Regardless of size or industry, great leaders know the reasons that they do whatever they do.  They follow their passion and have a vision they can articulate. The misconception about leadership is that leaders just lead; however, real leaders are the ones who motivate and inspire you.  Sales executives and other business people understand that sales are the foundation of any business. They need assurance that the methods they are implementing will work, and they reach out to the best.  One of the best in sales and leadership, is Philip Semmelroth. “All people need to be experts in sales, don’t just hire sales people, every person in the company needs to be an expert in sales and needs to be able to sell themselves.”  Philip educates and inspires people all over the world. Leading by example, Philip uses his own experience in sales and leadership to educate people on creating a personal brand, becoming a better sales professional, and helping teams achieve their sales goals faster and increasing overall profitability.  Furthermore, this is how he turned a minimally grossing business into a million dollar business. By creating an environment that allows employees to work more independently thus giving himself more time to focus on the strategic side of things.

 

Starting his first business when he was 18, Philip Semmelroth figured out fast that success depends on your ability to sell, and that includes yourself.  “Most people are smarter than what they are valued at because they don’t know how to negotiate their worth,” says Philip. As a result, these people self-sabotage themselves and experience career setbacks and receive subpar paychecks.  Don’t forget the value of self-promotion. Increase your visibility and remember to market yourself as if you are a product. To create a personal brand, it’s about aligning yourself to how one may sell a product. People decide to purchase a product or service based on “soft” input, such as how the brand makes them feel, rather than a “hard” input, such as a product’s features and benefits.  The same process applies to people. Though you may have the right credentials, people will respond first to your image, reputation, and identity. Their perception of you will ultimately prevail, but you can influence the image they perceive by building a self-brand. Being good at something, doesn’t guarantee success. We all know talented people who are underemployed, underpaid, or even unemployed.  

 

Today’s executives need the adaptability of entrepreneurs. Their creative, adaptable innovative skill set that helps them discover opportunities and act on them quickly.  The saying goes, “Those who figure out how to invest the future will ride the resource revolution to unprecedented success.” Like Philip, you want to make the best of every situation and capitalize on every experience in order to open more doors for yourself in the future.  Philip took advantage of leadership trainings in the military, and became first lieutenant while achieving 2 business degrees. It is important to know how to create your own opportunities. Seeing the bigger picture, to make the right moves now that will advance you in the future.  It’s very much like a good game of chess. You need to make every move count while also looking ahead to the future.  

 

The best teams in any business are the ones who think like an entrepreneur.  They think and work like it is their own business that they are running. This type of employee is the best any company could hire, and it’s called an “intrapreneur.”  An “intrapreneur” is an employee who runs their division as if it was their own business. They hold themselves accountable, they work to be their best selves everyday so they can achieve goals and make new strategies.  Philip teaches every team that each person on that team has to be the best at sales. Any person who has communication in any way with a customer needs to be great at sales. Every touch point with a customer ties into the customer’s experience with your company.  You want the customer to always be in the best hands, and when everyone on your team knows how to sell, the environment becomes an optimistic, helpful, knowledgeable, and genuine experience. Without empowered entrepreneurs, companies do not innovate, they do not grow.  What is great, most intrapreneurs work in intrapreneurial teams. 

 

The key thing to remember though, sustaining change takes more effort than initiating change.  To create lasting change, you need to be a leader that is sustainable. Transformational leadership develops abilities in others and inspires them to commit to the success of the organization.  It can transform a mindset to becoming the “intrapreneur” every business needs. Philip speaks all over the world teaching business leaders and their teams the importance of transformational and transactional leadership.  A transactional leader is one who advises and tells someone what to do, while the transformational leader explains the “why.” The transformational leader explains why it is important and thus transforms the mindset of the person to think bigger and different.  As leaders become clear about strategies and measures, they can craft their own strategies that change behavior and sustain the resulting patterns. Great sales leaders, like Philip, tie this strategy into sales as well. What are the differences of a sale when it’s done in a transformational way versus a transactional way?  Studying these two concepts, you will see a vast difference in someone’s sales ability and their overall performance within the company. In addition to this strategy, your work ethic is also something of great value. As Philip states, “You need to lead by example, never demanding something of others that you are not willing to do yourself.” Remove the uncertainty of yourself or the products you are conveying and everyone wins.

 

Throughout his career, Philip has closed deals with international corporations, managed projects and people, and has built a record of getting things done.  His leadership has transformed companies all over the world. Teaching people the importance of personal branding, the significance of being a great sales person, and helping teams achieve profitable results, Philip is a transformational leader for many to admire. Everyone can always be better; they can become the best by working with the best.  To win the competitive landscape defined by creating one customer experience at a time, businesses need this change to their mindset. When this happens, their business will become a whole new, glorious game. Checkmate. 

 

You can reach Philip Semmelroth on Facebook, LinkedIn or at www.semmelroth.biz.