The Philadelphia area’s economy has long relied on its sizable health care and higher education sectors. Much of its future success, however, may depend on easier access to jobs in manufacturing, retail and other industries that are expanding in the region. "In too many cases, if you’re living in some parts of the city, it takes upwards of two hours of connections on buses and trains to get to a job. That needs to change," said Steve Wray, executive director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia,...

7 Quick Sales Tips for a Strong 2015 Close The year has once again flown by and, for calendar-year companies, the fourth quarter looms ahead. For sales professionals, this means pedal to the metal to close out the year on a strong note. For sales managers, it means coaching and guiding teams to reach the finish line in good shape. Here are some quick sales tips that may prove helpful in bringing 2015 to a strong close. Personalize your dialogues — Too many sales professionals send impersonal e-mails and leave "canned" voice mails- I know, because I’m on the receiving end. There’s a tool called the Internet, with the World Wide Web and social media sites, offering a wealth of information regarding the contacts you’re trying to reach. Prior to any dialogue, phone or e-mail, take the time to check LinkedIn and Twitter to find out who they are, their interests, and what they’re tweeting about. Then, use this personal information in your dialogues. I know how great marketing automation systems can be, but they tend to generate generic responses. When you make dialogues personal, you can expect to see a change in response rates. Read, read, read, and read — In our great age of content-based marketing, organizations are producing an abundance of relevant articles, white papers, research studies, briefs, and blogs on key subjects. Search for topics related to your industry, and sign up for alerts and blog subscriptions from people and organizations that can help build your knowledge base. These sources can give you the information to develop and provide insights to prospects. Provide real insights — The more you read, the better the insights you can provide. Don’t just automatically share content with "read this article, it’s a great piece." Take the time to aggregate data and provide meaning. Offer real insights and value to your connections. Develop an opinion and communicate your points of view. It’s a great way to become an expert and build both credibility and your personal brand. Don’t get complacent — If you are close to making goal with a few months of the year left, it’s easy to get complacent. I say keep the pedal down and make it to the finish line as quickly as possible. Remember, the calendar resets itself each year. Don’t just think about completing the current year; push for continued, sustainable success to lay the foundation for 2016. Fill out your CRM — Data capturing and sharing is critical in today’s business world. I understand that sales professionals typically don’t get up in the morning eager to fill out their CRM, but make a commitment to do so. Tracking won and lost deals is critical for companies, with analysis helping to improve products, positioning, and messaging. Get social — If you are not leveraging social selling tools, do so before it’s too late. You don’t have to become an expert in Twitter or make hundreds of connections on LinkedIn. At the very least, set up accounts on these two social platforms and follow your clients and prospects so you can learn more about how they think and what is important to them. Follow the posts of investor relations departments to get a better understanding of your target companies’ business performance. Finally, follow your competitors, too, so you can stay current on what they are doing. Nurture leads — Prospecting can be difficult. That’s why if someone downloads content from your website, you should make the commitment to follow up and nurture that lead. They may not have an immediate need, but they are searching for elements of your solution. Basically, they’re kicking the tires. If they fit your lead criteria, make sure to touch base and nurture those leads. Don’t just give up after two e-mails; make sure the prospect knows who you are for when the need arises. Whether you are working effortlessly to make up ground to reach quota or, let’s hope, having a stellar sales year that’s closing in on making President’s Club, it’s wise to plan ahead to create momentum into the next year. That’s how you provide ongoing value for your clients and differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack. What else would you add to this list? Learn more about Richardson’s Consultative Selling Sales Training Solutions. The post 7 Quick Sales Tips for a Strong 2015 Close appeared first on Richardson Sales Enablement Blog.

Sellers that win big sales go over-and-above to win them. When the impact for you is potentially huge, you want to do everything possible to get the win. Anything less and you essentially serve up the win to your competition. When you need to win and win big, you need a Big Play. A Big Play is a bold, atypical action a seller can take to inspire buyer action, and set themselves apart from the competition.     Related StoriesEssentials of an Effective Account Planning ToolSocial Selling Tools: 5 Ways to Save Time, Stay Focused, and Generate More SalesSales Planning Tool for Maximizing Account Growth 

Training professionals are frequently asked, "What kind of return will I see on my investment?" when beginning a training project. While training is typically the last element in place before go live, it bears the brunt of ROI responsibility. However, careful planning must be in place to ensure that non-training related decisions that will impact ROI are considered in the earlier stages of the project. During the recent GP Strategies’ 20-minute webinar, ROI: What Investment Are You Really Measuring? I reviewed the INVEST model used to ask the right questions throughout the project life cycle to set your training initiatives up for success, including: Infrastructure: Consider how your INFRASTRUCTURE will affect your outcomes and overall project success. Networking: As you are changing your process ensure all parties are NETWORKING to manage the change. Voice of the Customer: The VOICE OF THE CUSTOMER includes your end customer and your employees. Their satisfaction is key. Engagement: Examine how your training constraints may be impacting learners’ ENGAGEMENT. Stability: Ensure you are planning for system or change STABILITY to prevent inaccuracies and frustrations. Training: Plan ahead for your TRAINING needs to ensure enough time and budget is allocated. After the presentation, a number of questions came up, and while we were able to address many of them, we weren’t able to get to all of them due to time. Below are those questions and my best answers. This is an ongoing conversation so I encourage you to keep the questions coming in via the comments section at the bottom of this page or join the conversation on LinkedIn and Twitter. Q: There was a lot of information presented. What is one tip that you have for getting the most out of ROI? A: Planning. It is all about planning in advance to make sure that you have considered your options from a training perspective. What can you get included as a package from a vendor so that you don’t have to develop training from scratch?  What can they provide you that is translated? Do they maintain their content? Answers to these questions can help you plan ahead for a successful training deployment. Q: What has been the biggest stumbling block for ROI? A: Maintenance of content and translations go hand in hand. If the content isn’t maintained and current, then it will be ineffective for learners. If they don’t speak English and the content isn’t translated you will not see the return you are looking for. Careful audience analysis and a maintenance place are secrets to your success.  Q: When should we start planning for training ROI? A: Now! All kidding aside, training should be considered at the project kick-off meeting. While training doesn’t need to participate in all meetings, they should have a seat at the key stakeholder table to ensure they are represented and can bring questions and concerns to the group while they can still be resolved.  Q: How can gaming be used for ROI? A: Gaming is a great activity to use at 30-60-90 days post deployment to gather feedback. This could be on satisfaction, comprehension and skill acquisition. It’s a great way to engage your audience, letting them know they are still supported while gathering your data at the same time.

