News
Engage Your Sales Team
Sep 3rd
The most important hour of your week is the time spent meeting with your sales team. At least it should be … The power of this meeting includes motivating your sales team, building teamwork, developing skills and staying on track toward your most important business objective: the revenue goal. The purpose of your sales activities is to make progress toward strategic marketing objectives — bigger picture objectives that explain where you are headed in your business. Everyone can be kept on track toward these goals by reviewing them at the sales meeting.
The take away in your sales meeting is crucial. Your sales team should always leave with either a skill, knowledge, or an explanation that they did not have prior to the sales meeting. The information that they learn during the meeting must generate results when they leave the meeting. It is important that your sales team sees results for themselves as well as they receive information presented in the meeting that was beneficial to them.
Characteristics of Effective Sales Meetings:
- Objectives given prior to the meeting.
- Meeting starts and ends on time.
- All members of the sales team attend.
- All information is relevant to everyone in the room.
- Participants learn a skill or gain knowledge or insight to increase sales.
- Time allotted for role-play or practice of what was learned.
- Goals set prior to meeting ending.
Training your staff is ongoing and sales meetings can be extremely motivating to your staff if done the right way. Although you will spend time coaching them on individual level, meetings are the most time efficient and cost effective way to grow your team.
Preparing New Supervisors
Sep 3rd
Quite often organizations promote employees into positions of supervision because of their strong technical expertise. Suddenly these people find themselves with a whole new range of responsibilities. Not only are they new, many of them have little to do with the technical expertise that was their prior strength. With this being such a common occurrence, the question naturally arises as to what is the best way to prepare these people for these new challenges. Without the proper training during that transition process you could end up losing productivity and ultimately affecting the success of your company. These are mistakes that your business just simply cannot ignore. Take a look at these top mistakes made as well as possible responses from employees they supervise.
Top 10 Mistakes of New Supervisors
- Seizing power and attempting to hold onto it.
- Failing to solicit feedback.
- Delegating without authorizing.
- Reprimanding employees in the presence of others.
- Supervising everyone the same way.
- Keeping the interesting work for themselves.
- Siding with team members.
- Distancing themselves from those they supervise.
- Promoting an us versus them attitude.
- Engaging in illegal behaviors.
Potential Responses:
- Low employee morale
- Loss of respect from superiors
- Low productivity
- Legal ramifications
- Poor individual performance
- Negative career impact
- Lack of organizational trust
In addition to the technical issues that they have already mastered, they now need some formal training to help prepare them, often times in the following areas.
- Principles of motivation
- Change management strategies
- Ethics and politics in the workplace
- Principles of planning
- Managing their time
- Workplace organization issues
- Principles of delegation
- Principles of work groups and teams
- Staffing basics
- Training principles
- Equal employment opportunity (EEO) requirements
- Counseling and supporting employees
- Leadership principles
- Conflict resolution and management
- Principles behind appraisal and rewards
- Basic labor law
- Productivity issues
- Managing a safe workplace
Most leaders are not born with these skills, they can be taught. Identify their strengths and weaknesses and develop plans to improve their individual competencies.
Team Coaching Scores Big Results
Jul 30th
A great team is made up of people with complementary skills and strengths. A great team has synergy, collaboration, and energy. A great team doesn’t happen by accident, it takes practice, instruction, change .. it takes coaching!
Coaching can help teams communicate, problem solve and create a shared purpose. “Team coaching provides a dedicated time and coach to help teams work through specific business challenges. All members on the team can contribute and share their experience and together develop a plan to overcome that challenge,” explains Susan Riddering, vice president of NorthStar360.
Often times teams may reveal other business challenges that can be impeding an organization’s growth and success. It may be lack of communication from management or lack workflow with other departments. The solutions can be simple and many times zero-cost to implement.
Team coaching is effective for a variety of industries and roles within an organization including managers, sales reps., customer service, systems, marketing, finances, work spaces, equipment, safety, compliance, training, personal development, opportunities, planning and communication. All these roles are interdependent in providing a product or service to customers. Team coaching not only improves the team environment; it also advances how a particular team or department works with other departments.
“It’s amazing to see the team transform even after one coaching session. Everyone is invested in their team and works together to enact positive changes,” states Riddering. “And the improvement is contagious. It brings a whole new energy and sense of excitement to an organization.”
