After two years of corona lockdowns, and when hightech has taken on an even greater importance in the domestic economy, is there still a role for business mentoring in Jerusalem?
This week, I have been writing a series of posts for LinkedIn on business coaching and mentoring. I have explored core issues such as the role of the mentor, how to find a suitable candidate and what are the potential benefits.
Today, it can seem that everything is so instant. If you have a problem, ‘google’ the solution and someone will deliver it within an hour. Just launch a marketing campaign on social media and your sales will leap forward in a jiffy. Simple, eh!
The reality is frequently otherwise. CEOs and decision makers are inundated with so much info that it is hard for them to reach a conclusion and then also act on them with authority.
And this is where the business coach / business mentor suddenly becomes so necessary, allowing the client to see the wood for the trees.
I woke up this morning to find an unsolicited compliment on my WhatsApp feed. It was from a geek in her branch of tech, yet slightly clumsy when it comes to interpersonal relations. I am enhancing her reach to create a social media strategy, plugging her achievements in Jerusalem and in Europe. The initial bait was a conference in the USA. Her blogs have called on interested parties to DM her. And guess what? They have done so!
Then this afternoon, an upcoming food distributor just blurted out in the the middle of our zoom conversation how I “have really helped” him to grow his business.
Pardon the messages of self-congratulation.
What I am saying is that business mentors, by asking and the right questions and by challenging the seemingly obvious – can boast sales just as much as a 60 second glance on Google. Contact me to learn how.
To receive your free 20-minute consultation with Michael (in English or Hebrew), call on 052 344 8453, or send an email to michaelhoresh@iib.ws
While you are here, look over this blog that I prepared for my customers.
Addressing StartMeUpHK – Pitch event for startups
Corona has been with us for nearly a year. As a business coach and mentor, not one of my clients has shut down during that time. And I have even on-boarded several during 2020, who have registered new enterprises.
Is there a magic formula to their success?
If we look back to the end of the winter earlier this year, economies around the world went into panic mode. In Israel, the core government action was to try to make loans available. In other words, the politicians came up with a plan to beat debt ……. by encouraging small business owners to take on more debt!
As one cash-strapped CEO observed to me, you should only take on a loan if you know how (and when) you are going to pay it off. The time of corona has taught us once again just how little certainly there is in commerce.
To state the obvious, there had to be another way from the direction of Jerusalem central government. During 2020, many of my clients adopted three basic principles. As a package, these measures have allowed their operations first to survive and then to go on to develop new sales’ channels.
So what can your team learn from these experiences?
KEEP SELLING
Sounds obvious, no? Recall the woeful sight of the owner of a shoe shop in Tel Aviv just throwing his stock on the pavement and telling people to take. They would not even leave 20 shekels for an item. If you are contemplating giving stock away for free, there has to be an alternative.
I point to tour guides, who from the get-go embraced the suggestion that they offer virtual tours. I recall the book shop that brought forward plans to set up a website. I am working with a boutique fashion operation that established a VIP service. They meet with customers on a one-by-one basis and thus maintain social distancing.
You have a business. You have something to sell. Go find a medium so that your customers will run back to you.
KEEP ADVERTISING
Again, this may sound dumb. Actually, I am staggered how few business owners appreciate that this is the time, when your customers want to hear from you. They need to know that ‘you have got their back’, now more than ever. They may not buy on the spot, but your are building up kudos points for later on. For example, the quick-thinking gymnasiums have been creating online classes for their members. I have a number of clients in the medical / wellness business, who spent time phoning or emailing their own clients base.
One of the most encouraging stories I heard came from El Al, a company which is arguably positioned in the heart of the industry most impacted by corona. And they have a pretty dodgy reputation at the best of times. The airline was bought out during the summer. One of the initial decisions of the new owners was to guarantee repayment of prepaid tickets for flights that had been cancelled. I value that commitment.
STAY FOCUSED
Your business is founded on core skills and the ability to deliver. Those strengths do not disappear just because of a bat-related virus.
It is not just high-tech companies on international stock exchanges that have been doing well. Building contractors and design companies cannot stop selling. Wealth management practices have been flooded with clients. Where is your mojo?
Have a look at Bizzaabo. They design technologies for international conferences. They could have panicked back in February, when their market evaporated. Instead, they pivoted, creating “a platform that would have 10 functions that were until then in the hands of 10 different suppliers’. They have since raised US$138 million.
