Tips This Week – 4 Key Questions To Keep Your Customers Loyal

Rather than different business tips, I am focusing on customer requirements and loyalty this week.  In these times it is just as vital to keep your current customers as it is to find new ones.  This approach gives you some insights into how to understand what your customers want, and thereby ensure you deliver it to a) keep them b) sell more/deliver more value to them and c) use the information to find more customers with similar needs.  It is also a way to manage your competition who are always on the lookout to spot a gap.  So, 4 key questions.

1.  What is most important to you?  Ask them to tell you the top 3 which can include both product/service quality and/or support.

2.  How do we perform? (useful to have a scale here – e.g. 1-5 where 1 is most important). 

3.  Who is really good at this?  Even if they don’t use another supplier, they will have an opinion.

4.  What is it that makes them so good?

To test your understanding you may wish to put yourself in their shoes and think how they would answer.  Then, check to see if you were right. 

So on to this week. Well actually it is two weeks ago as I have not been well this week.  ~The sad news is that 1) I managed to not publish this blog a couple of weeks ago and….. no-one noticed!  So, cheer me up.  Let me know if you did notice!!

 On Monday I attended an excellent event run by Enterprising Women and Womenta focusing on how winning business awards can help your business.  Tuesday and Wednesday were “service development days”.  The evidence is in the form of additional pages added to my website.  Thursday was an amazing day.  I went to London and attended the HR Business Network’s “HR Transformation in the Public Sector” at the Tower of London.  Followed this with lunch at Mossimans (my friend has a membership), then on to the House of Lords for a political debate on Women and Political Reform, followed by a networking reception at Westminster Abbey Gardens.  The last two events were organised by The Pink Shoe Club-a business women’s network in London. www.pinkshoeclub.com.  Apologies to my male readers – sometimes women do have all the fun!  Today, I interviewed Bev Hurley the Founder of Enterprising Women for my article on Women in Leadership Roles.

Reading for the week:  “When I Loved Myself Enough” by Kim  McMillen.  A thoughtful list of personal notes that remind us that we should not expect more from ourselves than from others, and to be less concerned with our “failings” than our strengths.  Amazon has 16 reviews of 5 stars.

Lighter Reflections

About three months after launching my business,  my new online accountant asked me a question.  “When are you going to start full-time?”  She was referring to my invoices not quite totalling up to my expenditure!  Her latest question is “you do realise that business expenditure should not cover personal entertainment?”  This related to my expenses for attending The Pink Shoe Club.  Obviously she thought this was some sort of sizzling, private, adult club.  Whilst I appreciate my accountant’s diligence in scrutinising and guiding my steps in the tangled  and confusing pathways of tax  claims, disbursements and allowances, I am somewhat perturbed at her lack of trust in my honest endeavours to build my empire.  Perhaps she reads my blog and harbours a concern that my style is a little irreverent and flippant?  My revenge is to share the following with you.  “How do you recognise an extrovert accountant?”.  ….”They look at your shoes when they are talking to you”.  I do realise that I have now ”cooked my goose” and deserve all that will surely follow.  I can only hope that she realises that I do, in fact, honestly appreciate her skills and attention.  I feel far safer having received her final summary “that’s fine” email than undergoing no spotlight interrogation at all.  So, all  you accountants out there – you do a fantastic job and at least you don’t borrow our watches to tell us the time! 

Remember the hallway ceiling disaster?  I shouldn’t have mentioned it.  We now have the bath upended in the hallway, accompanied by its new friend, the bathroom door, resting against the wall.  The bathroom is now open-plan, necessitating a great deal of off-key singing when in use.  As James has completed his third set of commercial pilot’s exams, I can only hope that he can navigate his way to the toolbox and replace the door soon.  I would not dare to expect the bath to actually be sited in the bathroom anytime soon.  

You can find more on the customer requirements and loyalty at http://ccconsulting.org.uk/id10.html

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Tips for effective business networking

These are my key tips learnt from my networking tourism. 

