“Selling is a science that must be artfully executed” is the message Craig Lowder is spreading to companies with stalled growth.

“Like any other science, there are scientific sales principles to follow,” says Lowder, author of the new book: “Smooth Selling Forever: Charting Your Company’s Course for Predictable and Sustainable Sales Growth” (Indie Books International, 2016).

Lowder is a sales-effectiveness expert with a 30-year track record of helping owners of small and mid-size companies achieve their sales goals. As president of MainSpring Sales Group, Lowder has worked with over 50 companies and increased first-year annual sales from 22 to 142 percent.

“Over the past three decades I have studied dozens and dozens of small to mid-size companies where the selling was not smooth,” says Lowder. “Patterns began to emerge as to why sales were not growing as expected.”

Based on Lowder’s research, the following list of reasons is provided in reverse rank order, from number 12 to number one:

12. No annual performance reviews. An annual performance review forces a manager to sit down and evaluate performance.

11. Over reliance on sales team to generate leads. Having sales reps fend for themselves when it comes to finding leads is an ineffective approach.

10. Limited, ineffective sales skills training; sales mentoring is non-existent.  A sales leader should travel with each sales rep regularly–at least monthly–to determine their competency.

9. Compensation plan doesn’t incent desired behavior. What gets rewarded gets done. The comp plan should provide the right activity- and results-based incentives.

8. No customer relationship management (CRM) system. A first step is to determine the proper application of CRM for the team.

7. Sales message doesn’t differentiate from the competition. The company’s sales message must distinguish the company from the competition by communicating unique value.

6. Sales team is not staffed properly. The sales team must be led by a sales manager who is focused on building highly effective sales reps versus securing individual sales to achieve significant and sustainable results.

5. No short-term and/or long-term sales pipeline and forecasting tool. A sales pipeline and forecasting tool provides a bottom-up view for use by the company to forecast future sales, align costs with expected revenues, and accurately predict cash flow.

4. No weekly scheduled sales meetings for the group and one-to-one. These meetings should be a learning experience designed to share success stories, what’s working and what’s not working, as well as to identify and resolve issues that are getting in the way of making sales.

3. Sales metrics are not clearly defined. Attention must be paid to how a company is keeping score of sales activities and results.

2. No defined sales processes. Each step of a company’s sales processes must be clearly stated and documented. This creates a common language and understanding of sales success. It is vitally important to define checkpoints for each step in the sales process.

1. No detailed sales plan that is understood by the entire sales team. The number one reason holding companies back from smooth selling is the lack of a sales plan understood by all.

“Overall, the smooth selling systems described in the book help reduce stress for business leaders,” says Lowder, who also has worked for three Fortune 100 companies: Monsanto, Lucent, and CenturyLink. “When owners have a sales team they can count on, they can focus their attention on other areas of the business. When sales leaders have a sales team they can count on, they can produce more predictable and sustainable sales results.”

Indie Books International is developing a TV channel to feature our expert authors. A first taping was held in April at Webster University in Irvine, CA. 

Congrats to Lin-Manuel Miranda on winning the Pulitzer Prize and 16 Tony nominations for The Broadway smash Hamilton, based on the great book by Ron Chernow. 

Distinguished CEOs to Share New Innovation Methods at Forum for C-Suite and Key Executives

IRVINE, Calif. (Nov. 19, 2015) — The Executive Next Practices Institute (ENP), an innovation think tank for C-level business executives to review new leadership and business strategies, will present its special year-end forum “CEO Authors on Innovation and Next Practices Awards” for C-Suite and key executive leaders on December 4 at the Taco Bell World HQ (1 Glen Bell Way) in Irvine.

Esteemed business leaders from various industry sectors will collaborate in the unique forum led by top CEO authors to discuss a variety of topics including: how to build a culture of innovation within your company, and faster ways to adapt to market changes. In addition to hearing key thought leaders share new innovation methods, Next Practice Awards will be presented to individuals, teams and companies, who are disrupting and transforming their industries.

Keynote speakers will include David Giannetto, senior vice president of services at Astea International, the leader in service management and mobile workforce technology, and author of “Big Social Mobile: How Digital Initiatives Can Reshape the Enterprise and Drive Business Results;” Leon Shapiro, CEO of Vistage and director at The Advisory Board Company and eTouches Inc.; David Nordfors, CEO and co-founder of i4j (Innovation for Jobs Ecosystem) and author of the upcoming book “Disrupting Unemployment: Innovating Meaningful Jobs For All in a Thriving People-Centered Economy;” and Danna Korn, co-founder and CEO of Sonic Boom Wellness.

The event will be held on Friday, December 4, 2015 at the Taco Bell Headquarters in Irvine. The session will begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 10:30 a.m. To register, visit www.enpinstitute.com/events. For more information, contact the ENP Institute at info@enpinstitute.com or call 888.857.9722.

