|
1. Pay Attention to the Basics The ‘devil is in the detail’. How do you find ways of improving results? So often the answers lie not in complicated and elaborate performance management systems but in identifying the basic activities essential to success. For example, activities such as ensuring your sales people call on high potential customers or meet with key decision makers can be very simple, but unless someone pays attention to these basics, vital sales opportunities will be missed. 2. Aim for What you Want As Stephen Covey has famously written, ‘start with the end in mind’. Set specific and measurable goals and follow-up and you are more likely to succeed. Ensure your objectives describe the outcome you want and not just the activities required to get you there. 3. One Bite at a Time How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, of course! In other words, prioritise and address your objectives step by step. Huge tasks, targets and projects can be daunting, but break them down into achievable and measurable steps and suddenly you begin to make progress and things no longer seem unattainable. Remember, ‘by the yard it’s hard, but by the inch it’s a cinch’! 4. Get Ready for Success Do you prepare for important activities, meetings or events? I’m sure you do. This probably includes identifying an objective and gathering appropriate materials together, for example. But do you really get ready? The final run through, or rehearsal, done immediately before your meeting or sales visit can make the difference between success and failure. 5. Acknowledge Progress Don’t just look at the end result; identify and acknowledge the steps being made towards the target. For example, acknowledge the gains made month on month and not just current performance versus target. Doing this when you evaluate your own performance and that of others will help you build momentum and increase your chances of success. 6. Solicit Explicit Feedback Improve your effectiveness by ensuring the quality of feedback you get from others. Get down to specifics. What did you say or do that was particularly effective (or not)? Only by challenging yourself will you deliver outstanding results. 7. Ask Questions & Listen Seek to understand before you offer information. So often we see people who are more interested in putting across their own point of view rather than understanding the other person. The most effective individuals are those who make it their business to solicit the opinions of others and to understand their situation. Challenge yourself to find out something new about your customer at every meeting. 8. Be True to your Word Do what you say you’ll do; ‘walk the talk’. Delivering on commitments and being candid when things are not going to plan helps develop positive and productive relationships. A culture of candour and high-integrity is a characteristic of high-performing businesses. 9. Be a Role Model Demonstrate the qualities and behaviours you would like to see in others. For example, endorsing a new initiative means more than saying the right things; it means doing the things you expect others to do. If you want your people to coach, then coach them yourself. If you want your people to plan thoroughly, then do it yourself too. It’s one of the most effective ways of improving performance. 10. Trust Yourself and Others Take and give responsibility. Expect high performance. Give people tasks that demonstrate your trust in them and let them get on with them. Give specific feedback. This is a great way of building momentum and raising performance standards. We hope that you reflect on our Top Ten Tips to identify where you are making progress and where you can begin to apply our ideas to help you become more effective.
|
Reaching Your Potential – Top Ten Tips for Success
