By: Mary Freeman, Demand Media
We live in what is known as a “global village.” Interaction takes place between people of all origins, nationalities and cultures. If you are in sales or marketing, it is imperative that you understand a few basic concepts when dealing with new clients from a culture and background different from your own.
Take Action
There is much you can do throughout your interaction with international clients that will help make the process go smoothly. Remember to listen very carefully to everything they say. There might be a language barrier and difference in conversation style. Without listening, you might miss something important. Consistently ask questions to be sure that your client understands you and that you understand him. When first developing a relationship with a new client or market, you will be required to put in a little more personal attention. Once you have found something that works with a specific culture, remember it and possibly even record it; undoubtedly, you will be able to use it later on.
Research Different Cultures
Before marketing to anyone of another culture, you should have some sort of understanding about that culture. Research the economics of the culture. Distribution of wealth greatly influences consumer spending habits. Something that might sell with a certain group in one culture will be more marketable to a different group in a different culture. Likewise, you must know how age is dealt with in the culture. In the United States, a 15-year-old might seem to be little more than a child. In other cultures, though, 15-year-olds are treated as adults. Always be aware of the religious and cultural taboos of your client, too. For instance, in most of Europe, giving what Americans know as the “peace sign,” the forefinger and index finger extended in a V-shape, is highly offensive.
Have Knowledge of Intercultural Communication
A professor of anthropology and leading researcher in intercultural and professional communication, Geert Hofstede, has developed a set of five dimensions that represents ways in which a culture communicates. Nations receive a score for each dimension; a score represents where a nation sits on the spectrum for that dimension. These dimensions show how cultures deal with power distribution, individualism and collectivism, gender roles, acceptance of uncertainty and the value of face-saving over pragmatism. Knowing these dimensions and where your client’s culture stands with them will make all the difference. For instance, someone from a highly masculine-oriented country that is quite individualistic and prefers certainty will respond positively to a sales pitch that is straight to the point, clear and practical. A person from a vastly different culture might expect you to make appeals to his emotions, building a relationship with him and gaining his trust before he agrees to do business.
By: Keri Goodfriend
Whether your kids have started school, you’re tired of pinching pennies, or you want more intellectual stimulation than furry red monsters can provide, you know internally when you are ready to work full-time again because your inner voice says, “I’ve gotta get back out there!”
The road back to the Land of Getting Paid can be fraught with worry and self-doubt about whether you “still got it,” but with proper preparation for your job search, you’ll have the confidence needed to land the perfect job.
Preparing yourself to return to the workforce starts way before you’re ready to send out your resume. Turn the focus on yourself to get mentally, emotionally, and physically ready for the career-seeking mission ahead.
1. Clear the Fog
Reading material in your career field will refresh your memory on common practices and workplace jargon that has been replaced with Mommy-ese and the parental fog that set in soon after the birth of your child. Search online for professional magazines and websites in your career field that have trends and hot topics to help you get up-to-date on what’s happening in your workforce.
2. Sharpen the Ax
While my tech-savvy skills have dulled over the years from lack of use, mommyhood is not to blame for my current inability to insert a formula on a spreadsheet or prepare a PowerPoint presentation. Upgrades are. Microsoft is several versions beyond where it was when I packed up my things, so if I were to try to jump in right where I left off, well, I’d sink quickly.
Luckily, finding courses to help you learn or refresh your computer skills is not too difficult. Local libraries often offer a variety of computer courses, as do community colleges. There are also online tutorials and courses available on the web.
3. Socialize and Network
One of the advantages of living in the age of Facebook is the opportunity to find and network with many friends and coworkers whom you otherwise would have long since forgotten. Reach out to old coworkers, and let them know that you’re ready to jump back into the workforce. Chat with them about their workplace, and the issues they are facing. This can help you get the scoop from someone on the inside!
4. Dress the Part
Do yourself a favor and try on any old suit or outfit that you’d consider wearing to a job interview way before the day of the event. Your body may not be the same pre-kids body, and while you may be able to suck it in for the duration of an interview, you don’t need that added stress while in the spotlight. Don’t make yourself uncomfortable by wearing ill-fitting clothes.
If you are lucky enough to fit into your old work duds, kudos! However, still pull them out and take them to the dry cleaner. That line of dust that has collected on the jacket shoulders and pant creases while in the closet isn’t the first impression you want your prospective employer to have.
5. Mind the Gap
You might be concerned that any employer who looks at your resume may look at your giant employment gap and never call you back. This is not the case, but you do want to present yourself in the best light, so choosing an appropriate resume format is key.
A combination resume focuses on your strengths and accomplishments without calling attention to the dates of employment. This doesn’t mean you are hiding the fact that you’ve been unemployed, just putting your best foot forward.
