Coach Deb’s post-boardroom Analysis and Coaching Tips from this week’s episode, Week 9 of “The Apprentice“

Yet another example of someone getting fired for their lack of interpersonal skills. More often than we may care to admit or acknowledge, people get fired for their poor attitude, inability to get along with others and communicate effectively with people whose opinion matter.

These “soft skills” will either help you win, if you’ve mastered self-influence, or cause you to lose sales, accounts, jobs, or positions within a company.

Gold Rush used several laws of influence and success to win this task:

• Delegate to people’s strengths
• Choose the right location - and get there first
• Start early - get a jump on the day
• Call more people than your competitors
• Think differently
• Think smarter

Lee is starting to show what he’s made of. As project manager for Gold Rush, the winning team of the week, he successfully led his team to victory, encouraged each of his team mates to strive to win on this task. Everyone got along better than ever, and his quest to think outside the box gave him an edge on this task - as it worked out!

Andrea, on the other hand, gets fired this week from Synergy due to the lack of chemistry with her other team players. She seemed to have an air of superiority throughout all the tasks in previous episodes. She may be bright, successful and a multi-millionaire in “real life” but if people get the feeling you don’t like them, they won’t feel good about themselves when they’re around you, and therefore will not like you as a result.

Bottom line: If your peers don’t like you - they’ll work to undermine you at any chance they get. People want to enjoy coming to work. And if you’re not making them feel good - then you may want to analyze if you’re making them feel bad.

Shmoozing isn’t such a bad thing once and a while. What do you think?

Are you a natural shmoozer? Or does it take a lot of effort to make people feel good when they’re around you?

Copyright © RPM Success Group Inc. 2002-2006. Other bloggers and journalists are allowed to excerpt and link to posts (as is common with bloggers,) as full credit/attribution is given to TheINFLUENCEcode.com and RPM Success Group Inc.

Deborah Micek is the “Communication Coach.” She’s a published author and weekly columnist for the Honolulu Star Bulletin. You can reach Deborah directly via [communicationcoach@gmail.com].

After seven years of painstaking research and thousands of hours in testing she and her partner John-Paul have developed a simple scientific code for unleashing your maximum performance, and profit potential. The INFLUENCE Code™ is the step-by-step system for taking total control of your business and getting all you want out of life!. Learn how you can Crack the Code @ www.theINFLUENCEcode.com

Coach Deb’s post-boardroom Analysis and Coaching Tips from this week’s episode, Week 6 of “The Apprentice“

Whether or not you’re dreading the words, “You’re FIRED!” from Donald Trump on NBC’s popular TV reality show, The Apprentice or whether you want to “Get Hired” to work for someone, or simply want to earn a client’s business as a business owner or executive yourself, there are certain rules in business that you MUST follow in order to increase your influence, be admired, respected and ultimately - land the job!

We can learn a lot from a “hindsight” perspective into the successes and failures of this week’s candidates.

Rule #1 in business:
Don’t be late!

Back up Rule #1 in business:
If an emergency arises…

• CALL your prospect, client, or potential employer to let them know you’re going to be late.
• Give them your NEW ETA - and then - make sure you’re there at the new time.
• THEN - immediately upon arrival - build rapport back up by immediately apologizing profusely for being late.

This sign of respect and humility does two things:

1st - and most importantly - it demonstrates to the other party that you respect THEIR time immensely and know how valuable time is.

2nd - it builds rapport back up - which will be CRITICAL in their decision making process when they decide whether to give YOU the job - or your competitor who organized their time well enough to be on time - the first time!

LASTLY - and this is a “DO NOT Rule”

Do NOT evade your clients questions - EVER!
ESPECIALLY when they are asking you directly about WHY you were late - or why your product or service doesn’t do x, y or z in their minds.

Bryce (Synergy’s Team Leader) seemed to “dismiss” Doug’s (Executive and key decision maker from Arby’s) question about WHY he was late by TRYING (quite unsuccessfully I might add) to deflect with his first point of the meeting - WRONGO!!!! This is not only another huge rapport breaker - it is ALSO incredibly RUDE!

Clearly, this was Bryce’s biggest mistake!

“Gold Rush also went to meet with the Arby’s execs, but they were almost a half hour late. When the execs asked Bryce why they were delayed, Bryce ignored the question and moved on to the task at hand.

