensation archaically still paying for time and effort or is it rewarding results?

Compensation is a key determinant when people are looking for any kind of job. Every person dreams of getting a job that enables them to practice their career and expertise and pays well enough to enable them to meet their daily needs. The greatest challenge for most businesses and companies is how to balance between compensating team members for results achieved by a team member and finally the balance that is the profit for the company.

In order for any person to achieve results, they both need experience in that particular field and skills. Experience is what a person has learned about a particular field that they cannot learn in any institution. No one can dispute the fact that senior people are very experienced in whatever they do since they may have earned an experience of probably twenty years and above. During this period, these people have also built relationships that are very important for the success of any business.

It is however important to note that the success of any business is not entirely dependent on experience and the relationships. A business needs to have a new perspective on things in order to be able to remain relevant in the current world. The new perspective may not come from people who have been doing the same job, the same way for the last twenty years. Sadly, leadership must embrace that “senior” team members may have skills that have become quite stale and outdated. And unless they are open to embracing different ways of doing things, they may become irrelevant in a very short period of time.

“Complacency kills.”

Results, skills, time, experience and effort are all essential ingredients for any organization to succeed. The question therefore is how to compensate each team member for the contributions they bring to the table. Senior people are likely to bring experience, time and effort to the team. However, the most important thing for any organization is results. It is very hard to produce any better results when a person has been working a certain way for many years and they do not know any other way of doing things. Additionally, one may also be very unwilling to embrace new ways that could lead to greater profits, if the old way of doing things has always worked.

The greatest challenge for the organization is how to determine the compensation plan. Do you compensate team members simply because of their time and effort or their results? Both people who are young in a career and the experienced senior individuals are likely to offer their time and effort. However, the time and effort for the young is likely to translate to better results owing to the new skills they may have acquired. For senior people on the other hand, they are likely to yield the same results they have been getting for the past twenty years since they are still working the same way they always have.  

Time and effort are essential for the success of an organization. However, these are not the only determinants. Results are essential for the survival of a company. Therefore, any business whether large or small has to ensure they get the best results from the team members. Any company that has been simply paying based on the time and effort contributed by the members versus results, might need to reevaluate their systems.

“Doing nothing will guarantee stagnation.”

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Hello Marvelous People:

Let’s examine a recent selling dilemma that recently occurred with one of our students in our Sales Performance School.

Scenario: A hard working, excited salesperson has put a bunch of quotes/offers out in the marketplace since the beginning of the year.

Problem: While it is guaranteed that there can be no consistent, reliable results without “Activity” - “Activity” does not guarantee results, especially, if it’s the wrong activity.

Bigger Problem: if you are sincerely generating the right activities and you are not getting the desired result you want,(a sale) then your confidence will be destroyed.

No confidence = No fun. 

Possible Solutions:

“Now when you gave your prospect/client that quote/offer, was it over the phone or via email/fax?”

“When you shared your quote/offer, did you and the prospect/client agree to the next day/date you will see them or the next day & time you will call them?”

I mention this because so frequently, those new to the sales profession give up too early. And one of the reasons they are subjected to unnecessary rejection is because they don’t position themselves properly in the minds of the prospect from the very beginning.

I’m trying to help you avoid the emotional roller coaster one goes through when he/she really believes that a prospect/client is going to move forward with their quote/offer and the prospect/client was NEVER EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE to moving forward with the quote/offer.

Please understand - if someone is nice, respectful, courteous or amiable. That’s all it means. BUYING SIGNALS ARE SOMETHING entirely different. Don’t mistake the two. Know the difference.

Important Takeaways:

1. Maintain control of the dialog. Not because you are a control freak; but because your job is to deliver WORTHWHILE PRODUCTS/SERVICES to those that need them.

2. If you’re in an industry that allows you to see them face-to-face, then this appointment will yield more results than a phone appointment.

3. Don’t over talk "product"

4. Do talk in terms of the BENEFITS that your product/service will offer. Your clients only care about what’s in it for THEM! Would you please make it about them? It isn’t about you!!]

