Don’t be the Seattle Mariners

Ok, I admit it. I'm a big Mariner's fan. Ask my wife, the game is always in the background in the evenings, much to her annoyance. This year's team was supposed to be a contender, but after a third through the season, the Mariners have the worst record in the major leagues. What gives?

Well, there are a lot of theories, but this much I know: There is no clear leader on the team. The best player is Ichiro, not a native English speaker, and someone who doesn't have the personality to lead. Most perfectionists like him are not good leaders as they tend to be internally focused. The Mariners' executives have built a team of good citizens, but no dynamic personalities to hold teammates accountable. There is no Kirby Puckett or Jason Varitek on this team.

As I think about this sad state of affairs to my baseball team, I was reminded about the makeup of teams in business. Have you ever been on a team without charismatic leadership? No direction, no leadership, just the same routine every day? Would you play to win on that team? Big personalities can have a negative impact as well as a positive one. They are gunpowder -- can be useful but also dangerous. But without them, people will not always self-motivate or find direction and purpose in their roles.

Look at the personalities in your work team. Who's the informal leader that drives the will of the team? Is everyone too polite to call out the elephant in the room? Is there an unhealthy amount of passive aggressive behavior? Now, challenge yourself to not accept less than your "defined" success from yourself or your team. Don't be the Seattle Mariners for goodness sake!

Effective Smoozing

Client/Sales Entertainment?...

Talk to some and it’s the best way to close a deal. Others think it’s a waste of time and money. Where you stand between these two opposing views probably has a lot to do with your own personality.

In general, we humans need to bond prior to engaging in a relationship – business or otherwise. Therefore, client entertainment remains a critical component of today’s corporate sales culture. However, without good guidelines and training, sales personnel could misuse this budget. How many companies actually spend time training sales personnel on what is effective client entertainment? Not many I would gather.


There are three main categories for client or sales entertainment events: “Thank You” or “Celebratory” Event; “Close The Deal” Event; and “Introductory” Event.

“Thank You” or “Celebratory” Entertainment Event -- This is the most legitimate use of the client entertainment budget. You’ve accomplished something together. Celebrate. Build on the positive energy.

1. The event should be all about the client. Find out what they enjoy. Are they foodies? Avid golfers? Wine connoisseurs?
2. Keep business discussion focused on the accomplishment and positive aspects of the business relationship.
3. Since you already know the client well, let yourself show through. Having fun is contagious.

Example: When working as the Noetix Managing Director for the EMEA market, I hosted lunches for select customers who renewed our support contracts at the Ritz in West End London. As an added bonus, I was able to get the Vice President of Product Development to visit from the US to answer questions about product strategies. The enticement of dining at the Ritz and giving input to the person in charge of our product attracted valued customers from all over the UK. These events further solidified our long-standing relationships with them as they renewed their contracts and recommitted to us.

“Close the Deal” Entertainment Event -- Okay, you’ve had your business meetings. You’ve delivered your proposal. You’ve qualified, qualified, and qualified. Now, you need to ask for the deal. People do buy from People – people whom they trust will solve their need.

1. In this scenario, you need some element of control. Think about which environment is the most comfortable for you, as well as for the prospective client. You need to shine during this event to ask for a commitment.
2. Write down your goals prior to the event. Stay focused on your business objective. Promise to grade yourself after the meeting on whether you were effective in closing the deal.
3. Don’t think it was a successful meeting if you only got a vague answer about the next steps. That means either they are not interested, or you really did a poor job of qualifying prior to the event.
4. Timing is key. Make sure to time the ASK appropriately.

Example: During the early days at ARIS, a manager at Airborne called me to tell me that we were shortlisted along with Oracle Consulting Services. I knew our relatively small size would be an issue, and also knew she had been working late on her projects. An impromptu dinner and the next day we got the contract. We connected early in the dinner. Then, I was able to focus on overcoming her last objection concerning our stability as a small business. It was a well-qualified meeting with a clear objective to overcome the last objection.

“Introductory” Entertainment Event – Tried to get a business meeting, but could only entice a lunch meeting. The probability of a return on this investment is low.

1. Keep it simple. Lunch is probably the best option.
2. Pick a venue that allows for discussions and possible deep dive conversations.
3. Use time to gather good “conceptual selling” information.

Example: When I first started selling, I used to invite people to lunch rather than arranging for the “conference room” meetings. I usually felt good after these lunch meetings because people were happy for the free the lunch. But those outings rarely lead to deals. Later, I learned that a good qualifying point was whether someone was willing to meet in a “conference room” and talk business with me.

Think through your client entertainment activities and they can be very an effective sales tool. Qualify, be clear on your objective, and don't try to be Mr. or Ms. Popular at the risk of not meeting your goals.

Explore Executive Follows Playbook for Success

MEET STEVE JONES, an entrepreneur with an effective playbook for building a service company.

Steve and his long-time buddy, Jeremy DeSpain, co-founded Explore Consulting in February, 2001. The company sprinted out to a good start, working lean and realizing comfortable profits.

