Listen, Learn, Engage
Jump Starting Your Creativity: A Doodle Blog
I have a confession. I am not a fan of blogging (gasp!). Brainstorming a topic [...]
How Do Leaders Care for the Temperature of Their Relationships?
Have you ever thought about how your relationships with people impact your ability to meet your goals, both personal and [...]
Accelerated Business Results Named as Finalist in Cincinnati Chamber’s 2012 Small Business Excellence Awards
Cincinnati, Ohio (April 24, 2012) – Accelerated Business Results (ABR), a full-service, award-winning training and social media firm, has been [...]
LinkedIn Premium: Is It Worth the Money?
As a loyal and vocal fan of LinkedIn, many people have asked me over the years if LinkedIn Premium, the [...]
Exceptional Customer Service: Do You Deliver It?
After many years of providing what I believe to be exceptional customer service to clients, it never ceases to amaze me that there are still business owners and sales professionals who don’t understand the fundamental value of customer service. And they certainly don’t have a clue what it means to provide exceptional customer service.
5 Keys for Unlocking the Value from Networking Meetings
Is networking hard work? Sometimes. However, I look at building business relationships as analogous to what I do as a [...]
4 Key Ingredients for Writing a Blog That People Want to Read
The Accelerated Business Results (ABR) blog will soon turn two years old (we launched it on May 6, 2010)! Since [...]
Posted in Blog Tagged abr, Accelerated Business Results, blog, blog editing, blog tips, blogging, blogging calendar, guest bloggers 2 Comments
What is Rapid E-Learning and is it Right for You?
Most organizations are constantly seeking ways to create efficiencies and drive down costs. When it comes to training, one of [...]
The Power of Collaborative Leadership: What March Madness Can Teach Us About Leadership
At my house, March Madness has taken over. All of the close games and upsets make it so fun and [...]
Can Webinars Boost Your Pool of Potential Customers?
Do you want your company to be known as a key thought-leader and expert in your industry? Are you willing [...]
Posted in Blog Tagged company expertise, gotomeeting, gotowebinar, inbound marketing, leadership, PowerPoint, prospects, sales, sales cycle, webex, webinars Leave a comment
All I Know About Project Management I Learned from a 90s Pop Song
If you had six days to complete a project that might normally take three months, how would you do it? [...]
Isn’t that a Little Personal? Sales People Should Ask Customers the Difficult Questions
What do I know about you? What do you know about others? What do you know about clients, prospects, and [...]
Posted in Blog Tagged business tips, prospecting, sales, sales advice, sales cycle, sales questions, sales relationships, salespeople Leave a comment
10 Reasons to Reassess Your Love for Technology on Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day is here, and what better way to celebrate this day than to examine the love you feel for [...]
Also posted in Social Media Tagged emails, Facebook, foursquare, hashtag, iPad, linkedin, smartphones, Social Media, social media business, social networking, social networks, technologies, technoloigy, twitter, valentine's day, wi-fi Leave a comment
What Are Your New Moves for 2012?
It was our third trip to our sons’ high school one rainy, cold day earlier this month and I was picking one of them up from wrestling practice. I was having a hard time pretending to be the supportive parent when it came to wrestling. Although his grades are good, he was already involved in volleyball (and no one in our family knows anything about wrestling!).
Making Meaningful Customer Contact
It seems that most of us in the business world don’t have a problem contacting our customers when they let us know that there is a problem, or when we need something from them, or when we are attempting to sell something to them. But do you ever think about how meaningful that kind of contact is?
Posted in Blog Tagged customer contact, customer interactions, customer relationships, customer service, customers Leave a comment
Social Media for Business Professionals: New Training Launched in Cincinnati
If you could gain a better understanding of how social media can further your business goals by taking a few workshops, wouldn’t you take that opportunity?
The Leadership and Management of You
I am not sure our numbering system goes high enough to count the number of blog posts, books, and articles that have been written to help you improve your leadership and management skills. There are apparently quite a few of you really screwing it up. I’m much more interested in how you are doing leading and managing your professional self. And I can say with some authority that most of you are screwing it up.