In the UK an estimated 5 million workplace and personal pensions are missing or unclaimed - these are worth around £3 billion. The Pension Tracing Service (PTS) provides people with the information they need so they can get in touch with the organisations holding these pensions. So far PTS  has helped 45,000 people do just that. The current service allows people to call a contact centre and speak to an agent. Alternatively, there is a complex, six-page web form to complete. Insight shows there is a clear user need for a simple, jargon-free online experience that will give instant results and provide a better user experience. Members of the Pensions Tracing Service team That’s why we’re developing a simple online service that allows anyone to access this information around the clock. Gathering user needs We’ve spoken to more than 300 citizens and around 200 supportive agencies about their requirements. Using these, we’ve created a prototype that we’ll continuously test and re-iterate. Prototype digital Pensions Tracing Service We've been working closely with the Future Pension Centre (FPC), pension project teams in DWP and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and the Pensions Regulator, to ensure there is consistency across the board. We've already undertaken laboratory testing with people who are trying to track down a pension. This research has shown us how people actually use the service, instead of us assuming how we think they would use it. We use the findings from these sessions to regularly develop and improve our service to make it as simple and easy to use as possible. Making the service accessible To make sure that our service can be used by as many users as possible, we have also worked with people who don't like using computers as well as those who aren’t experienced at using them. From working with these users, we have shown that it’s possible to create a service that meets users' needs. We’re also making provisions for anyone who doesn’t have internet access, whose literacy may prevent them from using the service or who are unable to use the necessary technology to access the digital service. The loudest voice in the room  Gathering all this insight shows just how important user research is in developing a new digital service. As a result, my team are actively engaged in my user research, and are always eager observers. The GDS tagline that ‘user research is a team sport’ is definitely a reality within PTS. Anna Khoury - user researcher, Pensions Tracing Service I’m relatively new to user research, having originally trained as a solicitor and worked in support and Private Office. But the user research community has facilitated the developing and honing of my research skills. Working alongside researchers from a range of backgrounds has shown this to be a career where self-development is a continuous and fun experience. What has struck me most from joining the User Research team is not just the wealth of knowledge and experience we have within the department, but how welcoming and supportive they have been, from GDS to the cross-government user research group. I have travelled around the UK spending time with experienced user researchers; working alongside them and developing my skills, to implement a wide range of research methodologies. Working in an agile environment has been a massive positive cultural shift for me and I can’t imagine working any other way. We each have an equal voice; truly working as one which is so much more effective and productive. As a result, it’s clear this role requires a lot of passion and commitment to make sure the user is heard above any internal assumptions. If it doesn’t work for our users, then it doesn’t work. I’m pleased to be part of a team creating a digital service where we make  sure the citizen’s voice is the loudest in the room.

Overview The Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015 release has wide range of awesome new features which provides seamless experiences to the clients and better management of sales and lead. It’s difficult to pick the favorites from the great additions. I picked up 6 awesome features which I thought are really useful. 1. Improved navigation and user interface options: a. A new 3 step navigation menu is introduced in CRM 2015.  No more scrolling! In CRM 2013 you have to scroll through horizontal menus in the navigation bar to select a particular submenu. If there are  large number of options,then it becomes a very laborious process. In CRM 2015 Microsoft improved the navigation for the user and made it easier. Subarea menus under groups are no longer in a horizontal bar but   appearing in a drop down panel and also arranged in categories. No doubt this is an excellent improvement , at a glance you can see the menus in categories without scrolling! b. Recently Viewed Items On the nav bar click on the Recently Viewed Items to get back to your most recently viewed and pinned items. To access your recently viewed records or views this is an easy way. No need to click on the menu to access your pinned items!  Pin the items that are mostly accessed by you and move them to the top of the list. 2. Add your company logo or change the color scheme using themes Customize your CRM with your company logo and color scheme! Create a unique look and feel across all your OOTB & Custom applications with the use of themes. Click on  Settings and then customization. Go to themes. Create a new theme, upload the company logo & choose the color scheme. Now Preview and publish, the Dynamics CRM is now ready with new look & feel without any coding!   3. OneNote, and CRM Online Integrate your OneNote with CRM Online. Take note, directly from CRM Online while you are on the customer site. Capture photo, screenshots, voice notes and everything automatically is   linked with the CRM online record. You can also use mobile device . To enable one note in your entity, turn on server-based SharePoint integration first and then you can enable OneNote integration. When server-based SharePoint integration is turned on, OneNote integration is listed in Document Management. 1. Go to Settings > Document Management. 2. Choose OneNote Integration. Once you enable the onenote integration, it is available in your entity. 4. Great mobile experience Get the experience of "CRM for tablets "in your phone with new CRM phones app. If you have a Windows Phone, use Cortana voice commands to get access to your CRM data hands-free.  Work on your leads & opportunity at anywhere any time. CRM for phones express helps you stay connected and productive wherever you are. Stay up to date with your customer info—even when you’re on the go. Arrive prepared for every appointment, and update your notes, tasks, contacts, accounts, leads, and opportunities while the details are still fresh in your mind. You can do the following with the CRM for phones express app: See your CRM data quickly displayed and optimized for a mobile screen. Add and modify contacts, tasks, and notes as well as other relevant sales data. View activity feeds and see addresses on Bing Maps (Windows Phone only). Get back to recently viewed records even when you’re not connected (Windows Phone only). Dynamics Universal App CRM for Phone was redesigned to provide more functionality and a more similar experience to the other UI endpoints (e.g.: Web; CRM for Tablets, etc.).Now the app has same functionality as CRM for Tablet. 5. Excel Online from CRM Online Quickly analyze your data with excel online. Now you can use Microsoft Excel Online to do quick analysis, right from CRM Online. No need to export your data and then open in excel. Now you can directly open your opportunities from excel online, and do analysis of any scenario. Not only analysis but at the same time you can edit and submit the data to CRM online. 6. Calculated and rollup attributes Two new field type introduced in CRM 2015, Calculated and rollup. These 2 attributes help the user to perform calculations. Administrators can define a field type "calculated" to contain the value of some calculations based on other fields without involving a developer. Developers can use these fields to perform calculations rather than writing code. Calculated attributes Calculated attributes are calculated in real-time when they are retrieved. Calculated attributes can be composed using different data types. For example, an Integer calculated attribute may reference values from Decimal or Currency attributes. Create a field and select "calculated" from the data type and then click on "Edit" button. You can add conditions and actions to get the desired results. Rollup attributes Because rollup attributes persist in the database, they can be used for filtering or sorting just like regular attributes. Any kind of process or plug-in will use the most recently calculated value of the attribute. Rollup attribute values are calculated asynchronously by scheduled system jobs. For example, let’s create a rollup field in the Role entity of the HR module. Select the related entity "Employee" and in the aggregation select count. In the role entity view, this field will show the number of employee with this role real time. Enjoy the new features of Dynamics CRM 2015. Click here for a free CRM demo. And download the preview guide from here. Happy CRMing!

