Copyright 2006 Progress-U Ltd.

T h e   U l t i m a t u m

A couple of months ago, Marc (name changed), a manager in
his early 40s, called me and said: “I need your help! My
superiors told me today that I get another 6-week trial
period and if by then I can’t show a good performance, I
will be fired.”

He sounded quite panicky and outraged, which is not
surprising in such a situation. First, I helped him to calm
down so that he would be able to think clearly and
rationally.

(more…)

Copyright 2006 Tim Link

A recent conversation with a leadership coaching client
I’ll call “Bob” began with him expressing extreme
frustration with a key manager reporting to him. Bob
thought the manager wasn’t owning his role in a certain
critical issue. He believed the manager was pointing
fingers, assigning blame and creating stressful and
unproductive distractions within the senior team. Bob was
considering firing the manager, but was reluctant to start
over with someone new.

I asked Bob if he had discussed his frustration with the
manager. He danced around the question and after a couple
of different approaches on my part, he shared that perhaps
he hadn’t been as clear and direct with the manager as he
could have been. I observed that it sounded like he wanted
to have a conversation with this manager. Bob agreed that
he needed to talk with the manager but had been avoiding it
because he knew it would be difficult and he thought the
manager should be able to perform without his intervention.

(more…)

Copyright 2006 Progress-U Ltd.

I still remember sitting in the car with our French
representative on the way to our customer’s factory north
of Paris some five years ago. At that time I was Director
International Sales for a German technology company. The
conversation went this way.

“Alain, what do you think? How much of a discount will
Monsieur Ribault expect? You know, we offered the
instrument including all accessories, installation and
commissioning for 350,000 USD.”

(more…)

Copyright 2006 Dennis Sommer

Everyone participates in meetings or is the host of a
meeting. Many are productive and others are a complete
waste of time. We have developed a list of techniques for
planning and holding effective meetings that will turn you
into a top performer in your profession and organization.

1. Define meeting objectives. The meeting should have a
specific purpose that you should communicate before you
start.

2. Create an agenda. List what you want to discuss and who
will lead those discussions. Put topics that require the
most brain power first.

3. Do research before the meeting. Know the audience.
Anticipate attitudes and positions. Speak the language of
the participants.

4. Invite the right people. Invite individuals who can
contribute to the meetings discussions and decisions.

5. Schedule breaks. Nobody can concentrate on a business
meeting forever. Have a 15 minute break every two hours.

6. Open with a brief statement of the meeting purpose. Your
statement should be short and to the point. Never express
your opinions in the opening statement or participants will
think they are only there to approve your ideas.

7. Lead the meeting. Many people are afraid of taking
control. Everyone wants a leader and you should take charge
of your meeting.

8. Start on time and finish on time. A perfect way to
establish your control of a meeting is to start on time.
Each item on the agenda should have a time limit. Stick to
it religiously.

9. Make sure the meeting is formal. Stick to this rule and
you will make decisions by a majority and not by loud vocal
minority.

10. You decide who speaks. This way all opinions will be
heard. You will be able to silence the domineering
participants and draw out the silent ones.

11. Never lose control of the meeting.

12. Never take notes yourself. You will be able to deal
with questions immediately rather than being distracted.

13. Provide written documents. At the meeting summarize the
document, do not read it. Make sure the meeting is used to
answer questions and make decisions. The meeting is not
used to review what everyone already knows.

14. Document action items. Deal with issues one at a time.
Document what items must get done before the next meeting.

15. Move quickly through topics. Do not stay too long with
one topic or participants will begin to think nothing is
getting done.

16. After a particularly dull meeting, assign one or more
people to prepare arguments against the prevailing
viewpoint for your next meeting on the same topic.

—————————————————-
Dennis Sommer is a widely respected and world renowned
authority on sales, business development and leadership
performance improvement. He is a leading adviser, author,
and speaker providing clients with practical strategies
that improve personal and organization performance.  He has
held numerous consulting, sales, and leadership level
positions with Accenture, Jo-Ann Stores, and CA, Inc.
Dennis is also founder of two successful technology and
management consulting firms. Please contact Dennis at:
dennis@btrconline.com or http://www.btrconline.com

Too many books on resume writing are out-of-date. Although
well intentioned and filled with other good information,
most have not been updated for the job search realities of
today.

