The Benefit Of Coaching

Coaching has become a fad that many leaders and managers still do not fully understand. Yet, when practiced with skill it can have a huge and positive effect on the performance of people in organizations.

By Ian Henderson

Most high performance teams and companies use the principle of coaching. Yet, even today the skills and practice of coaching are much misunderstood by many people.

Put in its simplest form, it is an exercise in collaborative interaction, involving the building of trust, the use of empowering (solution focused) questions, empathic listening and the honest and open sharing of views.

If practiced effectively, it will not only to generate new options for tackling problems but also to reinforce what is working well.

But, coaching should not be seen as a quick fix solution to problems. It takes time but it is a key ingredient of change in culture. Many organizations, particularly those who are owned and led by entrepreneurial people - often with a very direct, telling style - spend much of their time dealing with problems and not learning. This in turn limits the time and energy the leader has to address the key behavioural and performance issues that will ultimately determine the future of the company.

By adopting a coaching style to empower and develop staff, leaders find that not only are staff prepared to take more responsibility, but they will work together more effectively, be more satisfied in their work and more likely to stay with the organisation in the long term.

Coaching may be delivered by leaders or managers within a company or by external consultants. External coaches may be more appropriate at very senior level to address business and strategic problems, or to train internal coaches but most organisations will not perform at their best without coaching.

For most organizations the traditional command and control style of management is a route to organizational suicide in the current climate of rapid change in both technology and attitudes to work when the need to secure the discretionary effort of people has never been greater.

To coach effectively, you need to:

- build and maintain rapport with the person being coached

- be present and focused solely on the person being coached and the process (not easy but imperative)

- be curious rather than judgmental

- ask questions that focus on the solution rather than the problem

- listen to the answers given (often for what is not said)

- be observant

- give effective feedback

The coaching approach encourages continuous learning, stimulates creativity and builds a climate of trust and respect for the individual. Investment in coaching is enlightened self interest as a culture where individuals feel genuinely empowered and accept ownership and responsibility for their own performance can encourage the delivery of superior performance and results.

Ian Henderson is a highly experienced facilitator, trainer, consultant and speaker. In a 20 year career he has worked with thousands of people from a wide range of organisations in the UK, the USA, Europe and Africa. He is the director of training of Eagle Training Ltd, one of the UK's leadingmanagement, leadership and personal development training companies. For more information go to http://www.eagletraining.co.uk

The Secrets Of Successful Advertising

Did you know that a single advert, properly targeted, with the right headline and offer, costing say 200, can bring returns of perhaps 1000% or more within days? Advertising can be one of the most cost effective ways to generate new enquiries. Or it can be a complete waste of money. What makes a successful advert? Quite simply - one that gets results.

By Melina Abbott

I was reminded this week of Sir Alan Sugar’s comment “I have written books on advertising - Cheque Books” which probably sums up most business owners experience of advertising.  It’s expensive!

Does it work?

Well, did you know that a single advert, properly targeted, with the right headline and offer, costing say 200, can bring returns of perhaps 1000% or more within days?

Advertising can be one of the most cost effective ways to generate new enquiries.  Or it can be a complete waste of money.

What makes a successful advert?  Quite simply - one that gets results.

I advocate that EACH advert has to be accountable - i.e. if you place an advert it must do one of two things:

1. Make a sale

2. Get someone to contact you to find out more

And, if your advert doesn’t do either of those you are wasting money.

Take a look at most adverts.  They are all very similar.  They have a big headline (usually the company name), a great logo, they list the products or services on offer, there might be a photo or two, maybe a strap line - something like “you can always be assured of a great service”, “a superb range”, “free quote”, etc

Have a look at your local newspaper now - am I right?

I know that most of these adverts do not work.  I know that, because when my clients start to monitor where their enquiries come from, they realise that most of their new enquiries are through referrals or from the sign writing on their vans.  The sales they do get from the newspaper or magazine advertising do not even cover the cost of the adverts - let alone make a profit.  Now, I’m not advocating that you go out and cancel all your adverts.  However there are some simple steps you can take to make your advert more effective:

1. Before placing your advert, decide what you want your prospect to do.  Do you want them to: buy something from you, call for more information or visit your website?  An advert which is trying to sell something will be very different to one simply asking a prospect to call for more information.

2. Your entire advert should be devoted to getting your prospect to take the next step.  You need to give them all the information they need to do so.  If you want the prospect to buy something you need to highlight all the benefits of your product or service, and overcome all the likely objections so that they can make an informed decision.  Won’t it be too wordy? Well, would you tell a sales person to go and visit a prospect and say you’ve got 20 seconds to persuade this person to buy your product?  No, of course not, you wouldn’t put him or her under that much pressure.  So why put yourself under that pressure in trying to sell something in a tiny advert.

3. People do not buy newspapers or magazines to read the adverts - they buy them for the news and articles.  The more your advert looks like an editorial feature - the more it will be read.  So disguise your advert - make it look like a news article.

