Build Own Business & Your Team

When Starting Your Own Business - Keep This Small, But Given Start-up Tip In Mind

2011-07-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

There are many people who seek to start their own business because they see it as a way out of a job.

But yet, they don't factor in the uncertainty and the risk inherent to running their own business.

When starting your own business, you must factor in the uncertainties brought about by the following harsh realities:

1. Starting your own business is hard work.

2. Starting your own business is filled with lots of risk.

3. Starting your own business will challenge everything you thought you knew about yourself and your abilities.

Sometimes in the running of your business,you will find that you are met with challenge after challenge.

Get used to facing uncertainty - learn how to move your business forward despite risk and uncertainties.

There will be days when things just don't seem to be going your way.

There will be days when you thought you had it in the bag, only to find out that it all slipped through your fingers in just a moment.

There will even be days when you will encounter situations that you just don't quite know how to handle.

In fact, there will be days when you feel tired and unfocused and not quite sure how to proceed.

But don't let this stop you.

You MUST be willing to get up everyday with a determined stance to make your business work.

You must be able to Overcome The Start-up Blues by dealing with uncertainty head-on.

Uncertainty is a reality of any business - small or large.

There will be some days where you will have to move through your fears and hesitancies to keep your business moving.

Take this business given and small start tip to heart.

Uncertainty is a given.

Remembering this will help you to preserve your sanity during those moments when you feel paralyzed and overwhelmed.

Don't loose focus.

It's only those businesses that learn how to act in the face of uncertainty that will win in the end.

Thus, make it a habitual practice to view your business through a strategic lens.

Here's to your small business start-up success!

Latarsha Lytle, MBA is a motivational speaker and certified Career and Life Purpose Coach who holds (1) an MBA in Business Strategy and (2) a second Master's in Marketing with an emphasis in Branding and Positioning.

Her passion is helping those who are in unfulfilling careers to:

* First to identify their SweetSpot - THAT thing that they were made to do and to be,

* Then she works with them to position their SweetSpot into a signature career or business:

(a) that fits their passion, their life, AND pays them their worth...

(b) all while allowing them to leave their legacy and mark in the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/852095

How To Lessen The Fear Of Starting Your Own Business

2011-07-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Are you are working a dead-end job thinking it is time for a change? Do you keep thinking the change you are looking for is to start your own business but are too scared to give it a try? Why let your fears stop you from making, what could be, the best move of your working life?

Caution is good and will help prevent you from making wrong decisions, but fear is not because it will prevent you from making the right ones. In order to overcome this fear, you need a way to answer your questions and address your fears.

The fear of starting a new business is largely the fear of the unknown. What will I do if my business does not make enough money? What will happen to my marriage if we go bankrupt? How will I pay my bills?

What will my friends and family think of me? These are all legitimate questions and you certainly have many more. The answer to all of them is research, preparation, and planning.

In order to lessen the fear that comes from starting a new business, you will need to expend the time and effort it takes to thoroughly research your prospective business. You must study every bit of information you can get your hands on. Many industries have member organizations that provide help to get you started, take advantage of them.

Go to the public library and ask for help. There is an enormous amount of information on the Internet, make use of it. Visit every business remotely similar in your area. Lastly, spend some time talking to the suppliers you will be using, they can provide answers you will not find anywhere else.

Preparation should also play a large part in lessening your fears. Many community colleges offer instruction in starting and running a small business. There are also many online options here as well. A trip to the local bookstore or library will yield many books and training videos.

Perhaps the best way to prepare for your new business is by getting a job doing the same type of work. It is no coincidence that people often open their own business doing the same work they formerly did for someone else.

Planning is the third key to overcoming the fear that is holding you back. Write up a business plan, even if no one will ever see it but you. This will force you to consider all the elements of your new business and give you the information you need to decide if it is right for you.

A standard business plan is meant to cover every aspect of your business and includes sections on marketing, financial projections and cash flow, market analysis, your management structure, and a thorough analysis of your products or services.

By using the three keys of research, preparation, and planning, you will acquire the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about the feasibility of any new business you are considering.

This will, in turn, give you the self-confidence you need to overcome the very rational fear you feel, along with the absolutely essential benefit of having a well thought out plan to get you started the right way.

Aldar Nagy is the author of several informational type websites. These include The Business Startup Resource, which offers new business profiles, ideas, advice, and other resources for you when you are starting your own business. The Business Startup Resource can be found at: [http://www.businessstartupresource.com] Check back often, new business profiles are being added all the time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/846615

5 Reasons To Start Your Own Business

2011-07-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and admit it, you have been thinking of opening your own business for a long time but you always manage to talk yourself out of it. The more you think about it, the more the whole thing makes you break out in a cold sweat. The problem is you just cannot seem to stop thinking about it. Here are five great reasons why you really should give it a try and go into business for yourself.

1. You Control Your Destiny -
Some people are content to follow the lead of others, but there are those who long to take control of their lives and are simply not happy otherwise. When you work for others, you have no choice but to follow their rules. Be the one who makes the rules, instead of the one who follows them.

2. Your Income Is Not Limited -
When you work for yourself, your income is only limited by your imagination, your skills, and your dedication to what you are doing. The potential is simply not there to go beyond an average wage if you work for others. If you really want to secure your financial well being, you will need to go into the right business for yourself.

3. You Can Make A Difference -
Ask yourself how much of a difference you are making at your current job. Then imagine the difference you could be making as a business owner. As an owner, you will have the opportunity to be an employer and make a difference in the lives of the people you hire. If your business is successful enough, you will also have the financial ability to contribute to needy and important charities or even fund your own charitable foundation.

4. More Secure Than Working For Someone Else -
Once upon a time in America, a person could work for a single company their entire career and then get paid a pension and benefits after they retired. This idea is now as dead as the dinosaurs. Today, there is no guarantee you will have a job next week, much less your whole career.

You are still subject to uncertainty with your own business, but you will be able to change your business as your market conditions change. If you are an employee, the change that is made might be you. Sorry, nothing personal.

5. Do Something You Enjoy -
If you ask twenty people if they enjoy what they do for a living, how many do you think will answer yes? How would you answer this same question? What could be worse than reaching the end of your working life and looking back with regret for never having done any work you enjoy? Find something you like that will support you and your family. Take the chance, it might be the best thing you ever do.

Starting and running a business of your own can be the most rewarding experience of your life in so many ways. Imagine how much richer your life, and the life of your family, can be if you start the right business. It is fine to talk yourself out of the wrong business but make sure to consider the many benefits, including those listed here, before talking yourself out of the right one.