Your resume will be seen by many eyes, including
electronic. The computer will “score” it by the number of
keywords (also known as “buzzwords”) the employer will find
most relevant. If you don’t account for this, your resume
will stay locked in some database while you sit waiting by
the phone for the call that never comes.

Put in a “Keyword Competencies” section.

One solution for the electronic gatekeeper is to include a
special section called a Keyword Competencies section. You
want to focus on the words most likely to be used by either
a Human Resources staffing employee or a recruiter.  They
search resumes by keywords. The greater number of relevant
keywords you can include, the higher relevancy score your
resume will be given.

You should include a separate section that lists all the
relevant keywords pertaining to your career and skills.
This section should best be listed at the beginning of your
resume to introduce the skill sets you possess early on
from an interviewing standpoint. Include no more than 75
keywords.

For example, if you were a Java Programmer, your Keyword
Competencies section might look something like this:

“Java, Visual C++, perl, ticl, application development,
visual basic, Windows NT/XP, programming, GUI, html,
project management, layer 2, BSEE, etc”.

The idea here is to put in as many relevant, searchable
keywords that describe your potential job title and skills.
Be sure to include your technical skills, management or
organizational skills, relevant software and/or mechanical
abilities and expertise. Include anything that might be
important to the particular job.

Added Tip: If you can locate a description of an actual job
for which you are applying, copy in all the applicable
buzzwords listed under required and desired skills. This
includes education levels (if they require a BS in
Electrical Engineering, then include “BSEE” as well).

If you spend some time on this, you should easily come up
with a list of from 40 to 80 relevant searchable keywords
to include here.

Summary There are several important elements to consider
when building your resume, but if your document is not
getting exposure then you’ve wasted your time.  By simply
adding relevant keywords you increase your resume’s odds of
making it to the “possibles” stack and your receiving a
phone call from a potential employer.

—————————————————-
Joe Turner, the “Job Search Guy”, makes it easy to quickly
land that next job.  To claim your free 6-part Recruiter
Secrets Minicourse, visit
http://www.jobchangesecrets.com/Free_Job_Search_Tips.html

Copyright 2006 Colleen Kettenhofen

“If you have a job without aggravation, you don’t have a
job.” Malcolm Forbes

Teams need to have reasons for taking responsibility. They
also need to be given the authority to act on the
responsibilities handed down to them. And they need to have
consequences if those goals are not met. It would be nice
to think everyone is motivated to be an exceptional
employee strictly out of personal integrity. And in many
instances that is the case, but not always.

Are you sure everyone on the team understands their
individual roles, goals and objectives? In my team building
seminars, team members often confide to me they don’t know
exactly what their job responsibilities are, or even  the
main goals of their organization.  Has it been clearly
explained to them what their job responsibilities are, and
where that fits in with the organization’s big picture
objectives? Has each team member participated in leadership
and team building seminars? Do they walk away with action
plans for accountability? Is this information specific,
measurable and in writing?

By having quantifiable goals in writing, it makes it harder
for the underperformer to be able to say, “Well, you’re
just picking on me.” No, you’re not picking on them. Not if
you’ve made their responsibilities clear, measurable, and
in writing. And not if they’ve been properly trained and
given authority to take initiatives and responsibilities.
Good managers and team leaders understand the importance of
explaining the mission/purpose of their organization, and
where each individual fits in.

So what are the reasons teams don’t want to take
responsibility? In conducting team building seminars
worldwide over the past decade, I pose this question every
day to team leaders and managers, as well as team members.
Here are the 12 most common reasons (not in any particular
order) I hear over and over for why teams won’t take
responsibility.

1. Weak leadership.

2. Not being specific with each team member’s
responsibilities. No clear goals or objectives in writing.

3. Lack of skill or possessing a negative attitude on the
part of a team member. Sometimes that person won’t even
admit it.

4. Too many people with similar leadership styles. For
example, too many “drivers” who each want total control.
Or, too many “relaters,” those who are very people
oriented, or who are not task oriented enough.

5. Fear of failure.

6.  The “I don’t get paid enough to worry about that” type
of mentality.

7. They don’t get along as a team.

8. Some just don’t want the responsibility. They simply
don’t want to do the work.

9. Attendance problems or team members who aren’t
dependable. For example, a team member who doesn’t show up,
and may not even call in sick right away.

10. Loss of focus, lack of direction.

11. The excuse, “I’m in a union and it’s not in my job
description.”

12. Lack of training. Both training in the area of hard
skills as well as conflict resolution/communication, and
team building seminars.

