Leads for Less with Social Media

Good article on lead generation--the new way...

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007534

Talent on tap

Schumpeter

The fashion for hiring temps has reached the executive suite

Dec 10th 2009 | From The Economist print edition

Illustration by Brett Ryder

TEMPORARY work is all too familiar to the masses. Farmers have always relied on seasonal workers to plough the fields and pick the crops. Companies have been hiring temps to answer the phones and do the filing for as long as anyone can remember. Now a new group of people are experiencing the joys of the flexible economy: the managerial elite.

The practice of appointing interim bosses actually originated in Europe some years ago as a way of coping with the continent’s rigid employment laws. But European companies were always as discreet about the practice as possible. Now the habit has reached the United States, and Americans are doing what they do naturally: shouting about it from the rooftops. No with-it company can be taken seriously without a “flexible boardroom” and a “just-in-time talent pipeline”.

The past few years have seen the birth of several companies that hope to do for managers what Kelly Services (née Kelly Girls) and the like have done for secretaries. Call the Business Talent Group (BTG) in Los Angeles or Epoch in Boston, for example, and they will be able to offer you anything from a chief executive to a forensic accountant. If you have more specialised needs you can call Tatum (which specialises in financial executives) or the Nielsen Healthcare Group. The market for executive temps is so buoyant that even old warhorses of recruiting, such as Heidrick & Struggles, are sticking their noses into it.

The trend raises two obvious questions. Why would a company choose to hire a part-time boss? The boardroom is, after all, one place where you need a measure of continuity. And why would a high-flying manager accept a temporary job rather than holding out for a permanent one? Groucho Marx once quipped that he would never join a club that would have him as a member. The world of temporary managers is surely full of people who possess his exacting standards without his self-awareness.

Companies tend to employ temporary executives to cope with a crisis: the chief executive mucks things up or decamps to a rival, or the chief financial officer turns out to be innumerate. Traditional search firms can take six months or more to fill a sudden vacancy, not least because they only look at people who already have jobs. Temporary talent agencies can fill a gap in a couple of weeks. BTG provided the Carlyle Group, a private-equity firm, with a boss for a packaged-goods firm it owns when it needed one in a hurry. It has also provided chief financial officers at the drop of a hat for such tech firms as Internet REIT and Axcient.

Another common reason to take on managerial temps is to tackle a short-term problem without acquiring a long-term obligation to an expensive executive. Companies only go public once. So why hire a permanent chief executive when you can hire a temporary one who has a long track record of taking companies public? The time it takes to launch a new product is shrinking as fashions shift more quickly and product cycles get shorter. So why not bring in a group of temporary managers who will disappear as soon as the goods hit the shelves? When Fox Mobile wanted to develop new screensavers and videos for its phones, for example, it hired a temporary creative director.

The new talent companies boast legions of people with MBAs from the best business schools and spells working in the best consultancies and banks. Some have no doubt been forced to take up the temping life after being downsized in the recession. Temping carries quite a stigma, judging by how few firms or executives admit they are resorting to it. But there are reasons to embrace the new regime, which allows senior managers to work part-time, in effect, and pick and choose the jobs that appeal. Firms such as Eden McCallum and Axiom Legal, which offer freelance consultants and lawyers for hire respectively, and which were both founded long before the recession, provide professionals with a respectable way to control when and how much they work. The growing demand for temporary executives simply extends the same opportunity to senior managers.

Fleeting or lasting?

Are these new talent companies this generation’s version of Manpower (which has grown from an eccentric start-up in 1948 to a global giant with more than 4,000 offices in 82 countries)? Or are they exploiting a passing fad which will fade when the economy recovers and high-flyers realise that safe jobs are preferable to sitting by the phone waiting for the talent agency to call?

Fans of the new fashion argue that temping is the wave of the future in all rich countries, as they evolve from what Peter Drucker called a “society of organisations” into a “society of networks”. More than a quarter of all American workers now classify themselves as “free agents”, and half of America’s temps are professionals of one kind or another. Advocates of temping also argue that the traditional market for managers—and particularly for chief executives—is hopelessly inefficient. A growing number of companies have been hiring bosses on the open market. Yet nearly 20% of those bosses depart within 18 months. Temporary talent agencies can give their customers a chance to “try before they buy” as well as filling the job immediately. BTG reports that a quarter of the bosses that it has put in temporary jobs have been offered permanent positions.

There is no quarrelling with the fact that the market for chief executives is one of the oddest and least efficient around. But that is no reason to get carried away by this new management craze. The most successful companies, such as Procter & Gamble and General Electric, are more than just ever-shifting nexuses of contracts. They are self-replicating organisms that possess distinctive cultures and unique habits—cultures and habits that are preserved and perfected by a loyal cadre of managers. You can certainly buy lots of wonderful managerial skills on the open market. But true corporate greatness is home-grown.

