Articles by Fran Goldstein CPC CSP

1. Anticipate their clients’ needs
2. Work proactively
3. Think outside the box
4. View issues as opportunities
5. Use consultative language 
6. Understand the relationship between Return On Ideals & Return On Investment
7. Build equity for themselves daily
8. Listen to the point of intentional silences
9. Plan and prioritize daily
10.  Consultants choreograph client visits
11.  Enjoy the art of negotiating
12.  Keep external factors from derailing focus
13.  Stay up to date on industry trends
14.  View goals as incentives
15.  Stay on plan by using SMART objectives and 1:1’s
16.  Create dependency from mentor relationship
17.  Proactively plan for and compensate Burnout
18.  Maintain perspective and practice balanced lifestyle
19.  Invest in industry certification and leverage it
20.  Participate in state and national associations
21.  Practice self care daily
22.  Have a mentor
23.  Role play their sales calls
24.  Balance their core ideals
25.  Recognize burnout
26.  Follow their gut instincts

Core Ideals Opportunity #1 (ROIDEALS)

Place a check mark beside your top 10 Core Ideals in the first column; then prioritize them in number order in the second column with 1 being the top priority and 10 being the lowest priority. In the third column, place letters beside your Core Ideals, indicating if they apply only to your personal life (P), only your work (W), or both (B).

 

			1.   To make money
			2.   To give back
			3.   To achieve recognition
			4.   To be around and work with people
			5.   To compete
			6.   To mentor
			7.   To be mentored
			8.   To lead
			9.   To work independently and have autonomy
			10. To have material things
			11. To develop powerful relationships
			12. To be in charge
			13. To contribute to the lives of others
			14. To work in a stimulating or high energy environment
			15. To be on the cutting edge with technology
			16. To work outside of corporate America
			17. To generate business I am responsible for
			18. To be a part of a creative environment
			19. To have established goals
			20. To be respected
			21. To have perspective
			22. To be a sole proprietor
			23. To be rested
			24. To spend time with family
			25. To be in the limelight
			26. To have true friendships
			27. To work with more structure
			28. To work with less structure
			29. To create
			30. To be spiritual

 

 

 

 

 

Core Ideals Opportunity #2

 

List the top 5 Core Ideals you identified in exercise #1 in the order of priority.

 

1. _____________________________________________________________________          

2. _____________________________________________________________________

3. _____________________________________________________________________

4. _____________________________________________________________________

5. _____________________________________________________________________

 

Core Ideals Opportunity #3

 

Mark (X) how congruent your life currently is with your top five Core Ideals listed in Exercise 2. That is, to what degree does your life reflect your overall Core Ideals?

 

 

_____ Irreproachable (96-100% aligned)

 

_____ Dynamic (84-95% aligned)

 

_____ Effective (75-83% aligned)

 

_____ Acceptable (62-74% aligned)

 

_____ Laissez-faire (40-61% aligned)

 

_____ Slightly (0-39% aligned)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Core Ideals Opportunity #4

 

Discuss how congruent your life is with your core ideals and what you need to do to make it 100% congruent in your personal and professional life.

 

Example: One of my core ideals would be to contribute to the lives of others. When I identified my core ideals and assessed how congruent my life was with them, I realized what was missing. Even though I help others everyday in my business, that is all for profit. I needed to help others in a non-profit situation. Coincidentally, I met a neighbor who is a nurse in our local hospital, and she told me that they are always looking for volunteers and gave me the voluteer director’s contact information. So I began volunteering as a “runner” at the hospital. I found that I got tremendous satisfaction transporting patients throughout the hospital and helping them feel more comfortable in their situations. Not only did I develop strong relationships with the other volunteers but I also felt more grounded and congruent with my Core Ideals. I am amazed at the impact volunteering has had on my life.

 

Your Experience:

 

Primary

 

1.  Logic –

 

2.  Power –

 

3.  Emotion –

 

 

Secondary

 

4.  Trade –

 

5.  Compromise –

 

You think I am talking about holding your clients by the hand, right? I am talking about something much more critical to the sales process, called “Holding.” Holding is the amount of time your client or prospect is able to stay focused on the communication and impact of the conversation between the two of you.

