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Hosted by mo bunnell
Hosted by mo bunnell
Hosted by mo bunnell
2 episodes with mo bunnell
2 episodes with mo bunnell
2 episodes with mo bunnell
2 episodes with mo bunnell
Send us a textAbout This EpisodeWhat if the biggest roadblocks to your success are the lies you tell yourself? Tune into this transformative discussion with Mo Bunnell, a visionary in business development, author of Give to Grow, and founder of Bunnell Idea Group. His insights urge us to recognize and challenge the false beliefs that constrain us, including the fears and uncertainties that can hold us back. He shares practical strategies for prioritizing long-term goals and embracing strategic generosity in business. Mo also offers guidance on how to offer value without underselling yourself, sharing advice to navigate the balance between giving and maintaining self-worth. He describes how a thoughtful approach to generosity can foster genuine connections and propel professional relationships forward. Listen in to uncover how cultivating a bold mindset, fueled by generosity and persistence, can lead to remarkable outcomes both personally and professionally. About Mo BunnellMo Bunnell helps complex organizations grow by scaling business development skills across their organizations and creating a growth-oriented culture. He's the author of Give to Grow, The Snowball System, the host of the podcast Real Relationships Real Revenue and the founder of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG), who has trained tens of thousands of professionals. BIG's clients have used Mo and his team's GrowBIG® training to give their experts a system for growth that creates deep relationships, gives a comprehensive business development framework and dare we say, is fun to use. Mo started out his career as an expert himself, passing all the actuarial exams to earn their highest designation: Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. Today, Mo enjoys working with hundreds of clients including some the largest, most prestigous service-based organizations. Mo and his wife of over 30 years, Becky, enjoy spending time with their friends and two adult daughters. Outside of work he enjoys working out, backpacking, and playing ultimate frisbee at the national and world levels. Becky and Mo live in Atlanta, Georgia with their four horses, two cats, dog, bird and miniature donkey, Louie Hamilton. Additional ResourcesWebsite: bunnellideagroup.comLinkedIn: @MoBunnellSupport the show-------- Stay Connected www.leighburgess.com Watch the episodes on YouTube Follow Leigh on Instagram: @theleighaburgess Follow Leigh on LinkedIn: @LeighBurgess Sign up for Leigh's bold newsletter
Negotiate Anything: Negotiation | Persuasion | Influence | Sales | Leadership | Conflict Management
Request A Customized Workshop For Your Company In this engaging episode of "Negotiate Anything," host Kwame Christian sits down with guest Mo Bunnell to explore the intricacies of business development and negotiation. Mo, an expert in helping high-end professionals grow their business, shares his insights on how the biggest competition often lies within ourselves rather than external forces. He delves into five common lies that hold people back from successful negotiation and relationship building, offering practical solutions backed by peer-reviewed research. Throughout the conversation, Kwame and Mo emphasize the importance of relationships in achieving favorable negotiation outcomes, challenging the stigma around sales and negotiation. What You'll Hear: Examination of the five lies that hinder negotiation and relationship-building efforts. Insights into the relationship between emotional intelligence and negotiation success. Strategies for overcoming self-imposed barriers to become more effective negotiators. Connect with Mo Buy the Book Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career Follow Mo on LinkedIn Contact ANI Request A Customized Workshop For Your Company Follow Kwame Christian on LinkedIn The Ultimate Negotiation Guide Click here to buy your copy of How To Have Difficult Conversations About Race! Click here to buy your copy of Finding Confidence in Conflict: How to Negotiate Anything and Live Your Best Life!
Request A Customized Workshop For Your Company In this engaging episode of "Negotiate Anything," host Kwame Christian sits down with guest Mo Bunnell to explore the intricacies of business development and negotiation. Mo, an expert in helping high-end professionals grow their business, shares his insights on how the biggest competition often lies within ourselves rather than external forces. He delves into five common lies that hold people back from successful negotiation and relationship building, offering practical solutions backed by peer-reviewed research. Throughout the conversation, Kwame and Mo emphasize the importance of relationships in achieving favorable negotiation outcomes, challenging the stigma around sales and negotiation. What You'll Hear: Examination of the five lies that hinder negotiation and relationship-building efforts. Insights into the relationship between emotional intelligence and negotiation success. Strategies for overcoming self-imposed barriers to become more effective negotiators. Connect with Mo Buy the Book Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career Follow Mo on LinkedIn Contact ANI Request A Customized Workshop For Your Company Follow Kwame Christian on LinkedIn The Ultimate Negotiation Guide Click here to buy your copy of How To Have Difficult Conversations About Race! Click here to buy your copy of Finding Confidence in Conflict: How to Negotiate Anything and Live Your Best Life!
In today's episode, we are bringing you a compilation of moments from the best interviews of 2024, covering everything from emotional mastery to productivity, building relationships, leadership, overcoming challenges, and living with purpose. Join us for a dynamic journey through some of the most impactful conversations from the past year, featuring insights from world-class experts across business, psychology, and personal development. How can understanding emotions transform your relationships? Why is slow productivity the key to long-term success? What role does empathy play in navigating workplace dynamics? In this special episode, we unpack these themes and more, and our hosts, Johnny Dzubak and AJ Harbinger, tie it all together with actionable takeaways to inspire, motivate, and transform your life. Don't miss this opportunity to reflect on the hidden forces shaping your behavior and uncover strategies to elevate your relationships, career, and purpose. What to Listen For Introduction – 00:00:00 Why is this episode a must-listen for those seeking personal and professional growth? Emotional Mastery and Relationships – 00:02:16 Why is emotional vocabulary essential for self-awareness and deeper connections, according to Karla McLaren? How does labeling emotions help regulate them and improve relationships? What role does jealousy play as a “relational radar,” and how can it guide your behavior? Workplace Dynamics and Empathy – 00:14:26 How does empathy shape team dynamics, as explained by Dr. Tessa West? Why are networking and understanding workplace hierarchies critical for career success? What common missteps do professionals make when navigating workplace relationships? Redefining Productivity – 00:16:18 What is Cal Newport's concept of slow productivity, and how does it challenge traditional workplace norms? How can focusing on quality over activity help you avoid burnout and achieve more meaningful results? Why does pseudo-productivity dominate knowledge work, and how can you break free? Habits and Communication – 00:24:41 How can small preparatory actions, like setting intentions, drastically reduce workplace conflict? Why is self-awareness essential for creating effective communication habits? Winning the Work vs. Doing the Work – 00:28:27 What's the difference between delivering work and developing business relationships, according to Mo Bunnell? Why do skills that make you an expert often conflict with those needed to grow professionally? How can you master the shift to winning work while maintaining your technical expertise? High Performance and Resilience – 00:30:22 What are the key principles of performance psychology shared by Eric Potterat, inspired by Navy SEALs? Why is adaptability just as important as grit, according to Ross White? How can psychological flexibility help you navigate life's challenges and enhance performance? Overcoming Inner Challenges – 00:38:59 How does understanding personal baggage influence relationships and decision-making? Why is self-awareness crucial for achieving personal growth and happiness? Living with Purpose – 00:41:57 How does Jodi Wellman encourage us to confront mortality as a motivator for living fully? How can reflecting on your limited time inspire you to take action today? Unlocking the Unsaid – 00:45:54 Why do people often withhold valuable insights in relationships, according to Jeff Witzler? How can asking better questions deepen your connections and uncover hidden truths? What are the fears and barriers that prevent open communication, and how can you overcome them? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Go to www.LearningLeader.com for full show notes The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk Notes: Mo Bunnell is the author of Give to Grow, The Snowball System, and the founder of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG), who has trained tens of thousands of seller experts at over 400 clients all over the world. I wake up every morning looking to help my friends succeed, and some just happen to be clients. — Proactively thinking of ways to add value to others is a great way to build a meaningful life. Our brains think literally. Relationships grow exponentially. Give consistently to grow relationships. Celebrate incremental progress. Mo writes in a journal the growth of himself, his business, and his customers. We all should be better at celebrating incremental progress. Teresa Amabile's research shows that this leads to a more enjoyable life. August 4, 1984, was a meaningful day for his family. (Dad's alcoholism. That was the day of his last drink) The difference between doing the work versus winning the work Example: You win the work by asking lots of questions. You do the work giving answers. Every successful career hinges on two things: Doing The Work and Winning The Work. Both delivering value on the current work and developing the relationships that create future opportunities are vital for long-term success. Whether you're in a new role or want new outcomes, the most powerful results come from prioritizing both Doing The Work and Winning The Work. Ask questions – Mo shares 50+ questions to ask. Ask self-disclosure questions. Those are questions that only that person can answer. Fall in love with the problem. Pronoia – The world is out to help you succeed. People can live in 1 of 3 ways. Drift - Stay busy. Answer emails. Driven - Hyper emphasis on one thing at the detriment of others (triathlon guy) By Design - Write down where you want to be and make a plan to do it. On purpose. Delayed gratification: Weekly planning process Offer 3 proactive change agent ideas Mo is in 5 masterminds Shawn Blanc in Breckenridge. Net givers. MASHUP - His house. Help others. Ask for help. Elite Adventure athletes GivetoGrow.Info MASHUP! Mastermind of Awesome Super Human Unreal People
Join us for a conversation about overcoming psychological barriers as a leader. Mo Bunnell is the author Give to Grow and CEO of Bunnell Idea Group. One of my favorite parts of the interview was how we tell ourselves lies to avoid doing the hard project. You can get the Magnetic Systems Guide (and other business system guides) to find issues before they become expensive problems. Here's a five-part summary highlighting the best ideas from the podcast interview: 1. The Power of Systems in Leadership and Relationship Building Mo and Karl emphasized the importance of identifying and leveraging systems in both leadership and relationship development. Using a "10x mindset": Focus on providing value 10 times to build trust, expecting only one success out of ten efforts. Balancing tasks: Leaders must manage the duality of "winning the work" (persuasive relationship-building) and "doing the work" (execution with precision). The actionable insight: Approach relationships with intentionality, structure, and clear processes to maximize effectiveness and impact. 2. Overcoming Psychological Barriers and the Five Lies Mo shared the "Five Lies" that hinder relationship building. Leaders can use these insights to identify personal roadblocks and take actionable steps toward growth. 3. Leading Through Emotional Awareness Mo's example of organizing a large-scale event revealed how labeling emotions (e.g., stress, worry) can foster team collaboration. By sharing his concerns openly with his team, he transformed stress into actionable solutions, leading to a successful event. System Insight: Recognize emotions as indicators, articulate them to trusted collaborators, and use collective brainstorming to navigate challenges effectively. 4. Strategic Giving and Its Boundaries The distinction between "successful givers" and "unsuccessful givers" lies in setting boundaries: Successful givers say no to unnecessary demands and scale the size of their contributions relative to the expected impact. Examples: Offering small, manageable assistance to lower-priority requests while reserving deeper engagement for high-impact relationships. The core idea: Giving should be generous but sustainable, ensuring that it does not drain the giver's energy or resources. 5. Leadership Bottlenecks and Business Growth Mo introduced a four-box model to diagnose and address bottlenecks in business growth: Solution: Ensure differentiation and ease of purchase. Learn more about Mo Bunnell over at Bunnell Idea Group. You can also check out his book Give to Grow (Amazong Link). Connect with him on LinkedIn. As always, if you have any questions or want to submit an amazing guest for the podcast, just reach out to me on the Systematic Leader website, and I'll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Systematic Leader podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!
Cultivating and nurturing relationships, the power of reciprocity, and the role relationships play in growing your business. ----- Welcome to episode 490 of The Food Blogger Pro Podcast! This week on the podcast, Bjork interviews Mo Bunnell from Bunnell Idea Group about his new book, Give to Grow. Give to Grow with Mo Bunnell In this week's episode, we're excited to share Mo's incredible journey from the world of actuaries to the vibrant realm of entrepreneurship. Mo dives deep into how he transitioned from crunching numbers to building a thriving business, discovering that the real magic lies in forging genuine connections. He emphasizes that generosity and relationship-building are key ingredients for success, and you'll definitely want to hear his insights! Mo also explores the power of reciprocity in fostering meaningful relationships. He shares practical tips on making clear, trustworthy offers that can open doors to high-value connections, even if you're starting from scratch. Whether you have a long list of contacts or are just beginning, Mo's advice on tracking opportunities and nurturing relationships will inspire you to take proactive steps toward collaboration and growth. Don't miss this chance to learn how to elevate your networking game! Three episode takeaways: From Actuary to Entrepreneur: Mo shares his journey from crunching numbers as an actuary to diving headfirst into entrepreneurship. Along the way, he discovered the magic of relationship-building, emphasizing how generosity and genuine connections can lead to success. The Power of Reciprocity: You'll learn how Mo taps into the science of reciprocity to foster meaningful relationships. He stresses the importance of making clear, trustworthy offers to brands and prioritizing high-value connections that can drive your business forward. Cultivating Relationships: Discover Mo's practical tips for nurturing connections and generating leads—even if you start with no contacts! He encourages listeners to keep track of opportunities and relationships, showing that proactive engagement can exponentially grow trust and collaboration over time. Resources: Bunnell Idea Group Give to Grow (Mo's newest book!) James Clear's paper clip strategy Join the Food Blogger Pro Podcast Facebook Group Thank you to our sponsor! This episode is sponsored by Yoast. Interested in working with us too? Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities and how to get started here. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for interviews, be sure to email them to podcast@foodbloggerpro.com. Learn more about joining the Food Blogger Pro community at foodbloggerpro.com/membership.
Welcome to the What's Next! Podcast with Tiffani Bova. I have the pleasure of welcoming Mo Bunnell to the show today. He helps complex organizations grow by scaling business development skills and creating a growth-oriented culture. He's the founder of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG), which has trained tens of thousands of professionals at hundreds of organizations. He is the author of The Snowball System and has a new book out called Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career. THIS EPISODE IS PERFECT FOR… anyone looking to grow their business and deepen client relationships in a more meaningful, human-centered way. TODAY'S MAIN MESSAGE… in this day and age, business development isn't about deals but relationships. Mo dives into this approach and explores how to build authentic, lasting relationships that add real value and, ultimately, drive growth. Key Takeaways: Mo's 3-step process to collaborate better and drive more revenue: fall in love with their problem, give them the experience of working with them, and make a recommendation. The skills you need to do the work after you get the “yes” are the opposite of the skills you need to get the “yes.” Those who identify where the decision makers see value and attach to it will find the magic. Relationship building takes time and effort. Mo recommends quarterly audits to strategically delegate or automate tasks to create more space for relationships. WHAT I LOVE MOST… take a few minutes to make a list of the 10-15 relationships that are the most important to your future success. Mo says these are the relationships you should be focused on developing now. Running Time: 29:34 Subscribe on iTunes Find Tiffani Online: LinkedIn Facebook X Find Mo Online: Website LinkedIn Mo's Book: Give to Grow
Thought leaders may believe that great ideas are what attracts clients. But business development expert Mo Bunnell says that isn't enough. The founder and CEO of Bunnell Idea Group believes thought leaders must build a relationship ecosystem of clients and business clients. Mo's new book, “Give to Grow,” covers how to build highly productive, life-long business relationships. The accomplished thought leader speaks with Bob Buday about why thought leaders and thought leadership professionals who want ideas to travel farther should focus as much on developing relationships with key people as they do on developing key concepts. “Blueprint” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Music set to voice-over. https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/Ashes_1206/blueprint/ https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jahzzar/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Tue, 05 Nov 2024 22:30:00 GMT http://relay.fm/focused/216 http://relay.fm/focused/216 David Sparks and Mike Schmitz Business and life coach Amy Wicks joins us to talk about the Enneagram personality assessment and showing up as our true selves. Business and life coach Amy Wicks joins us to talk about the Enneagram personality assessment and showing up as our true selves. clean 4161 Business and life coach Amy Wicks joins us to talk about the Enneagram personality assessment and showing up as our true selves. This episode of Focused is sponsored by: Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code FOCUSED. Indeed: Join more than 3.5 million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast. Guest Starring: Amy Wicks Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. The FOCUSED Calendar Amy's Book Amy's Podcast The Enneagram Institute Kolbe A™ Index Simply Wholehearted Enneagram Quiz The Story of You by Ian Morgan Cron The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron Your Enneagram Coach Radical Candor by Kim Scott Good Work by Paul Millerd Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell Give to Grow by Mo Bunnell
Tue, 05 Nov 2024 22:30:00 GMT http://relay.fm/focused/216 http://relay.fm/focused/216 Wholehearted Transformation, with Amy Wicks 216 David Sparks and Mike Schmitz Business and life coach Amy Wicks joins us to talk about the Enneagram personality assessment and showing up as our true selves. Business and life coach Amy Wicks joins us to talk about the Enneagram personality assessment and showing up as our true selves. clean 4161 Business and life coach Amy Wicks joins us to talk about the Enneagram personality assessment and showing up as our true selves. This episode of Focused is sponsored by: Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code FOCUSED. Indeed: Join more than 3.5 million businesses worldwide using Indeed to hire great talent fast. Guest Starring: Amy Wicks Links and Show Notes: Deep Focus: Extended ad-free episodes with bonus deep dive content. The FOCUSED Calendar Amy's Book Amy's Podcast The Enneagram Institute Kolbe A™ Index Simply Wholehearted Enneagram Quiz The Story of You by Ian Morgan Cron The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron Your Enneagram Coach Radical Candor by Kim Scott Good Work by Paul Millerd Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman Of Boys and Men by Richard Reeves The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell Give to Grow by Mo Bunnell
This week, I talk with my friend Mo Bunnell, founder of GrowBIG and the Bunnell Idea Group, which offers one of the most in-depth, relationship-driven trainings on sales and business development. Mo is the author of Give to Grow, a book I recommend to anyone interested in learning business development with a values-centered approach. We start by diving into Mo's personal life, his deep commitment to family, and the strength of his marriage. In the second half, Mo shares his unique business development framework, applying it to my business in ways that make it practical and actionable. Mo's insights reveal how success, when rooted in genuine connection, transforms careers and lives. I hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the kindest, most relationship-driven people I know. Let's get to it! In this episode: (00:00) - Intro (03:32) - How Mo ended up tied to a donkey in the Colorado mountains (09:22) - Reflecting on 32 years of marriage (12:41) - The power of writing down goals (16:13) - Case study: Pursuing a dream home (24:45) - Parenting and the importance of family rituals (34:59) - Celebrating achievements and friendships (37:21) - The role of community and friendship (39:26) - Building a sense of belonging (40:00) - The Breckenridge and Mashup experience (41:01) - Creating and hosting events (49:28) - Writing, publishing, and becoming an author (01:03:35) - Applying the Give to Grow framework (01:11:52) - The five lies we tell ourselves (01:14:31) - Overcoming the lies and setting goals (01:19:35) - Designing a buy-in process (01:22:14) - Identifying and engaging with clients (01:24:49) - The power of specialization (01:30:37) - Creating scalable systems (01:38:37) - Mo's beautiful future (01:40:23) - Who Mo is becoming Get full show notes and links at https://GoodWorkShow.com. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@barrettabrooks.
