Call Center Cafe

Effective Corporate Communication

gyahner — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:54:15 +0000

In an economy which generally has seen revenues in decline, some employers have managed to accomplish amazing things. Their key to reaching or even surpassing ambitious goals during a downturn is relatively simple: effective communication.

Effective corporate communication inside the workplace is an invaluable tool to improve morale, identify fresh ideas, and help shape corporate strategy. Communication methods among these employers are varied, but all make a concerted effort to attain their business goals.

“We try to have a three-prong approach to our communication strategy,” says Rob Randelman, president of Ocean Optics, a Florida based company specializing in spectroscopy and photonic instruments and optical sensing. “We aim for transparency with employees, open forums where anything is open for discussion, and we always have something employees can digest on their own.”

Jay Kumler, president of Coastal Optical Systems, a subsidiary of Jenoptik, says his strategy is to communicate more frequently and with more information. “It’s a pat answer, but it’s true,” Kumler says. “We have quarterly meetings and weekly job sheets. We give detailed access to everyone so they know what we are currently doing.”

Here are some of the elements successful employers cite as critical in their strategies:

Keep Communication Regular and Straightforward

Employees are looking for straightforward, truthful answers to their questions. A common element in most successful communication strategies is conducting employee meetings that are frank and open discussions. These regularly scheduled events provide an opportunity for the leadership to keep employees current on programs, progress, and the general business environment.

In the end, the effectiveness of these meetings hinges on developing opportunities to answer employees’ questions and address their concerns. To solicit employee participation, companies use a variety of approaches ranging from an open forum to question boxes where employees can submit questions confidentially. Regardless of the particular format used, in an informal survey of CEOs, the level of straightforwardness and honesty correlate highly with the effectiveness of these sessions.

Increase Face Time Around the Office

“We try to schedule time in remote offices that don’t correspond to any other activities like trade shows or customer events,” Randelman says. Ocean Optics’ corporate office and manufacturing facilities are in Florida but it does business out of offices in China and Europe. “This lets our leadership team be seen by our employees without other distractions.”

Some CEOs suggested one way to increase face time around the office: locate executive offices in different parts of the building. This simple strategy requires leadership team members to walk the halls much more frequently on their way to meetings.

Seek Out “Tribal Leaders”

Knowing that communications are passed informally between employees is key to a successful strategy.

“Hoagies with Holly” is a program that Dave Holly, president of the Communication Test & Measurement business segment at JDSU, implemented years ago. It is an informal lunch with about eight people from different departments of the company. The participants change every month. No questions are considered off limits.

“I would rather they ask the tough questions so I can get the truth out in the open, rather than people making up their own stories.” Holly says.

“Tribal leaders” is how Randelman describes this informal group of people. They are the key communication influencers in the office and/or manufacturing floor. Randelman’s team at Ocean Optics seeks out these “tribal leaders” and uses them to help communicate informally to the rest of the team.

Both Randelman and Holly agree that these small group meetings help prevent speculative rumors from spreading by correcting any misinformation on an informal basis.

Share Good News and Bad

People read newspapers, watch television and are generally knowledgeable about what is going on with the economy. A marketing manager from Georgia recently told me: “Just tell me the truth. Tell me what I can expect, and let me help be part of the solution.”

The more the employees know about the state of the business, the more they understand why certain decisions are necessary. Recently, Randelman posed questions regarding benefits and salary issues to his employees. The employees were able to provide input that helped the leadership team reach their decision. Randelman noted Ocean Optics has even posed strategic questions to all employees and asked them to provide comments and feedback.

Continue to Open New Avenues of Communication

An effective communication strategy takes investment. But whether it is increasing face time in remote locations or investing in capital equipment such as video conferencing technology, the effort does not go unnoticed by employees.

“We learned from the downturn in 2001,” says Dave Holly. He explained that JDSU started investing in a variety of communications methods. While some employees wondered what was afoot, the company proved to be ahead of the curve once the economy started to decline. The company is committed—whether through video conferencing, increased face time with all locations or other means—to a consistent and regular messaging in a variety of methods.

“It helps my employees to know that at any time they can speak to me on Skype video conferencing even if it is just for a few minutes to resolve an issue or to strategize, “says Randelman. “People appreciate the time and enjoy using the medium.”

