Listen, Learn, Engage
Customer (Over) Service
Recently I’ve begun to experience something I like to call customer "over" service. It’s a rare monster to encounter, but when you come face to face with it, you’ll immediately know.
Posted in Blog Tagged customer interactions, customer over service, customer service, customers 2 Comments
Project Manager = Project Motivator
Projects come in all shapes and sizes—and timelines. Some require you and your team to operate at warp speed while others seem to linger endlessly. As a Project Manager, it is your job to ensure that your team stays motivated and committed regardless of whether you’re running a sprint race or a marathon. Here are some ideas on how to do that.
I Don’t Care If Training’s Relevant to the Job! So What?
I nearly fell off my chair at a recent meeting when a training officer at a large organization told me he didn’t care whether training was relevant to employees’ jobs! If that’s true, what’s the point? Well-developed training evaluation models include a focus on the business impact or outcome of training. If organizations are effectively spending their training dollars, they will have an impact on outcomes valued by the organization. Aligning training with organizational goals and writing objectives with clearly defined metrics helps illustrate how training is relevant to the job and thus the organization’s goals.
Also posted in Training and Development Tagged Donald Kirkpatrick, Jack Phillips, learning, training, training and development, training evaluation, training value Leave a comment
Tried and True Sales Tips for Boosting Business Performance
This is a list of 17 ways to boost your sales performance and drive business results—this week! It’s only Tuesday, so you still have four days to impact your week. And the other good news is that it’s only the beginning of the month, so you should be able to accomplish (or at least start) everything on this list by month end! What a great accomplishment to achieve before the upcoming summer holiday. Can you do it? I’m thinking so…
Get Real: Three Leadership Strategies to Win Hearts and Minds
John Maxwell once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” So what does that tell us? Most organizations have an impressive catalog of leadership training offerings, but what we at ABR have experienced is that leadership development in today’s market is about getting real—engaging with employees and demonstrating authentic leadership.
Work Smarter with the Institute for Social Media
ABR is partnering with the Institute for Social Media (ISM) at Cincinnati State to offer the upcoming Selling 2.0 Certification. The purpose of this program is to teach professionals how to work smarter by combining proven sales skills with the advantages of social media. For today’s blog, we have interviewed Jim Kleemeier, one Cincinnati State’s Workforce Development Center leaders, to find out more about the Selling 2.0 Certification course and what the ISM can offer.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged Institute for Social Media, ISM, Jim Kleemeier, sales, selling, Selling 2.0, Social Media Leave a comment
Is This Thing On? Communication Is Key in Project Management
Ask any team dealing with a troubled project what would help their project run more smoothly, and they will likely say better communication. In project management, communication is critical. You can put together a perfect project plan, an elegant timeline, and a lean budget—but if you cannot effectively communicate with your team and your stakeholders, your budget will blow up, your timeline will fall apart, and your project plan will be a distant memory.
Posted in Blog Tagged communication, communication plan, project management, project manager, project plan, project planning, project team Leave a comment
Making Learning Programs Stick Like Glue
It’s all too common—you develop (or buy) a killer training program with solid learning objectives, a highly creative design, and multiple interactive activities to practice new skills. You feel certain that it will be successful. People even attend and give it glowing reviews on the evaluation forms. But then the unthinkable happens… when people go back to their jobs, they don’t use the skills taught in the learning program.
Also posted in Training and Development Tagged learning, learning program, project plan, project planning, training, training and development Leave a comment
Using Social Media to Nurture Sales
I am amazed at how many sales leaders are still requesting their sales teams to pound out X number of cold calls per day. How’s that working for you? There is so much data at our fingertips and other much more effective methods. Let’s work smarter, not harder. Below I’ve listed nine quick tips on how to use effective sales techniques to warm relationships and stay top of mind with your current and potential customers.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged pre-call planning, sales, Social Media, social media strategy 1 Comment
Are You Still in the Mood? Seven Strategies to Refocus on Your 2011 Commitments
Early this year I shared seven strategies for sticking to your 2011 commitments. How’s it going for you? I’d give myself a C+. It’s been tough to keep all the balls in the air and stay focused on my 2011 goals (sound familiar?). But April is a great time to check in on your commitments and steer your way back if necessary. There’s plenty of 2011 left to make an impact!