A combination resume also provides an appropriate place to list the skills and experience you’ve gained outside of the workforce from volunteer and community leadership opportunities, as well as managing your household: maintenance, planning, scheduling, budgeting, teaching, organizing, etc. Get my point?
6. Play with Your Words
Play the part of a critical editor and think about whether your words sound enthusiastic, motivated, and driven. If not, rewrite. You have two pages at most to convince your future boss that you’re the one, so pick your words wisely.
Each statement on your resume should start with an action word such as “created,” “directed,” “supervised,” or “organized.” Once you find a promising job listing, revise the resume. You want your resume to address as many of the job qualifications as possible listed in the ad. If the employer is seeking someone with experience in administrative duties, then you want to share an experience you have “compiling,” “filing,” “organizing,” “scheduling,” etc.
Make it as easy as possible for the employer to see the relevant skills. If he or she has to work hard to determine how your experience might translate into a possible fit for the position, your resume will end up in the circular file, rather than the interview pile.
7. Proceed with Due Diligence
With your resume and cover letter sent, you’re halfway there, but your work is not done. You already know why they should want you, but why should you want them? You’d be doing a disservice to yourself to blindly accept a job without researching comparable salaries, companies, employee benefits, or job growth opportunities.
If you cannot find the answers you are looking for, then bring them to the interview. While the supervisor is looking to find a good fit for the position, it’s also his responsibility to sell you on his organization. Engaging in this kind of conversation during the interview shows the supervisor that you’ve done your homework, and are invested in committing to this organization.
While the decision to re-enter the workforce can be difficult, the process of finding the perfect job does not have to be. Recognizing your skills and abilities, and properly marketing them, will make the path back to full-time employment a smooth one.
from: www.yoursalesambassadore.com
Last week I was working with client and his team putting the final touches on their 2011 strategic plan. As we were finishing up, my client asked if I could come in and do some work with his team on conflict resolution, as he felt they needed a lot of improvement in the areas of communication and working together. When I asked him what the major issues were, he said they have so many different personality styles that it can be a struggle at times.
Sure enough after doing some personality testing of his entire team, and graphing the team’s style chart, we discovered he was right. We had a team of 12 executive leaders who have very different approaches to accomplishing tasks, communicating and achieving goals. This was a strong team with a broad range of talents, skills, experience and backgrounds. But rather than see that as a negative, I suggested we view this as an asset, and congratulated him on his brilliant approach to hiring and recruiting top talent. With a little work, a little different set of expectations, we could turn his workplace conflict into his strategic asset.
So often we see conflict as uncomfortable and do what we can to avoid it at all costs. When conflict can actually be just what we need to move our company forward. Healthy conflict ensures we see our blind spots, discover new solutions, execute more effectively and experience more financial success.
Some of the strongest relationships we have in life are at work. We certainly spend more time with many of these people than we do with our own families, so just like with any relationship conflict is natural. It is only when we avoid conflict that it becomes a negative. If we want to make workplace conflict a strategic asset we must create a culture where we embrace it and encourage it. There is real value in diverse opinions, ideas and little healthy argument.
How do you create positive workplace conflict?
1. Give your team the tools and information they need to be self aware, to understand their strengths and weaknesses and their communication style (personality tests such as DISC, Myers Briggs, or more involved testing)
2. Encourage them to learn and understand the communication styles of their team members, their clients and their peers. Hold them accountable to adjust their styles to better communicate with others
3. Set ground rules for healthy communication
4. As the leader, encourage differences of opinion and make time for needed discussion
5. Acknowledge to everyone the unique value that each member brings to the team. Set an expectation for conflict by letting your team know with the diversity of talents, experience and opinions you are counting on respectful conflict and look forward to the debate
6. Always make people feel valued for sharing their opinion
What is the return on investment of workplace conflict?
1. Innovation – with open communication from a diverse group of leaders you have more access to more innovative and creative ideas to solve challenges and discover solutions
2. Financial Success – in a culture where conflict is encouraged, team members feel more open to discuss potential problems or concerns before projects are implemented or before they become too costly to fix
3. Talent Development – cultures where opinions are valued attract and retain a higher rate of quality leaders
4. Execution – people support what they help create – and cultures that embrace open discussion from everyone involved gain greater support and buy-in during execution
Conflict is natural and when it is something we embrace rather than avoid, we can easily turn it from something that drains our culture to something that enhances it. We can turn workplace conflict into our strategic asset.
by: Doug Stites
In a recent education and economy survey conducted by Kaplan, “tough times drive adults to return to the classroom.”
Peter Smith, senior vice president for academic strategies and development at Kaplan Higher Education, found that 83 percent of U.S. adults think the nation is falling behind other countries economically.