Posted in Blog Tagged career, career planning, circles, job, job search, jobs, Julie Bauke, leadership, management, network, networking, professional identity, professional relationships, resume 1 Comment
No Compromises: Promoting, Supporting, and Living Your Mission Statement
I always have an eye on the competition. I don’t obsess over them, but I try to make myself aware of what they’re doing, how they price, and what they’re promoting. One thing that never fails to surprise me is how often they lose focus of who they are. I’m in the spa business—not pools and hot tubs, but the rub-you-down and make-you-relax kind of spa—and recently I saw two things with competitors that literally made me laugh out loud.
Where’s Your Urgency? Some Companies Just Don’t Get Customer Service
As I’m writing this, my hands are still wrinkly from scrubbing pots and pans. We’re on week three without a [...]
Posted in Blog Tagged customer interactions, customer service, customer service urgency, customers Leave a comment
Six Quick Tips for Becoming a LinkedIn Power User in One Hour a Week
If you’re a LinkedIn user, a look into the LinkedIn mirror might reveal some stunning truths about you. We all need a reality check from time to time if we care about growing and improving professionally, right? I’ve used LinkedIn since 2006, quite a long time to remain loyal to any website. Yet that doesn’t mean I don’t have things to learn. Even when I think I know it all, there are still ways to improve by watching others who do things a different way.
What’s Your Project Management Motto?
Even if you’ve never been a Boy Scout, chances are you know that the Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared.” It’s good advice. A lot of challenging situations can be more easily handled if you are prepared with the right tools, approach, or frame of mind. And that simple sentence—Be prepared—truly does apply in many cases. Even in project management. OK… maybe it’s not quite that simple (otherwise this would be a really short blog). Maybe there’s a little more complexity to a project manager’s motto.
Posted in Blog Tagged communication, motto, project management, project manager, project plan, project planning, project success Leave a comment
A Mix Tape of 2011 Social Media Observations and 2012 Expectations
This post goes out to all of those who remember making mix tapes on cassettes for their friends, crushes, and significant others. I found a mix tape of mine recently while cleaning out some old boxes. Was I too shy to give it to the girl I liked in the late 80s, or did she return it to me (ouch!)? These days, we just hand out iTunes cards and tell people to make their own playlists. How un-creative have we become? What will the next generation of social media look like, and what will those practitioners say about how we used social media in 2011 and 2012? After all, we are still in the mix tape stage of social media.
Training in 2012: What Is on Learners’ Wish Lists?
As 2011 comes to a close, I’ve been evaluating a lot of new trends in learning and development and projections for 2012. Accelerated Business Results (ABR) has had the privilege of working with several world class organizations and we get many opportunities to test new theories as we help to develop their training solutions. In fact, this is the time of year when we often meet with our key clients to map out their training strategies for the coming year, and we’re fortunate to gain access to their invaluable customer insights. Engaging in these conversations gives us a chance to really understand what they’re experiencing in their workforce and to determine the practical training solutions that will address their needs.
How to Deal with Challenging Customers
One of the first things my life coach taught me was that there are no problems…only challenges. When the word problem is replaced with challenge, it evokes an instant yearning to rise to the occasion and conquer it. Like actually strapping on boots and climbing a mountain instead of just looking at it and thinking, “Wow, I can’t climb that!”
Leader or Manager—Which Are You?
This is a question that many have asked and many books have been written on the subject. As 2011 comes to an end, I am pondering this question yet again. To get a better handle on it, I decided to look up the definitions of these two terms.
What I Learned from Black Friday Customer Service
Last week I did something I thought I would never do: I went shopping on Black Friday. I have been firmly against participating in the madness for as long as I can remember. I have never wanted to deal with the crowds, the traffic, or the long lines. Cyber Monday is much more my speed! But we had family in town and they demanded that we go shopping. I am nothing if not a gracious host, and I needed to buy a coffee maker for my mom for Christmas anyway, so I gave in.
So You Work in a Virtual Environment?