So, you have a vision and a business – but what crucial element are you missing? The right people! Back on the podcast with me is Jackie Koch, who is not only a good friend of mine but an expert when it comes to HR + hiring talent to bring your vision to life! This week, we'll dive into the tactical side of building and scaling a team as you step into your role as a leader. She'll share the best strategies to call in your dream team and create a solid foundation for your business to thrive. To all the entrepreneurs + small business owners looking to take their leadership skills to the next level, this is YOUR episode! HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 Say hello to Jackie Koch, your go-to guide for all things leadership, HR, and hiring talent! 03:20 Mindset shifts from start-up world to entrepreneurship. 09:45 What are the biggest mistakes when building a team? 13:25 How to foster relationships with your team as a leader. 18:30 Most commonly forgotten HR regulations. 23:35 How do you build your own dream team? 28:40 The best resources + tips for the hiring process. 33:40 How to call in the right people for your business. 38:40 The biggest shifts we can make as a leader. 45:50 What do you need to become the world's greatest boss? 48:05 Celebrating Jackie's Powerhouse moment of going through a hard season while growing a business. RESOURCES + LINKS Check out Jackie's World's Greatest Boss Podcast! Visit People Principles for HR Services | https://www.peopleprinciples.co/ondemand Give to Grow by Mo Bunnell on Amazon Radical Candor by Kim Scott on Amazon The Making of a Manager by Julie Zhuo on Amazon Check out the Manager Method by Ashely Herd! | https://www.managermethod.com/ Click HERE to text the word MENTOR to (602) 536-7829 for weekly business + mindset tips delivered straight to your phone! Powerhouse Women is a COMMUNITY and YOU are part of it! Take a screenshot of this episode and tag us on Instagram so we can keep the conversation going and create more of the episodes you need! FOLLOW Jackie: @jackie.koch_ Powerhouse Women: @powerhouse_women Lindsey: @llindseyschwartz Visit the Powerhouse Women website: powerhousewomen.co Join the PW Community Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/powerhousewomencommunity
Second City Works presents "Getting to Yes, And" on WGN Plus
Kelly talks to business leader, author and podcast host Mo Bunnell about his new book, “Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career.” “It's amazing how creative we can be to avoid acting.” “Showing someone attention is one of the most meaningful things you can do.” “Top performers fall in love with […]
Mo Bunnell and his colleagues at Bunnell Idea Group have trained more than 50,000 high-end professionals, business owners, and entrepreneurs on the remarkable effectiveness of gifting their expertise to create and maximize client relationships. Mo's new book, Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career, from elite business book publisher Bard Press, is the bible of strategic giving. “The real magic to this approach: It's always your move, and there's always a way to be helpful,” Mo writes. “When you focus on giving, you will remove your own mental roadblocks. You'll be centered on solving the client's problems and investing in their success. And you can build a system to consistently integrate the right moves into your busy work life.” Walking his talk, Mo is offering — for free and with zero obligation — a suite of Give to Grow resources, including videos, a team launch guide, top lead generation methods worksheet, and 50-plus go-to questions to fast-track your meeting preparation. As Mo says, “A great deal might make your year, but a great relationship can make your entire career.” Monday Morning Radio is hosted by the father-son duo of Dean and Maxwell Rotbart. Photo: Mo Bunnell, Bunnell Idea GroupPosted: October 21, 2024 Monday Morning Run Time: 55:43 Episode: 13.19 RELATED EPISODES: Insights for Authors, Would-Be Authors, and Readers from Bard Press's Todd Sattersten It Is Our Struggles, More Than Our Successes, That Forge Great Leaders and Entrepreneurs Ray Bard's New Book is Intended to Help Salespeople; But Don't Be Fooled
On this week's episode of Get Hired, LinkedIn Editor at Large Andrew Seaman speaks with Mo Bunnell, founder and CEO of Bunnell Idea Group. They discuss Mo's new book Give to Grow and how the concept of “strategic giving” can be applied to the job-search process. Mo also shares advice for overcoming the biggest barrier to achieving career success: self-doubt. Follow Andrew on LinkedIn to join the Get Hired community by clicking here. Follow Mo Bunnell on LinkedIn by clicking here.
We know relationships, personal and professional, are important. How do we add value to who and what you know? Kevin sits down with Mo Bunnell, to discuss how focusing on relationships can positively impact both personal and professional growth. He highlights how business development and leadership are deeply intertwined with fostering strong relationships. Mo and Kevin explore the concept of giving value first, explaining how giving the gift of attention, understanding, wisdom, and clarity and progress can build trust and drive business outcomes. Mo also touches on common roadblocks, such as being "too busy" or fearing rejection, and how leaders can overcome these challenges to invest in their relationships. Listen For 00:00 Introduction to Relationships and Success 01:31 Introducing Mo Bunnell 02:07 Mo Bunnell's Background and Career 03:12 Transitioning from Actuary to Relationship Development 06:36 The Importance of Relationships in Leadership 07:55 Combining Expertise with Relationship Skills 09:02 From Order Taker to Driver of Positive Change 10:15 Applying Reciprocity in Leadership and Sales 13:20 Lies We Tell Ourselves in Relationship Building 15:28 Overcoming the “I'm Too Busy” Lie 19:12 The Gift of Attention 20:28 The Gift of Understanding 22:47 The Gift of Wisdom 29:04 The Gift of Clarity and Progress 33:49 It's Always Your Move 36:09 How to Keep Rising and Elevating Impact 39:22 Conclusion and Closing Remarks Book Recommendations Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career by Mo Bunnell The Generous Leader: 7 Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone's Gain by Joe Davis Like this? Building Exceptional Relationships with David Bradford and Carole Robin Building Incredible Collaborative Relationships with Dr. Deb Mashek
"Two things have to be true: one, you have to offer enough value so that they're paying attention. And two, you've got to communicate that value in a believable way, either through a third party or somebody they trust or you directly."It might be cliché, but it's still true: speaking is a relationships business. If you want to be a successful speaker, you have to invest in building relationships every single day — with event planners, with industry leaders, and with other speakers.This week, Grant is sitting down with Mo Bunnell to talk about how to overcome some of the most common obstacles that speakers face in making connections — being "too busy," fearing rejection, and more.Mo recently wrote a book called Give to Grow about how to invest in relationships to build your business and your career, and he has a lot of practical advice that will help you get out of your comfort zone and start building relationships like a pro.If you're struggling to get traction in your speaking business and you're looking for a spark to get things going, this might be the episode you need to hear!"I'll be really bold on this. If somebody is thinking 'I'm too busy to do the next piece of work,' that is a massive excuse and you just need to flush it."Looking for the highlights?03:53 How to fall in love with the process of building relationships07:08 How limiting beliefs can block speakers from achieving success10:20 Why many speakers struggle with promoting themselves15:23 How to maximize face time with key decision-makers20:40 Ways to balance service with getting gigs in conversations25:06 How to understand client needs and stated vs. unstated problems33:01 Why you should reach out quarterly to maintain important relationshipsEpisode Resources:Mo's WebsiteGive to Grow BookGive to Grow LiveGet Free Speaker ResourcesBook a Call with The Speaker LabCalculate Your Speaking FeeJoin The Speaker Lab Community on FacebookSubscribe on Apple PodcastsSubscribe on SpotifySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Topics We Explored:* Mo Bunnell's new book Give to Grow and why it makes sense to focus on relationships and a giving mindset as the foundation for long-term business success.* How to define business development and distinguish it from pure sales, as well as the importance of strategic helpfulness in developing a business or career. * The logic behind providing value upfront through small projects or advice to build trust and increase the likelihood of future business and engagement.* Strategies for making effective recommendations and managing client expectations, including the use of social proof and escalating commitments.Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:* Mo Bunnell: Website | Podcast* Give to Grow Supplemental Materials: Downloadable resources, including the Give to Grow Team Launch Guide, top lead generation methods worksheet, meeting prep questions, research citations, and an exclusive secret chapter.* Find Your Business Flow: PF's new cohort program to help entrepreneurs focus on (among other things) growth — building relationships, scaling your business, and winning the work that matters.Perspectives like those in this episode can help you grow your business. By upgrading to a paid subscription, you gain access to exclusive content, monthly coaching calls & e-courses.About Mo Bunnell:Mo Bunnell helps complex organizations grow by scaling business development skills and creating a growth-oriented culture. He's the founder of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG) and the author of The Snowball System. BIG has trained tens of thousands of professionals at hundreds of organizations. Mo lives in Atlanta, Georgia.Thanks for Listening!Subscribe to Productive Flourishing on Apple Podcasts to get all the latest episodes delivered straight to your preferred mobile device. This is the perfect option for listening to the show in the car, on the subway, or while you're working out. Plus, you won't have to fuss with figuring out how you're going to listen.Episode Timestamps[0:01:46] Charlie Gilkey introduces Mo Bunnell and discusses why he's excited about the Give to Grow book.[0:05:02] Discussion of the broader definition of business development and how it differs from sales.[0:07:34] Mo Bunnell explains the importance of balancing altruistic and economic success in business.[0:11:41] Importance of selling the problem and the solution, not just the expertise.[0:13:26] Discussion of the differences between the skills needed for "doing the work" versus "winning the work".[0:18:30] Explanation of the concept of "certainty" versus "possibility" in business development.[0:22:05] Explanation of the "give to grow" strategy and providing value upfront to build trust.[0:26:52] Discussion of how to make effective recommendations and manage client expectations.[0:31:14] Advice on naming programs and offerings to focus on outcomes, not just processes.[0:35:47] Importance of providing options and allowing clients to choose.[0:41:44] Addressing the challenge of transitioning from free to paid content. [0:47:59] Practical tips for committing to and testing new business development strategies.[0:52:54] Discussion of the importance of casting possibility and helping clients see their best version.[1:06:51] Final thoughts on the emotion and inspiration of winning the work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.productiveflourishing.com/subscribe
Mo Bunnell helps complex organizations grow by scaling business development skills across their organizations and creating agrowth-oriented culture. He's the author of The Snowball System, the host of the video podcast Real Relationships Real Revenue andthe founder of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG), who has trained over tens of thousands of seller-experts at over 400 clients, all over theworld.BIG's clients have used Mo and his team's GrowBIG® training to give their experts a system for growth that creates ravings fans,gives a comprehensive business development framework and is, dare we say, is fun to use.Mo started out his career as an expert himself, passing all the actuarial exams to earn their highest designation: Fellow of the Societyof Actuaries. Today, Mo gets most excited working with BIG's clients that usually fall into two camps: professional service firms likeKing & Spalding and Sotheby's and service-based companies like Aetna, Constellation Energy and TransUnion.Mo lives in Atlanta with his wife of nearly 30 years, his two daughters (when they're home from college) and their miniature donkey,Louie Hamilton.Key Takeaways-Success in business requires not only technical skills but also strong relational skills. -The concept of "the shift" emphasizes the need for individuals to transition from focusing solely on technical expertise to also mastering communication and relationship-building skills.-There is a distinction between "doing the work" (execution) and "winning the work" (relationship building and securing opportunities). Effective communication varies between these two contexts.-There are four steps for success:1 Focus on engagement2 Provide an experience of working with you3 Make clear recommendations for next steps4 Scale efforts based on expected long-term benefits-A shift in mindset from fear of failure to a focus on helping others can drive motivation and success.Join The “Now” Newsletter: https://now.katierichardson.com/newsletterAbout Katie Richardson:Katie, once a girl who just liked to have fun, transformed into a globally recognized designer and entrepreneur. With expertise in woodworking, welding, drawing, and sewing, she crafted her own path. Despite initial doubts and imposter syndrome, Katie defied expectations by establishing Puj, a business that now boasts its products in 2,000 US stores and 26 countries, delighting over 1 million customers worldwide. Her greatest aspiration is to inspire women across the globe. Renowned shows like the Ellen Degeneres Show, Rachael Ray Show, Today Show, and Entrepreneur Magazine have featured her, while influential figures like Martha Stewart, Matt Damon, Camilla Alves, Mario Lopez, Robert Downey Jr., Kourtney Kardashian, Bill & Giuliana Rancic, and Pam Beesley have embraced her products. Today, Katie is a coach, mother of four, wife, author, and powerful speaker.Connect with Katie:Website: https://katierichardson.com/CASE STUDIES: https://now.katierichardson.com/casestudyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-richardson-creatorApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/whats-working-now/id1515291698BuzzSprout: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1847280Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2kV8cL7eTZ70UAXMOtcBbrNewsletter: https://now.katierichardson.com/newsletter
Unlock the secret to turning every connection into a meaningful relationship that grows your business. In this insightful episode, Mo Bunnell, author of "Give to Grow: How Givers Get Ahead," reveals counterintuitive strategies to build genuine rapport by focusing on others' needs first. Discover how to "fall in love with their problem, not your solution" and provide value before ever expecting anything in return. Master the mindset shift that top entrepreneurs and influencers use to turn casual encounters into deep relationships that pay dividends. Guest: Mo Bunnell, author of the book "Give to Grow: How Givers Get Ahead." Learn more: Website & LinkedIn Host: Jonathan Fields, creator of Good Life Project podcast and the Sparketype® Assessment More on Sparketypes: Discover Your Sparketype | The Book | The Website Presented by LinkedIn.
We've been thinking about networking wrong this entire time. Let's flip the script and focus instead on adding value, deepening connection and staying in touch. These strategies can then help you change careers, improve your “business development” and increasing your surface of luck. Mo Bunnell is the founder and CEO of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG), a consulting and training company that specializes in helping professionals improve their business development and client relationship skills. He's the author of Give to Grow and The Snowball System. [Episode 66] Links: Real Relationships, Real Revenue Podcast: https://bunnellideagroup.com/podcast/ Give to Grow Book: https://bunnellideagroup.com/givetogrow/ X/Twitter: https://x.com/MoBunnell LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mobunnell —-JOIN OUR GROUP COACHING COHORTS:Are you looking to ask deep, introspective and provocative questions about your own life (with Khe and likeminded peers)Apply today—-BECOME A RADREADER: Join 50,000+ ambitious professionals for our weekly essays on productivity, money and career.
