Month: August 2008

Categories
How-To Guides People & Relationships

The 3 Secrets of Team Motivation

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Do you want a highly motivated team who don’t take time off work, don’t keep looking for other jobs and make a positive contribution to your business?
If the answer is “yes,” then there are three steps you need to take with each member of your team.
Step 1 – Spend some quality time
I didn’t say “quantity time” I said “quality time.” One or two minutes of quality time on a regular basis are far more productive than a one hour review every year. You need to get to know each member of your team better and they need to get to know you.
This will help you build a positive relationship with each team member. You’ll gain a much better understanding of them and how they’re handling the job.
It will also give the impression that you care about the individual and show that you’re there to help with problems both personal and business. Spending quality time will encourage opinions and ideas to flow from them and allows you to explain the company’s mission. It gives them a feeling of being in on things which is a huge motivator.
It will also help you build an “early warning system” of any problems both business and personal. Finally, it builds team spirit and morale.
Step 2 – Give feedback and coach
You need to regularly tell each member of your team when they’re doing well and when not so well. I read some recent research that suggested 65% of employees in the US received no recognition at work in the past year. My experience tells me that it’s much the same throughout the world and much worse in some countries. Some managers still believe – “why should I praise people when they’re only doing what they’re paid to do.”
If you want a happy and motivated team then you need to tell them when they’re doing well.
It’s also important to tell people when they’re not performing well. There are too many managers who either ignore poor behaviour or come down on the person like a ton of bricks.
There are particular ways to give feedback and coach and they’re described in detail in the book – How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team.
Step 3 – Be a believer
We’re now getting into the area of “Empowerment” which was first introduced in the 1980’s and became a bit of a management buzzword. However, I believe that it’s one of the most promising but least understood concepts in team motivation today.
I’m a fairly down to earth practical sort of person (probably comes from my engineering background). I’m not big into motivation theories unless I can see the benefits for me – I see a great deal of benefit for managers and team leaders in Empowerment.
Empowerment is about utilising the knowledge, skill,experience and motivation power that’s already within your people.
The majority of people in teams and organisations throughout the world are severely underutilised. Your team have probably more to offer in terms of skill, knowledge and experience.
Put this to the test right away – implement these steps, motivate your team and achieve your business goals.

AlanFairweatherPhoto.jpgAlan Fairweather, ‘The Motivation Doctor,’ is an International Speaker, Author and Business Development Expert. To receive your free newsletter and free e-books, visit: http://www.themotivationdoctor.com

Categories
Online Business

Credit Cards For Online Business

Article contributed by Debbie Dragon
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Times sure have changed. In my lifetime, the transition from cash, to check, to plastic has been astounding. In today’s financial society, it is rare to find many who do not have a credit card, or at the least, a debit card. Either a credit card or a debit card is required at many business locations. For example, it is hard to rent a car without one. In addition, you will find it hard to buy an item over the phone, say off of the television, without plastic. You will run into the same obstacle, while shopping online. Plastic has become a necessity. If not a necessity, then definitely a financial asset on many occasions. You will find it hard, without the card.
I see a day, when cash will no longer be utilized. A day when everyone’s check will go directly onto plastic. You will use plastic for every transaction, from buying a soda to paying your mortgage. However, that may be a while down the road. For now, the credit card customer’s of the world are still trying to adjust. Still attempting to become comfortable and efficient with them. Credit cards are well worth having. They are a great way to build credit. Credit cards empower the customer to purchase some of the things in life, they normally could not afford. I would like to say this however, and I know you have heard this somewhere before, but with power, comes great responsibility.
It seems simply unthinkable, that a business today would not be set up to accept credit cards. In saying that however, I know there are still locations that do not. In recent years even the fast food industry had to jump on the band wagon. It cannot be ignored. Plastic is the future. If you intend to be successful in business, at some point you will have to take credit cards. There is no way around it. This is no different for someone who owns, say a online business. If you want to compete with other business outlets, you will have to be set up to take credit cards. I own an online Freelance Writing Business. I am set up to accept credit cards. Business transactions are much easier online, if you use plastic and accept it as well.
Sure you can except a check from a client. However, if you do, it is not going to be a quick transaction. A credit transaction is immediate. That is what you want in business. Quick return on your investment. Credit cards are safer as well. Let’s face it, most people that write checks are honest and upstanding. Then again, there are those who think as long as they have checks, they have money in their account. Utilizing a credit card for your online business and accepting them as well, makes you legit It is beneficial to your customers and clients, as well as for you. It does not take much foresight to realize, that credit cards are the future of business.
About the Author
Debbie Dragon is a writer for CreditorWeb.com, where she writes about credit cards, credit card offers and general personal finance.

