James Heidema Speaks

After being in this world of God for more than 6 decades … I have come to realize that I have no control of what happens in this world. So rather than express my hopes about the world, I express my hopes for me. I don’t hope to be, NO I plan to be … a better world citizen, a more thoughtful husband, to be a more patient father, to be a more valued friend and a lover of mankind. I plan to give more and focus less on getting more. 2012 will be a year for me to be a better me. Please join me and make it our journey to offer more to this fractured world.

A new year and a new chance! Seize it! The end of December is a wonderful time to refocus your life and your business. But to do that you need to let go of all the old baggage you are carrying, so that you make room for the new. You are like a glass filled with water to the very top with your experiences, emotions, your cherished beliefs, etc. You need to empty yourself and let go to make room for new plans, ideas and attitudes. I am in the midst of doing exactly that. If I can at 65 can do it, you certainly can. Go for it!

For the past 12 years I have trained, consulted and coached almost 160,000 managers and team members. I have employed numerous methods to assist individuals and teams to build their capacity. I believe every true professional is interested in improving their knowledge, skills and abilities. I am always looking for simple, yet proven methods to build capacity.

Capacity building is difficult under the best of circumstances. For it requires great self-discipline and adoption of a proven methodology. It should be obvious to one and all, professionals are better disciplined than the amateurs, in any profession. Basically professionals adopt better habits.

As a professional trainer, I am constantly reading about other international trainers and global methods that contribute to building capacity. Many methods are hollow (without substance) or are so complex, the learner gives up too soon, before they reap the benefits of the system.

Over the past year I have been part of a team that is applying, what I think is a very sound methodology to increase individual and team capacity. It is called the Learning Cycle.

The Learning Cycle has 4 parts; Reflection, Learning, Planning and Action. Take a moment to draw a circle, then on each quadrant, write the four words; reflection, learning, planning and action. Please do this now!

Reflection - to effectively reflect on your past performance (of the individual or the team) you need to detach your self from your ego. On your circle, between action and reflection, write the word 'detachment'. To successfully reflect you must detach and focus on what you have done well and what you need to change. Forget about what you did wrong. When you focus on negatives you dis-empower yourself and your team. When you focus on what you can change you empower.

This model is called the Plus/Delta. On a separate piece of paper draw a line down the center of the page. On the left top draw a plus (+) sign. On the top right draw a triangle (Δ) symbol. The (+) represents what you did well. The (Δ) represents the Greek symbol, the Delta, which means change, what would you change. Now take a few moments and record on the left what you have done well in the past week. Then on the right side, record what you need to change.

Learning - to effectively learn from your past performance you must be willing to search. On your circle, between reflection and learning, write the word 'search'. If you are not learning, you are not growing and if you are not growing, then you are dying (intellectually). You need to clearly understand your strengths and weaknesses. You must constantly search for new learning about yourself or your team.

Planning - to effectively plan, you must love. On your circle, between learning and planning, write the word 'love'. We use the word love to express a thirst to do better. People don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan. Love or passion to do better gives each of us a competitive advantage.

Action - to effectively act we need to have courage. On your circle, between planning and action, write the word 'courage'. This is the critical and crucial point of the learning cycle. This is where many individuals and teams fail. They know their strengths and weaknesses. They know what they should do to improve, but they just don't act. I find it curious that they have time to do it wrong but not enough time to do it right. Find the courage to act.

So there you have it. A simple method called the Learning Cycle; reflection, learning, planning and action. Reflection requires detachment, Learning requires search, Planning requires love and Action requires courage.

If you, on a weekly basis apply the learning circle, you will eventually become the individual and/or the team you were destined to be. Build your capacity on purpose, not by accident.

Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity.

Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an answerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men.

Be as a lamp unto them that walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, a sea for the thirsty, a haven for the distressed, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.

Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home for the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive. Be eyes to the blind, and a guiding light unto the feet of the erring.

Be an ornament to the countenance of truth, a crown to the brow of fidelity, a pillar of the temple of righteousness, a breath of life to the body of mankind, an ensign of the hosts of justice, a luminary above the horizon of virtue, a dew to the soil of the human heart, an ark on the ocean of knowledge, a sun in the heaven of bounty, a gem on the diadem of wisdom, a shining light in the firmament of thy generation, a fruit upon the tree of humility."