Aldar Nagy is the author of several informational type websites. These include The Business Startup Resource, which offers new business profiles, ideas, advice, and other resources for you when you are starting your own business. The Business Startup Resource can be found at: [http://www.businessstartupresource.com] Check back often, we are adding new business profiles all the time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/839972

Start Your Own Business - "Measure Twice - Cut Once"

2011-07-15T17:46:00.000-07:00

That old carpenters rule should be considered when starting a new business of your own. Be courageous, be bold, be committed and most of all be prepared!

Coming from Europe I am very accustomed with the mentality of being overly cautious, conservative and extremely planned out. This will generally result in perfection - granted the German automobiles might not be what they used to... Once in the States I have been confronted with a mentality of having great ideas and getting right into them full force forward.

Our history was influenced by this trailblazing mentality and built this great nation at the high speed we live our daily lives.

Personally I have been on the track of implementing the best of both worlds for myself. This is how I believe one should start their own business. With a great idea and believe, energetic and consistent, well thought through and planned out in all aspects.

See, it will not do you any good to run into a wall after a few months in business because you just did not take in account what kind of realistic obstacles could occur (motivation, personal, financial...).

Since you are researching this matter it only seems fair to me to warn you of these obstacles, because they do exist.

They are what keeps the employee remaining an employee and challenge the entrepreneur to rise to higher levels by overcoming them. You can start a franchise, begin producing some product at home, open a restaurant or bar (lots of illusions involved in this one). In all scenarios you want to take some things into account:

Your initial financial commitment - Yes, any real business you start will cost money to start and to operate

A realistic time frame - No one has become a millionaire over night starting his own business

Where can you get help from people with experience - Try to do it alone and you will most likely fail

Setting goals that are realistic, measurable and timed (50,000$ additional in bank account by January 1st 2009), writing them down and visualizing them

Using a DMO (Daily Method of Operation) - this leaves no question about what needs to be done, no goofing off and taking your kids' Playstation hostage for a day

All points above are useless if you do not do one thing: Take Action! You can be as well planned, funded, prepared, organized and dreaming about your goals as you want - if you do not Take Action - Nothing Will Happen! Makes sense reading it, but you would be surprised how many entrepreneurs fail when getting ready to get ready to get ready.

At the age of 5 Stefan moved to Germany, then at 12 to Switzerland where he ended up studying International Hospitality Management and received a degree in Executive Restaurant and Hotel Management.

After several five star engagements his path has brought him and his wife back to the United States where they recently welcomed their first baby girl to the world. He has since then left Corporate America as well as a substantial paycheck behind and followed his instincts to become a successful Entrepreneur and CEO of his own company.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/827118

How to Run Your Own Business

2011-07-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

To start and Run your own business is a rewarding but demanding career and life choice. Starting your own business is empowering because it puts you back in control of both your work and your life in general. Owning your own business is a dream for so many people, and certainly, you'll have the chance of making a lot more money.

Operating a business from home has some indisputable perks, such as, greater freedom and flexible hours, better balance between work family and life, lower start up and running costs, you can start your business part time working your existing job parallel, less travel and transport hassles.

To reap all the rewards in the future, you can start a home based business part time and give it time to grow with little risk and enormous possibilities. From franchising, Direct Selling to Online businesses, there are big variety of opportunities to choose from, when you want to make the transition from working for a paycheck to creating wealth.

Now, even though you probably want your business up and producing tomorrow(if not yesterday), you need to give yourself time to learn the ropes, and take advantage of the support networks at your disposal. Done right, you may find that working from home is the best career decision you ever made.

Fresh statistics shows that more than 50% of young women now want to be entrepreneurs. For all young people it's 53% who want to work for themselves. If we look at the whole population, the figure is as high as 70%. For one reason or another the majority of these individuals will never act on their dream, instead they will continue working their traditional jobs and dream the dream.

Once you've decided that starting a business is right for you, your next step of preparation will be to decide what kind of business you want to start. It will be well worth your time to give this a real thought. Think about it, what if you start a similar business as your current work, well then you'll soon be back in the same wheel traces. But what if you could work with something you really enjoy doing, how would your life feel?

There are many useful resources available that will help you to evaluate if running your own business is for you, and if so, how to go about it. Choosing to run your own business is a big step that you shouldn't take lightly. Now, if it feels right, don't wait for the right timing, just go for it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/701669

A Reality Check on Starting Your Own Business

2011-07-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

So you are starting your own business on the internet? Going to work from home and make a bundle? Right, well it's time to take a reality check.

OK, let's take a reality check. There are more budding Internet entrepreneurs than you might think. Many have spent a number of years and many thousands of dollars in their efforts to start a profitable Internet business.

It may seem as if they are all making a success of it, but that's simply not true. Not many will admit their frustration because perception is everything online. You can't afford to be perceived as a failure because no one will buy from you, and that will make sure that you fail. Fake it 'til you make it is essential.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't try? Of course not! The Internet is exploding. The potential is huge. In today's economic climate thousands, if not millions, of people are looking at starting their own Internet business.

And so they should. It was a trend that was in place well before the recession came along and it's a recession proof business.

So what are the difficulties to starting your own business online?

The first is the learning curve - it's steeper than you might think. There are several "how-to" processes online for you to follow. You've got to know which ones to follow.

I sometimes think that letting the newbie loose to find her own way at the start is one of the best ways for her to learn. Might sound harsh, but it works. My advice would be not to spend too much at the start but at least try something. You will learn this way.

Succeeding at creating wealth with an online business requires mastery of several key tasks, not all of which have a direct correlation with an offline business.

First, you need to build a really good website and/or a blog for those who understand social networking. Then you have to drive traffic to it, all without making any mistakes that cause you to lose credibility in your prospect's mind.

Not easy!

Although there are numerous experts, books, and how-to courses on how to start a business online, it's hard for a beginner to know who to believe. In addition, there are multiple online business models to choose from as well. However, as I said before, at some point you just have to jump in and test the water.

The second thing is to drive traffic to your site. Novice Internet marketers know they need their site to be ranked highly by the search engines, but often vastly underestimate the amount of competition they have for the keywords and search phrases they desire.

The reality is that a top-ten ranking for most popular keywords is extraordinarily difficult to achieve. This means that you will need to master the art of advertising online, which can become quite costly.

Thirdly, you need to understand that a lot of information will come your way and it is easy to become overwhelmed.

You might be advised to subscribe to Internet ezines or visit Internet discussion forums. These are recommended methods to build knowledge. However, you will be bombarded almost daily with new ways to make money, new advertising strategies to try, new top-secret, never-before-revealed-to-the-public ways to get more targeted website visitors than you've ever imagined. You can become paralyzed by analysis and end up doing nothing.