Will the Real Candidate Please Stand Up? How to Spot a Fake Resume

Posted by: Mary Lorenz on February 25, 2010 From: The Hiring Site at CareerBuilder.com Can you spot a fake resume? Can’t blame you if the answer’s no…It’s becoming trickier than ever thanks to the rise in Web sites – like CareerExcuse.com and FakeResume.com – that make it even easier for job seekers to falsify information on their resumes. (Check out the recent CBS 2 video expose about CareerExcuse.com, featuring CareerBuilder’s own Jason Ferrara.) Add to that the already strained resources hiring managers, HR professionals and recruiters have to verify these claims, and it’s even easier for unqualified job seekers to slip through the cracks. In fact, a 2008 CareerBuilder survey on lies job seekers tell found that 38 percent of employees had embellished their job responsibilities at some point, while 18 percent had lied about their skill sets. Other common lies surrounded information about employees’ start and end dates of employment, academic degrees, previous employers and job titles. 6 Ways to Avoid a Hiring Mistake: Here are some more steps you can take to protect yourself from being the victim of a fake resume (adapted from Workforce Trends and Volt.com): Perform a standard background check on things like work history, residences, dates of employment, etc. Look for discrepancies between what the candidate submitted and what the reports reveal. Check for red flags: Unexplained gaps in employment, a reluctance to explain the reason for leaving, and unusual periods of self-employment can be a tip off to false employment history. Always check references, including clients, for self-employed work history. Because even references can be fake, check the web sites of previous employers and use the phone numbers found online for employment verification. (Can’t find a previous employer’s web site, even after you’ve “Googled” it? The Better Business Bureau or the local Chamber of Commerce are good resources to check, too.) Utilize social networking sites. Social networking profiles contain public information that may help you verify certain information such as a candidate’s work history or education credentials. (Just be aware of the possible legal ramifications of using social media to screen applicants.) Test their skills. Knowing that employers use keyword searching to find and qualify their resumes, applicants may include keywords for all skills required for the job – regardless of whether they have them or not. Find out if they’re embellishing by asking specific technical questions about the skills they claim to have and actually test their computer skills. Be fair. Remember that mistakes and misunderstandings do happen. If you find a discrepancy, give the candidate an opportunity to explain. Use common sense. Trust your intuition and experience. If something doesn’t seem right, follow up on it. Lesson Learned: Readers Share Their Own Fake Resume Stories In the comments from a previous post on lies job seekers tell on resumes, many readers shared their own experiences in dealing with false resume information. Here are some of their stories: “Several years ago I learned a very important lesson: be wary of people who claim a previously outrageous salary from a “now defunct company” but are willing to work for less because they “like your company.” We hired my Executive HR Assistant who ended up spending the first two weeks of her job with us surfing for a new job online. We do have internet management software that blocks job sites, but as she was HR she needed access to these sites for our own recruiting efforts. It does monitor the sites visited though, and that’s what tipped us off. Additionally, she had five different versions of her resume stored on her company computer. All of them had her working for us for over one year, when she had only started 10 days previously. However, the reference name and number she included for our company was not us. The funny thing was though, all of her business references and previous employment history checked out before we hired her; except the most recent one that “went out of business.” When checking references, look the company info up online and call directly. Don’t use the info the candidate supplied unless you have to, then take it with a grain of salt.” – Nathan “I was ready to hire the perfect candidate when I decided to run a background check. We don’t normally run one for every position but this position had access to cash so I’d required it. The letters of recommendations from previous employers were actually letterhead he stole from the companies. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he submitted a list of company contacts and personal phone numbers. Everyone on his list turned out to be one of his friends who covered for him on the initial phone conversation telling us what a great employee he was. Digging deeper we found at a previous job in another city he was told to resign his position or he would be turned over to the police for theft. His explanation was that if he told me the truth, he probably wouldn’t have got the job. After that experience, I run background checks on anyone and everyone that works in the office and/or drives a company vehicle.” – John “We had a person claim a very high-level position at a major corporation. It was actually true, but we couldn’t figure out why he wanted to come work for us in what was a huge step down for him. A few days later his name was in the paper – he had had *ahem* inappropriate activities with a board member of the company he was working for, in the parking garage. Which had been caught on tape….” – PJ “I received four applications with the exact same resume…The only difference were their names at the top.” – Colleen What’s So Wrong with a Little White Lie? I also want to mention, however, that a few readers of that post actually came to job seekers’ defenses – arguing the point that there’s little harm in embellishing resume information if experience and performance trump what’s on paper….Would you agree? Or do you, like other readers, believe that if job seekers are willing to lie about one thing, they are probably willing to lie about other things, too? What are your thoughts? Do you forgive “embellishments” on resumes, or is any white lie a deal breaker?

Warming Up the Cold Call with Social Media

by David Steel

Those in sales know all too well about the pain of the cold call--which can all too quickly, and all too often, turn into a cold shoulder given to you. Cold calling has always been seen as a "necessary evil" in sales. Top sales professionals learn to live with it, or they don't last. But even for the best you, isn't it true that there are days when you just get beat up, when you hate your career because of someone rude or inaccessible?

The other great problem with cold calling is the lack of efficiency. Smart sales professionals would rather make five calls that turn into five prospects than they would 20 calls that yield them one. So here's the very good news for those of you who have to cold call: the internet has brought us social media (networking). With this amazing technological development, you can now cold call more efficiently and with much less abuse. And it's actually more fun!

Social media sites, in case you've been living in some dark place for the last few years, include Twitter, Facebook, Stumble Upon, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, and even Digg. Twitter and Facebook have emerged as the top two for networking online, while LinkedIn is geared toward professionals (though it can be used for friend-making, too). Digg and Stumble Upon can help you create a living profile of yourself, and FriendFeedis a quickly emerging offshoot of the Facebook idea, once again with a little more of a professional angle built into it.

