101 ways to improve your performance
Performance is very critical to individual and corporate survival and progress. Therefore, any individual or corporate organization that wants to progress needs constant performance evaluation. Regular performance appraisal is also important for people and organizations that are already ahead of the game, because complacency is so dangerous. That is why we are examining this book “101 ways to improve your performance”.
John Fenton, author of this text, is one of the greatest salesmen the United Kingdom (UK) has ever produced. Fenton is the creator of the Sales and Marketing Management Institute. He is also the architect of the national ‘Year of Selling’ campaign which helped 47,000 sellers out of the 81/3 recession.
Fenton is the leader of ten UK National Sales, as well as the Chairman of the Institution of British Engineers. He is the founder of the Continuous Performance Development Institute.
In this text, the author provides a catalog of management techniques to help you improve your skills and achieve your ambition. He shows you how to get to the point of marketing, communication, and administration, and offers new insight into the processes of managing, recruiting, and developing people.
The author x-rays concepts such as shortcuts to know your product, your market, your competition and sales force; how to cut paperwork in half and better manage your time; how to motivate your staff to even greater achievements, etc.
Regarding the structure, this text is segmented into 13 chapters. Chapter one is entitled “Fundamental stones for effective management.” According to Fenton here, it is a blinding glimpse of the obvious to say that no amount of production has the slightest value unless the products are sold for cash. He adds that selling is the crux of any business or industrial venture.
Fenton personally says that he loves signs, and there are plenty of them in this text. “Try placing a few of them strategically around your workplace – they remind people why they are there. Without reminders, they are quickly forgotten and allow their personal priorities to take precedence over business priorities”, says this author.
He adds that his favorite sign comes from former Avis boss Robert Townsend: “Is what I’m doing, or about to do, getting us closer to our goal or making us money?”
Fenton cautions that many companies don’t see selling as the be all and end of their business. He says they do things, or establish themselves as experts in providing some kind of service, and then sit back and wait for customers to come to them, which of course they don’t.
In Fenton’s words: “The result is failure unless they have enough personal contacts to keep fighting as a small business. If the product is good, professional sales promotion can turn any small business into a large and prosperous one.” He says that customers are the business, adding that customers come first, not the products or services, not the factory, not the corporate image, not the founder or owner of the company.
Chapter two is interrogatively titled “Is Marketing Bullshit?” Fenton teaches that marketing is all the rage, and as soon as something catches on, all sorts of ‘creative’ types come in and make ridiculous claims about their own magical powers. He adds that there are grains of truth to all of his claims, but there’s also a lot of flannel. “So, let’s define what marketing should be about: ‘Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating, and satisfying customer requirements profitably,’” says Fenton.
This author adds that without marketing, all you can do is keep selling the same products and services to the same customers. According to Fenton, that will inevitably bankrupt him, because he’s on his feet while the outside world moves on.
However, using marketing principles, you adjust, modify, or change your products or services, and the ways you sell them, to fit the changing needs of your changing customer base. In other words, you react positively to the constant evolution of your market.
According to Fenton, marketing is only nonsense when applied incompetently. He adds that it’s also silly to call your sales manager a marketing manager and your sales office a marketing services department.
The author examines concepts such as competitive advantage; improving performance; watching the bottom line; and the reduction of administration, in chapters three to six.
Chapter seven is all about finding and keeping the best people. Fenton notes that the downside is, of course, that without people, there is no business. He advises that the first thing he should do is make sure he gets the best possible people on his team. The right people will be those who work for the advancement of the business rather than for their own interests, Fenton elaborates.
This consultant teaches that for your business to be successful, you must be able to pick winners and avoid losers. He says that he has two favorite systems for choosing winners, both very simple.
In his words, “If you’re interviewing for a sales position, all the candidates will probably be smart enough to give you the answers you want to hear to the usual series of questions. If I’m looking for people with experience, then they have to show that all their experience is worth something. So I challenge them to show how good they are.”
Fenton analytically analyzes X-ray concepts such as communications; technical management; time management; leadership and motivation in chapters eight through 12.
The last chapter, chapter 13, is labeled “Unfortunate for some”. According to him, there is almost always a difference between what we are and what we are perceived to be. “Do you have, for example, any of those nasty clothes that bother you on other people?…Think about all the things that drive you crazy on other people, and then see if they apply to you,” Fenton guides.
Regarding the style, one thing that stands out in this text is the generous use of graphic embroidery to visually emphasize and reinforce the readers’ understanding.
Fenton uses detailed illustrations to ensure easy understanding by readers. The language is understandable and the ideas logically presented. Also, the title text is catchy. The author also uses precise quotes to embellish the concepts.
However, the design of the book needs improvement to make it (more) pleasing to the eye. On page 114, the expression “…the best possible people on your team” should be used, which is standard American English, instead of the standard British English version “…the best possible people on your team” because Fenton is British.
Finally, if you are ready to improve your performance and rise to the top through excellence, then this text is a must read for you. It’s very fascinating.