I suggest you read internet marketing articles. After a while, you can tell the experienced and genuine authors. That's what you are doing here.

If you're looking at creating wealth with an Internet business, this article will serve as a reality check for you. However, you do need to start somewhere and you will need some start up capital. It's certainly possible to make a substantial income online; however, it's much more likely if you have a good grasp of the obstacles you'll encounter along the way.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1813979

3 List Building Strategies That Can Change Your Mind then Change Your Life and Build Your Business

2011-07-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Are you trying to build your subscriber list but bewildered by all the traffic building options that are all over the internet.

If you remove the hype from all the individual internet marketers there are essentially a few distinct but easy to follow phases to building your lists with a true opt in process. There are really three phases to list building of an opt-in process and they are:

There are really 3 phases to attracting potential customers, getting them to subscribe and ensuring they become long time customers of your home or solo owned business

1. Uniqueness

2. Distinctive

3. Consistency

1. Be Unique and very much self-aware

Know yourself is simple but hard to do. It is why we all love polls and questionnaires because it gives insight into ourselves. Well we start with this as the key strategy because once you know yourself you can make all else change to meet your needs.

The infrastructure of list building is the same. The process you select will make the difference in your sticking with it on a daily basis.

2. Be Distinctive - have one solid set of processes and strategy

Basic List Building - Foundation Strategies

o You need to learn about building customer database and email broadcasting systems

o You need to learn about an email capture and list building database.

o You will need to know how to write an opt-in web page that works to enforce signups.

o You need to understand the dynamics of a "squeeze page" and how they work.

o You will also need to develop a compelling ezine description

o You also need to know what to put on the "thank you" page and follow

o You will also need to learn what to put into an autoresponder.

3. Be Consistent - stay the course, be in it for the long haul

Like the real estate agents are fond of saying location, location, location. In list building and traffic generation we can say repetition, repetition, repetition. Consistently doing a small boring thing well is better then doing an exciting thing badly.

As an aside, once you get going you will need to learn residual back end income strategies. These consist of more advanced learning like the basics of monetizing your pages. Then you will learn the process of developing your unique way of building additional customer loyalty.

Building your list can be very rewarding and your sales of internet products will increase tremendously. However it is highly recommended that first you learn yourself, second follow a plan and third be consistent.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1032178

How To Build A Business Web Site - Some Tips For The Best Software To Help

2011-07-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Owning your own business and being your own boss is the core concept of the American Dream and the Internet and World Wide Web revolution make this dream easier to grasp than ever for anyone with a computer and a willingness to set up and build a business web site.

Doing business on the web is all about conveying information about your products and services to potential buyers.

You need to make your web site attractive and it needs to stand out from the crowd in your product area. Remember, while you know how awesome your product is, the typical web surfer can only take you at your word – and your word will be judged by how your web site presents itself.

Does your web site have a “landing page” – the page where people will go to when brought to your site by Google or other search engines? This is where your customers make their first impression.

This page should be free of typos, it should present the most important information in the top few paragraphs and it should display your company’s logo and graphical elements promptly (small graphics file sizes) and prominently (upper part of the page.)

Getting good graphics for your landing page is tricky – you can either spend a lot of money on Photoshop and a lot of time learning it or you can use pre-packaged templates, which have a tendency to all look alike.

One alternative is hiring a graphic designer, but graphic designers are expensive and can flake out on you. If you have the patience to learn a graphics program, another alternative is to have someone teach you how to do a good graphic design for your business web site.

Fortunately, Design Dashboard does an excellent job in walking you through tutorials with a graphics program, highlighting the tips you need to make your business web site stand head and shoulders above the crowd.

Peter Cutforth and his team have built literally hundreds of niche websites for clients all around the world. Visit Peter's blog To Discover How to Point n Click Your Way To Create Amazing Web Pages That Sell Like Crazy!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/402577

Start Your Own Business in a Easier Way

2011-07-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

More people are going into business. However, many are not mentally prepared. Many are lacking the business knowledge when they first start their business. You can get some key points here in starting your own business.

1. Watch your cashflow

Cashflow is the bloodline of your business. Most businesses fail because they run into cashflow problems. Most new business owners start to spend lots of money before the business starts making money.

Spending money on renovating luxury offices, buying unnecessary things or renting too big an office space. Even buying small items can bring huge burden to your to your cashflow.

If you are not someone who is good at managing cashflow, get someone who is good to do it for you. My business partner is good at that, she is the one who manages all the money in the company.

In the first year of our business, she had stopped me numerous times in buying unnecessary things.

Learn to watch your cashflow. Your business depends on it.

2. Marketing business

When I was young, someone told me this, "as long as you start a business, they will come and you will be rich." That may be true many years ago. But it's no longer true now.

When you start your business, you must make known to the world. Tell everyone about your business. Learn to do effective marketing not just marketing that everyone else does.

All businesses are in the business of marketing. If you sell pens, you are also in the business of marketing. Just that you are marketing pens.

Marketing is a huge subject. Many business owners start business without knowing even the basic of marketing. I done lots of test about marketing. I started to learn about marketing five years ago. Only in the last years, I discover I had moved to a deeper level in understanding marketing.

3. Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate

Learn this skill and you can get many good deals. You may even get people who's willing to work for you free. A tip for you before going into a negotiation is to understand what the other party wants. Know that and you'll find your negotiation goes much smoother.

Understand this point, negotiation is about win-win. Creating a win-win deal in a negotiation. If a negotiation turns to win-lose, one party will definitely walk away from the deal.

4. Taking care of your customers

You have to think your customers as long term friends. If you take care of your customers, they will take care of you. Build trust and rapport with your customers, they will buy from you for a life time.

Build a system so that you can always keep in touch with your customers. When your business grows, you do not have the time to keep in touch with all of your customers. That's when this system will come in handy. Build it early, so you will not lose any customers.

Get yourself prepared for a new business. Be mentally prepared, physically prepared too. You will find great success in your business if you are prepared.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/350223

Book Review: Start Your Own Business

2011-07-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

If you want to start a business, but don't know where to start, then the place to start is with Start Your Own Business: The Only Start-Up Book You'll Ever Need by Rieva Lesonsky.

The book is put out by Entrepreneur Press and is essentially a compilation of Entrepreneur Magazine's large knowledge database regarding starting a business.

The book literally takes you through the entire business process - from determining if you really have what it takes to run a business to how to deal with failure if your business doesn't work out, and everything in between.

