Connecting and Volcanos – My Two AHA! Moments This Week

Another great week with a class of incredibly talented AV geeks getting their CTS credentials.  This was another unique class because it was for a manufacturer, so the depth of knowledge in projection and image quality was unparalleled.  I learned a lot from this team of professionals.  Along the way I learned some things I didn't expect to learn.

In a couple of late night conversations with a very high executive in the company I was training, I was asked some very pointed questions and statements.  These conversations ended up hitting me in the core of who I am and what I am doing.  In this few days’ worth of time, I ended up learning more about myself than years of therapy.  The highlight of what I learned has to do with Connecting and the Volcano.

Connecting – One of our late night conversations was more of a question and answer session.  The executive I was talking with wanted to learn more about me and the company he was working with.  So he asked me a lot of questions. The question that hit me the hardest and made me realize I was on the right track with grAVITation TECHnologies was when he asked “what is it that you are trying to do, are you trying to make these people understand and learn the CTS topics and pass the test or are you trying to help them learn more about the industry and best practices?”  I thought for a second and answered. “Neither. I am trying to connect with them.”  As those words came out of my mouth I realized why I do what I do.  Yes, I love to learn and I love to share my knowledge.  Yes, I love to teach and see people improve. But, above those things, I love to connect with people.  My satisfaction comes from people coming up to me years after a class and telling me how I changed their life or their approach to something and how something I said stuck with them.  I love the idea that when I spend time with people in any environment (classroom, office or on the road) that I get to connect and we SHARE information and grow TOGETHER.  By answering that seemingly simple question, I learned (or reminded myself) more than I had realized in a long while.

The Volcano – As our discussions went on, the executive I was talking to referred to me as a Volcano.  I took this as a compliment because I see volcanos as powerful.  I also liked this statement because the result of volcanos erupting can be beautiful; tropical islands and luscious and fruitful lands.  It wasn't until I got home and pondered what he was trying to tell me.  I now think that I learned a small bit of what he was trying to say (and I am sure there is much more to this).  I ended up contemplating on this a lot more and even doing some research.  I realized that this new friend was telling me that I have a balance of many talents and traits (like the volcano has all the elements: earth, wind, fire, water and air).  The challenge someone like me faces is that I can be forceful and dominant in letting go of these elements at times.  The result is not the island paradise I was hoping, but a wasteland and destruction.  The beautiful paradise takes a long time of rebuilding.  However, If I hold back and allow the forces to remain in balance and only release in small doses when the time is right and only when I need to show appropriate passion about key things, then people will get from me what they need and I will get what I need - connections.  If we continue to consider the actual volcano as the metaphor here, there are many beautiful cities that exist near active (although dormant) volcanos.  I believe this is because the inhabitants gain much more than they perceive the risk to be.  I learned that I may have the force of a volcano I must learn to control that force and remain dormant (and control the eruptions) so that I can provide a luscious and fruitful area around me. Otherwise, the volcano can destroy the environment. 

Who knows?  I could be completely off on what my new friend was trying to relay to me, but the good thing is, it doesn't really matter.  I took what I could from it and learned something and hopefully I will grow a little more because of the week I spent contemplating connections and volcanos.

My Incredible Week with the Industry’s Best and Brightest - USAV APEX

What did you do last week?  Did you take on a big and challenging project or find a new million dollar customer?  I still think I can top that.  I spent my week with some of the industry’s top integration firms’ and manufacturers’ best and brightest operating executives and next generation leaders.  Was there a secret InfoComm or NSCA meeting?  No.  I was at the USAV APEX Integrator’s Summit.  We spent the week in awesome seminars, group discussions, panel briefings, technology showcases and social events.  In this blog you will find some of the highlights from this great week.

THE PEOPLE:  First I want to share a little about the people I spent the week with.  I would like to do this from a different angle than usual.  So, here goes: I spent my week with some amazing people.  I spent dinner with an awesome proud father of a downs syndrome son.  This father was one of the most driven project/program managers I know and to learn that his home life is so challenged taught me more about how driven and caring this man is than I ever knew.  I sat at lunch with an inventor that holds 3 patents.  This same man was so intent on listening to what others had to say and so willing to learn from others you would have never known that he himself was one of the best instructors our industry has to offer.  I sat in a session and learned about new ways of thinking from the fashion industry (really, the fashion industry?) and I learned an awful lot from this session and this instructor was awesome (and as an instructor myself, you know I don’t say that very often).  At yet another dinner, I sat with someone who built their own video walls 15 years before ANY manufacturer ever build one.  I spent time with a couple of AV/IT firms that are well down the road of converging their AV and IT departments.  These companies confirmed for me that the investment in people and showing loyalty matters.  They care for their people and care how their people progress in life.  This investment pays off in dividends with returned loyalty and unmatched service to their customers.  I also spent time with a few family owned businesses and learned more and more about the passion that goes behind starting, owning and running a business of passion instead of profit.  From this group of people, I learned more about the passion in this industry than any big trade show or big stage keynote speaker could have ever taught me.  I was blessed to be with some of the industry’s most passionate people who were willing to share their knowledge and insights.