We’ve all been there… you have a meeting with a client or prospect where you present your pitch and get your client all jazzed up. You can see it in their eyes, hear it in their voice and believe it because they are telling you everything you long to hear in a sales meeting.  But the next day, week or month when you follow up – that energy is gone. The enthusiasm to work with you seems like a thing of the past. You sit there scratching your head, questioning your memory and double checking your notes from the meeting.

“Holding” is the key. The more empowered and grounded your client is to begin with prior to your meeting or conversation, the greater their holding power will be and the greater ROI you will experience. Conversely, the less empowered and grounded your client is prior to your communication, the more diminished your ROI will be. Simple formula.

The same applies to you and your headset in the sales process. How many meetings can you recall where you started your presentation, realized when you checked in with yourself that you just weren’t on top of your game? You either weren’t prepared, rested, focused or confident. You knew it and knew the ROI was diminished as a result. You could kick yourself!  You tell your boss it was the clients fault, and you repeat the same dynamic again on another sales presentation. What’s that all about? Your ability to HOLD directly correlates to your feeling of being empowered and grounded. Simple formula. Then, why is it so hard to pull off?

Preparing to feel, think and communicate from a position of “empowerment” takes discipline, vision and focus.  Like practicing for a tournament or show, you need to “get in form.” What that includes is a dedication and passion to your craft. It includes a commitment to getting in shape and making getting in shape your priority. There are some very simple steps you can take and some very simple steps you can offer your client as well.

For you:

1.       Prepare – Identify and document your value proposition. Your Value Proposition takes your product or service to a much deeper level. It speaks to your client in such a way that they don’t need to compare you with your competition and they don’t question or negotiate your fees.

2.       Practice- Write down the key points to your value proposition and presentation on index cards and practice them everywhere you go! At the gym, in your car, in front of your kids. Pay attention to how you sound- your confidence level, your tone and your articulation. Do you sound passionate or robot like? Look at yourself in the mirror- do you look excited to deliver your message or forced?

3.       Rest- you can’t be on top of your game if you are groggy and foggy. You want to make sure it’s you doing the presentation not the caffeine you drank to compensate for lack of sleep.

4.       Exercise- find what works for you and get in shape! There is a direct correlation between mind and body and it shows.

5.       Attitude check- your attitude is everything! Success follows attitude not the other way around. When your attitude is positive, people respond positively to you. The reverse is also true.

For your client:

1.     Prepare them- send an agenda prior to your meeting or call. Keep it simple and include two or three questions demonstrating your value proposition. Remember most of the time what your client asks you for initially isn’t really what they are looking for. Help them think past the immediate need and look at the bigger picture.

2.     Schedule time to talk and or meet. A nonscheduled call leaves too much to chance and relies solely on timing. If they are taking your call to break from something else they may not be focused and their “Hold” will be minimal after the conversation.

3.     Pay attention to body language and eye contact.  When you see it fading, slow down and ask an open ended question to help them refocus. The faster and louder you talk the more you will loose their attention and buy in.

4.     Empower them in the close- If your client summarizes the meeting instead of you, they will feel more empowered and in control. Everyone wants recognition and a piece of the action!

5.     Attitude check- When you see their attitude begin to “buy in” meet it. It’s up to you to maintain the energy flow. Keep the conversation focused on them and their needs, never yours.

Sales is a process and not something to take for granted even for Type A people who aren’t intimidated to sell. Look at your competition- you know how many are out there. But remember there are far less successful people at the top of sales than at the bottom. 

HOLDING is key to sales, especially in this economy. Clients and prospects are less trusting and less confident.  You may be less trusting and less confident too. This is the ideal time to sharpen your saw as the expression goes! Take advantage of the circumstances we’re facing and elevate yourself to excellence! The payoff will sustain you throughout your career.

 

Examples:

 

Dear (Name),

 

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me on Friday to discuss the executive assistant position at Iona.  From the details you provided, I feel certain I would be able to perform those duties, and certainly many others, to their successful conclusion. It’s all in a day’s work and knowing who, what, where and how for the executive you support. I know my background in administrative management would provide me a comfortable transition from my current situation to Iona.