Categories
Planning & Management

Coaching Tip: Being Self-ish Isn’t Wrong or Bad

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“It takes courage to demand time for yourself. At first glance, it may seem to be the ultimate in selfishness, a real slap in the face to those who love and depend on you. It’s not. It means you care enough to want to see the best in yourself and give only the best to others.” – Shale Paul

I advocate prioritizing self-care. In fact, I’m a broken record about the importance of being self-ish. (I’ll be writing more tips on this topic too). Are you cringing at the idea or thinking, “I’m just too busy? Are you nodding your head yes because you know it’s important and you don’t make the time in your day?

Have you been taught that putting yourself first is wrong or bad? You might have first-hand experience of having people judge you, withhold love or affection, or punish you in some way when you did something just for you?

Do you hear about people who are held in high esteem because they have always self-lessly been there for others? In our society, people are often applauded and emulated for how they are always there for others. I wonder…. are they also there for themselves? Do they allow others to be there for them as well? Are they great givers and poor receivers? How about you?

Here’s the point…….

When we continually give our time, energy, attention, ……to others without replenishing and nurture ourselves, we move closer to a “burnout” state of exhaustion, confusion, irritability, resentment, anger, destructive behaviors… that can lead to health or psychological problems.

Who wins there?

No one, especially you.

Make self-care a priority by practicing self-ishness. Create a new positive definition for self-ish that gives permission to value yourself AND be loving with others. We teach people how to treat us by our example. Do you wish to communicate to others that your needs, value, and worth are unimportant? If you’re a parent, is this what you wish to teach and model for your children?

It’s time to challenge and replace some of the beliefs and behaviors that have been handed down for generations that repress our authentic self from fully and joyfully emerging!

Say yes to yourself and others because it brings you joy. Say yes because you choose to rather than out of guilt or fearfull obligation. Say yes because you want to be of loving support and assistance rather than because you feel you “have to”.
Answering the calling of your needs, heart, and mind will help you respond to the calling of others. When you become self-ish you’ll have the extra reserves (time, energy etc.) to be generous with others. Be open and willing to make changes in your personal and professional life that “feed” and lift your spirit, rather than depleting you. When feeling conflicted, ask yourself, “What would respect my intentions of taking care of myself in this situation?”

1. Spend the next 7 days doing something very, very selfish every day. Do something each day that brings you joy and pleasure (even a guilty pleasure if you want!). It can be anything you want – that is your gift from you to YOU. I don’t mean doing something for someone else because it makes you feel good (or better about you, ok?). ‘

2. Say no because you feel like it. Refer to my article on saying no for some help!

3. Have a special gift or talent? Create a setting for that to flourish. Everyone will benefit.
When you take care of yourself, the people in your life you care about will experience the best of you rather than what’s left of you. If you start feeling guilty see the guilt as a sign you are on the right track. Making changes aren’t always comfortable at the beginning – for yourself and those around you. In time, people will adjust. By modeling a healthier way of being, you invite others to take more responsibility for their own happiness and self-value

Obviously you must practice discernment when making changes in your life. The rewards for taking better care of your self are boundless.

You’re worth it!