Look closely at number one. It says “weak leadership.”  The
number one reason I hear from my participants in team
building seminars for why teams won’t take responsibility
is “weak leadership.” And this answer FREQUENTLY comes from
team leaders themselves in evaluating their own managers!
Many of these managers serve as team members and report to
leaders of their own. They tell me the number one trait
they want to see to willingly WANT to follow their leader
is honesty. Someone who does what they say they’re going to
do. The leaders and managers they dislike most are those
with the “do as I say not as I do” mentality. Do people
willingly want to follow you as their leader? The key word
here is “willingly.”

If you are the team leader or manager, are you an effective
communicator? Has everyone been properly trained in “hard
skills,” as well as in communication and conflict
resolution? Is everyone clear in knowing that they are held
accountable for performing their tasks effectively? Have
they been coached to think of themselves as a team in that
they perceive team welfare as a priority?

Teams need to have reasons, measurable goals, and clear
deadlines for doing something. And teams need rewards for
exemplary performance. They also need consequences for
failing to accept responsibility. Make certain they have
yearly performance reviews, or reviews every six months.
What gets measured gets done.

In my team building seminars, I notice more organizations
conducting performance reviews every six months instead of
yearly. The benefit to managers as well as team members is
more face-to-face contact regarding the objectives on a
more frequent basis. And, if you have union employees and
must disregard any record of underperformance after a year
or so, consider writing this information into their
performance review. Performance reviews follow an employee.

“Like begets like, honesty begets honesty; trust, trust,
and so on.” James F. Bell

—————————————————-
Colleen Kettenhofen is a motivational speaker, workplace
expert, & co-author of “The Masters of Success,” as
featured on the Today Show, along with Ken Blanchard and
Jack Canfield.  To order the book, or for more free
articles and e-newsletter visit
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com or call (800)323-0683. Topics:
leadership, management, difficult people, public speaking,
success. Colleen is available for keynotes, breakout
sessions and seminars.
http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com

Copyright 2006 Synergy Strategies

1) Know your work style and use the tools that match.  If
you work well with technology, use your computer and PALM
for your scheduling and organization.  If you are a visual
person, consider using a paper calendar and written to-do
list.  If you are a people person, develop a team around
you to compliment your strengths.  If you work alone, find
time to focus and remain distraction free.  If you are a
morning person, attack the most important tasks early in
the day.

2) Use ONE calendar.  Sometimes people will have several
calendars. One for family, work, computer, personal
appointments, etc. Keep ONE calendar for everything. Use
different colors or type styles to differentiate categories.

3) Make a to-do list at the end of each day. Your mind
naturally begins to work on the list as you sleep. When you
awake, you are ready to work, are very productive and
organized. Estimate how much time each thing will take you
and only put on your next day to do list what is reasonable
to get done.

4) “Eat your frog first”. A Brian Tracy concept, do the
hardest thing you have to do all day, first, before you do
anything else. Doing this will provide you with the feeling
of success in having a “burden” off you back and momentum
to accomplish the remaining tasks.

5) Have a clear goal and read it daily. When you have a
goal you know what to focus on and work toward. If you do
not have this at the front of your mind, it is easy to get
caught up with the urgent things of the day or trapped in
reacting to e-mail, phone calls, interruptions and other
people’s emergencies.

6) Have a “power hour”. Designate one hour each day to
close the door, shut down e-mail, turn off the ringer on
the phone and guard yourself from interruptions. Have a
pre-picked project that you will work on during this time
only. Make sure to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and do
whatever else you need to in order to ensure you do not
leave once this hour starts. Give yourself 30 min. after
this hour to return calls, e-mails and care for people with
whom you need to follow-up that you missed during the POWER
HOUR.

7) Touch it once. E-mail, mail, papers, etc. Touch it and
make a decision. File it, toss it or put it in a place for
action. Sorting bins are helpful for this. Label your bins,
folders, e-mails, etc. Sorting bins often have labels like,
things to: read, file, do this week, urgent, bills, etc. If
your subject lines in e-mails are accurate it is easy for
you and the recipient to find the e-mail. Paper, soft copy
(computer), e-mail folders should have matching labels.

8) Have daily habits. After you develop a routine of things
that are simple but important, your body will naturally do
them. This is important because we can get distracted by
our regular routines and use them as vices to interrupt,
procrastinate and prolong important things that really need
to get done. If you start your day right, you will be ready
to do those urgent and important tasks, increasing your
every day productivity.