Alright, so you're a sales pro who has to make cold calls in order to keep your pipeline full and make a living. You've got a new product or service to pitch. You want a good quality professional prospect. Here's all that you've got to do...First, decide who you know of online, who you want to reach, and why you think theywould be a good prospect. This is, needless to say, similar to what you've been doing with the telephone and e-mail except now you're specifically selecting from the professionals you see on the internet at these social networking sites. After you've made your carefully selected choice, you'll have a little online research to do. Then, it becomes a matter of making friendly online contact with the prospect.

The research that you'll have to do pertains to understanding what your targeted prospect Tweets or blogs or posts about. Read their online content thoroughly so that you get a feel for who they are and what their interests are. You will also want to know their preferred method of being contacted after you use the social networking site to break the ice. Just as with cold calling on the telephone, you may have to make several posts before they show any interest in hearing from you. But, what you say online tends to remain there for them to see over and over again- unlike voice mails and emails that just get deleted. (One other positive side effect of this is that sometimes prospects who see what you are saying online come looking for you.)

Once you've researched your targeted prospect engage them online. One of the best ways to do this is to answer question they may have asked, comment on a post or, if they have posted content that relates to their personal life, see if you can make a friendly, non-selling response to that with an anecdote or story from your own personal life that relates to what they said.

Remember, don't force things - just keep it friendly. If your responses sound forced, scripted, or otherwise fake, you will lose them immediately. An important thing to remember about cold calling with social networking media is that it's got a much more spontaneous feel to it than telephone cold calling which makes for warmer receptions from pospects. They key is tapping into this to keep the conversation going so that eventually you make direct contact and open the door to close the sale.

David Steel is the author of The Care and Feeding of Highly Aggressive Sales People[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103097569769&s=19533&e=001pCFz1tJu4t9EHSstSuVzj9CJwAp7SW44rZNBOiU0wqOW0UDuNafBzgtcLuo6kE5ehirnbNUJXnOmJb3wznOOQYq4oH0LrFm710cTfgdLCNJQkUEFMiDOIEYvHRcHyNNE],an Amazonbestseller, now available as a free ebook [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103097569769&s=19533&e=001pCFz1tJu4t9EHSstSuVzj9CJwAp7SW44rZNBOiU0wqOW0UDuNafBzgtcLuo6kE5ehirnbNUJXnOmJb3wznOOQYq4oH0LrFm710cTfgdLCNJQkUEFMiDOIEYvHRcHyNNE].Written for sales managers, the book addresses the crucial importance of organizationalcommitment and firm sales management direction in growing and nurturing blockbustersales teams.Download The Care and Feeding of Highly Agressive Sales People Free. [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1103097569769&s=19533&e=001pCFz1tJu4t9EHSstSuVzj9CJwAp7SW44rZNBOiU0wqOW0UDuNafBzgtcLuo6kE5ehirnbNUJXnOmJb3wznOOQYq4oH0LrFm710cTfgdLCNJQkUEFMiDOIEYvHRcHyNNE]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Job Seekers Gravitate to Socially Responsible Companies, Survey Finds

Posted by: Mary Lorenz on February 24, 2010
From the Hiring Site at CareerBuilder.com

If Quiznos’ was hoping to boost its employment brand, the fast food chain’s new environmentally conscious “Eat Toasty, Be Green” campaign – which includes the use of new biodegradable packaging and employee uniforms made from recycled materials – could not have come out at a better time.

Job seekers seem to gravitate toward social responsible companies, according to a recent Kelly Services survey of nearly 100,000 people in 34 countries in North America, Europe and Asia.

The reason for this? “Employees gain a sense of fulfillment when their employer is focused on not only the bottom line but also on initiatives and practices [that] have a common connection with the communities in which they operate,” said George Corona, Kelly Services’ executive VP and COO, in an article for Staffing Industry Review Magazine.

(Perhaps this helps explain why companies like Whole Foods and Starbucks – both of whom are often acknowledged for Corporate Social Responsibility efforts – often find themselves on ‘best companies to work for’ lists.)

Among the survey’s other findings:

• Almost 90 percent of respondents say they are more likely to work for an organization that is considered ethically and socially responsible, something that is consistent across all generations.
• 80 percent are more likely to work for an organization that is considered environmentally responsible, a figure that is considerably higher among older age groups.
• In deciding where to work, an organization’s reputation for ethical conduct is considered “very important” by 77 percent of Baby Boomers, 72 percent of GenX and 65 percent of GenY.
• 53 percent of Baby Boomers would be prepared to forego pay or a promotion to work for an organization with a good reputation, compared to 48 percent of GenX and 46 percent of GenY.
• In deciding where to work, policies to address global warming are considered “very important” by 36 percent of Baby Boomers, 35 percent of GenX and 31 percent of GenY.

Quiznos is just the most recent in a long line of companies who have started tweaking their products to appeal to an increasingly environmentally conscious consumer base, and hopefully, other companies will follow suit.

While these initiatives are certainly good for branding purposes (and, of course, Mother Earth), employers should be aware that, in order to truly engage employees, they should also focus on internal initiatives, like letting employees work from home or investing in energy-saving technology.