The best part about the book is that it covers nearly EVERYTHING in some capacity. If you need more information, it does a great job of suggesting further reading and pertinent web sites.

The book is broken down into seven sections, each with several chapters. The first section, 'You Gotta Start Somewhere' covers determining if you can be an entrepreneur, how to come up with an idea for your business, and whether you should launch your business part time or full time.

Most people who buy the book will already have answers to these questions, but going through the exercises in the book can still be helpful.

The second section of the book is entitled 'Building Blocks'. It covers how to name your business, choosing a business structure, creating a business plan, and how to hire a lawyer and accountant. I think that this is the most valuable section of the book. These are the things that most entrepreneurs either struggle with or ignore.

The Naming Your Business chapter in particular helped me a great deal. Naming your business is not nearly as easy as you think - you need to consider all registered trademark names, registered domain names, and names that are being used but not trademarked.

One of the worst things that you can do is to pick a name that is already being used by someone and face a legal battle down the road.

The third section covers financing including where and how to get money to run your business. The fourth section, 'Setting the Stage' is absolutely massive and covers numerous important things such as choosing a location for your business, creating a professional image, offering customers credit, hiring your first employee, and business insurance. Needless to say, all of these things are extremely important to every business owner.

The fifth section covers buying company computers, cell phones, and cars. These things probably won't be very difficult for most business owners.

The sixth section, however, covers one of the hardest thing every business owner faces - marketing. The section is nearly 100 pages about advertising, marketing, and public relations. It also briefly touches on web-marketing but those looking to seriously profit online will need to look elsewhere because the book is a little thin when it comes to e-commerce.

The final section, entitled 'By the Books' goes over every entrepreneurs favorite things - accounting and taxes. It gives solid advice regarding basic bookkeeping, financial statements, budgeting, and taxes. For most business owners this section and the web resources listed should be more than enough to get them started on keeping their business legal.

I can't overemphasize how important I think it is for every business owner to have this book. It is a mini-encyclopedia (ok, so 800 pages isn't THAT mini) for everything business related. Having this book on your shelf will save you countless hours. I read it from cover to cover when I got it and I constantly refer back to it. I have recommended it to every person I know that has talked with me about starting a business. Each and every one of them bought it, and each and every one of them came back to me raving about it.

For the amount of depth that is covered in the book, Start Your Own Business: The Only Start-Up Book You'll Ever Need by Rieva Lesonsky is an amazingly easy read. Anyone over the age of 16 will be able to comprehend the simple nature of the book.

Reading this book won't guarantee your success as an entrepreneur, but it will help reduce the risk of starting a business by providing you with a sound foundation to build upon.

Adam McFarland owns the SportsLizard.com Network [http://network.sportslizard.com] - a network of sports sites including collectibles, movies, books, video games, and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/177124

The Importance of Business Plan Organization

2011-07-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

Overview

The organization of a Business Plan is very important. I use an eight section plan format that is in a specific order as each section builds from the previous section (note: you may have to jump back and forth on a limited basis between the Products and Services Section and the Marketing Section, as well as, the Strategic Section, depending on the extent of your market and product development to date).

There is fluid thought and connected reasoning employed to achieve a Plan that reaches its intended purpose (i.e. to run a business, to buy a business, to enter a Joint Venture, to finance a business, to complete a particular project, etc).

Although the Executive Summary is the first section of a Plan, it should be written last. All the other Sections should be developed in a build block order provided in a Business Plan Workbook Process.

A Business Plan is a business document; you are not writing prose. It should contain a precise and concise format and be organized into numbered Sections and Sub-Sections, which contain specific information in short, paragraph form.

Plans should be produced in paper form, computer format and online format. Computer Format means the Plan is integrated into the Company's Computer Network. It also means the Table of Content's Sections are hyperlinked so you can easily navigate and access information on the Plan just by clicking on the links.

You should have your Business Plan uploaded securely, online (via login and password access) on your website so that Key Managers, Employees, Sales People, etc can access the information remotely no matter their location. You can have different versions available online for particular purposes, segregated by different logins and passwords.

For Example, you can have your Sales Plan accessible remotely so your Salespeople can use it as a sales tool or update it with up to the minute feedback for the Sales Manager and the Marketing Department. Another example would be having your Funding Business Plan accessible online with versions for different audiences: bankers, venture capitalists, angel investors, etc.

Business Plan Sections

1) Table of Contents

The Table of Contents is one of the most important parts of the Plan. The TOC should be very detailed and well organized so that the reader and user can find and access the information easily and quickly. You can write a great Plan with all the necessary information in it, but if the reader can't easily find or access the information, then the Plan ceases to be a useful tool.

The TOC should be organized by each Section and Sub-Sections of the Plan with the corresponding page numbers. It is strongly recommended that your Plan be developed as an outline document, with all the Sections and Sub-Sections in the Table of Contents hyperlinked to the page where the information resides. This way the reader and user can access the information quickly and easily.

2) Section One: Executive Summary

The Executive Summary should be written last. Why? Because it organizes and summarizes the entire Business Plan. You cannot achieve this effectively until all the other sections (2 thru 8) of the Plan are completed.

We suggest developing two renditions of the Executive Summary - a short version of 2 - 3 pages in length and a longer version of 5 - 7 pages. The short version should be written after the long version is completed, keying on the most significant information from the long version.

The Executive Summary gives the reader a quick overview of the important facts contained in your Business Plan. The long version of the Executive Summary can act as a standalone document to be used to succinctly explain your Business and generate interest in your opportunity, or products and services.

For instance, the long version of the Summary can be sent to a Venture Capital Firm to generate and gauge initial interest, to be accompanied by your one-sheeters: Fact Sheet / Venture Overview / Investment Overview.

If interest is indicated, you can send the VC Firm a custom tailored Funding Business Plan (customized to their particular investment requirements) which will contain the short version Executive Summary.

Brevity, yet completeness and inclusiveness, is key when writing your Executive Summary. It should be concise yet have adequate detail about your Business Plan. It may take several attempts to achieve this balance.

3) Section Two: Company Overview

This section encapsulates who you are as a Company: the History, Structure, Ownership, Locations, Products and Services Summary, Strengths and Weaknesses, Performance, Customers, Trends, Company Assets and so forth.

This section comes first in the Business Plan (following the Executive Summary) since it serves as an introduction to the necessary details and background of your company.

4) Section Three: Management and Operations

This section builds on the Company Section explaining in more detail who will run the company and how it will be run. You can have the greatest business idea but lack the right people to execute your Plan. Therefore, the Management and Operations Section is one of the most important elements of the Plan.