9) Pre-prep. Have you ever been amazed on cooking shows how
they make a complicated dish in 10 minutes? Ok, part is
edited TV time, but they also have everything pre-prepped
for quick assembly.  Why not do the same?  Prepare your
information packets and new client folders, turn common
documents into a template, set up e-mail group/
distribution lists for teams, etc.

10) Maximize car systems. Listen to a book on cd/tape to
maximize your windshield time and learn. Have a bin to put
important things rather than having them all over the car.
Have a trash bag to catch the liter.  Always have a bottle
of water in the car with you; dehydration causes fatigue,
memory loss and low concentration. Make sure your contacts
are portable (palm, planner, business card file book, etc.)
so you keep people and numbers at your fingertips (call if
running late, caught in traffic, remember something while
out and a quick call can take car of it). Enjoy relaxing,
breathing and taking in the day while driving (rather than
cleaning, talking on the phone, etc.)

Be the master of your domain. When you implement a few
simple productivity strategies and develop them as time
saving habits, you will quickly enjoy the benefit of more
time and energy and overall increased productivity.

—————————————————-
Christy Geiger, owner of Synergy Strategies, offers
coaching & training programs designed to build solid
visions, goals and strategies that increase organizational
and employee effectiveness, saving time, energy and money.
Christy will work with you to design a program that will
maximize your strengths and address your needs so that you
and your people operate with passion, purpose and
productivity. To get connected with the resources you need
to drive, thrive, and play to win, visit Christy online at
http://www.synergystrategies.com/ or through email at
Christy@synergystrategies.com!

Copyright 2006 Daniel Sitter

Tommy Shaw, guitarist and songwriter for the popular rock
band, Styx, wrote a song several years ago entitled “Too
Much Time on My Hands” where he included the lyrics “I have
a nowhere to go and all day to get there” and “I’ve got
nothing to do and all day to do it.” That is indeed a sad
commentary on a non-productive lifestyle. If that has also
been your approach to planning and executing your sales
day, it’s no wonder why you have not found the success that
has been eluding you for so long. Too much time on your
hands spells disaster if you make your living selling.

How does one get to be in this mess? While I suspect that
there are many reasons for this phenomenon, two immediately
come to mind: Lack of training and lack of desire. The
first is epitomized in the rookie salesperson who has
little training and only a vague idea of what her plans and
goals might be. She has entered the world of selling
equipped with nothing but her own preconceived notions and
some level of enthusiasm. The second is the seasoned sales
professional who is tired of the same routine and has
become somewhat sedentary in his ways or has earned enough
money to be comfortable and he now is stuck in the rut of
his comfort zone. An ensuing lack of desire and sales soon
becomes evident.

A lack of training is easily fixed. There are many fine
sales training methods and programs, coaches, authors,
speakers and the like that avail all of the resources
imaginable to get the job done. With proper training and
instruction, role playing, critique and practice, our
rookie will be on her way to sales excellence in no time.
It will be necessary, however, to have training both in
sales as well as product and service training. All the
product training in the world won’t help you if you do not
know what to say when you have the opportunity to be in
front of a prospective customer. That too will only happen
if you first learn the skills to contact and establish
appointments with the appropriate decision-makers.

There is no substitution for training and practice. Don’t
ever make the mistake of believing that once your formal
training is completed that your education is over. Nothing
could be further from the truth. Adopt an attitude of
continuous life-long learning to keep those skills sharp
and your mind challenged. Abraham Lincoln once said that if
he had an allotment of four hours to cut a small grove of
trees, he would spend three of those hours sharpening his
axe, and only one hour actually cutting. Yes, there is no
substitute for proper preparation in the sales field.

A lack of desire is a much more complex problem to solve
because its roots may be in several different places. We’ll
look at a couple of them here. Boredom might be a factor.
Perhaps the product mix, territory and customer base have
remained unchanged for years, so our salesman decides to
“lie back” a little. Although it may not become evident at
first, time will reveal that a steady reduction in business
has begun. The salesperson will soon become distant,
somewhat out-of-touch with his customer base. The products
that he once knew so well will become more unfamiliar;
their features, advantages and benefits will elude him.
Unless the salesman schedules calls and develops new
customers on a regular basis, his base will erode and his
earnings will suffer as a result. A dangerous trend may
commence that is often difficult to reign in.