"How are you?" It is a question that is commonly answered with "fine," sometimes even "great." Although the question, on the surface, is not very probing or invasive, it is sometimes more accurately... Visit site for full story...

By Christine Schaefer Who are the folks who judge applications for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award? In an ongoing blog series, we have been interviewing members of the 2015 Judges’ Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. In the interviews, they share their insights and perspectives on the award process, on their experiences, and on the Baldrige framework and approach to organizational improvement. Following is the interview of Dr. John C. Timmerman, a first-year judge. Dr. Timmerman is Chief Scientist in Customer Experience and Innovation at Gallup. He previously was Corporate Vice President of Quality and Operations at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, a two-time recipient of the Baldrige Award. What experiences led you to the role of Baldrige judge? I first became involved with the Baldrige program as an applicant [The Ritz-Carlton]. And it was the single-most impactful developmental experience in my career because it gave me a broader framework for evaluating and facilitating performance improvement. Then I became an examiner to further deepen my understanding of the [Baldrige Excellence] Framework and also to make a contribution back to the United States, to help other organizations in the United States improve performance. I’m privileged to be a judge to help other U.S. businesses become competitive. It’s a great service both to the [Baldrige] program as well as to my country. You have a great deal of experience in the business sector, particularly in service businesses. How do you see the Baldrige Excellence Framework as valuable to organizations in that sector? Baldrige is incredibly important for organizations that have a high degree of variation in their performance, and they have additional yields to drive performance results. There’s no other sector, in my opinion, that has a higher variation than … service industries that deal not just with technology but also with human technology—workforces and direct customers. [This variation] would be similar for service industries [such as] retail, health care, technology services, and so forth. And [in regard to] the changing appetite of consumers for higher and faster cycle times of innovation, the [Baldrige] performance excellence framework is the best way to identify those potential gaps or breakthroughs [in a business’s performance]. How do you apply Baldrige principles/concepts to your current work experience with Gallup? I use the framework in evaluating an organization with the most holistic set of criteria. And in particular, it complements the advisory work I do for clients as a scientist at Gallup. [The Baldrige framework] allows me to frame up the business opportunity in the broadest terms. Any time the systemic problem is well defined, the solutions readily make themselves evident. It’s holistic. It’s not just looking at human resources or marketing activities; it’s looking first at the context of the organization and its competitive environment, and then systematically evaluating all the critical components of the business model, to include leadership, customer, strategy, workforce, operations, organizational knowledge, and how these criteria drive bottom-line results. Specifically, I have used the Baldrige framework to help Gallup clients understand the mechanics of operationalizing their brand promise.  The nonprescriptive approach of the Baldrige framework is perfectly complemented by Gallup’s more defined benchmark data and repository of validated best practices. As a judge, what are your hopes for the judging process? First and foremost, I hope to qualify the high-performing organizations and recognize their performance excellence, to validate those applicants so they can provide best practices to help other U.S. businesses become more competitive. Second, while doing that, I hope to help develop, mentor, and support a team of world-class U.S. citizens [Baldrige examiners]. If you think about it, the program selects just 300-500 examiners [each year]. These individuals are the very best of the best—out of a U.S. population of over 300 million, they’re less than one in a million. So my other aspiration is that they receive the same excellent development experience that I did when I started with the program [as an examiner] over a decade ago. What encouragement or advice would you give Baldrige examiners who are reviewing award applications now? Three things: 1. First, plan your time to maintain timelines so you can provide a high-quality evaluation of the applicant you have been entrusted to review. 2. Gain a deep understanding of the applicant’ s Organizational Profile before stepping into the Baldrige Criteria because this context is the lens for the evaluation of the applicant in relation to the Criteria. 3. Feel proud that you’re representing one out of a million U.S. citizens to help make the U.S. economy stronger through your time and contribution. See other blogs on the 2015 Judges’ Panel: Laura Huston, Dr. Ken Davis, Michael Dockery, Miriam N. Kmetzo, Dr. Sharon L. Muret-Wagstaff, Dr. Mike R. Sather, Ken Schiller, Dr. Sunil K. Sinha, Roger M. Triplett, and Fonda Vera. Greg Gibson, a candidate for the 2015 panel, pending appointment, will also be interviewed for this series.      

