Is People, Planet & Profit An Achievable Goal?

Is People, Planet & Profit An Achievable Goal?

SUMMARY

Is it possible to make the planet and your people the main focus if you want to have a profitable business? Paul Hargreaves CEO of Cotswold Fayre and author of The Fourth Bottom line believes it is possible.

SHOW NOTES

Many founders set out to make the world a better place when they create start their companies.  However, when commercial realities hit it can become hard for a founder to stay true to their values. 

In this podcast, we interview Paul Hargreaves, B-Corp Ambassador, CEO of Cotswold Fayre and author of The Fourth Bottom Line –  50 Day Program for Leaders to think about different characteristics

Paul has made it his mission to grow a successful business whilst balancing the competing demands of his people, the needs of the planet and still making a profit.  

We discuss 

·         How he hires new team members based on values, not just skills
·         What inspired him to make Cotswold Fayre a b-corp
·         Why he believes a leaders values are key to an organisations success
·         Why he thinks self-awareness the most important leadership trait.  
·         How do you coach your employees to be more open to feedback from their teams  

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP DILEMMAS WITH ALEX MOYLE?

Leadership can often feel like an unending series of dilemmas where the Leader needs to balance the needs of the employee, the customer, the company and their own conscience. In this podcast Alex Moyle interviews leaders from around the world about the dilemmas they have faced, the way they resolved those dilemmas and lessons learned.

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How Do I Change Someone’s Behaviour

How Do I Change Someone’s Behaviour

SUMMARY

Business Leaders are always taught that asking great questions is the key to unlocking behavioural change. Yet Brian Glibkowski believes it is a Leaders answers that really make the difference. Tune in and find out why.

SHOW NOTES

Being a Leader in the past was so much easier.
All you had to do was say “do what I say, or you know where the door is?”
You may have worked for a manager who even said those words.
I have!   They even went so far as to offer people in the room to take one of the McDonald’s application forms they had placed on the table.
Fortunately, today’s workplace is a little more collaborative and consensual where employees are given an opportunity to ask questions when they are being asked to do something new or change the way they work.
For all the good this approach brings in terms of employees engagement and buy-in to the organisation, it puts a lot of extra pressure on the Manager.
In fact, most leadership training focuses on the importance of a manager asking great questions and using models such as GROW coaching.
However, there is little training to help Leaders know how to answer in a way that increases buy-in to what is being asked and results in behavioural change.
This is why you will love Brian Glibkowski the author of Answer Intelligence.

Brian is a pioneer in organisational communication who is focused on helping leaders improve how they answer questions to increase buy-in and behavioural change.

In the podcast, we will be discussing
  • What is Answer Intelligence?
  • What are the 6 ways you can answer any question?
  • How to apply the framework to back to office conversations
  • Why building a portfolio of answers will reduce the pressure you feel when in challenging conversations.
If you want to know more about AQ, then check out the Raise Your AQ website
 
I hope you enjoy the show and please remember to subscribe so you are notified when new episodes are released.

 

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP DILEMMAS WITH ALEX MOYLE?

Leadership can often feel like an unending series of dilemmas where the Leader needs to balance the needs of the employee, the customer, the company and their own conscience. In this podcast Alex Moyle interviews leaders from around the world about the dilemmas they have faced, the way they resolved those dilemmas and lessons learned.

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Can I Run Another Zoom Team Meeting?

Can I Run Another Zoom Team Meeting?

SUMMARY

Team meetings on Zoom can sap the life out of even the most motivated leader. Chris Grimes a motivational comedian, and communications coach will help you put some Zing back into your meetings.

SHOW NOTES

It is 8.57 am, you are about to launch another daily stand-up.

You look at yourself on the screen,  hover over the “connect” button and think to yourself……….

  1. “It is a great day and I am ready to motivate my team,”
  2. “Does anyone else find these as de-motivational as me?”
  3. “I am not sure how much life-force I have left to be sucked out of me through the webcam”
  4. “I hate these, but I will fake it until I make it”

The reality is that you have probably had all these thoughts over the last 12 months.

You hope that a return to the office or a hybrid way of working will end your online meeting nightmare.

But, deep down you know that virtual team meetings are here to stay.

So how are you going to stay fresh, alert, upbeat when you feel very different.

Enter stage right,  Chris Crimes, actor, comedian, leadership coach and wicked ping pong player

In this podcast I will interview Chris about

  • How to create a positive aura to your team when you feel different inside
  • How to reduce the pressure on yourself running team meetings
  • How to help your own manager and colleagues out when they are running online meetings

If you liked Chris and want to know more about his work you can find him on Linkedin or his website Second Curve

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP DILEMMAS WITH ALEX MOYLE?