Another reason is fear. Many industries present the
challenge of continuous technical developments and new
modes of operation. A new breed of customer, usually young,
smart and technically competent arrives on the scene and
the salesperson no longer feels confident to engage in
dialogue with these individuals on a regular basis. He
becomes intimidated by the new technology and verbiage.

Regardless as to the reasons why, this lack of sales calls,
or call-reluctance is a typical problem that challenges
many salespeople. Usually, some fresh training, additional
new products and services or a change in territory can
offer real solutions for this potentially grave problem. It
actually boils down to an attitude shift on the part of the
salesperson. He must truly want a change for the better and
be willing to work at achieving it.

When a salesperson opens his calendar for the coming week,
disclosing little but white space, he is definitely going
to experience “too much time on his hands” with ”nowhere to
go and all day to get there.” This is neither a desirable
nor profitable position to find yourself in. Begin your day
early with a plan. Set at least one appointment for each
subsequent day and establish a listing of potential
prospects for which you can research or cold-call. Go to
the library or log-on the internet and investigate each
prospect. Discover what they do. Get the names of some key
persons. Do this planning before you leave your office. The
last thing you want or need is to jump into your car,
heading out with little knowledge as to your direction or
destination. Believe me; you will be far better off staying
in your office, planning the next few days’ activities
rather than heading out unprepared and clueless.

Always have a qualified destination mapped out before you
leave. Establish some kind of plan. Do not stop working on
a Friday afternoon until you have at least a rudimentary
plan developed for the next week. Setup a minimum of one
firm appointment for the following Monday and Tuesday. Plan
for several calls and emails on Monday and throughout the
week. If overnight travel is necessary, make those
reservations now. Have an outline of your week and your
coming month prepared in advance. Gather the necessary
literature, samples and other materials and have them
readily available, at your disposal prior to the coming
work week.

You will feel both a great sense of accomplishment and
relief as a result of these efforts. A general plan, some
specific calls and appointments, a list of prospects
targeted, materials gathered, wardrobe readied and
reservations made will provide you with a measure of
confidence and self-esteem that would be missing otherwise.
In this manner, you will be ready for action on all fronts
come Monday. It is guaranteed that you will have a
successful selling week if you are properly prepared in
advance.

Consider this time spent planning as an investment in
yourself, expecting an extraordinary return on your
investment. Yes, Tommy Shaw will have to write a new song
with you in mind: “So much to do, So many to call on.” To
borrow from another song, “The future’s so bright; you’ve
got to wear shades.” That is a revealing picture of you;
riding down the sales highway, prepared for that next
appointment and anticipating your resulting success.

—————————————————-
Daniel Sitter, author of both the popular e-book, Learning
For Profit, and the highly anticipated book, Superior
Selling Skills, has extensive experience in sales,
training, marketing and personal development over a
successful 25 year career. http://www.learningforprofit.com
  Read his blog  http://ideaseller.typepad.com

Copyright 2006 Top Dog Consulting

In light of the downward move of our economy, most of the
sales organizations in this country are scared spitless. I
hate living in fear. Bet you don’t like it much either.
What if you could earn lots more, in considerably less
time, and feel mightily successful when your competitors
are so scared they’re spazzing out (haven’t used that
phrase since high school) chasing their tails in circles,
whimpering, “If buyers aren’t buying we aren’t going to
have a business.”

Top Dogs Want Your Calls

Believe It! Wouldn’t your ears perk up and your tail wag
with anticipation at the thought of spending your selling
time in front of nothing but qualified prospects, with
unlimited check writing privileges, and the ability to say,
“Yes” to your solutions and services?  Could you sit up and
shake hands with prospects that remove obstacles for your
implementation, significantly reduce frustrations, and sign
off on multi-million dollar contracts with you?

Yes, even in a slow economy! These things can and do happen
with Top Dog Selling Strategists. These top-dollar sales
professionals thrive, regardless of economic
conditions. They understand that a down economy gives them
the Lead Dog’s edge, a hunger for bigger contracts, better
contracts, and faster contracts. With laser-like focus,
they mercilessly scrutinize, prioritize and chew to shreds
their least profitable sales practices and identify ways to
leverage their time for more dollars.

What do they do to keep business strong? Make the change to
Top Dog selling. They faithfully call on the presidents’
offices of their existing clients and of prospect
companies. Understanding there is no other single business
decision like this change in selling strategy that will
increase sales revenues geometrically.