School’s In Session … For Your Employees
Jul 30th
Stores are stocking shelves with back to school items; folders, pink erasers and glue sticks galore. This time of year is a great reminder of the importance of preparing for education; although this reminder should not end with your kids back packs. Education should extend long beyond those yellow school bus days. Organizations that incorporate education and training into the workplace are more successful and profitable, and their employees are happier.
In a recent study of 550 U.S. CEOs, 25 percent identified the need for workplace education programs as a top challenge. Research shows that improving employee skills creates employees who work smarter and better cope with change in the workplace, management relations and result in higher profitability. When employees learn that high-quality work is crucial to the success of the organization and to their own job security, they are more meticulous. Understanding how their efforts fit into the big picture, and then receive the skills to meet those demands, the quality of their work generally rises.
This leads to a host of direct economic benefits for the employer, including increased production of products and services, reduced time per task, reduced error rate, a better health and safety record, reduced waste in production of goods and services, increased customer retention and increased employee retention. It also produces a variety of indirect economic benefits, such as improved quality of work, better team performance, improved capacity to cope with change in the workplace and improved capacity to use new technology. These indirect economic benefits, although less tangible and more difficult to measure precisely than the direct benefits, have an important impact on organizational performance.
Organizations can take baby steps to get started. An important first step is assessing the education needs at your company. Understanding what skills and learning gaps exist is essential to designing a well-founded program. Education and training partners like NorthStar360 can help design and implement a survey tool to help the management team assess and prioritize these training needs. Next comes the training and then an assessment tool to see quantitative results. The qualitative results are evident in the new found confidence of your employees and new energy in the hallways.
Auto Recycler Drives Growth with Assessments and Employee Development
Jul 30th
“When it comes to businesses our size, you hear consultant and you think $60,000. Six months later, you’re broke and the consultant wasn’t much help,” describes Steve Dykstra, owner of Metro Recycling and Metro Auto.
Griffith, Ind. based Metro Recycling and Metro Auto Recyclers are your typical growing small businesses. With humble beginnings, this family-owned recycling buy-back center and auto scrap service has achieved steady growth, carving out a very specialized niche in Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland. In Ind., the company also has locations in Valparaiso and Indianapolis in addition to its location in Blue Island, Ill.
But Dykstra wanted more. After much discussion and deliberation, the management team decided to bring in … that’s right, a consultant.
The consultant team worked with Dykstra to identify key business goals that were impeding growth. Susan Riddering, vice president for NorthStar360 Business Solutions, LLC, explains Employee Assessments are a smart first step for organizations. It helps them take a snapshot of where their company and employees are, and identify specific, measurable goals for the future.
The team agreed the employee assessments were the best first step. For Dykstra, the assessment process helped to accomplish two things: 1. Measure current employees’ strengths and areas for development and 2. Ensure new hires were a great fit for the position. Current employees have learned about their strengths and what they bring to Metro. For managers, skill gaps have been identified and they attend concept-based workshops designed to bridge those specific gaps. After each seminar, managers work with a business coach to talk about how they have implemented those new skills and concepts at Metro.
“The coaching requires follow-up and holds each person accountable. They have to think about what they learned and how to apply it day to day. It’s really a key component of the learning,” advocates Dykstra.
The pre-employment assessment is a useful tool for Metro as well and is now an integral part of the hiring process. When used in combination with the application and interview, the assessment helps identify candidates that are a good fit for a particular job.
“It is nice to have a tool that identifies candidates who are a good fit. It’s not just a gut-check anymore for us,” explains Dykstra. “The process also shows prospective candidates that our team is prepared and focused.”
Dykstra said the results for Metro have been business-changing, increasing employee productivity, retention and morale. Employees are happier and more fulfilled. “Our people see we’re trying to develop them so we can grow to new levels. We care about them, and we have created more credibility as a company,” he explained.
As for the bottom line, there are direct savings from decreased turn-over. “We all know turnover costs money; in searching for a candidate, training and day to day turmoil from having a vacant position,” said Dykstra. In addition, there are savings from indirect costs like productivity, retention and morale.
Metro owner Dykstra and CEO Neil Samahon are confident, the growth they have experienced would not have happened as seamlessly without hiring NorthStar360. “Two years ago I wouldn’t have wanted to grow to this extent. Now owners and upper management are ready. All the work we’ve done gives us the confidence to plan for growth,” cites Dykstra.