Unfortunately, some companies have had to pursue staff reductions, pay cuts, furloughs and shortened work weeks to survive the current downturn in the economy. While necessary or even critical in the short term, companies with long term vision and an eye on recovery have focused on developing an effective communication strategy. They know it is critical in building confidence and keeping their employees focused on moving the business forward.

Copyright © 2009 Paul S. Palmer
Paul S. Palmer, founder and owner of Global Recruiters of Sarasota, helps companies identify and hire talent in the technology based industries. He uses a step-by step process that helps match company needs and goals with an individual’s motivations, style and abilities. Visit his website at http://www.grnsarasota.com or call him at 941-538-7741 for more information.

CAVE Dwellers

gyahner — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:08:52 +0000

A professional acquaintance shared the expression “CAVE Dwellers” with me. CAVE means “Colleagues Against Virtually Everything.” Of course, CAVE Dwellers do not include those who rationally and respectfully oppose a particular change.

If you have a vivid visual model of a very different future for you, your family, or your organization and you practice goal setting you are probably a change agent. You can relate to CAVE Dwellers-you’ve met many.

When you contemplate leading a change, expect the CAVE Dwellers to come out early on-and in large numbers relative to the size of the group that would be affected, or thinks they would be affected, by the change. These opponents are usually not a minority, at least initially in a change process.

Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian politician and writer, forcefully characterized the intensity of negative reactions to possible change and the challenge of effecting substantive change when he said: “There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system.

For the initiators have the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institutions and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new one.”

My experience suggests that the dynamics of a successful change effort follow a stretched out “S” curve. Picture time on the horizontal axis and cumulative progress toward change on the vertical axis.

Change starts slow in the “can’t be done stage,” accelerates in the “now we see how to do it stage,” and slows in the “we’re still against everything stage.” The last stage is dominated by the few remaining CAVE Dwellers.

When the change is successfully accomplished, almost everyone claims “I was for this from the beginning” and a few of these go on to say “and it was my idea.” Meanwhile, a small group of change agents are already working on the next major change fully aware that a new group of CAVE Dwellers are ready to come at them.

Stuart G. Walesh, Ph.D., P.E., an author and independent consultant, helps individuals and organizations engineer their futures. Drawing on his employment experiences in the public, business, and academic sectors, he provides education and training (workshops, webinars), facilitation, writing and editing, marketing, and project management services. Those services and his self-study products are described at http://www.HelpingYouEngineerYourFuture.com.

10 Steps For Conducting Effective Meetings

gyahner — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:59:29 +0000

Meetings are not new to the workplace, most organizations have plenty of them! However, despite the frequency with which we attend and participate in meetings, few meetings tend to be well run. A common complaint within most organizations is that the majority of meetings seem to be a waste of time.

If practice is the precursor to skill development, then shouldn’t the very fact we are constantly being called into meetings mean that we have all logged enough ‘practice’ meeting hours that we should have passed the proficiency level long ago?

If sheer number of hours sitting in boardrooms counted as practice – then yes! However, few of us, regardless of the number of meetings attended thus far in our careers, have had the opportunity to participate in truly well run, effective and efficient meetings. You would certainly know when you had or indeed, ‘if’ you had.

Unfortunately, most organizations tend to fall for the erroneous assumption that running effective meetings does not require specific skill development and therefore fail to give adequate direction, training or support.

It is left to us to determine what makes a meeting effective, efficient and successful, and to start implementing those practices. Hopefully, others will soon follow suit, making our lives easier and our time in meetings more worthwhile.

The following steps have been found to be those that are absolutely key to increasing the effectiveness of your meetings. Although other elements could be added, the following are the foundational elements contained within all effective meetings.

10 Steps…

1. Identify the purpose of the meeting. This step addresses the critical question – “Is there really a need to hold a meeting?”

2. Choose your Attendees. Consider inviting those that have experience in the topic under question, those that are involved in the process in some way or those that have a vested interest in the outcome of the resolution of the issue. Otherwise, considering leaving them off your list!

3. Determine your Desired Outcomes. This step asks you to consider the end state, the desired results of the meeting. What do you want to accomplish in the time you have together?

4. Type of Meeting. Different meetings need different types of conversations. Think about your desired outcomes and therefore the type of meeting you are proposing having. Are you looking to share information, to brainstorm new solutions and possibilities or to make a decision?

5. Develop an Agenda. Each meeting must have an agenda. It serves as a road map of what is to be shared, discussed and decided upon, providing attendees with an understanding of what their involvement in the process is likely to be. Distributing the agenda prior to the meeting itself allows attendees the opportunity to prepare their contribution prior to attending.