Mo Bunnell is an author, podcast host, and founder of the Bunnell Idea Group, which has trained 25,000 people at over 500 companies for scaling the right way. Today, he shares the story of what he calls, “the dumbest thing I ever did that almost destroyed my family” – and the story of recovery. 1:46 – Meet Mo4:42 – How Mo started his business8:44 – Mo's challenge19:21 – Why we don't take the clear next right step23:07 – The power of improving one thing24:36 – Give to grow28:27 – Looking to the future*****Learn more from our guest: Take the free Give To Grow course: https://bunnellideagroup.com/givetogrowmaterials/ Read his book, Give To Grow: https://www.amazon.com/Give-Grow-Invest-Relationships-Business-ebook/dp/B0CTTJ5FYY ***** Learn more about the podcast or access resources: https://reclaimandadvance.com/ Connect with Terry on socials: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-rice/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TerryRice Instagram: @itsterryrice Twitter: @itsterryrice
In this thought-provoking episode of FUTUREPROOF., we sit down with Mo Bunnell, author of "Give to Grow" and an expert in business development and client relationships. Mo, who has trained thousands in his comprehensive business development system, shares actionable insights on how to deepen relationships and drive growth both professionally and personally.In this episode, you'll learn:The Core Mission of 'Give to Grow': Mo discusses the inspiration behind his book and why nurturing relationships is key to professional growth.The Power of High-Impact Relationships: Discover how strategic relationships can transform your business trajectory.Overcoming Common Relationship-building Challenges: Mo provides solutions for the most frequent issues people face when trying to strengthen business connections.Strategies for Sustained Success: Learn the actionable steps you can take today to start building more meaningful and productive relationships.Balancing Personal Growth with Professional Development: Mo shares his philosophy on how helping others succeed can propel your own success.Mo's insights are invaluable for anyone looking to enhance their influence and effectiveness in any business setting.Elevate your relationship-building skills by grabbing a copy of "Give to Grow" available now at major book retailers. Learn from Mo Bunnell how to cultivate genuine connections that not only enhance your career but also enrich your personal life. Purchase here
Occasionally I read a book and think, "Damn! I WISH I had written this book!!" This is one of them. It's called Give to Grow and author Mo Bunnell is the guest on this week's episode of the Creating Superfans podcast! Mo is the founder and CEO of a global business development consulting firm, Bunnell Idea Group (BIG). Through his trademarked, science-backed system, Mo has helped tens of thousands of professionals at over 400 organizations grow their book of business efficiently and effectively. Mo and I chat about….His hacks for demonstrating curiosity and helpfulness to cultivate stronger relationshipsThe power of reciprocity The delicate balance between “winning the work” and “doing the work” How to overcome the toxic lies that are inhibiting our business development goalsBy the end of the episode, you'll walk away with actionable strategies to nurture valuable relationships and drive positive change in both your personal and professional lives. Get a copy of Mo's new book, Give to Grow, and check out the accompanying free resources here.Listen to Brittany's episode on Mo's podcast, Real Relationships Real Revenue (season 5 episode 10).Follow Mo Bunnell on LinkedIn.
Mo Bunnell helps complex organizations grow by scaling business development skills across their organizations and creating a growth-oriented culture. He is the author of Give to Grow, The Snowball System, the host of the podcast Real Relationships Real Revenue, and the founder of Bunnell Idea Group (BIG), who has trained tens of thousands of professionals. BIG's clients have used Mo and his team's GrowBIG® training to give their experts a system for growth that creates deep relationships, gives a comprehensive business development framework, and dare we say, is fun to use. Mo started his career as an expert himself, passing all the actuarial exams to earn their highest designation: Fellow of the Society of Actuaries. Today, Mo enjoys working with hundreds of clients including some of the largest, most prestigious service-based organizations. Mo and his wife of over 30 years, Becky, enjoy spending time with their friends and two adult daughters. Outside of work he enjoys working out, backpacking, and playing ultimate frisbee at the national and world levels. Becky and Mo live in Atlanta Georgia with their four horses, two cats, dog, bird and miniature donkey, Louie Hamilton. ---------------------------------------- This show is sponsored by Leopard Solutions Legal Intelligence Suite of products, Firmscape, and Leopard BI. Push ahead of the pack with the power of Leopard. For a free demo, visit this link: https://www.leopardsolutions.com/index.php/request-a-demo/ www.theplacementclub.com Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mobunnell/ https://bunnellideagroup.com https://bunnellideagroup.com/givetogrow/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Daily Creative, we dive into the concept of generosity and how it can transform our professional and personal lives. Our guest, Mo Bunnell, author of the new book Give to Grow and founder of Bunnell Idea Group, joins us to discuss the distinction between doing the work and winning the work. Mo shares his insights on how being strategically generous can create raving fans and forge lasting professional relationships. We also explore practical strategies for infusing generosity into our everyday interactions and leadership, ensuring our efforts resonate deeply and generate meaningful connections.Key Learnings:1. Relationship Over Transaction: True professional success involves not just performing exceptional work, but also building lasting relationships by understanding the client's unique needs and priorities.2. Impact of Generosity: Small acts of generosity, like Billy Dean's 20 minutes at an airport, can humanize industries and leave a lasting impact on people, translating into long-term benefits.3. Strategic Giving: Being a strategic giver means giving without expecting anything in return but sizing the give relative to potential payoffs, thus maximizing positive outcomes without depleting resources.4. Effective Client Engagement: Using open-ended questions to engage clients in discussions about their dreams and needs helps in creating tailored solutions that resonate, rather than imposing pre-conceived ideas.5. Practical Phrasing: Simple phrases like, "Would it be helpful if..." can facilitate collaboration and make it easier for clients to say yes, ensuring more seamless and effective engagements.Get full interviews and daily content in the Daily Creative app at DailyCreative.app.
In today's episode, we explore the crucial mindset shift from doing the work to winning the work with Mo Bunnell, a renowned business growth expert and founder of the Bunnell Idea Group. With decades of experience helping organizations scale and thrive, Mo has dedicated his career to teaching professionals how to elevate their approach to relationship-building and business development. As the author of "The Snowball System: How to Win More Business and Turn Clients into Raving Fans" and host of the "Real Relationships, Real Revenue" podcast, Mo brings a wealth of knowledge on how small, consistent actions can lead to exponential growth in your career and business. Join us for an engaging conversation with Mo Bunnell, where he reveals the secrets to shifting from simply doing the work to winning the work in your career. How can you overcome the internal obstacles that hold you back from building meaningful relationships and growing your business? What are the small, consistent habits that can lead to exponential success over time? Mo shares his expert strategies on developing a winning mindset, the art of giving to grow, and the critical shifts in communication that can help you move from being a good performer to a top performer. Discover actionable insights to elevate your career, deepen your professional relationships, and unlock new opportunities in both your business and personal life. What to Listen For Introduction – 00:00:00 What inspired Mo Bunnell to focus on the mindset shift from doing the work to winning the work? How has Mo's extensive experience in business growth shaped his approach to relationship building and business development? What key principles from "Give to Grow" can help you elevate your career and business relationships? The Mindset Shift: Doing the Work vs. Winning the Work – 00:02:16 What is the crucial difference between doing the work and winning the work, and why is it essential for career growth? How can you start thinking 10x, not 1x, to overcome internal fears and embrace opportunities? What are the key habits that successful professionals use to transition from a delivery-focused mindset to a growth-oriented one? Overcoming the Lies That Hold You Back – 00:13:47 What are the five common lies we tell ourselves that hinder our success in relationship building? How can you identify and counteract these lies to maintain momentum in your career? Why is it important to act through discomfort and rejection to achieve long-term success? Integrating Relationship Development with Daily Work – 00:19:47 How can you seamlessly integrate relationship building into your daily tasks without feeling overwhelmed? What are practical examples of small, consistent actions that can lead to significant career growth? How can face-to-face interactions dramatically increase your chances of success in building relationships? The Power of Giving to Grow – 00:31:39 What does it mean to “give to grow,” and how can this mindset transform your professional relationships? How can you provide value even when you feel you have nothing to give? What are the four types of gifts you can offer to deepen relationships and create opportunities? Strategic Giving and Setting Boundaries – 00:43:38 How can you be a strategic giver without getting taken advantage of? What are the boundaries you need to set to ensure that your giving leads to mutual growth? How can asking for small commitments from others help you identify who's worth investing in? Building Habits for Long-Term Success – 00:51:47 How can you create routines and habits that naturally lead to winning the work? What is the importance of maintaining a list of key opportunities and relationships, and how can this practice drive your success? How can focusing on three most important things (MITs) each week create unstoppable momentum in your career? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, Bart welcomes Mo Bunnell, founder of The Bunnell Idea Group, back to The Inspire Podcast to discuss his new book, Give to Growth. Mo highlights a fundamental truth: relationships are the foundation of long-term business success. But he also dives into the often overlooked aspect—how to effectively build these relationships. If you've ever felt too busy, hesitant, or worried about being a bother when it comes to building relationships, then Mo has the secret to overcoming these barriers. He outlines how to be intentional about who you want to connect with, how to get out of your own way and stop telling lies that hold you back, how to give in a way that removes mental roadblocks, helps others, and creates lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. Mo's insights are valuable for anyone in business and in life who want to achieve success through meaningful partnerships. Get a copy of Mo's book here: https://bunnellideagroup.com/givetogrow/ 0:37 Show Intro 1:12 Welcoming Mo 2:48 Focus on high-end experts 3:16 Relationship skills 3:40 How to effectively teach sales to experts 3:55 People hate to be sold to, but they love to buy 4:07 Have people think of a time when the rep did a horrible job of selling 4:36 Describe a good sales experience 6:09 Is your new book an evolution of your ideas? 6:35 Who is Give to Grow (the book) for? 7:14 Is the desire for impact new? 9:00 The lies we tell ourselves 10:54 Lie #1 -- "I can't" 11:40 Lie #2 - "I don't know what to do" 12:05 Lie #3 - "I might do it wrong" 12:21 Lie #4 - "I'm too busy" 12:41 Lie #5 - "I'm afraid I'll look bad" 13:09 How to tell when it's a lie and when it's accurate? 17:08 All complex skills are learned and earned 17:32 The "yet" hack 20:02 What kind of relationship success should we be trying to create? 20:31 Build relationship equity 20:58 Focus on the key 15 relationships in your life 21:47 Isn't that too calculating? 22:47 Beginning of a relationship - need to solidify it 27:31 Give them a taste of working with you 28:16 Give to get at Humphrey Group 29:37 The Inspire Podcast is a give-to-get 30:37 How to approach it for non-transactional relationships 31:14 Fall in love with their problem 32:23 "Would it be helpful if I did ______ for you?" 34:10 Free training course - Give to Grow 35:38 Impact - 3 ways to have it 36:08 Proactivity and persistence are key 36:35 3 different timeframes to think about 36:55 It's always your move and always a chance to be helpful 37:13 Weekly sprints 39:08 The Long Term Strategies 40:50 Where can people go to find out more?
This week on DisrupTV, we interviewed Chris Morgan, AVP, Product Innovation at Jenzabar, Mo Bunnell, author of Give to Grow: Invest in Relationships to Build Your Business and Your Career and Dominic Ashley-Timms and Laura Ashley-Timms, Co-authors of The Answer Is A Question. We discussed:
Olivia Fuller: Hi and welcome to Book Club, a Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I'm Olivia Fuller. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space and we're here to help professionals stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices so they can be more effective in their jobs. Sales can be a tough job and it’s not one that everyone is naturally inclined to do. With uncertain economic conditions like we’re experiencing today, this job can be even more difficult. The Snowball System is designed to help people sell effectively in a way that they’re comfortable with without feeling like a sleazy salesperson. I’m so excited to have the author of “The Snowball System”, Mo Bunnell, here to tell us a little bit more about this concept and his book. With that, Mo, I'd love it if you could tell our audience a little bit about yourself, your background, and your book. Mo Bunnell: Yes, let me say this out of the gate. All of you listeners and watchers out there, I am so much a fan of sales enablement professionals and Olivia and her team at Sales Enablement PRO have great resources on the website, certifications, classes, courses, assets, and resources. It’s better than I’ve ever seen anywhere, so when Olivia reached out and thought we should do this podcast, I was excited because the work you do matters, and the things that we’re doing to evolve the profession are important. So, Olivia, I just had to say that out of the gate then I can talk about me. OF: I love that. Thank you so much. MB: It’s such an emerging profession and it’s going to continue to grow in importance over time, so you’re all in the right place. A little bit about me, I think a lot of times entrepreneurs start a business without trying to start business. I've been at it for about 20 years, and my moment of starting Bunnell Idea Group was a moment of complete panic, almost an anxiety attack. I had gone from a deep technical expert. I had taken all the exams to become an actuary, which if you don’t know what an actuary is, are long-term financial forecaster. We make the accountants look like party animals. I had taken all these years to pass these exams to be an actuary and in one weekend I turned into a salesperson. Now, we didn’t call it that, I was at a high-end professional consulting firm, so we called it a managing consultant. The fact is in one weekend I went from being rewarded on service delivery, billable hours, client satisfaction, and things like that to retention and growth activities. The moment of panic occurred when I went to my new boss that Monday morning with all of the new floors, business card titles, and all that stuff and I asked him for the manual on business development, sales retention, and growth. I wasn’t expecting him to respond by laughing at me, but he did and it was probably a chuckle, but I heard it like the villain in Scooby Doo. It was not a good thing. That was the beginning. I thought I would get a playbook, but I didn’t get a playbook and I had to build the playbook I can tell you much more about the story if you want, but after years later it turned into an experience, a training class, and now we’ve trained 30,000 people at over 500 organizations all around the globe. OF: I love that. I have a friend who’s becoming an actuary right now and I have a lot of respect for that journey. It is definitely a tough one. As you mentioned, sales is a very tough job and it’s not one that everyone can be naturally inclined to do, especially with the turbulent economy that we’re all experiencing right now, it can be even harder. You talked about how The Snowball System is really designed to help people sell effectively, but the part that I loved is that it’s in a way that they’re comfortable with. I’d love it if you could tell us just a little bit more about that approach and how it can really help sellers be more comfortable, and confident, and ultimately how that translates into effectiveness. MB: This is such an interesting topic. When we first started Bunnell Idea Group or BIG for short, I really tried to redefine what sales meant in people’s minds and I thought for some reason I could do that with the billions of people on the planet. You can’t. Unfortunately, sales have a bad name to a lot of people and we’ve got to reframe that. One of the things that we talked about a lot in our workshops, you see it in the book, is people hate to be sold to, but they love to buy. In our live workshops, we actually list it out, we have people ask buyers they were purchasing something and it did not go well and you’ll hear the buyer say things like the person was pushy, they talk too much, they didn’t listen to my needs, they suggested something that didn’t make sense, they didn’t want to talk about the pricing or the money of the investment easy, they didn’t make it easy to buy and things like that. Then, we say, hey, tell us the time when you purchased something and it went great. They say it was easy, it was frictionless, I liked the person, I was learning, they gave me options, they suggested something less expensive that was better for me, they built trust, and it was fun. The whole mantra of, we hate to be sold to, but we’ll have to buy, if we can start with the frame of salespeople saying I’m not going to fall in love with my solution, I’m going to fall in love with their problem and build trust and have fun with this over time if we can just have a campaign of helpfulness to the other person that changes the whole frame from selling to helping and that’s where we see if people have that right mindset, they are off to the races. OF: I love that approach. The system that you cover in the book really walks through a series of steps. I want to cover each of those just to dig a little bit deeper and the first one that you talk about is targeting your ideal clients. I’d love to hear, from your perspective, what are some of the common challenges that can arise from effectively targeting prospective clients, and then how do you recommend overcoming those challenges? MB: Oh, I could go on for hours, we don’t have enough time. Let’s dive in. I was just training some high-end consultants in Malaysia last night. I’m in Atlanta, Georgia in the US, so it went to like midnight my time and we had a really big unlock. I mean these are some of the smartest business people in the world, tier-one consultants. One of the things that we did that’s different is we broke through a mental heuristic called status quo bias. Now, the audience may not know what that means, but if you can google it if you just go to Wikipedia, it’s not the end all and be off research, but it can give