“We came out of an era where spending was insane (the dot com era),” Steve remembers. “But we were very conservative.” Good move. So many entrepreneurs get ahead of themselves in spending when businesses start out well. In Steve’s case, he knew that prudence would serve him well in the long run.

By 2003, Fortune 500 companies substantially decreased spending on IT projects, cutting deeply into Explore’s business.

“We made good money the first two years and spent it all the next two years,” Steve says. The ability to stay afloat during tough times is definitely a critical management test for most young companies. Poor cash management takes down many promising startups. Steve and Jeremy understood this and managed accordingly.

At the time, however, Steve wondered if things would ever get better. Not only was the business in trouble, Steve had bought land and was in the process of building a house when the downturn hit.

“It was hell,” Steve reflects. “With two kids and a big brown dog, we were all living in a travel trailer on the property.” He can laugh about it now, but back then the feeling of having “his back to the wall” was overwhelming at times. But the support from his wife, Kelly, and his two girls (Elise, now 8, and Audrey, now 6) strengthened his resolve to make Explore into a bigger success.

Explore continued to keep costs down but still focused on some strategic issues, including a decision to partner with then a little known company called NetSuite. It is a web-based suite of applications with integrated ERP, CRM, eCommerce, and more. “NetSuite gives you a true 360 degree view of your business,“ Steve explains.

The partnership with NetSuite helped fuel Explore’s rebound. Currently, Explore is one of NetSuite’s top 5 partners in the world, and the largest partner here in the Pacific Northwest. Explore’s success also landed Steve a position on Netsuite’s Business Partner Advisory Council.
Inability to make key strategic decisions during difficult times is another common mistake made by struggling entrepreneurs.

Last year, Explore was recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of the region’s 100 fastest-growing private companies. It was also recently named as one of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies on the Inc. 5000 list.

So, what’s the next for Explore? Well, Steve and Jeremy struggled with whether it was time to relinquish some control by bringing on a more seasoned executive. For many entrepreneurs, this is the most difficult hurdle: Giving up control.

Steve and Jeremy, however, hired Kendall Kunz, former CEO of ARIS, to be the company’s top executive last month. While Steve admits giving up his CEO title “hurt” a little, he is convinced the decision gives the company the best chance to hit higher levels of success. Steve now serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

“This move is very strategic and exciting for our organization,” says Steve. “Having Kendall on board will help us deliver on our expansion goals while enabling me to focus on growing and diversifying our service offerings including building out vertical solutions and meeting the international market opportunity.”

Interestingly, Steve’s first job after graduating from Montana Tech was with ARIS, where Kendall was at the time the Senior Vice President of Sales, later to become the CEO of the public company. Steve and Jeremy both went through ARIS bootcamps in 1995 and 1996 respectively, with Jeremy coming from the University of Washington.

“A lot of what we learned was a template from ARIS,” Steve shares. Now, they’ve hired back one of their first mentors.

For me, I remember Steve as a young, bright, enthusiastic new recruit at ARIS. More importantly, I remember that he played wide receiver in college and was really fast. We had a flag football team at ARIS at the time, and he was a secret weapon in our perfect season (2-0). This is definitely a guy you want on your team – in business too.

Zoodango Launches Smart Invite

Zoodango officially announced the beta launch of "Smart Invite" today. I wrote about James Sun, the Apprentice star and entrepreneur, who is launching an "intelligent" way to organize get togethers for friends or business.

If you want to check it out, follow these 3 simple steps:

1. Hop onto www.zoodango.com and log into your existing account.


2. Find your favorite venues and click “I like it”….this will allow you to see other people who like the same places you like and it will customize your location preferences


3. Use the smart invite application to collaborate with friends on getting together
   

Confessions of My Intervention

I've been known to give constructive feedback every so often, especially at work. It's probably a lot easier than receiving one. However, receiving constructive feedback is much more beneficial -- IF you LET it be.

Almost a year ago, I walked into my own INTERVENTION. It was after a team meeting at ZeroDash1. As I walked out, feeling good about my presentation, Josiah Johnson and Rachel Cascisa asked to have a word with me.

They were nice about it, but basically told me that I was not dressing for success. As the executive representative of ZeroDash1, I needed to present a more professional and fashionable image. Gulp. Totally speechless.

Looking down at my favorite cotton knit sweater (with an awesome fly fisherman on the front), I couldn't fathom what they were trying to tell me. I'd been wearing this sweater for almost ten years! You couldn't find sweaters like this anymore. Apparently, that was their point.

After letting me know that the "Bill Cosby" sweaters are out, they moved the intervention to the next stage: A Banana Republic website. Boy, they were prepared.

I realized then that there were age-appropriate business casual attire out there that is more modern than my baggy carry-overs from the 80's and 90's. And most of all, if these employees cared enough to have an intervention for me, I needed to make a better effort representing them.

In our industry, business casual sometimes leads to casual to sloppy casual. Now that I'm paying more attention, I can see that appropriate dress codes in the work place can have a real positive impact. It shows respect for oneself as well as for others. A group of well-dressed people have an energy about them.

So again, I'm humbled and learn another valuable lesson from those close to me. But hey, that favorite sweater... it's still in the closet. Those are going to make a comeback.