First, I don’t like having a tie around my neck all of the time either and enjoy dressing down just as much as the next person. But, if you are looking to outdistance the competition and put yourself in a position to win, ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF DRESSING FOR SUCCESS!
Many years ago, I made a decision that I would rather explain being over-dressed than counted out for being under-dressed. This decision came on the heels of a situation where my boss and I went to negotiate a matter with a client. Neither of us had ever met the client or been to their office, but were told by our operations staff that the client was always dressed casually in jeans. Now, we didn’t wear jeans, but we did go business casual, in dress pants and shirt. When we walked into the office, all of the people we were meeting with were dressed in suit and tie. They had won the negotiation before it even started. I’ve never made that mistake again!
Did You Know?
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That upon meeting you, people form 11 impressions (clean, attractive, credible, knowledgeable, responsive, friendly, helpful, professional, empathetic, courteous, confident and professional) about you in 7 seconds and decide if they like you and will do business with you.
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Your appearance is 55% of your message and that you never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression.
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Becoming too casual with your customers (or job for that matter) makes you vulnerable to the competition.
So what to do? Well, for starters, as Brian Tracy says, “Dress like a person with a future!” Then:
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Take an honest inventory…have you become too casual or complacent?
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Take a look around…how are the folks who you aspire to be like dressing?
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Develop a personal dress code…how will you dress to achieve the success you desire?
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Invest in your future with an overhaul of your wardrobe!
On your way to success, there are enough hurdles and challenges…don’t let your dress be one of them!
PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY: A measure of the capacity to be answerable for personal actions. Someone who takes ownership of the situation, admits when they’re wrong and lives in solutions!
Statistically, 50 percent of our population is above average in personal accountability and 50 percent is below average in personal accountability. All businesses should seek to hire employees who are personally accountable.
We find that personal accountability is a requirement in nearly EVERY job/position. This illustrates the importance for all hiring managers to totally evaluate each position as it relates to being personally accountable plus making sure that everyone they interview brings personal accountability skills to the job.
People who are personally accountable will do the things necessary to achieve above average or even superior performance. For example, people who are personally accountable and employed in a career that requires them to achieve a “quota” will keep driving for their number until the bell rings. They won’t make excuses. Instead, they’ll find creative ways to succeed. (Sales people who lack personal accountability will fail unless they have a protected area with repeat customers.)
Here are some great interview questions to help you dig deeper into the amount of personal accountability a candidate will bring to a position:
- Tell me about a time when it was necessary to admit to others that you had made a mistake. How did you handle it?
- Give an example of a situation where others had made an error or mistake and you had to take the blame for their actions. How did you feel about doing that?
- What is the worst business decision you ever made? What made it the worst? Would knowing what you do now have helped you to avoid making that decision?
- Give me an example of a lesson you have learned from making a mistake. What did you do differently going forward?
- Give me an example of someone you know whose personal actions led to disastrous results. How answerable is that person for what happened? What advice would you give to that person?
- What person from history do you most admire for taking the blame for a failure? What did taking the blame do for that person?
Note: Candidates that hem and haw, cannot give you examples of the above, can’t relate a previous experience or always seem to blame their mistakes on someone/something else most likely have a low level of personal accountability.
If you ONLY HIRED people who were personally accountable and your competitors hired people who were not personally accountable, you would own the marketplace!
Ready to begin measuring PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY in all of your candidates?
Contact us today and indicate you are interested in learning more about ASSESSMENTS!
According to a recent Harvard Business Article, retail salespeople who subtly mimic customers’ speech and behavior are more successful at selling (based on an experiment by Céline Jacob of the Université de Bretagne-Sud in France). Among customers who solicited salespeople for information about an MP3 player, 78.8% bought such a product from mimickers, compared with 61.8% from non-mimickers. Additionally, customers who had been mimicked were more positive about the salespeople and the store.
That’s why it is critical to learn DISC (which measures an individual’s observable behavior or “HOW” someone does what they do) and how to identify a person’s behavior style. This is a significant “A” Player ability.
Here are the four behavior styles with links to more detail about improving communications with each of the behavior styles:
- (D) Dominanceis a measure of “How” you respond to problems and challenges.
- A High D: New problems solved quickly, assertively, actively. Gets to the bottom-line quickly.
- A Low D: New problems solved in a controlled, organized way. Thinks before acting.
- (I) Influenceis a measure of “How” you influence others to your point of view.
- A High I: Meets new people in an outgoing, talkative manner. Gregarious and emotional.
- A Low I: Meets new people in a quiet, controlled, reserved manner. Emotionally controlled.
- (S) Steadinessis a measure of “How” you respond to the pace of the environment.
- A High S: Prefers a controlled, deliberate work environment. Values security of situation.
- A Low S: Prefers a flexible, dynamic, changeable environment. Values freedom of expression.
- (C) Conscientiousnessis a measure of “How” you respond to rules and procedures set by others.
- A High C: Likes things done ‘the right way,’ and says, “Rules are made to be followed.”
- A Low C: Works independently of the procedures and says, “Rules are made to be bent or broken.”
Invest the time to learn your behavior style and how to communicate effectively with the other behavior styles. I absolutely agree with the article and believe this investment of time will increase your results by at least 20% and probably much more!
Interested in taking a professional DISC profile and having a debrief with an executive coach? Contact us today and indicate you are interested in learning more about DISC!
Following is a paraphrase from one of the many great stories I have heard from one of my first mentors, Zig Ziglar.
If you’ve ever had a signed contract, you most likely had to have some paper (even in this electronic document age). Now, to get that paper, someone had to go out into the woods, cut down a tree and haul it to a paper mill which keeps 100′s employed. And of course you probably took some of your profits/commissions and went to the local grocery store (clothing store, car dealership, etc.).
As business picked up, that grocery store owner had to call the wholesaler and tell him he needed more green beans. In turn, the wholesaler called the cannery, who called the farmer requesting more green beans. The farmer said if I am going to have to grow more green beans, I’ll need another tractor, so he went over to his local tractor dealer. The dealer said he had seen a significant increase in business, so he called the factory which in turn called all of its’ vendors to order more iron, steel, plastic, zinc and rubber.
And all of this happened because one day, you got out there and made a sale. Never let discouragement keep you down. Remember, our whole economy depends on a sale…SO GO MAKE ONE!
At RMi, we’re committed to helping you hire “A Player” sales professionals, because as Zig Ziglar once said, “Nothing happens until a sale takes place!”
So, whether you need a Vice President of Sales or a superstar for a new territory, let us help. We know sales and we know what “A Players” look like and where to find them.
Call (843) 628-3974 or email us ron@ronmcnutt.com today!
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
—Anonymous
