First, let’s take a look at what needs to happen before the review even starts. Let’s assume the review is done each month. If this is the case, then information should be gathered all month long. The review cannot be successful if the only information used is a printout of the sales figures and a client contact schedule. There need to be notes with respect to work ethic, special projects, missed opportunities, and general behavior items.

Before the review takes place a manager should review the information and understand why and how the sales figures were produced. Was there a lack of client contact or follow-up? Did the employee have a bad attitude toward clients? Did the employee fail to showcase products for prospective clients? Maybe the employee is unorganized and does not maintain records properly. All of these are potential causes for poor sales figures.

These types of questions should also be asked when an employee meets and exceeds sales expectations. It is possible that a salesperson is simply lucky. A manager should help an employee prepare for success before luck runs out and not wait for an unlucky month before initiating change. In a worst case scenario, an employee with great sales figures might hinder the performance of other employees. Employees that poison the performance of the rest of the staff often go unnoticed because of high sales figures. When performance reviews are done correctly, this type of employee can be uncovered and dealt with so the entire sales team can become stronger.

After this work is done it is time to meet with the salesperson. During the performance review a manager should present the information and findings listed previously. A manager should also ask questions to more deeply understand the situation. It is possible that some information was hidden or went unnoticed in the initial investigation. Managers should be prepared to accept new facts during the review and not have a decision made beforehand.

After the review is complete the level of performance should be clear to both the manager and the salesperson. There should be a list of action items and a signed agreement that the salesperson acknowledges their previous performance and their roadmap for the next cycle. If done correctly, an employee will understand that the manager has a goal for each employee to succeed. An employee should have no reason to argue with a write-up of poor performance or be confused about how to proceed in their future actions.

Here are a few DON’Ts for performance reviews:

• Don’t punish a salesperson for not meeting a goal that was not feasible in the first place.

• Don’t use fear as a motivator. For example: ‘If you do not meet your goal for three months in a row you will be fired.’ That is scary and will not build trust with an employee. This does not work. Read what (insert name) has to say about it here. (insert link.)

• Don’t skip over positive attributes in a hurry to get to action items for next month. It is important to recognize good behaviors so an employee does not feel they are unappreciated.

• Don’t forget that you might be wrong. It’s ok to be wrong. This does not mean you are a bad manager. It means you are listening to what someone else has to say and changing your position.

A review with the qualities mentioned in this article will help build trust with employees and form a sales staff that is excited to perform well. More importantly, this review will help show members of the sales team how to have a successful future. The effort put into preparing for and delivering a useful performance review increases communication with employees and helps sales goals to be achieved.

By genuinely caring about the success of the team and its members, a manager will find that he or she is surrounded by successful people.

Good Days.

If you would like to learn more, here are a few articles that I found helpful.

• Delivering an Effective Performance Review : Rebecca Knight
• Ten Biggest Mistakes Bosses Make In Performance Reviews : Eric Jackson
• 10 Secrets to an Effective Performance Review: Examples and tips… : Business Management Daily

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Once a goal is accomplished what happens next? Where do we go from here?  Is there a new project? An effective goal will eliminate these questions; it will allow people / employees to progress and develop constantly. When the goal is the motivator, productivity decreases, but when the work itself is the motivator productivity soars.

Repetitive goals cause employees to lose focus and motivation.  If a goal is merely being rephrased or tweaked to freshen it up, people will catch on. These ‘Automated Goals’ will destroy the work ethic of employees faster than you can imagine. This poor behavior is demonstrated by sales managers on a regular basis.  The speech goes something like this:

“So today we need to sell $X. There are 5 of you here today so you need to sell $Y each.”

There is nothing motivating about this at all. Sales professionals know what their jobs are. The primary function of the job is in the title: Sales. At the start of each day it’s safe to say that work will include selling. Most goals dealing with numbers silently hint that if you manage to reach X you can slow down or even stop. It does a company no good to condone this type of behavior. It is a much better practice to use goals to increase effectiveness.

