The Enemy: Words and How We Use Them Written by Sue and Chuck DeFiore
As a home based or small business owner you want to exude confidence and authority. You are an expert in your field. How are you conveying your message to your customer? Just like your body language, words you use and how you use them can take on a whole new meaning. Some of words we all have a tendency to use say something completely different to our customers. Let’s say you are placing a call to a customer. When I call I say, “Hi, Joe, I’m calling to tell you about latest property we have available”. I am very clear, succinct, I have a smile in my voice, and once I finish my reason for calling, I shut up and let my customer or prospect talk. One of our clients, who we were consulting with on sales, couldn’t figure out why he was having a hard time during his sales calls. What we found out was when he would call rather than being firm and confident, with a smile in his voice; he sounded very tentative, “Hi, I am just calling to see if”. No this verbiage does not work. He did not identify himself, his company, and this client sounded very nervous on telephone. So be very careful you don’t use words or phrases that sound as if you are apologizing to your customer right off bat. In fact, don’t use them at all. Take them out of your vocabulary. Be clear and concise. Speak in an even tone. Nervous people have a tendency to speak way too loudly; or so softly you can’t understand them, or some people speak very quickly. Also, be aware this is not something you are going to fix overnight. These phrases are a habit for many of us. So practice, practice and practice some more. Do role plays and tape yourself. Then listen to yourself, or have family members listen to you and critique you.
| | Effective Managers Need To CoachWritten by Wendy Hearn
Bearing in mind fast pace of business today and need to stay competitive, it's essential that managers should be effective. They need to be especially effective with their people and this requires learning to coach. For most managers, coaching has been added to their role anyway, but majority haven't received any training in coaching skills. More than 80% of organisations use coaching to develop their staff, but only a fifth train their managers in coaching, according to a survey by Work Foundation. This lack of training can be costly and damaging. It's like putting a complete beginner in a car, telling them to drive and just saying "Good luck". They may have some idea of what to do, but they won't have sound training in skills required. Coaching is a specific set of core competencies and skills, not just a new label to add to what a manager has always done. Managers need training so that they develop those specific skills, know when and how to use them, and have confidence in themselves to coach people. With right training, your company will benefit dramatically from this coaching. Benefits such as:· Improving employee performance to an optimum level · Being a stronger, more productive company · Handling change easily and encouraging growth · Bringing out very best in people and unlocking potential. You don't want your company to miss out on these benefits, do you? I invite you to start process of ensuring that your managers have been adequately trained in coaching skills. And not only trained, but most important, they need opportunity to learn, experience and evaluate coaching. First, they need to understand what coaching is and isn't, and how it's distinct from mentoring, training, counselling or teaching. Without this understanding, they'll be caught in trap of not knowing whether they're coaching or not. They'll need to know at least one coaching model to give them a process and a structure to work with. This gives coaching focus and clarity, and reaches a conclusion with agreed actions. To start with, they'll need a thorough grounding in basic coaching skills such as listening, questioning, evoking, clarifying, requesting, trust and rapport building, challenging, acknowledging, collaborating and action planning. As these are learned, practised and refined, they can be built on more.
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