1.  “May I join you?” It can be daunting entering a room full of strangers.  Do you stand in the corner trying to catch someone’s eye?  I find that walking up to any group and politely asking “may I join you?” works.  Everyone is there for the same reason.  I have also heard that looking for a group that is “open” i.e. not in a circle is a sign that they are looking for joiners.

2.  Be specific.  Many network groups give anything from 20 to 60 seconds to introduce yourself.  So, mention the benefits and then ask directly for what you want.  “I am looking for introductions to……”  It helps if you can be as specific as possible.  Marketing Directors of cleaning companies for example.  It is even better if you  can name your target companies.  “I would like an introduction to AXX ltd”.  A specific request helps the audience focus on your needs.  There is no harm changing the request to something else in the future.  “This week, I would like introductions to….”.

3.  What do you do with those business cards you collect?  Put them in a drawer?  File them away?  I invite the person to join me on LinkedIn within a couple of days of meeting them.  After all, they gave you their card.  So the third tip is to follow-up.

This Week:   With only one month to go to the launch of the Highflyingdivas Forum, I have spent the week printing off leaflets and inviting more inspiring professional women.  So, date for the diary – Monday 27th September at Severalls Business Park, Colchester.  Register at http://hfd.eventbrite.com.  Whether you work in an organsiation or have your own business, be part of this mentoring forum and receive fresh ideas and new recommendations to support you reaching your goals.  

For various reasons I only attended one networking event this week, namely Colchester Connected held at The Rose & Crown in Colchester.  A very large turnout again and a number of worthwhile charity events were announced.  This network seems to attract a large and diverse group which is refreshing as some networks can become more like clubs with the same members every time.  No membership fee, £15 to attend which includes a cooked breakfast if you are so inclined. www.colchesterconnected.co.uk,

Reading for the week:  Ever felt like writing a book?  So many people have this desire.  Mindy Gibbins-Klein is known as The Book Midwife and she, with Bert Verdonck, has written “Your Book in 100 Days”.  Practical, friendly and short, it provides guidance on bringing your dream of writing to fruition.

Lighter Reflections

With the holiday season in full swing, I recently had the pleasure of a ferry crossing.  I entertained myself by writing this small piece.

All At Sea

The 8 hour cross-channel ferry creates a mini-civilisation of diverse cultures, languages and backgrounds.  Representatives from all ages and walks of life are thrown together, with no escape, on a floating moving island.  It begins with the mad rush of passengers, all eager to stake their claims on window-seats, bar stools and, for some weary parents, outside the children’s play area.  First to secure seats are the young bloods from the coach party.  Noisy and exuberant, they challenge each other to down pints of lager from 9.00 a.m.  Parties of male adolescents soon start out in hunting packs, patrolling the corridors, trying to outdo each other as they strut and swagger in front of any young female.  They pass the tired young couples holding the fingertips of their toddlers, who will not be quiet unless they are wobbling round in a perpetual circuit of the ship’s gangways.    Leather romper suits lay about like discarded snakeskins signalling the presence of bikers on board. 

The first two hours are spent with books, papers and Nintendos, interspersed with tramps to the Restaurant to eat overpriced food which isn’t needed but at least interrupts the boredom.  That, or a trip to the cinema to view films at the end of their showing cycle.  Of course, not everyone has the money to spend on board.  From 11.00 a.m old married couples can be seen opening their flasks of tea and unwrapping their sandwiches.  This will follow their ritual review of the Restaurant to tut tut over prices and confirm their suspicions that they were right to bring their own sustenance. They are dressed in Sunday best and, following lunch, can be seen lurching from side to side like drunken sailors as they also totter along the gangways, stopping to peer in the shop window. Inside the shop are more groups of trapped passengers trying to kill time by feigning interest in the over-priced plastic rubbish on sale.  Staff try to cover up their boredom via adopting patient, welcoming, smiles as they take the money from parents trying to appease their child’s increasing rebellion, with yet another plastic ship, car or doll.   