6. Roles Required. There are a number of different roles that you may choose to assign to attendees to ensure that your meeting runs smoothly. It will be up to you to determine what roles would prove to be beneficial for the group, given your objective(s) for the meeting. Roles could include: facilitator, secondary facilitators, recorder, time-keeper, presenters, process guides, etc.

7. Agree on the Ground Rules. Gaining agreement on some basic meeting ground rules and etiquette can add to the creation of a positive meeting environment. Setting some guidelines up-front can serve to establish accountability and reduce members’ frustrations with one another.

8. Establish Decision-making Processes. Ensure that attendees understand how decisions are to be made, for every agenda item requiring a decision, prior to the discussion. Attendees have the right to know and understand the parameters of their involvement in the decision-making process. Are they simply providing input to a decision that will be made higher up or are they going to be actively looking to achieve consensus with the other meeting participants?

9. Clarify Next Steps and Assignments. Before you close any meeting, you need to take the time to review the agreements that have been made, the action steps that have been determined and who has assumed responsibility for moving them forward. This step enables you to confirm everyone’s commitment to the established route and action steps.

10. Evaluation of Meeting Effectiveness. This final step in the process is your way to determine how each of the attendees felt about the meeting. You can make this as formal or informal a component as you choose, but don’t overlook determining what worked for the attendees and what didn’t. Think of this as your personal feedback tool, ensuring that you continue to refine your meeting management skills.

About the Author:
As the President of the Titan Training Group, Cindy Dachuk has traveled throughout the United States and Canada delivering workshops and training programs, primarily in: Understanding Style Differences, Personality-Based Persuasion, Executive Presence, Personal Branding, Gender Differences, Personal Presentation Skills. Cindy’s work as Personal Coach has provided her with the opportunity to work with clients on a one-on-one basis, mentoring them in the development of a personal plant of action. Her book, It’s Time Now, is based on her experiences in helping others identify and achieve their life goals.

http://www.titantraining.ca

How to Have a Happier Workforce

gyahner — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:02:36 +0000

A person’s working environment is very important on their well being. It’s where they spend a large part of their day, and if their surroundings are dreary and glum, then this will reflect on them. A healthy, happy person will be more productive in the workplace, therefore helping a business to perform better.

Office design is an important factor to inspire staff, increase productivity, and consequently benefit the company.

There are several contributing factors to improved happiness in the workplace, and here are a few of them:

- air quality: making sure heating and air-con systems are properly maintained
- lighting: ensuring enough natural light is available to protect eyesight
- furnishings: getting the best use out of your space and set up furniture appropriately
- colours: using stimulating & refreshing colours that promote high energy levels
- noise level: ensuring that noise levels from traffic and outside sources are not too high.

Designated lunch areas allow workers to escape from their desks and have a break from the working day, which can help to increase afternoon energy levels. Lunch rooms also help to keep desk areas clean and tidy and free from food spills.

Bringing in plants and flowers to an office can also have a positive effect on workers. Research has shown incorporating natural features into office design can have calming consequences. In addition, windows which reveal green spaces and garden areas are a good way to help employees feel less claustrophobic.

A workplace that is too bare can have a negative effect upon workers, creating a feeling of being closed in. Decorating your office using refreshing colours, and displaying stimulating artwork on the walls can help to inspire staff

Sustainability is a key element to office design. By having an inspiring office that not only looks good but incorporates sustainability and energy efficiency can save you money from day one. There are many ways in which you can make your office greener, for example using sustainable materials including furniture & lighting and installing sustainable washrooms that use less water.

Office design is not likely to be high on the agenda for most businesses at present, but in reality, by improving office space, employers can increase staff morale and motivation thereby increasing productivity and helping to secure a company’s future. Follow these key pieces of advice listed and your workforce will be performing to their best.

Lucy Penn is an online marketer and researcher who is currently researching Office Design at http://www.klcontracts.co.uk/design

How to Deal With Difficult People at Work – 3 Quick Tips to Handle the Office Monsters

gyahner — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:20:39 +0000

It’s not easy to know how to deal with difficult people at work. And unfortunately, there’s not just one kind of difficult person you have to contend with everyday. There’s the bossy co-worker, the annoying busybody, the egoistical superior… The list goes on and on.