— Bahá'u'lláh

We are in our final month of the summer and I am sure you have all seen a drop in activity and results. As a field manager I found the month of August always a challenge for everyone (managers, salespeople and customers) seemed to be in vacation mode. Everyone seemed to have an excuse why they could not work. Unfortunately if we wait until September to get back into the business, we will not see results until October. So we will lose results in both August and September. You have heard me say this before ...

Teams don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan!

I thought I would share some ideas how you can begin to prepare your sales teams. The objective is to be running hard in September and get good results in September. Below are some steps you and they can take this month.

1. Focus all team members, managers and salespeople on prospecting. Develop a quick competition that would reward the salesperson who gains a number of prospective customers and the manager who gains a number of prospective candidates.

2. Prospecting Blitz nights - choose one night a week, for 4 weeks, where all managers and salespersons gather together and make a number of phone calls, to set up prospecting meetings.

3. Celebrate the gathering of names. Maybe Pizza and coca cola.

4. Appointment Blitz nights - choose another night a week, for 4 weeks, where all managers and salespersons make a number of phone calls, to set up recruiting or sales appointments.

5. Celebrate the achievement of booked appointments. Maybe bowling or sporting event.

The objective is to fill the recruiting and sales funnels with potential candidates or potential customers.

Sales Funnel - Prospecting for potential customers -> Approaches -> Appointments = New Sales

Recruiting Funnel - Prospecting for candidates -> Approaches -> Appointments = New Salespeople

I guarantee if you wait until September, you will not be impressed with the production achieved or the new hires.

I wish you luck. Remember you, your managers and your salespeople only control activity, not results. August is the month you focus on activity!

Warm regards,
Jim

p.s. If I can help in the fall, please let me know. According to the feedback I have received, my seminars result in improved activity and results

James M Heidema

jimheidema@gmail.com

www.professionalsalesplus.com

Recently I presented at a National Networking conference in Bratislav, Slovakia. This conference was attended by leaders in various networking companies. I had the honor to present a session on Building Capacity!

The majority of the people of the world work in some type of team, from formal ones to informal ones. Leadership and management of teams has not fundamentally changed in 3,000 years. The basic model is hierarchical management. Between the top boss and the bottom follower there are numerous levels of management. In the past ten years there have been some variations of this model like transformational or tribal management. It is my opinion these methods only build on the hierarchical model.

Unfortunately the follower´s needs have changed and the existing model does not accomodate this need. The X (born in the 70s) and the Y generation (born in the 80s) want what many companies or organizations do not or are unwilling to offer. These things are; control of their future, be involved in a worthwhile enterprise, add value to society, share in the profits, be part of a team and have a career path. As well, they want to work for leaders who have high ethics, morals and are honest.

The traditional form of management does not appeal to the X & Y followers, so therefore they often move from company to company looking to satisfy their needs. As well, because these followers are incorrectly managed, their individual productivity is lower than their individual capacity. I call this waste!

Many teams have dis-proportion waste. The average productivity per person is low. In fact some companies that operate based on the old method suffer 60 - 80% waste. Eighty percent of their production comes from twenty percent of their team. This should be totally unacceptable in any other business.

What is needed is a management model that allows for consultation. Where the followers and leaders-managers are encouraged to consult on the systems, processes and tools needed to resolve problems the organization faces.

Within the past two years I found a new method that dramatically reduces the waste. It is called OpenAgile. If you want more information about OpenAgile, please let me know. Contact me at jimheidema@gmail.com

Jim has just finished a seven-week odyssey in Romania. He drove over 6,000 kilometers, visiting 30 agencies, trained over 2,300 agents and managers, and visited 25 cities in Romania for ING Romania. As well he presented at the MDRT conference in Romania. As in many companies in most countries of the world, ING was coping with a downturn in the economy. ING chose to pro-act rather than react. They hired Professional Sales Plus, and Jim in particular, to interact, motivate, inspire and change their sales force.

This event was emotionally, intellectually, spiritually and physically demanding. Jim traveled with an interpreter by the name of Adrian Iacobus. Jim and Adrian became great friends through this odyssey. Because of their efforts, they touched a large number of consultants and managers, and apparently inspired them. Following is the message Jim conveyed to all who would listen.

