Sisu: From Confusion to Clarity
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I went home to the TTT Ranch in Stanley, ND. Of course, I talked with everyone about our new Sales Management Program based on Sisu.
Sisu and Sales Leadership
During one of the conversations, we talked about soldiers using the term “fog of war” when describing the uncertainties and confusion of battle. Where is my enemy? What is he capable of? What is the right course of action? Am I up to the task of winning this war?
To the last question, those leaders with sisu would say, “Undoubtedly, yes. I may not know where my enemy is, but I will find him and beat him. I may not know the right course of action, but I will act, and modify my approach as necessary. And I will win this war, no matter what.”
Simply making the choice to win the war – to make the sale – clears away the uncertainties and the confusion and dissolves the fog that stands between the sisu-enabled soldier management leader and certain victory.
As John P. Kotter says, “Clarity bring confidence. Confidence brings commitment.”
For more information on SISU, go to Filling your Sails and Making More Sales – with SISU
Sisu: From Couragelessness to Confidence
“One man with courage is a majority.” Thomas Jefferson
You’ll find it unbelievable…I’m still stuck on Sisu. As you can probably tell, I’m discovering how core the concept is for not only me, but for those of us committed to being successful, even in these market and economic challenges.
At its core, couragelessness is turning away – from challenge, from opportunity, from oneself, and from your own sales management leadership role. It’s simply disengagement, and it’s the opposite of sisu, which mandates clear-eyed confrontation. Not that those with sisu don’t experience fear; they do. But they put fear to the side, acknowledging its
presence and denying its supremacy. In fact, those with sisu value their fear. It is, after all, simply a way for the self to protect the self, and combined with sisu, it turns indiscriminate engagement into measured, yet confident, action. Those with sisu know that there can be no real confidence without fear, and there can be no cowardice when turning away is not an option.
Cowardice in managing and leading is also a turning away. It’s antithetical to the very nature of leadership, which by definition requires engagement. The sales management leader with sisu, however, puts this fear in its place, not denying it, which would be a lie, but befriending it – and turning it into a base for real confidence that outlasts any threat.
Sales Leadership Questions: What are the fears that you’re confronting?
If you’re not confronting any, maybe your not pushing the envelop hard enough?
To succeed wildly during these tenuous times requires confidence….it requires Sisu.
For more information on SISU, go to Filling your Sails and Making More Sales – with SISU
Sisu: From Complacency to Calling/Cause
In working with a sales leadership team this morning, I realized that “sisu” is an important attribute of those who are committed to staying at the top
of their game….regardless of the obstacles and challenges.
Leaders with sisu do not “settle.” They do not take the easy way out; they do not accept anything less than the best that they’re capable of. That is laziness and fear of failure, and those terms are not part of always moving sisu’s vocabulary. When a calling calls, sisu answers.
A sales management leader with sisu recognizes that the leadership calling is a supreme gift, one that will never be given again, should it be refused. This leader treasures their calling, directing every moment of their working life – and in many cases, their personal life – to answering that call. They know that fear of failure is nothing compared with the regret of mediocrity. And, that laziness is shockingly ungrateful, like spitting in the face of the Gift-Giver – and ultimately, in their own.
How strong is your sisu?
What’s your calling in life?
For more information on SISU, go to Filling your Sails and Making More Sales – with SISU
Sales Creativity and Sisu
For those of you following my blog, you know that I’ve been captured by a Finnish word, “sisu.” If you need to get caught up, go to my Oct. 5th entry entitled: Got “Sisu?” What the Finnish teach us about Achieving Sales Results?
As I’ve been contemplating sisu, I realize that that there’s a movement to sisu, a movement away from something towards something different. What’s involved in the movement?
First, there a movement from Complaining to Creativity.
A big part of the sisu approach to adversity is knowing that even when there are no good options, there are some options that are better than others. Complaining doesn’t make for more or better options; all that behavior does is kill faith and dull creativity. And following even mediocre options doggedly is an expression of faith – faith in personal power and faith in the power of creativity.
In effect, sales leaders with sisu on their side are saying to the world, “No matter what you throw at me, my creativity allows me to always utter the last word – and that word is sisu.” Leaders with sisu will always have a strategic sales plan up their sleeves.
What’s your mode of operation, complaining or creativity? What about the sales team you lead, what’s their forte? If it’s complaining, what are some steps that you can take to move them towards creativity and improved sales performance?
For more information on SISU, go to Filling your Sails and Making More Sales – with SISU
Strategic Sales Plan: Luring Away Competitors’ salespeople?
Does Luring Away a Competitor’s Salespeople Give You Entrance to Its Market?
I’m getting ready for a couple of powerful presentations this week, both on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd., Allied Executives Symposium– Refocus Your Company’s Sales Department, and After the Cutting: How Successful Companies Sell Their Way to the Top by Dave Kurlan from Objective Management Group. In preparing, I asked attendees about their most pressing questions. One of the questions was about the wisdom of hiring top performers from a competitor as a strategy to grow sales.
The idea of hiring your competition’s best salespeople is a seductive one: not only do you get the talent, you get all their best contacts and customers in the bargain, right? Not usually. A few customers may come along for the ride, but most won’t.
As I mention in my latest complimentary ebook, Target Sales Focus, good customers are a byproduct of a good fit between them and a company’s offerings and approach. In other words, the relationship works because the company has learned how to best serve a particular niche. You may hire away a great salesperson, but the niche relationship depends on a company’s entire package. So unless you’re willing to change your package to match, you’re going to have a really tough time breaking in, regardless of who you hire. Worse, you may find yourself paying top dollar for salespeople who did well for your competition but have a tough time selling for you.
There’s a lesson here: niches are hard to break into. There’s also an opportunity here: when you formulate your strategic sales plan – research and target your business toward a niche of your own, and your competition will find it just as hard to break in on you. There’s also a free ebook about doing just that: Target Sales Focus, which you can download here.
And, hope to see you on Nov. 3rd.
The Sales Management Lesson: When you formulate your strategic sales plan – research and target your business toward a niche of your own.
The Sales Question: Have you discovered your real niche market? If so, how do you target that market?
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