Not only do these efforts reduce the strain on the environment, but also – and perhaps more enticingly – they help improve the bottom line by qualifying companies for tax incentives, boosting employee productivity and garner consumer support.

From: Sales Management Strategies Newsletter

"Our sales team isn't generating the results we expect..." When business executives call me for assistance, the conversation usually begins with some version of that statement. Some feel the solution is a sales compensation change. Others think that the problem is solved with sales training. Yet, all roads lead back to one foundation element of your sales organization. Have you hired the right sales people?

Sure, you can change compensation plans...or bring in a sales trainer, but there are no magic wands to fix poor sales hiring. Having a successful sales organization starts with hiring the right sales people. Think about this...You provide your sales team with a detailed profile of your ideal client to focus their sales efforts. Where is your profile of your ideal sales person? You can't possibly hire the right sales people if you don't know what "right" looks like in your company.

"We want strong prospecting skills and great closers..." Sure you do, but there are factors in every company that affect a sales person's success beyond those two elements. Before you evaluate another candidate, take the time to develop the profile of your ideal sales person. Document every aspect that affects a sales person's success - or causes them to fail in your environment. With that profile, you are armed with a tool that allows you to better evaluate sales talent.

Stop trying to hire great sales people...Start hiring the right ones who can be great in your organization.

Adapt & Thrive!
~Lee

Lee B. Salz
Sales Management Strategist
Sales Architects | Business Expert Webinars
Phone: 763.416.4321
Email: lsalz@SalesArchitects.net
Web: SalesArchitects.net
Web: BusinessExpertWebinars.com

Great Service is Linked to Strong Leadership

By Debra Schmidt

There's a famous story about a group of visitors to Disney. They were walking in the Magic Kingdom when they saw a gray-haired man walk out of his way to pick up a piece of litter. One person in the group approached the man and asked, "How many custodians are there here?" The man replied, "45,000". The guest was surprised at so many.

The next day the group attended a "Traditions" meeting and the same gray-haired man was there. His name was Michael Eisner, Chairman and CEO of Disney.

There is a strong link between leadership and great customer service. In 10 years of delivering customer service training, I've observed that companies with effective leaders are more likely to have employees who deliver great customer service. Great leaders don't just talk about customer service; they demonstrate what it looks like for their employees.

Leaders need to have a vision of what they want to achieve.

Few employees will support a customer service initiative that is not clearly defined. They need to understand why they are being asked to do something. The vision needs to be communicated. Let everyone share in it. Let employees see what's in it for them if they follow you.

Great leaders delegate and empower.

That doesn't mean that they simply dump on their employees. They create structure, allocate responsibility, provide support, and offer training and resources. They empower their people to make decisions. This is part of what makes people feel significant.

Great leaders always respect their people.

They treat their employees as their primary customers. Successful business leaders are masters at keeping their people informed. How are we doing? What are we doing? What new is happening? Newsletters and other internal communication tools should be used to keep employees up to date and informed on the big picture. Key performance indicators are set and explained clearly to employees. Targets are set and success is celebrated. This is how leaders create a sense of community.

Great leaders keep the energy going.

They demonstrate their passion for the company, their vision and customer service through their actions. They have the strength and the energy to work against the odds to achieve their vision. They create a buzz in their organization that keeps the team excited about providing great service.

Research by the Strategic Planning Institute found that those businesses that gave good service grew twice as fast as those with poor service. Great service starts at the top of the organization and needs to be frequently reinforced through training and leading by example.

Negative Employees Can Poison Service

By Debra Schmidt

"It isn't the people you fire who make your life miserable, it's the people you don't."

~Harvey Mackay

• Do you find yourself dreading to come to work because of that particular employee who constantly complains?
• Do you need to do a "barometer check" on a certain co-worker each morning to determine their mood of the day?
• Do you have a certain co-worker who always seems to get away with doing the minimum amount of effort each day while the other employees are working hard?
• Do you find yourself apologizing to customers because of the way a particular employee handled their service request?

In their book, How Full is Your Bucket, Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton write:

"It is possible for just one or two people to poison an entire workplace. And managers who have tried moving negative people to other departments to alleviate the problem know that 'location, location, location' doesn't apply to these people; they bring their negativity along with them wherever they go. Negative employees can tear through a workplace like a hurricane racing through a coastal town."

A rude customer service rep greeted me when I called my airline to report that 2,800 miles I had earned on a recent trip had not been credited to my frequent flyer account. She said she could only give me the miles if I provided her with my ticket number. I explained that I no longer had my ticket because the flight attendant at the airport had assured me that the miles had been credited to my account.

Her reply? "That's your problem, not mine. You'll just have to call your travel agent and get the ticket numbers. Then you can call back and start over."

Sooo...I called the travel agent to get the numbers. After much hassle, we tracked them down. The agent asked for the name of the rep I had dealt with at the airline. I said it was Kayla. First silence, then with a sigh she said, "Ah yes, Kayla. We've complained about her a couple of times. I see it hasn't made a difference."

The next day I called the airline's frequent flyer customer service department. This time a warm, friendly employee, who proved to be extremely helpful, greeted me. I happened to mention the negative experience I had with the other rep. She apologized and asked if I knew the rep's name. I said it was Kayla.