Dear Crucial Skills, Over the past year, my wife has developed an unhealthy pattern of caring less and less about her physical appearance and is now considerably overweight. Whenever I try to discuss the potential impact on her quality of life, she becomes very defensive and says, "You don’t love me anymore." I counter and say, "Actually I do love you and am very concerned about your health." I’m concerned about her being overweight as well as her lack of sleep. She works various shifts in her job and continues to be an extremely devout mother to our twenty-three-year old daughter who suffers from a terrible disease. But I believe she is sacrificing her well-being. I even tried to explain that soon she will be unable to provide for our daughter if her health deteriorates. What can I do to better approach this topic? Regards, Frustrated Spouse Dear Frustrated Spouse, Your question provoked a question of my own: when does a crucial conversation become an influence challenge? Here is what I mean by that: with any crucial conversation, our goal should be dialogue—sharing our perspective and hearing and understanding others’ perspectives. If the goal of a crucial conversation is to convince or compel someone to see things our way or come to agreement with us, we will often do a great job of explaining our point of view and a poor job of understanding theirs. My guess is that your goal, like that of most concerned spouses, is to help your wife recognize the damage she is doing to her health and help her take steps to improve her health. In short, the goal is to have her see the situation as you see it. And this is the tricky part of a crucial conversation, because if that is your goal, it often doesn’t go as well. When we see a loved one traveling down a life path that we view as destructive or harmful, it is natural that we would want to talk to them and convince them to change. That is appropriate and loving. But, it is also not within our control. We can raise the issue with caring and candor, but then we must acknowledge that others have a different perspective and may not want to change. This is when a crucial conversation becomes an influence challenge. While I imagine how disappointed you must be that your wife does not see the situation as you do, that doesn’t mean you are left without resources with which to help her. The reality is you are influencing her right now. People are social animals and we are all influenced by the social and structural forces around us. Right now, there is a huge force influencing your wife’s behavior—her commitment to caring for your daughter. There are other forces as well, including you. This means you can choose to look at your own behavior and consider ways in which you can be an influence force for good in her life. Let me give you an example. Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating and Slim By Design (and good friend of VitalSmarts), has shown in his research that 72 percent of the eating decisions made in a home are made by what he calls the nutritional gatekeeper. This is the person in the home who purchases the food and plans and prepares the meals. Consider what would happen if you became the nutritional gatekeeper in your home. What a blessing that would be in your wife’s life as she struggles to care for your daughter and balance the other stressors in her life. Imagine coming to her and saying, "Sweetheart, I will take this burden off your shoulders and handle of all our food needs." Then, it would be up to you to plan and prepare nutritious and delicious meals that your wife will enjoy and that will lead to her improved health. This is just one of the many ways you could help change and redirect the sources of influence in your wife’s life. The point is not that this is the magic bullet answer for you in your situation. You will need to figure that out for yourself. The big idea is that too often we have a crucial conversation with someone and think that the goal is to get them to recognize the problem so that they will change their behavior. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, it is up to us to allow them their agency and decide what kind of an influence we want to be in their lives. Best of luck, Emily

Bosses and their employees alike fear the dreaded performance review. While it is an extremely useful tool for corporate managers and employees, any criticism delivered incorrectly can easily backfire and cause a loss of motivation. The main purpose of a review is to give your employees feedback, offering them advice on their weak points and praise for their strengths. If you are feeling anxious about giving your employees a review, here are a few tips that will help mitigate the stress for both parties. Create a Balance Between Formal and Informal While an annual formal review is your designated time to give detailed and individualized feedback to an employee, it should not be the only time you offer critiques. One formal review per year can hang over an employee’s head like a cloud. Instead, offer casual reviews throughout the year. Check in with your employees regularly and let them know what they are doing right and where there is room for improvement. This is particularly helpful for new employees, who appreciate a bit of structure. If your employees are accustomed to getting your feedback in a casual setting, an annual formal review will not seem so stressful. Make It Into a Conversation A performance review should not be one-sided because this may leave your employee feeling berated. Keep conversation lines open throughout the review. It should be a mutual process to grow and learn. You have valuable information to give to them, and they might have some to give to you, as well. A performance review lets your employees learn how to be better workers, but it also might give you insight into ways to streamline workflow or job duties. Consider holding the review in a low-key environment, like a coffee shop or a quiet corner of the office. It can be much easier to get a message across when you have broken the formality barrier. Address What Your Employee Is Doing Right, Too If your employee is lacking in some areas and thriving in others, make sure to outline both. Of course, a performance review is about how employees can improve, but most people are motivated by praise. Tell your employee what his or her strong points are in addition to pointing out areas that need improvement. The added praise will give him or her the boost needed to do better in other ways. Build a Performance Improvement Plan  If your employee is not performing to expectations, he or she may benefit from a performance improvement plan. Simply handing a plan over to your employee may make him or her feel punished. Instead, create one together. Identify key areas where your employee needs to show improvement, and then identify concrete ways for him or her to achieve it. If you develop the plan together, your employee will be more engaged, have a better handle on expectations, and be much more motivated to improve.   Sources: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5366-performance-review-tips-for-bosses.html http://www.hrmorning.com/dos-and-donts-to-make-performance-reviews-actually-mean-something/ http://www.greatplacetowork.com/publications-and-events/blogs-and-news/2374-5-tips-for-giving-performance-reviews

The goal of every successful salesman is to turn leads into customers and customers into long-term relationships. This may come naturally to some, but to most, it is an ongoing effort. The key is in the baby steps. Give your customers multiple opportunities to "win" along the way. Throughout the customer lifecycle, make sure you appreciate and engage your customers every step of the way. If you can make your customers feel special and appreciated from the beginning, they will continue to reward you with their loyalty. Make Them Feel Like They Are Winning From the Start Everyone wants to feel like they are "winning" something, especially in sales. Whether it is a good deal, inside information, or a product that can solve their problems, customers want to feel like they have come out on top. You can provide them with winning situations right from the first pitch. Do this by leading with how your product or service benefits them, instead of leading with information about your company. Your customers are probably busy; they will be more interested in hearing how your product makes them the winner, right from the beginning. Let Them Win During the Sell One of the easiest ways to let your customers know they are appreciated is to offer them free perks. If they buy your product, can you offer free shipping? How about discounted upgrades? Send them a "care package" of product samples; this is good for marketing and building relationships. If you give your customers little free perks like this every time they do business with you, they are likely to continue to buy from you in the future. Let Them Win Upon Fulfillment Now that you have made the pitch and closed the sale, you can stop worrying about all this "winning" stuff, right? Well, not if you want to build a long-term relationship. Details are essential. Why not hand-deliver the product they ordered? Or make personalized thank you cards to send along with the package? Use your personality and creativity to come up with unique ways to say thank you for every order. Get to Know Your Customers for a Winning Relationship  Your customers want to feel special. Pay attention to their likes and dislikes. Know their family’s names. Send them a card or gift at Christmastime or a welcome package if they move to a new home. Invite your favorite customers to industry inside events, like a luncheon at your office or a company baseball game. Basically, treat your customers like you would a friend. These little efforts to get to know them will make them feel greatly appreciated. And when customers feel appreciated and close with you, they will be loyal to your company.   Sources: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/248275 http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246505 http://www.fortunegroup.com.au/creating-value-for-customers

