Loud Thinking

Archive for 2013

Make the Most of Webinars

Webinars can be a useful (and cheap!) personal training tool. But not if you let them play in the background while you catch up on other work. Here are three ways to maximize your learning experience.

Watch with a group. This makes it more likely you’ll pay attention. It also gives you the opportunity to discuss and digest the content and how it relates to your organization.

Take and distribute notes. This will give you another reason to listen closely. By giving your notes to colleagues who couldn’t attend, you position yourself as a go-to person on the topic.

Use the occasion to network. Don’t be shy about following up with presenters and other registrants to ask questions or share ideas. It’s perfectly acceptable to use the experience of the webinar to present queries on other topics, too.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Making the Most of Webinars” by Rachel Burstein.

“Set your sights high, the higher the better. Expect the most
wonderful things to happen, not in the future but right now.
Realize that nothing is too good. Allow absolutely nothing to hamper you or hold you up in any way.”

— Eileen Caddy

Encouragement is to raise confidence to the point where one dares to do what is difficult.

“If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832);
philosopher, scientist, author

Customers Need More Than Products

The best salespeople see a sale as a consultation, not a transaction. They find ways to benefit the customer beyond what the product offers. Here are three ways you can be more valuable to your potential clients:

Help clients see issues they hadn’t considered. Don’t start by lecturing a customer about the problems you see in her business. Lead a conversation, prompt her to explore deeper issues, and then offer thoughtful diagnoses as the discussion progresses.

Point out opportunities they’ve missed. If you can identify them, help your customer see untapped possibilities – markets, technologies, trends – that will allow his business to grow.

Refer them elsewhere, when necessary. Not every client needs what you’re offering. When that happens, connect them with people who can help think through a complex issue or point them to another vendor who has what they need.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Would Customers Pay for Your Sales Calls?” by Scott Edinger.

“All the genuine, deep delight of life is in showing people
the mud-pies you have made; and life is at its best when we
confidingly recommend our mud-pies to each other’s sympathetic
consideration.”

— J.M. Thoburn

“People can save the world by the way they think and by the
way they behave and what they hold to be important.”

— Cyndi Lauper

Friendship is to make and keep a friend through mutual trust.

“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”

Jane Austen (1775-1817);
novelist

Be Just as Effective When You Work Remotely

When you’re telecommuting — and your colleagues aren’t — the burden is on you to make things work. Here are three ways to prove you’re a valuable team member, even if you’re not in the office every day:

Understand the expectations. Should you match your colleagues’ hours? Is it OK to take appointments during business hours without telling your manager? Actually ask those questions; don’t just assume you know the answers.

Make the most of face-to-face time. When you are in the office, fill your calendar with meetings — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — to build relationships. Ask people about themselves and their work.

Be seen. Make yourself more than a disembodied voice on a telephone line. Improve your visibility by videoconferencing whenever possible. Even though you’re at home, dress professionally and keep your desk clean.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from the HBR Guide to Managing Up and