First silence, then with a sigh she said, "Ah yes, Kayla. She tends to rub our customers the wrong way. You're not the first person who's complained about her. Everyone else in our department is so nice and we really care about the customers but her attitude makes us all look bad."

An employee like Kayla is like a skunk in a field full of cats. She may look like the others but her negative attitude makes her service stink. Not only that, the behaviors of one employee can give customers the impression that the whole department and even the company stink.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: "Sixty-eight percent of customers leave because of an attitude of indifference by a single employee."

When customers and co-workers have attached a negative attitude label to a specific employee, it's time to evaluate that employee's cost to the organization.

The cost of a negative employee can be measured in the following ways:

• Cost of losing an angry customer.
• Cost of wasting time with re-work caused by the employee's refusal to handle the service properly the first time.
• Cost of replacing employees who leave because they don't want to work with this negative employee.
• Cost of negative word-of-mouth advertising (the travel agent tries not to work with this airline because of poor service experiences and complaints from her customers about the airline).
• Cost of over-all diminished morale within the department.
• Cost of time wasted by supervisor trying to fix the employee's attitude.

Take a look at your field of great employees. Are skunks hiding there? How much damage are they doing to your co-worker and customer relationships? Is it worth it?

You may think you don't need customer service training because you do not directly deal with the external customers. Think again! Your customer is anyone who benefits from the work you do or, conversely, suffers when your work is done poorly or not at all. Your work is part of a customer-supplier chain. It is not an isolated activity.

A Simple Apology Can Spare You a Lawsuit

This is a good customer service article though the title is a little misleading for our industry.

By Debra Schmidt

Customer retention involves more than delivering great service, it impacts the bottom line. According to an article in MedServ Medical News,a new coalition of patients, attorneys, doctors and hospital administrators across the nation have come up with an idea to keep liability costs and medical errors down at the same time. The idea is working so well that it is reducing the number of lawsuits. What’s their great idea? It is simply an apology.

The group is called the Sorry Works! Coalition. Its members describe the idea like this:

-Hospitals and physicians review every adverse incident.

-Hospital administrators and physicians sit down with patients and families to explain what happened.

-The hospital and doctor apologize if a mistake was made and offer the patient or family fair compensation if the investigation finds that there was a medical error. They also explain how the problem will be corrected.

When it comes to medical errors, patients consider some circumstances more forgivable than others. According to a survey in the January issue of The American Journal of Managed Care, here is what 958 people had to say about how likely they were to forgive a physician under these circumstances:

Physician was tired or distracted:

• 6% Would forgive
• 27% Might forgive
• 68% Would not forgive

Physician wasn’t thorough in the examination or in talking with the patient:

• 3% Would forgive
• 22% Might forgive
• 76% Would not forgive

Apologizing to customers for mistakes is important and necessary, but apologies are not free passes for providing bad service. A business needs to recognize when it does deliver poor customer service and be able to correct problems when they occur. Apologizing is part of this recovery process. However, in order to retain customers, a company has to prove it can provide good service on a regular basis, with mistakes being the exception rather than the standard operating procedure. Having to apologize too much is an indication that there are larger problems that need correcting.

You can actually increase customer loyalty even with angry customers. Here’s what to do when a customer complains:

• Make no excuses while you are listening to a customer complaint. Hear them out and accept that their perception of the event is very real.

• Address each and every issue and concern raised by your customers. Don’t ignore a complaint because you don’t think it’s important or you think the customer is wrong.

• Don’t make amends by just providing the original product or service. Exceed customer expectations by offering them more. Starbucks has a policy that if a customer is dissatisfied with their coffee or has to wait too long, they get a certificate for a free drink on their next visit.

• If your email or voicemail says you will get back to your customer within 24 hours, do it, or change your message. When you make a promise—keep it.

• Don’t try to save money by arguing with a customer. You’ll save the company considerably more by focusing on keeping existing customers and building positive, long-term relationships with them.

Customers are fragile. Let one drop and you break a profitable relationship. Great customer service starts with you. Don’t preach it to others—live it. Do what it takes to get your customers to want to continue doing business with your company. Apologies are easy when you recognize their lasting value to your customer, your company and your job stability.

Commitment to Training Attracts Top-Notch Employees

By Debra Schmidt

My family and I had the good fortune to stay at the Marriott Marina Hotel in San Diego, California. The views overlooking the bay were beautiful. The hotel was elegant and our room was spotless. But, it was the exceptional service delivered by all of the employees that impressed me most. It began the moment our taxi pulled up to the entrance to the building.

The doormen greeted us as if we were long lost friends. When we stepped into the lobby, another employee smiled and welcomed us to the Marriott. It appeared that her role was simply to greet the guests and direct them to the right counter for check-in. A manager was training the counter clerk who waited on us. They both looked up and smiled warmly when we approached. The whole check-in process took less than five minutes but they upgraded our room to a bay view to thank us for our patience during the training.

When we stopped in the gift shop to buy a couple of snacks, the employee stepped out from behind the counter and practically jogged around the shop to gather our items for us. A housekeeping employee was polishing brass when we entered the elevator. As we rode together, she asked where we were from and wished us a wonderful stay in San Diego. Then, she thanked us for choosing the Marriott. I nearly fell out the door when it opened at our floor.

Later that evening, we ordered a pizza from room service. A bouncy, cheerful employee delivered it 15 minutes later. By now, we were grinning from sheer delight because of the friendly, contagious spirit we experienced from every employee we had met in this hotel.