Posted in Blog Tagged business, goal setting, goals, motivation, networking, planning, training, training and development, training value Leave a comment
Five Tips for Managing Remote Teams
At Accelerated Business Results (ABR) we have a lot of experience working with different types of remote teams. One of my responsibilities is to oversee the programmers who work with us. Here are some of the best practices that our most successful programming teams have followed.
Posted in Blog Tagged instant messenger, programmers, programming, remote, remote teams, version control Leave a comment
Three Key Traits That Today’s Leaders Need
In this video blog, Amy Evans shares three traits that are beneficial for leaders today: agility, the ability to permeate, and contentment.
Posted in Blog Tagged agility, contentment, leader, leadership characteristics, leadership skills, leadership traits, manager Leave a comment
Did She Really Just Say That? Customer Service Tips for Challenging Conversations
Last summer, Chris Mann of the Woodhouse Day Spa in Montgomery, Ohio, wrote a guest blog for ABR about "Putting the Customer Back in Customer Service." I think this is a common theme that many of us experience every day. I regularly see blogs about poor customer service experiences, yet the problem persists.
What’s Your Project Management Leadership Style?
Last June, a colleague of mine wrote about tools of the trade for project managers. Her tips were very helpful and the article made an impact on me because my role at ABR is multi-faceted, not solely project management. Working for a small business, it’s not unusual to have multiple job functions. In addition to managing client projects, I am responsible for sales and business development and I sometimes facilitate training workshops. So, I’m constantly weaving in and out of different roles on any given day.
Not ANOTHER Training Session!
When you let your employees know that they will be attending a training session, what do you think their reaction is? Do they look forward to an opportunity to refine their skills and increase their knowledge? Or do they dread the thought of “wasting” a morning or a day in a boring lecture? Here are some ways to encourage employees to view training as the quality investment of time (and resources) that you intend it to be.
Also posted in Training and Development Tagged learning, pre-work, ROI, training, training and development, training value Leave a comment
Thanks for the SPAM!
No, I’m not talking about the can of mystery meat. I’m talking about how sales people can really mess up an opportunity and not even realize it. I see bad sales pitches on a daily basis.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged cold calls, linkedin, sales, sales pitch, sales planning, sales success, Sales Tips, Social Media, SPAM Leave a comment
The Three Most Compelling Questions for Sales
Video Blog: Good salespeople have figured out that the most effective way to build relationships with clients is through compelling questions. When done right, questions help you connect with customers and advance the sales process.
Posted in Blog Tagged customer interaction strategy, customer relationships, motivation, sales, sales planning, sales questions 6 Comments
Effective Training: More Than an Inside Job
Many companies are trying their best to consolidate and streamline departments in this tough economy. While careful evaluation in search of ways to tighten the corporate belt makes good business sense, companies should proceed with caution. Slashing the budget for critical programs like training might make sense in the short term, but could end up damaging a company’s competitive edge in the end.
Also posted in Training and Development Tagged business, cost cutting, training, training and development, training providers, training vendors Leave a comment
Conference Call Essentials
Conference calls are a way of life for me. Most of my clients are long distance, so very few of my meetings are done face-to-face. Instead, I spend much of my day with a receiver to my ear. Although conducting a conference call is essentially the same as conducting any other type of meeting, there are a few things you should keep in mind when hopping on the phone.
