Allow me to indulge myself – I just read a fun, short post from Inc.com titled Spam, Where Art Thou? The author has some highly entertaining metaphors (and similes) in the post regarding her company’s new high-octane spam filter: This new filter, by contrast, is very efficient; cleansing my inbox of undesirables and dumping them all in spam ghetto, from whence I receive reports several times a week. Occasionally I find something like my CEO’s note has become accidentally trapped, and I release it like a dolphin from tuna nets. Generally, though, I just scan the subject lines. The sheer volume of coarse come-ons, unleavened by less-provocative missives from friends… Read More
Continue ReadingHidden Keys To Building Rapport
I am most interested in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) when it comes to enhancing communication. We have been through some rudimentary training on this topic so ManageSmarter.com’s article – Rapid Rapport and Riches – piqued my interest. The long article covers many details, but here is a general definition of NLP: NLP is a behavioral technology created in the 1970s by Richard Brandler, a student of mathematics and Gestalt’s Therapy, and John Grinder, a professor of linguistics at the University of California Santa Cruz. Neuro refers to the nervous system, through which we experience the five senses: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, and gustatory. Linguistic is language and non-verbal communication systems that… Read More
Continue ReadingThe Demise Of No Email Fridays?
I posted on No Email Fridays back in March of this year. Well, now it appears a revolt has occurred at that company. According to CareerJournal.com’s Employers Try ‘No Email’ Days, But Workers Are Fighting Back: When U.S. Cellular’s chief operating officer, Jay Ellison, imposed a “no email Friday” rule at his company, he thought it would ease workers’ overload. Instead, he got a rebellion. Among many irate responses, Kathy Volpi, a marketing director, confronted Mr. Ellison and “just ripped me,” he says. “She really gave me a piece of her mind.” This borders on hyperbole: But withdraw it even for a day, and some employees fight back like recovering smokers… Read More
Continue ReadingCrackBerry DTs
Honestly, I thought this was a joke – Is that your phone or your imagination? From the article: Many mobile phone addicts and BlackBerry junkies report feeling vibrations when there are none, or feeling as if they’re wearing a cell phone when they’re not. … Research in the area is scant, but theories abound about the phenomenon, which has been termed “ringxiety” or “fauxcellarm.” The article is obviously a bit tongue-in-cheek and there are some good lines in it including this one: He also claims to “pre-feel” a new message or call. “I’ll feel it, look at it. It’s not vibrating. Then it starts vibrating,” he said. “I am one… Read More
Continue ReadingTelecommuting Toolbox
It is difficult to classify telecommuting as a trend – it is more than that today. We encounter telecommuting in almost every position we source, even some where you wouldn’t expect to find it. Managers must have the skills to be effective with their team even though they may not seem them face-to-face on a daily basis. ManageSmarter.com offers up Talking Telecommuting which provides some excellent tool suggestions for a manager faced with a geographically-dispersed sales force. The example company is Cisco which obviously has some powerful tools for keeping remote workers informed. Check out this proprietary tool: Cisco ensures it’s easy for mobile workers to find and use internal… Read More
Continue Reading7 Sales Manager Difference Makers
ManageSmarter.com offers 7 suggestions for sales managers to make them more effective: 1. Do not micromanage people 2. Take time when increasing expenses 3. Take care of your “stars” 4. Be teachable 5. Focus on the things that make a major difference 6. Be sure to understand the ‘hierarchy’ 7. Earn the respect of the people you are leading You will have to read the article to get the details for each point. But here is the take-away from point #5: There is a tendency to get caught up in making changes to areas that are irrelevant to productivity yet have a negative impact on the staff. Let the little… Read More
Continue ReadingTermination By Voicemail
A couple of days ago I put up a post about the rise of email terminations and how inappropriate I thought that practice was. Well I must say I have now learned of one example of a termination that does this one better (or should that be WORSE!). I talked with a salesperson this morning and would like to pass along his story of his termination experience. The President of his division was going to be in town and wanted to meet with him so they scheduled a time to meet in the morning. When the day came the salesperson was in bed with the flu so he called his… Read More
Continue ReadingTermination By Email
Over a year ago Derrick posted on Radio Shack’s faux pas regarding the emails they sent to their employees telling them that they had been terminated. If you would have told me then that this trend would be on the rise, I would have never believed you. Unfortunately, a recent survey of 752 people found that 75 of them had experienced or knew someone who had been terminated/laid-off via email. Maybe it’s me, but does anyone else out there think that this is beyond inappropriate? Firing or laying off an employee is never a fun thing to do and I have had my share to do, but emailing some one… Read More
Continue ReadingBrevity
Here is an excellent reminder from the JustSell.com newsletter: How long was your last presentation? What could be trimmed? Over the next couple weeks (outside the money hours, of course), invest some time examining the brevity of your sales presentations (both your formal and informal versions). For every point ask, €œWhy is this needed for my presentation?€ If you’re unsure of the reason, cut it — lean and effective is your goal (review the presentation checklist here). If you don’t have it written, planned, and practiced, commit to doing it within the month. The chances of rambling skyrocket without a formally developed presentation. Time is money and decision makers who… Read More
Continue ReadingSelling With Style
We’ll close the week with an article from ManageSmarter.com titled Building Client Relationships: Use Sales Psychology to Create More Lifetime Clients. The thrust of the article is how to use DISC styles when selling. This tool is one of four assessments we incorporate into our hiring process. The author is correct – knowing your prospect or customer’s style should be part of any saalesperson’s repetoire. This isn’t the Jedi mind trick but rather a focus on clear communication. If a sales rep doesn’t know how to sell, understanding a prospect’s preferred style will only make the salesperson clearer in their failure. However, an effective salesperson who learns and uses the… Read More
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