Categories
Online Business

Overcoming The 9 Barriers Of Social Media

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Blogtrepreneur: Most bloggers would love to get more traffic with social media, regardless of how much they’re getting now. Unfortunately, a relatively small percentage of bloggers ever see significant results. If you’re looking to get more out of social media it’s important to know what’s holding you back so that you can fix it.
1. Lack of a Network
A strong network can help you with just about any aspect of blogging, and social media marketing is no different. There are a few specific ways that your network can help you to get some exposure through social media. First, members of your network are more likely than others to vote for your posts.
2. Lack of a Plan
Social Media Marketing is like any other type of marketing, it requires strategy and execution. If your current plan only involves submitting your posts and hoping that they get a bunch of votes, that’s not much of a plan.
Your social media plan should be defined by what you want to accomplish. The most obvious benefit of social media marketing is traffic, but the traffic means very little if it doesn’t convert into something. Otherwise, you’ll be left with some impressive stats for a few days, but nothing of real value to show for it.
3. Lack of an Audience
If no one sees your content, no one will be able to vote for it. I mentioned earlier how building a network can help you to build a larger audience that will be willing to vote for you content. I’m sure you’ve noticed that most of the submissions that reach the front page of Digg are from major sites (like TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Smashing Magazine, etc.).
4. Poor Content
One of the obvious reasons for not succeeding with social media is the content itself. I know when I started using social media I submitted a few things that completely did not fit with the audience. Not everything will draw attention from social media users. The content not only needs to be of high quality, but it also needs to be something that will appeal to these users.
5. Forcing Content
As I mentioned in the previous point, not all content will work with social media. If you’re trying to force the content, you’re unlikely to get results. I use a few niche social media sites for web design and development, and every now and then I’ll come across submissions that are completely out of place. None of these submissions will ever make it to the front page and they’ll never get any type of exposure. It’s simply a waste of time for the person submitting the content.
6. Lack of Focus
While your social media plan is important (point number 2), it’s also critical that you stay focused on your plan. Over the course of time it’s easy to get distracted by the numbers involved with social media and forget about what’s really most important to you.
7. Poor Timing
Timing is often overlooked by bloggers that are targeting social media traffic. Most of us learned quickly that blog traffic in general is lower on weekends, and that also applies to social media sites. So if your submission is featured on the front page of a social media site over the weekend you will get less exposure and less traffic than you would if this happened during the work week. On the other hand, less bloggers are targeting social media on the weekend, so getting to the front page might be a little easier.
8. Submitted by the Wrong Person
Many social media sites will make it easier or harder for a submission to have success based on the profile of the user that submits the item. If this is the case, your chances for success will be greatly improved if you can get a user with a strong profile to submit your post. You may have friends with strong profiles, or you may have one yourself. If you’re targeting Digg you’ll probably want to have someone specific submit your best posts, otherwise you’ll be taking a big risk if someone with a very weak profile submits a post that you were hoping to get to the front page.
9. Ineffective Titles
Standing out at a social media site is pretty difficult because there is so much content competing for the attention of users. The strength of your title will have a big influence on how many people click-through and how many people vote for you.
9 Barriers to Success with Social Media [Blogtrepreneur]

Categories
Customer Service

Leveraging Your CRM System to expand your Client Relationships

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Article by Ronald Lang, the CEO of Majestic Consulting Group. He offers readers simple recommendations for leveraging your CRM system to maximize your client base. His insights help both product and service-based organizations discover new revenue opportunities.
A critical part of building your CRM strategic plan should be an effective “Customer Profile” to identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities. While new customers come at an extreme premium today with longer sales cycles, existing clients would be more receptive to hear your offerings, especially if it can be a positive impact to their business. Take the following three recommendations if your business is primarily a product-based sales operation:
1. Are there products you have sold to a client in the last three years that have new accessories or a new model (or discontinuation of the current model)? – if so, this is a golden opportunity to setup a presentation with the client.
2. Do you have service-level agreements (SLA) with your clients? This is an opportunity for you to strengthen your relationships with your client prior to the SLA’s coming due. Reinforce your support commitment, response time and quality assurance. The SLA coverage information should be tracked in your CRM system.
3. Do you have your clients organizations mapped out? Meaning, if you have done well selling into one or more areas of the organization, it is time to map out the rest of the organization and key contacts with each department or division. Connect with each of them and/or get referrals and introductions from the current contacts you are doing business with above general satisfaction levels. Your CRM system should be able to track hierarchy and organization charts of your clientele.
Take the following three recommendations if your business is primarily a service-based sales operation:
1. Have you done a customer survey lately of how satisfied your clients are with your services? If not, put together a 4-7 question survey that should take more than 5 minutes to complete. The questions should focus on the quality of service you are providing. You might want to ask about other services they may require. Track this in their CRM customer profile and target a campaign around their needs. If the client is not happy, make a call with your manager or CEO to the client within 24-48 hours.
2. Are your customers using competitive services along with yours? If so, find out how happy they are with them and see if there is an opportunity to win that business. If they have a contract, find out when it expires and track that with a reminder. Also have an automated report sent to you when expiring competitive contracts the first week of every month. This is a strategy to win more business without trying to pitch your services on a frequent basis.
3. If you offer services that your clients use frequently (i.e. weekly, monthly, etc.) look to offer them a services agreement for a year at a discounted rate. This will provide you predictability and consistency over the next 12 months. If the client calls frequently now, a schedule can be constructed or a block of time can be pre-purchased as part of this annual agreement. This will also help with resource planning. The CRM system can track this contract, hours against it on a monthly basis and most importantly profitability.
These are just a few simple recommendations to leverage your CRM system to maximize your client base.
Contact Info: Ronald Lang, CEO – Majestic Consulting Group, Inc. – rlang@majestictechnology.com – (888)403-9400