Social Media Mythbusters
Can you believe that it’s 2011 and we still have to debunk social media myths? Many of us have fallen in love with social media, both personally and professionally, but some people are still reluctant to fully embrace this relatively new form of communication. This post addresses some of the common myths still floating around about social media.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged Facebook, linkedin, Social Media, social media myths, social networking, twitter Leave a comment
Quick Tips for Monitoring Your Online Reputation
Video Blog: Guest contributor David Siteman Garland shares valuable tips for monitoring your online reputation.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged branding, business, Google Alerts, Google Reader, online, personal branding, reputation, Social Media, The Rise to the Top Leave a comment
A Checklist for Success: Preparing for a Winning Sales Call
In today’s world, things seem so busy, time moves too quickly, and so many new things come up that you don’t expect. Then factor in the holidays, vacation schedules, an unplanned sick day, internal meetings and projects that pop up unexpectedly, etc. How is it already 2011? It seems like just yesterday we were planning and strategizing our sales efforts for the remainder of our year.
Posted in Blog Tagged business, Facebook, linkedin, prospecting, sales, sales calls, sales planning, sales success, Sales Tips, Social Media, twitter 2 Comments
The Big Cost of Little Culture
“Company Culture” is one of those new millennium terms that has become commonplace in most corporate environments, along with mission statements, list of ethics, and so on. It’s a buzz phrase that gets kicked around like a football because it sounds good, but what does it really mean?
Posted in Blog Tagged company culture, customer service, employees, training, training and development Leave a comment
Five Tips for Better Meetings from Your Friendly Neighborhood PM
Most people don’t like meetings. But a well-run meeting is a useful tool that helps keep you and your colleagues on track. If you aren’t fortunate enough to have a PM to run your next meeting, here are some tips for holding an effective meeting that people won’t mind attending.
Five Fresh Ideas as You Enter the New Year
Video Blog: Amy Fox shares five fresh ideas to help you strategize as you wrap up 2010 and prepare for the new year.
Posted in Blog Tagged 5: Where Will You Be Five Years from Today?, Dan Zadra, gratitude, lessons learned, mindstorming, new year, sales, sales success 4 Comments
Is the Digital Age Killing Good Written Communication?
We’ve all seen it. Most of us have even done it. We’ve shortened complete sentences to fragments, replaced long words with phonetically similar but misspelled ones (“u r gr8!”), and ignored capitalization and punctuation in the name of brevity and efficiency when sending emails, text messages, or social media status updates.
Posted in Blog Tagged digital age, electronic media, English, Social Media, text messaging, writing, written communication 11 Comments
The Criticality of a Thorough Needs Analysis
This week as I spent time with many veteran sales professionals (with 15-30 years of sales experience) at a sales workshop, I was reminded of how important a thorough needs analysis is to a healthy and prosperous relationship; especially the criticality of understanding your customers’ personal needs, and not just with new relationships.
How to Find Top-Notch Employees
It’s no secret that strong recruiting is essential when it comes to identifying and attracting high-quality job candidates. But in today’s world, what is the best way to recruit and what kinds of resources are available that will give you top results?
Also posted in Social Media Tagged employment branding, Facebook, linkedin, recruiting, Social Media, social networking, twitter, YouTube 9 Comments
Business Rules for Thanksgiving
As much as we all try to achieve that perfect balance between our professional and personal lives, sometimes a professional persona can come in handy at home. Take Thanksgiving, for example. Whether you are hosting your family’s dinner or will be guests in someone’s home, it can be helpful to apply some basic business principles to the holiday in order to minimize stress for the entire family.
Posted in Blog Tagged business, holiday, network, networking, planning, Thanksgiving Leave a comment
Why Good Instructional Design Matters
When meeting someone for the first time at a social event, one question inevitably comes up: “So, what do you do?” When I respond that I’m an instructional designer, they typically hear something about structure and design and follow up with a question about the engineering or construction fields. As I think about it, though, perhaps that isn’t too far off the mark.
Posted in Blog Tagged employees, instructional design, instructional designer, job performance, training 1 Comment
SharePoint 2010 and Corporate Training
At ABR we are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with a nice selection of companies and their training departments. One of the issues that we’ve seen repeatedly in these departments is a need for secure online learning communities and resource sites.