 

I also enjoyed some of the insights you shared about Peter; they were very much appreciated. I can see after speaking with so many people that Iona has a working environment that is to be envied and I know that I would thrive there should I be offered the position.

 

Once again, thank you and I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Cordially,

 

Dear (Name),

 

It was a pleasure to meet you on Friday and discuss the opportunity of becoming your executive assistant at Iona. 

 

The understanding I gained during our interview was that you really need an assistant who has foresight, exceptional anticipatory skills and real drive yet operates with grace under pressure. I know my previous career experience affords me the skills necessary to support you in your endeavors to continue to make Iona a thriving enterprise.

 

While it is important to keep vigilant about crossing T’s and dotting I’s, maintaining an eye on the bigger picture helps to bring these details into focus. If given the opportunity, I would embrace the challenge of the position. In a word, I want the job.

 

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

 

Cordially,

 

 

Dear (Name),

 

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me on Friday to discuss the executive assistant position at Iona. From our conversation I came away with the feeling that my years of experience would afford me the ability to provide you with the administrative support you need to get through your hectic, atypical days with some sense of reason and cohesion. I am very much interested in the job.

 

The environment that has been established at Iona is friendly and welcoming from all that I was able to see when I was there. I know that I would enjoy working for you and along side the other executive assistants towards the goal of making Iona a prosperous and successful company.

 

Once again, thank you and I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Cordially,

 

Dear (Name),

 

I want to thank you for all the time that you took meeting with me on Friday to discuss the executive assistant positions at Iona.

 

          From all that you outlined, it sounds as if my experience and skill set are a good match for either position, for different reasons, and I feel that I would complement either executive. I know I would be able to bring a semblance of order to their day and maintain the balance of the environment you established there. I am very interested in either position.

 

          Thank you once again and I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding the next steps in the process.

 

Cordially,

 

 

Dear (Name),

 

Thank you so much for meeting with me Friday to discuss the executive assistant opportunity at Iona. From everything you explained, supporting Peter offers not just the challenge that I am looking for in keeping him connected to the office while he is traveling, for example, but also a very stimulating environment with multiple priorities to maintain.

 

The collegial milieu at Iona is something which you have obviously worked very hard to achieve and I know I would be very comfortable there too.

         

So, I say to you that I am very much interested in the position. Thank you again for your time yesterday and I look forward to hearing from you soon to discuss next steps.

 

Cordially,

 

  

Dear (Name),

 

It was a pleasure to meet you today and discuss the opportunity of executive assistant at Cognos. The understanding I gained during our interview was that Curtis and Kevin really need an assistant who has foresight and real drive yet operates with grace under pressure. I know my previous career experience affords me the skills necessary to support them in their endeavors to continue to make Cognos a thriving enterprise.

 

While it is important to keep vigilant about crossing T’s and dotting I’s, maintaining an eye on the bigger picture helps to bring these details into focus.  If given the opportunity, I would embrace the challenge of the position.

 

 Please extend my thanks to Kat and Paula for their time as well. I enjoyed meeting them and can readily see myself working as part of the team.

 

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

 

Cordially,

 

 

Dear (Name),

 

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today to discuss the executive assistant position at Cognos. From the outline you provided, I feel certain I would be more than capable of performing those duties, and certainly many others, to their successful conclusion. I know my background in administrative management and years of experience would provide me a comfortable transition from my current situation to Cognos.

 

          Please extend my thanks to Kat and Paula for their time and input during my interview. They provided valuable insight which is valuable in my analysis of this opportunity.

 

Once again, thank you and I hope to hear from you soon.

 

Cordially,

1.  Prepare – Prepare – Prepare!

• Web page
• Directions             
• Agenda                 
• Neighbors             
• Clients you have
• Google
• Resume
• Time frame
• Competitors

2.  Show off your due diligence!

3.  Set the agenda! (And stick to it!)

4.  Incorporate their agenda – (congruent).

5.