Instead, if you satisfy a potential client’s concerns, or initial “hurt feelings” you’ll decrease their apparent frustration and be able to move toward establishing rapport with them.

However, if you pretend their complaint or point isn’t serious or real, then your client will quickly see how important they’ll be in the future, once you have them as a client.

Think of this process as “a courting phase”. If your date expresses something she (or he) doesn’t like about what you did or didn’t do on the date - would you just ignore their statement/frustration and then try to kiss them?

No! (Unless you’re a complete nimwit and don’t know the slightest about impressing a woman.) Instead, you’d address their concerns, discuss them, and “come to terms” so to speak in order to make sure all parties are satisfied and happy again.

THEN you move in for the kiss - I mean kill - I mean sale! LOL Well - you get my point by now - right?

Coach Deb’s conclusion at the end of Week 6:
Bryce was practically ASKING The Donald to fire him.

Especially when you consider the two people he decided to bring into the room.

Bottom line about the Game, The Apprentice:
Trump wants to PLACE BLAME somewhere.

What Bryce seemed to FORGET in the course of this game - is that “The Apprentice” is just that - A GAME.

It’s NOT a real interview.
It’s NOT a real company team - not yet.

It’s STILL a group of competitors - and as much as Bryce tried to “INFLUENCE” his “team” the night before about telling them how he’s not going to “throw anyone under the bus” he needed to remember that he was still playing a game to “Get Hired”.

Bryce’s biggest success:

While Bryce’s actions may be PERFECTLY respectable with a REAL team - and certainly wins points with the general public who watch him on the show - it unfortunately showed The Donald that Bryce didn’t know how (or didn’t want) to single out the person who contributed to their “loss” which is the SOLE focus with The Trump Brand.

In all reality, what Bryce did to bring this chaotic, self-obsessed team together during this episode, and how he did in fact win their respect as they all complied with his request for “A united front” demonstrates his leadership ability, AND showed him as a true influencer.

IF he ONLY would have used his influencing abilities with the Arby’s executives, Doug and Debbie - well - he might still be on the show.

Coach Deb’s FAVORITE PART OF THE SHOW:

Bryce’s LAST comment in the cab ride “home”:

“Maybe Trump should listen to other people once and a while.”

LOL!

IF only more people had the guts to talk to Donald Trump that way - it would make for a MUCH more entertaining show.

That was probably one of THE most HONEST feedback scripts we ever got from an Apprentice candidate.

Boy - if Trump were to look in a mirror - would he see Bryce?
Hmmmmmmmmmm
What do YOU think?

Enter YOUR comments below.
Let me know if you thought it was time for Bryce to go - or whether you thought someone ELSE should’ve been fired - and if so - why?

Coach Deb

As heard on The Wayne and Jayne Show
All Hit KBS
West Kootenay Region
British Columbia.

If you had the choice between hiring someone you don’t quite trust even though they “look impressive on paper,” verses hiring someone who doesn’t look like the ideal candidate on paper, but you have a good feeling about that person’s integrity – who would you choose?

9 out of 10 people pick the person they can trust every single time.

An independent study on a corporation whose team had decided “on paper” to hire one company over another proved this theory. Once the team met the competing leaders, the team did a complete 180 on their decision, and went with the other company.

We think we make purchasing decisions based on logic. But in reality, we make our decisions on a subconscious level, a more emotional level; then we justify our purchase decision using logic.

Actions speak louder than words

Last week we explored a case study where Keiko met with two contractors separately. She had to decide who would get the job to renovate her kitchen.

Most people seem surprised to learn that Keiko chose …

contractor #1 who had a much higher bid, and admitted he couldn’t meet her deadline for the project. On paper, it seems the logical decision would be to go with the bid that falls within budget, and with a contractor who promised to meet her deadline.

Keiko just couldn’t trust contractor #2, even though he “said” he could meet her deadline. She explained, “He missed his appointment and didn’t call back until much later. He also didn’t ask as many questions about the job as the first contractor did. That leads me to believe that the second contractor was just making promises he couldn’t deliver.”

She felt that the first contractor actually took the time to really get a feel for what the project would entail, and gave her an accurate estimate of when the project would be completed – with no surprises when the bill came.

Making promises based on what you think someone wants to hear will never influence your listener in the long run – especially if they simply don’t believe you.