But class is not entirely eradicated.  There is always the Business Lounge.  Passengers with access to this haven, march up, punching in the unique code with a superior look.  They enter, extinguishing the din outside for peace within.  Not all is calm however, as the ambience is soon ruined by the smells.  Chips brought in by the American and home-made curry proudly presented by the young Indian wife to her new husband.

Disembarking is a similar trauma to onboarding.  All gather like sheep, peering at the signs trying to remember which deck and coloured stairs they need.  All except those who are ably assisting elderly relatives who, 5 minutes before docking, decide that perhaps they should go to the bathroom.   Again, there is a race to cars, bikes and coaches, even though no-one is going anywhere until the vehicle in front moves.  They will wait for some time.  Because, of course, the elderly relative is a passenger in the car at the head of the line.

You can find more at http://ccconsulting.org.uk/

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How to choose the best communication channel

The chances are that if you are an experienced business manager, you will have learnt that the most effective meetings are those that are held face-to-face.  Regardless if it is with an employee, supplier or customer.  The latest research, however, argues that as technology has enhanced and broadened the variety of communication channels, our preferences may well be related more to our awareness and comfort with these new medium.  Eric Chester’s research shows that the preference by communication channel is directly opposite between those born before 1980 and those born after.  Communications needs range from text, social media, email telephone and personal meetings.  For traditionalists, e.g. the Generation X, preference runs from text (least preferred) to meetings. For Generation X, a meeting is when all other forms of communication fail.  So do you know where your customers are likely to fit?  What might your employees prefer?  Should you be texting your managerial messages or even perhaps using social media to reach your teams?

So for those who prefer audio

The Week:  On Monday I supported a colleague with a customer proposal presentation.  Tuesday I joined the KPMG Luncheon Club and then we had a fantastic launch of The Leadership Forum in Ipswich.  The event was superbly hosted by KPMG and over 25 SME business leaders attended.  Here is a short clip of the introduction to the event. Over 97% said they would attend a future Forum and feedback consisted of comments on both how useful and valuable the content and connections were.

If you want to find out more, visit www.lshipforum.com or join our LinkedIn Group

Wednesday and Thursday were service development/coaching days and Friday a mix of coaching and preparation for my training assignment in Istanbul next week.  I am delivering the Advanced Course of the ICF accredited leadership coaching training with The Forton Group.

Reading for the week.  As this weekend is the last in February, I am summarising the books mentioned during the month.

• Mike Figliuolo also uses this approach in One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.
• How to Choose the Right Person for the Job Every Time
  Davila and Kursmark
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable  (J-B Lencioni Series)

Lighter Reflections.  This week our local television news has covered the story of elocution lessons being given at a school in Essex.  This reminded me of an incident whilst on holiday in Menorca when Guy was only 4 years old.  We were sitting by the small paddling pool amongst a group of fellow tourists, also from Essex.  At one point a mother was sitting in the paddling pool and screamed out at the top of her lungs “Tracy, get ou’ the’ wa’er”.  Guy, who was playing with his toy dinosaurs at the side of the pool, stood up, waded over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.  When she looked around he said in his high, clear, piping voice “You know, ‘water’ has a ‘t’ in it.”  The mother looked around the pool to see who owned this little brat but saw no-one as everyone, including me, were holding our books and magazines high to cover and smother our laughter.  I did wonder if I should put Guy up to deliver poolside elocution lessons alongside the aqua-aerobics!  Although clearly all that is needed is a toddler force of elocution police.

Future Forum Dates:

Highflyingdivas, London, 28th Feb – fully booked

Highflyingdivas, London, 20th March

Leadership Forum, Maldon, 27th March – Motivating People & Teams

More at:

Rosemary

3 Tips For Effective Customer Service

I have had a couple of experiences this week that reiterate the rules for customer service.  The first experience relates to my car service and the second to my website hosting package.  Why are these three rules important?  A 5% increase in customer retention can increase business profits by 25% to 125% and it is easier to retain your customers if you know what they think of your service, you meet their expectations and you act on their feedback.