A Goal should be used to promote new behavior, access employee potential, and explore new areas of development.

Think of goals as doorways to new possibilities. The best open the door completely and allow tons of room for fresh energy and development. The worst let you turn the handle, but slam shut on your ankle.  Goals should be a catalyst for employee action, not a limit on individual success.  They should springboard employees into action, not put a cap on progress.

Question: How would you change the way goals are used at your office?

If you feel like stuck with the way things are at work check out this post: Make Goals for Yourself.

Here are two great articles that deal with Gen Y in the workplace.

4 Tips for Millennials to Work Well with Boomers | CareerBliss.com

5 Strategies to Keep Your Gen Y Talent Happy | The Savvy Intern by YouTern

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Not everyone is as positive as you are. Just keep smiling.

It is a right of passage that each child must face. Answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It is insane to think a child, teenager, or twenty-something would possess the knowledge required to answer this question correctly. Without the proper experience and knowledge any answer to this question is a sure-fire, dead-in-the-water wrong answer. My father still tells me he doesn’t know what he wants to be when he grows up. I really like hearing this. It reminds me that life is a journey and we can change directions as often as we please.

There are some steps to take if you would like make sure you move in the right direction. Maybe it’s too much to presume these will lead you down a path to success. It is better to understand that these steps will increase your chance of success by understanding mistakes and learning from bad decisions. In the end, the more experiences you have, the better you will understand what you enjoy. Once you discover what makes you happy, you will be on your way to a more satisfying life. This is what you need to do.

Expose yourself to everything. Do not ignore or resist an opportunity to do something new. With each new experience you have a chance to discover your passion in life. I don’t mean you should literally do everything you possibly can. There is not enough time for that. Keep an open mind and don’t be too quick to say ‘No’ to a new idea.Keep a ‘Do Not Pursue’ list. This list should have everything you have tried and know you do not want to do again. This could be anything from digging holes to cold-calling to folding shirts. (These are all on my list.) Do not pursue a career or job that requires you to repeat an item on your list. Once you know you don’t enjoy something, why would you take a job that requires you to do it over and over again?

Think about what motivates you. What gets you excited? What makes you forget about your worries or stress? When something lights a fire inside you and ignites your passion it is special. You should spend time thinking about how to integrate that activity into your career.

Play, relax, unwind, and most importantly, don’t think about it all the time. You can drive yourself crazy if you try to answer this question as though it can be solved with calculation. This process might take most of your life. Don’t let that discourage you. If you follow these steps you will have more experiences than you can imagine right now.

Read a lot of books. You can open yourself up to opportunities left and right, but sometimes fate doesn’t come knocking at the door. A good book can keep your mind occupied during these dry spells. Books offer exposure to information and ideas that might not otherwise be available. You can get a copy of Steve Jobs’ biography for about $10, but you’ll never get to interview him. And getting a job with Apple can also prove extremely difficult. Books can put you in a world that might seem out of reach.

My hope is that these steps will help you on your journey to discover your passion. Stop worrying about the right answer and start moving in the right direction. Do not worry about what you cannot control. You will achieve much better results if you create change where you have the power to do so. The most important lessons are keep moving, do not settle, and keep learning. If you do, you’re guaranteed to be happier than you would be in your cubicle with your head down for the rest of your working days.

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Not everyone will get it.

Four qualities routinely belong to good workers; creativity, curiosity, motivation, and a thirst for knowledge. People with these qualities consistently think outside of the box. They have a passion to answer why and how. They do not need silly rewards to fuel greater effort. Lastly, they learn constantly and always want to learn more. These workers are often the people the boss does not worry about and so are able to work the way they please. This turns into a cycle of success. The more you succeed at work, the more freedom and power you have. Enough with the summary. Let’s attack the qualities one by one.

