RSSValhalla Business Solutions - Business Management Consultants
Sales Management Consulting Specializing In... Sales and service Systems, Managing younger generations, Management protocols Coaching effectiveness
Monday, March 1, 2010
Another Email? (Managing Email in a Corporate Environment)
· Use the technology of your email client
o Create Rules and Folders
o Utilize Junk Mail Folder
o Turn off auto preview and email notification
o Use signature function
· Change your email behavior
o Schedule specific time during the day to complete email
o Don’t take blackberry to meetings
o Utilize subject line effectively
o Keep emails short
Unfortunately today email has become the most used form of communication. Email is abused endlessly!! Emails from two cubes over, countless distribution lists, C.C.’s and even interoffice humor. I love hearing the term “urgent email” which in all senses of the phrase is an oxymoron. Of all the forms of communication it is the least effective form of communication behind face to face, phone and voicemail. Email is a handicap to the most talented people, it allows people who are less effective with oral communication to communicate on the same playing field. It also mistakenly becomes a to do list. Hundreds of emails will be saved as the next thing that must be done. Email is communication only! Not a to do list! Use something else to set your priorities.
I speak with endless managers who say their day is consumed by email. They check during meetings, while they have employees in their office, etc. Of course these managers are also sending out just as many. For every email they send, multiple come back. Consequently the less you send, the less you get!! How can you accomplish this?
Use the technology of your email client
Create rules and folders- First and foremost decide on categories to place your email, boss, peers, team, urgent, C.C.’s, customers and project headers. When emails come in, use your rules to forward these messages to the proper folders. It is easy to assume reviewing emails from your boss would be most important followed by your team and so on. C.C.’s being the least of importance. If you are working on a particular important project have a folder that contains the emails that reference the project.
Utilize Junk Mail Folder- How often do you find yourself on distribution lists that don’t pertain to you, etc. Add them to your junk mail folder.
Turn off Auto Preview and Email Notification- This is self explanatory, but is very distracting while completing other work, meeting with employees, peers and so on. Removing this will keep priorities in line with your to do list. Nothing is ruder than having someone in your office and you check your email notification.
Use the Signature Function- Include your phone number. Give the person you are emailing the opportunity to call you back!!
Change Your Email Behavior
Schedule Specific Time to Complete Email- Email is important so take the time to manage it. Peace of mind comes when time is set aside to complete it. Three times a day should be sufficient. Schedule sometime in the morning, before lunch and before you leave for the day.
Don’t Take Your Blackberry to Meetings- this will be unnecessary to bring after time is scheduled to check email. Remember to all execs, managers and employees. We can all see you checking your email under the table.
Use Subject Line Effectively- Put action items in the subject line. Put “Do Not Respond” when no response is required. Use this as much as possible. Use “Action Required” when your team needs to respond in action to the email. Here are some other examples “Call me,” “Please respond,” “Due by Date,” just to name a few.
Keep Emails Short- Your emails are not read if they are long. Keep them four paragraphs or less. Secondly put the bottom line first! This means tell the story backwards, always tell the ending followed by the details.
Labels: banking, big three, calendar management, career, Coaching Teams, corporations, development, effective manager, email, email etiquette
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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Thursday, February 11, 2010
Pay it Forward
Be a Mentor
o Have a quarterly meeting
o Consider an agenda
o Be a confidant
o Choose someone who will give more than they take
o Consider someone in another department
o Observe them in action
Early in my career I had an upper level executive reach out to me. He had one motive, pay it forward! At first I had a hard time understanding why he reached out to me. This was especially true considering my perceptions of the corporate world. It had been, at least till that point every person for them self. His intent he made very clear! He communicated to go out of my way to share my knowledge with someone. He encouraged me to go out of my way to create opportunities for that person and so on. Unfortunately he left the organization shortly after that. Although he left, his message was clear be a helping hand too many
Although most books, articles, and personnel will encourage you to seek out a mentor, we at Valhalla consider becoming a mentor even more critical to your growth as a leader. Although having a mentor should not be discounted, you may gain more development from being a mentor.