In the sales world, there are several types of negotiators, each with their own approach, habits, and tools. Negotiations with different companies usually call for different types of negotiators. The "people pleaser" tactic might not work on someone who wants to play hardball. Therefore, the key to understanding how to customize your negotiation skills is to first determine the type of negotiator you naturally are. Find out which negotiator type you are, and hone your skills. The Competitor Competitors are assertive and in it to win. In fact, winning is the main goal and motivator for this negotiator type. They have no qualms letting you know when you are wrong and they are right, and they know their decisions are the best ones. These types of negotiators work best in "quick, on your feet" scenarios where a fast decision is paramount. They are also helpful to have in a tough situation, where they may need to defend themselves or protect against others who might try to take advantage. If you are negotiating with a competitive type, use specific language and "tricks" to make them feel like they are winning, even if they are not. The Pleaser Pleasers love to feel liked and want to make others happy, too. They are unassertive and very cooperative. They thrive off of solving other people’s problems, often at the expense of their own needs. They know how to admit when they are wrong and will do so if it is important to the other person. The pleaser is a great asset to have when negotiations start to go sour; they are experts at mitigating disruption. However, it is important to not get too emotional, as this can lead to an assertive negotiator taking advantage of the situation. The Teammate  The teammate loves to work in conjunction with others to find a creative solution that benefits everyone. These negotiators are confident in their assertiveness and the epitome of cooperation. Teammates look at a disagreement as a challenge to learn something new and find a resolution. They are great for negotiations involving opposing viewpoints or when merging two perspectives together is critical. The Analyst Analysts like to sit back and drink in all the details before coming to a decision. At times, their unassertiveness and uncooperativeness can come across as aloof. They tend to avoid negotiations or will withdraw if a situation starts to heat up. If you are entering into a negotiation where you want to get more details, the analyst is a handy person to have. His or her perceived aloofness will get the other side to divulge information, so you can make an informed decision.   Sources: http://abovemag.remax.com/buffini-understand-the-7-types-of-negotiators/ http://www.ambulatoryadvisor.com/breakdown-five-types-negotiators-outlined/ http://www.managersdoor.com/topic/top-5-have-you-got-a-style-negotiating-style/

Automation software can be greatly beneficial for sales and marketing professionals. Not only does it make sales processes and marketing campaigns easier to design and launch, but it can enable a sales team itself. A variety of sales enablement tools exist, each offering a different way to manage your sales and marketing team. Here’s how a bevy of sales enablement tools can help you gain real insight into your customers and empower your teams to sell. Go Beyond Leads Most sales and marketing departments use sales enablement tools for generating leads. Some go beyond that and use these tools to follow up with prospects, as well. But sales enablement tools have the potential to do more. In fact, using their data collection capability, you can gain insights on your buyer and mitigate a lot of legwork. Gain Insight  Sales enablement tools let you collect deep pools of data for developing buyer insights. You can find out who has buying power in a certain company, what their company challenges are, and what industry trends are influencing their behavior. This type of data, paired with market research, gives you the information you need to empower your sales team. Enablement tools like Amacus automatically collect and analyze data like this and display real-time sales analytics. Stay in Front of Your Customers Following up with your prospects and providing them with valuable content keeps you in the forefront of their minds. Content marketing is a great way to do this across a variety of channels. You can keep your customers up to date with social media, e-mail newsletters, and blog posts. However, some busy sales teams might not have time to dominate all these channels. Platforms like LogicBay help you create and optimize multiple sales channels and manage individual leads. Likewise, Eloqua by Oracle is marketing automation software that optimizes both sales and marketing efforts. It analyzes prospect behavior and delivers it in a way you can use to launch new campaigns and improve old ones. Manage Your Sales Team Some enablement tools put everything you need to manage a sales team right in your hands. Help your sales team perform like they are meant to with coaching tools, best practice policies, call management, and playbook development. The PlayBoox platform, and other platforms like MindMatrix, let you manage the processes and tools you use to run your sales team efficiently. These platforms offer insight as to what material you need at any given point in the sales cycle, and they then help you develop them. Using a combination of these tools, you can manage every step of the sales cycle. From lead generation to prospect nurturing and follow up, and even managing sellers themselves, sales enablement tools give you full control. Sources: http://www.docurated.com/all-things-productivity/top-54-sales-enablement-tools http://www.customshow.com/sales-enablement-best-practices-solutions/ https://salesenablement.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/work-in-progress-list-of-sales-enablement-vendors/  