The clincher came the next morning when I thanked the cashier for my coffee at a stand near the lobby. She looked at me with surprise and said, "You're welcome, but, no need to thank me. I'm here for you and my goal is to help you to have a great day!"

Wouldn't the world be a terrific place if we received this type of service everywhere we went? It almost seemed surreal. The service at this hotel was consistent with the quality of its interior. Every employee had been meticulously trained to be customer-focused. It was so impressive that I may not have believed it if I hadn't experienced it first-hand.

You may ask, "How did the Marriott find these great employees?" Great question. The answer is they attract quality applicants by clearly stating their standards and expectations on their recruiting materials and website. Then they reinforce these standards through an ongoing commitment to training.

This commitment to quality and service appears on the Marriott website under the heading of Core Values: The fundamental ideals of service to associates, customers, and community which serve as the cornerstone for all Marriott associates are exemplified by Marriott's "Spirit to Serve" philosophy.

Check out these links to view examples of how other premier companies attract great employees. Pay particular attention to the language they use to describe desired employee attributes and their company missions.

Ritz-Carlton Gold Standards (definitely worth reviewing).

Starbucks mission statement When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers— even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It’s really about human connection.

Quality companies always position employee training as a high priority. Training is viewed as an investment in success because they understand the direct relationship between exceptional customer service and profitability.

The Mindset of the Top 1%

I saw this on twitter and found it interesting...

http://stevereports.com/2009/12/the-top-1-percent/

Are you in the top 1%?

Enjoy!

The American Workplace has a "Crack" Problem

By Joan Lloyd

America has a “crack” problem and I’m not referring to drugs. I’m talking about cleavage and low-riding pants for starters.

I was enjoying a glass of wine with some HR executives recently and as the conversation turned to dress at work, I got an earful. “You should do a column about the unprofessional way people dress at work,” one suggested. Always on the lookout for a topic, I pulled out my pen and couldn’t write fast enough.

Here are a few of their comments:

• “As much as I’d like to think I’m not judgmental, it’s hard not to form perceptions and draw conclusions,” one senior vice president said. Her colleagues agreed. “And if we are reacting this way, you can imagine what some other managers are thinking. These people want to get ahead and be respected at work but they are undermining their accomplishments by the way they portray themselves.”

• “There are some women who show cleavage on a regular basis and it just gives the wrong message.”

• “Bare midriffs are for the beach. And when they are ‘muffin tops’ (skin bulging over the belt), it’s even worse.”

• “Low riding pants are bad enough but when she bent over to get a file from the lower drawer, her red thong was exposed.”

• “Some young men have to hold their pants up with one hand or they’d fall right off. What makes them think letting the world see their boxers is a good idea?”

• “Her skirts are so tight and so short she can’t sit in a chair without looking like that infamous scene from ‘Basic Instinct’. She obviously doesn’t sit in the dressing room to check out how high it will rise.”

• “If your body is decorated with tattoos or body jewelry it should be covered at work.”
• “The ‘Frump Factor’ holds more people back than they realize. Outdated glasses, Mixmaster hairstyles, matronly clothes, hairy legs, neglected dental work, comb-overs…it just creates such a poor image.”

How to Close Deals Without Lowering Your Price

by Jeb Blount, author of People Buy You

When it comes to sales, most salespeople ask the question, "How do I close deals without using price as an incentive, or how do I avoid dropping my prices?" A better question to ask, though, is "How should I use price strategically in the sales process?"

There is a tendency to look at pricing in the sales process in black and white terms--prices are either too high or too low. But I believe that price plays a key role in your overall strategy, which includes doing the right thing for your customer, being fair to your company, hitting your quota, and protecting your income. Each time you engage in a deal, you need to consider your overall objective and how price will impact that objective. You must also remember three key things about price:

Price is a ticket that gets you in the game. If you want to play you need to have your ducks in a row early on with price. Many salespeople never make it to the negotiation phase because they get greedy early. Before you offer a price, you need to understand the competitive environment and learn as much as possible about your customer's past experience and budget.

Most buyers in business-to-business situations and high-end consumer sales do not purchase on price alone. If you want proof of this fact, just look around at your peers. Do you see all of those salespeople? They wouldn't be there if price was the only thing that determined buyers' decisions. People buy from salespeople who solve their problems. When you solve problems, what you'll hear in the negotiation phase is, "We'd really like to do business with you but. . . " They are telling you that you've won, and that "but" is usually a price issue you will need to deal with to get the deal done. If you are losing deals without hearing this phrase (or some variation of this phrase) you are not doing a good job of uncovering and solving problems. Trust me, a low price won't fix this for you.

Don't listen to people who tell you that price is not important. That is pure B.S. Price matters; do not delude yourself into thinking otherwise. Each buyer will have their own sensitivity and emotions around price. That is really the most important lesson on price--it is about emotion, not logic, for both you and the buyer. Your skill at connecting with your buyer and uncovering those emotions will help you decide where and how to use price strategically in the sale. Your ability to manage your own emotions about price will help you ask for what you want.