Have a quarterly meeting- This relationship should be regular enough to create a frequent two way communication. Creating an atmosphere that encourages your mentee to reach to you. Most successful executives I witness schedule a one on one once a month. This should be easy to do if you are already calendaring your one on ones with your direct reports.
Consider an agenda- Although this time should be primarily about fielding the mentee’s agenda. It is critical to bring content that can help them grow. Concentrate on bringing them in on a project that won’t impact their current work production. Also contemplate their hard skill gaps? How can you assist in developing those skills? Their manager can be a great resource for skill gaps.
Be a confidant- This is almost needless to say, however a mentor is an escape from the political battles that may exist. It is critical to establish a trusting relationship where you can help coach them through those political battles. Too often a mentee may not have a relationship with someone where they can vent and brainstorm appropriate solutions.
Choose someone who will give more than they take- Find out who is talented within the organization!! I often get asked how they should approach this person. Consider the story above; reach out to someone under the pretense of Pay it Forward. This person is someone who will bring content and questions to your one on ones. This person is naturally a giver rather than a receiver. It ensures they pay it forward.
Someone in another department- Choosing someone outside your department allows the mentee to feel free to confide in you.
Observe them in action- Whether they are a sales person, customer service, technical worker or manager. Observe the mentee in action, performing their duties. The trust you have established with your relationship will add immeasurable feedback, they may not get elsewhere.
Labels: banking, calendar management, Coaching Teams, conflict resolution, corporate responsibility, feedback, mentor, polotics, Restaurant Management, Sales Coaching, Small Business CEO
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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10:11 AM
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Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Do What's Right For A Customer?
- Genuinely know your client
- Be a solutions based business
- Follow up to ensure the solutions are correct
Labels: banking, calendar management, Coaching Teams, development, economic crisis, economy, effective manager, internal customers, printing, profiling, Restaurant Management, Small Business CEO
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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7:47 AM
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Financial Management Consulting
Labels: banking, Coaching Teams, corporate responsibility, corporations, development, diversity, economic crisis, effective manager, Restaurant Management, revenue, Sales Coaching
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3:30 PM
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Monday, May 4, 2009
What to do in Uncertain Economic Times
Labels: banking, calendar management, Coaching Teams, economic crisis, economy, education, effective manager, internationa companies, Restaurant Management, Small Business CEO
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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5:00 PM
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Sunday, April 26, 2009
Assumptive Selling (Don't DO IT!)
- Profile
- Patience
- Listen
- Recommend
So often I witness sales people in action and I have to be honest it is out right pathetic. Three times this week I have had the opportunity to witness some of the most ineffective behavior.
Truth is I watch ineffective sales people have to get 3-4 times the number of clients to reach their volume goals, compared to an effective sales person. Any business owner knows it is significantly harder to obtain a new customer than cross sell one. Most sales people struggle with both.
Sales people please profile, take the time to have targeted customer questions which turn your customers brain on. This will undoubtedly reveal potential needs your company may have solutions for. The number one rule hear is never, ever make a recommendation during this time. It changes the environment in the conversation. Quickly a sales person frequently makes this mistake and begins to discuss cost and provide numerous product information. This will require a lot of patience becauseintuitively a sales person has solutions to fix a customers issues. Make sure you listen and listen some more.
Lastly once you have listened to all their concerns, feelings, fears, wish lists, etc. Make a formal solution based recommendation.
Labels: banking, Coaching Teams, corporations, cross sell, development, economy, feedback, management expectations, relationships, Restaurant Management, Small Business CEO
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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10:08 PM
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Monday, April 20, 2009
Sales Process (Manager)
Establish what each customer interaction looks like...
- Greeting
- Profiling
- Recommendations
- Exit
To make things simple for a leader to coach, there has to be foundational processes to your customer interactions.
