In June this year we began organizing what is now known as a worldwide group of Elite Sales Professionals. Today we are more than 1.000 high performers and a powerful group of competent people. LinkedIn serves as the initial connection and meeting point, but it will soon be complimented by smart online solutions. These solutions will allow members three basic privileges:

• An evolutionary collaboration model for tipping-point results
• A network of quality people to visualize business opportunities
• An online framework to innovate new money generation activities

The current group definition reads: "High performing sales people with experience in strategy and positioning, network and relations as well as pure skills and customer centric concepts such as innovation and product development. Trustworthy and competent professionals able to create value balancing people with business and money."

Once we've reached critical mass and the beta versions of the online solutions are in place, the Expert Panel behind this group will introduce a second round of qualification. This is when we'll experience the long planned "explosion" of the quality network we're only witnessing the small beginnings of today. Let me assure you; the Expert Panel is not without ambition with this worldwide undertaking! (And yes, the Expert Panel is yet to be formally introduced.)

If you want to influence others - follow these four steps for taking notes and you'll quickly discover an improved flow in communication, mutual understanding and increased power to be persuasive:

(1) Divide Paper in Four

First, before taking notes divide your paper in four areas by drawing a big cross (as explained in my previous blog post). Above the line (the red area), write down keywords for everything that is negative. Below the line (the green area), keep score of every positive statement and explanation.

(2) Differentiate Between Positive and Negative

When you ask the right questions, you'll find that problems (the top red area) are sometimes indirect, i.e. they are connected to or a result of other problems. Make sure to distinguish between the two. The same goes for solution oriented positive statements. Consider this example:

PROBLEM: "My computer crashes on me..." (direct) "...I lose important data" (indirect)

SOLUTION: "...a laptop that never crashes"! (direct) "...keeps my data safe" (indirect)

(3) Balance the Feedback

Persuasion is found in knowing both what bugs people and how they'd like to fix it. Top sales performers spot the difference and always make sure there's a balance between "red" and "green". If the client only provides problems in the "red area", we pull out - through questioning - the flip side of those same problems; the solutions in the "green area". Vice versa, if clients only give us wish lists, then we dig for the problem(s) behind their expressed desires.

(4) Stick to Your Notes When Presenting

Once the other person has clearly and fully explained what's wrong and how he or she would like to resolve the matter, then we present our offering tailored strictly to the bullet points we've written down.

That's an effective way to take notes in a sales meeting - and apply them both in the meeting and for future reference!

When we're taking notes during interaction with a customer or partner, mostly what's being written is downright useless. As a result, notes are rarely used for future reference or stored for long. What does it take to make notes from a sales meeting serve their purpose, and what is that purpose anyway?

The purpose of taking notes can be summarized by asking three key questions. How can we apply notes taking to:

• BE EFFECTIVE
  ...make sure we both listen (live in the present) and write (store for the future)?

• IDENTIFY WIN-WIN
  ...stay focused by gleaning out and visualizing the purpose of the information exchange?

• CENTER AROUND ACTIONS
  ...make sure the interaction results in execution around shared objectives?

Taking notes must remain simple and easy for it to have the power to influence. Here's what you do: Draw a big cross in the center of your page. That leaves you with four basic fields of information - key words only.

Ask yourself: What's the ideal information you put into a CRM system following a sales call? Simply put, it's the information you're left with on your paper with this structure.

If you stick to doing it this way - always - 80% of your purpose has been achieved. The remaining 20% becomes your header and footer. On top you add the date and individuals you spoke with, including data you believe is critical to otherwise remember. Down below you specify every action point you agree on, including a deadline for each one.

Why taking notes this ways works I'll leave for my next blog post to elaborate on ;-)

Taking notes is not a common habit or lifestyle. Taking notes is in fact rarely seen spontaneously among people being trained or even while sitting in meetings. That's very unfortunate - for them - for those sharing their intelligence and energy - maybe even mostly for those not present. Why? ...and what happens when people take notes?