1.  Ask your customer for feedback.  Both suppliers did this and gave me the opportunity to respond.  How many times do we, as customers, just decide “well I won’t go there/use them again”.  We do not like to complain yet if we are asked, we will give our opinion.

2.  Meet expectations – consistently.  The last time my car was serviced, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the garage had cleaned the car, inside and out, including the leather upholstery.  This time, the car had a cursory wash and vacuum but no upholstery attention.  This wasn’t featured in the service, however, the garage had raised expectations and when they did not meet them, I was disappointed.  If  you deliver something over and above, you need to be prepared to deliver it consistently from then on.

3.  Act on feedback.  The garage called and asked for my opinion on the service.  I told them about the cleaning and the fact that the service record was incomplete as the mechanic’s PC wasn’t working properly (the reason I was given).  What happened?  Nothing.  No further contact has been received.  The website hosting company called and I mentioned that I hadn’t been able to log onto the training course.  The caller told me he would organise this and gave me his email details in case I didn’t hear anything.  It wasn’t even his area as he was responding to an email password problem not website training.  Asking for feedback and then not acting upon it is worse than ignoring your customer.

If you wish to learn more about what to ask  your customer, try my free demo tool by clicking the icon below.

Here is the audio

The Week:  A  relatively quiet client week which allowed me to catch up with service development, marketing and admin.  I had a great meeting on Wednesday with a company offering lifestyle wealth management.   We discuss how our relative services complimented each other and what opportunities there might be to broaden our relative offerings to our combined contact list.  There is an increasing trend for SMEs and individual business owners to work as Associates to offer a broader and larger service and it is one that works well.  I continued to develop my Masterclass on Board Level Behaviours and Competencies and future Forum events for The Leadership Forum and Highflyingdivas.  It was again encouraging to hear of some further business two Leadership Forum members have secured with each other.  Why not join our LinkedIn Group, follow us on Twitter or find out more at www.lshipforum.com.

Reading for the week: 

In leadership coaching you start with understanding goals, motivations and values.  Mike Figliuolo also uses this approach in One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.  Try it.

Lighter Reflections:  I have learnt a lesson this week about the risks of a family email account.  We finally agreed to Guy having a facebook account which we linked with our family email.  We have since been bombarded with up to 5 emails a day of people asking to be confirmed as friends.  Guy of course ignores these requests and in desperation I entered his Facebook and confirmed a whole load of them.  Guy was not impressed!  I was then flicking through and pruning email receipts and hit the delete button on one for James.  This was from one of the partners of his new flying syndicate with whom he seems to be starting an email war (too long to go into the reasons in this blog!).  So you can imagine his delight when he found that I had deleted it especially as it was highly likely that the sender had probably put a Read Receipt on it.  He would have received a response of “your email to James Cooper has been deleted without opening”. What could this lead to, I wonder?  Night-time sabotage of the aeroplane?  Time to step up, confess and then hide in the garage I think!

Future Forum Dates:

Leadership Forum, Ipswich 21st Feb – sold out

Highflyingdivas, London, 28th Feb – 3 places left

Highflyingdivas, London, 20th March

Leadership Forum, Maldon, 27th March

More at:

Rosemary

How to learn from another industry – Part 1: Complexity

My initial career was focused on cross-industry best practice, followed by competitive intelligence.  In coaching SMEs today, I realise that the approaches developed then continue to apply now.  Why?  Great steps in innovation and breakthrough performance frequently come from looking at another industry rather than trying to get faster or develop new services using the same approaches as everyone else.  Also, what happens if you are the No 1 in your industry?  Who do you look to?  Alternative ideas can frequently come from the No 1 in another industry, as long as you follow a few simple rules.  These rules are called the drivers of performance.  There will be a series of blogs on strategy which will look at each of them in turn.  This week, it is complexity.