Leadership can often feel like an unending series of dilemmas where the Leader needs to balance the needs of the employee, the customer, the company and their own conscience. In this podcast Alex Moyle interviews leaders from around the world about the dilemmas they have faced, the way they resolved those dilemmas and lessons learned.

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Are You Frustrated By Anti-Social Linkedin Lead Generation?

Are You Frustrated By Anti-Social Linkedin Lead Generation?

 A crazed man thumps a message into his keyboard “STOP PRETENDING YOU ARE A HUMAN!”     

This man is working his way through multiple LinkedIn messages that pretend to come from a human being but are, in reality, part of an automated outreach sequence.   

Sound familiar?  

Yet thousands of companies are choosing to be anti-social in their lead generation.  

When I speak to CEO’s, CRO’s and VP sales about the ROI on automated Linkedin lead generation, they talk of fantastic ROI and one the best ways to reach new prospects at scale.  

So if this approach may work for the company.  But does it work for the individual sales rep? 

Do not get me wrong, cold prospecting sits at the heart of most successful sales strategies. Many Sales Reps (myself included) started their careers spending their days dialing away to cold prospects hoping to find the diamond in the rough.  

What I am trying to get my head around is how automated cold prospecting, that is designed to look as if it is sent to an individual from another individual but in reality part of an automation, delivers the results the seller is looking for.  

As a potential customer am I more likely to engage with a person who has just adding me to an automation?   

Does my perception of that company go up or down when I figure out, they are not really interested in knowing me at all?   

The irony that seems to be lost on those using high volume automated prospecting on social media, is that social media is meant to be a place to build relationships. Yet their approach is actually anti-social and may be doing them more harm than good.  

The paradox I see is that most sales professionals will openly say that they do not want to cold call using the phone, fearing being seen as pushy or bothering clients.      

Yet many sales professionals seem happy to burn the reputation they have worked hard to build up on social media by spamming their new connections with an automated sequence.   (unless they are using BURNER Linkedin profiles – more on that another time)  

Just in case you start thinking I am anti-technology in sales,  I LOVE sales technology, BUT only when used to enhance the buyer’s experience as well as improving overall sales productivity.  

The challenge that many businesses face is how to use technology to enhance the sales process by blending existing human interactions with digitised services.   

Gartner’s  Q1 edition of The Chief Sales Officer highlights that B2B buyers are increasingly wanting a “sales rep free” buying experience. They predict that by 2025 80% of B2B sales interactions will take place through digital channels as buyers increasingly seek out seller-free sales experiences (currently at 33%).  

So, if you want to invest in technology to drive sales, think about how you can digitise your sales process to make it seller free….it is where the future is at.  

 So, if you want to invest in technology to drive sales, think about how you can digitise your sales process to make it seller free….it is where the future is at.  

And IF YOU MUST use automated prospecting funnels think about trying these things:  

1: Highlight that it is an automation…..  they will work it out anyway.  By saying upfront what the process is, then the pressure is on you to make them feel like they want to engage with a human.   

2: Plan your content that aims to add value & learn more about them vs trying to write every email like you wrote it. ( i.e, Hi Alex, one last message before I do not email you again…)  

3: Blend automation with humanity – taking the extra time to send some personalised messages as part of a cycle will allow you to add information that cannot be scraped from a LinkedIn profile and make you look more human.   

 

At this point you might be thinking I am just a grump traditionalist.   

But you would be wrong, because ultimately I love meeting individuals that are skilled at sales.  So I do offer those that put me in an automated sequence a chance to prove their worth.  

How?  I throw them an objection and see how they respond.

After the third message I reply with something like this “I do not engage with automated message sequences on social media as I feel they are anti-social and defeat the objective of “social”.  But if you want to engage human to human then feel free to message me back?”

Sadly only only 1 in 5 respond, however when they do I have met some great people, seen some great products and even bought one or two.

I call this game HUNT the HUMAN….. may be you can play it too!!

Let me know how it goes

 

How Recruitment Agencies Can Build a Business Development Culture

How Recruitment Agencies Can Build a Business Development Culture

Can Recruitment Agencies create a culture where everyone wants to contribute to Business Development?   

The answer is YES they can. 

However it for many agencies it will require a significant change in how they approach helping their customers needs and also how they treat their staff.

The video below is a shortened version of the presentation I gave to Recruitment Agency Leaders at the Recruitment Agency Expo recently.