you a good head start. Just google status quo bias and you will get this litany of research that basically says, we tend to do the same things over and over again. When it comes to little things like what app you open on your screen when you open up your phone in the morning, we tend to do the same things over and over. That’s easy. We understand that, but it’s particularly dangerous. I’m being provocative here with the word dangerous. It is particularly dangerous in sales because what status quo bias will make us do if we don’t get out of the trap is keep hanging out and reaching out to the people we already know and like. The reason for that is that we tend to do what we’ve already done, status quo bias, but our egos are at stake to reach out to somebody that we don’t know. We fear rejection, we fear they won’t reach back, and we fear we only have one shot so we have to be perfect with this first outreach. We will make the bar so high that we won’t act and will delay and that’s harmful to the sales rep. What you can do to get over this, and what we did with the group in Malaysia last night, as we said, hey, let’s start with the people we want to work with and the things that we think we could be most helpful to them. What are the game-changing programs that we can take to the people that should purchase from us? By flipping things in their minds from here’s who we usually stay in contact with. They had a contact list of 100 people in a small team. We flipped that from, put that aside for a second, let’s focus on who should buy what from us and where we can have the biggest meaningful impact. We started with that, and then we said, who are the decision makers for those things? It was a completely different list and they left that session so energized to go out and build relationships with those people. It was awesome. We finished the session at midnight, Olivia, I don’t think I went to bed until 3 AM because I was so excited for their future success. I couldn’t sleep. OF: Oh my gosh, I love that story. That goes to show just how when you flip the way that you think about something, you can completely change your approach and ultimately increase the value that you bring. You mentioned that thinking starts with where we could have the biggest impact, and that goes into the next step in the book, which is around positioning your unique value. I’d love to hear some of your best practices around how sellers can actually identify what makes them unique and what that unique value is. MB: I love this and to speak to all the sales enablement people out there, this is frequently done incorrectly, so I want to give you the right way. A lot of times it’s frequently done to come up with some kind of value story or positioning elements like it goes on the website and we definitely need to do that. That’s a universal version of positioning that may or may not be true for one individual or for a certain client prospect to the customer. We definitely have to do that, keep doing that sales enablement folks to get that message tight, get it short, get it sharp. Do all the stuff that you’re used to doing. At the same time, I want you to work with your sales reps, your account managers, and your account execs to also be able to tweak that and shape it for a specific pursuit. We talk about a value pyramid that you saw in the book, Olivia, which is the lowest level or the least that your clients or prospects care about is your universal positioning for your organization. They are a little bit more about the specific offering in the middle of the pyramid. The apex of the pyramid is ‘I am thinking of hiring somebody for X, how are you positioned for me exactly for that?' That makes it real. We need to blend the universal positioning, the kind of stuff that goes on the website that anybody could log into, we need that, but we need to also focus deal by deal, especially for the important ones. That’s thing one. Thing two is, there’s a bunch of research by Dr. Suzanne Shu, and she tested value props from saying you’re good at one thing to 2 to 3 to 4, all the way to 10. And you saw this in the book, Dr. Shu found that people that say they’re good at three things are magical. It’s the most believable. It’s a thing saying you’re good at three things is more believable than 1,2,4,5, or 6, all the way to the 10. There’s a peak and a curve that says that two is better than 1, 3 is better than 2, 4 is worse than 3, 5 is worse than 4, and so on. What we see a lot of sales reps do is because they have fear of being focused, they sort of have this David Letterman top 10 list. These are the top 10 reasons you should hire us for this deal. What happens in Dr. Shu's research is that having more than three creates so much cognitive load for somebody trying to figure out what are you really for. You've got these 10 things here, is there a theme? I don’t know, I can’t understand this. It becomes negative and they give up and having 10 reasons to hire you is basically worse than zero. We want to get really crisp on a specific opportunity. What are the three reasons that we are totally unique to serve this organization? Make it really short, really sharp, and communicate that over and over in our RFP response in the formal finalist meeting and everything else, and that’s what can win the day, Olivia. OF: Absolutely and something that we haven’t talked about a ton quite yet, but I think it’s really important to understand from the book and how the approach is all laid out is that it’s really rooted in science. You mentioned some of those research pieces that fueled how you’re approaching each of these steps. Another one that really resonated with me that I liked in the book was around the step of building connection and the concept was around the science behind likability. I'd love to learn from you, what are some of the ways that sellers can really build impactful connections with their prospects and turn those into long-term client relationships really by being rooted in that science of likability? MB: Thank you for bringing this up because there’s a mantra that some people are sharing in the marketplace that relationships don’t matter, they’re dead. That’s completely untrue. All the research shows that we say yes to people we like, we spend more time with those that we like, doctors spend more time with patients they like, and have better outcomes with those that they like. Likability matters in so many aspects of human nature. You can’t even count the studies that back this up. I will give the audience 3 levers of likability. One I really like is Dr. Jerry Burgers out of Santa Clara University. He was the first person to scientifically prove that we hire people we like more often than those we don’t. In a follow-up study was like, hey what correlates the likability, and the number one level he found is commonality. It's up to us as sales reps, account managers, and account executives to find ways that we have things in common with other people. In general, uncommon commonalities are more powerful than common commonalities. Olivia, when we were chatting right before we started recording, we were talking about how we both have dogs, they love snow, and they do silly things. You and I were bonding on that, so it’s up to us as salespeople to find out what we have in common. The science shows it can be things like we both like Dan Pink's business books. It can be that we both have dogs that are rescue dogs that are huskies or shepherds. It can be that we both like ultimate frisbee or the Kansas City Chiefs or Big Red Bordeaux’s. It can be things in business and in non-business, but we’ve got to find those things that we have in common and then reinforce them over time. That’s lever one. Lever two that we love to talk about is the mere exposure effect. It’s all about frequency. It was first studied in Germany in 1876. Science has seen three centuries and what it says irrefutably the more often we see a person or a thing, the higher the chance it is that we like them. As reps, we’ve got to have a system for reaching out, being helpful, and staying top of mind. It’s why the flip of the mere exposure effect is why we say ‘out of sight out of mind.' We’ve got to have a mechanism to add value routinely. Then, the last one we talked a lot about is mutual benefit. This is our third big lever. Those deepest relationships are not one-sided. They’re not, ‘I serve you because I’m a sales rep or an account manager,' it’s that we are working together to build a better future. Science shows not only do we help people we like, but emerging science is saying we like people who help. Simple things like having a relationship with somebody and saying, hey, we’re doing work in this part of the organization, we think we can have an impact in this other business unit that is in your organization, what would you do if you were me. Making a statement of something that would be helpful and saying ‘what would you do if you’re me’ is a wonderful way to ask for help and what people find is the enrollment they get from the other side gives them greater ideas, the person co-creates the next step, they enroll in their success and likability follows. There’s more in the book, but those three big things, finding and reinforcing commonality, having the mere exposure effect, frequency and staying top of mind, and having a mutually beneficial enjoyable relationship. Those are three big ones. OF: Fantastic. Thank you so much for walking us through that. It is very interesting. To take that a step further, the final step in the process that you talk about is really nurturing to turn your clients into what you call ‘raving fans.' I love that phrase, and especially in the economic climate that we’re in, this is really becoming more and more essential for businesses to focus on so that they’re maintaining and ultimately setting themselves up to grow their business. Given this current economic environment, I’d love to hear from you. What are some of the key considerations that sellers should really be keeping in mind to nurture those long-term relationships with their clients? MB: I’ll actually share some things that aren’t in the book. The core research says that soft skills do turn into hard results. That’s some of that science of likability and things that we talked about. One thing that’s not in the book that I think is really compelling is McGraw Hill, the publishing arm also has a research arm. They did some research in the 1980s, and there was this big economic collapse and economic headwinds in the early 1980s. What they found is that B2B companies that advertised in the economic downturn that happened in the early 1980s not only outperformed during that recession but outperformed to a huge extent for three years afterward. What we can learn from that is that when we think about human relationships, I think that’s even more important than even B2B advertising. With human relationships, we’re advertising when we’re out there talking to clients, talking to prospects, and adding value. That is sort of an advertisement for us humans and the nut of all is that when there’s an economic downturn, we shouldn’t judge ourselves on what we did the year before. That’s an unfair metric because we’ve got economic headwinds against us. What we should judge ourselves on is whether are we beating the competition because they’re on the same playing field we are. What the McGraw Hill research shows is that if you’re out there adding value, being helpful even before it’s time for somebody to buy from you, deepening those relationships with likability as we talked about before, economic downturns are when you go out and win market share because you’re out there doing it more in your competition, hopefully, is dying it in and not working as hard because they’re like, oh, I can’t do as good as I did last year, so I’m not gonna work as hard. No, I want you to double down when there are economic headwinds and help people before they can even hire you and they will remember that forever. OF: Absolutely. Those are fantastic insights, so critical to the environment that we have right now, and very relevant to our audience of enablement practitioners and I want to dig into that a little bit more. You mentioned this right at the start of the conversation. Enablement leaders today are not only responsible for equipping their sellers with the tools and the resources that they need to be successful, but they also have a job to do today that’s really about gaining buy-in and support for their initiatives. Working with executive leaders and cross-functional partners to get that support can be a hard job to do, especially in these times we’re in. I’d really love to hear from you. How can the principles of The Snowball System be applied to that concept of selling internally to your stakeholders the value of the programs that you have, especially for sales enablement practitioners? MB: Olivia, it’s such a great question. We have helped so many functional leaders help them grow their influence within the organization. CHROs, CIOs, CTOs, CFOs, and sales enablement leaders and I’ll give you our steps to gain approval. This is all in The Snowball System, so I highly recommend folks to read the book and then apply it to their influence because if you’re a sales enablement leader, the regional head of sales, the global head of sales, whoever you’re helping, they don’t pay you in money necessarily, but they’re paying you in their budgets. They’re paying you with their time. They’re paying you with their attention. Really you’re just a consultant inside the company, so here are the four steps. One of the fastest ways to get a yes is to slow down to speed up. A lot of times people will go in sort of machine gun nelly and suggest what they want the decision maker to approve. That’s almost like skipping straight to step four. Here’s a faster way: when you do that, you’re using your words, and your priorities and it can come across this jargon to the other side, especially in a deeply technical world, like sales enablement. Instead of jumping to the end, here’s another way to do it. Step one, listen and learn. Schedule a call with the people you support and just say, hey, I just want to make sure we’re lined up for our work this year together. I’d love to hear from you, what do you think are the top priorities this year as we think about enabling the Salesforce and account management teams? You want to go to that with some ideas for sure and you want to help shape the agenda, but you’re also listening to their priorities and their words. Research shows it’s easier to get a yes when you use somebody’s own words with them than if you use your words, so we want to listen and learn first. Step two is to create curiosity. It turns out that their curiosity is an intrinsic motivator. We love experiencing curiosity. It’s why we hear a cliffhanger at the end of a Ted Lasso episode, and we can’t wait to watch the next one. Cliffhangers are a curiosity that gets us to do the next step. What you can do to create curiosity is say, ‘hey Mr or Ms sales leader, would it be helpful if I shared some stories about how I’ve heard other organizations have tackled that problem? I can help you with that.' In this step, we’re conceptually getting buy-in to how we might be able to help them solve the issues that they shared in step one, so listen and learn when we hear their issues. In step two, we are conceptually talking about storytelling, mostly about how we can solve those. Step three is mind blowing-ly effective. We call this, build everything together. The science here is called the IKEA effect named after the Swedish retailer. Dr. Michael Lord at Harvard's All-Star Team of researchers proved this. They found two things. Once we buy into what we helped create, and two, we view our own work product as on par with worldwide experts, even if we’re not an expert. We love our stuff and we think our stuff is awesome. The best way to get approval is if you’ve already heard their priorities and their words. They felt some curiosity about how you might be able to solve the issues that they’ve got on their agenda. So, step three: come up with a 60% rough draft that you can float in from in front of them and you say these exact words, ‘hey sales leader, I’ve thought a lot about what we talked about and I’ve got some solutions that I think we could deploy.' Here’s what you say. ‘I really think it’s only about 60% right because you see some things I don’t see, I see some things you don’t see given our roles, so I need your help to make it great.' The reason you say 60% instead of a lot of it’s mostly right is you want them to see what the gap is. You want them to think that at 40% they can roll up their sleeves and help this out as they co-created from that point. That’s when the IKEA effect kicks in and you get buy-in. If they change something great, that’s buy-in. If they like it great, that’s buy-in. As you move closer to 100%, you’ll see them get so excited about their ideas because they become their ideas. The fourth step is to gain approval. If you’ve done the first 3, the 4th is usually easy peasy because they already love it before they get all the formalities of it. Listen and learn, create curiosity, build everything together, and gain approval. Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 work like a charm. OF: I love that approach and you’re so right, so often we skip just to that last step and then wonder why we haven’t gotten the support that we think we have. I love that approach, that’s fantastic. Well, Mo you’ve shared some really awesome insights with our audience today, and again, to our audience, we absolutely recommend that you pick up The Snowball System and read through that book. Mo, you have some other resources that I want to make sure that our listeners know about. Can you tell us a little bit about some of those where our listeners can go to learn more about some of what we’ve discussed today? MB: I would love to. Probably the number one thing I’d recommend that takes 30 seconds is I spent about three hours a week writing an article on a very specific topic, much like we talked about today, but we just scratched the surface. We did five things out of 1000. I write these articles that take several hours and my goal is that somebody can read them in three minutes. It’s sort of sad that it takes three hours to write something that someone can read in three minutes, but it’s hard to write short and that’s what we try to do. We try to pick a very specific topic that’s really sharp so that somebody can read that in a couple of minutes and think this is amazing and the reader wants to forward this to a ton of people because they got so much value out of it. If people want that little weekly newsletter that just drops in their inbox every week, they can go to growbigplaybook.com, and they can sign up right there. It has tons of value. This Saturday's newsletter is about how to have really great pipeline meetings. That’s something for whatever reason a lot of people are struggling with. We’ve had other articles on likeability, and others on how you scale specific learning across the team. It keeps the learning alive and there’s no charge to it. So growbigplaybook.com is where people get that. OF: Awesome, thank you so much. To our listeners, we will include a link to that in the transcript and episode description. Thanks again Mo for sharing all of your insights with our audience. I certainly learned a ton from this conversation and I can’t wait for our listeners to hear what we talked about. MB: It’s been a blast. I just can’t say it enough, what you are doing is so powerful and so important. We are in the early days. It is going to grow in importance over time. Folks, keep going back to the Sales Enablement PRO's website, keep getting more learning certifications, and do everything you can to build your skills because I’m convinced this is one of the areas that is going to just 10x over the next couple of years. If you’re at the forefront of learning and leading you’re going to be in a really great spot. Thanks, Olivia. OF: To our audience, thanks for listening. For more insights, tips, and expertise from sales enablement leaders visit salesenablement.pro, and if there's something you'd like to share or a topic that you'd like to learn more about, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you.