You are in business to sell. I coach executives to test and improve their business model, consistently. Corona has only sharpened that message – for all of us.
I have provided mentoring, coaching and consulting services for 15 years to a range of industries. To learn more about how I can transform your business, call on 0523 448453, or via michaelhoresh@iib.ws
Other blogs can be found on my website, via this link
First customer of the week, and she begins to talk about how she failed in trying to rope in a new client for themselves. Oh the pain!
Sunday morning, and straight to work for your biz mentor and coach.
So I asked her about what and how specifically she had failed. We agreed that she had not achieved. She agreed with the comment from Jay Shetty that failure is more often than not just another opportunity to try again. And the anxiety levels dropped off a touch.
I explained that the opposite of success is not necessarily failure. In fact, it is rarely failure.
What is the opposite of success? Look “it” up. Because according to one website, there are 436 answers – that’s correct four hundred and thirty six antonyms.
The chances, my reader, are that you are like my customer. Which leaves me with a burning question for you? Why is your automatic default – especially in business – when something goes wrong, that you see it as a “failure moment”? Why?
About 18 months ago, I gave a talk at a large conference near Tel Aviv of owners of SMEs. The subject was why they should consider hiring a business mentor.
For many of these people, they consider a mentor as just another expense. After all, how can an outsider known their business better than themselves?
I drew an analogy to the world of sport. In athletics, football, swimming and the rest, there are many, many, many naturally talented human beings. Yet just about all of them have a coach.
Why? Because that extra voice and set of eyes have an experience that is able to bring the best out of others. Coaches and mentors have a special, somewhat undefined, skill that adds so much more to the achievements of the client.
It is the same in business. Sometimes, in order to get over that finishing line, you need an additional head and pair of hands, and there is nothing to be embarrassed about by admitting it.
To understand further what I mean – and to examine my table tennis skills – have a look at this video.
Yesterday, a guy turned up 44 minutes late for a one-off 60 minute business coaching session in Jerusalem. He had taken the wrong bus and was thus badly delayed.
He asked to reschedule. I took one look at him and made an immediate, potentially cruel, assessment. I denied his very legitimate request.
Over the next 3 minutes, I coached him into delivering short targeted elevator pitches that he was not used to uttering. he became empowered. I then asked him why he had requested a one-off session. Over the following 10 minutes, I shared with him a series of bespoke pieces of advice, all the time encouraging him to share more information about his commercial issues.
16 minutes later (and another three for good measure), he walked out of the room confused, shaken and delighted. My assessment had been correct. He had been too protected for too long. It was time for a shake up.
To be blunt: It was time to show him that he is allowed to announce what he is trying to achieve and how this will make his community a better place.
The nightmare of the wrong bus journey had been eradicated (almost) and replaced with hope. That delay had (bizarrely) given his 60 minute meeting an added dimension and purpose.
Jay Shetty’s latest video focuses on this very point. For most of us, a delay is a hardship or even a punishment. Actually, it is often an opportunity for us – to think deep, to appraise and to assess, and then to change.
I look forward to seeing my client in a couple of weeks to see what has happened. And yourself….?
It is one of those subjects that keeps coming up with my clients. How can they lock on and retain their better employees, even when pay rises are not available?
One obvious way is to call somebody in for a chat. Talk about all the good things they are doing. Chuff them up. However, this perfectly obvious solution, is not so perfect in itself. According to James Adonis, an expert on employee engagement:
Research shows the majority of performance appraisals have zero impact on performance. One reason for this is that appraisals are often laborious. When both employees and managers dread them, they can’t ever be effective.
Adonis goes on to point out that few receive a 100% score card. What is important to note is whether the final score is handed to somebody, who feels that they will not achieve the top result, or to a colleague who understands that have outperformed most others. If the latter, that person will probably continue to do well.
Adonis offers some advice for handling employees in either category. A common theme between the two groups is the need for a senior manager or owner to ask questions. They should show that they are genuinely engaged and that they care. They will also be able to find out work makes a person ‘tick’, thus allowing them to manage the expectations of colleagues.
Personally, I find that there is a further issue that is all too often forgotten by employers. They are required to find a method that allows their employee to feel that they are respected; that they are valued. In the past few weeks, I have seen two key workers in the Jerusalem area just up and leave, the energy and innovation previously sucked out of them by superiors seeking more while withholding positive feedback.
And had they been handed an extra few percent as a bonus or a monthly salary increase, it would not have done it for them. They had been shoved around for too long. In other words, they simply could no longer bear the thought of coming into work every day. How depressing!