5. The more time passes, the faster they go from hot to lukewarm to cold.

6. Create the sense of urgency now or risk spending too much time making follow up calls to prospects that will never buy.

Your Homework:

Marvelous People, we need you to leave a comment on our feedback form or drop me your comments as Marvin@MarvinLeBlanc.com

What we are looking for are:
1. The actual things your prospects/clients say to you that indicate they are interested
2. The last 3 sales you made, what were the verbal or non-verbal buying signals you observed
3. Future topics that you would like to see us discuss

My future writings will include the cumulative insights of your comments and feedback.

The best gift is a referral!  If you or someone you know would like to know how to SELL smarter, work LESS and sell MORE please click here for more information on my coaching program. 

Imagine that some major corporation like Google, Apple or Coca-Cola were to invite me into their headquarters and ask me, “Marvin, you’ve been around the world, and
talked with many people. You’re confident enough, and you sound like you know what you’re talking about… So, could you tell us what the next ten years are going to be like for our company?” That’s not an easy question for anyone to be asked, let alone with my knowledge of what can happen when disaster strikes.

One thing I know is that I’ve seen a lot of people. I have had fantastic mentors. I’ve read important books. And I’ve lived through Katrina.

Right now is a great time for opportunity in our country. There will also be more people who lose their job in the next decade than ever before, and there’ll be more millionaires in the next decade than the decade before.

Get in touch and let me help make your next 10 years the best yet!  I would love to have a virtual cup of coffee with you to discuss your goals and challenges. 

- Marvin

How can an entrepreneur lose his entire team, save one and rebound to the pinnacle of achievement among his peers?

Enduring the loss of an experienced team, finding jobs in other states for displaced employees to work, handling an emotionally distraught customer base – all while having no permanent office from August 2005 through June 2006. My team achieved the coveted Chairman’s Circle honor from the company I represent for two consecutive years following Katrina’s unwelcome visit.

How can you come back from that and make Chairman’s Circle in two years? That involved losing people, rebuilding, starting over, and moving 30 miles from our original office.

Very responsibly, the insurance company I represent had made a decision to restrict the amount of homeowner’s insurance we could offer. Essentially, they had said, “We talked to some weather forecasters and we believe that in the near future a Category 5 hurricane will hit and destroy New Orleans.”

At the time, all I could see was that they wanted to take my opportunity away. I thought they were making up this story about a Category 5 hurricane that would hit New Orleans. We hadn’t had a big hurricane hit New Orleans since Betsy in 1965.

I had begun slowly disengaging years before, but I reached my highest level of disengagement in 2004—a year before Katrina would attempt to drown our hopes and dreams. I was very bitter and thought I knew more than the company. I focused more on being a scratch golfer than on leading my team and being the example.

If you can relate, don't stop reading now! Do you realize you already have read the solution? That solution is recommitment. Now is the time for you to consider not only reading about it, but it’s time to start living the recommitment solution.

I read my goals for Chairman’s Circle several times every day. I had them taped to my credenza and thought about them all day, every day.

I enrolled my team in an Agency Development Program (ADP). It helped us to reengage, identify the building blocks, and to focus on being there for others and making a difference in their lives. ADP was about growth, finding common ground, reassessment, and self-evaluation.

I stumbled upon tandem appointments, which helped take us to the top. There were training benefits, multiline benefits, revenue benefits, and higher value benefits. I embraced Paper Days & People Days. My lunch hour was always intentional.

Entrepreneurs and small-business people are the most important people in my city (yours too, in case you haven’t thought about it). People look to you for leadership— economically and emotionally, whether it is verbalized or not. You are always being observed. Realize that others will model your behavior, especially if they perceive you as being in a position of power and influence. Therefore, be extremely protective of how you spend your time and who you spend it with. Live your life by appointment and schedule your appointments for your up- coming month first. Before all other appointments. Set appointments for yourself to be alone, to read, ponder and “be.”

Why did I become reengaged? Because I felt needed again. It became about the customers and not about me.

