Chick-fil-A Leadercast, May 6th at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. has partnered with the

Chick-fil-A Leadercast

May 6, 2011

held at the

 Indianapolis Downtown Marriott

Featuring speakers like John Maxwell!

Jim Morris, President, Pacers Sports & Entertainment

   Speaker for the VIP Luncheon

Video Link: 
http://www.youtube.com/cfaleadercastindy#p/u/1/UUvRaSwwG_8

Chick-fil-A Leadercast Conference, May 6th at Indianapolis Marriott

Registration Instructions

1. Log onto the Chick-fil-a Leadercast Indianapolis website for registration at: www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/indy

2. Welcome to our online attendee registration page! Read the important information and then click on the red ‘Click here to register today’ link on the left side of the page below the description of our event.

3. This will open a new page to register for a Giant Impact event. Please select “Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2011 – Indianapolis (May 6^th, 2011)” from the drop down menu. Then click ‘Proceed to Event Registration’ button. *** If this is your first time to log-in, click on the link on the lower left-hand corner to close the log-in box ***

4. Please enter all of your contact information and click on the box at the bottom of the page to proceed to step 2.

5. Select your ticket option (regular attendee or VIP) and the number of tickets you wish to purchase. On this page, please enter ‘David.Stucky’ in the rate code box (this will identify you in the registration system as a personal guest of Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. to be greeted personally by the Chick-fil-A rep and Jennifer Holmes, Founder & President at the event). When finished, click on the box at the bottom of the page to proceed to step 3.

6. Please enter payment information and create a username and password (this will allow you to reenter the site). When finished, click on the box to complete registration.

7. You will receive a confirmation email of your ticket purchase.

If you have questions, you can call (877) 225-3311.

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Chick-fil-A Leadercast Voice of Change

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc partners with Chick-fil-A LEADERCAST, on May 6, 2011 at the Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis.

Register online at www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/Indy

Speakers for the day are; John Maxwell, Robin Roberts, Mark Brown,  Dave Ramsey, Dan Cathym Mack Brown, Erin Gruwell, Suzy Welch, and LOCAL, Lunch VIP Speaker, President, Indiana Pacers, Jim Morris.

Register for this great Conference for all levels of leadership!

...

The G.R.E.A.T.™ Sales Professional For the 21^st Century
Part 3 of a 3 part Series

I found an inspiring and powerful quote from Marianne Williamson, author, teacher and coach when researching the topic of Attitude. I felt compelled to share her quote and why I feel Step #4: Attitude is Everything when striving to be a G.R.E.A.T.™ sales professional.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond our measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens most of us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you . . . As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

.

I consider ATTITUDE the #1 attribute on what makes The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21^st Century.  This Blog focuses on the final two steps of being G.R.E.A.T.™: ATTITUDE AND TIMING.

Gain Insight

Right Behaviors

Exceed Expectations

Attitude Is Everything

Timing

Are YOU or were you an athlete? How many times did your coach tell you, “It’s mind over matter?” or “attitude reflects success?”  As a competitive athlete, my coach (my father) would tell me that falling short of my goals meant that I didn’t see myself there or my mind was defeating my capabilities. Positive attitude is also necessary to be The G.R.E.A.T.™ Sales Professional in the 21^st Century and beyond.

The G.R.E.A.T. ™ Sales Professional for The 21st Century

                                                 Part 2 of a 3 part Series

                                 
“Seek first to understand before being understood.” The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey


I have used that quote often in my career to help others understand the importance of communication and the style in which you communicate. It is not only what you say, but also how you say it that affects the response from others.


As I described in Part 1 of this Series, the five skills you want to develop and practice to become G.R.E.A.T. ™ are: 

                                                       Gain Insight

                                                       Right Behaviors 

                                                       Exceed Expectations

                                                       Attitude Is Everything

                                                       Timing

Step #2 to becoming G.R.E.A.T. ™ is having the Right Behaviors in a sales situation. Professional behavior encompasses many things: style of communication, etiquette, business dress, respect, follow through and knowledge of your product and services. Behaviors also include discipline, productive activity to move the sale forward, and working smarter. The G.R.E.A.T. ™ salesperson does all of these things and does them naturally.


Style of communication along with the tone of your voice will be the determining factors as to whether or not a customer buys from you. Communication describes the process of making and keeping this connection. According to research, only 7% of the objective message communicated is composed of spoken words. The remaining 93% of how you communicate with people consists of “style” or tone of voice (38%) and body language (55%).  Research also shows that customers watch how you carry yourself, your facial expressions, and your appearance. These factors can unconsciously affect their decision about doing business with you before you say a word. To learn more about this topic, I recommend The Heart of Coaching, Using Transformational Coaching to Create a High-Performance Culture, by Thomas G. Crane.