I suspect that many readers may find the last two paragraphs a touch obvious. So, here is the challenging question: Why is it that we hear about such stories all the time? And, if we are really honest with ourselves, how often have we also been guilty of such crimes and lack of consideration?
To be blunt, if you invest in a few minutes of showing your appreciation, it may save a fortune compared to the cost of replacing an employee.
I often have the feeling that when I sit down with a client for a session of business mentoring or coaching, they seem to expect that I am going to click my fingers and their worries will disappear into cupboard – just like in a Mary Poppins film. Add in the magical spiritual air of Jerusalem, where my office is located, and surely it has to be as simple as that?
They may sound a little arrogant, but that is how life can appear from my side of the table. Naturally, the truth is very different. However, what I do like is to post occasionally on twitter eminently helpful blogs from alternative sources that can inspire the CEOs of the small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs), who form an integral part of my working day.
What follows are three typical examples of what I mean:
Let us start with Facebook. First, the scope of this medium often escapes leaders of SMEs. They do not have time for the game. As I am used to hearing, cash flow and problem solving come first. What they are missing was succinctly explained to me yesterday by an Israeli expert in just one case study. By carefully defining the target market and launching a new video, he has provided over a dozen quality leads for a single Jerusalem restaurant in less than a month.
The changing rules of social media in 2018 were set out in a blog by Adam Hutchinson a couple of weeks ago. “Share all” on face book or a few extra stats no longer cut it. Paid ads, although the “P” word can sound painful to those on a tight budget, are the clever and brave way to go.
My second pick comes from Spencer Waldron, one of Israel’s marketing gurus. He has just written a worringly obvious blog entitled “6 storytelling mistakes to avoid“. As I commented back to him, what concerns me is the fact that while none of the points are spectacularly new, business leader after business leader repeat these faux pas. After all how many of us set off for a conference, expecting to be delivered a sleeping pill?
Here lies a clear takeaway for a business owner. Whether in a one-on-one session or addressing a larger audience, have something interesting and personable to say. Ensure that you stand out!
Finally, there is that well-worn adage that we must expect to fail in order to succeed. It is astounding how many people think that the opposite of success is failure, when that linkage only applies in a narrow context. Nick Foles, who led the Eagles to victory in the Superbowl, took the subject of failure one notch higher in a post match interview.
When you look at a struggle in life, that is just an opportunity for your character to grow…..If something is going on in your life, embrace it.
Just about every owner of a small organisation knows that leading and managing present a wealth of daily challenges. It is tough. However, as Noles has demonstrated, that is your very chance to do your best and to triumph.
Over the next few weeks, I have been asked to give several talks in the Jerusalem area on the theme of setting up a new business. And as I have put together the presentations, one strong central theme comes through. Can you make the impossible possible?
Psychologists teach us that starting anything new is not easy. However much you plan ahead – market strategy, cash flow, team recruitment, et al – a new enterprise is full of unknowns. One single unforeseen event, such as an unexpected change in government policy or a new local competitor, and all that prior effort could be seen as irrelevant. Time to give up?
Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake… We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.
There is a sporting equivalent. Matthew Syed, writing this week in the Times of London, discussed how we can become so much stronger, almost ironically, at the moment when adversity is striking us (literally?) in the face. Arguably like a new commercial enterprise, Syed states that:
When you walk into an arena, you are naked. If you have weaknesses, they are likely to be exposed. If your resolve is lacking steel, it is likely to fray just when you need it most.
Syed goes on to cite specific cases of sporting heroes who initially dived, such as Andy Murray who was humiliated by Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2012. And Michael Jordan made a video of his defeats, so that he could succeed even faster.
As a business coach and mentor, I am often called in by those, whose ventures are struggling in their initial stages. I find that very often, they know what needs to be done to alter course towards achievement, but they lack that extra layer of confidence. I would suspect that some call this resilience. And that is where an outside voice can show them that they have what it takes.
However, they have to learn to dig oh so deep to find it. That is the point when they stop allowing the seemingly impossible to get in their way and when the business begins to thrive.
The first week of 2018 has been a challenging one for my clients. Several of those who have braved to venture into my office in Jerusalem have been forced to come up with some specific targets for the coming twelve months….and then create an action plan to reach the goal. Not so simple as it sounds.