Operating characteristics that drive complexity up, also tend to drive up costs.  So, step one is to ask yourself:-

1. How complex is my business? List them.

2. Then more importantly, what is the impact of that complexity?

3. What does managing that complexity mean for my business?

Here is an example using customer complexity.  Say you have customers with different requirements, geographies, products and services, volumes of purchase, points of delivery, after-sales support etc.  Does this mean that you have to be in multiple locations, have sophisticated customer relationship systems and other IT systems, experienced and knowledgeable staff?  If so, and you wish to learn from another industry, you should be looking at a business that also has customer complexity, even if they “produce” something completely different.  When consulting with a pharmaceutical industry on their supply chain, it became clear that their customer complexity meant different supply models in each of their European countries.  Some with Just-in-time bulk order requirements and standardised products and others with longer delivery times but unique packaging needs.  They looked to the Fast Moving Consumer Goods industry for one country and the logistics leader in another.  Of course, they first confirmed their customers’ priorities to enure that their assumptions were valid.

If you would like to test your assumptions,why not try my free tool Know Your Customer click the graph icon below.

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Here is the video

The Week:  Monday and Tuesday were scuppered by the snow and I had to postpone Highflyingdivas in Colchester on Tuesday evening.  On Wednesday I visited J P Morgan as a certified women-owned business via WEConnect International.  Thursday was a day of coaching, website training (for me that is!) and a Board Meeting.  Friday, back to London for a Women-in-technology seminar on Rewarding and Incentivising Staff with the ABG Group.  Then, I’ve been told  that I have officially made history as one of the first organisations to advertise in a book thats being sold worldwide.  Choices has just been approved by Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Choices-ebook/dp/B0070YYRJY.  Just think about the possibilities for the book industry and for businesses with this new advertising channel!

Reading for the week:  I have one or two remedial coaching clients and one came to the conclusion that she was not the “right person” for the job she had been given.  She found herself another role both to her and her organisation’s relief.  How much time, cost and energy could have been saved if this book could have been read?  How to Choose the Right Person for the Job Every Time
  Davila and Kursmark provide a set of skills to help you choose the right people.

Lighter Reflections.  Well I said that I would regularly try a new challenge.  So I started with a fish spa treatment.  As I waited out my 20 minutes watching my little team of fish nibbling away, I started to recognise some behavioural patterns. (Yes I am sad!).  Firstly, there was team A.  They diligently set to work on my left foot.  My right foot was ignored and I started to worry that there was something the fish knew about my foot that I did not.  My fears deepened when I spotted a fish, apparently lying on its back, on the bottom of the tank.  I then noticed another fish trying to make its escape up the side of the tank.  Was whatever was wrong with my right foot actually killing off these little workers?  I thought about sliding forward and giving the fish on the floor a nudge but then balanced up the risk that I might squash my A team stars in the process.  After a little while one of my A stars swerved off, swam down and nudged the floor-hugging fish.  It swam off and I calculated that either it was lazy or maybe on its break.  I then noticed little clusters of other fish who really weren’t doing much at all.  I waggled my feet and that stirred them up a little.  By this time, Team A had moved from my left foot to my right foot and were still doing a sterling job.  So why were the others not working?  What was missing in their motivation?  Were they just lazy, having a legitimate break or just not incentivised enough by the attractiveness (or otherwise) of my feet?  Clearly a behavioural change project needed here I think!

Future Forum Dates:

Leadership Forum, Ipswich 21st Feb

Highflyingdivas, London, 28th Feb

Highflyingdivas, London, 20th March

Leadership Forum, Maldon, 27th March

More at:

Rosemary

3 Useful Business Weblinks

I am sharing a some more free online tools that you may find useful in managing your workload and business.

1.  If you send out links to your website, events, articles etc, they can start to become very long.  I found www.shorturl.com a useful resource.  There are rules around not using it for email marketing etc,  however, if you wish to just send a shorter link to a contact, this tool is helpful.

2.  If you have multiple email addresses and devices, it can become quite cumbersome to manage all of your contacts.  www.dubhub.com offers a free contact integration and syncing tool called Circleback which keeps everything up to date and easily accessible.

3.  With open sourcing, there are many free alternative tools to the well-known commercial ones.  www.osalt.com offers links to a number of them and even offers the choice for you to type in the name of the product to find a low-cost or free alternative.

