The workplace can be a perilous and thorny scene for disagreements. Being loud and clear leaves no room for misinterpretation. But it can also leave no room for anyone else’s ideas. Staying silent doesn’t air dissenting opinion. So that’s no good, either.
How to find more neutral ground? Becky Gaylord shares 12 ways to register your disagreement without clobbering coworkers with the know-it-all club.
The words ‘selling for introverts’ are not often enclosed in the same sentence. Indeed, the two are quite mutually exclusive. But a great many introverts find themselves in sales positions, or some other form of customer service, whether retail, food, hospitality, or other.
Most introverts discover their own unique ways of coping with the demands of a sales career. A few introverts even excel at such careers. Alen Mayer, Chief Sales Expert, shares a few tips to bear in mind as an introvert salesperson and a few reasons that make introverts great salespeople. [Read entire article here...]
Few people actually like job interviewing. It’s nerve-wracking trying to show your “best” self to a perfect stranger. You’re trying to prove you’re the man or woman for the job and that you can handle stressful situations like this one. That’s not easy, but there are some ways to pull yourself together and feel more confident.
Even if you’re getting butterflies during your next interview, MoneyWatch Writer Amy Levin-Epstein shares five ways to at least look less nervous.
Guest Post by Ardi Kolah
A skilled sales and marketing professional understands the power of a good performance in front of an audience of customers, clients, supporters and prospects.
And some of the best can influence the way we think and behave as good as any ‘A list’ Hollywood actor or film director.
Steve Jobs was perhaps the ultimate ‘showman’s showman’ when it came to influencing Apple distributors to sell more products every year at the Annual Apple Sales Convention in San Francisco.
In fact he turned what could’ve been a standard sales convention into something that resembled more like the opening night of a Hollywood movie.
What Steve Jobs did brilliantly was to entertain, inform and engage rather than bore his audience into submission.
However not everyone is blessed with the stage presence that Steve Jobs possessed and stage fright can often grip the most seasoned presenter, forcing them to ‘corpse’ at precisely the point when they’re looking to ‘close’. Continue reading
No doubt you’ve learned the hard way that when you fire a salesperson, it can cost you as much as 150% of their annual salary and benefits, plus lost sales and missed opportunities. Obviously, there’s a lot riding on your hiring decisions. As you know, good hiring practices are based on far more than evaluating an applicant’s selling skills. Odds are, you didn’t let your last employee go because he or she lacked the skills to do the job; you fired them for a lack of personal skills or a mismatch with your organization. This common situation has led to the maxim, “hire for attitude, train for job skills.”
When most hiring managers believe in the importance of “attitude,” why do they ignore it so often during the screening process? The Brooks Group answers this question [ ...]
They’re charming. They’re genuine. And they can make an entire room full of people smile.
When you meet someone, after, “What do you do?” you’re out of things to say. You suck at small talk, and those first five minutes are tough because you’re a little shy and a little insecure. But you want to make a good impression. You want people to genuinely like you.
Inc.com writer Jeff Haden shares how remarkably likable people do it…
Thriving in a High-Pressure Environment
Many people experience stress in their jobs. You might feel stressed temporarily because of a project deadline, or because of seasonal fluctuations in your workload. Or you might experience long-term stress due to the type of work that you do, because of a difficult boss or co-worker, or because of office politics.
The Editor’s Pick article from MindTools.com looks at the consequences of job stress, and explores strategies that you can use to manage a stressful job successfully.
When Maureen Jann of Intrepid Learning, stops to think about it, she realizes that marketers (like herself) and salespeople (like many she works with) sometimes forget that business-to-business buyers are people, too. From Chief Learning Officers to mechanics, investors to librarians—no matter what position they hold or what they’re in the market to buy, people usually have a few things in common: they use social media, want to be recognized for good work, and have limited time to balance work and home life. In short, behind every title is a real person whose decisions are driven by a combination of reason and emotion.
Extremely helpful article from Fast Company.
9 Ways Great Companies Organize Their Teams For Success | Fast Company.
The article outlines the importance of setting up the proper organization of top talent to maximize success. One of the key items I liked talked about “hiring people who have raw intelligence and are competitive athletes who will learn quickly on the job”. As my company pursues recruiting for sales talent, we find that proven results and drive are as important as the specific industry.
Your thoughts? Share your top organizing approaches?
The best leaders build credibility with stories. 
There are five stories you should be able to deliver that will build your credibility as a leader. Learn how in Jan McKenzie’s White Paper “The Five Stories Credible Leaders Tell.”
Jan is an Executive Coach with Speechworks, Inc. where she teaches leaders how to create and deliver speeches that inspire confidence and move audiences to action. As a communications expert with Speechworks, Jan has taught and coached in companies such as Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Novelis, Morgan Stanley, Georgia Tech and more. In her previous role as Director of The Weather Channel Companies award-winning Learning and Development Department, Jan spent over 19 years developing leadership at every level in corporate America. She has coached executive and leadership teams, created and implemented company wide change initiatives, and partnered with executives to develop high performing sales leaders. An experienced public speaker and published author of inspirational books, Jan has been endorsed by leadership experts and NY Times Bestselling authors Stephen M.R. Covey and Dr. Ken Blanchard. Her books are available on Amazon.com.