Taking notes is one of many forms of interactive rhythm. Let's just briefly consider three elements of "notes taking" as a subject, and then our own contemplation may help us discover more than what this short post can contain:

(1) Taking notes to improve dialog

When people take notes you can quickly spot a difference in attentiveness and concentration, openness and sharing, innovation and creativity, participation and dialog, involvement and ownership, ability to learn and apply and many other traits crucial to interaction that will lead to change and results.

(2) Taking notes the right way

Learning how to take notes is therefore a major competency few are aware of or ever learn. We take different kinds of notes in different kinds of settings. (My next post will be about taking notes in a sales meeting.). When taking notes is done well, the value increases dramatically and we feel a strong desire to keep them safe from harms way or loss.

(3) Taking notes to extend memory and feelings

Taking care of notes is important for safekeeping of new learning, discoveries*, commitments and maybe most important - the feelings and emotions we have. When was the last time you wrote down what you felt or what impressions you had besides what was actually being said e.g. in a meeting? Can you imagine why that would be important?

Good notes taking extends our memory. Strictly personal notes and the more profound "lessons of life" - I think - should be kept in a journal. Individuals who actively write and keep a journal appear to be more mature. Maybe it is because it leads to a kind of constant therapeutic exercise and self evaluation that's healthy for all of us. It increases self awareness.

So many times we make the greatest discoveries while we venture to write down in words what we just discovered. Spot the pattern of your notes during the past year. Where are they? Do you browse through them sometimes? Are they in a safe place? Will they be available in 5 or 10 years?

(4) Taking notes to influence others

The habit and principle of taking notes will enhance your lifestyle in ways you cannot understand until you actually start doing it. It's interactive rhythm and will - over time - add to your ability to be more persuasive, yes, even charismatic! Without further ado or elaboration, I am today who and what I am, very much because of the notes my closest peers took while I was not there. Consider what your notes may some day do for someone else.

I encourage you to a) carry a notepad with you, b) think through what and how you will write and then c) work on the habit of constantly doing it. Take notes!

* Ideas and discoveries disappear usually as quickly as they appear. Having a notebook handy always is as valuable as the impressions you may want to retain.

So I'm sometimes asked: "What are the benefits of 3E?"

(The 3 Energies Behind Sales Success)

In stead of giving the so-called full version, every so often I challenge them by declaring: "Once you've grasped the basic consept of 3E:

• you'll never read another book on communication or success the same way again.

• you'll never again be subject to receiving training without understanding the big picture. Now you'll be able to extract the essence and get seriously good results.

• as a manager you'll never lead again without knowing what needs to be addressed and how it should be done.

• as a coach or instructor you'll know better how to educate effectively and continually improve yourself as a coach from that point onwards."

These are just four examples I quickly mention. Of course the response is: "How come, then..? What is it that 3E does for me?"

...and here's the answer to what 3E does: At any given moment there are always three conversations running at the same time. It's kind of like a radio; in stead of only tuning in on one wavelength at a time, you'll now receive messages from three different channels simultaneously. Three frequencies at the same time could be confusing, but not if you had the ability to "listen" to the first channel, gently "observe" the second channel and let's say "taste or smell" the third channel.

We're suggesting that once you're able to see and perceive the three dialogs, you'll also be able to feel and observe the persuasive energy that's flowing from these three types of conversations. (It may sound strange to use the word "energy", but that's the best term we found for it.) Once you understand and recognize the dialogs and energies you'll be able to speak all three "languages". When you do, you'll immediately begin to influence - on three levels - what really matters in order to convince the people you desperately need to reach. What are these three levels?

1. What both parties perceive about your POSITION
2. Who you TRUST and who they TRUST
3. How WORDS and SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES run in sync with position and trust...

...to become truly persuasive.

Of course "these three in one" is a major subject or undertaking, but that's what this blog is all about, as well as the book itself, The 3 Energies Behind Sales Success. We've been at it for 8 years, now. Suffice it to say at this point, each of the three areas above represent "the end in mind". They are not something you just do, but rather the end result of doing everything the right way. THAT'S what 3E does!

Influence is energy.   Influence is getting in early.   Influence is passing on enthusiasm.   Influence is remembering and being remembered.   Influence is passing on a legacy that inspires others to follow.