While this is a fairly common strategy for us business mentors and coaches, I was prompted into enforcing this line approach by two very different items that came my way recently. First, Dr. Robert Brooks wrote a fascinating piece, arguing that it is never too late to set ourselves challenges. Although he did not say so, I could add this is something we should be able to apply as managers and business owners.
And then I was privileged to watch an mazing documentary entitled “Impossible Dreamers”. It revealed how pensioners in the USA, right into their 90s, wake up every morning to run, walk, or swim competitively. They seek to break records every time they hit their sporting arena.
Back in my office, I have offered these inspiring stories to my clients. Set a target. If the target is too timid, I encourage them to raise it significantly. No excuses permitted.
What is interesting to observe is the frequent push back that I receive. It is a sense of panic, almost as if they have been “instructed” or conditioned never to go beyond what others had once defined as acceptable. Yes, you could have once cast me in that category as well.
A typical objection is the ‘what if’ statement. What if I reach that extra level of sales, then this, that and the other bad thing will happen. Of course they might be right, but I explain to them that those problems can be solved downstream, not today. Either you stay where you are with low sales and thus poor profits but relative safety – the proverbial comfort zone, or you can move upwards. CHOOSE!
To be practical, let me suggest the following four steps. First, identify what income you really want to take out of your business. Second, calculate those sales that are required to drive that income. Third, create the resource model – staff, hours, advertising, etc – that will deliver your target. If the business model is sound, investing in additional equipment or whatever should not be a problem.
Finally….do not be put off by the challenges involved. Only you are the one who can define the meaning of the word “possible”. May 2018 be a year of success, health and happiness for you and those around you.
In recent weeks, I have come across an interesting pattern with some of my clients. They do not seem to have a set goal, a financial target. When challenged, they even show resistance to the idea. As a business coach and mentor, I have been intrigued to find out why.
First, let me take a step back. The Facebook page of Goalcast often throws up some inspiring videos. A classic example is the boy who stuttered, grew up, left England for Los Angeles without a penny, and is now a billionaire singer by the name of Ed Sheeran.
However, the caption that captured my imagination is “I said yes, when I wanted to say no“. The video clip refers to story of a lady who has been physically abused. What intrigued me is how I see her catch phrase inscribed – so to speak – on the faces of many of the people I meet. As I listen to them speak, whether in the comfort of their own businesses or challenged in the presence of my Jerusalem office, I see them holding back.
These are people with all kinds of backgrounds: educated or otherwise, experienced or less so, financially literate or not. What links them is a fear to set tough yet attainable monetary goals. And the key one here is a revenue target.
For example, assume you want sales to grow by 10% in the next year. In order to achieve that you have to identify potential new customers. This requires resources – time, manpower, materials. Creating that effort requires dedication, teamwork, extra coordination. And so the chain of events unfolds, as you commit yourself to the target. You begin to “own” it.
And hidden in the back of the minds of many a person is that nagging phrase “what if I do not succeed”? (One client twisted it and asked what would happen if they over-achieved?)
As I explain, there are at least three outcomes:
A) The organisation stagnates. At least you tried something.
B) You reach say 6% instead of the full 10%. That is still progress to be proud of.
C) Nothing much is sustained, but new and bigger opportunities emerge.
Given that set of potential opportunities, there should be no problem for a CEO to agree to the challenge. So why the push back? Reasons vary. What I am finding is that there can be a mismatch between intended vision and true commitment. Thus, the CEO never really intends to follow through, because they “just do not want to be there”.
To prove the point, I can relate to one young client, whom I met this morning. I told them about this posting that I was preparing. He had been asking me to set him stiff targets, because it fits directly with what he wants to do. “Yes”. He is up for it!
In theory, it should be relatively easy to discern the level of success in business mentoring or coaching. Sales – or some other key performance indicator (KPI,) such as production – has improved. However, what happens in a case when the client has not achieved the results originally dreamed about? Has the effort boiled down to a resounding failure?
I have several clients based in the Jerusalem area, who are classic one or two-person businesses. They are the boss, the chief of sales and also clean the floors. They are desperate to up the tempo of sales, but are still spending half their work days putting out irrelevant fires – which are frequently ordinary domestic problems.
Dena is a typical example. She came to me with the idea of exploring how to set up a new service enterprise. She certainly had solid background knowledge. Explaining her pitch to others would not be a problem.
However, circumstances have combined to foil Dena at the set up stage. To be blunt, all the initial targets have been missed, mainly as a string of personal issues that have forced Dena into unforeseen and time-consuming activities. The debts have mounted. Sales have remained minimal.