In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a global economy. What happens in one corner of the world has an impact on markets in another. Whether we are ready to admit it or not, we are tightly linked economically, politically, and in some cases, culturally. If you are reading this article, chances are you work with people around the globe. That’s great! I’ve been living this life for the last ten years as a work-at-home project manager for a large business process outsourcer. My company has offices around the globe and employs over 78,000 people. Therefore, I’d like to share some tips on how to successfully work with people who are both near and far.
Posted in Blog Tagged global teams, managing time zones, project management, project manager, virtual teams 1 Comment
iPad E-Learning: Choosing the Right Platform
At Accelerated Business Results (ABR), we talk to a lot of customers about their e-learning needs, and one of the trends that has emerged this year is a sharp increase in the number of customers who have questions about deploying training on tablet PCs, specifically Apple’s iPad. In this post, I will discuss the pros and cons of a few possible solutions for iPad learning.
Also posted in Training and Development Tagged Adobe Flash, Adobe Flash Builder, Adobe Flex, Apple, E-Learning, e-learning platforms, HTML5, iPad, iPad learning, iSWiFTER, learning, Lectora, tablet PC, tablet training, training Leave a comment
What Are the Benefits for My Business to Create a Page on Google Plus?
Dear ABR, Just when I thought I was participating in all the right social networks for my business, I started hearing about Google’s social network called Google Plus. Because it’s Google, it has caught my attention, but do I really need to spend time on yet another social network? What are the advantages of being on Google Plus?
Also posted in Dear ABR, Social Media Tagged business pages, Facebook, Google, Google Plus, Social Media, social media for businesses, social media strategy, social media tools Leave a comment
Is Instructional Design Dead?
I recently attended a webinar hosted by Elliott Masie, an internationally recognized futurist, analyst, and researcher on topics such as workforce learning, business collaboration, and emerging technologies. At this webinar, he spoke about challenges and learning trends for 2012. One of the questions he posed on the webinar was, “Is instructional design dead?” Why would he ask this question? But after I continued to listen, I realized that he wasn’t actually saying the field of instructional design is dead; he was suggesting that the field must evolve to be more agile and therefore more effective.
Also posted in Training and Development Tagged ADDIE, Elliott Masie, instructional design, subject matter expert, training, training and development Leave a comment
Add Value and Leave Competitors Behind
Value. What does that mean to the buyer? One way value is defined in the dictionary is "the worth of something in terms of the amount and quality of other things for which it can be exchanged." The value of your service or product is often measurable and easily demonstrated up front. However, the "perceived" value will many times only be experienced by your follow-up and your willingness to go the extra mile and add value.
Posted in Blog Tagged added value, consultative sales, sales, sales success, Sales Tips, selling, selling skills, selling value, value Leave a comment
Five Ways to Scare People Away from Your Social Media Sites on Halloween (and All Year Long!)
With Halloween lurking around the corner, it is a timely occasion to share my top five scare tactics that are sure to send your social media communities running and screaming through the streets in horror.
Top Ten Ways That TweetDeck Takes the Phobias and Frustrations Out of Twitter
In this video blog, Accelerated Business Results Social Media Specialist Jason Martin discusses Twitter and TweetDeck and demonstrates the advantages of using TweetDeck to manage your Twitter account.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged Social Media, social media tools, TweetDeck, twitter Leave a comment
Putting Together the Project Puzzle
In the business world, it is often said that resources are your most valuable asset. If that’s the case, are you doing everything you can to ensure that your most valuable assets are being leveraged to their fullest potential? It’s not as easy as it sounds—especially when you have multiple projects with overlapping timelines that require many of the same roles. Trying to figure out how to best assign resources to projects can be a little like putting together a puzzle.
Posted in Blog Tagged project management, project manager, project resources, project success, project team, puzzle, resources Leave a comment
We Are Different and Proud of It!
I just participated in a formal RFP process, during which we worked hard to show how we are different from other potential suitors. This was an experience that sharply contrasts the behavior that I see my daughter’s seventh grade peers exhibit, in which everyone works hard not to be different. This contradiction in my life gave me an opportunity to reflect. I wonder how many other companies spend their time trying to emulate what their competitors are doing—in essence focusing on how not to be different—rather than on innovation. At ABR, we are different and proud of it.
