High Impact Leaders

On this week's episode I'm going to be talking about listening skills. Now, hold up, I'm sure when you read that the first thing you think is "welp, guess I'm skipping this week's episode, I already have excellent listening skills, I know several people that could certainly use this episode though" but the truth is, there's probably people who think the same thing about you. 

Listening skills are things that are hard to have self awareness into the fact that you struggle with. It's very easy to believe other people are the only ones that struggle with listening skills because other people are the only people that you encounter problems with due to listening skills. 

So even if you think you are an excellent listener I highly encourage you to at least hear some of theses pointers and, if you aren't already incorporating them, realize the faults in your listening abilities and maybe start focusing on them a bit.

Show Notes: How to Improve Listening Skills in the Workplace

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/how-to-improve-listening-skills-in-the-workplace/)

Merry Christmas, everyone. Happy Hannukah, and Happy New Year. I hope your new year gets started off with a lot of growth in your business and happiness for you and your team members.

In order to help, I wanted to start the new year off with an episode about how to become more organized as a leader. If you recall, a few weeks ago, I did an episode about creating a specific vision of where you want to go -- a roadmap if you will.In that episode, I encouraged you to set Daily and Weekly Action Plans to help you accomplish those long-term goals.

Well, in this episode, I'm going to give you five steps to help you organize your schedule so you are more likely to accomplish the daily/weekly action plans, that will help you move toward the milestone, and eventually accomplish those long-term goals.

Show Notes: Top 5 Ways to Stay Organized as a Leader

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/5-simple-tips-to-get-organized-as-a-leader/)

Last week, we talked about how to motivate your team. This week, I want to back up a little, and talk about how to stay self-motivated as well.The self-talk -- what we say to ourselves as the day goes on -- can either help you get ahead or ensure you stay behind. I'll give you an example of how I used this to start my business.In my 20s, I was working myself to death trying to get ahead. I had proposed to my girlfriend, and we wanted to buy a house. And she wanted to be a fulltime mom. So, my income had to make up for the income we'd be losing when she quit her job.I printed out an 8.5X11 sheet of paper with the words, "How can I make an extra $500 today?" on it. And I thumbtacked it to my office wall.I know it sounds corny, but it was the first thing I saw when I got to work each morning. And, when I was wrapping up my day, it was the last thing I saw as well. If I hadn't made that $500 that day, I often stayed and worked just a little more.

At the time, I was a commissioned consultant. And my average commission was a couple hundred dollars. But with the sheet right in front of my face everyday, I started asking customers to double up orders to get a bigger discount. Many did.A few times each week, I surpassed that $500 goal. It became very common for me.So, I ripped down the paper and replaced it with, "How can I make $1000 today?"

Within a year, I was consistently pulling that amount in a few times each week as well.

Today, my sheet says, "How can I make $100,000 today." And, although it isn't as common as when I had the $500 goal, I do hit that number often in a given year.All that changed was the way that I talk to myself. And we're going to explore that concept on today's episode.

Show Notes: What Do You Say When You Talk to Yourself?

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/what-do-you-say-when-you-talk-to-yourself/)

Leadership and management skills are not coded into our DNA. Even the best leaders must hone their skills over time with hard work. You can do this through study, research, experimentation, and sometimes... trial and error.

Even during the optimal times, keeping a motivated team is one of the greatest challenges. And no matter how good things are right now, every company will go through some hard times. During those tough times, you'll question everything you knew about how to motivate your team as a leader.

Great leaders separate themselves by remaining the driving force of a motivated team. On this episode, we'll go over the types of motivation, how to keep happy employees, and different ways to achieve employee satisfaction.

Show Notes: 5 Steps on How To Motivate Your Team As a Leader

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/do-you-really-know-how-to-motivate-your-team/)

I have to admit that I am uncomfortable when given constructive criticism. You know why? Because I’m human. Guess what… You are too. (You are also human.) So, if most people are uncomfortable receiving constructive feedback, is it really constructive? In addition, is there a real difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism?

Well, the answer is both “yes” and “no.” Any type of criticism can be destructive to a relationship no matter the motives of the giver.

On this episode, though, we will cover some things that you can do, other than criticize (whether it is constructive or destructive), to help someone else correct mistakes. Basically, we will cover a number of constructive ways to influence others that won’t seem to the other person like a personal attack.

Show Notes: The Difference Between Constructive and Destructive Criticism

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/the-difference-between-constructive-and-destructive-criticism/)

You’ll hear people tell you that you need to create “SMART Goals” or that “You have to make your professional goals line up with your personal goals.” Or, “The best way to develop your future self is to create an action plan of smaller goals moving you toward more attainable goals.”