Creativity is the ability to see things differently. Creative people can attack problems from multiple angles and not be influenced by the obvious solution. Creative people don’t copy/paste. They are influenced by things, but always make something new and different. The trouble with creativity is that it can lead to a lot of bad ideas. The best creative people are thick-skinned and keep churning out ideas. And when one sticks, they keep churning away.

Curiosity is what drives people to explore. Curious people explore why and how something exists. Curious people don’t like repetition and investigate constantly. Some say curiosity killed the cat, but that’s just society trying to calm all the creative cats down. Curiosity can lead down a lot of dead ends, but that is half the fun. Curious people enjoy the chase. The chase for information can be very cruel, but also very kind.

Motivation is a powerful force. I’m talking about is intrinsic motivation. Intrinsically motivated people want to do more simply because it’s possible and not because of a dangling carrot or some other benefit. When a person is intrinsically motivated they will break their back to do great things The best part is that an intrinsically motivated person does more and better work for themselves, but the company, or business, receives benefits as well.

A thirst for knowledge is the most powerful quality of them all. When a person wants to learn they are constantly exercising all of the qualities listed above. These people read, explore, investigate, and ask questions. People with this quality take lessons from everything they do. They study psychology while they people watch in their local coffee shop. People like this constantly bring new ideas and concepts to an organization.

When a company finds someone with these qualities they typically grab them and hold on tight. The best thing a prospective employee can do is prove that they have these qualities. It’s easy to say you did it or can do it. It’s much more powerful to show that you do it. Show…Don’t Tell.

How can you prove that you have these qualities?

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It’s Never Easy.

Why is success so scary? Success is great. Success means you did it right. Success means it was worth it. Success leads to more success. If success is all of these things why don’t people try to accomplish it more often? Here are a few reasons.

If success is an option, failure is also an option. It’s not that people are afraid of being great. People are scared to death of being horrible. The good news is. All it takes is one successful idea to make all of the failures worth it, just ask Thomas Edison.

Success takes a lot of work. Creating anything takes work. Ideas, products, services; all of them take work to develop. Success is not for people who enjoy coasting in neutral. It’s for the people flying in fourth gear that drop-shift into third and pass everyone else.

There is no how-to book on success. Sure there are concepts and skills that lead to success, but there is no recipe book for originality. A carbon copy is not as good as the original. There is only one Instagram. Some have tried to copy their idea, but Instagram is still number one. Until another person or group creates a new concept for method for photo sharing Instagram will continue to lead the pack. Until you are original you will not be successful.

Success requires change. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of crazy. If you want to succeed you need to change the way you do things. The square block does not fit in the circle hole so throw out the square block or carve it into a circle block. Either way you need to change.

Success means that you have a bigger fall to the bottom. Once you’re at the top it’s a long way down. And remember, it’s when and not if. The good news is now you know what it takes to succeed. The bad news is that it won’t be any easier the second or third time around.

Now that we know what makes success so scary the next step is overcoming all of the obstacles. The worst case scenario, failure, isn’t that bad. Everyone fails, at least everyone that is trying to do something great. Don’t think of failure as an option. It will happen. And after it happens you know you’re a step closer to success. Good Days.

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The smart phone market came in with a bang and will leave…well…as soon as Google tells it to. Google has decided to take their next leap towards control of the internet by becoming an internet service provider. Google Fiber provides lightning speeds at a fraction of the cost of its main competitors. But the speed of Google Fiber is not what makes it so special. Google Fiber is building free wi-fi everywhere it goes.

At a glance this doesn’t seem like much and in rural areas this might be correct. In larger cities though, this wi-fi everywhere concept is going to kill the need for a cellphone. Who needs LTE when wi-fi is free and available everywhere? Sorry ATT, but I cannot wait to cancel my service. I don’t want a phone number either. It’s much easier to tell my friends to call me at my email address using a VoIP (Fancy abbreviation for a phone-call over the internet) application. And who do you think is going to be the next to big name in VoIP? I’m betting Google takes the Google Hangout mobile soon.