Influence is helping others discover both who they are and what they are able to do.

Influence is not persuasion, but rather the ability to trigger a desire to be persuaded by being included in self talk.

Influence is the art of wanting to help, but knowing help can mostly not be given - want to teach, but knowing education is mostly not ours to give.

Influence is changing the world of another person in such a way that actions follow, empowering them to have greater control over their lives.

Influence is stirring up thoughts, feelings and emotions causing either spontaneous reactions or carefully considered alternative courses of action.

Influence is being instrumental in the way someone perceives the world, leaving them more determined and motivated to execute around clearer paradigms and goals.

Influence is you. You just didn't know how much influence you have and can have.

Intuition can be a powerful ally when applied correctly. However, sometimes intuition is mixed up with "whatever comes natural" in such a way that it hurts more than it does good. Yes, intuition is closely linked to natural response. Still, intuition is not doing what we feel like doing, rather it is doing what we know we should be doing. Let me illustrate the difference with a personal experience:

								Recently, one of my daughters really got on my nerves. You know how it is. Even the best people can sometimes just step on your toes, and not even sense it. Only, this time she stepped unawares on the toes of someone else. "My entire me" screamed for justice. I felt every reason to intervene, and I did it in such a way that I felt bad afterwards. There was this subtle misgiving in my chest saying: "You know something is wrong now. You should offer an apology and say you're sorry." My mental reply was "...but she needs to be told" and "I'm only helping her...", but that voice was still ringing in my ears.

Intuition summarized

The natural response was to intervene and solve the matter. The natural response was to argue with my conscience. The natural response was to maintain my ego. Intuition, however, kept me in the right way. I guess, intuition also might have made me intervene, but had I paused and listened, I'm sure I would have found a better way. Intuition always does! Intuition is about not moving too fast ahead, but listening as we go about our daily business.

Intuition is doing it your way, but also the right way. It's realizing that the right way can indeed be different from one person to another. It highlights you - who you are and what your are. In short, intuition is the way in which you are your best self. What a major difference intuition makes!

What's energation? Energation is the combination of energy and communication (, but also a lot more than that). Here's an experience I had with this highest level of communication just recently:

Yesterday I was part of a meeting with a lot of energy. Said one of the participants towards the end: "This has been a wonderful meeting. I've had to go to the toilet for a long time, and even now, I just don't want to leave the room".   What a great example to illustrate what energation is. There's more to such meetings than just the purpose of the meeting itself. Each time we reach energation, simply being together and experiencing the energy and communication bond with others is a reward alone. We feel heard, understood, validated and important. We've stretched and shared something personal. We open up - maybe we cried. We reach for something beyond the ordinary and trigger emotions and feelings that we experience together. We come alive and communicate the way communication should be.

Energation is life! There are three energies that make it happen: Passion - Connection - Intuition!

Did you ever witness a passionate person in action? Passion tends to automatically reveal someone's true and unique personality. In fact, it's so powerful, we almost need not worry about differentiation at all if only we're passionate about what we do. Passion also brings out the best in us, sometimes "lubricating" weaknesses and shortcomings we may normally be suffering from.

Instead of only circling around "how we get passion", this time I'd like to also emphasize the need for balance in communication:

You see, passion is only the beginning! Not only is it but a fraction of success... passion alone may even be destructive if not balanced well. Just think about it: Passion is mainly geared towards "sending out energy". Balance is about also "receiving energy" or being susceptible to it. In short, both giving and receiving. Therefore, there are two more -- cardinal -- energies that make passion work as it should. The 3 Energies are Passion - Connection - Intuition!

The switch that triggers energy

Passion involves reflection: Did you ever make a private and personal discovery that had such a powerful effect on you that it became physically visible?

Connection involves interaction: Did you ever have a conversation with someone you really connected with? What happened to your level of excitement?

Intuition involves innovation: Did you ever have this "mysterious" experience of collaborating with others in such a way that it almost felt like revelation? How did this affect your feelings and dedication?

