Laura Benjamin's Newsletter

Laura Benjamin's Newsletter

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Circulation: 1700 give or take a few

Vol. 5, Number 2 - February 2004

Publisher: Laura Benjamin

http://www.laurabenjamin.com

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Quotes of the month: There are three ways to get something done: do it

yourself, employ someone, or forbid your children to do it." (Monta Crane)

Your passion is waiting for your courage to catch up.(Marilyn Greist)

Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid it will never begin. (Grace Hansen)

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. (Judy Garland)

More quotes at www.LauraBenjamin.com

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Privacy Statement: We never release your contact info.

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In This Issue

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1. Marketing Tips

2. Management Tips

3. Useful Resources

4. Shameless You Know What (always at the end)

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1. Marketing Tips

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Networking meetings are crucial to business development

efforts. Here are some do's and don'ts:

-Don't ask to meet with someone by saying, "I'd like to

spend some time getting to know more about you and your

business" and then spend the entire meeting on nothing

except your "sales pitch".

-Do spend the greatest percentage of your time listening

and learning more about the other person. Ask sincere

questions about them and their business.

-Don't open the meeting by giving them a gift, like a pen

or a mug. It changes the tone of the conversation by

introducing a sense of obligation and may make the

recipient feel you have an ulterior motive.

-Do inquire early in the conversation how you could be of

support to them. Are they looking for good employees,

leads, leased building space, etc.

-Don't wait until the end of the meeting as you are

rushing to make your next appointment to utter these

dreadful words, "...and if there's anything I can ever

do for you..."

"Push" vs "Pull" Prospecting Efforts:

There is more than one way to prospect, did ya know?

"Push" methods aren't the only way (cold calls, direct

mail, email campaigns) and may do more harm than good in

some cases. Focused, consistent, relationship based

efforts may not be your preferred method, but might work

much better for that low-keyed, easy going salesperson on

your team. Coach your team to find the style that serves

them best and matches the customer's preferred style.

There's more than one way to "skin a cat" so to speak.

Customer/Partner Appreciation Idea:

Thank your customers or partners by hosting an appreciation

workshop where they get food, a mini-workshop on team roles,

updates on your products or services, and a gift. Consider

partnering with an outside presenter (guess who?) to offer

practical ideas they can use to better their business.

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2. Management Tips

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Is it better to "duck and stay, for peace and pay?"

(anonymous quote)

We may be doing ourselves a disservice as we prepare our

organizations for succession planning initiatives and labor

shortages in the upcoming years. More often, I'm hearing

from folks who are opting not to accept a promotion in order

to keep their health and their families intact. Numbers of

others are voluntarily stepping down from leadership roles

because the stress is, in some cases, killing them.

On one hand, we're piling on the responsibilities, raising

the bar, and improving productivity to record levels. But

on the other hand we're showing our emerging leaders exactly

what price they'll pay when they step into a new role. We

say with pride and passion, "If you can't hack it, you don't

deserve to be here", then wonder why the numbers of internal

job candidates are shrinking, good people are leaving, and

frontline folks would rather stay where they are.

Yes, we need to focus on improving productivity, challenge

ourselves to achieve new heights, and look for ways to

improve shareholder value. However, if we take pride in

creating cultures that drive people out the door or discourage

them from stepping into leadership roles, aren't we defeating

the purpose?

We must balance our rights to make a profit with our responsi-

bilities to our employees and ultimately our customers. It's

interesting to launch a "customer-centric" initiative at the

same time we're aggressively taking the "human" out of human

resources. Doesn't make much sense.

Interesting Data:

American Management Association as reported in the February

2004 issue of Inc. magazine says that 30% of managers have

dated someone from work; 44% of those relationships resulted

in marriage, and another 23% led to a long-term commitment.

If you're wondering why folks ask you to repeat yourself:

The League for the Hard of Hearing confirmed in a recent study

that from 1982-2000, the incidence of hearing loss increased

from 15-60% in all age groups.

Question from a frontline supervisor: How do you teach an

employee not to ask the same question over and over again?

Answer: Have them develop a frequently asked question job aid

where they must record each question they bring to you. Ask

them to reference their FAQ sheet before coming to you. If

you find there is repetition, it may signal a training issue,

an auditory processing issue, a focus issue, etc. They may be

a visual vs an auditory learner and need color coded visual

cues to refer to. They may be in the wrong job, or simply

"acting out" to get attention in a negative way. Find out

the motivation before you proscribe the antidote.

The employee mentioned in last month's newsletter did end up

giving her notice. Readers suggested the following:

-Managers should not postpone job related discussions. If

it's important enough for the employee to raise the issue, it

should be important enough for the manager to take time.

-It's better to discuss in person than via email because of

the increased possibility of misunderstandings.

-It illustrates the balancing act between employee issues and

management challenges. What is the ultimate outcome that both

sides are trying to achieve? How is that best attained?

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3. Useful Resources

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A fascinating article on the differences between how boys

and girls learn. Perfect for anyone who teaches or trains.

http://www.singlesexschools.org/differences.html

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4. Shameless You-Know-What...Always at the End

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Popular Workshops:

-How to Get Your Site to the Top of the Search

-Market Yourself (and Your Business) in a Down Economy

-Employee Retention: Dare to be Different

-Call of the Wild: Taming "Godzilla" and Other Difficult People

-Customer Complaints: Turn Your Service Contacts into Sales Dollars

-Teamwork: There IS an "I" in Team

-How to Hit the Numbers: Coach Your Sales Team to Higher Profits and Performance

-Behavioral Styles: Your Personality is Showing!

Want to train your people on one of the most highly

validated behavioral style instruments around? Want to

learn how to do it yourself? Call to discuss how to set

up a "Train the Trainer" program for your internal

trainers/managers on Inscape Publishing's DiSC®

Behavioral Style Instrument.

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Laura Benjamin's work has been featured on radio, TV, and in national publications

including Corporate & Incentive Travel, Sales & Marketing Management magazine,

and on www.BlueSuitMom.com. Her free newsletter reaches subscribers worldwide.

Laura is an authorized Inscape Publishing Distributor for DiSC® profiles.

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Laura Benjamin International

http://www.laurabenjamin.com

(C)Laura Benjamin International 2004