So has Dena failed? Is there any hope left?
Admittedly, Dena has not succeeded, but that does not mean she has failed. Certainly, much of the initial set up is in place, ready for a launch at a future opportunity.
There is something more. Regular readers will be aware that I encourage my clients to develop hobbies in parallel to their new commercial challenges. I usually look for a physical response like running. Dena, though, took to poetry, a former passion of hers.
I asked Dena to come up with two new poems. She wrote four, and now cannot stop writing. Today, she read out two of them to me. On completion, she then did something that I had not seen her do in all of our prior sessions. Dena laughed, out loud, almost embarrassed by her own triumph.
Shortly afterwards, Dena left the room. She strutted out with a nervous confidence, determined to find that new level of success.
Next week, I am onboarding in Jerusalem a new client, as their business mentor and coach. My role as ever will be to identify core problem areas that they have missed and then to help them to learn new skills. As ever, I will base my initial work around the questions:
What is the question that you do not wish a business mentor to ask you,……and why?
This particular company was only recently set up. Initial sales are coming in. However, there are a string of inconsistencies. These include no cash flow planning, lack of clear strategy, poor communication with contractors and much more.
Ironically, this subject relates to a talk I am preparing – 10 mistakes a CEO makes when starting out. I will not only refer to the above issues, I will also consider procrastination, the ability to choose the correct staff, and time management. These and other challenges impact directly on accurate decision-making, which is so critical in those early stages when you cannot afford mistakes.
However, if there is one core mistake that I see repeated by so many CEOs from the outset it is that they try to do things by themselves, and then do not have a plan. For reasons of pride or maybe they are too embarrassed to ask or possibly becasue they do not know any better, they seek to act (and rule) on their own. If they would just open their eyes, that should never be the case.
The fact is that any commercial organisation is dependent on a bank, accountant, suppliers and more. Further, few of us are experts in all of these fields. And when you factor in additional demands of each individual set up, this creates pressure on the CEO. If they cannot manage, what is the solution?
First, a business mentor (or consultant) guides you through those initial stages, challenging you to ask the right questions and to seek out alternatives. They provide a strong and valuable shoulder to lean on. Second, build yourself an explicit business plan, which can validate your business model.
I admit that this sounds self-promoting, but just consider my new prospect. Just as a result of our phone conversations, they have already begun to set up new controls and take a different approach to a core service provider. These moves will significantly improve the running of operations.
There is nothing wrong in asking for help in business, even if you are a CEO, and especially when you at the beginning of your commercial dream. Actually, it is oh-so the right thing to do.
Yes, there are differences between a business mentor, business coach and a business consultant. And yesterday I was offered a wonderful opportunity to illustrate them.
I was asked to deliver a presentation near Tel Aviv to the 9th Annual gathering of the Israel Small and Medium Sized Business Association. It was a surprisingly wide variety of 700 people. For me, one of the highlights was the panel featuring Jamilia Hier, a Druze lady whose soaps are now sold in dozens of countries around the world.
Jamilia started from next-to-nothing, in a society that does not necessarily enhance the status of women. As she explained to a captivated audience, 95% of her staff are female. And she employs Druze, Christians, Jews and Muslims, and nobody checks to see who is who.
My own talk featured six key reasons why people should seriously think about engaging a business mentor, as a person who sees what is not said or is overlooked. This outlook is neatly surmised in the following two questions:
“What is the question that you do not wish a business mentor to ask you,……and why”?
Yes, a mentor is a person who sets out to challenge; to drive beyond the accepted boundaries. He looks for an entrepreneurial spirit.
In contrast a business coach, can be compared to a sporting analogy. He is looking to improve core skills. And the consultant has a more hands-on role, often becoming involved in the decision making process.
Preparing the presentation proved an interesting challenge. Most of my work is with those who were born in English speaking countries, usually in the Jerusalem region. This time, I was confronted by a more natural Israeli audience, where a Jerusalemnite was the rare exception.
So, I had to mentor myself by considering: –
What was going to be the wow factor?
What is the hook to the main point?
What would make them laugh?
How could I deliver something new?
What would be the closing punch line, and how to deliver it?
It was a fascinating process. In each instance, the differences were not huge, but subtle and important enough to force me to change my patter. And I had to practice, repeatedly, my delivery, exactly as I encourage my clients to do so.