However, these people don’t have to ruin your day. There are ways on how you can handle the situation when bumping into them. If you want to learn how to deal with difficult people at work, read on!

1) Don’t take it personally.

Difficult people are difficult because of their own upbringing and experiences, and not because of you. That’s the first thing you have to remember when dealing with difficult people at work.

How they act has nothing to do with you. And truth be told, they probably act that way around other people as well. So instead of letting their attitude get the better of you, separate yourself from it.

Don’t take their remarks, or whatever annoying thing, they did to heart. That’s just the way some people are; and sometimes, it’s best to just leave them alone.

2) Focus on your own performance.

Another way on how to deal with difficult people at work is by focusing on your own performance instead. This will not only keep you from paying them too much attention (hence, minimizing the chances of saying or doing something you’ll regret later on), it will also help you stand out as a good employee.

Frankly, giving difficult people at work too much attention will eat away at your own prowess. If you want to come out on top, focus all your energies into putting your best foot forward.

3) Smile.

Some people expect you to give them a certain kind of reaction. However, doing the complete opposite will absolutely stun them. And perhaps, even stun them enough to leave you alone.

The next time a co-worker tells you how unsophisticated your cellphone is compared to his, why don’t you keep your face pleasant and congratulate him sincerely for owning such a fine gadget. Or the next time that someone tries to put you down, shock him with a smile and go about your own duties.

Learning how to deal with difficult people at work is a must for anyone who wants to stay sane in any industry. Let’s face it. Every company has difficult people on its payroll. The only difference lies in how you deal with them. Don’t let such petty things take over your work life. Expend your energies on more worthwhile things like boosting your own performance instead.

Want to put difficult people under your control? Use conversational hypnosis to easily conquer difficult people and get them to eagerly do anything you want (without them knowing it)! Get a FREE course that reveals groundbreaking persuasion techniques and secrets at http://www.20daypersuasion.com/secrets.htm.

Call Center Helps Companies to Cut Costs – Not Quality

gyahner — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:02:23 +0000

One of the best things about Call Centers is that they cut the operating cost of any business without a reduction in efficiency and quality. Most of the quality call centers go to great lengths to provide best customer support services and as they have highly skilled customer service representatives who take pride in their quality of work and services.

As contact center agents are main assets of any company and play very important role in customer support services. In any call centers, these agents are the person who directly interact with your customers and help you to make good relationship with your customers for long run.

Call centre agents are really the voice of your company who help you to make good image in front of your potential customers.

For any call centre agent it is very important to resolve all queries of the customers before hang up the phone, so try to get more an more information and check all of their issues, ask questions to them and find out as much as you can about their situation. As you never know when there could be something else you could do for them. They will be delighted that you have gone some extra miles for them, even though it should really be standard level of service.

If your have a goal to provide excellent customer support service to telephone, e-mail or web based customers then you may really need a professional Call Centre. In the recent time, Call Centres not only answer phone calls they also look up and quote information, take detailed and accurate orders and messages, receive and transmit faxes and emails, and make sure the right person gets the message. In today’s competitive environment call centres are dealing with different type of services to help their client including, inbound, outbound call handling, back office support, email and chat support, technical help desk support to the client across the globe.

To ensure your customers are handled professionally, most quality Call Centers help you to customize services according to your needs. Most of the contact centers having well qualified and good experienced call centre agents help you by answering your customer’s call for 24×7 hrs and your customers don’t not even know that they are talking to a call centre. Under the one roof of these call centre your customers are greeted and helped with friendly, polite telephone answering professionals.

James McGuire is associated with call center India since a long time. Call Center India (CCI) is a CISCO funded company and Its management team has over 25 years of combined experience in call center outsourcing offering call center services india including call center inbound services, customer care services, call answering services, technical support services, outbound telemarketing services, back office services and etc.

Your Top 10 Email Frustrations – Survey Results

gyahner — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:22:25 +0000

The ease of email communication does not necessarily make it easy to communicate. It can be difficult to navigate through the barrage of emails filling our inboxes sapping our time, energy and attention. You voiced your frustrations loud and clear.

Thank you for the tremendous response, for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Special appreciation to all the great folks on Twitter responding with their usual insight and humor.

Here are “Your Top 10″ frustrations with the business email you receive:

1. What’s the point? This is the biggest frustration for all of us. We read the first two sentences of an email and have no clue why the person sent it. Scanning (that’s how we read the torrent of emails we receive) the rest of the message, we still can’t find the reason we received it.