Dykstra admits; hiring a consultant can be scary because businesses associate it with a high cost. But for this family owned business, it was exactly what he needed to launch ahead, and Dykstra assures businesses there is a great return on investment. He recommends companies research area consultants. For Metro, NorthStar360 specializes in growing small to mid-size businesses with a niche for companies with 50-500 people, a perfect fit for Metro. “Rick and Susan at NorthStar360 are our experts,” said Dykstra.
Preparing New Supervisors
Jul 30th
We have all heard the saying, “Employees don’t leave companies, they leave supervisors.” The impact that a supervisor has in today’s workplace can be either very valuable or very costly to an organization. When a worker becomes promoted to a new supervisor position, it may be new territory. How do I supervise? Motivate? Engage my employees? Without the proper training during that transition process organizations may end up losing productivity and ultimately affecting the success of the company. These are mistakes that organizations simply cannot ignore.
Take a look at these top mistakes made as well as possible responses from employees they supervise.
Top 10 Mistakes of New Supervisors
- Seizing power and attempting to hold onto it.
- Failing to solicit feedback.
- Delegating without authorizing.
- Reprimanding employees in the presence of others.
- Supervising everyone the same way.
- Keeping the interesting work for themselves.
- Siding with team members.
- Distancing themselves from those they supervise.
- Promoting an us versus them attitude.
- Engaging in illegal behaviors.
Potential Responses:
- Low employee morale
- Loss of respect from superiors
- Low productivity
- Legal ramifications
- Poor individual performance
- Negative career impact
- Lack of organizational trust
The good news is that it can be turned around. Most leaders are not born with these skills, they can be taught. For any supervisor, training is the key to success when it comes to delegating, motivating, delivering criticism, training new employees and organizing people, projects, and schedules. There are many new skills a supervisor must obtain in a short amount of time. A strategic supervisory training program or workshop can help address any skill gaps and identify individual strengths and weaknesses. A good boss can be a powerful catalyst in organization, providing a good work environment for employees; serving as motivators, innovators and leaders who inspire team members to achieve great things.
Meaningful Work Motivates Employees
Jun 29th
Managers are constantly trying to discover that golden carrot that motivates employees. Is it recognition? Incentives? Clear goals? Most managers would place those motivators high on their list. But employees would prefer meaningful work. Employees want to know that they contribute to the overall goals and successes of your organization, in fact, that’s their number one driver!
Author and Harvard Professor Teresa Amabile, Ph.D., completed extensive research to understand the factors that had the greatest positive and negative impact on employees and discovered that employees’ “best days” were those in which they made progress on projects considered “meaningful” to the organization’s mission, while their “worst days” were those in which they faced setbacks. Employees want to contribute to the overall success of the organization. Managers can help employees feel like they matter by helping them make progress towards work.
Clear, meaningful goals.
Autonomy.
Sufficient resources to do the work.
Help with the work, such as access to information.
Ability to learn from problems and successes.
Open idea flow.
Sufficient time.
Respect and recognition.
Encouragement.
Emotional support.
Affiliation and camaraderie.
Seems easy enough? Provide your employees with the tools and support they need to do their job – and they are actually motivated to do an even better job.
Riddering Attends ASTD Workshop on Breakthrough Learning
Jun 29th
NorthStar 360’s Susan Riddering recently completed another training certification, the Learning Transfer Conference: the Six Disciplines of Learning Transfer. The accreditation was hosted by The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) in Chicago last month. Riddering explains the course bridges the gap between learning and doing by measuring the business impact. Leaders are now responsible for delivering improved results, not just learning events. A healthy learning program does just this – results reach to every department and function. Riddering explains her two most memorable “wow” moments during the training:
The first wow moment was a statistic; 56 percent of managers think employee production would be the same or better without training and development. What?!? She was shocked to say the least! How is there such an education gap when training and development have a direct impact on issues like productivity, efficiency and retention? This was definitely a shocker and a learning experience. It is an opportunity for us in training to better connect with managers at the onset of training.
The second wow moment was a big pat on the back. Throughout this two-day training, she really put NorthStar360’s training practices to the test – and nailed it! At times Riddering admits she had impressed herself. The NorthStar360 approach and techniques are right on target, providing our clients with results-driven education. We all need a pat on the back every once in a while, this one was ours!
