Norm Levy, CEO of Strategic Development Corporation and the author of The Seven Questions of Business Strategy, says having a clear strategic intention is critical for driving your business growth. Strategy is as much about deciding what NOT to do as what TO do. So, with 27 years as a strategy consultant, Norm says the key is determining what you are willing to give up—to get what you really, really want.

Mike Coraluzzi, the president of No-Time Marketing Systems, LLC and the host of the Extreme Business Growth radio show, says 2010 could be your best year ever. Mike says companies can double their business by honing their focus and matching their marketing to it — at a time when most companies are pulling back and taking their eye off the ball.

Matt Youngquist, a prominent Seattle-area career counselor, says job seekers must reinforce their relationships and keep up with technology to be competitive in today’s job market. He recommends caution when considering wholesale career changes and says one must carefully choose between the strategy of developing a skill portfolio vs a skill specialization.

Peter Clayton, host of Total Picture Radio talks with Brett Clay about the roles of selling and change in people’s careers. Peter argues that everyone must think of him/herself as a sales person. Brett talks about what that means and how to do it.

Check out more of Peter Clayton’s informative podcasts at www.totalpicture.com!

 

Transcript

(audio player is below transcript)

Welcome a Success Strategies Channel Podcast on Total Picture Radio. This is Peter Clayton reporting.

Brett Clay is a veteran of two decades of international sales and marketing management. He is the founder and CEO of Change Leadership Group, a sales training company specializing in the areas of change, leadership and business performance. He is the author of Selling Change: 101+ Secrets for Growing Sales by Leading Change.

Brett, welcome to Total Picture Radio.

Brett: Thank you, great to be here.

Peter: I’m going to use a quote I’ve been using a lot lately but I think it’s particularly germane in this interview and this is from a friend of mine at Netshare, Kathy Simmons, who told me that she heard from one of her clients that no matter what job you were in before, you’re in sales today. And so your book – which is a statement I happen to actually believe because with the pressures that are going on in the workplace today, you really have to sell whatever your proposition is, whatever you’re trying to accomplish within an organization, you’re in sales. Would you agree?

Brett: Absolutely. People don’t realize how even if you’re a manager working with your own employees or working with other managers, you’re constantly seeking to influence those other people and so it’s a sales process.

Peter: Your book, Selling Change: 101+ Secrets for Growing Sales by Leading Change, which was obviously written specifically for people in sales, do you think someone who is in perhaps career transition could take some of these principles and adopt them to a career search?

Brett: Absolutely. In fact, from a marketing point of view, speaking of marketing and sales, I have to sell it as a sales book but I really believe that this applies to executives and job seekers and anyone who wants to influence others. I mean it could work within your own family, influencing your kids or your spouse.

Peter: Your book centers around five principles: force field analysis, change response analysis, power analysis, value creation, change actuation.

Which is the most important one and why?

Brett: Absolutely, this idea of force field analysis is by far the most important. The idea there is that people only take action when they feel a compelling force, whether it’s getting up off the couch to grab a drink or save money or whatever it is, people’s actions are responses to forces they feel. So understanding the forces a customer feels or whoever it is that you want to influence, is critical to understanding how they’re going to behave and what potential actions they may take.

Peter: You’ve been doing this for 20 years. You’ve been leading sales and transformation courses for like 20 years, right?

Brett: I’ve been a salesperson and a sales manager for 20 years and I recently, a couple of years ago, left Microsoft to train sales people full time.

Peter: What was the motivation for doing that, Brett?

Brett: In my role at Microsoft, I was in marketing, interacting with sales people at Microsoft and sales people at other companies, and a big challenge that they always have and I had when I was in sales is competing profitably, what I call competing profitably. You know customers in competition are constantly beating you down on price and you’re always struggling to convince the customer that you’re providing a good value at a fair price and one that you can afford to continue to stay in bu...

Host, Brett Clay, explains what The Actuation Zone is all about and why you should tune in! While the Actuation Zone explores a wide range of topics including leadership, management, sales, and professional development, the underlying theme is “putting change into motion.”