If there is one tip I can leave you with, it is as follows. The talks that appeared to be more successful – and I hope that includes mine – included a personal element. The presenters hid the boring commercial message behind a story that contained human insight.
Guess what? In those cases, I believe that fewer people in the audience were “just checking their mobile phones…..yet again”.
So, me, business mentor and coach in the Jerusalem area, had to enter some quick, hard core, negotiations the other day. I could see it coming up. I had prepared my tactics in advance.
When it comes to negotiating, many people just cringe back with the very thought. It touches on all their vulnerable emotions. I used to be in that category. Nowadays, I play the game very differently.
The background was ostensibly straight forward. My wife and I needed the help of a third party in order to carry out some necessary work on the household. The unofficial guidelines used to say that the fee was – let us call it – 10%. We had done our homework, and we knew that the market allowed for as low as 2.5%.
After the general chit-chat, the moment of truth drew upon both sides, ourselves, junior salesperson (JS) and senior salesperson (SS). Nothing was going to happen, until we had signed a paper saying 10%, or otherwise.
My wife opened the bidding. Softly and encouraging, she argued that the market rates demanded a figure lower than 10%. She was politely rebuffed by SJ. She pleaded again, and again firmly but politely she was told that a lower fee would not be possible.
My wife than upped the emotional talk. She announced that she was prepared to sign, but felt she was being made a fool of. To that, SS jumped in. He assured us that we had the backing of his whole team and this was of considerable value to the project. To be blunt, this is an extended version of the gambit called “blame the higher authority”. In other words, I do not make up the rules, and therefore YOU have to agree to them.
It was only at that stage, once both of our opponents had played their best cards, did I step in. I initially played to their ego, saying that I was sure they had heard all the excuses in the past, to which they agreed. I let them know that I am a business consultant, and I can argue their side just as eloquently as they can. I also reminded them that they too are familiar with market conditions.
Bottom line, as I said to them, stop fobbing us off with irrelevant comments, that superficially appear so compelling.
In effect, we were hoping to save ourselves a lot of money by applying three rules:
Formulating an effective tactic in advance.
Letting them assume they are winning
Not blinking when you do not have to.
In the end, both parties compromised in the middle. In other words, we won.
Conversations with several of my clients in July centred around the observations that they are not making enough sales. As their inspiring business coach and mentor what could I suggest.
I could point them to a recent blog on the Harvard Business Review: “7 reasons salespeople do not close the deal“. Very interesting, but not specific enough. A better lead is the infographic: “16 tactics buyers use in sales negotiations”. However, I must take my hat off to Deepak Malhotra, Harvard professor and author of ‘Negotiation Genius’.
In his talk Malhotra explains over twenty techniques to secure a victory in a negotiation bid. Key point, which the other prior links allude to: Be credible. Show that people can afford to believe in you.
A shining example of this occurred a couple of days ago with a client of mine in Jerusalem. Call her Andrea. Andrea received a nasty email from a customer, who claimed they had the backing of several others. Bottom line – why had Andrea treated them so badly, and in effect taken their money and run.
I encouraged Andrea and her team to call each individual, professionally explaining in detail the circumstances. Without criticising anybody, they showed how each customer was benefiting from the changes initiated. Without exception, all have since maintained their commercial relationship with Andrea. She had strengthened the trust between all the parties concerned.
The element of trust is also at the core of the matter when big brands get things wrong. For example, do you remember the crisis with British Airways a few months back? After a computer failure and PR catastrophe, would you rush to book with them again?
Globally, fewer governments are prepared to take America at its word on many an issue, as the Trump administration shows a continued capability to change its opinion at will. At the other end of the spectrum, many countries in central Africa had felt compelled continually to oppose Israel in international forums. This mistake is being rectified as the government in Jerusalem has repeatedly the importance of sharing its technology with those less well off.
Note that what can take years of brand creation, many a posting of blogs, a huge investment of resources and more can all be destroyed with one innocent mistake.
I summarise with a beautiful story that I heard from an international salesperson. They explained to me how when they create a deal, they try to “teach” the potential client about the advantages of what they can receive. It is a wonderful analogy, which brings home the point of creating trust, when you want to make a sale.
Another hot summer afternoon in Israel. Another client who has botched a wonderful opportunity to make an important sale. Why do people not learn? And why do I have to start explaining the issues when I am parched?
So, there I was sitting with a very decent, educated team, just outside Jerusalem, who could not understand why their presentation had been well-received but remained unaccepted. They had talked about their team, the corporate background, their technology, the size of the market, and eventually why they had entered the market.