I suppose that all of those things are true. But my advice is not to overly complicate the process. In “plain speak,” figure out where you want to go, determine a route to get you there, and start moving.

Here is the step-by-step goal-setting process that I use.

1) Create a Clear Vision of Where You Are Heading (Long-Term Goals).
2) Define Your Milestones (Your Midterm Goals).
3) Set Daily and Weekly Action Plans to Move You Toward the Next Milestone (Short-Term Goals).
4) Track Your Progress Visibly Along the Way. (That’s One More Mile Down.)
5) Review Your Goals Regularly and Make Adjustments When Needed.

On this episode, I'm going to cover each of these steps in more detail.

Show Notes: Set Clear Goals to Move Toward Your Vision for Success

(https://www.buildingyourteam.com/create-clear-goals-to-move-toward-your-vision-for-success/)

For the entire month of November we have focused on increasing revenue for your company, and the steps you need to take to do so. A few weeks ago, we started off by telling you about networking and how increasing your sphere of influence is the first thing you can do to make people interested in your company. 

After that we looked at how to generate new customers for your small bussiness, then last week, I showed you how prospective customers, those folks that are going on to your website, or calling your phone number, or chatting with people on your team, they want instant gratification. The faster that you respond, the more opportunities you get.

This week though, we're going to talk about how to actually close those loads of leads you've amassed using the previous 3 tips. The mistakes people often make when they're starting to try to make sales off a steady stream of leads, and the things you can do to counter those mistakes. 

Show Notes: Closing the Sale: The 3 Mistakes That Are Losing You Deals

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/closing-the-sale-big-mistakes-that-cause-your-customers-to-buy-from-someone-else/)

Many small businesses pay thousands of dollars for pay-per-click ads and content marketing for lead generation, only to lose their qualified leads because they wait way too long to follow up. The truth is, timing can make or break your lead conversion process.

When website visitors search for valuable information, products, or solutions, they expect instant results. If they fill out your web form  or leave their email address, and your sales team takes hours—or worse, days—to respond, those potential customers have probably already chosen a competitor.

Nothing fixes this problem like establishing a clear, intentional follow up process and, more importantly, making it fast. This week we're going over the absolute best way to start up that follow up process, what goes through the mind of a buyer when they are searching for your service, and why any of this is so important to begin with!

Show Notes: Speed is the Key to Increase Your Lead Conversion Rate

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/speed-is-the-key-to-increase-your-lead-conversion-rate/)

So, last week, I showed you how to network more effectively in those business networking events. And, when we got to the Business-to-Business networking, I mentioned that you want to focus your business networking on the problems you solve for a specific market. The more narrowly defined the market, the better.

On this episode, I'm going to show you how small businesses in 2025 and 2026 can find new customers. By the way, if you are a local company who sells products or services to a local area, go back and listen to last week's episode. The techniques I cover on the "how to network" topic will help.

However, this week, we're focusing more on the business-to-business customers.
And we'll really focus in on what to do when only a niche group of people in a client company can buy from you.

For instance, my consultants specialize in leadership development in companies. So, only C-Level executives or high-level HR or Learning and Development managers can really buy what we sell. If a company has 10,000 employees, less than 100 of them would be a valid potential buyer.

So, the better you are at narrowing down who -- exactly -- is the potential buyer of your product or service, the easier it is to not only find them, but get them to come to you when they are ready to buy!

Show Notes: Small Business Lead Generation Techniques That Actually Work

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/small-business-lead-generation-why-spamming-and-cold-calling-does-not-work/)

I hope you had a fun and scary Halloween. Happy November to everyone. For the month of November, we'll be covering a series of episodes about how to find customers for your business and/or how to increase revenue through sales.

Most companies, big and small alike, are ramping up for the end of year and trying to crush the lofty sales goals you set this time last year. So, in this series, we're going to do our best to help you maximize the sales number for the rest of the year, and help you get started well right out of the gate as you start 2026.

On today's episode, I'm going to give you a few secrets that will help you network effectively at business networking events.By the way, even if you are not in sales and not a small business owner, the techniques we cover on this episode will help you expand your sphere of influence.

And we are timing the release of this episode to come out just before the holiday season. So, if you are attending Thanksgiving or holiday parties with your spouse, the networking techniques will help you start more meaningful conversations in those -- sometimes awkward settings.

Show Notes: How to Network Effectively at Business Networking Events

(https://www.leadersinstitute.com/increase-your-sphere-of-influence-how-to-network/)