Olivia Fuller: Hi and welcome to Book Club, a Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I'm Olivia Fuller. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space and we're here to help professionals stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices so they can be more effective in their jobs. Sales can be a tough job and it’s not one that everyone is naturally inclined to do. With uncertain economic conditions like we’re experiencing today, this job can be even more difficult. The Snowball System is designed to help people sell effectively in a way that they’re comfortable with without feeling like a sleazy salesperson. I’m so excited to have the author of “The Snowball System”, Mo Bunnell, here to tell us a little bit more about this concept and his book. With that, Mo, I'd love it if you could tell our audience a little bit about yourself, your background, and your book. Mo Bunnell: Yes, let me say this out of the gate. All of you listeners and watchers out there, I am so much a fan of sales enablement professionals and Olivia and her team at Sales Enablement PRO have great resources on the website, certifications, classes, courses, assets, and resources. It’s better than I’ve ever seen anywhere, so when Olivia reached out and thought we should do this podcast, I was excited because the work you do matters, and the things that we’re doing to evolve the profession are important. So, Olivia, I just had to say that out of the gate then I can talk about me. OF: I love that. Thank you so much. MB: It’s such an emerging profession and it’s going to continue to grow in importance over time, so you’re all in the right place. A little bit about me, I think a lot of times entrepreneurs start a business without trying to start business. I've been at it for about 20 years, and my moment of starting Bunnell Idea Group was a moment of complete panic, almost an anxiety attack. I had gone from a deep technical expert. I had taken all the exams to become an actuary, which if you don’t know what an actuary is, are long-term financial forecaster. We make the accountants look like party animals. I had taken all these years to pass these exams to be an actuary and in one weekend I turned into a salesperson. Now, we didn’t call it that, I was at a high-end professional consulting firm, so we called it a managing consultant. The fact is in one weekend I went from being rewarded on service delivery, billable hours, client satisfaction, and things like that to retention and growth activities. The moment of panic occurred when I went to my new boss that Monday morning with all of the new floors, business card titles, and all that stuff and I asked him for the manual on business development, sales retention, and growth. I wasn’t expecting him to respond by laughing at me, but he did and it was probably a chuckle, but I heard it like the villain in Scooby Doo. It was not a good thing. That was the beginning. I thought I would get a playbook, but I didn’t get a playbook and I had to build the playbook I can tell you much more about the story if you want, but after years later it turned into an experience, a training class, and now we’ve trained 30,000 people at over 500 organizations all around the globe. OF: I love that. I have a friend who’s becoming an actuary right now and I have a lot of respect for that journey. It is definitely a tough one. As you mentioned, sales is a very tough job and it’s not one that everyone can be naturally inclined to do, especially with the turbulent economy that we’re all experiencing right now, it can be even harder. You talked about how The Snowball System is really designed to help people sell effectively, but the part that I loved is that it’s in a way that they’re comfortable with. I’d love it if you could tell us just a little bit more about that approach and how it can really help sellers be more comfortable, and confident, and ultimately how that translates into effectiveness. MB: This is such an interesting topic. When we first started Bunnell Idea Group or BIG for short, I really tried to redefine what sales meant in people’s minds and I thought for some reason I could do that with the billions of people on the planet. You can’t. Unfortunately, sales have a bad name to a lot of people and we’ve got to reframe that. One of the things that we talked about a lot in our workshops, you see it in the book, is people hate to be sold to, but they love to buy. In our live workshops, we actually list it out, we have people ask buyers they were purchasing something and it did not go well and you’ll hear the buyer say things like the person was pushy, they talk too much, they didn’t listen to my needs, they suggested something that didn’t make sense, they didn’t want to talk about the pricing or the money of the investment easy, they didn’t make it easy to buy and things like that. Then, we say, hey, tell us the time when you purchased something and it went great. They say it was easy, it was frictionless, I liked the person, I was learning, they gave me options, they suggested something less expensive that was better for me, they built trust, and it was fun. The whole mantra of, we hate to be sold to, but we’ll have to buy, if we can start with the frame of salespeople saying I’m not going to fall in love with my solution, I’m going to fall in love with their problem and build trust and have fun with this over time if we can just have a campaign of helpfulness to the other person that changes the whole frame from selling to helping and that’s where we see if people have that right mindset, they are off to the races. OF: I love that approach. The system that you cover in the book really walks through a series of steps. I want to cover each of those just to dig a little bit deeper and the first one that you talk about is targeting your ideal clients. I’d love to hear, from your perspective, what are some of the common challenges that can arise from effectively targeting prospective clients, and then how do you recommend overcoming those challenges? MB: Oh, I could go on for hours, we don’t have enough time. Let’s dive in. I was just training some high-end consultants in Malaysia last night. I’m in Atlanta, Georgia in the US, so it went to like midnight my time and we had a really big unlock. I mean these are some of the smartest business people in the world, tier-one consultants. One of the things that we did that’s different is we broke through a mental heuristic called status quo bias. Now, the audience may not know what that means, but if you can google it if you just go to Wikipedia, it’s not the end all and be off research, but it can give you a good head start. Just google status quo bias and you will get this litany of research that basically says, we tend to do the same things over and over again. When it comes to little things like what app you open on your screen when you open up your phone in the morning, we tend to do the same things over and over. That’s easy. We understand that, but it’s particularly dangerous. I’m being provocative here with the word dangerous. It is particularly dangerous in sales because what status quo bias will make us do if we don’t get out of the trap is keep hanging out and reaching out to the people we already know and like. The reason for that is that we tend to do what we’ve already done, status quo bias, but our egos are at stake to reach out to somebody that we don’t know. We fear rejection, we fear they won’t reach back, and we fear we only have one shot so we have to be perfect with this first outreach. We will make the bar so high that we won’t act and will delay and that’s harmful to the sales rep. What you can do to get over this, and what we did with the group in Malaysia last night, as we said, hey, let’s start with the people we want to work with and the things that we think we could be most helpful to them. What are the game-changing programs that we can take to the people that should purchase from us? By flipping things in their minds from here’s who we usually stay in contact with. They had a contact list of 100 people in a small team. We flipped that from, put that aside for a second, let’s focus on who should buy what from us and where we can have the biggest meaningful impact. We started with that, and then we said, who are the decision makers for those things? It was a completely different list and they left that session so energized to go out and build relationships with those people. It was awesome. We finished the session at midnight, Olivia, I don’t think I went to bed until 3 AM because I was so excited for their future success. I couldn’t sleep. OF: Oh my gosh, I love that story. That goes to show just how when you flip the way that you think about something, you can completely change your approach and ultimately increase the value that you bring. You mentioned that thinking starts with where we could have the biggest impact, and that goes into the next step in the book, which is around positioning your unique value. I’d love to hear some of your best practices around how sellers can actually identify what makes them unique and what that unique value is. MB: I love this and to speak to all the sales enablement people out there, this is frequently done incorrectly, so I want to give you the right way. A lot of times it’s frequently done to come up with some kind of value story or positioning elements like it goes on the website and we definitely need to do that. That’s a universal version of positioning that may or may not be true for one individual or for a certain client prospect to the customer. We definitely have to do that, keep doing that sales enablement folks to get that message tight, get it short, get it sharp. Do all the stuff that you’re used to doing. At the same time, I want you to work with your sales reps, your account managers, and your account execs to also be able to tweak that and shape it for a specific pursuit. We talk about a value pyramid that you saw in the book, Olivia, which is the lowest level or the least that your clients or prospects care about is your universal positioning for your organization. They are a little bit more about the specific offering in the middle of the pyramid. The apex of the pyramid is ‘I am thinking of hiring somebody for X, how are you positioned for me exactly for that?' That makes it real. We need to blend the universal positioning, the kind of stuff that goes on the website that anybody could log into, we need that, but we need to also focus deal by deal, especially for the important ones. That’s thing one. Thing two is, there’s a bunch of research by Dr. Suzanne Shu, and she tested value props from saying you’re good at one thing to 2 to 3 to 4, all the way to 10. And you saw this in the book, Dr. Shu found that people that say they’re good at three things are magical. It’s the most believable. It’s a thing saying you’re good at three things is more believable than 1,2,4,5, or 6, all the way to the 10. There’s a peak and a curve that says that two is better than 1, 3 is better than 2, 4 is worse than 3, 5 is worse than 4, and so on. What we see a lot of sales reps do is because they have fear of being focused, they sort of have this David Letterman top 10 list. These are the top 10 reasons you should hire us for this deal. What happens in Dr. Shu's research is that having more than three creates so much cognitive load for somebody trying to figure out what are you really for. You've got these 10 things here, is there a theme? I don’t know, I can’t understand this. It becomes negative and they give up and having 10 reasons to hire you is basically worse than zero. We want to get really crisp on a specific opportunity. What are the three reasons that we are totally unique to serve this organization? Make it really short, really sharp, and communicate that over and over in our RFP response in the formal finalist meeting and everything else, and that’s what can win the day, Olivia. OF: Absolutely and something that we haven’t talked about a ton quite yet, but I think it’s really important to understand from the book and how the approach is all laid out is that it’s really rooted in science. You mentioned some of those research pieces that fueled how you’re approaching each of these steps. Another one that really resonated with me that I liked in the book was around the step of building connection and the concept was around the science behind likability. I'd love to learn from you, what are some of the ways that sellers can really build impactful connections with their prospects and turn those into long-term client relationships really by being rooted in that science of likability? MB: Thank you for bringing this up because there’s a mantra that some people are sharing in the marketplace that relationships don’t matter, they’re dead. That’s completely untrue. All the research shows that we say yes to people we like, we spend more time with those that we like, doctors spend more time with patients they like, and have better outcomes with those that they like. Likability matters in so many aspects of human nature. You can’t even count the studies that back this up. I will give the audience 3 levers of likability. One I really like is Dr. Jerry Burgers out of Santa Clara University. He was the first person to scientifically prove that we hire people we like more often than those we don’t. In a follow-up study was like, hey what correlates the likability, and the number one level he found is commonality. It's up to us as sales reps, account managers, and account executives to find ways that we have things in common with other people. In general, uncommon commonalities are more powerful than common commonalities. Olivia, when we were chatting right before we started recording, we were talking about how we both have dogs, they love snow, and they do silly things. You and I were bonding on that, so it’s up to us as salespeople to find out what we have in common. The science shows it can be things like we both like Dan Pink's business books. It can be that we both have dogs that are rescue dogs that are huskies or shepherds. It can be that we both like ultimate frisbee or the Kansas City Chiefs or Big Red Bordeaux’s. It can be things in business and in non-business, but we’ve got to find those things that we have in common and then reinforce them over time. That’s lever one. Lever two that we love to talk about is the mere exposure effect. It’s all about frequency. It was first studied in Germany in 1876. Science has seen three centuries and what it says irrefutably the more often we see a person or a thing, the higher the chance it is that we like them. As reps, we’ve got to have a system for reaching out, being helpful, and staying top of mind. It’s why the flip of the mere exposure effect is why we say ‘out of sight out of mind.' We’ve got to have a mechanism to add value routinely. Then, the last one we talked a lot about is mutual benefit. This is our third big lever. Those deepest relationships are not one-sided. They’re not, ‘I serve you because I’m a sales rep or an account manager,' it’s that we are working together to build a better future. Science shows not only do we help people we like, but emerging science is saying we like people who help. Simple things like having a relationship with somebody and saying, hey, we’re doing work in this part of the organization, we think we can have an impact in this other business unit that is in your organization, what would you do if you were me. Making a statement of something that would be helpful and saying ‘what would you do if you’re me’ is a wonderful way to ask for help and what people find is the enrollment they get from the other side gives them greater ideas, the person co-creates the next step, they enroll in their success and likability follows. There’s more in the book, but those three big things, finding and reinforcing commonality, having the mere exposure effect, frequency and staying top of mind, and having a mutually beneficial enjoyable relationship. Those are three big ones. OF: Fantastic. Thank you so much for walking us through that. It is very interesting. To take that a step further, the final step in the process that you talk about is really nurturing to turn your clients into what you call ‘raving fans.' I love that phrase, and especially in the economic climate that we’re in, this is really becoming more and more essential for businesses to focus on so that they’re maintaining and ultimately setting themselves up to grow their business. Given this current economic environment, I’d love to hear from you. What are some of the key considerations that sellers should really be keeping in mind to nurture those long-term relationships with their clients? MB: I’ll actually share some things that aren’t in the book. The core research says that soft skills do turn into hard results. That’s some of that science of likability and things that we talked about. One thing that’s not in the book that I think is really compelling is McGraw Hill, the publishing arm also has a research arm. They did some research in the 1980s, and there was this big economic collapse and economic headwinds in the early 1980s. What they found is that B2B companies that advertised in the economic downturn that happened in the early 1980s not only outperformed during that recession but outperformed to a huge extent for three years afterward. What we can learn from that is that when we think about human relationships, I think that’s even more important than even B2B advertising. With human relationships, we’re advertising when we’re out there talking to clients, talking to prospects, and adding value. That is sort of an advertisement for us humans and the nut of all is that when there’s an economic downturn, we shouldn’t judge ourselves on what we did the year before. That’s an unfair metric because we’ve got economic headwinds against us. What we should judge ourselves on is whether are we beating the competition because they’re on the same playing field we are. What the McGraw Hill research shows is that if you’re out there adding value, being helpful even before it’s time for somebody to buy from you, deepening those relationships with likability as we talked about before, economic downturns are when you go out and win market share because you’re out there doing it more in your competition, hopefully, is dying it in and not working as hard because they’re like, oh, I can’t do as good as I did last year, so I’m not gonna work as hard. No, I want you to double down when there are economic headwinds and help people before they can even hire you and they will remember that forever. OF: Absolutely. Those are fantastic insights, so critical to the environment that we have right now, and very relevant to our audience of enablement practitioners and I want to dig into that a little bit more. You mentioned this right at the start of the conversation. Enablement leaders today are not only responsible for equipping their sellers with the tools and the resources that they need to be successful, but they also have a job to do today that’s really about gaining buy-in and support for their initiatives. Working with executive leaders and cross-functional partners to get that support can be a hard job to do, especially in these times we’re in. I’d really love to hear from you. How can the principles of The Snowball System be applied to that concept of selling internally to your stakeholders the value of the programs that you have, especially for sales enablement practitioners? MB: Olivia, it’s such a great question. We have helped so many functional leaders help them grow their influence within the organization. CHROs, CIOs, CTOs, CFOs, and sales enablement leaders and I’ll give you our steps to gain approval. This is all in The Snowball System, so I highly recommend folks to read the book and then apply it to their influence because if you’re a sales enablement leader, the regional head of sales, the global head of sales, whoever you’re helping, they don’t pay you in money necessarily, but they’re paying you in their budgets. They’re paying you with their time. They’re paying you with their attention. Really you’re just a consultant inside the company, so here are the four steps. One of the fastest ways to get a yes is to slow down to speed up. A lot of times people will go in sort of machine gun nelly and suggest what they want the decision maker to approve. That’s almost like skipping straight to step four. Here’s a faster way: when you do that, you’re using your words, and your priorities and it can come across this jargon to the other side, especially in a deeply technical world, like sales enablement. Instead of jumping to the end, here’s another way to do it. Step one, listen and learn. Schedule a call with the people you support and just say, hey, I just want to make sure we’re lined up for our work this year together. I’d love to hear from you, what do you think are the top priorities this year as we think about enabling the Salesforce and account management teams? You want to go to that with some ideas for sure and you want to help shape the agenda, but you’re also listening to their priorities and their words. Research shows it’s easier to get a yes when you use somebody’s own words with them than if you use your words, so we want to listen and learn first. Step two is to create curiosity. It turns out that their curiosity is an intrinsic motivator. We love experiencing curiosity. It’s why we hear a cliffhanger at the end of a Ted Lasso episode, and we can’t wait to watch the next one. Cliffhangers are a curiosity that gets us to do the next step. What you can do to create curiosity is say, ‘hey Mr or Ms sales leader, would it be helpful if I shared some stories about how I’ve heard other organizations have tackled that problem? I can help you with that.' In this step, we’re conceptually getting buy-in to how we might be able to help them solve the issues that they shared in step one, so listen and learn when we hear their issues. In step two, we are conceptually talking about storytelling, mostly about how we can solve those. Step three is mind blowing-ly effective. We call this, build everything together. The science here is called the IKEA effect named after the Swedish retailer. Dr. Michael Lord at Harvard's All-Star Team of researchers proved this. They found two things. Once we buy into what we helped create, and two, we view our own work product as on par with worldwide experts, even if we’re not an expert. We love our stuff and we think our stuff is awesome. The best way to get approval is if you’ve already heard their priorities and their words. They felt some curiosity about how you might be able to solve the issues that they’ve got on their agenda. So, step three: come up with a 60% rough draft that you can float in from in front of them and you say these exact words, ‘hey sales leader, I’ve thought a lot about what we talked about and I’ve got some solutions that I think we could deploy.' Here’s what you say. ‘I really think it’s only about 60% right because you see some things I don’t see, I see some things you don’t see given our roles, so I need your help to make it great.' The reason you say 60% instead of a lot of it’s mostly right is you want them to see what the gap is. You want them to think that at 40% they can roll up their sleeves and help this out as they co-created from that point. That’s when the IKEA effect kicks in and you get buy-in. If they change something great, that’s buy-in. If they like it great, that’s buy-in. As you move closer to 100%, you’ll see them get so excited about their ideas because they become their ideas. The fourth step is to gain approval. If you’ve done the first 3, the 4th is usually easy peasy because they already love it before they get all the formalities of it. Listen and learn, create curiosity, build everything together, and gain approval. Steps 1, 2, 3, and 4 work like a charm. OF: I love that approach and you’re so right, so often we skip just to that last step and then wonder why we haven’t gotten the support that we think we have. I love that approach, that’s fantastic. Well, Mo you’ve shared some really awesome insights with our audience today, and again, to our audience, we absolutely recommend that you pick up The Snowball System and read through that book. Mo, you have some other resources that I want to make sure that our listeners know about. Can you tell us a little bit about some of those where our listeners can go to learn more about some of what we’ve discussed today? MB: I would love to. Probably the number one thing I’d recommend that takes 30 seconds is I spent about three hours a week writing an article on a very specific topic, much like we talked about today, but we just scratched the surface. We did five things out of 1000. I write these articles that take several hours and my goal is that somebody can read them in three minutes. It’s sort of sad that it takes three hours to write something that someone can read in three minutes, but it’s hard to write short and that’s what we try to do. We try to pick a very specific topic that’s really sharp so that somebody can read that in a couple of minutes and think this is amazing and the reader wants to forward this to a ton of people because they got so much value out of it. If people want that little weekly newsletter that just drops in their inbox every week, they can go to growbigplaybook.com, and they can sign up right there. It has tons of value. This Saturday's newsletter is about how to have really great pipeline meetings. That’s something for whatever reason a lot of people are struggling with. We’ve had other articles on likeability, and others on how you scale specific learning across the team. It keeps the learning alive and there’s no charge to it. So growbigplaybook.com is where people get that. OF: Awesome, thank you so much. To our listeners, we will include a link to that in the transcript and episode description. Thanks again Mo for sharing all of your insights with our audience. I certainly learned a ton from this conversation and I can’t wait for our listeners to hear what we talked about. MB: It’s been a blast. I just can’t say it enough, what you are doing is so powerful and so important. We are in the early days. It is going to grow in importance over time. Folks, keep going back to the Sales Enablement PRO's website, keep getting more learning certifications, and do everything you can to build your skills because I’m convinced this is one of the areas that is going to just 10x over the next couple of years. If you’re at the forefront of learning and leading you’re going to be in a really great spot. Thanks, Olivia. OF: To our audience, thanks for listening. For more insights, tips, and expertise from sales enablement leaders visit salesenablement.pro, and if there's something you'd like to share or a topic that you'd like to learn more about, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you.
In today's episode we're interviewing one of the foremost experts on networking and teams, Mo Bunnell. CEO of the Bunnell Idea Group, Mo has trained 25,000+ professionals. He'll share with us the top three data-driven tools and techniques to take our networking to the next level. Many of these tips can be applied right after finishing the episode, so tune in today!