If it is not from someone we know, we quickly hit the delete button. If it is from a known source or possibly important, we shovel our way through the mud trying to find the sender’s intent. Not only have we used valuable time to dig through the muck, our opinion of the writer went down a notch or two.

2. Subject line is blank, useless or off-topic. A close second for the biggest email frustration is useless subject lines. The subject line is supposed to be a preview of what’s to follow. It’s the only part of the message the sender can be reasonably certain we will read.

So why do they squander it with meaningless headlines like; Hi, FYI, Good Morning, Tues. or leave it blank? I presume there was a purpose for sending me the email (at least in their minds), so why not tell me the main point up front? If you get my attention with a good subject line, I am more likely to read the rest of the email a bit more carefully. How difficult is it to change the subject line when the topic has changed?

Last week I opened an email labeled “Project Update”, and it was a request for information on a completely unrelated topic. The sender is requesting action or information so wouldn’t they want to highlight it?

3. Wordiness. Bureaucratic jargon, worn-out clichés and other useless phrases contaminate even the best email message. Despite my best efforts, I know some of these tired expressions slip into mine. We would rather the writer got to the point quickly. Why don’t they?

Many business people feel they have to dress their message in an Armani suit or trot out the $100 words to appear knowledgeable and demonstrate their expertise. Give us a short and clear message and we’ll declare you a genius.

4. Punctuation and Grammar Errors: We all make mistakes, and understand that others do too. But when an email is filled with grammar and punctuation errors, we focus on these and not the message. One of the most abused letters in the alphabet is “i”.

It is not hard to capitalize a letter, and since they are referring to themselves, aren’t they worth the effort?

I am not a grammar guru by anyone’s standards, but do try to use the basic skills. The choice to ignore basic eight-grade level English skills makes us feel unimportant, not worth the time and effort of fundamental writing skills.

5. Why didn’t they read the first one? You provided all the necessary information in the first email, and now they are asking for it again. Smoke billows from your ears as you find a nice way to tell them that you already sent everything they are asking for. I usually forward the original email with a quick note suggesting the first one might have been caught by their spam filter or lost in cyber-space.

6. Knowing when to hold ‘em: You were clear that this category was separate from angry, inappropriate emails, but referring to messages updating us on projects we are no longer involved in, those forwarded in an effort to disguise tattle-telling, and criticisms disguised as helpful comments. What about the person who walks by your office 5 times a day, why did they have to send an email?

You also do not want the endless stream of joke, poems, cute pictures, and chain emails flooding into your business account, preferring to share those with family and friends through a personal account. Don’t forget the countless emails with no results. When the third email has passed through with no resolution, it is time to pick up the phone.

7. Hiding behind the email screen: You are upset with messages sent to shield the sender from speaking with you because of a difficult situation, conflict, or miscommunication issue. We know these are best handled in person, or at the very least on the phone. Email only flames the situation, and rarely results in a satisfactory solution. I understand that they don’t want to personally deal with unpleasant circumstances, but it can make a bad situation worse, damaging future associations.

8. Forwarding without editing first: We are all tired of messages forwarded complete with the entire thread still in tact and displaying every recipient’s email address. Wouldn’t it be nice if the sender edited out unnecessary information and summarized the important points? Telling us why they are sending helps soothe our impatience. Senders take a risk when forwarding long threads. First, the odds of us reading beyond the first two sentences in the message are slim. Second, there may be information the original sender did not want others to see. Sometimes we forget that any email we send can be forwarded to anyone. By some magic, people find the one piece of information we did not want broadcasted and make sure everyone sees it.

9. Abrupt or rude: Chances are the sender did not mean to appear harsh. They forgot how important tone is when writing. Without the benefit of facial expressions and gestures to convey their attitude, we can only interpret their words. If they had used full sentences, chosen better words, or taken a moment to read the message before sending it, I like to think they would have rewritten it.

10. Reply to all: I keep thinking I can remove this reminder from my better business writing workshops, but inevitably, a participant brings it up and others quickly chime in with their own tales of annoyance. It is kind of someone to thank the person who provided extra assistance, but did all 233 of our inboxes need to be clogged with a message for one person?

We think it is simple common sense, but it remains one of the top ten frustrations.

Did your biggest frustrations make the top 10? Is the survey missing something you find exasperating in the business emails you receive. Please leave a comment for a follow-up article.