5) Section Four: Products and Services

Now that you have developed the Company and Management / Operations Sections, it is time to describe your Company's Products and Services in detail. This section identifies why your Product and Service is unique and where weaknesses reside.

Customer and Market identification, analysis and segmentation starts in this section to be later developed in the Marketing Plan and implemented through the Strategic Plan.

6) Section Five: Marketing Analysis and Plan

The Marketing Section explains in great detail how your Product and Service will be positioned and distributed in the market, supported by detailed, believable market research.

This section deals with your Industry, Market Segments, Target Markets, Market Trends and Growth, General Competitive Environment, Customer Choices and Competitive Analysis / Positioning / Edge, to culminate in your Marketing Strategy and Programs.

7) Section Six: Strategic & Sales Plan

The Strategic Plan puts the Marketing Plan into action, showing how to implement the Marketing Plan into a cohesive and executable Sales Plan. The Strategic Plan develops a system to effectively deal with Potential Problems and Risks and culminates in producing Company Strategies, Tactics and Strategic Programs.

These programs are implemented through the developed Sales Programs and Sales Plan. Operating Budgets, Control Mechanisms, Milestones and Sales Forecasts are also integral parts of the Strategic Plan.

The Strategic Plan provides a process for Strategic Management, Auditing and Reassessment. It measures performance, has control functions and corrective actions, reassessing when and where necessary. Strategic Planning is top-down and bottom-up, completely integral to your Company's Operations, from the Vision and Leadership of the CEO, to Management's Implementation Oversight, to the Sales and Operations Units.

It provides company-wide Strategic Vision, Focus, Structure and Discipline, while providing an atmosphere of learning and awareness, with a process for identifying deficiencies and, in turn, fixing those challenges.

8 ) Section Seven: Financials

If you develop an effective Strategic Plan through our a well prescribed process, completing the Financial Section will not be as difficult as often anticipated. The principal reason why business owners have such a hard time constructing the Financial Section is most often due to a cursory job on their Strategic Planning Process.

Financial Projections are not believable or realistic when the Strategic Plan doesn't do an adequate job of harnessing the Market Plan into an achievable well thought out Company Strategy. Good Financial Forecasting starts with a well developed Product or Service Plan (Section 4), a well researched Market Analysis and resulting Marketing Plan (Section 5) and culminating into a solid Strategic Planning Process (Section 6).

This ensures your "best guesses" as to future performance are well researched and developed. This is why it is so critical that you work through a good Business Planning Workbook in a building block order; otherwise, your Financials will be lacking accurate forecasting. The culmination of a good Strategic Planning Process makes for solid Financial Projections.

Probably the most important of all the Financials is the Cash Flow Statement. The Cash Flow will assist you on a daily basis in running your business effectively. Simply put, the Cash Flow shows the influx of cash and the outflow of cash in your Business.

Cash Management is absolutely critical in successfully running your business, project or venture. The Cash Flow Statement is also very important when you are seeking funding for your operation and analyzed closely by lenders, investors and venture capitalists alike.

Your Cash Flow is also critically important to your relationship with your Suppliers. Having a Supplier Business Plan containing a history and projection of Cash Flow can really help your Suppliers become good partners in managing your cash flow, thereby, enhancing your profitability significantly.

The Cash Flow Statement should be your guiding force in Financial Modeling and Cash Management. Effectively managing your Cash creates leverage, which will lead toward increased profitability. The leverage is created within a Cash Flow Management System as it shows how much cash is necessary to grow and finance your Company.

Many businesses focus on the Profit and Loss Statement, which is very important; however, they often over look the Cash Flow Statement. Good financial analysis focuses on the Cash Flow Statement, then relates it to the Profit & Loss components (i.e. minimizing costs), which in turn increases Profitability and results in a stronger asset and equity base on the Balance Sheet.

Financials and good Financial Management stem from the inter-connectivity of a Company's Financials. Don't forget how important Cash Flow Management is to your Company's future profitability and net worth.

Another very important Financial, which works hand in hand with the Cash Flow Statement and Cash Management, is your Company's Target and Actual Budget. Budgets are used principally for two purposes: Planning and Control.

A Budget matches short term targets with long term Strategic Planning, while providing an indicator of future problems ahead. A good Budgeting System will indicate when Costs and Expenses are heading over Budget (Actual vs. Target), providing the business owner time and opportunity to correct the problem before it significantly affects Cash Flow.

Your Budget is an extension of (and a result of) your Cash Flow Statement, helping you to effectively control and plan your operational cash, costs and expenses.

We recommend Rolling Budgets which look forward 12 months on a monthly basis, budgeting an additional three months at the end of each quarter. This way you always have a 12 month continuous outlook for Planning Purposes, yet provides you real time Cost Basis for Control purposes.

A Budget should be flexible so that you can separate the effects of variations between Actual and Estimated results. Moreover, a Budget is a tool to evaluate your Business Units (Departments) and Management's Performance. Needless to say, assembling a good Budget requires the input of your entire organization, which in turn, is a very good thing.

Just as your Business Plan should be an integral part of your Company's every day operations, so too should your Cash Flow, Cash Management and Budgeting Process be intertwined fully into company operations.

It is important to understand how your Financials relate to each other as you build and develop them. This is why Financial Software Programs are so beneficial, making Financial Analysis, Development and Projections a snap (once you have developed a solid Strategic Plan).

There's a lot of back and forth between the Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement. When using a Financial Software Program, it is important that the program allows you to customize the Formats for your specific needs and download the Financials into Excel Spreadsheets for maximum utility and flexibility.

When making Financial Projections, the projection period differs for the particular company, venture or project. For instance, a large scale Real Estate Development Project's Cash Flow Projection could be three, five or ten years, depending on the project scope and length.

Also Real Estate Companies and Projects typically require additional Financials, such as, the Construction Cost Analysis and Cash Flow, Schedule of Real Estate, Construction Cost and Disbursement Schedule, and so on (Note: some of these may be applicable to other business sectors as well- for instance, a Tire Distribution Company may have substantial real estate holdings, hence, a Schedule of Real Estate would apply).

Also, for Real Estate Companies and Projects (as well as for companies applying for business finance), the Loan Package is an important aspect of your Business Plan.

A very important component of the Financial Section is the Assumptions sub-section. This details the assumptions you have utilized in developing your financials.

It is important to list the various calculations and formulas used in developing your Financials since those formulas can be company, deal or project specific. Detailed assumptions provide transparency to your Financials.