#1 Law of Influence: Do What You Say You Will Do (DWYSYWD)

Being true to your word, doing what you say you will do, and acting with a sense of honor and integrity is the most important law of influence. All other strategies are built on this.

Keep your promises. Remember - your word is your bond. As a general rule: under promise and over deliver.

Once you break a promise to a client (or a vendor) you’ll be on shaky ground. Even if it seems like a small issue, you’ll look flaky and unreliable. People want consistency – especially when shelling out their hard-earned money to you.

Being true to your word is how you’ll be judged. It will determine your success in influencing your clients, neighbors, and friends.

Coach Deborah Micek
The Influence Code

You can know all the laws of influence, all the tricks of the trade, from psychological trigger buttons to using the right words that make people automatically want to buy from you; but, if you don’t follow the #1 law of influence - you might as well flush all the books on influence strategies down the toilet.

What is this critical factor in influencing others?

Let me first share a brief story with you so you can see how this law of influence works.

Keiko was searching for a contractor to remodel her kitchen. After careful research on the Internet, she selected her top-two favorites.

Contractor #1, Tommy, arrived on time. He asked her dozens of questions such as how large she wanted her new addition to be, and what the most important features she wanted included in the new design.

When Keiko asked him how quickly he could get started, he gave her an estimated date. Unfortunately, it was a date past the time she really wanted her new kitchen completed.

Although the estimate was higher than she anticipated, Tommy explained that she would have everything she ever wanted in her new kitchen. The quality of his craftsmanship and materials used were guaranteed for the next 50 years. And before he left, he said to Keiko, “I take pride in every kitchen I’ve ever created.”

Respectfully thanking Tommy for his time, Keiko walked him to the door and waited for contractor #2 to arrive.

Three hours past the time Steve was supposed to be meeting with Keiko, contractor #2 called from his mobile phone, only to have the call dropped as he was explaining, “Wow! Time just got away from me! I should be there in about…”

Pushing the volume up on her phone, asking, “Can you hear me now, Steve?” Keiko realized the call was dropped, so she went outside to tend to her garden in anticipation of Steve’s arrival.

Another two hours passed with no call back from Steve. Keiko went inside the house to make dinner for her son.

By early evening, she finally heard back from Steve, asking if he could come right over. Consenting, she set up a new appointment for an hour from then.

Steve arrived late, but with an impressive, four-color brochure about his company. He gave the old kitchen a quick look, and asked her what her budget and deadline was.

Seconds after Keiko described why she wanted the project done as soon as possible, Steve nodded his head, and assured her he could get it done by then, no problem.

He left her with a quote that was well below her budget for the project, and told her that if she sends in the signed contract with a check before the end of the week, he’d knock off an extra 10%.

Who did Keiko choose?
Find out in next week’s post.

In the meantime, post your answer in the comments section below…

Coach Deborah
The Influence Code

(Part six of a seven-part business coaching series on sales strategies that work for small business. ) If you missed the last installment, you can read part six here.

Have you ever been at a party with a “close talker”?

No matter how many times you back away, they seem to get closer and closer, invading your personal space. This is an example of a rapport breaker – not respecting someone’s personal space.

Instead, you want to be a rapport builder; make others feel comfortable being in your presence and encourage an atmosphere where people want to talk with you more and are so engaged with you that they lose track of time.

In addition to using the right words when communicating with others, it’s important to use the right words the correct way.

A person’s body language, rate of speech, and tone of voice will also give you clues to what type of Language Pattern your client or prospect prefers.

The easiest way to gain rapport with someone you’ve just met is to model his/her behavior in a natural way. Try to mirror his/her hand movements, eye contact, and rate of speech.

Keep in mind that this does not mean copying their movements exactly. Rather, it’s a respectful way of honoring a person’s communication style of interacting with others.

Case Study:
Theodore was in Best Buy, trying to figure out whether he should buy the current X-box gaming system, or if he should wait until November when X-box 360 is released.

The salesperson had successfully gained rapport with Teddy. But even after showing him the differences between the two products, this young gaming enthusiast was reluctant to choose one over the other.

Teddy has a DIGITAL Language Pattern, and should be treated uniquely, and respectfully, allowing him to process and think about his decision. If the sales professional tries to rush Teddy into making a rash decision, he may simply walk out, or he’ll come back and ask for a refund for his hasty purchase.

The need for Teddy to justify this purchase in his mind (or on paper) is a simple process that will help him feel more comfortable with his buying decision - regardless of the product he chooses.