Write Well – Right Results

Jane Dominguez, CPA
The Write Business Advantage
On-site Workshops for Better Business Writing Today
(520) 668-0327

jane@writebusinessadvantage.com
http://www.writebusinessadvantage.com

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/WriteAdvantage.

Which is Best For Improving Workplace Productivity – Coaching Or Training?

gyahner — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:36:14 +0000

We seem to use the words of coaching and training to mean the same thing. What are the real differences between coaching and training. Is it possible for trainers to coach in the workplace or is it the role of the manager alone?

We have to clearly define what coaching is and compare the two processes side-by-side. Which one will give us improved productivity? If we look at the difficulties faced by managers, we can see how taking on the mantle of productivity coach can help them in tasks like target and goal setting.

Just think about the difficulties associated with moving from being a follower to being a leader. And then think how much harder it is to move from being a manager to being a coach.

Coaching is not training

For a lot of people the word “coaching” has replaced the word training meaning to teach or instruct people. Both training and coaching our very important but let’s be absolutely clear that training comes before coaching.

In the workplace, training normally takes place in groups and is often conducted away from the workplace. Coaching on the other hand, frequently takes place in the workplace on-the-job. Very often it is one-on-one In both cases we are trying to create a change in behavior..

Coaching helps to develop the skills because it involves the practical application of knowledge. Training cannot perform this function. This doesn’t mean that training has no place in learning. Training is the starting place of the mechanism of learning.

People are trying to do job in a particular way and within certain limitations. After this they can generally be coached to do it better. This assumes that training can only take somebody part of the way to their potential. It has been said that most people (80%) reach the limit of their ability through training. They require coaching to reach and learn new levels of performance that under normal circumstances would remain untapped

When you think of it, we all arrive at work with a present level of knowledge, skills and experience. When we receive training, our ability level rises. Significantly, whilst our ability level has increased we all have a considerable level of untapped knowledge and skills that could contribute to an even higher performance level.

In the workplace, one of the greatest differences between training and coaching is that training objectives are normally set by trainers, or HR managers. This process takes place often without the input from the people receiving the training.

Because they have been excluded from this process, difficulties are often experienced by the person doing the training because he or she has a group that have become what could be known as training “victims.” Their training has been prescribed for them and they have no ownership of the content or the delivery.

Whilst the trainees may physically take part in the training session, mentally they will not accept any change. The result is that there is very little transfer of the training evident in behavioral change in the workplace. Frequently, there is no coaching, so the value of the training to the business is extremely low.

When it comes to coaching, often the same thing happens. This is in spite of the fact that the coaching needs are best determined by the people receiving the coaching.

The solution is relatively simple, make sure that the people receiving the training have input to the selection of the trainer, the method of delivery and the desired results. A similar solution can be applied to the coaching. The selection of the coach and the desired results should be a part of the responsibility of the people being coached.

Training without coaching has very limited effect on behaviour. Coaching should always take place so the participants in the training know that they are going to receive coaching. From a behavioral science aspect, this makes perfect sense. training is an antecedent and coaching is a consequence. When they are paired together the results in productivity performance can be considerable.

PL Mitchell is a business consultant who has helped many businesses to lift their labor productivity in the workplace at little or low cost. His practical guide The Key To Productivity should be on every manager’s desk and used to install your productivity improvement program.

Download your FREE booklet on increasing workplace labor productivity. Go NOW to http://www.thekeytoproductivity.com/.

Getting Past the Gatekeeper in the Sales Process

gyahner — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:08:55 +0000

You’ve worked on your presentation, your communication skills, and your research in order to persuade a particular client. But then you realize that getting to the decision maker is going to be more difficult than you imagined, because that person has a gatekeeper. Let’s discover some strategies for getting past the gatekeeper effectively, without creating a conflict.

First, it’s important to understand that there is more than one type of gatekeeper. The first type of gatekeeper is the permanent one, who is usually an executive assistant, administrative assistant, or secretary. This person probably holds all of the access to the decision maker, and he or she can make the decision as to whether you get through to that person or not.

The second type of gatekeeper is the temporary or situational gatekeeper, which is a person who is working on a project with the decision-maker. That person may be a committee member, a team member, or a person on a project who is assigned to RFP’s and demonstrations.

It’s important to understand what type of gatekeeper you’re dealing with in order to fashion your strategy. What works on one type of gatekeeper may not work on another. Now, let’s take a look at three strategies for getting through the gatekeeper – or avoiding him or her completely.