As I pointed out, that last phrase was their big, maybe their only, mistake. What I call the ‘wow factor” resonates around the ‘pain’ or the core of the issue, which is why the seller is there in the first place. Just how many people will not be satisfied if you do not buy a key food item? How many companies will continue to lose income if they do have access to a new technology? They are suffering so to speak, and are looking out for the cavalry.
My clients had unwittingly elected to talk about the ‘pain’ only near the end. Therefore, their own prospective clients had not fully grasped what was so ‘wowish’. In other words, there had been a lack of empathy, however unwittingly. The result? No deal.
The importance of the issue was rammed home to me a few hours later, when I dropped in on the annual meet up of Tech Crunch in Tel Aviv. Guest panelists featured the mega successful co-founder of Waze, Uri Levine. And he was asked a very simple question: What do investors look for?
To sum up his answer, Levine noted that investors want to see that the entrepreneur has identified a real problem. Unfortunately, too many innovators value their solution more than the pain of others. Significantly, Levine showed off one of his favourite t-shirts, which shouts out the slogan “fall in love with the problem and not the solution”.
My role as a business mentor and coach constantly returns to this theme. Whether you are pitching to an investor, selling to a shop owner or offering a service, the message is clear. Before saying how wonderful you and your product are, understand why the prospect is listening to you. At the core, the primary answer has little to do with yourself. Internalise that fact, and your selling power should improve.
Find your KPIs! This is a standard call put out by business coaches and mentors to their clients. These are your key performance indicators that are supposed to tell a senior manager if they are producing enough or selling enough or doing whatever correctly. And magically, if it is the right number, then the world is doing just fine.
Or is it?
A few weeks ago, I commented on an article by Dr. Robert Brooks. In a nutshell, he stated that the exam results of children predicted little about their future in the world. I took this logic a step further and applied it to adults in the workplace. They tend to be motivated by many emotive factors, and not just the need for a ‘better statistical performance’ in their unit.
Brooks has just gone on to develop his argument. Reviewing the work of a developmental psychologist, Susan Engel, he looked at “seven abilities and dispositions that kids should acquire or improve upon—and therefore should be measured—while in school”. These could include reading, inquiry, conversation, flexible thinking, engagement, well-being and collaborations.
Interesting, but once again, let me transpose that theory into the work environment. Instead of just examining production performance against bland numbers, often curiously measured by some smart software that few understand, maybe there is an alternative way of thinking for managers to consider.
For example:
How often does an employee come up with an innovative idea?
How often does a person go out of their way to help a colleague?
Are non sales officials encouraged to bring in clients?
Who forgoes sick leave when they are unwell or when their is a crisis assignment to complete.
Consider your own set up. Think what would happen if all of these items and more were to improve by 5%. How would that impact on the bottom line?
I have see this so often in the past from my work in Jerusalem and Israeli organisations. The top team looks at the stats, analyses and concludes. They often miss out on the micro issues, which the computer cannot print out. And quite often these are built around the stories of individual people.
So, just as in schools, where exam results have a limited use when predicting the destiny of a child, similar restrictions can be placed around the importance of KPIs. Businesses need to think differently.
Readers will know that I am a big fan of Dr. Robert Brooks from the field of clinical psychology. His latest newsletter considers how for decades schools globally have probably incorrectly measured the development of children. And he quotes a colleague, Susan Engel, who wrote:
Most tests used to evaluate students, teachers, and school districts predict almost nothing except the likelihood of achieving similar scores on subsequent tests. I have found virtually no research demonstrating a relationship between those tests and measures of thinking or life outcomes.
In other words, if you are the dumb one in class, it does not mean you will fail in your career. Apply that to yourself, back whenever. Or what about your kids today? And then Brooks goes on to state about his own work:
In what has been labeled in the fields of psychology and education as the duality of “process vs. achievement,” I found that understanding the process by which each child learned proved to be more beneficial than the test score achieved.
That last line made me pause for thought.
What happened if I was to transfer that same conclusion, but apply it to adults. After all, I am a business coach and mentor. Indirectly, CEOs and managers often ask me to judge them and / or their teams on the basis of results – sales figures, production levels, or otherwise. Is this actually the best way to go about things?
For example, I was visiting a client this week in the Jerusalem area, who demanded that I set specific targets for a group of workers. If they achieved these figures, they are to receive a bonus.