Your Business: A Game of Numbers
How ‘bout them Giants? This is the most exciting week all year for baseball. For those of you less familiar with baseball, we’re talking about the riveting end to the months-long baseball season: the World Series. As many of us know, baseball is a game of numbers more so than any other sport—batting averages, on-base percentages, error rates, etc. In addition, managers’ decision-making is driven by statistics and probabilities.
Unleash Your Company’s Potential to Accelerated Growth
Even with the persistent global economic downturn creating a drag on performance, managers and leaders can generate sustainable growth and profitability by unleashing potential and commitment from every employee.
Is Multi-Tasking Really All It’s Cracked Up To Be?
For years, people have been singing the praises of multi-tasking—how it’s a necessary skill for job seekers, entrepreneurs, leaders of industry, and even soccer moms. But is multi-tasking really all that great?
Posted in Blog Tagged business, compartmentalization, multi-tasking, prioritize, tasks, time management, to-do list 3 Comments
Lessons Learned: Sales Tips for the One-Track Mind
Focus and determination are wonderful attributes to have in business, but sometimes they can also be limiting to a sales person’s success. I experienced this myself recently with a prospect. Have you ever been so focused on one specific aspect of the sale that you unknowingly lost sight of other important requirements for a successful close?
Posted in Blog Tagged Closing a Sale, Facebook, linkedin, prospecting, sales, Sales Process, Sales Tips, social networking, twitter 1 Comment
Monitor Your Reputation (and Your Customers!)
Would you ever let your phone ring in your customer call center and not pick it up? This is what happens on a daily basis inside social media tools. I see where people are praising companies or complaining about a recent experience and no one is responding back to those comments.
Also posted in Social Media Tagged customer service, customers, event triggers, research, sales, Social Media, social networking Leave a comment
How to Sell High-Tech Solutions (Revisited)
I wrote the article “How to Sell High-Tech Solutions” several years ago to help sales professionals understand how to more effectively sell their technology solutions to mainstream customers. Lots of folks responded and acknowledged how difficult it is to keep it simple and keep customers engaged. While customers usually have a genuine interest in and need for the companies they investigate, more often than not their sales experience ends up being a frustrating and confusing one.
Your Personal Board of Directors
It was the great Ken Blanchard who said "None of us is as smart as all of us," which inspires an important question. How do you leverage combined brain power in a way that accelerates your success?
With the Good Comes the Bad, But Help Is in Sight
Last month I was in the market for new golf clubs. I was willing to buy, but I was not in a MUST HAVE mode. I also had just taken my kids to a driving range where they used my clubs and had a blast. I was pleasantly surprised when my 6- and 8-year-old could hit the ball WELL with my clubs. So we set out on a mission to buy new clubs for the kids and I knew that if I found something or someone SOLD me, I’d buy new ones for myself as well.
Posted in Blog Tagged business, customer service, customers, marketing, sales, selling skills Leave a comment
Excellence: When Design Meets Execution!
Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Planning can often be a time-consuming and complicated process, so it’s very rewarding when everything falls into place after putting in so much effort. I recently had the opportunity to be a part of great plan execution.
Also posted in Training and Development Tagged excellence, new client, plan, planning, training Leave a comment
Selling? Don’t Forget Your Network! (Part 2)
In Part 1 of my blog post on July 27, I gave you an assignment and I am SURE you complied, right?! As a reminder, you were to make a list of your circles of influence, then give everyone an A, B, or C designation based on the level of “know, like, trust” that you are on with each one. We all have a considerable network that we are often reluctant to reach out to as a business development strategy.
Mastering the Project That Never Ends
If you have kids, you’ve probably heard the song, “This is the Song That Never Ends.” The song keeps repeating until the singer gets tired or bored (or until someone threatens bodily harm) and in the process, drives anyone within earshot completely up a wall. I’ve had a few projects that have left me feeling like a living example of that song.
Boost Your Graphics Team to Superhero Status
Here at ABR one of my responsibilities is assigning graphic designers to projects and making sure they have the right information to do their jobs. Our graphic designers know that they’ve saved the day when they turn out a product that both pleases the client and also stays on budget.
Recovering from a Lost Sale