The first strategy is a direct approach. You’re dealing with a decision-maker, who sometimes may be a manager or director. Think about how that person operates. He or she is probably someone who is confident and works with self-assurance. If he or she were to request to speak with someone, he or she would probably be direct instead of “beating around the bush”.

You can use this approach to get through the gatekeeper. Be polite, and never take a rude tone, but consider saying, “Could you tell Mr. So-and-so that Bob from XYZ Company is on the line?” This approach may not always work, but it may cause the gatekeeper to stray away from asking too many questions.

Another strategy may take you all the way around the gatekeeper. In this strategy, you must consider using another “gate”. Are there industry groups or networking events that the decision maker belongs to or attends?

If so, consider going to these events or joining the group in order to get an introduction. Remember that groups such as Chambers of Commerce or industry-specific groups use their events for networking; you cannot go to an event without the prospect of someone introducing him or herself to you.

And decision makers know this, as well. In fact, some decision makers go to these events for the purpose of seeking out possible business partners. Here’s another way to use this approach. Once you’ve met the decision-maker, you can use the direct approach with the gatekeeper, as we just discussed.

But when the gatekeeper says, “What’s this about?” you won’t be stuck fumbling for an answer. Say, “I just met her at the Chamber of Commerce meeting and I have a business opportunity to discuss with her.” When you relate it that way, the gatekeeper is far more likely to let you get through.

A final strategy is also a very effective one with permanent gatekeepers. Make an ally of the gatekeeper and sell to him or her. Think about it. Many executive level decision-makers trust their entire lives to the assistant. That person has control over the executive’s calendar, office, files, etc.

The decision maker most likely respects that person’s opinion. First, find some common ground with the gatekeeper. Then introduce yourself to him or her as a solution-bearer. When you do this, you’re “getting chummy” with the gatekeeper and you’re going to have some influence there, as well.

The important thing to remember when formulating strategies for getting through a gatekeeper is that the approach is not a “one size fits all”. When you do your research, find out if a gatekeeper exists. Find out what kind of gatekeeper he or she is – and judge how that person will react to various approaches.

If you make your gatekeeper strategy a part of your initial research and preparation, you’ll find that your sales process is easier – and that getting through the gatekeeper is not such a terrible chore.

Bryant Nielson – Learning & Development Expert – assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for many sales organizations. Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

Subscribe to his blog at: http://www.BryantNielson.com

Customer Service Call Centers Cater Pure Professionalism

gyahner — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:28:29 +0000

Customer services have to be smart, prompt and genuine, irrespective of the size of the Company.

The perfect union of state of the art technology and pure professionalism create an atmosphere to meet the varied demands of esteemed clients. Another distinct quality is commitment of time and completion of job that distinguishes a particular Company from other Call Centers.

There are various technologies and methods involved in customizing a package as per the Client’s requirements. Today’s market is quite complex and each and every client has a unique demand of their own and wants that demand to be fulfilled in a very distinct manner.

There are numerous activities involved in the Customer services category and all these activities are dealt with equal efficiency through an efficient Call Center. In fact a call center has to work according to the specifications of their clients, but of course slight variations and modifications are permitted.

There are 24×7x365 answering services available, to fulfill client’s specifications and customer specifications. Customer service Call Centers include live internet operators and live receptionists for numerous activities involved in customer services.

There are numerous activity listings in the huge profile of customer services. These include legal and medical answering services for lawyer and doctors. The various customer services offered for lawyers and doctors through Call Centers are appointment fixing, reconfirmation of appointments, query answering, camp information telephonically and its subsequent registration.

One doesn’t have to be big to avail enterprise solutions in terms of their customer satisfaction. However, customer satisfaction is very important in deciding the future of a company. One single dissatisfied customer will generate four other in a row. Similarly, one highly satisfied customer will generate more business with word of mouth marketing.

For a Company to be successful in any desired field, it is very essential that the Company has trained professional staff who work to perform their activities in a truly professional manner. All the client’s needs are carefully examined and studied and then a procedural policy is drafted as personalized package for that client’s business environment.

This is indeed an exclusive package designed and created for that single client.

This kind of task provides a professional business image to the client through customer service call center.

Jack Morkel is a well known author and has written articles on BPO Centers, Call Center Outsourcing, Lead Generation Services, Telemarketing Companies and many other subjects.

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