Greeting, solicit your team in your next daily kick start or team to explore what and how a greeting should look from your organization to your customer. How can use the greeting to impact your sales? What would it sound like? How can you use your greeting to transition into a profiling session with your customer?
Profiling, the most important piece of any sales process and far and away the most absent in almost every business I visit. I challenge you and your business to make this a central part of who you are as an organization. Why? If you really care about what your customers need and want, you have to ask them. In almost every business I patron nobody ask or cares. They jump straight to recommendations. How can you assume you know what your customer wants. Its arrogant and condescending.
Recommendations, this is what most sales people think they excel at. "They can talk to anybody!" There is no one good at this unless the profiling step has properly been executed. You as a manager have an obligation to your customers and your employees to help them uncover the needs of your client.
Exit, this can have a lot polishing as well when it comes to business. Again as a manager solicit your team for what this should look like. Probe around referrals, commitments in future contact and elevating yourself from the competition.
Labels: banking, Coaching Teams, conflict resolution, corporate responsibility, corporations, cross sell, development, economy, education, Restaurant Management, Sales Coaching, sales process
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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11:39 AM
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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Gaining Commitment From Employees
- Determine team goals
- Brain storm appropriate tasks/behaviors
- Assign time frames
- Solicit employee regularly on progress
- Schedule follow up
I have to opportunity to observe so many managers talk to their staffs and there are many reasons their employees don't commit to action. I also get to hear all the time from managers, "my employees just don't care about their work!" Or, "they just don't do what they know they are supposed to do?" There are so many reasons for this, but almost all the reasons are at the fault of the manager. Team members want to do well, they want to make their goals and they want to be recognized when they do. One effectiveness skill that could amplify a managers results today would be working on gaining a commitment from their team.
Determine team goals! This may sound easy, but can be difficult. In your next team meeting solicit your team for something they would like to accomplish over a period of time. Valhalla recommends at least a goal that requires a month to achieve, but can be longer. Once the team has something they are trying to achieve, it will be easier to have behaviors and tasks to deliver the required results.
Work with your employee to determine what their role looks like to achieve the team goals. A one on one is a great place for this. Details are important here. i.e. Every time a customer walks into our location I will say, "welcome, have you visited us before?" Depending on the answer I will then say, "great I am glad you have been here before, let me tell you about a special we have for returning customers!"
Assign a time frame, ensure you the manager set the bar on time line. It is inappropriate for your employee to ever guess when you want a particular task completed.
Solicit your employee regularly through out the task on what they are learning. Ask, "What things are you learning so far?" This is where they will critique their own work.
Schedule follow up, this is the most important to ensure anything gets done. Schedule frequent follow up to ask for progress. This ensures something does not get missed or skipped along the way. This also presents a forum for your employee to solicit your feedback and obtain your guidance.
Labels: banking, calendar management, Coaching Teams, corporations, cross sell, development, economy, management, management expectations, small business, Small Business CEO, team building
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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4:03 PM
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Valhalla's Management Expectations -- Daily Exits
Who:
- Direct reports only
What:
- Discuss what was accomplished for the day
- Discuss the days learning
- Review high impact priorities
- Review scorecard
- Follow up on Daily Kick Start commitments
- Recognize specific behaviors
Where:
- Area large enough to have all your direct reports
When:
- Daily
- 15 minutes
Why:
- Team learns from each other
- Increased accountability
- More urgency from your team
- Develops consistency which transfers to your customers
- Reinforces the importance of the day's activities
How:
- Ask
- Based on your learning today what changes would you make?
- Follow up
- i.e., you talked about scheduling three appointments this morning. How did that go? What did you learn?
- i.e., Paul you mentioned you needed three more presentations for next week. Where are you with your goal?
- Celebrate
- i.e., Kelly you surpassed your goals again for the third day in a row! What is working so well for you?