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. BLOG: The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Cen...

Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. BLOG: The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Cen...:." The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Century Part 1 of a 3 part series Inspiration for this blog came from my opp..."

Jennifer B. Holmes, Founder and President, Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. www.integratingwomanleaders.com


©2011 IWL, Inc. All rights reserved

The G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21st Century

 Part 1 of a 3 part series

 Inspiration for this blog came from my opportunity to hear the Key Bank Key4Women guest speaker and author, Cindy Solomon, talk about her new book, The Rules of Woo. Her topic was how the world and customer behaviors have changed over the past 30 years.

 Listening to Cindy, I realized that a long corporate career in sales, leading and building teams and growing businesses has taught me a great deal about what  today's customers want from a GREAT sales professional.  Customers in the 21^st Century have different expectations and those expectations will continue to change over time.   I believe that focusing on five key skills will allow you to become the G.R.E.A.T™ Sales Professional for the 21^st Century.

Do you know what it takes to be G.R.E.A.T™?  Hard work and dedication can only take you so far.  What distinguishes YOU from your competitors is YOUR ability to provide VALUE. The five skills you want to develop and practice to become G.R.E.A.T™ are: 

Gain Insight

Right Behaviors

Exceed Expectations

Attitude Is Everything

Timing

Successful individuals build loyalty, enjoy long-lasting relationships with customers, and consistently perform at the highest level. There are also those who continue to remain average. What separates the GREAT sales professional from the average one? 

The first step is to Gain Insight about your customers. Before you can bring true value to them, you must first understand who they are. What types of services are important to them, what are their key issues, and what does value mean to them? How do your products and services benefit them? We all know that "value" means something different to each customer.  Understanding is your first step to becoming a G.R.E.A.T™ salesperson.  As a Field Sales Trainer years ago, I shared with trainees that the biggest mistake a sales professional makes is to assume with very little actual insight about the customer. 

One of my favorite books, Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne, describes Value Innovation.  “Value Innovation” makes the competition irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers instead of focusing on beating the competition. I have learned that leading a team with that philosophy makes a positive impact.

A challenging situation I once had with an important customer demonstrates how lack of insight can inhibit business relationships. After a year of hard work building a strong customer relationship, I finally got approval for a huge product evaluation. However, one Cardiologist remained unconvinced and refused to evaluate the product. Despite my best efforts to convince him otherwise, he looked at me angrily one day and said, "Jennifer, I don't care about how your stent is different or for that matter better. I don't want to trial your product."  At that moment, I realized my insight of what was important to him was wrong. I needed to refocus on what Value meant to him and to learn what I needed to do to turn the situation around. In the end, he did evaluate the product and became a loyal customer.

Part One: Please share this post.


Jennifer B. Holmes, Founder and President, Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. www.integratingwomanleaders.com


©2011 IWL, Inc. All rights reserved

Tony Dungy - Be the One

Inspired to Stand Up™

The 1961 United States World Figure Skating Team

On February 15, 1961, the U.S. Figure Skating team, parents, coaches and judges -34 among the 62 passengers and crew aboard - left New York on Sabena Airlines flight number 548, which crashed before landing in Brussels, en route to Prague. The airplane's landing gear was not down, according to witnesses, and it is probable that the plane hit a high tension line about four miles from the airport's runway. Nearby residents said the plane was making more noise than usual and was much lower than usual. There were no survivors.

Life is a journey with moments of life lessons, hope, painful tragedies, successes, failures, and choices. The journey through life teaches us to embrace those lessons, inspires us to dream and to achieve those dreams. Faith guides our souls leading us with integrity.

I was fortunate to be raised by parents who achieved greatness early in their lives, in light of pain and suffering, failure and challenges. My parents were the positive architects of my life, always providing me the encouragement that has helped me through life.

Several weeks ago, the movie Rise was a one-night screening in 586 movie theaters across the United States. Rise is a tribute to the U.S. World Figure Skating Team killed in a plane crash on Feb. 15, 1961. The picture of the 1961 US World Team has hung in my parents’ home since I was born. They lost their best friends that day!

My parents were pairs skaters on that Team, finishing fourth that year. They missed the chance to travel with the Team by 1/10th of 1%. My mom did not know she was pregnant with me at the time.  I was born in November.

The sad part of this story is that my father passed away 3 years ago this month at the young age of 69 so my mother never wanted to share their story with the movie's producers because they were a TEAM!   Nevertheless, our family shared the incredible documentary that night with her and some of my parents' closest friends.

As powerful as it was for her, watching Rise made my entire childhood flashed before my eyes too.  I was also a figure skater, coached by my parents and sent to live at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the age of 13. My dream was to make the 1980 Winter Olympics. I never achieved that dream although I remember my father repeatedly telling me that I would be the next World Champion.

