WHY DO WE sometimes fail in our efforts to influence another person? It may be because we are not focusing our attention on the right thing. The natural tendency is to look at every situation from our own point of view. We consider first the ways we need help, believe our own recommendations are best and set agendas that cater to our personal priorities.
Handling Client Resistance
Building a Good Rapport
WE ALL KNOW the importance of building relationships with our clients as a prelude to winning business and seeing it grow. We attend seminars, read extensively and even participate in day-long training programmes on the subject. Management teams hold lengthy strategy sessions to devise better ways of ensuring long-term relationships exist, and that sales personnel develop them proactively.
Handling a Media Interview
A Checklist for Emergencies
Explain and Seek
Understanding Guiding Values
Influencing Without Authority
IN YEARS PAST, a few senior executives would make all the major business decisions and it was the responsibility of people further down the hierarchy to carry them out. Legions of corporate foot-soldiers were hired, not to think and definitely not to decide, but rather to do what they were told. It was management by decree, and such methods were used to make many a fortune and to build empires.
To Manage a Crisis: Connect and Control
IT SEEMS AS THOUGH over the past decade the business community has seen a spike in crisis-level events. Market volatility during and after 2008 financial crisis, cyber security vulnerabilities leading to massive data breaches, disruption caused by new technologies and changing consumer habits, and the variety of scandals stemming from the accelerated flow of information on social media – each of these factors has led one business leader or another to experience a unique situation – a crisis of epic proportions.
Questions Every Salesperson Must Ask
HAVE YOU EVER asked a business executive their attitude towards suppliers in the market? If so, chances are you heard “they don’t understand my business.” Your perception may be different, but what you think doesn’t matter. Since the client signs the cheque, it’s their perception that counts. As a professional you’re under great pressure to really understand the client. In fact you’re probably competing against people who come from the industry you’re targeting – giving them the inside scoop. To succeed today, you can’t afford to be accused of not understanding your client’s business.