NOTE: The daily exit is critical to the management process, but cannot be the only activity. The Daily Kick Start is critical to making your Daily Exit effective
Labels: banking, Coaching Teams, corporations, development, economy, Sales Coaching, sales process, small business, Small Business CEO
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Valhalla Business Solutions
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6:05 PM
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Valhalla's Management Expectations -- Daily Kick Start
Who:
- Direct reports, followed by entire team
What:
- State vision
- Ask team to review week's business priorities
- Ask team to review team scorecard
- Ask individuals to review team goals
- Ask individuals how they are going to make it happen today?
- What will it sound like?
- What will it look like?
Where:
- Room large enough to have your team standing up
When:
- Daily
- 15 minutes with direct reports
- 15 minutes with the entire team
Why:
- Set tone for the day
- Have the entire team on the same page
- Reinforces team goals
- Reinforces vision for the team
How:
- Deliver vision
- i.e., "Our focus is growing and developing as a team. We believe we are only as strong as our weakest team member. We also believe we have a moral obligation to help our customers succeed, by always doing what is right for the customer."
- Ask
- What does our vision mean to you?
- What are the business priorities?
- What are we trying to accomplish as a team?
- Walk us through how you will help the team meet its goals today?
NOTE: This activity should never be skipped, this is a foundational process to keep your team moving with a sense of urgency. Without this many of the other coaching expectations lose value
Labels: banking, Coaching Teams, corporations, economic crisis, Sales Coaching, sales process, Small Business CEO, team building, team goals
posted by
Valhalla Business Solutions
at
5:13 PM
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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
CEO Coach
Does a CEO Need a Coach?
Benefits of a having a skills coach...
- Non bias feedback
- Non political evaluation
- Improved communication with the team
- Safe environment to forecast the future
- Improved leadership and coaching skills
- Increased revenue
When you think of the fortune 500 companies, a good percentage of them work with a mentor or coach. Why does the number one golfer (Tiger Woods) in the world have such an intimate relationship with his coach. In business there is a general rule, if you are not growing, your dieing. You can see it across the country right now, companies are struggling. This same fundamental rule applies to personal growth as well.
With Valhalla Business Solutions I maybe the CEO, however that does not mean I don't have a coach. I have someone evaluating my performance all the time. He listens to my conference calls. He takes notes during presentations and then provides honest feedback on my performance with our clients. This way we can continue to grow as an organization. I have a core belief not only as it relates to business, but spiritually. Life is about evaluating your performance and developing as an individual. If you as a leader don't create a learning environment for yourself, my thought is your most likely are not creating it for your organization.
Note I mentioned self evaluation, this is key when it comes to growth. My coach sets up environments for me to learn. Asks me why I say certain things to clients, internal customers, etc. Really this allows for me to diagnose my process. He also evaluates my communication skills, from empathy to building rapport with a client. These may seem very small to improve on, however it is apart of a much larger fol-ossify. If you are not growing, your dieing. CEO's
Valhalla's Advice...
aren't challenged on their process enough. Do you think this could have impacted some of the larger banks and car companies who are failing? Truly how can you as a CEO say "yes" you can afford this home. You have to do what is right for your customer!! Every time!!! Lastly, don't your internal and external customers deserve the best. The best from you, the face of the organization.
- Pick a mentor, no matter what level of an organization you are at
- Hire a coach
- If you don't hire a coach, recruit someone from human resources or your learning and development staff to evaluate you on a regular basis (this may apply for specific skill feedback, not recommended for challenging company process or fol-ossify)
Labels: banking, big three, chrysler, Coaching Teams, ford, gm, mortgage, Sales Coaching, Small Business CEO, tiger woods
posted by
Valhalla Business Solutions
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9:37 AM
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Previous Posts
- Delegation
- Another Email? (Managing Email in a Corporate Envi...
- Pay it Forward
- Now I am a Manager, What’s My Job?
- Measuring Success (Setting Life Goals)
- Denver Broncos: Dear Coach McDaniel's
- Knowing your Internal Compass (navigation guidance...
- Paying too much for Credit Card Processing- 3 Ways...
- Do What's Right For A Customer?
- What Organizational Issues Do You Have?
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