For some people, having to speak in public is the most feared situation on earth, second only to death. Many people experience panic attacks during public speaking that make them feel like they’re actually dying. A phobia of public speaking can derail a negotiation, but it doesn’t have to. If you fear public speaking, read on. We’ve outlined some key ways to help you conquer that fear. You’re Not Your Fear Public speaking debilitates people because they equate it with personal self-worth. Their thought process is, "Because I can’t speak well, I don’t deserve to be considered a competent professional." This is one of the biggest lies you can tell yourself. If your company has asked you to speak in public, it’s because they know you’re competent and intelligent. Don’t get hung up on perfection. Relax and remind yourself of your positive traits. Tell yourself, "I can do this." Don’t Memorize or Read off the Page Most professionals feel pressure to memorize speeches, which compounds their nervousness. To alleviate pressure, don’t memorize every word. Instead, commit only key points to memory. On the other hand, resist the urge to read directly from notes. The audience can tell what you’re doing, and they’ll quickly get bored and won’t remember what you’ve said. Bring a few index cards or a single sheet with important notes. Glance at it as needed, but let the speech flow. Get Personal The best speakers tell stories rather than simply conveying information. When possible, start your speech with a relevant anecdote. This approach will help the audience warm to you. Use your sense of humor; a well-placed joke will help plant information in the audience’s head. Additionally, using the personal stories and details you know best will help you relax and have fun. Use Support  Like other phobias, the fear of public speaking can be intimidating when people try to deal with it alone. They won’t share their fears with family or coworkers because they think fear indicates incompetence. In reality, even your most put-together mentors have probably been where you are. Be honest about your fear and seek support. Ask trusted people to help you practice for the speech. When the big moment comes, picture the audience full of supportive, familiar faces to remind you your listeners are rooting for you. If your fear is particularly debilitating, there is no shame in seeking short-term counseling; ask human resources for recommendations.

Each month, The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center (RCLC) features an interview with an employee—also known as a Lady or Gentleman of The Ritz-Carlton—in order to share an insider’s view of the organization. This month’s interview is with Lisa Holladay, Vice President of Global Brand Marketing. RCLC: Please tell us a little about your role in the organization. Ms. Holladay: As Vice President of Global Brand Marketing, I oversee all of our brand and digital marketing efforts across the world. It’s a fabulous job! RCLC: How did you arrive at The Ritz-Carlton? Ms. Holladay: I joined The Ritz-Carlton a little over three years ago. I was in the luxury automotive space before that, and I joined as leader of the brand management and guest experience team. In March of this year, I switched to lead the marketing team. RCLC: What do you appreciate about The Ritz-Carlton culture? Ms. Holladay: The culture is one of the reasons I wanted to join The Ritz-Carlton. I also wanted to change to hospitality because I love travel and hotels—so that was a passion point. But I chose The Ritz-Carlton specifically because of the culture. I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and we would go to Atlanta and stay at The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead. I remember the hotel as the epitome of luxury to me, gracious and lovely, and everyone so kind. For me, the genuine belief that people have in the Credo of The Ritz-Carlton and really wanting to do the right thing—I love that about the culture. I love that there is a mutuality of respect between our Ladies and Gentlemen and our guests and that everyone, regardless of position or title, is treated with the same level of respect, which I think is pretty rare in the luxury space. RCLC: How does The Ritz-Carlton culture impact your work? Ms. Holladay: Our role in marketing is to determine the best ways to inform the consumer about our brand. In other words, how do we represent our brand beliefs to the public? We did a great job of that in the Art of the Craft video series, pulling back the curtain and showing consumers how our Ladies and Gentlemen provide genuine care and comfort to our guests. Another example is the Let Us Stay with You brand platform. This is a great example of marketing reinforcing culture. If you think about what most hotel companies do, it’s focused on the hotel—come stay with us. It’s all about us. Our point of view is: what do we do to stay with you? I think that shift and the focus on the guest really go back to the culture of the company. RCLC: Have you had opportunities to interact with our guests or anyone else we consider a customer? Ms. Holladay: We have advisory boards for different business leaders who book business with us—such as technology group, meeting incentives, or top travel agents. I participate in these meetings and share brand initiative work and gather feedback to help us make decisions based on our guests’ point of view. On a more personal level, when friends and family learn you work for The Ritz-Carlton, everyone says, "Oh I’m going to stay at Cancun. I’m going to Central Park! I’m so excited! What can you tell me?" I just had an email from a friend who stayed in Boston last weekend. He’s from Italy, and he’s never been to Boston and was excited about staying at The Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common. Before his arrival, I wrote our guest relations manager at the hotel and shared that his birthday had just happened and shared some of his favorite preferences so that our hotel could have treats in the room upon his arrival to wish him a Belated Happy Birthday. By sharing guest preferences, I can help our hotels deliver that experience. I would say that’s been my biggest connection—one-on-one with guests who stay with us. When I’m on property, I tend to be more of a quiet listener and observer of guests so that I can learn and always try to improve whatever experience they’re having. RCLC: Can you share a little about how The Ritz-Carlton conducts market research? Ms. Holladay: Our objective with every project is to ensure that our messages are globally relevant and represent a luxury brand. We typically talk to consumers in Asia, the Middle East, North America, Europe and other specifics markets depending on the project. It is pretty exciting to have the opportunity to talk to consumers around the world about whether our plans are appropriate. It’s also a great opportunity for consumers to look at real-time work that’s happening in a brand and have an impact. RCLC: Excellent and very on point with our Service Value, "I am involved in the planning of the work that affects me." How do you ensure that "modern luxury" is conveyed across different cultures where that might mean different things? Ms. Holladay: That is something we work on every day. How we bring a campaign to life in those different marketplaces could vary to ensure that it’s relevant to that global audience. For example, we tested "Let Us Stay with You" to make sure it was relevant for global markets. When you think of the power of memories and the memory-making business, that concept is relevant and can work everywhere we need it to work. But then we can pull through that message in a global marketplace by selecting culturally appropriate images. The global campaign has the same message, but it may look different in China, the UK, the U.S. and the Middle East. Images are one way we can ensure a global campaign is relevant for all our marketplaces. RCLC: The Ritz-Carlton has a reputation for employee retention. Does brand contribute to employee engagement? Ms. Holladay: When I think about employee retention at The Ritz-Carlton, I do think brand plays a role. You want to work for a brand you’re proud of—a brand that has a great reputation. I think that brings people to the brand, and it keeps people for a certain amount of time. But it is everything behind the brand—the Employee Promise, our Credo, the Motto, and our Service Values—that really drives employee retention. I appreciate that the Employee Promise is on the Credo card and carries just as much weight as our Credo. It’s also significant that our Employee Promise focuses on quality of life and work-life balance. We want people to be healthy and have a balanced life. As I mentioned before, the Motto, "Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen," creates a mutuality of respect. It doesn’t really matter what your title is. We’re all Ladies and Gentlemen. We all have the same purpose. Also, the fact that we have Service Values that are specific to our Ladies and Gentlemen. Of course, we all know we’re here to take care of our guests—that’s going to keep the brand growing and strong. But we also have a focus on employees learning and growing, participating in the planning of work. We see this especially in the SWOT process we do every year but also in our planning meetings. Everyone’s involved. Finally, the empowerment our Ladies and Gentlemen are given at the property level is a tremendous asset. It’s not "Oh, I have to go find my boss, my manager, my supervisor." We’re empowered and encouraged to take care of the situation—whether it’s fixing something that’s gone wrong or just a surprise and delight opportunity to create a WOW story for our guests. I think all of these combine to have the retention rates we enjoy. ∞ Ms. Lisa Holladay will be a member of The Ritz-Carlton Executive Panel at the Symposium: Your Journey to Service Excellence on Thursday, November 12, at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner in McLean, VA. The Blog Post Our Ladies and Gentlemen: Lisa Holladay appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