Please share your ideas about staying motivated, recommitting to your goals and becoming more successful.  Remember, I am always available for a free virtual cup of coffee to discuss your business!  I want you to be successful.

You can reach me anytime at marvin@marvinleblanc.com

Peace, Love and Gumbo, 

Marvin LeBlanc 

I stay continually amazed at how clueless many managers are about what their team members want, yet they’ve been managers for years. Ask questions of your team
members and listen to their responses. Your job is to make sure they have one heart.

When put in charge, take charge, and have the courage to do the right thing. Continue to show appreciation of your team. Courage is not passing it off or acting cowardly. Courage is tak- ing the necessary action steps to get to a worthwhile goal. Make a commitment to the goal and make a commitment to get better. Taking risks is OK, too. Players who take no risks usually lose. Don’t let your ego get in the way.

Leadership is essentially the ability to lead, inspire, and in- fluence. Leadership must define the talent. Leadership and teamwork are intertwined. You are the leader of your team, so lead by example and don’t expect your team to carry you. The following few easy actions can help you maximize the output from your team:

• Hire the right people (discussed below). People won’t burn out if they are the right people, if they are open to train- ing, and if you continue teaching them.

• Utilize their strengths. Maximize everyone’s talents through leverage, training, expectations, accountability, conse- quences, and empowerment. Realize that very rarely does the true core of a person ever change. Sadly many managers tend to manage around their team members' weaknesses. Avoid this tendency & forever strive to manage around a team members' strengths.

• Train. Hold training sessions from 8-9 a.m., four days a week. An employee cannot find money if they don’t know what they’re looking for or where to look for it.

I would love to hear your ideas in the comments.  In case you missed it, you can downlaod Chapter 1 of my book, Come Hell or High Water by clicking here!

BRING MARVIN TO YOUR GROUP...

Marvin LeBlanc is a professional entrepreneur who built a thriving business in the insurance and financial services industry for 30 years, and who is still actively engaged in his business in New Orleans, Louisiana. A Dale Carnegie graduate and professional member of the National Speakers Association, Marvin is available to motivate and inspire...

• Dynamic people with initiative and vision
• Insurance agents and associations
• Entrepreneurs
• Sales professionals
• Colleges, universities, high schools
• Home-based business owners
• Network marketing organizations

Marvin's keynotes, seminars and team training workshops are now available now.

Call 225-938-4177 or email marvin@marvinleblanc.com to discuss your group's needs and how we might work together to make “Marvelous” happen!

If I asked you what is the most important day in the upcoming year, would you know?

You may think that every day equally important.

In my opinion, the answer is no. Each day is not equal. 

The most important day for you is - TODAY!

Well why?

Before you can actually achieve and complete a worthwhile goal, you
must first "experience" the goal in your mind and in your heart.

And remember, what you feel in your heart is far more important than what you think in your mind.

"THE HEAD CAN'T STOP WHAT THE HEART WANTS!"

So the truth is when you actually accomplish your goals, its actually the second time you accomplished the goal. Because the first time you accomplished the goal you achieved the goal when you DECIDED in your mind and heart it was meaningful to do.

Here's your action plan.

Step 1:
Write down the goals and dreams that popped in your head when you were reading this article. (Remember, until you write it down its not a real goal.)

Step 2:
Decide:
If today is going to be your most important day. Nothing will save you if you are unwilling to DECIDE and COMMIT.

Step 3:
List the frivolous distractions, interruptions and time wasters in your life and eliminate them. Now you will have MUCH MORE time to work on what's REALLY important.

Step 4:
If you get stuck, give me a holler and we'll work through it. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to START.

Marvin LeBlanc helps entrepreneurs and small business owners overcome adversity, build business and increase sales. He offers motivational small business support through coaching, consulting, on-site training and webinars, 

Find out more at: http://www.MarvinLeblanc.com  

Contact Marvin at 225-938-4177 email:  marvin@marvinleblanc.com for your free “virtual cup of coffee” session.