When you notice your prospect saying things like, “I need to understand and process this decision.” You’ll want to walk them step-by-step through a system or comparison chart of pros and cons in order to help them make the best decision.

TAKE ACTION!

The better you are at identifying the approach a person prefers, the more you can assure yourself of long-term success by adapting your words and style to the way he/she most readily receives information.

If you are interested in learning the key words and phrases commonly used by people in each of the four Language Patterns, send an e-mail to news.support@RPMsuccess.com and ask for the “Words that Trigger Buying” Action Sheet.

Utilize the action steps contained in this seven-part series combined with the right words and tools for communication, and you’ll begin to develop more meaningful connections with people 20-30% faster than before.

Deborah Micek is known as the “Business Communication Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.

Official Life Coach for the Dream Makeover Hawaii TV show aired on NBC, internationally published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Deborah is a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.

(Part six of a seven-part business coaching series on sales strategies that work for small business. ) If you missed the last installment, you can read part five here.

Have you ever felt like you were talking to a brick wall when communicating with someone you know?

Whether you are showing someone a strategy, or delivering an elaborate power-point presentation, if you think you’ve presented your case perfectly, yet you are being met with a blank stare, you just might be communicating the wrong way.

Case Study:

Katrina is a sales representative for a large insurance firm in Texas. She came highly recommended and graduated at the top of her class. Yet her supervisor, Susan, doesn’t understand why Katrina’s sales aren’t as high as her peers.

Susan decides to send Katrina home with a stack of books, all about closing tactics. However, since Katrina has always been primarily an Auditory learner, she does best when she hears a strategy taught to her, rather than reading it in a book.

If Susan gave her an audio book or DVD on sales, Katrina would have been able to tune in better, and been in harmony with her supervisor’s goals to get better results.

To discover if your team member or prospect has an Auditory Language Pattern, you can pose the feedback question, “Do you hear what I’m saying?” or “Does that sound good?”

If her response sounds something like, “Yes. That rings true!” you’ll know you’ve tuned in to her preferred style, and are coming through loud and clear.

TAKE ACTION!

The better you are at identifying the Language Pattern a person prefers, the more you can assure yourself of long-term success by adapting the way you phrase your words to the way he/she most readily receives information.

Communicating effectively is about opening the doorway to positive relationships. Adapting your style is not about being “phony.” It is merely about accommodating another person’s preference in order to allow the conversation to continue.

As your relationship progresses, the other person will get to know you better. People will accept others who are different from themselves – as long as they trust the other person in the relationship.

On the other hand, if you turn someone off within the first few minutes of your introduction, you will have lost him/her forever; all because of an underlying mistrust that developed within seconds of communicating “out of style.”

One teacher from Kaimuki Middle School contacted me, very excited about this seven-part series on language patterns, remarking, “This has huge implications for teachers!”

She’s absolutely right! Whether you’re a teacher, a resident advisor at Hawaii Pacific University, or you’re a business owner, when you speak to people according to their preferred learning style, they’ll hear what you’re saying without tuning out.

This is the secret of getting your point across quickly - and influencing those around you – for everyone’s benefit.

In part seven of this series of business coaching articles, we’ll show you how to look beyond words for the secrets of how to influence and close more sales.

Deborah Micek is known as the “Business Communication Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.

Official Life Coach for the Dream Makeover Hawaii TV show aired on NBC, internationally published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Deborah is a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.

(Part five of a seven-part business coaching series on sales strategies that work for small business. ) If you missed the last installment, you can read part four here.

Too many people have adopted a false belief that treating everyone the same is a good thing. Unfortunately, that mindset is one of the most ineffective methods for communication; especially if you need to get your point across – fast!

While it may seem fair to treat everyone the same, in reality, it does more harm than good.

Think about it. Look at your right-hand index finger. Does anyone else have the same fingerprint as you? If we’re each as unique as our fingerprints, doesn’t it also make sense that we each have a unique style of how we prefer to communicate and learn?

Despite how politically correct it sounds to focus on how alike we are, if you don’t spend the same or more time thinking about all the ways we’re different from one another, you’ll sell yourself short. You’ll never communicate as clearly and effectively as you could unless you actively learn how other people prefer to communicate and learn.