Best Business Books for Vacation
Jun 29th
Hopefully your summer plans include a family vacation. Whether it’s a road trip to your favorite adventure park or laying poolside in a tropical haven, it’s a great opportunity to enjoy a good business book. This list includes books about leading people, making decisions and all the other “stuff” that goes into a successful business. Most importantly, each will make you think – and that’s the best measure of a great book. So kick back with an ice cold beverage and dive in. And, don’t forget the sunscreen!
Switch
By Dan and Chip Heath
The subtitle sums it up perfectly: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. This amazing book is conversational, easy to read and includes actionable stories and tips on affecting change. Change is inevitable in business and learning how to manage it can ultimately mean success or failure. Switch will help you make change even when it’s difficult. If you’re tired of feeling like you have little power to guide your own life or business, this book is a great one! If there’s anything you can’t seem to solve (hard-to-please clients, a plateau in your business growth, etc) this book will teach you how to make the changes around you that will help you get out of whatever hole you’re stuck in.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
By Daniel Kahneman
Thirty pages into Thinking, Fast and Slow and you’ll start to question a lot of the decisions you’ve made. Kahneman looks at fast, intuitive, emotional decisions vs. slower, theoretically logical decisions and shows how the two combine (and compete) to help us make judgments—many of them wrong. Learn about risk, predictions, overconfidence and how to make better decisions.
Managing Right for the First Time
By David Baker
Many entrepreneurs create a company based on a technology, or a service or a value proposition… and many have absolutely no leadership or management background. Managing Right for the First Time lays out a simple, logical and intuitive blueprint that helps new leaders avoid the mistakes the rest of wish we hadn’t made. It’s of course no substitute for training and one-on-one coaching, but you’re on vacation, remember?
Rules for Revolutionaries
By Guy Kawasaki
When it comes to problem solving; it’s always easy to “do whatever we did last time” but Rules for Revolutionaries teaches you how to approach innovation and problem solving from a fresh new perspective every time. Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. If you’re wondering why your design business isn’t growing, perhaps you’re doing something wrong, failing to innovate or missing a vital piece of the puzzle.
The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development Into Business Results
Calhoun Wick, Roy Pollock, Andrew McK. Jefferson, Richard Flanagan, Kevin Wilde
Of course, my personal favorite just coming from ASTD’s training in Chicago. This is a must-read for anyone serious about corporate learning and delivering results. It’s filled with case studies, tools and job aids. Excellent education is not enough, we must deliver results.
Kid Entrepreneurs
By Matthew and Adam Torren
And for the kiddos … sure the latest vampire tribology is sure to capture their attention, but this latest book breaks down what entrepreneurship is to kids in a clear and simple way. It’s perfect reading to get your kids to understand why some people go to the office to have a thing called a `career’ and others decide to make money on their own terms. With examples like the humble lemonade stand to make it more practical and applicable to kinds, it’s actually a brilliant breakdown of the fundamentals of a business that we sometimes overcomplicate as adults. Ok, maybe this one can wait until after vacation?
Assertive vs. Aggressive Salespeople
Jun 29th
There is a huge difference between an Assertive salesperson and an Aggressive salesperson. While both encounters can be memorable, only one can be effective.
Have you ever experienced an aggressive salesperson? If you have, then you understand that this tactic is not the approach that is effective. While it is a memorable encounter, it is only memorable because you remember the negative impression that was left. All an aggressive salesperson will do is aggravate the customer and deplete their customer base.
Assertive sales encounters are another story. Assertive is far from aggressive. Assertive salespeople do not tell the customer what to do, but rather they help lead them to an educated decision by providing them all the necessary facts. They are confident in themselves and what they are selling. They do not let pride stand in their way, if they have made a mistake they will admit their mistake and learn from it in order to move on. Assertive salespeople are always looking to the future and preparing themselves for change. This approach is memorable because the salesperson leaves his customer with a good impression about what he is selling.
Below are the clear differences between assertive and aggressive selling.
Assertive vs. Aggressive behavior traits:
Results focused vs. lack of focus
Enthusiastic vs. shows indifference; not excited
Honest vs. unable to trust
Courageous vs. afraid of rejection
Understanding vs. lack of empathy or compassion
Committed to growth vs. uncommitted to change or growth
Respectful vs. shows lack of respect
It takes practice to help put someone at ease. Ultimately to make the sale you need to make people feel comfortable. Don’t over complicate the sales process. Having an assertive sales tactic will only make you a better producer.