THE PROGRAMS:  During these meetings and training sessions we discussed the major programs and support that the USAV Group offers its members and how the members support each other.  This was another huge lesson for me.  The way this group leverages the collective knowledge and experience amazes me.  USAV as a whole is of one character.  The executives from the group have clearly gone through a painstaking process in selecting their group members, in that, every member is of a very similar character.  With this, the group as a whole emotes one collective message – we care and we share.  I learned from this group that there is such a thing as healthy competition.  By the nature of the business these businesses are competitive, but these particular companies have found a common ground where they can share information, methods and best practices for the betterment of each other and the industry.  With this collective mindset, they are able to share resources across the country and throughout North America.  The big lesson I learned here is that as a group these integrators are much stronger, smarter and more effective than if they were working separately.  I am proud that they allowed me to be part of their meeting and their group.

What a week.  My only complaint about the whole week was that although I did take third place in the bowling contest, I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t a prize for overall bowling high score or fastest ball.  But, in all seriousness, I love learning and I love being in great company, so this was the perfect week.  Was this week better than completing a huge project or finding a million dollar customer?  You bet it was!!!

Back-to-School

What perfect timing!

The same day that I had the awesome pleasure of being in front of a best and brightest class of 22 CTS candidates from the Atlanta market of the AV industry, my 5 year old grandson started his first day of kindergarten.  Today we both had a great day of back-to-school.  Once again, I was reminded why I love what I love doing.  Being a consultant and trainer allows me to blend passion and profit.  Passion is the most important part of that equation.  I imagine standing in front of a class of professionals that are looking to further their careers gives me the same nervous joy that a new kindergarten student feels on his first day of school.

Today our family was doubly blessed.   We are once again reminded that doing what you love is what really matters in life.  The message I really want to share here is the message I received from seeing my grandson in the photos today and the message I received from my class today.  The message from both my class and my grandson was one in the same: "always find the joy in learning.

"Back-to-School is such an exciting time because it helps us to remember that life-long learning is challenging and tough but it is also fun and exciting.  It should be looked at how the kindergartener looks at the first day of school; with wide-eyes and seeing nothing but the opportunity and fun.  If we approach just about any situation with the right expectations then at least 50% of the outcome is already determined and that outcome can be awesome.  Given the opportunity, we should sign-up for all of the training and professional development opportunities we can.  And while you are at it, why not sign up with grAVITation TECH? www.grAVITAtionTECH.com

Happy learning! - Max

With Collaboration The Shoe Maker’s Kids Will No Longer Go Barefoot

There is an encouraging shift happening in the AV Integration industry.  This shift is happening at the integrator level and at the manufacturer representative level.  If you are a not a part of it, you will absolutely need to be or you will be left behind – barefoot and in the cold.  This shift illustrates the importance of living according to principles or a code.

The principles or codes I am referring to are:

1. Anything worth doing is worth doing right.  If you are going to show and tell a customer about something, show them in the right setting and show it in its best light.
2. If I believe something is going to be good for your business, it must be good for mine first. This means I won’t try to sell you anything I am not willing to use myself.  If I want to encourage you to use my product, it had better be something my organization uses to better our business.
3. Those who don’t know, teach - is a dead wrong principle. The only way to truly share information and knowledge is through experience.  If you have not lived the joys of having collaborative technologies solved your pains, you will never truly be able to relay the message of how it can do so.

In the case of collaboration, this means the ability to demonstrate the way it works for your company to improve business and it needs to integrate seamlessly.  Over the last decade or so, I have served as a national trainer and in a national business development role.  I have to tell you that you would be amazed at how many AV/IT systems integration firms, including ones I've worked for, do not use collaborative tools in their daily operations and do not have a decent demonstration facility.  These shoe maker’s kids are going barefoot.  The good news is that this is now changing though.  Now, as I travel around consulting and training with my new company, I am finding more and more companies upgrading their demonstration facilities and their internal processes and operations to include collaborative and unified communications solutions.