A recent publication reported that firms are hiring
additional sales staff to generate revenues. Most likely
those companies justify their investment in salaries for
more sales people by thinking these positions pay for
themselves in terms of revenues generated. That’s one
approach. How ‘bout trying this, support your existing
sales force with increasingly productive sales strategies.
Leverage their profitability by transitioning to a top-down
sales strategy. Make sure that a call below the office of
the president no longer counts as a sales-call. Reward them
as they schedule appointments with Top Dogs.

Sadly, sales professionals continue to use the bottom-up
sales methods they were taught in the beginning of their
careers, even though these habits bring in less than top
dollar results. They steadfastly hold onto the familiar, in
spite of reason. At this point, the commitment to a less
profitable strategy is for some a desperate retreat to the
safe and comfortable. For others, pure ignorance. If you
are currently doing business with levels below the office
of the president of your client companies, make a
profitable change. Get in front of the president.

Top Dog Is Better Than “C” Level

Many an inexperienced pup will protest this idea and insist
on being more inclusive … saying with their nose up in
the air, “My prospects are the people in charge of hiring,
the CIO or some other ‘C’ level person.” Listen up pups,
Big Sales Dogs don’t even bother to sniff at that kind of
reasoning. Here’s why. When you call Top Dogs first, you
have everything to gain, nothing to lose.

First of all, you may get in to see the Top Dog and where
else would you rather be than in front of
the-buck-stops-here person with more decision-making
authority (ability to say “Yes” to you) than any other
person in the company?

Secondly, if a call to the president results in a referral
to a “C-level” person, such as the CIO, your positioning is
stronger than it would have been without that call. What
started out as a cold call has quickly turned to a warm
introduction from the President of the CIO’s very own
company. As you call the CIO you can honestly say, “Your
president’s office said you were the one to handle this
call.” A far more powerful opening line than, “Hello, my
name is J. Doe with ABC Company.” Don’t you agree?

Change Your Prospecting “Hit” Ratio

Business to business numbers since the early 1950’s have
been 2 out of 10-meaning a sales pro who calls 10 prospects
will get 2 appointments. It’s a numbers game. When you add
Top Dog selling strategies to the mix you see a staggering
change. Top Dog Selling Strategists get as many as 8 out of
10, that’s 8 appointments out of calls to 10 Top
Dogs. That’s a skills game. These skilled sales pros
consistently prospect Top Dogs, presidents of
companies; they learn how to control and direct the
90-seconds of telephone time they have with the Top Dog or
his assistant. And they use benefit statements, open-ended,
close-ended, and alternative of choice questions to their
strategic advantage.

“‘What?’ A handful of you say as you recoil in horror. You
want me to go over the heads of the people I’m working with
now to meet with the president?” I understand the Naysayers
are fearful of offending the lower-level people with whom
they are currently doing business by going over their
heads. No one is suggesting for you to sabotage your
current low-level relationship. However, I am telling you
straight up that the path to a level of selling that you
never dared dream of is available to those who leave the
comfort of the familiar for the potential of Top Dog
selling.

Top Dog sales professionals learn to rule fear so it
doesn’t have a chance to rule them to a less productive
end. Fear serves you well when it tells you that more
information is needed before moving forward. And most sales
pros, when given the words to say, will calm their fears
enough to go over the heads of their existing low-level
relationships and meet with Top Dogs, on their turf, where
the big bucks are. Just tell your lower-level contacts that
your new business directive calls for meeting with Top
Dogs. And that you’ll tell their president how pleasurable
and profitable your working relationship has been. From The
Top Dog’s Viewpoint - What’s specifically and strategically
not said is as important as what is said.

Take note, there is nothing in this scenario that asks
permission from the lower-level person to speak to the Top
Dog.

-Your job is to control the conversation. Politely, but
firmly, convey the decision of your new selling strategy.

- Tell the president about your successful relationship
with the lower-levels.

- Your praise of a former contact identifies you as a
partnership player as opposed to an outsider who will climb
over anyone to get to the top.

- The Top Dog will understand the business implications of
your words, that is, your services have already proven to
be profitable to his/her company.

- Less time is required for implementation of your
services, as the people are familiar with your systems.

- Past success on a small scale suggests your services are
a risk worth taking for success on a larger scale.