Many companies around the world found 2009 and the beginning of 2010 to be difficult and challenging. Consultants and managers were struggling to fill the gap between the customer's rising expectations of our industry and their diminished trust in us. It is apparent that many consultants and managers around the world have walked away from the customer. They do not really listen to or problem-solve with the customer. Far too many have become product pushers rather than relationship managers.

Many consultants and managers do not touch the heart of the customer, show them a process that is focused on the customer or find the gap between where the customer is today and where they would like to be in the future. Therefore they struggle to be successful.

We (Adrian and I) observed and participated in a very deep and insightful look at the financial services industry. It was so apparent to us that there is a huge gap between what we offer, how we behave and what the customer expects from us. We tried to fill the gap by encouraging the consultants to think more about the customer and behave in a manner that brings them closer to customer. We must begin to repair the lack of trust they have in us. We gave the consultants and managers processes and tools to allow them to walk with the customer.

We realized this odyssey was truly a gift to us, although it was incredibly demanding. This experience raised our awareness of the reality that all financial services companies are facing as they try to survive and thrive in 2010. The information we learned and the experience we gained will allow us to add greater value to our existing and future clients all around the world.

This trip was a highlight of my 22+ years in the financial services business in Canada and around the world. The Romanians are wonderful people and they treated us with great kindness and courtesy. What an amazing experience. Our thanks to all of you that organized this trip and made it so successful.

As of March 11, 2010, we heard that productivity is up significantly and moral is at a all-time high in ING Romania. Apparently we had a very positive effect. Wonderful news!

Passion? Why am I so passionate about what I do?

Certainly this business of Life Insurance and of training/coaching has something to do with it. I know our business inside and out and I love it. So mastering a business probably has something to do with passion. Being a professional versus an amateur also has something to do with it. It is unlikely you can gain passion about something unless to truly learn about it. Your thirst creates passion, if your thirst is rewarded.

I guess it is also about wanting to make a difference. Make a difference in people's lives; your customers, your team and yourself. Being passionate, when rewarded, is very stimulating emotionally, intellectually and physically. Yes physically! I am physically energized to do my job because of the intellectual and emotional rewards.

Doing something of value stimulates my spirit. When the light goes on in the eyes of anyone I train or coach I get such a buzz from it. When they get it. When I successfully reach them and they understand. When they go out and use what I train and it works ... WOW! I explode!

To truly be passionate you need to believe in what you do and not allow doubts to cloud your thinking.

I believe each of us has passion, but most of us keep it bottled up and hoard it for another day. Some feel they cannot get too excited or too involved, therefore never experience true passion. I feel my passion gives me special gifts like; persistency, enthusiasm, commitment, energy and a great love for what I do.

I hope my passion is well directed and of value to all who recognize it and ultimately to God.

I wish each person would seek and find their inner passion and let it out. Don't be afraid to be passionate about what you do or say!

Yes, as a sales manager, you can be happy, even when your team is not reaching all its' objectives. Sounds crazy I know. Meeting results should not be the only thing that determines your happiness. Growth determines mine. When I see people growing and developing as professionals it encourages me to work harder and contributes to my overall happiness. Meeting or not meeting objectives is a moment in time, an event if you like. Growth is a process. For some individuals a small growth is more significant than a large growth in someone else. Growth in any form is always exciting, if only to me. When you see growth or improvement, make a big deal of it. It might become the turning point for your follower. It may be the high point of their day. Celebrate growth. Growth makes me happy!

Just last week we received the published copies of our new book called The Passionate Salesperson. My son, Chris and I, wrote, edited and published this book in less than 6 months. This was a record for me and for the process. I am really proud of the book for it is an excellent resource to help any professional salesperson to more effectively do their job. It is filled with systems, processes and tools to help the professional salesperson progress through their career from the beginning to the end. The professional career is divided into three stages; the intern, the established and the mature salesperson. It also breaks down everything the salesperson does into four areas; Business Management, Sales Process, Activity Management and Market Development. We expect this book will be warmly received by the marketplace.

All of our books can be ordered either in a paperback version or a e-book (electronic) version.