On this episode, we have Mo Bunnell on the podcast, CEO & Founder of the Bunnell Idea Group. He is also the author of 'The Snowball System - How to Win More Business and Turn Clients into Raving Fans', and wow… Sarah loves this interview. On top of being super innovative, smart, and kind, Mo teaches people and companies about BD (Business Development). Mo can show you how to make your business run like no other but also teach you the same about your own life outside of business. Tactics like understanding the kind of person you are interacting with using a few hacks on identifying how exactly they communicate. Sarah and Mo also touch on the M.I.T process and unwrap the “elephant” metaphor about habits. Seriously, we truly enjoyed filming this interview and anyone that listens will certainly learn a lot… even more if you read his book ;). Enjoy! Website: https://www.bunnellideagroup.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bunnellideagroup/
Shawnna Sumaoang: Hi, and welcome to the Sales Enablement PRO podcast. I am Shawnna Sumaoang. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space and we're here to help professionals stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices so that they can be more effective in their jobs. Today I’m excited to have Jeromy Proulx from Humana join us. Jeromy, I would love for you to introduce yourself, your role, and your organization to our audience. Jeromy Proulx: Hi Shawnna, thank you for having me. I’m Jeromy Proulx and I currently serve as the head of sales technology and transformation at Humana. We’re a leading Fortune 50 healthcare organization that provides a number of different products and services to help people achieve lifelong well-being. In addition to my responsibilities at Humana, I also serve as an adjunct faculty at Northeastern University, a top 50 research institution in Boston Massachusetts. My career started in sales and marketing across several different industries including consumer packaged goods, investments, and insurance products, before stepping into sales management, execution and enablement roles over the last several years. SS: Fantastic. Well, we’re excited to have you here Jeromy. I noticed that you also actually teach as a professor at Northeastern University and one of your areas of expertise is around project management. From your perspective, why are project management skills so critical for enablement professionals? JP: Thank you for the question, Shawnna. I believe project management skills are imperative regardless of what role you serve to an organization, but more particularly within the sales enablement space. My focus in the classroom has been on the intersection of common waterfall project management skills and agile project management skills that have become more prevalent in the workplace today. These are skills that absolutely transcend both disciplines, such as being an effective communicator, the art of negotiation and influence, general time management, and risk management skills, just to name a few. If you think about it, these are also critical skills to being a great enablement leader. Whether you’re focused on training and development activities or enablement tools and technology, you will undoubtedly have to use project management skills to deliver value to the organization. Over the last decade, the emergence of agile project management has created greater alignment in my opinion with the enablement space as you think about some of the core principles and agile methodologies. SS: I think that’s fantastic. You talk about this a little bit, but what are some of the key principles of project management that you found most essential to your role, particularly leading sales technology and transformation efforts? JP: One of the first agile principles centers around the rapid and continuous delivery of value. Whereas traditional project management methods would focus more on a big bang that could take several months to get to. In the sales enablement space, it’s all about the value of delivering to field-facing roles. If you have the ability to deploy practices, test, learn, and iterate, that is way more effective than doing a significant amount of work only to find out you missed the mark in the end. Agile inherently promotes this fail-forward mentality and teams which ensures that you achieve the desired impact as efficiently as possible in your work. By taking this test, learn and iterate mindset, you hit three other agile principles, simplicity is essential, regular reflection, and continuous excellence promotes agility. As an example in action, if you are tasked with building a 90-day sales onboarding program, rather than go build out all 90 days in detail, you would break down the work into minimum viable program elements that would allow you to get some feedback, incorporate that feedback and enhance the design. That might mean focusing on the first 30 days, or even smaller increments to understand what are the right things for a rep to know to improve ramp or time to market. SS: I love that approach. Now when it comes to implementing new tools in your tech stack, what are some of your best practices for managing that process? JP: This is a great question and I think there are two parts to this answer. First, is the project management side of implementation, and the second is the change management components. When implementing new tools, there was some advice I received from a leader a few years back as we worked through a pretty tough transformation and merger of two companies. She always used to say for every project it is imperative that there’s clarity on scope and that everyone operates with a sense of urgency. That’s not really earth-shattering advice but it’s a good grounding factor whenever you’re working towards bringing new capabilities to your sales partners. Having clarity on the scope means you’re crisp on what the new tools are intended to do, who your impacted audience is, and ultimately your path that gets you to that objective. Without a clearly defined and documented scope, you’ll end up moving the goalpost for the project and driving an increased risk of going behind schedule or more adversely, over budget. When it comes to a sense of urgency. I trace this back to the aforementioned points on value. The quintessential saying in sales time is money, the more time you take to implement a tool ultimately means time lost when the value could have been delivered to your end user. The second part of this answer is the change management components that support the delivery. We often get sucked into the project plan for the development of these capabilities and overlook the most important part, which is how we generate excitement and desire with the end users. Don’t discount how important this is having great change management, go-to-market or operational readiness plan can make an incredible difference in driving a successful tool or technology implementation. People often think of change management plans as being a communication plan, and while communication is absolutely a major component of the change management plan, it’s not the only thing, it’s about managing everything from the why we’re giving this awesome tool to you, to how you manage resistance and provide reinforcement as individuals move through the change curve. There’s a ton of research that points to, you know, nearly two-thirds of implementations failing due to the inability to manage behaviors and drive adoption. Two-thirds is a lot. SS: Absolutely, it is. As you mentioned, one challenge that can arise is driving that adoption, especially amongst reps who may be resistant to change. How can enablement practitioners overcome this challenge to help sales reps navigate digital transformation? JP: I’m a big believer in the adkar model for change management and every go-to-market or operational readiness plan should address each element within that model. Adkar stands for awareness, desire, knowledge, assessment, and reinforcement. While there is no one component of the adkar model that’s more important than the other, I want to focus our conversation on desire as executing well in that stage is the best way to manage rep resistance right out of the gate. Think of desire as either the carrot or the stick to quoting that often used idiom. In the enablement space nearly everything a team will deliver is an effort of making reps more efficient and effective in their job with the carrots being more time, more sales, and ultimately more commission in their pocket. To take that a bit further an approach I’ve used several times is to designate a pilot or change champion group. They get to be a part of the sausage making if you will and ultimately lead the change in their respective roles as you start to inch closer to deployment. A dear friend of mine and author of The Snowball System, Mo Bunnell, described this approach well. It’s called the red velvet rope approach. When you bring a certain group of people inside the red velvet rope, they feel that exclusivity, that special treatment that not everyone is getting, and in nearly all situations, they become your biggest supporters. Inversely, those that are outside of the velvet rope start to hear that positivity from your change champions and inherently develop a sense of excitement and desire for the change. If you do this well, you’ve likely captured the hearts and minds of 90% of the group. Now for the remaining 10%, this is where the preparation for your front-line managers with a plan to handle objections and resistance becomes important. Research shows that when it comes to talking about the impacts and importance of changes, they don’t want to hear from the enablement team or even the executive leaders. Over 70% of the recipients of change want that detail to come directly from their front-line leader. So ensuring that you equip sales leaders to handle those conversations and potential objections is very important. SS: Absolutely, I like that adkar model. Now, beyond adding new tools, what are some of your best practices for ensuring the long-term efficiency and effectiveness of your existing text stack to help drive up productivity? JP: In today’s world of sales enablement there are so many tools and technologies that can drive productivity and I think a lot of people inherently go to we need another application or vendor to solve X problem when really that problem could be the result of poor adoption in another capability. From my perspective, there are three core components in ensuring that you get efficiency and effectiveness out of your technology. Knowing your platform KPIs, creating a regular cadence of communication, and an approach to ongoing reinforcement are those 3 components. If you know what outcomes you want to see, maybe that’s time spent in a particular application or tool, you communicate regularly on how things are going, top to bottom of the organization, and use that data to build that reinforcement plan, maybe that’s more training, maybe that’s some sort of compensation penalty. By doing those three things consistently you’ll ensure you’re getting the most out of your text stack. The other piece of guidance I would give here is to look for opportunities for integration and rationalization for the organizations. I’ve led we don’t even consider a tool if there isn’t a CRM integration since that’s the primary technology we want our sales teams to utilize. There are so many things that a rep could use to execute their job effectively and going back to the agile principle of simplicity is essential, either rationalizing these tools into one vendor or having integrations that make them feel like it’s one vendor is a straightforward way to avoid barriers to utilization. SS: I do like that approach. Now, the last question for you, Jeromy. Looking ahead to the next year, how do you think the digital landscape will continue to evolve and how can enablement practitioners effectively prepare reps for those transformations on the horizon? JP: There’s a ton of research pointing to digital or omnichannel sales interactions being the way of the future coming out of the pandemic. B2B buyers have shifted their preferences to digital and when you think about the purchasing process, less than 20% of that time in the process will the buyer actually spend with a sales rep. That means as a sales rep, you need to find ways for you or your brand to show up in a digital mode. As a sales manager, you need to ensure that reps lean into those capabilities that promote that digital engagement. So much revenue intelligence can be gathered through digital channels and this can be incredibly insightful to how that buyer’s journey progresses. As a practitioner, preparation starts with the organization’s culture. The saying of change is the only constant is so true. We continue to be in this time of unprecedented technological advancement and that means the way in which we sell will also evolve. I believe if you create a culture of empowerment, and transparency and remain highly communicative, your organization will be less change adverse and will decrease the amplitude between the peaks and valleys of your transformation. The last piece of advice here is to watch for leaky sponges. When you think about the pace of transformation, like a sponge, an organization can only absorb so much. When you start to see people’s sponges leak, you know it’s time to take pause, let them dry out, and give them the ability to absorb more. SS: I like that analogy. Jeromy, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. I appreciate your insights on digital transformation within sales enablement. JP: Thank you Shawnna. It was great speaking with you. SS: To our audience, thanks for listening. For more insights, tips, and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there is something you'd like to share or a topic you'd like to learn more about, please let us know we'd love to hear from you.
Mo Bunnell reveals the number one skill for creating incredible growth in your career and for deepening relationships in general. Learn the frameworks for asking great questions and how they create a triple win for you and your prospect, the six types of questions you can ask to go deeper and build trust and rapport with anyone, and the biggest mistake you need to avoid for great questions to be effective. Asking Great Questions that Work Hand in Hand with Your Business Growth Strategy Asking great questions gets you a triple win. The first being it creates an enjoyable experience for the other side. When people share information only they know (self-disclosing information), the pleasure center of their brain lights up. The second win is that you also become more likable. As people answer great questions, talking more while you talk less, the more they associate you with feeling great. The third win is that it allows you to become unique in the mind of the buyer. As they begin sharing, you are going to learn their priorities in their words. Being able to talk about what you do in the context of the other person's goals and priorities is way more effective. When at all possible, avoid going first. If you have to, make your intro brief and shift quickly to asking the other person about their goals. People are dying to share their perspective, give that opportunity to them. You're going to win the meeting if the other person talks more than you do. Avoid showing up with a big and clunky Powerpoint, focusing on you. Get to the other person as quickly as possible and offer ways to be helpful. How Asking Past & Future Related Questions Affects the Success of Your Business Growth Strategy Make sure you're getting the other side to share their personal perspective, something that only they know. Questions focused on the past and the future are great starting places for teasing out that information. Past questions include: “What historical data should we use to benchmark the future improvements we're talking about?”, “What's your #1 learning from leading teams on initiatives like this from the past?”, “What's the most important experience you've had that's gotten you to this role?”, “What would you say has historically been the most important characteristics of an external partner like us?” Future questions get people thinking of ways they want to create value and advance things. Examples include: “What do you think this would look like if it was working well?”, “How much do you think we can improve that important metric you mentioned in three years?”, “How would people feel if we did it the way you would like?”, “What would your role look like if there were no restrictions on you?”, and “What's the number one thing I can do to be helpful in following up?” Avoid asking stock questions, they just reveal that you haven't done your homework. Customize the questions to show you are paying attention and care about the other person's business. Use This in Your Business Growth Strategy: Ask Elevating Questions During Sales Calls Future questions ask people to articulate what they think a future should look like. Elevating questions explore the present at a high level. Examples include: “How do you think your CEO sees this fitting in with your overall strategy?”, “What are the most important personal metrics for you this year, and how does this issue impact them?”, “What's your favorite thing about your job right now?”, “If you had to choose some personal metrics right now that would elevate your profile and get you a big bonus, what would they be?” For questions around a specific issue, you're focusing on the opposite of elevate and paying more attention to today at a detailed level. Examples include: “If you had to pick one process or step that was the most important to get right, what would it be?”, “If you could choose one quick win we could focus on and accomplish, what would it be?”, “What one person should we give some extra attention to in the meeting next week?”, and “What's the number one thing we can improve in regards to our teams working together?” These style of questions require you to do your homework, but if you can design a great question you will get the other person thinking deeply and helping them understand themselves even better. You will probably only have the opportunity to ask four or five great questions over the course of an hour. Think deeply about the questions you want to ask. How Connection Questions are Key to any Business Growth Strategy Connection questions are all about lateral thinking and how things fit together. The goal is to use them to get hired, develop trust, and be helpful in general. Examples include: “What other projects or teams might benefit from knowing what we're considering?”, “What other external partners should we connect with to make things easier?”, “What connections can I make for you inside the company?”, “What kinds of updates would be most helpful for me to give you around the topic?” The next category is more focused on what's missing. Ironically, these kinds of questions are the most interesting and most commonly skipped. Examples include: “What should we have discussed about this potential project but didn't?”, “What other data should we begin to collect now so that we have a benchmark to prove success?”, “What kinds of people are you looking to meet?”, “What can I do to be helpful that we haven't discussed yet?” These sorts of questions are very thought provoking and great to drop into the middle of a meeting or near the end. The trap to avoid is over indexing on your initial questions and not focusing on the questions you will use to wrap up the conversation. Crush Your Business Growth Strategy by Avoiding Asking Prospects These Questions Research has shown that for commonly used skills, we drastically overestimate our abilities. In one particular study, people's average percentile ability in the test skill was 12%, but they rated themselves on average at 62%. Asking great questions is the lynchpin. Earned dogmatism is a mental heuristic that says that the more we view ourselves as an expert in an area, the more close minded we become. The skills of curiosity and learning that got us our expertise wane over time unless we fight against the tendency. If you want to continue deepening relationships, you need to fight earned dogmatism by asking more questions instead of always talking about answers all the time. Wake up every morning and try to think you don't know everything about your craft so you're open to continuing to learn. If you can walk into every conversation with the beginner's mind, you have a chance to grow your skills and keep getting better. Mentioned in this Episode: “Disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding” - research article by Diana I. Tamir - pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1202129109 “It Doesn't Hurt to Ask: Question-Asking Increases Liking.” Huang, Karen, et al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 113, no. 3, 2017, pp. 430–452. - doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000097 What Business Development REALLY Means, According to Brian Caffarelli - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000554062611 What Business Development REALLY Means, According to Mike Duffy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000539740375 Debby Moorman on Sales – Time To Get Great At Business Development - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000547399956 Henning Streubel's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000558839387