Why limit ourselves to only utilizing one of these energies when all three are constantly available AND more powerful when combined in one?!

These three combined are what exceptional communication is all about. If you'd like to learn more about them you can turn to a brief webcast about 3E or to the 3E glossary now available on our pages.

Like most people, you too have probably experienced moments of bliss when communication was just perfect. You felt at one with life and everything around you!

The past seven years we've been searching for what it is that makes such a "fusion" occur, especially within sales and in a business setting. We wanted to reach higher - for something much better than what we see in the business world today.

However short these glimpses of insight may be, they're real and filled with such good and powerful feelings that there are hundreds of descriptions to be found about them: Some describe it as "butterflies of joy", "ecstatic and rare excitement", "a magical flow of ideas", "pure conviction" and others simply as "quiet moments of tranquility and peace". Over the years our research team has chosen a descriptive term that embraces and captures the entire scope of it: Energation!

“To closely interact through passion, connection and intuition, reaching understanding and commitment beyond natural ability.”

There's a lot to be said about energation. In fact, it's such a huge topic I wrote a book about it. The common denominator, however, is dialog. Whether it be internal dialog through self reflection during a private moment or an excellent conversation with another person, there is always some kind of interaction and thinking activity that precedes energation. In all simplicity we've found that it's a process of exchanging energy in combination with communication. If we merge "energy" with "communication" we get "energation".

That said, energation is a shared state of mind and a mutual experience that is sometimes hard to describe. Thus we get all the differing explanations and descriptions of feelings and sensations. Still, when it occurs both parties can instantly recognize it. It's in the air. Our research has revealed three layers of energy. In our experience, energation occurs most often when all three are flowing: PASSION - CONNECTION - INTUITION (and in this sequence).

One Energy per Dialog

Each of these energies is a direct result of a specific type of dialog. PASSION grows out of the Operational dialog. CONNECTION grows out of the Opinional dialog and INTUITION grows out of the Optimal dialog. During the next few weeks I'll be sharing what each dialog is about. Stay tuned for more ;-)

Key Principles of Energation

Three key principles characterize energation.

# 1 - AVAILABLE TO ALL

Maybe the most exciting characteristic of energation is how it's completely independent from physical condition and social state. We may be rich or poor, male or female, old or young, in prison or out in the free, in war or in peace, hungry or filled up, cold or hot, sick or healthy. Regardless of circumstances, it's seems to be equally available to all. Energation is pretty much synonymous with happiness, but not the kind of shallow happiness we think of "on a daily basis". Energation is the perfect balance of outbound and inbound energy.

# 2 - PROACTIVE STEPS MAY INCREASE FREQUENCY

By engaging ourselves in Operational, Opinional and Optimal dialogs we begin to balance the 3 Energies behind effective communication - PASSION - CONNECTION - INTUITION. These dialogs are so closely linked to their respective energies, our focus should not be on the energy itself, but rather on mastering the dialogs - then energy follows as a direct result. Energation may occur, but not per se.

# 3 - REMAINS OUTSIDE PERSONAL CONTROL

Even though much can be done to stimulate energation, it remains out of our direct control. Whereas it will not occur without our consistent effort, it cannot be forced or manipulated. This does not mean it cannot be facilitated, rather it means we only have indirect control. Skilled communicators know how to create the atmosphere needed for energation to enter the scene.

Even though energation does not always work the way we would like it to, communication is always at its best when we tap into Passion, Connection and Intuition.

Why do we seek this unique kind of shared experience? Because energation is the ultimate way to foster enduring commitment in others. Energation has a lasting effect beyond any other way we know of. It motivates unlike any other element in human interaction. Energation is influence in the keenest sense of the word. It helps the people around us become self powered - gives them perspective - it ignites their character!

Being on the same wavelength is what energation is truly all about.

Let me assure you: Skilled communicators tap into energation all the time. It just hasn't been explained like this before. Not only does it help win the business. Energation makes selling a worthwhile and mutually uplifting experience. This is what you've been looking for. This is what you want!

(Read more about energation in the 3E members area - a sneak peak before release end of Oct 2008.)