Archive for May, 2009
If You Don’t Know About the 30/60/90 Day Plan, You’re Missing It
Posted by: | CommentsA 30-60-90 day sales plan is a written document outlining what you will do as an employee within the first 3 months of your employment. It’s broken up into sections: the first 30 days usually includes training, as well as getting to know the company and customers; the next 30 days are more focused on getting out on your own and into the swing of things; and the last 30 days are often more about branching out and bringing in new business.
Peggy McKee [she's known as the medical sales recruiter and is one of the nation's leading medical sales recruiters] encourages all of her candidates to create a 30/60/90 day sales plan and learn how to present it. It definitely sets them apart from other candidates, and the ones who have done it usually see tremendous results. But why is this so important? Why does it make such a significant difference?
1. It shows gumption. You are already doing something that’s not required, but that would be helpful. It gives hiring managers a clear idea of what they can look forward to if they hire you—an outstanding, take-charge, thoughtful, focused employee.
2. It shows foresight. A 30/60/90 day sales plan can’t be done at the last minute. Creating the plan for you interview shows you are thinking and planning ahead, and can complete projects on time. If you’ll do that for the interview, it’s a good bet for them that you’ll do that in the job.
3. It shows your written skills. That’s imperative. It shows your written communication skills, your Word Document skills, and your ability to put across a cohesive mesage. It shows that you know how to impress.
4. It illustrates that you are prepared. You took the time to get to know the company. When you can name specific things relating to the organization in your 30/60/90 day plan (types of clients, types or even names of competitors, top products, CRM systems, what their initiatives are or what their credo is) it presents you as a very desirable candidate who is interested in THIS job, not just A job .
5. It illustrates that you know a lot about the job. You’re already writing down what you will do in the first 3 months. You know what’s going on, and what you’re getting into.
6. When you present a 30 60 90 day sales plan correctly during the interview, it shows that you can control a client-customer interaction or a presentation, that you can effectively communicate the points you want to make, and that you can gather information because hopefully you’re asking questions as you present it.
Then, if you send your revised 30/60/90 day sales plan along with your thank you note after the interview containing the changes that the manager has suggested during your presentation, it shows follow-up–along with focus, presentation, communication, and all those qualities that make a wonderful employee…and THAT’S how you get the job offer.
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Why is Workplace Communication Essential?
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s not just nice-to-have; every organization that needs coordination of complex activities needs effective workplace communication .
And, the more complex the situation, the more communication is required. You see, almost all organizations exist to coordinate in some way. It starts with the need to connect customers with services or products, and that’s true even for not-for-profit organizations.
To match supply with demand, there’s a need for information about when, where, how many, and perhaps other criteria. We need to keep in mind the separation between the providers and the people who get orders from customer. Everything depends on communication between the providers and the sales people.
To illustrate, let’s briefly look at a plant that manufactures products. There’s one central plant, and sales reps who may be literally thousands of miles away. The sales department routinely communicates with orders that specify what customers require or are expect to request.Â
Following up, the manufacturing department initiates its own communication. They advise the sales people of the progress of each order, and, they invoice each order, another form of communication.
Coordination of these complex activities demands effective communication in the workplace, in this case between the sales department and the manufacturing department. Of course, within each of these departments, there’s another level of coordination and communication.Â
Coordination and communication can be as simple as one employee speaking with another employee in an adjacent cubicle, or it can be as complex as encrypted and specialized computer code. But, no matter how simple or how complex, communication remains essential. It is the link that makes everything else possible, and every bit as essential as the people in the organizations themselves.Â
In any organization with two or more people, workplace communication makes the difference between effectivess and non-effectiveness, which, in turn, makes the difference between success and failure. Le’ts give it the respect it deserves.
Better Communication Skills — Three Tips for Conference Calls
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The conference call has been a way of life in business for many years now. So why are so many frustrating, ineffective calls being held every day? This simple list of reminders is intended to help keep conference calls from becoming wasted time.ÂÂ
- No multi tasking — I’ve been guilty on this count, I must admit. But if you force yourself to follow a no multi tasking rule, you get another benefit. You’re force to confront the question of whether the conference call is an effective use of your time. It’s easy to say yes if you’re thinking you can appease someone while you do your email. But if the call isn’t worth your time, you need to speak up and say so.
- It’s a meeting, so treat it like one. The call should have a clear PAL (Purpose, Agenda, Limit). Participants should be invited, and attendance taken. Be clear about who is leading the call. Start on time. The leader needs to keep the call/meeting on track, and document actions taken and follow up activities (who, what, by when). End on time. Send an email with the documented action items promptly, preferably before you do anything else.