Mo Bunnell reveals the number one skill for creating incredible growth in your career and for deepening relationships in general. Learn the frameworks for asking great questions and how they create a triple win for you and your prospect, the six types of questions you can ask to go deeper and build trust and rapport with anyone, and the biggest mistake you need to avoid for great questions to be effective. Asking Great Questions that Work Hand in Hand with Your Business Growth Strategy Asking great questions gets you a triple win. The first being it creates an enjoyable experience for the other side. When people share information only they know (self-disclosing information), the pleasure center of their brain lights up. The second win is that you also become more likable. As people answer great questions, talking more while you talk less, the more they associate you with feeling great. The third win is that it allows you to become unique in the mind of the buyer. As they begin sharing, you are going to learn their priorities in their words. Being able to talk about what you do in the context of the other person's goals and priorities is way more effective. When at all possible, avoid going first. If you have to, make your intro brief and shift quickly to asking the other person about their goals. People are dying to share their perspective, give that opportunity to them. You're going to win the meeting if the other person talks more than you do. Avoid showing up with a big and clunky Powerpoint, focusing on you. Get to the other person as quickly as possible and offer ways to be helpful. How Asking Past & Future Related Questions Affects the Success of Your Business Growth Strategy Make sure you're getting the other side to share their personal perspective, something that only they know. Questions focused on the past and the future are great starting places for teasing out that information. Past questions include: “What historical data should we use to benchmark the future improvements we're talking about?”, “What's your #1 learning from leading teams on initiatives like this from the past?”, “What's the most important experience you've had that's gotten you to this role?”, “What would you say has historically been the most important characteristics of an external partner like us?” Future questions get people thinking of ways they want to create value and advance things. Examples include: “What do you think this would look like if it was working well?”, “How much do you think we can improve that important metric you mentioned in three years?”, “How would people feel if we did it the way you would like?”, “What would your role look like if there were no restrictions on you?”, and “What's the number one thing I can do to be helpful in following up?” Avoid asking stock questions, they just reveal that you haven't done your homework. Customize the questions to show you are paying attention and care about the other person's business. Use This in Your Business Growth Strategy: Ask Elevating Questions During Sales Calls Future questions ask people to articulate what they think a future should look like. Elevating questions explore the present at a high level. Examples include: “How do you think your CEO sees this fitting in with your overall strategy?”, “What are the most important personal metrics for you this year, and how does this issue impact them?”, “What's your favorite thing about your job right now?”, “If you had to choose some personal metrics right now that would elevate your profile and get you a big bonus, what would they be?” For questions around a specific issue, you're focusing on the opposite of elevate and paying more attention to today at a detailed level. Examples include: “If you had to pick one process or step that was the most important to get right, what would it be?”, “If you could choose one quick win we could focus on and accomplish, what would it be?”, “What one person should we give some extra attention to in the meeting next week?”, and “What's the number one thing we can improve in regards to our teams working together?” These style of questions require you to do your homework, but if you can design a great question you will get the other person thinking deeply and helping them understand themselves even better. You will probably only have the opportunity to ask four or five great questions over the course of an hour. Think deeply about the questions you want to ask. How Connection Questions are Key to any Business Growth Strategy Connection questions are all about lateral thinking and how things fit together. The goal is to use them to get hired, develop trust, and be helpful in general. Examples include: “What other projects or teams might benefit from knowing what we're considering?”, “What other external partners should we connect with to make things easier?”, “What connections can I make for you inside the company?”, “What kinds of updates would be most helpful for me to give you around the topic?” The next category is more focused on what's missing. Ironically, these kinds of questions are the most interesting and most commonly skipped. Examples include: “What should we have discussed about this potential project but didn't?”, “What other data should we begin to collect now so that we have a benchmark to prove success?”, “What kinds of people are you looking to meet?”, “What can I do to be helpful that we haven't discussed yet?” These sorts of questions are very thought provoking and great to drop into the middle of a meeting or near the end. The trap to avoid is over indexing on your initial questions and not focusing on the questions you will use to wrap up the conversation. Crush Your Business Growth Strategy by Avoiding Asking Prospects These Questions Research has shown that for commonly used skills, we drastically overestimate our abilities. In one particular study, people's average percentile ability in the test skill was 12%, but they rated themselves on average at 62%. Asking great questions is the lynchpin. Earned dogmatism is a mental heuristic that says that the more we view ourselves as an expert in an area, the more close minded we become. The skills of curiosity and learning that got us our expertise wane over time unless we fight against the tendency. If you want to continue deepening relationships, you need to fight earned dogmatism by asking more questions instead of always talking about answers all the time. Wake up every morning and try to think you don't know everything about your craft so you're open to continuing to learn. If you can walk into every conversation with the beginner's mind, you have a chance to grow your skills and keep getting better. Mentioned in this Episode: “Disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding” - research article by Diana I. Tamir - pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1202129109 “It Doesn't Hurt to Ask: Question-Asking Increases Liking.” Huang, Karen, et al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 113, no. 3, 2017, pp. 430–452. - doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000097 What Business Development REALLY Means, According to Brian Caffarelli - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000554062611 What Business Development REALLY Means, According to Mike Duffy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000539740375 Debby Moorman on Sales – Time To Get Great At Business Development - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000547399956 Henning Streubel's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000558839387
Mo Bunnell breaks down the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument and reveals the key insights into how you can tailor your communication to win with anyone and everyone. Learn about the one thing that analytical thinkers care about more than anything, why the top priority of relational thinkers is safety, how to build and convey trust with relational thinkers, and what makes experimental thinkers say yes. Breaking Down the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument to Understand 4 Communication Styles How the brain is wired is an emerging science. What we learned in the 40's, 50's, and 60's no longer applies. Research has shown that the brain has a hub and spoke model and is very elastic and flexible. This is the way that the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument views the brain and explains how we communicate. The four hubs of how the brain operates act in opposing pairs. Analytical/Blue thinking is all about logic, running the number, and making sure everything makes sense. The opposite hub is Relational/Red. That's where you think about others and the people on your team and is more emotive. The other pair is Experimental/Yellow and Practical/Green. When we think experimentally, we think in big visions and very intuitively. Practical thinking is about coming up with the details of getting something done. When you put the stats together, 95% of people have more than one strong preference. The vast majority of people have two, three, or all four ways of thinking. Avoid the trap of communicating in the way you would purchase something because you aren't going to connect with them as well as you could if you can flex into their way of communicating. Listen for the clues and identify what the other side prioritizes, then adapt your communication to that. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Analytical Thinkers When you're dealing with a high analytical thinker, you should get to the point. To know someone is an analytical thinker, they are often brief and to the point and focus more on the numbers. Make it clear that your solution is the highest ROI option available. You may not know what else they are looking at but you can make it very clear about how much money they will save or how much value they will get, and present your price with confidence. Make it clear to talk about outcomes and pricing and have a great ROI, and you will win. In terms of flexing into this space, it's not about being ridiculously precise. It's more about the way you talk than the exact numbers. Discuss things in numbers, KPIs, outcomes, and fee structures. As long as you're discussing logic and numbers with analytical thinkers, you're going to win the day. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Practical Thinkers Practical thinkers want details and all their questions drive around one thing: making a safe choice. Give them everything they need to make you the safe choice, whether that's timelines, hours invested, or the list of things that can go wrong and what you will do when that happens. Be early on everything. Arrive to meetings early, and deliver work ahead of schedule. If you're doing things early, you're sending a message that you are the safe choice. Avoid the trap of skipping over the details. Engage on the details and dive into them to reassure the other person that you are the safe and correct choice. This doesn't always have to be done by you as long as the person who's responsible for the client communicates that. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Relational Thinkers For high Relational/Red thinkers, you're going to hear a lot of questions around trust and connectivity. Relational decision-makers are looking for answers to three questions: Do I trust you personally? Do I trust your team is going to make my team better? Do I trust that you are going to deliver an amazing result for everyone involved? Prioritize showing and building trust in those three ways. Do things that are trustworthy. Share what you're not good at or what you won't do as part of the project if someone else would be better, and guide them to the right investment. Play the long game at every turn and communicate to them that you have their back, and you will help them achieve their goals. The biggest opportunities to build trust are when there is not something to purchase. Stay in touch in the off-season and invest in the relationship even when there is no commercial opportunity. If you can do that and be helpful all the time, not just when you're being paid, you are going to always be the first consideration. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Experimental Thinkers Experimental thinkers are looking for the big picture. You're going to see clues around themes, outcomes, brand, and vision. They are looking for the right strategic fit. For the work that needs to be done, are you known for that thing? Once you find that you're talking to an Experimental thinker, talk about a clear vision around what you're known for, and the high-level future state of what you can provide them. Doing things in a fresh, new, or innovative way will get you some bonus points. A clever way or alliteration to describe what you do appeals directly to the way Experimental people think. Leave things at a high level but let them know that your team will take care of the details. Strive for simplicity when you are talking to an Experimental thinker and it will go a long way. Avoid the trap of letting them zig and zag too much. Give them the flexibility to change the order but also try to bring them back in. Offer new ideas and approaches and always tie the work back into the strategic fit with clever and crisp messaging. Mentioned in this Episode: Karim Nehdi on Whole Brain Business Development – What You Need To Succeed - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000528586505 How to Use Whole Brain Business Development to Create and Close More Opportunities, with Karim Nehdi - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000528709233 Brian Caffarelli's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1511029567?i=1000554179371 Mark Harris' Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1511029567?i=1000553415818 Henning Streubel's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000558839387
Mo Bunnell breaks down the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument and reveals the key insights into how you can tailor your communication to win with anyone and everyone. Learn about the one thing that analytical thinkers care about more than anything, why the top priority of relational thinkers is safety, how to build and convey trust with relational thinkers, and what makes experimental thinkers say yes. Breaking Down the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument to Understand 4 Communication Styles How the brain is wired is an emerging science. What we learned in the 40's, 50's, and 60's no longer applies. Research has shown that the brain has a hub and spoke model and is very elastic and flexible. This is the way that the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument views the brain and explains how we communicate. The four hubs of how the brain operates act in opposing pairs. Analytical/Blue thinking is all about logic, running the number, and making sure everything makes sense. The opposite hub is Relational/Red. That's where you think about others and the people on your team and is more emotive. The other pair is Experimental/Yellow and Practical/Green. When we think experimentally, we think in big visions and very intuitively. Practical thinking is about coming up with the details of getting something done. When you put the stats together, 95% of people have more than one strong preference. The vast majority of people have two, three, or all four ways of thinking. Avoid the trap of communicating in the way you would purchase something because you aren't going to connect with them as well as you could if you can flex into their way of communicating. Listen for the clues and identify what the other side prioritizes, then adapt your communication to that. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Analytical Thinkers When you're dealing with a high analytical thinker, you should get to the point. To know someone is an analytical thinker, they are often brief and to the point and focus more on the numbers. Make it clear that your solution is the highest ROI option available. You may not know what else they are looking at but you can make it very clear about how much money they will save or how much value they will get, and present your price with confidence. Make it clear to talk about outcomes and pricing and have a great ROI, and you will win. In terms of flexing into this space, it's not about being ridiculously precise. It's more about the way you talk than the exact numbers. Discuss things in numbers, KPIs, outcomes, and fee structures. As long as you're discussing logic and numbers with analytical thinkers, you're going to win the day. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Practical Thinkers Practical thinkers want details and all their questions drive around one thing: making a safe choice. Give them everything they need to make you the safe choice, whether that's timelines, hours invested, or the list of things that can go wrong and what you will do when that happens. Be early on everything. Arrive to meetings early, and deliver work ahead of schedule. If you're doing things early, you're sending a message that you are the safe choice. Avoid the trap of skipping over the details. Engage on the details and dive into them to reassure the other person that you are the safe and correct choice. This doesn't always have to be done by you as long as the person who's responsible for the client communicates that. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Relational Thinkers For high Relational/Red thinkers, you're going to hear a lot of questions around trust and connectivity. Relational decision-makers are looking for answers to three questions: Do I trust you personally? Do I trust your team is going to make my team better? Do I trust that you are going to deliver an amazing result for everyone involved? Prioritize showing and building trust in those three ways. Do things that are trustworthy. Share what you're not good at or what you won't do as part of the project if someone else would be better, and guide them to the right investment. Play the long game at every turn and communicate to them that you have their back, and you will help them achieve their goals. The biggest opportunities to build trust are when there is not something to purchase. Stay in touch in the off-season and invest in the relationship even when there is no commercial opportunity. If you can do that and be helpful all the time, not just when you're being paid, you are going to always be the first consideration. 4 Communication Styles: How to Win Over Experimental Thinkers Experimental thinkers are looking for the big picture. You're going to see clues around themes, outcomes, brand, and vision. They are looking for the right strategic fit. For the work that needs to be done, are you known for that thing? Once you find that you're talking to an Experimental thinker, talk about a clear vision around what you're known for, and the high-level future state of what you can provide them. Doing things in a fresh, new, or innovative way will get you some bonus points. A clever way or alliteration to describe what you do appeals directly to the way Experimental people think. Leave things at a high level but let them know that your team will take care of the details. Strive for simplicity when you are talking to an Experimental thinker and it will go a long way. Avoid the trap of letting them zig and zag too much. Give them the flexibility to change the order but also try to bring them back in. Offer new ideas and approaches and always tie the work back into the strategic fit with clever and crisp messaging. Mentioned in this Episode: Karim Nehdi on Whole Brain Business Development – What You Need To Succeed - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000528586505 How to Use Whole Brain Business Development to Create and Close More Opportunities, with Karim Nehdi - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000528709233 Brian Caffarelli's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1511029567?i=1000554179371 Mark Harris' Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1511029567?i=1000553415818 Henning Streubel's Favorite Business Development Strategy - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/real-relationships-real-revenue-video-edition/id1504330338?i=1000558839387
Mo Bunnell breaks down the perfect buy-in process and how you can create a magnetic and enjoyable buying process that clients love. Learn about the key components of a successful buy-in process, the four big “yeses” you need to get to make closing deals easier, how to use curiosity as a purchasing accelerator, and how to make it 34 times more likely your prospect will say yes. Closing Deals by Understanding the Major Steps of the Perfect Buy-in Process There is an optimal order for how we like to buy. Step one is listening and learning. Break the ice, then quickly flip the conversation to the other person. As a buyer, you want to feel heard, and like the person on the other side of the table, understand the unique needs in your situation. You want to avoid beginning by talking about yourself because that triggers the fight-or-flight response most people have when being sold to. Step two is create curiosity. Find a way to be helpful that creates curiosity around going deeper. Step three is build everything together. People buy into what they help create. Talk about the basic steps of what it would be like were they to hire you to solve their problem. By engaging them in the process of solving their problem, you get the advantage of incremental buy-in. If you create a proposal without the prospect's feedback, the only feedback they can give you is negative. Step four is gain approval and get the final yes to the project. You want to avoid selling and skipping straight to yourself and your presentation. If you can construct a buying experience that starts with the other side, you will have far more success. Why Listening and Learning is Key for Closing Deals There is a triple-win when asking good questions. A person's pleasure center in the brain lights up when people offer self-disclosing information. You learn your prospect's priorities in their words. This would be impossible if you didn't begin by listening to them talk. Sharing self-disclosed information is highly correlated to likeability. Asking great questions gives the other person more opportunity to talk. Great questions could look like: “If you could wave a magic wand and change your organization, what kinds of changes would happen?,” ”If one of your metrics could meaningfully move, which would it be?,” or ”If you could have a broken process fixed, what would the outcome look like?” Well-designed questions give the other person the opportunity to share something that only they know. With the bulk of your conversations, your prospect or client should be doing most of the talking. Closing Deals is Easier When Creating Curiosity Through the Perfect Buy-in Process Curiosity is an intrinsic motivator. You should try to create curiosity for your services as soon as you can in a conversation. People are highly motivated to experience curiosity and it's one of the key elements of a great buy-in process. Consider your favorite serialized show. It probably ends each episode with an irresistible cliffhanger. This is a great metaphor for what you can do within and between meetings. At the end of your next meeting, talk about the impacts of the next step and how you can't wait to go over the results. If you move too quickly, you squash curiosity. You want things unresolved to give people something to look forward to in the next meeting. Think about what you can leave unresolved at the end of your next meeting. Why You Need the Four Key Incremental “Yeses” for Closing Deals Building a project with the prospect taps into the Ikea Effect; we buy into what we help create. Making incremental decisions and blending your ideas with a potential client allows you to arrive at the best solution to their problem. There are four incremental yeses you need to obtain to secure a project. The first is clarifying the outcome of the project and giving the prospect the opportunity to modify the goals. The second is getting agreement on the process timeline.. The third is the team. At what level does the client want to interact with your team? The fourth is all about the numbers. Understanding this element is the only way the prospect can finally understand the value of the outcome. Depending on the project, you can get those answered all in one meeting or conversation. Even in a really formal situation involving RFPs, there is usually opportunity to engage with the prospect. If you can make some of the building-things-together decisions simple, people will engage. We all want to add value, so give your prospect a way to engage with the work. Speeding Up the Perfect Buy-in Process and Closing Deals Like a Champ The fastest way to get to the next step is to ask for it. A face-to-face ask is 34x more likely to get a yes than a request over email. The key point is being able to see each other, whether that's in person or on Zoom. Make the ask in person and in a manner with which everybody wins. When things go wrong, or you hear an objection, you have to be flexible, act with grace, then ask a follow up question to pin down the issue. Keep asking questions until you are certain of the underlying issue. Once you know that with true specificity, that's when you can address the issue. There are four major objections that people present: not seeing the return on investment, not believing the process is safe, not trusting the team, and failing to understand the strategic value at that moment. Almost everything will boil down to one of those four. Ask for next steps in person, if possible, and make sure you dig into any objections before jumping into a resolution. You're in control of the process and how fast things go. You can create a buy-in process that is enjoyable and magnetic. Mentioned in this Episode: teachthought.com/critical-thinking/the-cognitive-bias-codex-a-visual-of-180-cognitive-biases/ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361411/ The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609 wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/11-091.pdf hbr.org/2017/04/a-face-to-face-request-is-34-times-more-successful-than-an-email