All of these suggestions help you manage your business more effectively.  Find out more by downloading my e-book on 10 ways to grow your business

The Week:  Monday was spent carrying out my Non-Exec Director role and Tuesday involved marketing and service development.   Client coaching on Wednesday and a day’s leave on Thursday.  Friday spent preparing for Highflyingdivas next week and The Leadership Forum on the 21st Feb which is now fully booked.

Reading for the Week.  The last two blogs have focused on appraisals, so the reading this week is “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High”
 by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler which is now out in  its 2nd edition.  The book helps leaders to build relationships while discussing the most difficult subjects.

Lighter Reflections.  My day’s leave was spent at a Spa.   Not at the usual misnomer of a hotel that happens to have a small pool and a sauna but one with over 10 treatment areas ranging from the Tyrolean Sauna to a Japanese Salt Room.  Everywhere you walked there were signs saying “Quiet Please” and “Ssh people relaxing” which did nothing to deter the groups of gangly giggling girls and coach-trip grannies.  I seemed to be chased from one steam room to the next by one set of Director’s wives.  I struggled to meditate and achieve that sense of inner calm against the background of a discussion  on kitchen units in the Indian Blossom room, to antiques and other collections in the Turkish Haman to living overseas in the Greek Herbal room.  There seemed to be a tussle for leadership between two ladies which  ended by the obvious crowning of one of them as Queen Bee.  Her right to leadership was won when she pronounced “I think its time to leave” and was dutifully followed by her entourage of meek ladies falling into line.  The effect was slightly spoiled by her wearing a plastic shower cap.

Future Forum Dates:

Highflyingdivas, Colchester 7th  Feb

Leadership Forum, Ipswich 21st Feb

Highflyingdivas, London, 20th March

Leadership Forum, Maldon, 27th March

More at:

Rosemary

How to make your appraisal a great success

Last week I talked about giving an appraisal that motivates the appraisee and enhances both productivity and your relationship.  This week, it’s all about how you can prepare and receive an appraisal that is focused on your goals and strengths.  Here are my tips:-

1.  Before the appraisal.  Look at your job description and prepare examples of all the great actions you have taken to demonstrate fulfillment.  Research the market and find out how many other opportunities might be out there and their salary ranges.  This is not that you wish to leave or even threaten to, merely to show that you have an external awareness of your position.  If you have competency frameworks, look at the next level up and develop your evidence of working at that level.  Collect positive feedback from those around you to use as recommendations and testimonials.

2. During.  Focus on your strengths and show how they align with your Line Manager’s and the organisation’s goals.  Be specific about what you want to achieve in the next year and ask your Line Manager to support you.  Ask the question “What do I need to do to demonstrate to you that I can………”.(fill in the blank with your goal).  Then, “How will you take this forward when I do ………. by ……….?”.  Get a goal and commitment.

3.  After.  Send an email outlining your discussion, agreements and goals and ask for regular review/support sessions.  This will keep your Line Manager focused on your goals and keep the momentum up.

Let me know how you get on and what works for you.

Why not download my free e-book on how to lead, assess and manage your people? 

Here is the audio

The Week:  A couple of early mornings this week which reminded me of life before C C Consulting! On Monday I travelled to London for a discussion on developing a Leadership Development Programme.  I joined the TLG networking group on Tuesday morning.  A similar but less rigorous network to BNI.  Up to Cambridge on Wednesday to join a CBI roundtable discussion on supporting medium-sized businesses in the East of England. Some coaching on Thursday and an FSB event to meet Colchester MP Bob Russell  on Friday.  My interview was published online at SABBSLondon.com   and I have organised a few more Highflyingdivas Forum events, shown below.  Finally, further work on my Board Level Behaviours & Competencies Masterlcass and the  Art of Chairing programme.

Reading for the Week:  As it is the end of the month, I am summarising the recommended books for the last few weeks.

1. Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People by  Stephen R Covey.
2. Shift from One to Many, A Practical Guide to leadership by Chrismon Nofsinger
3. Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business by Jon Steel

Lighter Reflections.  If anyone is wondering where the Mission Impossible squirrel has gone – he’s in our garden.  He has developed the art of wrapping  his tail around a branch and, hanging upside down, working his way along to the bird-feeders.  He then folds his body around them and empties them, first from one side, then the other.  Another group of visitors is the local pheasant and his harem.  Every year we get these tourists who come and shelter from the hunters.  As our garden is surrounded by farmland, they seem to instinctively know that our island is a safe haven.  We get a great deal of pleasure pressing our noses up at the window to watch these scenes.  That is, James, me, the dog and cat, all in a row.  James and I coo and aah, whilst our furry friends growl and grumble at the invasion and their inability to “play” with these new friends.

Future Forum Dates:

Highflyingdivas, Colchester 7th  Feb

Highflyingdivas, London, 28th Feb

Leadership Forum, Ipswich 21st Feb

Highflyingdivas, London, 20th March

Leadership Forum, Maldon, 27th March

Highflyingdivas, London, 17th April

Highflyingdivas, Essex, 15th May

Leadership Forum, Essex, 19th June

More at:

Rosemary

6 Questions that deliver great appraisals

I have given tips on employee assessment and engagement but as many of my clients are now in “appraisal time”, I thought it would be useful to highlight a couple. Getting appraisals right can increase motivation and thereby performance.  When you are giving the appraisal, it is important to set the right tone for the meeting.  Why? Your employee will be nervous, probably on the defensive and “waiting for the bad news”.  This is especially true if they are a high-performer.  So key questions.

1.  Find out their goals and align them to yours and those of the business.  If there is a clear line of sight, then everyone is aware that they are working to a common goal.  Ask them “What would you like to achieve in the coming year?” and then, if needed, help them see how it fits into a mutual objective. Just asking them the question focuses on future possibilities rather than an historic dissection of the past.

2.  As them  “What do you think went well?“  and “Where do you  believe you need to develop further?”.  The chances are that they know, as well as you, where they may not have performed well and by allowing them to say it, you avoid  defensive negativity.  It also leads nicely on to asking them:-

1. “How do you believe ou can improve?” and
2. “What targets and milestones do you think we should have  to demonstrate improvement?“.

The questions above put the responsibility and ownership for performance in the employee’s hands.  It empowers them to take control.

The final question that should be asked to show that it is not all up to them is, “How can I help you to do this?” or “What do you need from me to support you in doing this?”

Why not download my free e-book on how to lead, assess and manage your people? 

Next week, I will write about ensuring a great appraisal if you are the person receiving the feedback.

 

The Week:  Monday was spent carrying out my Non-Exec Director role and Tuesday involved a day in London.  I gave an interview to SABBS, a lifestyle magazine for professional women, held a development meeting for my new Board Behaviours & Competencies Masterclass and attended a networking meeting organised by The Forton Group.  More NED work on Wednesday, organising the Leadership Forum and Highflyingdiva programme on Thursday and a client meeting on Friday.

Reading for the Week.  As this week’s topic involves conversation, I feature “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High”
 by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler which is now out in  its 2nd edition.  The book helps leaders to build relationships while discussing the most difficult subjects.

Lighter Reflections.  As we are still in January I consider developing New Year Resolutions a legitimate subject for reflection.  Well, I am still developing mine as opposed to having already strayed or carried out the equivalent of driving a tank through them.  The challenge is that I seem to have the same ones every year.  Even worse, they appear to be drifting into the “less difficult and more vague” category.  Years ago (I’m not saying how many) it would be 1.  Lose …. in weight by ……..  Now it is simply “Weigh less at the end of the year than I do at the beginning”.  I fear next year it may be “weigh no more than”  etc.  In 5 years’ time it will be “Put no more than 1 stone on before the end of the year” and I will need double doors to every room.  Then on to number 2.  Run a marathon descended to Run 3 times a week and this year its – keep fit by running, and eventually to walk the half mile to the shops every day.  So, I am determined that Number 3. remains challenging.  Do something new every month.  Now, where is that recipe book.  I’m sure I haven’t baked an apple strudel yet.  Watch this space to read what I get up to!