- Test for agreement. In face to face meetings, body language and facial expressions provide clues as to whether people are engaged in the topic, even if they choose to remain silent. Not so on a phone call, and while we’d like to live by a rule of silence equals acceptance, that’s dangerous. If the number of participants is reasonable, call the roll so everyone has to say yes or no on key decisions. Beware of voice inflections that indicate uncertainty, and tactfully call them out.ÂÂ
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Avoid ex partee one to one conversations after a conference call, especially the kind where someone calls you right away to express their frustration or anger. On the other hand, if you’re leading a call and you’re convinced that someone has been disenfranchised or needs some help dealing with a topic, go ahead and reach out to them.ÂÂ
One more point — the speakerphone is a great invention. But poor quality speakerphones can really bog down a call. People end up talking over one another and sometimes don’t even know it. It can lead to repetition and frustration. If you’re relying on speaker phones, get high quality equipment. Otherwise encourage people to use handsets or headsets.
Tom O\’Dea
http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/better-communication-skills-three-tips-for-conference-calls-523425.html
Essentials of an Effective Business Letter
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Business letter has a materialistic purpose but effective business letter can also strengthens the bonds between two organizations or the dealer and the customer. Business letters are used for many purposes such as to make inquiries, send replies, to place orders or bank correspondences etc. The main and the basic function of the business letter is not only to convey your message to the person who receives the letter but also to influence the reader. Following point can be used to make your business letter an effective business communication.
Language of business letter:
The language of business letter should be simple. It should not contain difficult words, phrases or technical jargons. It should have a smooth flow and should be easily understood or it should not require further explanation.
Avoid use of long sentences having many clauses. Sometimes the reader loses the beginning by the time he comes to the end of the sentence.
Avoid negative approach in the letter.
Avoid use of dull and uninteresting language. A letter with permanent style or with same tone of expression at all occasions may become stereotyped in due course. Use variety or a welcoming change in language that befits the particular occasion or pleases a particular person. But the variety should not be at the cost of clarity.
Sincerity of purpose:
Sincerity of purpose is important not only for human relations but also for business dealings. The letter should have an air of frankness and authenticity.
Give importance to the reader:
Avoid self-centered focusing on your own concerns or your business and focus on the recipientâ??s needs, interests, or purposes. This â??you attitudeâ? or recipient oriented style is very useful in winning new customers and maintaining old ones. It does not mean that you should use more of â??youâ? in your letter but you should make recipient the main focus of the letter. However, you should be cautious not to overdo anything in your letter to avoid feel of deception, superficiality or ambiguity.
Adjust oneself to the reader:
Tune your sentences to the taste of the prospective buyer. Mention the advantage a buyer would get without praising your own firm.
Business letter represents the firm, organization or the business. It is like a salesman with a difference. A salesman can instantly rectify his mistake if he has said something that looks unpleasant, but a letter writer canâ??t.
You can use business-writing software for proofreading and to check and correct English grammar & spellings in your letter. Some software programs also has text enrichment feature to enrich your text with adjectives & adverbs, which enhances the simple sentence into more professional and sophisticated one & also suggest context related synonym for repeated words.
For more information on business writing software please visit
http://www.truevalue4money.com/businesswriting.html website.
Stephen Thomson
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/essentials-of-an-effective-business-letter-124512.html
Simple Tips To Improve Your Communication/Relationship Skills
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Have you ever been to a function in a room full of strangers and found yourself lost for words?
The art of introducing yourself to others and creating small talk may come natural for some, but most people confess to feeling shy, embarrassed and don’t know where to start.
There are four levels of communication: Small talk, fact disclosure, share viewpoints and opinions and share personal opinions.
Small Talk
In new relationships or acquaintances the safest place to start is to talk about surface issues. For instance, make a comment about the weather, current events or the surroundings you are in.
This is called “small talk”, and is used to “size up” the other person to determine the comfort zone between the two of you. There is no need to disclose any personal information with the other person at this stage, as this initial interaction assists you to determine how “safe” they are on your first meeting.
If you are comfortable with each other at a surface level you can easily slip into the next level of communication: fact disclosure.
Fact Disclosure
Fact disclosure is slightly deeper than small talk in that you disclose facts about yourself without triggering topics of emotional interest.
The purpose of fact disclosure is to find out if you have something in common. You can use these common areas to build a friendship. You may want to talk about your career, occupation, hobbies, or where you live.
Avoid topics like marriage, divorce, politics, sex and religion in this second level of communication. If you find a topic of mutual interest you may want to progress to the next level of communication: sharing viewpoints and opinions.
Share Viewpoints and Opinions
Once you have established that the other person is “safe” through small talk, and have found areas of common interest, you can build rapport by sharing your opinions and viewpoints.
By sharing your viewpoints and opinions you allow yourself to become vulnerable to the scrutiny and objections of the other person. Enter this level of communication once you are comfortable that you both share positive feelings through the first two levels.