Dos and Don’ts of Making the Shift from Barefoot Shoemaker to Wearing Italian Leather Versace:

DO:

• Fund and resource your Demo Facility as if it were a customer project
• Stick to the schedule, require change orders, no cannibalizing, etc.
• Assign an owner of the project/room (briefing center program manager)
• Go through the full needs analysis rather than just slapping together all the free gear
• Consider the functionality of the room first then determine the equipment
• Yep, seems redundant from the one above, it’s important!
• Use the room; this is not a museum.  Demonstrations must be well practiced and natural.

DO NOT:

• Treat your demo facility as a lab (nothing gets swapped without proper change orders)
• Do not test equipment or code in this room. Let manufacturers determine what goes in the room (users decide through a needs analysis)
• If demos of new equipment are to be done in the room, it should be done through guest interfaces.  Do not “take apart the room for equipment demos from new manufacturers.”
• Try to show everything in one space (it is important that the room have function first)
•  Having a single room do too much makes it confusing to demonstrate and makes it confusing to the customer.  Even using “vignettes” is risky.
• Simulate – if you are demonstrating global videoconferencing or collaboration, do not simulate a videoconferencing with someone by doing it from room to room.  Customers catch on quickly and will keep that concern locked in the back of their mind.  Demonstrate the capability from out of the gate.

The bottom line is that when we are willing to change a behavior and show our customers that we believe in what we are telling them, they are more likely to follow our lead.  Along with that, there is a huge value in showing the value in your solutions and not just telling or presenting them.  If collaboration and unified communications are what you are selling then what better way to show the merits and value for their use than implementing them in your business?

I use the analogy of the cell phone kiosk in the mall.  I love the fact that at such a kiosk, if you were to buy a cell phone, they activate it for you by picking up a land-line and placing a call to an office and providing their head office the information needed to activate the phone.  Wait! They call their head office using a land-line to activate your cell phone???  How much confidence does that instill?  Are you doing the same thing when you invite your customer to your office to show them collaboration and unified communications and your systems are not integrated and are aged and slapped together?  Time to “get your shoes on.”

The ‘living up to your principles and code’ is part of the MENTOR key from the 7 Keys to Selling Like Leonardo from the book Da Vinci Sales by Max Kopsho.  Pre-order your copy today at www.davincisales.com or book your Da Vinci Sales Seminar at www.grAVITationTECH.com.

"So What?" Selling - Asking All the Right Questions

Ask yourself these questions so your customers never have to.

Among many attributes, it takes humility, an inquisitive nature and great listening skills to be a good salesperson. Those attributes seem almost obvious, right? Okay, I'll give you that. I think what takes a little more thought and may not be as obvious is the inquisitive nature requires more than just a curiosity about how things work, how people interact and how to creatively solve problems. You also need to constantly wonder what other people are wondering, especially what your customers are wondering. This is why I titled this blog "So What?" Selling. You need to be constantly asking yourself, "So What?" You should be doing this as if your customer is the one who actually is the one is asking it. So every time you mention a product feature or new channel program you should hear your customer's voice saying "So What?" Every time you tell your customer about a new technology or a new solution you need to assume they are thinking "So What?"

Your meetings with your customers will be at least 10X more productive if you spend time before the meeting rehearsing what your approach is going to be based on the research you have done on the customers pains and buying process. You can then focus your rehearsal around knowing the answers to their "So Whats?" The customer will thank you for not wasting their time. Notice that I assume you research the pains and buying process for the buyers prior to your meeting. I also assume you are meeting with buyers (decision makers) and that you rehearse your meeting. I have done countless sales presentations and training and I still rehearse almost every time to some degree.

Using the "So What?" method allows you to get to the three core questions sooner in the sales meeting / conversation. For this, you should have answers to these three core questions prepared before the meeting ever starts:

1. Why do something? Have you given the customer a compelling reason for action? Have you made the customer realize a pain or competitive disadvantage he/she wasn't aware of? This is sometimes a tough one to remember because when you are passionate about your products or solutions. They seem like a no brained solution and you may forget that you need to make a compelling presentation or "argument" for it to your customers. Not everyone sees the obviousness of the value of the solutions you provide as you do. You need to pretend that the customer knows nothing of our business and that they are always saying "So What?" This just happened to me when I was telling people about grAVITation TECH. To me, it was so obvious that our industry needed training that I didn't need a clear value statement, but my customer needed to hear it from me. I can't tell you how many lessons I've learned from my customers.

