What does it mean to be a good team-builder?

There are many skills a leader needs to have to bring his/her team to the top.  Deciding what business to start in the first place is one of them. Understanding the marketplace, the customers, her product/service/business, being authentic and credible…

The one skill a leader must have to scale up is to be able to get other human beings to join the team, work together, give their best or close to it, and put out what the customer is looking for very well. 

What are the parts?

Recruit good people.  Train them very well.  Empower the leaders and high performers among them to take responsibility for parts of the business/process.  Get them working well together.  Build a team spirit and don’t allow silos to form.  Take the blame, share the credit, and celebrate successes – even small ones.  Be fair, and care about people.  Chose your managers very carefully because they will form cultures of their own in their departments and you want their cultures to fairly match the overall one you want. Be the kind of person others will follow.

Leadership takes many skills and it’s never done.  It’s a privilege, and responsibility and an adventure.

Don't be Superman – build a team

When an entrepreneur starts out, they can’t afford many employees and have to do so much themselves.  They learn to be involved in everything, to care about everything, and accept all the duties.  They learn to be Superman.

But as the business grows, the Superman habit becomes a liability.  Superman doesn’t empower others.  Superman doesn’t bring out the best in others.  Superman can’t be in two (or ten) places at once, and can only micromanage a small group of people.  And, Superman can’t think strategically because he has so much to do every hour.

It turns out, Superman has limits.

The way to defeat Superman? Be good at building a great team that works well together.

Why are you in this?

Most of the time when an investor or a company buys another company, the employees are not happy at the company that was bought.  

Last week while visiting another of the 15 companies I have purchased or partnered with in the last 18 months, it struck me – everyone is happy!  EVERYONE!  (I am sure it depends on WHY the buyer bought the company).

For this, I am most proud!

A Sales Presentation

After finding out what is important to the prospect, then present by-

Showing, telling, and asking questions.

What are you showing?  Can you show something even more convincing?

What are you telling?  Can you explain the benefits in an even better story?

What questions are you asking?  Can they be better ones?

Creating Urgency

A year ago there was a run on toilet paper.  Supplies were low – so what did everyone do?  Buy more! – Which only made the problem worse of course. 

Tesla’s Cybertruck is back-ordered for two years.  So what do people do?  Get on the waiting list.

There are a few psychologies at work.  Social validation and fear of loss, and they are very powerful.

How do you encourage your customers to buy what you have NOW by telling stories?

Selling is influence by storytelling

What story are you telling about what happens when they don’t have what you offer?

What story are you telling about what happens when they do?

You are in the fear removal business

Your customers have fears.  Fears that they have problems, or may have them.  Further, the world tells your customers what fears they should have, even if they didn’t.

What fear does your company remove?  

Can you do a better/clearer/more powerful job of explaining how you remove fear for your prospects?

The formula for what to charge

How much do you charge for what you sell?  That’s based on your ability to sell it.

If you can sell it easily, you can charge more.

If you are having difficulty selling it, you can lower your price or get better at selling skills, your offer, market to better prospects, or add value by packaging or bundling.

What can you charge?

What is your customer already thinking?

That’s where you enter the customer’s mind – in the conversation they are already having.

What is their worldview of their problem (or what you do or the benefit you provide)?

Don’t try to change their mind with marketing.  Enter the conversation they are having first, so you have a chance to sell your alternative.

Not all effort is equal

Working your butt off?  (Not everyone does.)

Working hard is important if you are to achieve anything worthy and do well in an endeavor – including making a living.  Entrepreneurs work especially hard because they are responsible for the results, and because they think that working harder will solve their problems.

But here’s the thing – 

20% of the effort = 80% of the results.

What 20% of your time gives you 80% of the results?

1) Don’t fail to do that.

2) Do less of the 80% that gets you the least results.

3) Do more of the 20% that gets you the most results.

What are your highest value activities?