In front of a boyfriend during dinner one night, Dad told me: "You gave up! You never saw yourself there! You could have been a World Champion!" WOW! I was devastated! However, I realized that his words changed my life forever!

From that day, my mantra to my teams, my children and myself has been “IF YOU SEE YOURSELF THERE, YOU WILL BE THERE!" My first sales job made me realize that I never want to work for something and not be the best.  As I embrace the next chapter in my life, I continue to live by that powerful philosophy.

On the night that Rise ran in theaters, Matt Lauer hosted a live TV broadcast from New York City. He interviewed my idol Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill (who’s hairstyle my father insisted I copied), Scott Hamilton (with whom I'd trained), and the most beautiful skater of all time, Michelle Kwan. Matt asked them what skating taught them that they have taken with them in their lives. They used words like focus, hard work, dedication, and the love for the sport.

I am relating this story because I put a blue Post-it note on my mirror several months ago about writing my first book by 2015. I didn’t have a title or topic at the time but I knew I wanted to inspire women leaders to achieve their career goals and go beyond their dreams. After watching this inspirational documentary, I now have a title and story to share with women who aspire to achieve greatness. Skating takes lots of practice, hard work, dedication and time on your backside! Making life choices, experiencing success and dealing with painful challenges does too. Nevertheless, I continue to be Inspired to Stand UP™

Please post a comment of this BLOG and let us know if you have a similar story.

1961 World Figure Skating Team

Inspired to Stand Up™
Jennifer Browning Holmes, Founder & President
Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc.
Book release date yet to be announced. 

©2011 IWL, Inc. All rights reserved

IWL's 2011 Women's Leadership Conference; Connect-Mentor-Inspire

We are excited to announce that our 2011 IWL Women's Leadership Conference; Connect-Mentor-Inspire will be held at Conseco Fieldhouse on September 13, 2011 from 9:00am until 4:00pm. We are thrilled to have the Indiana Fever, Indianapolis Woman Magazine and Eli Lilly & Company/ Lilly's Women Network sponsor the event at the Gold Level. Be sure to register on May 1, 2011 as space will be limited. Register on www.integratingwomanleaders.com

IWL Conference

Leading with Intention Builds Loyalty

“What we think or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only thing of consequence is what we do.” – John Ruskin

Leading with intention can be transformational if your actions are meaningful. Intention is the energy that powers all actions. It’s the thought behind a thought or the thought that propels action. It’s the center of your subconscious mind. The more aware you are of your intention, the more you will empower your leadership style and behavior. Your leadership style will bring loyal followers and build long lasting relationships.


How many managers or senior leaders do you know who don’t lead with good intentions? How many times have you said to someone or to yourself “ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS”? All the good intentions in the world don’t mean a thing if you don’t follow through with meaningful actions. Intentions - Actions = NOTHING! The people and teams I have managed over the years told me they were going to change their behaviors, work harder, communicate better, be more engaged and/or promise to learn from their “mistakes.” However, I am amazed to observe other leaders or those who aspire to lead who don’t think twice about falling short of their own actions!


Early in my career, a significant event taught me how leading with intention builds loyalty. My manager told me during a meeting that he would push for my promotion. Months later, I learned that he had never mentioned my name. I found it very disheartening. Nevertheless, I stayed focused on my mission to finish the year #1 AGAIN in sales and remain in contention for the next promotion. The good news came one year later! Not only did I learn the importance of leading with intention, but I also learned never to make a commitment without following through with meaningful action. Loyalty is powerful!


The same holds true for our behavior with friends and family. We make promises we cannot keep or have any intention of fulfilling. We repeatedly fall short of our Intentions with no Actions which equals NOTHING! While it may have no effect on us, it can certainly have consequences in our personal relationships.


True leadership is difficult and takes a great deal of effort. I ask my clients two things - identify their leadership intentions and what success looks like for them. This gives them the opportunity to express their personal and professional goals, action plan, and desired long-term outcomes. It helps me to understand their willingness and intention to take meaningful action. Following through is key!


Compelling LeadershipI challenge you to create a powerful intention that is compelling for you. It is important to understand that it might be uninspiring to others, and vice versa. Only you know if your intention is compelling. If it motivates you and inspires you, it is compelling. If you don’t feel motivated enough or lack desire to move down a path, it’s not compelling. Inspiration, passion and motivation to move forward with something or someone with meaningful action is the true definition of intention.


What is the compelling and powerful intention in your life? What is your intention as a leader to build loyalty?


If you want to write a statement of intention, click on the comment section.


Jennifer B. Holmes, Founder and President, Integrating Woman Leaders, Inc. www.integratingwomanleaders.com


©2011 IWL, Inc. All rights reserved.