2. Why do something now? Have you convinced your customer of the urgency of the situation? Have you even tried to? Or did you just go with the customer's budget and timing? One of the keys to " So What?" Sales (part of the Da Vinci Sales model) is to assign urgency for the customer. You need to guide the customer in setting the expectations and understanding of the timeline. They need to have an understanding of the detrimental impact of waiting to implement your solution. By showing the customer the cost of not doing anything or delaying action, you assign urgency to the implementation of your solutions. Whether it is a continued lack or lessened productivity or loss of customers because of perceived lack of innovation (example being not invested in collaborative solutions), these examples need to be shown in strategic, political (competitive landscape), financial or cultural terms. These are the areas that people of power (decision makers) are focused. There are many ROI, TCO, ROO and other top end calculators (free from vendors in our industry) out there to use for this purpose.  These are typical in selling to C-Level people, but they are helpful in making the business case and showing your strategic literacy when working with all types of key decision makers.

3. Why do it with you? Have you made the compelling case for the customer to select you as a business partner? Sure people do business with people they like but that is after all the other things are said and done. And by the way, no sales person has a relationship quota. It is great if you make a lot of friends out there but you need business partners more. So have you given the customer the compelling reasons to do business with them? These reasons have more to do with the people, programs and processes within your organization. Have you given the customer reason to believe that your people will take care of them after the sale and that your programs and processes match their needs and wants? Make sure that you talk with their purchasing, operations and support teams to see what types of programs and processes you need to offer to support the after the sale "So Whats?" and make sure that is included in your offer up front. The whole idea is to answer the “So Whats?” before they are ever asked.

Just imagine that there is a little version of your customer sitting on your shoulder. That little version of your customer is there while you are rehearsing in the mirror the night before or while you are driving on your way to the big meeting. He/she is there saying: "SO WHAT, SO WHAT, SO WHAT?!?!?!" If you remember that, you are half way to the big sale. Remember, half the outcome is determined by the preparation. Keep listening to that "SO WHAT, SO WHAT, SO WHAT?!?!?!" Have your answers ready and you'll knock them dead!

"So What" Selling, is part of the Da Vinci Sales model. You can read more about Da Vinci Sales in the upcoming book by Max Kopsho. Pre-Order today at www.davincisales.com or book a Da Vinci Sales Seminar at www.grAVITationTECH.com.

The Three BE’s of Moving from TECH to SALES

How many sales people do you have that transitioned from technical staff into sales?  How many of those people had proper sales training?  How many of your sales staff has had any formal sales training for that matter?   Does it matter?  Of course it matters.  Back a while ago in my blog I recalled the following: there is an interesting cartoon recirculating around social media where two business men are conversing and one says, “what if I train my employees and then they leave?”  The other responds, “what if you don’t train them, and they stay?"  This illustrates one of the toughest dilemmas in personnel management.  I think we can agree that employee development is very important and a good management practice.  The dilemma is when you do support your employee and their growth and they end up growing beyond the needs of your company?  How do you address this?  The key is to remember that at the core of the issue these two seemingly conflicting paths are in fact very much aligned.  In this blog I outline the complex issues that come with transitioning from tech to sales.  The bottom line is that sales people need training and techs transitioning to sales need it even more.

This article is also for the many people who are now being required to make the transition from tech to sales.  There are a myriad of reasons for having to make this transition: tech bench work is going away; earning potential is higher in sales; the needs of the business has changed; etc.   If you are making that transition, you should read this just to get an idea of what you should and should not focus on.

First we should define what ‘technical’ is.  Technical is anything that is not soft skill.  Administration, operations, design, engineering, install, service, customer service, IT and so on are all technical.  We often limit ‘technical’ to people who are wrench turners and code writes, but remember if you work a process, write checks or other similar jobs you are technical too.  This article is for you as you transition to sales.

I am currently in the final stages of writing my book and it will soon be published (October 2014).  The book is titled– the Art and Science of Da Vinci Sales.  The subtitle is The 7 Keys to Selling Like Leonardo (How to Move from Tech to Sales for People Who Hate Selling).  You can find more information at www.davincisales.com.  The core theme of this book is making the successful and lucrative transition from a tech focused life to sales and doing so without selling out.  What does it take for a technical person to be successful in sales?  In this blog I will just talk about 3 steps to begin or refocus your transition.  You will have to contact me to schedule a seminar or buy the book when it comes out to get the 7 Keys to Selling Like Leonardo to completely answer this question.

Making the transition requires the three BE’s:

Be True to Yourself:

Don’t try to emulate a salesperson as you understand them or that you see in your organization.  People buy from people they like and nobody likes a phony.  If you are faking your personality or pretending to be someone you are not just to ‘act’ like a sales person, your customers and partners will see right through it.  That boisterous egotistic sales attitude works for some because that is who they really are and their customers are gravitating toward the fact that the sales person is being genuine not that the person is slimy or slick.  We may read it that way, but that statistics show that the ‘used car salesman’ is successful not because he is a tricky person, but because he is confident in whom he is and comfortable enough with whom he is to stay true to that person with everyone he meets.  Stay the same person you are, all that needs to change is your activity and some of your goals and targets, not your personality.