Aspirational Marketing: Challenge Yourself to Find Tomorrow’s Brand Purpose
Businesses are afraid to ask their customers the question, “Who do you want to be?” Too often, the question corporate marketers ask is, “What does my customer need today?” The problem with this question is that it doesn’t generate the knowledge you need to create and innovate the products and services that your customer will need tomorrow. Brands become heroes to their customers when they answer a customer’s need before the customer actually realizes they need it.
Achieving Sales Success
What does achievement mean to you? In my career, the definition has morphed many times. Given today’s ever-changing and volatile business environment, it is important to regularly examine how we are defining achievement in sales and ensure that we are aligned to support our goals and our company’s goals.
Posted in Blog Tagged achievement, conversations, customer relationships, Fierce Conversations, sales, sales conversations, sales success, Sales Tips Leave a comment
AICC or SCORM: Which Is Best for Packaging E-Learning Content?
As an e-learning developer, one of the questions I get a lot is, “Which is better: AICC or SCORM?” This answer will vary depending on who you ask. In my opinion, each specification has its place in developing e-learning content. I will try to provide you with some practical guidelines on which specification you should consider based on your e-learning development requirements.
Posted in Blog Tagged AICC, Articulate, E-Learning, e-learning developer, HACP, JS API, Lectora, SCORM, The Eye of the SCORM 3 Comments
Four Ways to Demonstrate Authentic Leadership
In this video blog, Accelerated Business Results President Amy Fox shares four simple ways that leaders can exhibit real, genuine leadership on a day-to-day basis.
Your Company’s Expertise Sells: How to Play Your Ace in the Hole
In your daily grind to market and sell your company’s products and services, did you overlook the one differentiator that every customer will notice and no competitor can replicate? This isn’t a riddle. I’m referring to your unique expertise as a leader in your field, as the company in a position to impart knowledge that helps your customers buy smarter, and sooner.
Posted in Blog Tagged blogs, company expertise, inbound marketing, industry knowledge, marketers, marketing, outbound marketing Leave a comment
Just Do It! Curb Your Procrastination
Recently, I had an out-of-town meeting with a client. It was one of those all-day meeting endeavors that, while extremely productive for that particular project, didn’t afford me much time to check emails or take phone calls for other work. After a long flight home and a not-so-good night’s sleep, I sat down at my computer the next morning, planning to catch up on all my other projects. I took a look at my email inbox.
Making Every Training Moment Count
In today’s business environment, it is increasingly difficult and costly to pull people off the production floor or out of the field for training. So when we make the business decision that training is worth the cost of taking employees away from their primary task of generating revenue or serving customers, it is critical that we make the most of that time and focus training on what matters most.
Posted in Blog Tagged learning, needs analysis, training, training and development, training value Leave a comment
Don’t Let Up: Hard Work Pays Off in Sales
Sales can be brutal. Admit it—have you ever felt like you’ve just been trampled after a sales call? Or wished that you had just run a marathon (twice!) rather than conduct a grueling first appointment with that tough-nut-to-crack company? And sometimes even the most basic responsibilities in business development may seem way too time-consuming, tedious, or even trivial.
Posted in Blog Tagged hard work, sales, sales calls, sales success, Sales Tips, selling, selling skills, Zig Ziglar Leave a comment
10 Content Ideas to Tap When Your Social Media Sources Are Tapped Out
Social media practitioners report that a real-time burden in social media is the act of sourcing content to post on their social networking profiles. We all get to a point in our social media lives where we hit a wall, where we’re out of breath. Despite having a content marketing plan, the ideas for new and fresh content have gone stale. This is the point where social media managers often lapse in the frequency and quality of their social content publishing.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged content marketing plan, Facebook, Flickr, Google Alerts, linkedin, Social Media, social media content, social media strategy, social networking, twitter, YouTube Leave a comment
A Countdown of ABR’s 12 Most Popular Blog Posts