Future Forum Dates:

Highflyingdivas, Colchester 7th  Feb

Leadership Forum, Ipswich 21st Feb

Highflyingdivas, London, 20th March

Leadership Forum, Maldon, 27th March

More at:

Rosemary

Is your business using virtual marketing?

In today’s world we continue to “push” our message out and now have a myriad of different channels.  Direct mail, email marketing and social media.  We are encouraged to use webinars, podcasts, write white papers, blogs, give presentations and seminars, network etc etc.  It soon becomes a huge enterprise just to send out one message through all of these channels.  Athough of course there are many more services offering to help you with this.

If, however, you look closely at your target market and their preferred method of receiving information, you will be able to prioritise the approach, saving your customer time and saving your business money.   I have written in a previous post about communication styles and adapting your own to suit that of your customer.  (How to communicate effectively).   If your market is technology-savvy or innovative, then perhaps you should also consider virtual marketing.  Here are some virtual ways you could consider.

1.   Marketing message to prospects.  If you wish to send a one way message to a specific person or list, then a webcast is an up and coming tool.  You record your video and then send the link to your recipients.

2.  Marketing meeting with small number of people.  Skype or some other computer-linked visual technology.   For a larger audience in multiple locations and for a more sophisticated delivery, for example a sales presentation, a webconference with a selected number of people who can interact should be considered..

3.  Interactive open marketing event.  If you wish to send your message to a market and have anybody elect to join, then a Webinar is a useful channel.  Webinars save everyone the time and expense to travel to a location for a more traditional seminar..

Most people believe that a face-to-face meeting is the most effective way to market.  Indeed, sales people will have a goal in mind when they first start the process.  Usually this is to get a meeting. In these days when people frequently buy cars, holidays and other expensive items on the internet though, is the meeting still the best and only way to market?  Ask any Manager and the challenge of time will always arise.  So how much time, and expense, is wasted in setting up meetings and presentations?  What if your customer doesn’t really “need” to see you, to make a decision?  Is it you who needs the meeting rather than your customer?  Maybe virtual marketing might be the answer.

And for the audio

For a copy of a free report on the 10 ways to grow your business

The Week:  A couple of days to clear up some admin and start reconnecting with people.  Then I gave a speech to Soroptomists International in Ipswich on Wednesday evening. Four meetings on Thursday and back to service development on Friday.  Happy to set some more Highflyingdiva and Leadership Forum dates shown below.  I also came across a new e-book about financial opportunities for women-owned businesses that will be published if a 1,000 subscribers register for it.  It is called  Women’s Business Finance Guide ebook.  Register for your free copy.

Reading for the Week:  As it is still the first Month in 202 I am featuring “Daily Reflections for Highly Effective People” by  Stephen R Covey.  It is based on his best-selling book and gives a thought for each day.  I particularly like the “If we want to change a situation ……..we first have to change our perceptions”.

Lighter Reflections.  I felt a bit guilty on Sunday and wish to apologise to my neighbours.  My husband and I are fans of the new Sherlock Holmes series on TV.  Sunday’s episode featured The Hound of the Baskervilles.  Now people who know me or read my blog know that I have a big black dog.  I can touch his head without bending down (no I am not a dwarf).  He stands 74cm at the shoulder and doesn’t need a chair to sit at the dining table.  For this reason he believes he has a rightful position at the dinner table which we have to correct at every meal.  Anyway, I couldn’t resist letting him out into the garden and as it was a full moon, we watched Sherlock Holmes accompanied by our hound baying at the moon outside.  A certain realistic touch I thought but apologies to any nervous neighbours and their young offspring who felt the Hound outside their window was not necessary to the enjoyment of the film.

Future Forum Dates:

Highflyingdivas, Colchester 7th  Feb

Leadership Forum, Ipswich 21st Feb

Highflyingdivas, London, 20th March

Leadership Forum, Maldon, 27th March

More at:

Rosemary