Seventy-one percent believe the nation can improve its standing if more people earn college degrees.
We continue to hear complaints about skills gaps when it comes to hiring. What is more concerning, though, is the lack of career management.
The best way to manage your career is to first prioritize your education.
A job in any given industry may not be the same type of job it was five or even 10 years ago. While you may have experience within a particular industry, the skills required for that job may have changed in recent years.
Technology advances and we are left behind when we don’t change with them.
Skill sets require upgrades and continuous management, which is why we must constantly be in the know about current job and skill requirements.
The Education and Economy survey indicated 91 percent of U.S. adults “feel finishing a degree, seeking a higher degree or continuing education makes someone more attractive to potential employers.”
Control the controllables. This means that you can put your future in your own hands by taking the steps needed to have a career and promising future.
While there are a lot of things you cannot control, your career does not have to be one of them. If you really want to be out in the job field, contributing to your local economy, then you will do everything possible to obtain these goals.
Part of the necessity in achieving this is furthering your education.
With a lower supply and higher demand when it comes to the workforce, competition is unavoidable. An education could be that one determining factor that helps you land a job. A certification in a particular skill or an advanced degree will boost your candidacy, allowing you to stand out among other potential employees.
A bachelor’s degree can earn you 90 percent more than a high school graduate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Take control of your own future by advancing your education level.
A stable lifestyle starts with a valued education.
from:PRnewswire.com
With more than half of smartphone owners using mobile devices to enhance their shopping experience (source: iModerate Research Technologies), savvy retailers are leveraging smartphone capabilities to drive sales and increase shopper loyalty. OpinionLab, the pioneer and leader in voice-of-customer (VOC) listening technologies and mobile feedback solutions, today unveiled five tips to help retailers engage with brick-and-mortar shoppers via smartphones.
“Smartphones are rapidly transforming the retail landscape and blurring the lines between online and in-store customer experience,” said Rand Nickerson, CEO of OpinionLab. “With many retailers generating greater revenues in the store compared to online, using mobile initiatives to incentivize in-store purchases will lead to improved sales. And, with millions of shoppers now engaging with retailers via mobile devices, brands have greater opportunities to listen, understand, and react to customer feedback through the mobile channel.”
OpinionLab’s patented methodology and recognized [+] symbol have helped many of the world’s leading brands collect, understand, and manage actionable VOC feedback across all customer touch points, including brick-and-mortar locations, mobile channels and apps, websites, and social-media properties. Based on insights generated from the feedback of mobile consumers, OpinionLab offers five essential tips to help brick-and-mortar retailers provide a more complete multichannel shopping experience.
Extend the aisle to keep customers engaged. Shoppers in the information age like to research before they buy, and 46 percent of consumers have used their phone to get product information while in a store (source: Briabe Media). Put in-depth product detail at your customers’ fingertips, and you can mitigate their need to perform additional research and boost the likelihood of a purchase. Add quick response (QR) codes to in-store displays to draw customers directly to branded mobile sites that provide one-stop access to far more information than traditional brick-and-mortar aisles can provide: comprehensive product information, comparisons, and more.
Win the price war through exclusive incentives. Consumers today are shrewdly cost conscious, and 25 percent have used smartphones to compare prices while in a store (source: SmartRevenue). Take a proactive approach by pushing incentives through near-field communication (NFC) technology. For example, as a customer browses the outdoor furniture section, send an instant discount on patio umbrellas to his or her mobile device. Exclusive promotions appeal to savvy mobile consumers, and highly targeted offers encourage customers to take action on special deals related to their shopping needs.
Embrace product reviews and demos. According to a Nielsen survey, 90 percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trust consumer opinions posted online. Embrace this trend by making peer reviews and demos easy to access in the brick-and-mortar space. Keep shoppers in your brand backyard by linking them directly to reviews through QR codes on store displays and including store-made videos showing products in use.
Use games to engage and reward loyal customers. For the first time in history, the number of loyalty memberships in the US exceeds two billion, netting out to more than 18 memberships per household. That’s up 16 percent from the almost 1.8 billion memberships counted in 2008 (source: Colloquy’s Loyalty Census). Enhance loyalty programs by adding a social twist: invite shoppers to compare points with others or introduce customers via Twitter, Sonar, etc. based on buying patterns. Weave NFC or mobile geolocation technology in with such promotions to push special offers to shoppers who take certain actions, such as visiting a dressing room, filling a basket with $100 worth of merchandise, or spending a certain amount of time in the store.
Always be listening. Give consumers 24/7 access to customer service through their mobile devices and leverage social media to respond to questions and service inquiries via Twitter, Facebook, and the like. Most of all, make sure your customers can send open-ended feedback directly to you at anytime, from anywhere using simple, opt-in mobile comment cards.