Imagine if every person acted like a lady or gentleman…. Etiquette Tip: Ladies and gentlemen are empathetic when serving others. To empathize is to perceive the situation as the guest, patient or customer does. See it as they do, hear it as they do, feel it as they do and truly understand their experience. The light bulb is burned out, there is noise coming from the room next door, the heat is not working: we sincerely apologize as we know the frustration of not being able to see in a dark room, listen to a meeting when there’s a loud group next door or feel comfortable when it’s too cold. We empathize and because of this, we employ an earnest and understanding tone as we move forward to resolve your issue. We will replace the light bulb and repair the heat right away and leave a gracious note from our engineering team. We will manage the noise that hinders your productivity. We will do whatever it takes to fulfill our mission through true empathy with our guests. By showing empathy, our Ladies and Gentlemen deliver gracious and thoughtful service to each other and our guests and that drives customer and employee engagement. The motto of The Ritz-Carlton is "We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." This motto sets a tone of goodwill and grace for all. The Blog Post Etiquette & Engagement: Empathy appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

New employees who attended a well-structured onboarding orientation program were 69 percent more likely to remain at a company up to three years. (source) Advice from Joseph Quitoni, Corporate Director, Culture Transformation at The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center: Starting a new job is a significant emotional event in our lives and generally the best time to make a behavioral change and form new habits. New employees are excited to be part of a company and want to be successful. At The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, all employees are required to attend a two-day orientation that starts their first day of employment and prior to starting their new position. Employees cannot truly be a part of an organization unless they know the expectations and values of that organization. We want all employees to feel they are a part of The Ritz-Carlton Company—and not just work for it. This will create purpose for every new employee and purpose creates passion. When an employee is passionate about their work and their organization, they will stay longer and maximize their talent to the benefit of the individual as well as the company. ∞ Join us for a one-day symposium, "Your Journey to Service Excellence." The day includes a keynote speaker, a Q&A session with The Ritz-Carlton executive panel, an optional networking reception and presentations about legendary service, employee engagement and developing a customer-centric culture. The Blog Post Significant Stat: Onboarding Orientation appeared first on The Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center.

As a millennial, I know what people are saying about my generation. We’re entitled. We expect hand-outs. We are ambitious, but lazy, hoping that mommy and daddy’s connections will get us that corner office, not our own hard work. Millennials make up the majority of the early career professionals in the workforce. Often asking WIFM (What’s In it For Me), they want to know how to get a seat in the boardroom, hoping to be noticed. But, as my colleague Kate Nugent wrote, the path to success may not be down the WIFM road. Rather, early career professionals should ask WIFT (What’s In it For Them). They should ask what their company and manager needs from them and focus on becoming part of the ensemble first. Here are 5 things millennials can do to build a reputation as a team player and get noticed by management: Have presence in meetings. This is especially important when you aren’t talking. You may have just given an update, but you should still be paying attention when your team members give theirs. Don’t tune out and look out the window. Don’t pick up your phone. Give everyone the attention they gave you. Learn that the spotlight is never off you. Whether you are in the hallway, break room, or at your desk, people notice how you behave. Do you sit up in meetings? Are you saying hello to coworkers or darting behind doors not looking to be noticed? Are you always on your cellphone at your desk? Hint: Your manager may not be around, but others see. If you want to get a promotion, you need always act like you deserve one. Be polite to everyone—from the janitor to CEO—and don’t engage in negative behavior. Let go of your pride and practice patience. Hubris has caused loads of problems for people throughout history. Odysseus. Oedipus. Like Elsa sang, Let it go! Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, work at projects that may not ignite your passion, but are essential to the business. Your manager will see you as a reliable team player if you tackle these with a great attitude…and may think of you first next time a more interesting project comes up. Be curious about the business. It’s okay to know you don’t know. And if you don’t know, ask and learn. Research other solutions. Find data points to back up your point of view. Share interesting articles that can spur a group discussion. A lot of millennials often do busy work without actually reading the information in front of them and then wonder why they don’t get more important projects. If you’re a team player and understand the business you can add value without a lot of direction…and THAT is what makes you an asset. Asking questions about the business is also a great way to build relationships with other generations in the workplace. Let the Joneses do them. You do you. This one is hard for most of us. What is right for the Joneses may not be right for you. There are some things that come across your social media feed that you will be admittedly jealous of and there are some things you will care less about. Is being the VP of that company something you actually want to do? Do you actually want to marry him? (no, he’s weird—she’s nuts for marrying him). Are you upset that you were passed over for a promotion? Instead of getting upset, focus on being the best you can at your part. Soon management will notice how you shine! The post Millennials: 5 Behaviors That Help You Stand Out By Fitting In appeared first on Ariel Group.        Related StoriesForget WIFM, Try WIFT: The #1 Skill Millennials Need To Get PromotedCommunicating Virtually? Body Language CountsGroup Presentations: Improving Your Rehearsal Process 

Society executives report back from ASAE15We asked Tom Reiser, Executive Director of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, and Holly Byrd-Duncan, Membership and Marketing Manager for the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine to give us their on-the-ground accounts of ASAE15. Q. What were some of the standout sessions you attended at ASAE this year and what did you learn?…