How to Make Sure Your Prices Aren't Too Low
What if you worry you are setting your prices too low; what should you do? One of the easiest things to do is test the water. Analyze the pricing on the last ten sales you made. Then, on the next three to five deals where you feel that you have a real chance of winning, set the bar five to ten percent higher than your average. You will quickly discover where you stand. That exercise also helps you build confidence and courage to ask for the price you want without flinching. The more you practice, the more comfortable you will become with asking for what you want. Getting the price you want is, in most cases, a simple a combination of knowing what to ask for and overcoming the fear to ask for it. An outstanding book I recommend for improving your negotiation skill is Negotiation Rules by Jeanette Nyden.

Consider What You are Trying to Accomplish
Finally, I think it is important to consider what you are trying to accomplish. If you need to make more sales now because of a quota or you are attempting to take market share from a competitor, then using price as and incentive might be the right thing to do. If you have achieved your quota and are trying to maximize your income, then you will want to ask for more--knowing that in some cases you will lose the deal, but overall you will earn more in commission.

There is a delicate balance between proposing a price that is too high and dropping your pants. Obviously, if your price is too high you could be eliminated from the deal early, and if your price is too low you may win the deal but take a hit to your commission check. My best advice is to focus on your prospect or customer's best interest first. Take the time to listen and really understand their business issues and problems, and recommend solutions that solve those problems. When you take this approach consistently you'll find that you begin to price each solution in a manner that creates a win for your customer, your company and yourself

Jeb Blount is the author of three books on sales, Power Principles, 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession, and People Buy You: The Real Secret to What Matters Most in Business. He has written more than 100 articles on sales and sales management and his podcasts, Sales Gravy: Power Principles and Sales Guys Quick and Dirty Tips have been downloaded more than 4 million times on iTunes.

Outdoor Hazards for Workers

Outdoor workers are exposed to many types of hazards that depend on their type of work, geographic region, season, and duration of time they are outside. According to the national Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), workers at highest risk include those working in agriculture, forestry, fishing, construction, mining, transportation, warehousing, utilities, and service sectors. Outdoor workers include farmers, foresters, landscapers, groundskeepers, gardeners, painters, roofers, pavers, construction workers, laborers, mechanics, and any other worker who spends time outside.

Common hazards to workers include physical hazards, including extremes in temperature, noise, and lightning. NIOSH estimates that lightning kills about 80 people in the United States each year and injures hundreds. Among construction workers, laborers, machine operators, engineers, roofers, and pipefitters have been struck by lightning most often on the job. In addition, UV radiation can cause problems such as sunburn and skin cancer.

Another type of risk includes biological hazards, such as venomous wildlife and insects, and poisonous plants. Outdoor workers in the United States may be exposed to many types of venomous wildlife and insects. Venomous snakes, spiders, scorpions, and stinging insects can be found throughout various geographic regions. Allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock are the body’s response to a bite or sting, and may require immediate medical care.

Poisonous plants, such as poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac can cause allergic reactions if the leaves or stalks are damaged and come in contact with workers’ skin. According to NIOSH, these plants can also be dangerous if they are burned and their toxins are inhaled by workers. Workers exposed to pesticides or other chemicals should be aware of the health hazards associated with these products and take appropriate action to reduce associated health risks.

Outdoor workers should be educated about the possible hazards and the possible effects of those hazards that are associated with their jobs. Employers are encouraged to provide appropriate personal protective equipment and implement work standards that will assure the safety and health of their workers.

Lakeside offers education and training for workers. In addition, Lakeside will assist employers in developing safety standards and safe work practices that will support a healthy and safe workplace. Although it is impossible to eliminate al risk associated with outdoor work, prompt attention to exposures and injuries can reduce the severity of situation. Having written policies and procedures for incident and injury reporting is a must. Knowledge is power. Increase your power by learning more about how you can reduce risk and hazards for your workers by contacting Lakeside.

Reference: http://cdc.gov/niosh/topics/outdoor

WARNING: 2010 Census Cautions from the Better Business Bureau

Be Cautious About Giving Info to Census Workers by Susan Johnson

With the U.S. Census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race, and other relevant data.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

** If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.

Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census.

REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION.

The Census Bureau will NOT ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Any one asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.

AND REMEMBER, THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS DECIDED NOT TO WORK WITH ACORN ON GATHERING THIS INFORMATION. No Acorn worker should approach you saying s/he is with the Census Bureau.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, postal mail, or in-person at home. However, the
Census Bureau will NOT contact you by Email, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.

Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

10 Game Changers: The Future of Sales

From: SalesBlogcast.com
Doyle Slayton | Feb 14, 2010 | Comments 31

I while back I asked, “Is Sales 2.0 really about sales?”

My answer is “NO.” I don’t think Sales 2.0 is about sales at all. Think about how people on the web give everything away for FREE. That’s not selling! Sales 2.0 is all about marketing, branding, credibility, and positioning for the future.

So what does the future of sales look like? Let’s start by painting a picture of what’s happening with sales people today…

Many sales people, specifically those working for small businesses, have to carry the load for both sales and marketing. That’s not good! There are a lot of great sales people out there that have outstanding sales skills and terrific verbal communication skills, but they are not necessarily copywriters, creatives, and marketeers. Anything involving marketing becomes a distraction and takes the sales person further away from their required sales activities.

In addition, when a company is trying to build a brand, everything needs to be approved and standardized. You don’t want all of your sales people creating their own stuff and splashing it all over the web.