Look at your time and talents through the experienced eyes
of the Big Sales Dogs who have gone before you. Apply their
wisdom to your business, move to the head of the pack and
enjoy frolicking with the Top Dogs as your sales go through
the woof!

Forward this article to friends—they’ll thank you for it!

—————————————————-
For your FREE mini-course “Jealously Guarded Secrets to
Cold Calling Company Presidents” visit
http://www.ColdCallingExecutives.com ! Or call the office
of Your Sales Coach for Extreme Profitability, author,
speaker, Leslie Buterin (like butterin’ bread) at  (316)
260-3800 9-3 CST (that’s Kansas City/Chicago Time)

Copyright 2006 Mary Foley

Do you spring up in the morning looking forward to another
day at work, or do you hit the snooze button at least three
times and secretly look forward to scanning the want-ads
for a new job?  If your snooze button is getting a work
out, you’re not alone.  A recent Gallup poll found that
fifty percent of working Americans are dissatisfied with
their jobs.  Hmmm, that’s starting to sound like a familiar
divorce statistic.

When I started working right out of college for eight bucks
an hour as a customer service rep at America Online I had
only one thing in mind:  Get a job to pay the bills.  I
never thought I’d stay for ten years, moving up and around
the company with five positions of increasing
responsibility and pay.  This was in the 1990s when AOL
went from a speck on the internet map to a huge online
giant.  It was an exciting ride to be sure, but it came
with a price.  The price was frequent layoffs (I survived
six!), constant change (who is my boss now?), and pressure
to perform (are these deadlines normal?).

Yet, year after year, I chose to work there!  Why?  Because
with experience I realized there were five keys to my job
satisfaction.  Like a marriage, some of these were things
were dependent upon my behavior and some were directly
affected by someone else.  Whenever I started to wonder if
this relationship was working for me, I reviewed my Job
Satisfaction Checklist.  You can use it, too, to determine
if your current job is worth keeping or if it’s time for a
change.

Job Satisfaction Checklist

1.) I believe in the company’s mission and vision.  A
friend who was recently looking for a new job said she
wanted to work for a company whose mission included giving
back to the local community.  Ask yourself:  Do you like
what the company is about and stands for?  Are you proud to
be associated with it, or do you avoid mentioning their
name?

2.) I enjoy my role and feel I’m making a valuable
contribution.  I always found that enjoying my current role
was important, but I also wanted to understand how my role
fit into a bigger picture.  Both together added so much
more meaning. Ask yourself:  Do I like my day to day tasks
and activities?  Do I know how what I do fits into the
bigger picture of the department or company?

3.) I have the opportunity to do more.  If others recognize
that you’re making a valuable contribution in your current
role, it’s amazing how much easier it is to get more
opportunities.  Ask yourself:  Is the company growing?  Are
new jobs opening up or being created in areas that interest
me?  Is the company supportive of promoting people within?

4.) I enjoy the people I work with, including my boss!
There’s a reason why they do workshops on “Dealing with
Difficult People.”  It’s a big drain to constantly interact
with people who are critical, negative, or disrespectful.
Ask yourself:  Are the people I interact with on a daily
basis friendly and easy to work with?  Do I feel
comfortable with my boss?

5.) I feel I’m being fairly paid.  If you’re working hard
and find out that someone doing in a similar role is being
paid more than you, well, there’s the rub! Ask yourself:
Do I know what is considered fair pay for my skills? (If
you’re not sure, check out www.salary.com)  Have I
considered the value of my entire compensation package,
including salary, bonuses, and benefits?

By using this quick checklist and asking yourself these
questions, you can start to understand just how satisfied –
or dissatisfied – you are with your current job.  If found
yourself coming up short, like I did in my last position at
AOL, only you can determine if it’s worth trying to work
things out.  No matter what you decided, the important
thing is to understand why you are dissatisfied with your
current job so that you can take that into account when you
are looking for a new one.  Or, you can do what I did and
use this reflection to start a whole new career!

—————————————————-
Mary Foley, author of “Bodacious! Career:  Outrageous
Success for Working Women”, inspires people to take charge
of their lives and grow their careers and business.  Tired
of seeing so many people weary from jobs they hate, Mary
created “6 Steps to Win the Job You Really Want” , which
draws from her ten years at AOL forging her personal
career, hiring hundreds of people, training managers how to
interview, and being co-owner of a human resources research
and consulting firm.  To find out more, check out
http://www.new-job-search.com