What to do when you're late with a peer review report: advice from an editorSo, you’ve agreed to review that paper from so-and-so et al. From the title and abstract, it sounded worth your time, and you really were going to do it before July 15th. But now you’ve received a reminder from editorial that you’re overdue with your report. Worse still, you’re sitting at the departure gate waiting…

That's a wrap: important themes from ASAE15As Tom Reiser, Executive Director of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, mentioned in our last post; ASAE’s annual meeting is a time for association executives to be stimulated and inspired and speaker Josh Linkner did just that. He talked about not becoming complacent. Don’t become complacent In his Keynote speech, Josh Linkner used…

  Whether you are leading, following or collaborating, chances are you need to get your opinions and ideas recognized by the people around you to be successful. Influence is the ability to impact the ideas, opinions and actions of others—and it has become a key skill for a new generation of professionals around the world. Today’s workplace involves unprecedented levels of change and complexity. Emerging leaders are expected to manage complicated, diverse and often dispersed teams. People at all levels of an organization have to span boundaries where differences in culture, gender, age, geography and hierarchy create unique challenges. There is a continued focus on collaboration, organizations are more matrixed than ever before and it’s less and less clear who is in charge (sometimes no one is). On top of that, as the Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) points out in this webinar, organizations are looking outside their country of headquarters to expand their operations and markets globally. To do that successfully, CLC says, companies need leaders who can get things done in a global context and navigate the complicated transition that comes with leading effectively on an international stage. This often includes a loss of direct authority, an increase in stakeholders and responsibilities and a new need for intercultural skills. These growing, global complexities make it essential for professionals to know how to influence the people they work with, near and far. But they also make it a lot trickier. The Influence Gap Influence, according to a Corporate Leadership Council survey, is "the fundamental competency that leaders must have to effectively assume global roles." While influence is important for single-country market leaders, the 2011 Corporate Leadership Council research found that it was the number one differentiator in someone becoming what it calls a "Great Global Leader" (which they defined based on data measuring leaders’ impact in a number of different areas). In fact, of 21 leadership competencies—including vision, creativity, risk-taking and resource allocation—the Corporate Leadership Council identified influence not only as the most important skill for leaders in a global context, but also the skill at which global leaders are the least effective. Similarly, a Center for Creative Leadership study named boundary-spanning leadership—which calls for effective influence skills—as the number one challenge today for senior executives. According to the CCL research, 99 percent of senior executives said it was important to work across boundaries, but only 7 percent of them described themselves as being "very effective" at it. The bottom line, according to all of this data: Even though influence is one of the most important skills for global managers to have to work across boundaries and lead effectively, many don’t do it very well.  So, How Can You Bridge That Gap? Effective influence increases trust, support and ownership for your priorities. Ineffective influence can promote doubt, intimidation and resentment. Influence strategies can range from reliance on position and power to emphasis on encouragement and collaboration. In 2009 and 2010, Discovery Learning, Inc. and Innovative Pathways did extensive research to identify and measure the different influence styles people use. Our findings helped us identify five dominant influence styles and resulted in the development of the Influence Style Indicator®, an assessment tool designed to understand and measure an individual’s preferred influence style or styles.   Based on this influence data, here are a few things you can do to boost your influential impact, especially if you find yourself leading in a multinational setting. Understand your style You have an idea and need buy-in from your colleagues. Do you approach them ready to bargain? Do you drive home your point with data and logic? Do you make it clear what you want and put on the pressure? Do you focus first on cultivating a solid relationship with stakeholders? Do you try to find common ground? Everyone has distinctive influence styles. You may instinctively understand and appreciate some of these styles and view others as ineffective, unclear and frustrating. Knowing the characteristics and capabilities of your influencing style is essential to developing your leadership effectiveness and maximizing your impact. Adapt to your audience People around the globe have diverse influence styles and will respond to yours in different ways. For instance, high-level executives tend to prefer an inspiring approach about 20 percent more often than middle-level managers. Younger people prefer to rationalize more than older people do. Women tend to assert themselves almost as much as men. People in the banking industry tend to lean on data and logic more than people who work for non-profits. North American managers tend to negotiate 40 percent less than their counterparts in Southeast Asia. People approach and respond to influence differently depending on their organizational level, age, gender, industry and nationality. So your influence style might work better on your peer than on your boss or might be less effective in a global setting. Understanding and being able to adapt your influence style to diverse teams and situations is key to becoming an effective leader. ‘Bridge’ the gap When in doubt, build a bridge to get your point across. Universally, the influence style with the strongest and most consistent preference is Bridging. Most managers around the world tend to rely, at least in part, on engaging and connecting with the people whose buy-in they need. So, regardless of your age, seniority, nationality, gender or line of work, if your bridging skills aren’t at least moderate, you should consider developing them to maximize your influencing effectiveness.   Check out the Influence Style Indicator®  to learn more about how you prefer to impact the people around you in today’s rapidly changing workplace. Understand and capitalize on your influence style—and become a more effective leader.   The post Global Leaders Need This Skill But Most Don’t Have It appeared first on Discovery Learning Inc..

In Fierce Conversations, we believe the phrases "Don’t take this personally" and "Don’t take yourself so seriously" are misguided suggestions. Do take it personally; do take yourself seriously.Work is deeply personal. And so is leading others. Leading anything in your life, for that matter.Instead of turning the other direction when your idea is rejected or something doesn’t go your way, stick with it. It is important to lean into those situations. Don’t shut yourself down or brush it off.For example, when one of my team’s marketing concepts is scrutinized, it is impossible to not feel some emotion or level of disappointment. Instead of becoming apathetic, acknowledge that the work is personal. And that we want to get it right, because we all care. (If we didn’t care, there wouldn’t be emotions.)And then the next step is to get curious and ask questions.This week’s tip is to take your work fiercely personal.  Having purpose and meaning are greatly tied to our happiness. Where can you apply this most?The post Fierce Tip of the Week: Take It Personally appeared first on Fierce, Inc..

This weekend, the star of "Hamlet" at the Barbican berated smartphone-wielding fans for filming his performances, calling the flashing red lights from mobile cameras in the audience "mortifying."