Companies that win now and in the future will do 10 things better than everyone else…

1. They will build a marketing… lead generation strategy that will change the conversation from, “I’ve never heard of you,” to “I’m a part of your web community… I see you guys everywhere… you are all over the internet… I was doing a search for companies who can help us with A, B, and C… and I found you on the front page of Google!”

2. They will hire sales people who are highly skilled at engaging interested prospects and relentless about follow-up.

3. They will create significant points of differentiation and be able to communicate those points effectively through their sales, marketing, and services teams.

4. They will live up to their promises and build a reputation of trust, value, service, and quality.

5. They will develop areas of excellence where they stand out obove the competition… most affordable… the fastest… most customizable… best technology… most durable… etc.

6. They will have sales people who sell… and marketing people who market. The marketing team will create a web presence and build web portals with electronic tools and resources that the sales team can access to share “ready made” articles, videos, flash demos, white papers, case studies, etc.

7. They will focus on product development based on the needs and feedback from end users and prospective new clients. Sales and service teams will find value in collecting and reporting this information… because the development team will be nimble and diligent about making improvements.

8. They will focus on people development… turning their sales, marketing, and service teams into product and industry experts. It will help them in beating the competition to close more deals and retain more current clients.

9. They will focus on client training to ensure customers are also product experts and know how to use the product to it’s full capability.

10. They will create a culture of success, where veteran employees are the norm and new employees are surrounded by opportunity and ideas of all that is possible.

How many of these 10 points are true of your organization?

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What are you doing to increase trust?

By Dan Bobinski
This article is from the web site, JobDig.com

The following story is true. The names and places have been changed to protect the innocent—and the guilty.

About a year ago Jordan’s dream job finally fell into place. His company transferred him to one of their manufacturing plants in the south where he would serve as a process improvement specialist—a newly created position for his company. The job required analysis, projections, and recommendations to make production processes more efficient, all of which Jordan loved doing.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Jordan discovered that dream jobs can become nightmares.

The first thing he learned was that the senior staff had micro-management down to a Nobel-prize winning science. Secondly, he got no cooperation. Whenever he asked anyone for input on any project, all I got was an uncomfortable pause, followed by the same three words: “I don’t know.”

The reason for that became clear several weeks into his new job. At a staff meeting, the senior manager asked if anyone had thoughts on a particular capital improvement project. Jordan offered a suggestion for how to shave a few days off the installation—a move that would save the company a lot of money.

Surprisingly, the senior manager cut Jordan off and discounted the data he’d presented. When Jordan cautiously asked about his concerns with the data, the plant manager lowered the boom by raising his voice. “I’m telling you, I don’t agree with it, and that’s why we’re not doing it!”


It was then that Jordan knew why nobody ever made suggestions.

Unfortunately, arrogant bullying was not limited to the senior manager. He had a partner in crime—the safety manager. The two were a tag-team of intimidation, and they created a culture of fear that permeated every aspect of the plant.

Jordan felt their wrath whenever he submitted a proposal. It didn’t matter how accurate his numbers were or how much money the idea would save the company. These guys loved to argue and intimidate. In fact, if Jordan’s reports weren’t formatted to their exact specifications it somehow meant that all the facts and figures were instantly and automatically void of any value.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jordan’s rejected reports were handed back to him in a dramatic fashion along with a healthy measure of public criticism.

Six months later Jordan’s self-esteem was sinking like a rock.

The real warning sign came on a Monday morning when he sat down to draft a proposal. Questions began racing through his mind:

Did you do that analysis completely?

Did you miss any details?

Did you consider every aspect of the problem?

Doubts and fears flooded over him so fast he couldn’t think straight. In a few minutes he was so overwhelmed, he just got up and went home early, claiming he was sick—something he never did. Jordan had a reputation as a doer, not a quitter.

Later on Jordan realized he’d had an anxiety attack.

During the ensuing weeks Jordan struggled with the encroaching anxiety. He wanted to be a valued member of the team. He tried talking with other managers, but with the depth of mistrust in the plant those conversations didn’t go far.

Thankfully, one manager finally opened up. “We’re trapped,” he said. “This is a small southern town and not many jobs are available that pay what we make here. We all have kids in school or parents close by, so moving isn’t an option, either. Our families are important to us.”

Jordan stated his work began to feel like a prison. He sought out the regional vice president, but after the meeting he was even more discouraged. The V.P. said he was unaware of any problems, and that the plant’s production numbers were fine. He didn’t see a reason to fix something that wasn’t broken. He suggested maybe the problem was with Jordan.

With everything spinning out of control, Jordan finally quested a transfer. He didn’t have kids in school or any family close by, so he wasn’t trapped like his coworkers. He simply didn’t want to spend the rest of his professional life watching his passion for excellence die a long painful death in an environment of fear.

Reflection: Intimidation creates fear and lack of trust. With the absence of trust comes the death of passion and any desire for excellence.

When employees stop contributing, valuable new ideas are never brought to the table, and bad ideas are never challenged. An organization suffering from these conditions eventually becomes incapable of correcting its own mistakes, and mediocrity becomes the soup du jour.

So the question is this: What are you doing to increase trust in your workplace?

What a 9.7 Percent Unemployment Rate Means - Yahoo! Finance

What a 9.7 Percent Unemployment Rate Means - Yahoo! Finance