Financial Projections need to be believable and realistic. If anything, they need to be conservative. Too often we also see extremes of too few numbers or too many numbers. Provide best case, worst case and expected Financial Projections, along with simple and detailed formats.

Remember that if you build out your Financials as a result of a good Strategic Planning Process, the financial results will most likely be believable and realistic as possible. We find that if your Financials have truly conservative numbers (yet still see profitability), you will often exceed your Plan which becomes a great Psychological boost for your Company (and any lenders or investors).

9) Section Eight: Appendix

The Appendix Section of a business plan can be aptly called the Due Diligence section. It contains the "proof in the pudding". It contains all the Bulky Documents which supply merit and proof to your Business Plan's assertions.

Since the Appendix is large in volume, it is important to have a separate Table of Contents with Tabbed Sections for easy reference for this section.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4103194

Do Not Do A Business Plan At Your Own Peril

2011-07-11T05:59:00.001-07:00

Such a plan seems to be one of the accepted norms of going into business. As with most things in life, one should question this.

Let us start by establishing what a business plan is and why one would need one. A business plan in the most simple terms is a document which lays out a plan as to where one wants a business to be in a set period of time - generally this is 5 years.

It is drawn up by the businesses management or owner. It is a document that lays out the plans for the future and the standards for success. It is thus quite a positive document as one plans for success and not failure.

One of the most popular ways of drawing up such a plan in this day and age is to use software to guide one in setting up the plan.

While this probably creates the best looking and presentable business plan, it possibly allows one to miss the most important reason to set up a business plan. While appearing very comprehensive, all businesses are unique in some way and therefore do not fit exactly in a mould.

One of the most important reasons to do a plan is that it requires one to stop, think, gather more information, think some more and document ones thoughts and plans in an orderly manner. Thinking is the key word.

Business software often demands information, in a particular format, and one lands up focusing on the tool (i.e. the software) and not the process. The process is the most important by far. On the plus side, the software is very structured and would cover all the main topics e.g. financial, marketing, operations, staffing.

A criticism of business plans is that they are often done for financiers and once done and the finance arranged, they are put in a bottom drawer and not referred to again in a hurry. While this is not ideal, it does not mean that the plan is a failure.

It has allowed the business manager time to think through the business in a structured way that has convinced outsiders to buy into the plan - otherwise finance would not have been forthcoming. This is a big positive and should give the manager motivation to go forward.

To run a successful business one, in any event, needs elements of a business plan - financial reports, budgets, cash flows, sales targets and the like.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6335703

The Perfect Example of a Restaurant Business Plan

2011-07-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

The perfect example of a restaurant business plan does not exist for the simple reason that each plan is required to be different from the next since they all are written for different places. They all follow the same restaurant business plan outline but each one has different words and in many ways correctly is a unique reflection of the personality and spirit of the person who wrote it.

You do not want your plan to sound like a canned speech or a cut and paste job that is not really who you are because the investors or lenders will not be inspired by this at all.

You want them to know that you understand the business and the way you show that is by doing the research for the plan and gathering the information and writing it down in an organized way. Once you have done this yourself you will see there is no point in having the example since you are already done.

Restaurant business plan financials are the real key to getting any restaurant up and launched. You can have an amazing written business plan but without numbers to back up all the great sounding text you won't be able to convince anyone to lend you money or invest real capital into the plan.

The financials package consists of three different types of projections. The first is the balance sheet which shows the assets of the business such as cash, inventory and equipment and the liabilities including any debt and depreciation and amortization charges.

The second is the income statement, also called the profit and loss statement, which details the sales, expenses and any remaining balance which are the profits. The third statement is the cash flow which shows the actual movement of dollars into and out of the business.

These three, plus some supporting financials such as ratios and charts and graphs comprise the plan financials and are the most important part of the presentation of the business plan.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5815349

Financial Advisor Business Plans - Choosing Customer Segments

2011-07-11T05:54:00.000-07:00

Depending on the customer market segment or segments you seek to serve with your financial advisory business, your operations and marketing must be different.

Think about which segments you are best suited to serve, as well as the difficulties you may encounter as you try to serve the needs of more than one of these groups.

HNWIs

High net worth individuals, called HNWIs, are generally defined as having assets of over $1 million ready to invest. If your fees will be earned based on the value of assets under management, it is certainly in your interest to seek out and work with as many HNWIs as possible if you are qualified to do so.

Keep in mind that each individual will need more attention and service than an individual with less money to work with, but it should work out to a more profitable relationship nonetheless. To attract these individuals, evidence of your expertise and experience with large accounts will go a long way, as will positive references from past clients.

You may be called on to go out of your way to serve these individuals - making house calls, interrupting your vacation to answer a question, and keeping in steady contact to reassure them that you are keeping an eye on their accounts.

Smaller Investors

For the much larger target market of investors with assets of under $1 million, you have the challenge of working with them enough to make sure they feel well-attended to, while carefully setting the expectation that there are limits to the time you will spend with them. More mass marketing techniques like advertising, as well as referrals, can work to find these types of clients.

Hourly Rate Customers

If you seek to serve those who are getting ready to enter the investment market or begin their financial planning, you'll find a large group more comfortable with paying an hourly rate for advisory services before investing money through you.

Think hard about whether this group will represent a large amount of your revenue or if you will consider the hourly rate offer primarily a means to up sell customers to other services you offer.

If the latter is your strategy, remember that customers can generally sense when they are being sold to and that receiving advice of value may be the best way to encourage them to work with you further.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2608041

Business Plan Financial Projections: Stop Worrying About Being Right...

2011-07-11T01:08:00.000-07:00

Business plan financial projections seem daunting because
they are so uncertain. This very uncertainty, however, is
what makes preparing them easy because you can't possibly be
right.

You can't predict the future. None of us can. All you
can be is competent in the way you prepare your business plan
projections.

Before you finalize your business plan this year, consider
these six caveats to preparing your business plan financial
projections:

1. Don't offer pull-out-of-the-air, "conservative"
guesstimates about getting some percentage of the overall
market demand or year-over-year growth.

It is a mistake to assume that business investors will
appreciate your being conservative with your business plan
financial projections in the early years of your business.

Don't think for a Wall Street minute that presenting
"conservative" business plan financial projections indicates
"realism" to prospective business investors.

Business investors
invest for one reason: to earn a return on their money. How
long the money is invested influences the amount of the return
earned.

Let's say a business investor wants to triple an
investment. Well, if that investment triples in 3 years, the
return is 44%. If it triples in five years, the return is
25%.

