February 6th, 2011
by Kim Wright Wiley; SellingPower Magazine
In some ways, being a manager is like being a parent: You can talk about what your sales team should be doing until you’re blue in the face, but if you aren’t modeling the behaviors you expect of the team, then your lectures will likely fall on deaf ears. This is especially true if you urge your salespeople to treat their customers and prospects as individuals but don’t model this behavior when dealing with your own staff.
“I’m not a big fan of the player/coach analogy in sales training,” says Beverly Flaxington, author of Understanding Other People: The Five Secrets to Human Behavior (ATA Press, 2009) and founder of The Collaborative (the-collaborative.com), a firm that helps companies and individuals reach their highest level of effectiveness. “The coach analogy implies that you’ve gathered people in a locker room at halftime, and you’re giving them all the same message in the same way. The manager’s real job is to see each person as an individual and ask, “How do I evolve this person? How do I get him or her to the level where he or she needs to be?” Click here for the rest of the article.
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September 17th, 2010
BOSTON, MA — September 15, 2010
Earlier this year, The Collaborative released its S.H.I.F.T Model for Success™, which has been embedded into the curriculum for Suffolk University‟s Leadership and Social Responsibility class for the fall semester. According to Beverly Flaxington, Collaborative Principal, after two decades of working with organizations and individuals it was apparent the time had come for a “shift” in the traditional thought processes.
“Most individuals and organizations overlook the key component to achieving success. This is the “I” in the model – ‘Identify the human element.’ Human emotions, relationships, stakeholders, etc. come into play in every situation and most models overlook their impact entirely. I ask that people and organizations Specify their goals (S), highlight and categorize their obstacles (H) and then identify the human factor (I) before they go into brainstorming alternatives and finding their options (F). Then, at the end of the process it’s common to just set an overall goal instead of taking disciplined action (T) as my model outlines,” Flaxington said.“ We’ve successfully used this model with individuals, start-ups and established organizations with great success.” According to Flaxington, having the specific steps outlined significantly increases the chances of goal achievement.
This was apparent to the administration of Suffolk University where Flaxington serves as a part-time lecturer of management and entrepreneurship. The course Flaxington helps teach is taken by all undergraduate business students. It was created out of a desire to teach students that not-for-profits are run by leaders who need solid business skills to handle the many resource constraints their organizations face. They learn about the importance of networking and strategic partnerships.
A representative from a Boston-area not-for-profit speaks to the class about challenges and obstacles the organization faces. The students are then charged with finding solutions and creating a plan for the not-for-profit to implement.” It’s exciting to have the model used in such an important endeavor – a class where students are learning about how to offer real help to a not-for-profit and use a proven model to provide this help”, says Flaxington.
According to Laurie Levesque, Associate Dean in Suffolk’s Sawyer Business School, “This model assists people move effectively through the phases of problem definition, idea generation, and solution planning. It has provided students with structure for problem-solving while simultaneously encouraging their creativity.”
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September 15th, 2010
Called “The Complete Marketing Solution for Advisors and Wealth Managers”
Medfield, MA – September 8, 2010 Advisors Trusted Advisor (ATA; www.advisorstrustedadvisor.com) a division of The Collaborative, and Wealth Management Marketing (WMM; www.wealthmanagementmarketing.net) announced today a collaboration to bring strategic and tactical marketing resources to small advisors with their AdvisorMarketing Pro program. Advisors with 1 to 15 employees often struggle to find time, and the human and financial resources required to grow and compete with other advisors, especially larger firms. This program was designed to meet the marketing and business growth needs of the small advisor, at a very affordable price.
ATA and WMM have combined their respective industry-leading offerings to create a package for small advisors that includes: positioning and creating compelling differentiators; creating tailored marketing plans and marketing materials for presentations. Also offered is ongoing tactical support through newsletters; client education; social media and marketing plan implementation. ATA has historically offered strategic marketing support while WMM has focused on tactical implementation.
“The small advisor is finding it increasingly hard to stand out in a crowded market without investing a lot of money”, says Beverly Flaxington, co-founder of Advisors Trusted Advisor. “We’ve always tried to deliver full marketing support at reasonable prices but partnering with Kristen Luke’s firm, Wealth Management Marketing, allows us to focus on what we do best and know that the advisor will continue to be supported. We know that this ongoing support is the critical element to experiencing business building success.”
Both firms have relationships to deliver their offerings with several custodians, broker-dealers and investment product companies and also work directly with advisors on a day-to-day basis. “We know the marketing challenges that advisors face”, said Kristen Luke, founder of Wealth Management Marketing. “We provide advisors the resources they need so that they avoid having to hire additional staff or oversee execution of a marketing plan. It’s the complete marketing solution for small advisors and fills a hole that has previously existed in the industry.”
AdvisorMarketing Pro is available by contacting either Advisors Trusted Advisor at 888-580-9473 or Wealth Management Marketing at 888-710-5870.
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July 14th, 2010
By JAMES DETAR, INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 07/02/2010 06:27 PM ET
When employees can’t take criticism, it makes them less productive. When it’s a company that won’t face criticism or doesn’t know how, the entire business suffers. One way a business can avoid getting bruised by these slings is to work with the critics, to learn what their concerns are and take action. Often, by working with them, the company can avoid getting itself into a tight spot. How can a company change those critics’ minds, or at least get them to engage in a conversation?
“The No. 1 thing when you’re faced with criticism is to adopt a position of curiosity,” said Professor Beverly Flaxington. “The company should say: We want to understand, rather than combat it.” Click here for the rest of the story.
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