4. Try a 2 step approach.  Advertising can be very expensive - so don’t even attempt to sell in a tiny advert - offer your prospect some free information in exchange for contact details - e.g.:

Homeowners Decorating Guide.  For your FREE guide to choosing colour combinations of paint, tiles and wall paper Visit www…

How to sell your house faster and for more money?  Call 0800 ... for your free report and audio CD.

Then, when you send your free information - include your sales literature detailing all the benefits of your product or service.  You now have a qualified lead and have plenty of time and opportunity to follow up and make a sale.

5. Have a compelling headline - your company name is not a headline - people don’t care what you are called or how long you have been in business - they just want to know what you can do for them.  Your headline should be the biggest benefit you offer prospective customers.

6. Test & Monitor each and every advert you run.  Most businesses don’t monitor their adverts or sales promotions - they continue to run the same advert over and over - regardless of whether it pulls for them.  Did you know that a change in headline has been tested to increase the response of an ad by up to nineteen times?

7. Once you’ve found an advert which works continue to run it until it stops generating a profit.  Don’t stop it just because you’re bored with it and want to change it.  Remember that you may see your advert every day - but your prospects are seeing it for the first time.

There you have it - 7 steps to successful advertising.  Good luck.

If you'd like to attract more new customers to your business - download Melina's Free Bulletin - How to Attract New Customers in 7 Easy Steps - at http://www.businessbyresults.com

7 Reasons You Upgrade Your Selling Skills

Today's sales climate has ungone major changes which means sales people need to change their approach and methodologies. Here are seven reasons you need to upgrade your sales approach.

By Kelley Robertson

Today’s business world has changed significantly. Buying decisions that used to take a few days can now take weeks, sometimes months. Decision makers and buyers have changed the way they manage their operations. And business has become more complex. This all means that it is critical that you upgrade your selling skills if you want to achieve long-term success in your sales career. Here are seven reasons you need to upgrade your selling skills.

1. The business climate has changed. In the last few years the business world has dramatically changed. Companies are leaner which means employees need to accomplish more with fewer resources. The decision making process often takes much longer than it used to. And, the people you deal with and sell to, are much busier. See point 5 for more detail on this.

2. Selling is becoming more difficult. If you are like many sales people, you have probably discovered that selling is more challenging than ever. It is more difficult to connect with executives and decision makers. It is more challenging to stand out from the competition. Products often change with increasing frequency which makes it more difficult to stay current. The volume of information you have to retain and manage can be overwhelming. And the number of accounts you have to juggle is likely taxing too.

3. Your customers and prospects are more savvy. Buyers are immune to tired, outdated sales tactics that manipulate people into making buying decisions. I’m not suggesting that you use these tactics; however, they have caused corporate decision makers to paint all sales people with the same brush. If your voice mail message sounds anything remotely like the others your contact hears, then you are destined for failure. If your presentation sounds like everything else they have heard, you will not close the sale.

4. What used to work is no longer as effective. A generic presentation that starts with an overview of your company, your position in the market place, the organizations that you have worked with, or the awards that you have won, simply doesn’t cut it anymore. I actually don’t know if this approach was ever very effective but I know for certain that it doesn’t work in today’s new economy.

5. Aversion to risk has increased. Many buyers have been burned over-zealous sales people who made false promises and unrealistic claims. People have purchased products and solutions that failed to achieve the desired results. They have signed agreements only to discover that the system they wanted required an unexpected investment of time and money. And they have made decisions that caused them embarrassment.

6. Key decision makers are busier than ever. Five years ago it used to take 6-8 calls to connect with a senior level decision maker. Now, it can take as many as 15 attempts. A typical executive has more than 40 hours of unfinished work on their desk at any given time. An average of 150 emails clog their in-box and they constantly have to deal with changing priorities. One executive I know said, “I can’t possible talk to a sales person because I already have too many projects on the go.” Another told me, “Just when I think I can’t get any busier, I do.”

7. Competition has increased. Virtually every industry has seen an explosion of competition. Low-cost products manufactured and shipped from overseas to local competitors trying to carve a slice of market share from you. This increase—and change—in competition means you need to improve your sales skills so you can position your product more effectively.

The majority of top performing sales people invest time and money in their personal development. They read books, listen to audio programs and they attend conferences and online events to improve and fine-tune their skills. If their company doesn’t sponsor or fund this development, they use their own money because they know that they will always get a return on this investment.

If you want to succeed in today’s business world and enjoy a long-term career in sales, it is essential that you constantly upgrade your selling skills. I don’t know who originally stated this quote but it is certainly applicable to this topic, “If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have gotten.”

Get your FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to Kelley's free newsletter, "59 Seconds to Sales Success" athttp://www.Fearless-Selling.ca. Kelley Robertson conducts sales training programs and speaks on sales at conferences and meetings. Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@Fearless-Selling.ca.