All of the sudden we will all have our calendar, contacts, social network, and communication platform all with one login. Thank you Google.

Now what happens in the rural areas? Google cannot create a wi-fi signal everywhere by only utilizing the setups in people’s homes? Remember that car that drives itself? Google is no stranger to road development. I’m betting the geniuses at Google have developed a wi-fi antennae that can easily be installed into a road system. Maybe it is built into the streetlights or signage. Those both seem like good answers but I think Google is going to blow us away with a new type of antennae altogether. Imagine a wire that acts an antennae. If those wires were placed in the asphalt or concrete of a road and the signal were strong enough to penetrate to the surface…BOOM! Is there a road where you’re at? Well guess what? You’ve got free wi-fi courtesy of Google.

As soon as Google Fiber is rolled out nationwide there are going to be huge changes for all smart devices. The major cellphone companies better have a survival plan when Google decides to make cell-phone towers obsolete. I’m most excited about having a single login that allows me to access everything. With a single username and password I will have access to wi-fi everywhere, Google calendar, contacts, Google+, and Google Hangouts. This service cannot come fast enough.

If any of the folks at Google would like to add another mind to the mission, feel free to send me a message and I’ll be happy to help.

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Selling Widgets takes a special kind of Stupid

After a meeting yesterday I was able to add another subject to my ‘Things I Don’t Want To Do’ list, Cold-Calling. I’ve been writing this list since I was a teenager and it has all sorts of things on it. The list allows me to remember things I have done and do not want to waste time pursuing because I now know I don’t like it.

I sat in a chair for 5 hours and made around 60-75 phone calls to strangers during a recent interview. I was told these people were target candidates for the company’s product. I know that cold-calling is a numbers game. You need to call 100 people in order to speak with 10 and you need to speak with 100 people to earn 1 sale. Now I know there are salesman that perform better than that, but I guarantee they are not cold-calling. They are researching or receiving referrals or doing something different from simply cold-calling people on a list. Or if they truly are cold calling then they have a product that everyone wants. Cheers to anyone that matches that last part.

When I was younger I was taught to not only work hard, but also work smart. Simple things such as the idea to set up your saw next to the pile of 2x4s so you don’t have to carry each board as far. If you think critically you can save yourself a lot of time and effort and still achieve great results.

While I was calling the strangers on my list, I kept thinking about how terrible this method of selling is. There must be a better way to let people know a product can help them. If the product truly does what it advertises then it should be fairly easy to build a following of customers. I will not invest in a company that generates sales by cold-calling customers. I will not invest money or, more importantly, my time.

I look at my experience as a learning process full of valuable information. I was given the opportunity to evaluate a job opportunity not only by reading a description, but by actually doing the job. Some of you might say I wasted five hours sitting at a desk calling strangers. I learned more during the time making those calls than I would have learned by reading job descriptions and reviews.

I enjoy being a salesman, but I want to sell a product that I KNOW will make a person’s life better. Most times my conscience supersedes my desire for a commission check. If I don’t believe a product will make you happy, or your life better; I don’t want you to buy it from me. Now I just need to figure out what IT is…

Are you a salesperson? Do you think cold-calling is a dying breed or has it evolved into something else?

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Trends are not the answer.

I have not been writing nearly enough. This blog will never grow unless I give it more attention. Well, that is half-true. I need to give it the right kind of attention. Last year I focused too much on what type of content I would post. That led to a lot of ideas, but not a lot of articles.  I brainstormed about what this site should be and how I should frame my content match certain categories. This type of attention was a huge waste of effort. This year I am going to focus on SHIPPING. This means I do not know what I will post here. I’m going to focus on pushing the publish button and ship my content to you.  I would like to record a music video for the song I wrote Niki a few years ago. I would like to write a few how-to lessons as I learn more about motorcycle maintenance. The point is, I am probably going to move in a lot of directions this year. You might like it, you might hate it, but at least I hit the publish button and you had the chance to see it. I hope you join me in figuring out what ‘IT’ is.  Thanks for reading.