Believe in Your Products and Solutions:

If you are selling fur-lined sinks (sinks that have a fur lining) or fur-bearing, egg-laying, milk-producing pigs or any number of products or solutions, you have to believe in them to sell them well.  Sure, those products don't make much sense, but if you believe in them you can sell them.  Don’t get me wrong you can get away with convincing people to buy stuff without really believing in it, but that is usually short lived.  If we look back to what step 1 says, when you are true to yourself your customer can tell. When you believe in what you sell you are being true to yourself.  You are emotionally invested in your products and solutions and your customers can tell.  If you do not believe in what you sell you have a choice to make.  You have to learn to believe in what you sell or sell something else.

Be a Trusted Advisor:

You need to leverage the fact that you were a technical person.  Just because you are making the transition to sales doesn't mean you are no longer a technical resource for your customers.  If you were to ask a large group of people who consider themselves strictly sales people and have little technical background what they would like to do to improve their career, most would respond that they would like to get more technical training.  You, as a former technician turned sales, have an advantage in sales.  Do not let go of that advantage.  Most sales training programs teach sales people to work on becoming a trusted advisor to their customers.  With your technical background, you are and can remain a trusted advisor.  Stay current on emerging technologies and keep your certifications up to date.

My book, Da Vinci Sales, goes into much more detail on how to make this transition.  I also have a 3-day boot camp for technical people to make the transition to sales and a 1 day seminar.  I am available now for your company to book one of these sessions.  Contact me at max@grAVITationTECH.com.  A career in sales is a very rewarding and an extremely fun one for technical people.  I have had the pleasure of working in sales for a long time and I have enjoyed it immensely – even though I hate ‘sales people’(hopefully you sales people know what I mean when I say that - because you know I love you if you are problem solvers instead of 'sales people')

Happy Selling,

Max

P.S.  By the way; Eskimos do need ice cubes, so what is that all about?....

Snatching the Pebble – InfoComm 2014

InfoComm 2014 is now my favorite InfoComm of all time.  Although InfoComm 2010 is a close second, since it is the year that I won Educator of the Year and that I saved a stranger from choking to death at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse by using the Heimlich Maneuver.  So, how did 2014 beat 2010?  2014 is the year that Grasshopper snatched the pebble from the Master’s hand.  At InfoComm 2014, I watched my daughter present her first (of hopefully, many) seminars at InfoComm.  She helped with a panel of experts on AV/IT Security.  Now, I may have a slightly skewed opinion, but I think she stole the session.  Below is the lesson I learned from her and one I think we can all take something away from:

It was during the Q and A portion of the presentation and one of the attendees asked a very pointed and compelling question.  The question had to do with why they should go through all of the trouble and added expense in offering IT security in their bid response when it isn't specifically asked for in the RFP and none of the other respondents are offering it.  The question led toward the conclusion that responding simply adds expense and complexity that burdens the cost and doesn't offer return on investment (in terms of increased profit).  Each of the panel members gave great technical responses having to do with the need for IT security and the responsibility technology providers have in this area.  But, my daughter Amanda’s answer was in the form of an analogy that at first didn't seem to fit.  Amanda started off talking about as a U.S. Marine, when two Marines are competing for the same spot in a unit (or a promotion) they are put in the middle of a circle of Marines.  These two Marines are left to grapple it out (wrestle).  The winner gets the job (promotion).  Amanda then brought the analogy home.  She asked “why not think of IT Security as your choke hold”.  IT Security is your move to “choke your competition out” so that you win the job.  Wow, it took breaking it down to a simple wrestling match, to remind me that when all is said and done we are competing for work.  It is not a simple equation of determining whether or not we are making enough margin or not, but whether we can “choke out” the competition.  After all, it will come down to you losing or you winning; you can choke them out or get choked out.

This brings to light a bigger issue that we need to be reminded of - How would you define your competition?  If you use words like: healthy, friendly, play well together, not really in the same business, etc. than you are sadly mistaken.  If you believe your competition is healthy or friendly you are confused.  We as competitors may be cordial and professional, but it is competitive.  We need to always think in terms of winning and losing.  Sure, play fair, do what is right, but win.  Play to win.  Choke out your competition and the only way you can choke out your competition is to have a winning (choke out) move.  This week we taught some people how to make IT Security their (choke out) move.  It doesn't matter what your move is.  Just have a move and do it better than anyone else.

You must play to WIN!