I responded that their is significant literature, which confirms that motivation is not just based on numbers and a few extra dollars. Adults are equally likely to react positively, when corporate leaders play to five key feelings:
Creating a sense of belonging
Finding a sense of purpose
Realising that an employee can achieve
Being happy
Being excited about their tasks
My takeaway for my profession is clear. I should not be concerned solely with what people achieve. Just as important is to consider the process and trail of how they got there. Find the chinks and the strengths, and then I can find how to help the client even further.
A business coach or mentor can take on many guises. When starting out a course of sessions, the question lodged in the mind of the client is often ‘will this really do me any good’?
Well, there are two angles to this question. In my view, and I have practiced the profession for many years now, much has to do with the fact if the client is willing to change. After all, they have called in the expert, because something is not quite right in the organisation. Are they prepared to move on?
In parallel, it is the role of the coach to motivate towards the ‘brave new world’. Now, some coaches are rich and famous, so that we latch on immediately to their latest words as they are twittered around the globe.
Then there are the mentalists. Call them showmen or frauds, but they have the power to inspire. Yesterday, I went to a private session with Uri Geller, he of the bending spoons fame. His message was that if you really believe with all your mental capability that something will happen and you concentrate on that subject, in certain circumstances the change will come about. Geller went on to demonstrate what he meant in a most impressive fashion.
However, for most people, they end up scheduling weekly sessions with somebody unknown, and then hope for the best. And then the onus falls on the shoulders of the coach or mentor to motivate, each and every time. It ain’t always so easy.
Take yesterday. However much I encouraged and threw out questions to the owners of a business in the Jerusalem area, I was met with a negative response. It was a case of it can’t be done, too expensive, who cares, or whatever. Then, I had an idea. I encouraged them to learn about their operation by studying successful competitors. They asked the purpose of this action. Simple, I was responded. Years previously, they had taken up a profession. I asked them how this had come about. And the answer was by studying or learning.
Amazingly, the rest of the conversation flowed.
Some achievements are prompted by an out-of-the box approach. One former client was a difficult cookie to jolt ahead. Then I had a brainwave. I returned from an overseas holiday with a token but symbolic memento of a hobby of his, a limp straw of barley. He took it, promising to go there himself. He got the message. As we finished our course of sessions, his business appeared to pick up. (And I have just heard that next month, his dream will come true.)
Then there is sport. As some of you may know, over the years, I have taken up running. This spring I completed three marathons… to my complete surprise. So far, this has prompted four people to move into the sport or go for further distances. In one instance as I was running through Jerusalem, I happened to see a client, who was stunned to watch me pushing myself forward. If this is leading by example, I am happy to take it on.
The point is that a business mentor has to find a unique method to inspire each individual client. That process is kicked off by the client themselves, sincerely wishing to change. After that, the ball switches back to the court of the mentor. that is when the real challenge comes in.
Much of my work as a business mentor in the past few months has focused around creating presentations for clientele who are looking to place themselves in front of potential investors or new clients. And the key element as a coach is to help them find a hook or a story that can be ‘thrown out there’ right at the beginning of the session.
But just why is this anecdote or narrative so important?
In a talk delivered in Israel last month, branding expert Jonathan Gabay introduced a fascinating infographic. In an average 60 seconds on the internet, he explained that there are 900,000 Facebook logins, 16 million text messages, 1.8 million snaps, and oh so much more. That is a megaload of information.
So, when you come before that investor you have to please or the client whose money you want, they too are being bombarded with stats. The challenge is for you to come up with a concise, succulent and memorable piece ditty that hits an important nerve. However, that task is easier said than done.
Buried in her brief talk, Aaker hits on two major take-aways
Stories encourage or empower people to act on your behalf.
Your story should be your “signature”. To take that thought one step further, a story will highlight your passion, proving to your audience just why they will want to join you on your journey.
I was reminded of these points over the last few days when I separately engaged in conversation with two CTOs of different start ups, one located in Israel and one in Europe. One of them did not know who I was. Both had no idea what I could potentially offer. However, both had an opportunity over three to five minutes to deliver a “killer elevator pitch”, yet never really managed to climb beyond the first floor.
Now, I do not want to boast that I could have definitely helped either of them, but how often do they repeat those mistakes? And what about many others like them? And all for the sake of having available one golden nugget of a story.
Remember, be it reeling in new business or that investor who you want to talk to, most opportunities only come around once. The solution, be prepared, and start preparing now.