Adding just two years to the investment period nearly
halves the return! Now do you see why time is so important
to a business investor? Here are a few other examples: let's
say a business investor wants to:

Make 5 times an investment in 3 years = 71% return

Make 5 times an investment in 5 years = 38% return

Make 7 times an investment in 3 years = 91% return

Make 7 times an investment in 5 years = 48% return

Make 10 times an investment in 3 years = 115% return

Make 10 times an investment in 5 years = 59% return

So, while you may find it attractive to figure out how to
make "just a living" until the business venture proves
itself, you now understand why business investors want sales
and earnings to grow absolutely as fast as possible, without
being deceived, in your business plan financial projections.
On the whole, business investors are risk averse only to the
extent that they don't want to lose their money or tie it up
in a low return investment. Typically when you make the claim
that your business plan financial projections are "conservative",
it usually just means that you have no idea how and why you'll
achieve a certain level of sales within a certain time frame.
Interesting, these kinds of estimates, provided that you've
done some good thinking about market segments and overall
demand, often turn out to be too low. Remember, it's just as
bad to underestimate your sales, as it is to overestimate
them.

2. Avoid calculating costs as a straight percentage of
revenues.

Sure it's easier to do things this way, especially with
Excel and other business plan financial projection software.
Costs are real, however.

You need to know what they are very
specifically. If you've done your homework in developing
your business plan, then you should already have this information,
or at least the basis of it. Just estimate and calculate your
costs on a product-by-product basis.

With these warnings in mind, use the following steps to
develop your business plan financial projections:

Think about what percentage of the overall market share your
competitors already own. Assume that they will continue
their present trends in growth. (Note: some competitors may
already be trending down and losing market share.)

Temper
your market share estimates with some discussion of how your
entry into the market will affect these trends. Then,
estimate the percent of total, potential demand that remains
available to you.

Now, based on the limitations of your operations plans,
calculate how much of this remaining available demand you
can achieve. This is a very simple calculation.

Start with
your overall productive unit capacity and factor it by the
expected yield of sellable product, then multiply these unit
sales by their respective selling prices and voila, you have
the revenue numbers for your business plan financial projections.

Let's take an example.

Your research indicates that 2 out of every 10 females age
23 to 55 will under go some type of non-invasive cosmetic
treatment in your area. Your research also shows that this
number is expected to grow 20% each year over the next 5
years. There are 40,000 females in your target market.

You
identified four competitors in your target market. These
four competitors currently handle on average 6 procedures a
day. You plan to start a non-invasive cosmetic treatment
center that uses the most advanced technology and is thus
capable of performing an average of 7 procedures a day.
Using this data you calculate the following statistics
about your market and market potential:

Total market 40,000 females x 20% = 8,000 procedures per
year

4 competitors x 6 procedures x 250 days = 6,000 procedures
per year

Available procedures: 8,000 less 6,000 = 2,000 per year

Your productive capacity: 7 procedures a day x 250 days =
1,750 or 21.875% of the total market. The average selling
price for a procedure is $400. Thus, the revenue for the first
year in your business plan financial projection would be 1,750
procedures times $400 or $700,000.

Now, let's say you're were projecting 2,200 procedures per
year. This would mean that you would have to alter your
operating plan to be able to perform 2,200 procedures. You
would also have to demonstrate how you would capture an
additional 200 procedures from your competitors.
Granted this is an over simplified example, but it should
give you a feel for how this process works.

Regarding price, in most cases you should have a clear idea
of how to price your product or service. There are usually
other, similar products or services out on the market.
Unless your competitive advantage is a cost reduction and/or
unless price is a critical basis of competition, just
estimate the value of your improvement and add it on to the
average price currently offered in the marketplace. In order
to make this estimate, you'll have to be talking to
potential users. Find out what they pay now. Find out how
they feel about the current price. Ask them if they'd be
willing to pay more and how much more. If you ask enough
people, you'll get a general idea.

3. Never determine price on the basis of a margin you think
is attractive.

The market will pay you only for the value you deliver,
which is determined by the consumer paying the final price.
It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that a 20%, 40% or
even a 60% margin is great. Never considering that if the
product or service you're offering provides a real
advantage.

If you do this, you may be grossly
underestimating the price you can get in the marketplace and
underestimating your business plan financial projections.
Consumers don't think in terms of margins. They could care
less about what you ought, "reasonably", to get for your
product. That's why you must find out the most that they'll
pay.

This is the value of your product or service. Come up
with some reasonable basis for determining this real value.
Keep in mind the obvious: If the consumer's value on the
final product or service is less than your cost plus a
reasonable profit to keep your business growing, you're in
trouble.

Your business model will not be sustainable and your
business plan financial projections useless.

Now calculate the costs of manufacturing and distributing
your product. These costs flow directly from your revenues
estimates and operations plan.

How much will it cost to
purchase what equipment and materials, hire what personnel,
engage in what selling efforts, pay what accountants and
lawyers, rent what kind of space and so forth, to achieve
the revenues you're showing in your business plan financial
projections.

You must be very specific. Project your costs
over time. Keep them tied to the units you need to sell to
achieve the revenues in your business plan financial
projections.

Obviously, costs and revenues work hand in hand.

4. Keep your fixed cost low.

Keep in mind that none of these revenues and the cost
estimates are going to be perfectly accurate, which means
the amount of profit or cash available to pay "fixed" cost
isn't going to be accurate either.

As a result, you can lose
your shirt trying to pay for equipment, a receptionist, or
other activities that don't contribute to the sole objective
of making sales. Wherever possible, rent space, rent time on
equipment, answer your own phones, etc.

To the extent that
you keep costs variable in your business plan financial
projections, you can cut back when sales are slower than
expected. It's the worst situation to have a big,
well-furnished office with an expensive secretary who
needs the job, when the money isn't coming in.

High fixed
costs in your business plan financial projections also send
the wrong message to investors that you know more about the
"form" of doing business than about actually making money.

Now pull all your numbers together to prepare the financial
statements that summarize your business plan financial
projections. You need three basic statements: cash flow
analysis, income statements, and balance sheets.

All of
these come directly from the above calculations. Your cash
flow analysis indicates when and what amounts of capital
infusion you'll need to start and sustain your business plan.
Make your income and balance sheet projections on the
assumption that you'll get the capital.

For the first year
or two of your business plan financial projections, present
each of these statements on at least a quarterly basis.
Monthly is best. I suggest doing a 24- or 36-month projection
depending on your growth plans and changes in the industry that
you foresee.

Follow these monthly or quarterly projections with
annual projections till you cover a span of 5 years.