About the Executive Next Practices Institute: The Executive Next Practices Institute (ENP) is an established mastermind organization comprised of Fortune 5000 C-level and top functional leaders (CEO, CFO, CMO, HR, CIO, Board Directors) who meet to discuss innovative business and leadership strategies. Roundtable sessions are held with a strict non-solicitation policy to encourage leaders to interact, engage and think collaboratively, and to ensure maximum relationship-building. The group follows a “next practices” development method, which discards the status quo in favor of a more effective and relevant approach to today’s business problems and tomorrow’s solutions. For more information on the ENP, contact Executive Next Practices Institute President, Scott Hamilton, scott.hamilton@enpinstitute.com or call 888.857.9722.

OCEANSIDE, CA, July 27 / PRNewswire / Today’s leaders are now strapped into a world in which the need for transformation in the leadership of organizations is an absolute necessity to match the level of change happening in competitive, consumer, customer, and workforce environments.

“The daunting, ever-increasing speed of change is rapidly altering the relatively simple environment of the late 20th century into a world of exponentially increasing turbulence,” says Nick Horney, coauthor of the book Focused, Fast & Flexible: Creating Agility Advantage in a VUCA World (Indie Books International, 2015). “Being successful in this environment requires a transformation in how an organization operates, in how it thinks about itself, and in how it is led.”

In the 1990s, social scientists working with the U.S. Army War College recognized the ongoing chaos happening around the world and the implications for their mission of preparing our military leaders to understand and lead in this context. They coined the acronym VUCA as a shorthand way of referring to this environment: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous.

“After the tragedy of September 11, the college informally changed its name to VUCA University, signaling its realization that these were going to be long-term descriptors for the future realities that military leaders would face for some time to come,” says Tom O’Shea, the books coauthor. “Since that time, VUCA has become increasingly well-known and adopted as the descriptor for the challenging internal and external environments that all organizations face today and will face with even greater intensity in the future.”

Each of the VUCA factors contributes significantly to the turbo turbulence in the operating context for leaders. Corporate leaders face the VUCA world every day.

“Confident, agile organizations and leaders need to be skillful guides able to convert the external negative energy into positive internal energy cascading down through the organization creating confidence and success by becoming more focused, fast and flexible,” says Horney.

The frenzy of innovation is the hallmark of the 21st century, a century driven by the continuing digital revolution, rapidly expanding interconnectivity and intensifying global competition with radically evolving consumer expectations and dynamics. The book contends an era of turbo turbulence is upon us, with increasingly vexing turmoil coming at us at increasing speed.

O’Shea says “There are two fundamental questions that leave survival hanging in the balance: How will organizations deal with such an environment? What will be the impact dynamic on your enterprise and how will you respond as a leader?” The clear answer, contends the book, is that you and your organization must become agile—focused, fast, and flexible—where people, processes, and technology continuously adapt to changing conditions.

“This capability will enable you to continually anticipate, monitor, and adjust to trends and the new dynamics, so you and your enterprise not only survive but thrive,” says Horney. “There is a rapidly growing understanding by CEOs and senior leaders around the globe regarding the need for organizational agility, and many leaders have already attempted to promote it in their organizations in some form or fashion.”

Authors Horney and O’Shea offer a widely acclaimed best-practices approach built around their trademarked The Agile Model developed in the course of more than 15 years of study working with dozens of organizations and thousands of leaders. This research-based “next practice” model frames the essential drivers of organizational agility, identifies the processes that enable each driver, and clarifies the domains and potential outcomes of a serious effort to become agile.

Horney founded Agility Consulting and Training in 2001 and has combined his background as a psychologist, consultant and former Navy Officer in Special Operations to be recognized for innovations in the fields of leadership development and change management.

O’Shea, co-owner of Agility Consulting and Training, has over two decades experience at industry- leading companies in fast paced, multi-channel branded consumer products.

OVERLAND PARK, KS, May 13 / PRNewswire / Some small steps like having the closets half empty and changing to higher wattage bulbs can have a big impact when selling a home.

“I have taken two very happy areas of my life and combined them in a book of real estate buying and selling tips along with delicious family recipes, with the hope that they will enrich people’s lives and their quest for a home that cooks,” says Lettiann Southerland, author of the new book “Homes that Cook: Best Kept Secrets for Buying, Selling and Creating a Home” (Indie Books International, 2015).

Southerland runs a real estate team called Lettiann & Associates and is a full-time real estate agent at Weichert Realtors Graham-Welch with an emphasis on service, sales and marketing, and negotiating.

As a self-proclaimed foodie, she also included more than 100 pages of recipes and cooking tips in her book along with advice on buying and selling a home.

Here are just ten of her tips from her book on selling a home:

1. Don’t attend your open house. Think back to when you were shopping for a house—would you have felt comfortable to speak your mind with the owner hovering? Give serious buyers room to have an honest conversation with each other and their agent without feeling the need to edit themselves.

2. Don’t pretend to be a buyer at your open house. This will likely backfire and you will drive away real potential buyers with this crazy behavior. If you feel like you need feedback, ask your agent to tell you the useful comments from the open house.

3. Provide attractions not distractions. You want to showcase your home and appeal to buyers, but go too far and you could detract. There is nothing wrong with providing cool drinks on a hot day to make buyers more comfortable—it could motivate them to stay longer and see more of the house.