Be prepared to listen to the opinions of your new friend. This will enable your friendship to survive.
Make sure you don’t use your opinions as a form of “character assassination” of other people. You may be thought of as a negative person and this may cause your new friend to distance himself/herself from you.
The fourth level of communication is sharing personal feelings. Solid friendships over time usually enter this fourth level of communication.
Share Personal Feelings
After building upon trust, finding things in common and listening to the viewpoints and opinions of others, you may be able to share your personal feelings. This is when an acquaintance becomes a genuine friend.
Things of deep value to you can be shared without feeling threatened. You listen closely to each other without the need to “solve” your friend’s problem. You are happy to reflect their feelings back to them – forming a bond of empathy and compassion between the two of you.
At this level of communication, it is important that you provide a little distance between yourself and your friend. If the distinction between yourself and your friend becomes unrecognizable, it is possible for your relationship to go sour. If you know how to handle your own feelings, attitudes and behaviors while maintaining your friendship at this level, you will build a successful friendship that can last a lifetime.
This article is FREE to publish with resource box.
Connie Limon
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/simple-tips-to-improve-your-communicationrelationship-skills-136268.html
Clear Business Communication: 4 Steps To Success
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Business owners know the bottom-line impact of business communication. It doesn’t matter if the communication is a memo to employees, a sales letter to prospects, or a thank you note to customers… A clear, quality message can build your business and the wrong message can demolish it.
Clear messages motivate employees, create positive change in the workplace, increase the possibility of getting a raise, and (most importantly) make a sale! The wrong message can mean lost opportunities, upset employees, and can even send your customer to the competition! Which type of message would you rather give?
Use these 4 steps to make sure that your communication improves your bottom line.
1. Know your audience. Ask yourself what is important to your audience? Make sure that every sentence resonates clearly with the message that you know what your audience wants and you can deliver it. For example: If you are writing to your boss and you’re asking for a raise, don’t complain about the rising cost of homes; your boss is concerned about the business’ bottom line. So instead, talk about how you are going to be more productive and improve the business’ bottom line because of your raise.
2. Know the action you want your audience to take. Often, our messages can be muddled if we are not clear in stating what we want. Don’t “beat around the bush”… make it obvious that you’d like to see a specific action occur as a result of what you’ve written. For example, if you are sending a memo to employees, don’t just write several paragraphs about the need to be on time in the morning. Your employees will think that your memo is right but won’t necessarily take action to correct their behavior. Instead, clearly point out the time you expect them to show up, the consequences for not showing up, and a specific action they can take to indicate that they have arrived on time.
3. Make your communication easy to read. At the beginning of your communication write what you are going to cover. Then cover the topics in the order you stated at the beginning. Then review the topic quickly at the end. If appropriate, put a space between each paragraph and break up lists into bullets. Repeat your point clearly in the first and last paragraph. Avoid unnecessary words.
4. Proofread your work! Nothing reduces the perceived value of a business communication like a missing or incorrectly spelled word. If you are dashing off an email to a coworker, give it a quick read-through. If your work will be read within company walls by subordinates or superiors, have someone else read through it too. If the message is leaving the company to go to prospects, customers, or vendors, make sure that you have at least two other people read the communication before it leaves the building.
Written business communication is an important way that we interact with others. The right messages can build our business and the wrong messages can demolish it. To increase productivity, to improve customer service, and to make more sales, follow these 4 business communication steps to success.
Aaron Hoos
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/clear-business-communication-4-steps-to-success-95034.html
MKT2040 Presentation of Guidelines for Effective Meetings
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business communications Presentation
Duration : 0:6:11
Nido Qubein: Leaders Go From Communicating to Connecting
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Buy this DVD at: http://www.betterlifemedia.com/shop.do?pID=486
Nido Qubein came to the United States as a teenager with no knowledge of English, no contacts and only $50 in his pocket. Today he is a successful businessman and award-winning motivational speaker. How did he do it? Learn from Nido how to achieve success and significance in business and life by: Creating meaningful change that moves you to a deeper, more satisfying level; Distinguishing among tasks, goals and purpose; Developing strategies for going beyond communicating, selling and training; Discovering how the 21st century rewards extraordinary people. You can buy his entire packaged DVD presentation at www.betterlifemedia.com/Google/nido_qubein.jsp
Duration : 0:3:47
Letting the trainer do the trainingHow To Improve Your Communication and Presentation Skills
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Every professional needs the skills to communicate effectively, whether that’s in a formal presentation, a meeting, or an important conversation.
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- connect with your audience
- align your words, tone and body language
- communicate authentically
- weave your remarks together in a compelling manner
Learn top tips in minutes by reading our FREE REPORT called Communicating With Power and Influence. It will reveal the communication training secrets used by presentation coaching experts around the world. Get Your Free Report Now!
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Duration : 0:2:15