Like an ostrich hiding his head in the sand, the sales person who rejects the fact that we’re all different, will stubbornly stick to a one-size-fit-all approach. And when he does pull his head out of the sand, he’ll be left scratching his head, wondering why his sales are the lowest on the team.

How to Start Adapting Your Communication Style:

Keeping in mind that there are four language/learning patterns that people have (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic and Digital), let’s grab hold of an understanding as to how the Kinesthetic-style person prefers to be communicated with.

When you are talking to someone who has a high Kinesthetic Language Pattern, you’ll notice he/she uses words that pertain to touching things or interacting with their environment.

When selling to people with a Kinesthetic Language Pattern, give them something to do. Perhaps you hand them your product. If you’re selling over the phone, you could ask them to go to your Web site, and visit certain pages together or ask them to complete something and turn it in. Anything they can “try before they buy” will appeal to high Kinesthetics.

Here are a few phrases that click with people who have a preferred Kinesthetic Language Pattern:

I’m just calling to touch base with you to check how you’re using the cleaning products in your home.

Toss the idea around and see how it feels.

Can you grasp how that might work?

Does that click with you?

Coach’s Corner:

When coaching Internet marketers, I coach them to include something interactive on their Web site for their kinesthetic visitors. Examples may include a questionnaire or survey, or an interactive poll or forum where they can connect with others who use the product or service being sold.

Whether it’s selling in your store, online, or in your client’s office, keep in mind that kinesthetic people need to interact with your product or service to feel comfortable.

In part six of this series of business coaching articles, we’ll show you how to listen to your prospects for clues on how to influence them and close more sales.

Deborah Micek is known as the “Business Communication Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.

Official Life Coach for the Dream Makeover Hawaii TV show aired on NBC, internationally published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Deborah is a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.

(Part four of a seven-part business coaching series on sales strategies that work for small business. ) If you missed the last installment, you can read part three here.

FACT: People buy from people they like. And, people like people who are like themselves. It’s as simple as that.

Target Training International, based out of Scottsdale, Arizona performed a study that proved this basic premise. And, if people truly understood the implications of this fact, the entire sales process would undergo a dramatic 180-degree turnaround. We’ve seen this over and over again with our business coaching clients.

Think about your own experiences. How many times have you found yourself buying something from a store, walking out with a smile, and thinking how nice the sales person was? Think about why this was a good shopping experience.

Using the right words is critical to whether the doorway to communication gets opened, or closed. But it doesn’t stop there. Studies have been conducted that reveal how “words” constitute a mere 7% of the communication process.

This tells us that we must also pay close attention to matching the voice cues, body language, and rate/tone of speech of the people with whom we communicate. With this information, we have the knowledge as to how we must adapt our communication style in order to build rapport.

Adapting to your clients’ preferred ways of communicating will open doors quicker than any other sales strategy (commonly referred to as “matching and mirroring”).

In workshops where we coach business owners on stealth sales strategies, we see time and time again how the exact same words will carry very different meanings when the tone of voice or body language is altered.

Emphasis on using certain words over others has been proven to dramatically influence behavior in small and large crowds. Just imagine how persuasive you can be using the right words in the right way when meeting with a prospective client one-on-one.

Adam Bayless, president of Global Asset Consulting, based in Los Angeles, positioned building rapport as one of “the most important skills that a professional salesperson should constantly improve upon above all others.”

This not only helps the sales professional – but it also makes the entire sales experience an enjoyable one for the client. The client leaves feeling satisfied, and assured that his/her needs were met.

Bayless describes this as the new ideal for sales professionals who are serious about helping their clients get what they want. “By understanding and communicating with your prospects at a deeper level, you are able to create solutions your client needs, as they’ll feel more at ease discussing their real motivation for buying your product or service.

And when this is done correctly, you’ll never have to close another prospect.” Smiling, Adam continues, “Your prospects will literally be asking you for your products and services, then raving about you to all their friends. And that’s enjoyable for everyone!”

In part five of this series of business coaching articles, we’ll expand upon the strategies to use to close more sales.

Deborah Micek is known as the “Business Communication Coach” by business owners around the world thanks to members of the Business Owners Coaching Club™.

Official Life Coach for the Dream Makeover Hawaii TV show aired on NBC, internationally published author and weekly columnist for the business section of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. Deborah is a managing partner with the international small business coaching company RPM Success Group Inc.®

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc.® and licensed under a Creative Commons License.