Mo Bunnell breaks down the perfect buy-in process and how you can create a magnetic and enjoyable buying process that clients love. Learn about the key components of a successful buy-in process, the four big “yeses” you need to get to make closing deals easier, how to use curiosity as a purchasing accelerator, and how to make it 34 times more likely your prospect will say yes. Closing Deals by Understanding the Major Steps of the Perfect Buy-in Process There is an optimal order for how we like to buy. Step one is listening and learning. Break the ice, then quickly flip the conversation to the other person. As a buyer, you want to feel heard, and like the person on the other side of the table, understand the unique needs in your situation. You want to avoid beginning by talking about yourself because that triggers the fight-or-flight response most people have when being sold to. Step two is create curiosity. Find a way to be helpful that creates curiosity around going deeper. Step three is build everything together. People buy into what they help create. Talk about the basic steps of what it would be like were they to hire you to solve their problem. By engaging them in the process of solving their problem, you get the advantage of incremental buy-in. If you create a proposal without the prospect's feedback, the only feedback they can give you is negative. Step four is gain approval and get the final yes to the project. You want to avoid selling and skipping straight to yourself and your presentation. If you can construct a buying experience that starts with the other side, you will have far more success. Why Listening and Learning is Key for Closing Deals There is a triple-win when asking good questions. A person's pleasure center in the brain lights up when people offer self-disclosing information. You learn your prospect's priorities in their words. This would be impossible if you didn't begin by listening to them talk. Sharing self-disclosed information is highly correlated to likeability. Asking great questions gives the other person more opportunity to talk. Great questions could look like: “If you could wave a magic wand and change your organization, what kinds of changes would happen?,” ”If one of your metrics could meaningfully move, which would it be?,” or ”If you could have a broken process fixed, what would the outcome look like?” Well-designed questions give the other person the opportunity to share something that only they know. With the bulk of your conversations, your prospect or client should be doing most of the talking. Closing Deals is Easier When Creating Curiosity Through the Perfect Buy-in Process Curiosity is an intrinsic motivator. You should try to create curiosity for your services as soon as you can in a conversation. People are highly motivated to experience curiosity and it's one of the key elements of a great buy-in process. Consider your favorite serialized show. It probably ends each episode with an irresistible cliffhanger. This is a great metaphor for what you can do within and between meetings. At the end of your next meeting, talk about the impacts of the next step and how you can't wait to go over the results. If you move too quickly, you squash curiosity. You want things unresolved to give people something to look forward to in the next meeting. Think about what you can leave unresolved at the end of your next meeting. Why You Need the Four Key Incremental “Yeses” for Closing Deals Building a project with the prospect taps into the Ikea Effect; we buy into what we help create. Making incremental decisions and blending your ideas with a potential client allows you to arrive at the best solution to their problem. There are four incremental yeses you need to obtain to secure a project. The first is clarifying the outcome of the project and giving the prospect the opportunity to modify the goals. The second is getting agreement on the process timeline.. The third is the team. At what level does the client want to interact with your team? The fourth is all about the numbers. Understanding this element is the only way the prospect can finally understand the value of the outcome. Depending on the project, you can get those answered all in one meeting or conversation. Even in a really formal situation involving RFPs, there is usually opportunity to engage with the prospect. If you can make some of the building-things-together decisions simple, people will engage. We all want to add value, so give your prospect a way to engage with the work. Speeding Up the Perfect Buy-in Process and Closing Deals Like a Champ The fastest way to get to the next step is to ask for it. A face-to-face ask is 34x more likely to get a yes than a request over email. The key point is being able to see each other, whether that's in person or on Zoom. Make the ask in person and in a manner with which everybody wins. When things go wrong, or you hear an objection, you have to be flexible, act with grace, then ask a follow up question to pin down the issue. Keep asking questions until you are certain of the underlying issue. Once you know that with true specificity, that's when you can address the issue. There are four major objections that people present: not seeing the return on investment, not believing the process is safe, not trusting the team, and failing to understand the strategic value at that moment. Almost everything will boil down to one of those four. Ask for next steps in person, if possible, and make sure you dig into any objections before jumping into a resolution. You're in control of the process and how fast things go. You can create a buy-in process that is enjoyable and magnetic. Mentioned in this Episode: teachthought.com/critical-thinking/the-cognitive-bias-codex-a-visual-of-180-cognitive-biases/ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361411/ The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609 wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/11-091.pdf hbr.org/2017/04/a-face-to-face-request-is-34-times-more-successful-than-an-email
There is a triple-win when asking good questions. A person's pleasure center in the brain lights up when people offer self-disclosing information. You learn your prospect's priorities in their words. This would be impossible if you didn't begin by listening to them talk. Sharing self-disclosed information is highly correlated to likeability. Asking great questions gives the other person more opportunity to talk. Great questions could look like: “If you could wave a magic wand and change your organization, what kinds of changes would happen?,” ”If one of your metrics could meaningfully move, which would it be?,” or ”If you could have a broken process fixed, what would the outcome look like?” Well-designed questions give the other person the opportunity to share something that only they know. With the bulk of your conversations, your prospect or client should be doing most of the talking. Mentioned in this Episode: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361411/ The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
There is a triple-win when asking good questions. A person's pleasure center in the brain lights up when people offer self-disclosing information. You learn your prospect's priorities in their words. This would be impossible if you didn't begin by listening to them talk. Sharing self-disclosed information is highly correlated to likeability. Asking great questions gives the other person more opportunity to talk. Great questions could look like: “If you could wave a magic wand and change your organization, what kinds of changes would happen?,” ”If one of your metrics could meaningfully move, which would it be?,” or ”If you could have a broken process fixed, what would the outcome look like?” Well-designed questions give the other person the opportunity to share something that only they know. With the bulk of your conversations, your prospect or client should be doing most of the talking. Mentioned in this Episode: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3361411/ The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
Mo explores the key business development mindset shifts that you need to make to become great at business development. Find out why business development skills are both learned and earned, how anyone can become great at business development, and how to stay motivated and driven to keep doing the work of building relationships the right way. Business Development Mindset Is A Learnable Skill Dr. Kay Anders Ericsson spent over 30 years studying high-end expertise and discovered that every complex skill is both learned and earned. You can look at any expert and you would find decades of deliberate practice that got them to that level. No one is born with all the skills they need to be great at business development. Business development is a learnable skill that anyone can build on. If you take each individual lesson and apply them to your life, you will be successful. If someone tries to tell you that business development skills are not learnable or only for natural born conversationalists, they're wrong. They just haven't seen the research. If you want to be great at business development, break things down into bite- sized pieces. Break complex tasks down into individual pieces and practice each one as it comes. Business Development Mindset Rule - You Don't Have To Be An Extrovert To Succeed Adam Grant did a study on salespeople and put them on a spectrum of introversion to extroversion. For most people they land right in the middle and end up being a mix of both introvert and extrovert, and most successful salespeople were exactly the same way. Ambiverts were the most successful at making sales, not extroverts like people assumed was the case. Full-on extroverts might actually have some disadvantages when it comes to making a sale. Their desire to be around people all the time may prevent them from following up effectively or being direct with someone when they need to challenge them. Extreme introverts likely just aren't putting themselves around other people most of the time, but that doesn't mean they don't get energy from interacting with them or can't be effective salespeople. The magic in sales and business development happens at the middle of the curve, where you can connect with people in the moment and follow up thoughtfully later. Luckily for most people, that's where they fall. You don't have to be extroverted to be successful at sales. Great business developers have a wonderful mix of being around people, getting energy from the interactions, asking great questions, and giving great ideas. They can also go back to their quiet surroundings and find ways to follow up thoughtfully. Becoming Great At Anything By Creating a Business Development Mindset Every expertise, no matter the field, is both learned and earned. You can become great at anything if you break it down into little pieces and practice each piece. You may not become world-class or be able to play in the NBA, but you can certainly become very good at that particular skill, and the key is deliberate practice. By breaking down the big skill into smaller micro-skills and deliberately practicing those individually, you build your overall skill set. The second component of deliberate practice is having a mentor guide you along the path towards expertise. When it comes to business development, what kinds of attractive content can you create to get your name out there? What valuable thing do you have to offer the world that you can get out there and expose others to your way of thinking? Once you've got a system for generating content and attracting leads, it becomes a matter of turning those connections into one-to-one conversations. This is where the Give to Get comes in. Start solving client problems in a small, bite-sized way, and it can open the door to bigger opportunities. If you think you can't do what someone else is doing, toss that out of your mind. Narrow what they do down to a specific skill that you can improve on and get to work. Don't worry about how you stack up with others. It doesn't matter. Focus on your own skills, always getting a little bit better all the time. Having a Business Development Mindset Means Knowing What Motivates a Buyer When you're being sold to, you almost want to run away. You can tell the salesperson has only their best interests in mind, not yours. We are happy to buy when the reverse is true. When we're learning and we feel like the other person is helping us discover the option that's right for us, the experience is wonderful. When we buy something, we're important. We are being catered to and we're learning in the process. It's like having a birthday experience where you feel like the people you're interacting with really care. If you don't like selling, you need to reframe your perspective. Instead of selling, think that you're someone that creates wonderful buying experiences that make people feel good. Flush the idea of selling and focus on the idea of creating a wonderful buying experience. That one mindset shift will change everything. You are 100% in control of the buying experience. You're helping people succeed, remember that. The more you do that, the more you will win and the more that people will talk about how great you are to their colleagues. Start Crafting Your Business Development Mindset By Understanding Your Why Business development can be hard. You've got to figure out a reason to persevere and keep adding value to your relationships, even when it feels like you're not making much progress. To discover your why, ask yourself the Five Whys? Go deeper into the core reasons you do what you do until you discover the truth. Start with the question: “Why is getting great at Business Development important to me?” When you've got your answer, add a why to the beginning and ask why that thing is important. Your fifth answer is where the rubber meets the road, and you discover what's really driving you. Once you have it, write it down and put it somewhere that will remind you daily why you put in the work. Avoid staying too superficial with your motivation and realize that your why might change over time, so it's a good practice to repeat the exercise every few years or when you feel like you're not as motivated as you used to be. Mentioned in this Episode: freakonomics.com/podcast/peak faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Grant_PsychScience2013.pdf bdhabits.com The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
Mo explores the key business development mindset shifts that you need to make to become great at business development. Find out why business development skills are both learned and earned, how anyone can become great at business development, and how to stay motivated and driven to keep doing the work of building relationships the right way. Business Development Mindset Is A Learnable Skill Dr. Kay Anders Ericsson spent over 30 years studying high-end expertise and discovered that every complex skill is both learned and earned. You can look at any expert and you would find decades of deliberate practice that got them to that level. No one is born with all the skills they need to be great at business development. Business development is a learnable skill that anyone can build on. If you take each individual lesson and apply them to your life, you will be successful. If someone tries to tell you that business development skills are not learnable or only for natural born conversationalists, they're wrong. They just haven't seen the research. If you want to be great at business development, break things down into bite- sized pieces. Break complex tasks down into individual pieces and practice each one as it comes. Business Development Mindset Rule - You Don't Have To Be An Extrovert To Succeed Adam Grant did a study on salespeople and put them on a spectrum of introversion to extroversion. For most people they land right in the middle and end up being a mix of both introvert and extrovert, and most successful salespeople were exactly the same way. Ambiverts were the most successful at making sales, not extroverts like people assumed was the case. Full-on extroverts might actually have some disadvantages when it comes to making a sale. Their desire to be around people all the time may prevent them from following up effectively or being direct with someone when they need to challenge them. Extreme introverts likely just aren't putting themselves around other people most of the time, but that doesn't mean they don't get energy from interacting with them or can't be effective salespeople. The magic in sales and business development happens at the middle of the curve, where you can connect with people in the moment and follow up thoughtfully later. Luckily for most people, that's where they fall. You don't have to be extroverted to be successful at sales. Great business developers have a wonderful mix of being around people, getting energy from the interactions, asking great questions, and giving great ideas. They can also go back to their quiet surroundings and find ways to follow up thoughtfully. Becoming Great At Anything By Creating a Business Development Mindset Every expertise, no matter the field, is both learned and earned. You can become great at anything if you break it down into little pieces and practice each piece. You may not become world-class or be able to play in the NBA, but you can certainly become very good at that particular skill, and the key is deliberate practice. By breaking down the big skill into smaller micro-skills and deliberately practicing those individually, you build your overall skill set. The second component of deliberate practice is having a mentor guide you along the path towards expertise. When it comes to business development, what kinds of attractive content can you create to get your name out there? What valuable thing do you have to offer the world that you can get out there and expose others to your way of thinking? Once you've got a system for generating content and attracting leads, it becomes a matter of turning those connections into one-to-one conversations. This is where the Give to Get comes in. Start solving client problems in a small, bite-sized way, and it can open the door to bigger opportunities. If you think you can't do what someone else is doing, toss that out of your mind. Narrow what they do down to a specific skill that you can improve on and get to work. Don't worry about how you stack up with others. It doesn't matter. Focus on your own skills, always getting a little bit better all the time. Having a Business Development Mindset Means Knowing What Motivates a Buyer When you're being sold to, you almost want to run away. You can tell the salesperson has only their best interests in mind, not yours. We are happy to buy when the reverse is true. When we're learning and we feel like the other person is helping us discover the option that's right for us, the experience is wonderful. When we buy something, we're important. We are being catered to and we're learning in the process. It's like having a birthday experience where you feel like the people you're interacting with really care. If you don't like selling, you need to reframe your perspective. Instead of selling, think that you're someone that creates wonderful buying experiences that make people feel good. Flush the idea of selling and focus on the idea of creating a wonderful buying experience. That one mindset shift will change everything. You are 100% in control of the buying experience. You're helping people succeed, remember that. The more you do that, the more you will win and the more that people will talk about how great you are to their colleagues. Start Crafting Your Business Development Mindset By Understanding Your Why Business development can be hard. You've got to figure out a reason to persevere and keep adding value to your relationships, even when it feels like you're not making much progress. To discover your why, ask yourself the Five Whys? Go deeper into the core reasons you do what you do until you discover the truth. Start with the question: “Why is getting great at Business Development important to me?” When you've got your answer, add a why to the beginning and ask why that thing is important. Your fifth answer is where the rubber meets the road, and you discover what's really driving you. Once you have it, write it down and put it somewhere that will remind you daily why you put in the work. Avoid staying too superficial with your motivation and realize that your why might change over time, so it's a good practice to repeat the exercise every few years or when you feel like you're not as motivated as you used to be. Mentioned in this Episode: freakonomics.com/podcast/peak faculty.wharton.upenn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Grant_PsychScience2013.pdf bdhabits.com The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
Business development can be hard. You've got to figure out a reason to persevere and keep adding value to your relationships, even when it feels like you're not making much progress. To discover your why, ask yourself the Five Whys? Go deeper into the core reasons you do what you do until you discover the truth. Start with the question: “Why is getting great at Business Development important to me?” When you've got your answer, add a why to the beginning and ask why that thing is important. Your fifth answer is where the rubber meets the road, and you discover what's really driving you. Once you have it, write it down and put it somewhere that will remind you daily why you put in the work. Avoid staying too superficial with your motivation and realize that your why might change over time, so it's a good practice to repeat the exercise every few years or when you feel like you're not as motivated as you used to be. Mentioned in this Episode: The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
Business development can be hard. You've got to figure out a reason to persevere and keep adding value to your relationships, even when it feels like you're not making much progress. To discover your why, ask yourself the Five Whys? Go deeper into the core reasons you do what you do until you discover the truth. Start with the question: “Why is getting great at Business Development important to me?” When you've got your answer, add a why to the beginning and ask why that thing is important. Your fifth answer is where the rubber meets the road, and you discover what's really driving you. Once you have it, write it down and put it somewhere that will remind you daily why you put in the work. Avoid staying too superficial with your motivation and realize that your why might change over time, so it's a good practice to repeat the exercise every few years or when you feel like you're not as motivated as you used to be. Mentioned in this Episode: The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
When you're being sold to, you almost want to run away. You can tell the salesperson has only their best interests in mind, not yours. We are happy to buy when the reverse is true. When we're learning and we feel like the other person is helping us discover the option that's right for us, the experience is wonderful. When we buy something, we're important. We are being catered to and we're learning in the process. It's like having a birthday experience where you feel like the people you're interacting with really care. If you don't like selling, you need to reframe your perspective. Instead of selling, think that you're someone that creates wonderful buying experiences that make people feel good. Flush the idea of selling and focus on the idea of creating a wonderful buying experience. That one mindset shift will change everything. You are 100% in control of the buying experience. You're helping people succeed, remember that. The more you do that, the more you will win and the more that people will talk about how great you are to their colleagues. Mentioned in this Episode: The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
When you're being sold to, you almost want to run away. You can tell the salesperson has only their best interests in mind, not yours. We are happy to buy when the reverse is true. When we're learning and we feel like the other person is helping us discover the option that's right for us, the experience is wonderful. When we buy something, we're important. We are being catered to and we're learning in the process. It's like having a birthday experience where you feel like the people you're interacting with really care. If you don't like selling, you need to reframe your perspective. Instead of selling, think that you're someone that creates wonderful buying experiences that make people feel good. Flush the idea of selling and focus on the idea of creating a wonderful buying experience. That one mindset shift will change everything. You are 100% in control of the buying experience. You're helping people succeed, remember that. The more you do that, the more you will win and the more that people will talk about how great you are to their colleagues. Mentioned in this Episode: The Snowball System by Mo Bunnell - amazon.com/Snowball-System-Business-Clients-Raving/dp/1610399609
In this episode of On Record PR, Gina Rubel goes on record with Mo Bunnell, CEO of Bunnell Idea Group, to discuss how professionals can develop their business development skills. Learn how complex skills and learned and earned, why people hate to be sold to, but they love to buy, and how to develop a system to bring in the work you want, deepen the relationships you want the most, and create systems that fit within your demanding schedule.
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