4. Consider seasonal preferences. While preparing your property and taking steps to market it to potential buyers, consider what seasonal aspects will be appealing while you are selling it. A roaring fire in winter or beautiful spring blooms may help you get a better offer.

5. Provide full access to the property. You want to be sure buyers can view your whole property when they visit. Unless there is a safety issue, you should not make any rooms, closets, or areas off limits. It is called an open house, after all.

6. Hold your open house during common times. If at all possible, schedule your open house at the same time as others in the area. Potential buyers often spend a few hours on Sundays and want to maximize their time and see multiple properties while they are out. Though it may be more convenient for you to do it another time, you may limit the number of people that can attend.

7. Don’t neglect the neighbors. Your neighbors are good assets—they may know people who want to live in the neighborhood and can tell their friends about your property. Invite them to your open houses and offer flyers they can pass along.

8. Price it right. How do you know what to set for the price? Have it evaluated by an appraiser for its value, then lower that number by 15 to 20 percent. This may sound counterintuitive, but this will likely cause a bidding war between potential buyers that may drive the price up even higher than it’s worth.

9. Make sure your closets are half-empty. You know that buyers like to look in every door, so you must always keep closets and cabinets clean and organized. But a great tip is to take half of your things out of the closets and make what is left extremely neat.

10. Maximize the light in your home. A bright and cheery house is more sellable. Do whatever you can to increase the light, including removing drapes, cleaning windows, and changing to higher wattage light bulbs.

Southerland is a member of the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors, the National Association of Realtors, the Missouri Real Estate Commission, and the Kansas Real Estate Commission.

An agile and adaptable way of seeing the world is a must for executives in business today, including how to have difficult conversations, according to the author of a new book on leadership.

“As an executive, you must lubricate your brain with mental challenges that will grow your mindset and make it more agile,” says “The Executive’s Neurocoach,” Karla Robertson, author of the new book “The Agile-Minded Executive: Drive Better Results by Shifting How You Think” (Indie Books International, 2015).

“The Agile-Minded Executive” shows that becoming a better thinker lies in the mindful internal shifts we make to synthesize what our emotions and logic—our whole brain—provide us.

“The complex challenges agile-thinking executives face in this volatile world require them to adapt their minds to the shifting landscape, develop a more nimble approach to assessing the situation, and rapidly craft solutions,” says Robertson. “This book points executives in the right direction to do so. Building a more nimble mind will enable you to more fluidly access valuable input from what the various regions of your brain have in store for you.”

Robertson integrates her coaching approach with the insights from neuroscience as well as the inquiry and observation of coaching methodology. She works with C-level executives, other senior leaders, and their teams in organizations across diverse industries and geographies facilitating retreats, providing one-on-one coaching and team development coaching.

One mental challenge for leaders that can benefit from agile thinking is how to have difficult conversations with those who report to them.

“Sometimes, leaders think they put the right team together and yet some individuals just didn’t end up in the right seat,” says Robertson. “Or they were the right fit for the road they were on but since they had to take some detours and had to make some changes while en route, what they need from them now diverges from their original scope of duties. It isn’t doing them, the employee or the initiative any good to prolong the agony.”

Have the conversation as soon as possible, advises Robertson. Here are her four Cs of having a successful conversation that she discusses in her book:

1. Be Candid: Don’t be vague or ambiguous. You must define the undesired behavior or work output and the impact it’s having.
2. Be Clear: Give specifics about your expectations going forward and consequences for not meeting those expectations. Be clear about the What and the Why. Engage them in figuring out the How.
3. Be Compassionate: Remember to use “the velvet hammer.” You must make a point without leaving a bruise or being disrespectful or demeaning. That will just trigger threat responses in the person that are over the top. Not productive. Doesn’t show good character on your part either. Affirm what they do well and challenge them to build on that. Let them know you believe they can turn it around and that it’s up to them to make that happen.
4. Be Collaborative: Engage the person to create ways they will shift their behavior and hold themselves accountable. Don’t do all the heavy lifting of the thinking here. They need to take the wheel of their own destiny and accountability to turn their performance around. Ask how you can support them in their efforts without taking over responsibility for them. You own your actions. They own theirs.

As a keynote speaker, Robertson delivers relevant and thought-provoking talks that challenge how people think and encourage them to develop mental agility and nimbleness in themselves and their teams. She believes this is the foundation that must be developed now to effectively prepare our minds to deal with the increasing velocity and uncertainty of change and enable us to adapt and flow to create the best outcomes.

After 20 plus years in the corporate arena, Robertson started her own company, Shifting Gears Business Coaching & Consulting, in 1999. She hosted her own Internet-based talk show, “The Exceleration Zone,” in 2004 and has been quoted in The New York Times, MSNBC Online, and other Internet and national print publications. Prior to that, Robertson was a sales executive and the leading sales producer for companies in the mortgage banking and healthcare industries.

About Karla Robertson

To book Karla Robertson as a speaker, please contact her at www.ShiftingGears.biz or call her at 732-492-8114