What changes are you making this year?

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Information overload? Time for a diet.

I started my Three Book Diet at the beginning of this month and wanted to share the books I have chosen. In case you don’t know what the Three Book Diet is you can go over to Chris Brogan’s website to read more about it (The Three Book Diet). Basically, the Three Book Diet is an agreement with yourself that you will only read three books for the next year, over and over, so they really sink in.  The three books I’ll read for the next year are:

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by: Robert M. Pirsig
• How to Win Friends and Influence People – by: Dale Carnegie
• Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd – by: Youngme Moon

These three books will provide insights into four categories that I am always interested to learn more about. Together they cover philosophy, psychology, business, and personal development. I will be writing posts about each of the books. The posts will include quotes, ideas, and my general thoughts as I progress through my Three Book Diet.  I will update the posts as I read and reread each book.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is my philosophy book. It doesn’t hurt that a lot of the lessons and ideas are related to motorcycles. It refreshes me to read philosophy and let a simple idea take over my thoughts for a while. This book is rumored to unfold a little bit more each time you read it. This is great because I will probably read it three or four times this year.

How to Win Friends and Influence People is an oldy but goody. I cannot believe this will be my first time reading it. Business minds have been borrowing Carnegie’s ideas ever since it was first published in 1936. Concepts from this book show up in the headlines of Newsweek, The Huffington Post, and The Harvard Business Review each and every day.

Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd is a book that will help me with my brainstorming. It is extremely easy to be a copy-cat and improve or change someone else’s idea. It is extremely difficult to be original and generate something fresh and, for lack of a better word, different.

I highly recommend starting your own Three Book Diet. Take some time and choose three books that you would like to dive into. Choose a start date and read them for the next year. The most important part of the process is to DO something with the knowledge the books teach you. Chris Brogan has started the hashtag #3BD for all of us to share on Twitter.

It’s time for me to get some reading done. I’ll catch you on the flip-side. Good Days.

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Some people should not be bothered before they have their morning coffee.

My job does not require a lot a brain power. This might seem attractive to some of you, but it is also very dangerous. When you are alone with your thoughts for most of the day it can be hard to motivate yourself to grow and learn. Sometimes it’s too easy to play a few rounds of Words With Friends fill the gaps between customers.  I love a good game of Words With Friends, but it doesn’t keep the boredom at bay for long.  Some people have asked me how I keep from going crazy. Others have asked why my brain has not turned to mush.

Before I explain my thought process it’s important to note that I have had and still have days full of boredom. It might seem hard to believe but trust me, those days wear me out more than a full day of manual labor (I have experienced both so you can trust my judgement.)

My number one tool to battle boredom is Lists. I make lists for everything. Lists help me organize my thoughts. And since my lists are made of simple items I can easily jump from one to another when it is particularly difficult to focus on a single subject.

My number two weapon in the boredom battle is my notebook. I am a strong believer in the concept of ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it.’ Use your brain to think. When your brain thinks of something cool, write it down. Even if your brain thinks of something that’s not cool, write that down. I write down pages of junk before I get a good idea to move from pen to paper.

My third tactic against boredom is to read. Reading gossip magazines and twitter doesn’t count. When I have a break I read an article or a few pages of a book. Currently I’m working through Thinking Fast and Slow by: Daniel Kahneman.

Now that you know my recipe to keep boredom at bay, here are some links to buy some notebooks and read some articles. Don’t forget that the Amazon.com store on the right side of the screen is full of books that I have read and recommend.

Moleskin Notebooks – I’ve tried a lot of different types, but I keep coming back to the best.

Tentblogger.com – John Saddington started out with tutorials for bloggers and now he writes about startups and personal development.

ChrisBrogan.com – This guy knows what it takes and wants to help you figure it out.  Enough said.

ZenHabits.com – I use zen habits to maintain my stress free, no worries attitude.

Good Luck in your own battle against boredom. Good Days.

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