Finally, run through some "what-if" scenarios or sensitivity
analysis. Though you business plan financial projections should
be based on your best, and best-supported estimates of costs
and revenues, you know you can't be 100% right.

That's why it's
important to identify those elements or assumptions of your
business plan financial projections that you feel are most
uncertain. Write out the nature of the uncertainty and the range
you think the estimates will fluctuate up or down.

Then change
the estimates accordingly and re-run all your statements.
Pay close attention to how your business plan financial
projections, especially cash flows, change when you change
each assumption.

This will help you determine how much
"cushion" you have available and, if business isn't going
according to plan, at what point cash will become an issue.

5. Do not simply assume that costs and revenues may be
"off", up or down, by some percentage.

Again, I know that Excel makes it easy to do this. For all
the same reasoning as above, stay focused on the assumptions
and details that make up your business plan financial projections.
It's the details you need to examine for their sensitivity and
their impact on the bottom line.

You only need to alter those
specific items that you're most uncertain about. If it's revenues
that you're worried about, is it the price, the volume, or
both that concerns you most? How big a swing in the estimate
are you worried about, in what direction and why? If it's
your cost projections that are keeping you awake at night,
which cost elements and why? Things like rents and labor
costs can be determined fairly accurately.

But maybe you're
unsure about materials or labor availability or how
efficiently you can produce your products or provide your
services. Maybe you'll have to pay extra to ensure their
availability. This kind of thinking forms the basis for running
"what-if" or sensitivity analysis on your business plan financial
projections.

6.Do not include every possible business
plan financial projection scenario in your business plan.

Both you and your investors need to know what aspects of the
business plan financial projections are most uncertain,
represent the most risk, in what direction, why, and how
they affect the bottom line.

Having hundreds of alternative
scenarios to sort through is like a man with two watches
showing two different times... he never knows what time it is.
Lots of alternative business plan financial projections also
indicate that you're not too sure about anything.

This is an
impossible way to communicate with business investors, manage
your business, or make important decisions. It's much more
effective to identify the risky areas of your plan, tell why
and how they impact the bottom line and what actions you
plan to take if they occur.

This helps you and your business
investors stay focused on the high impact areas and to think
clearly about whether other factors should be considered as
well. It also lends more credibility to your talents and
increases the likelihood of your plan's success.

Finish this discussion with a summary of the critical
aspects of your plan and related contingency plans. If
you've followed all these steps, then you can figure out
what you'll do if your actual performance turns out to be
different than your business plan financial projections.

Remember, you're purpose is to demonstrate to business investors
that you're competent; worrying about protecting their investment
and running a business, not just flying by the seat of your pants.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/18505

50 Surefire Business Card Tips

2011-07-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Business cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business cards:

Your business card must communicate more than just your contact information. Make sure that your card includes a tag line that explains what you or your company do.

Order them in large numbers. By ordering 1000 your cost per card will be significantly lower than if you ordered 500.

Even if you can produce your business cards at home using an inkjet printer, have your business cards professionally made by a printing company. Your business card will be the first impression your prospects receive of your business, so let them convey the best possible one.

Avoid using standard clip art as your business logo. A logo brings credibility and brand awareness, so before you invest in business cards have a logo professionally made for your business. Nowadays, there are online companies that can produce a professional logo for as little as $25, so there is no excuse for not having one made.

Put up a website and use the URL in your business cards. If you don't have a website, people will notice the absence of a web address in your business card and, depending on the business you are in, it may make you lose credibility.

Keep all the information in your business card current. If you changed address or phone number, don't scratch the old number and write down the new one by hand; get new business cards.

Keep your business card simple. Don't use too many fonts or try to cram too much information in it. Try to use a pleasant layout and make sure that your main message (your tagline or your unique selling proposition) doesn't get lost.

If you live in the US, limit your business card size to 3.5" x 2". Anything bigger will not fit in standard card holders and your card may end up in the trash. Business cards in Europe tend to be larger, but so are the wallets and card holders.

Make sure that your business card reflects your image. If you are an artist or a graphic designer, it is OK to use trendy colors and fonts. If you are an investment banker, a sober layout and colors such as blue or gray work better.

Your business card is an integral part of your brand or corporate identity strategy. It should follow the same graphics standards as the rest of your communications material (stationary, brochures, letterheads, etc.).

Find a way to make your business cards stand out. I've seen business cards with one of its corners cut in an angle, or with an interesting texture, all of which makes your business card stand out of the crowd. The best one I've seen is from an interior designer, who used a hologram to show a room before and after a redesign.

Make your business card easy to read: use high contrast between the background and the type. Light background with dark type works better.

After your logo, your name should be the largest piece of information on your card.

Make sure that all the information on your card is printed in a large enough typeface to be easily readable.

Run your business card copy through a spell checker and double-check your contact information.

Keep your business cards with you at all times. Keep a stack in your car, in your house, in your office, and in your wallet.

Leave your business cards in billboards at supermarkets, schools, stores, libraries, etc.

When giving away your card, give two or three at a time, so that your contacts can in turn distribute them to other people. This will not only help you distribute them faster, but will generate a beneficial "endorsing effect".

Include a business card with all your correspondence. People may throw away the letter, but will usually keep the business card.

Make your business card go the extra mile: use the back of the card to print more information: special offers, checklists, schedules, etc.

Throw in a business card in every product you ship.

Send a business card with any gift you send, instead of just a card with your name.

Scan your card and use it as an attachment to emails.

Use your business cards as name tags. Get a transparent plastic cover with a pin, and attach it to your lapel. Wearing it on your right side tends to make it more noticeable.

Use your business card as a name tag on your briefcase. Make sure that your company logo and tagline are visible. This way, your business card will turn into a "conversation piece" during plane rides, which may help you meet interesting people and good business contacts.

Use your business card as an ad: many publications offer "business card size" classified ads. If you design your business card properly, it can double up as an ad in those publications.

Don't give your business card too quickly. It may be perceived as pushy. Try to establish a conversation with your prospect first. For example, ask them what do they do. That will usually prompt them to give you their card. That is the perfect moment to give them yours.

Don't try to give your card in situations where many people are giving them to your prospect. Wait for a moment when you can capture your prospect's attention span.

Another tactic you can try when your prospect is overwhelmed and can't pay you enough attention is to send your card by mail. Pretend you ran out of business cards and ask for theirs. Then, mail them your card and take the opportunity to drop a follow up note.

If you have a mobile phone number or a direct phone number that is not listed in your business card, write it at the back of your card before handing it out, and tell your prospect that you are giving them your direct number. This will make your card more important, and less likely to be lost or thrown out.

Another way of increasing the chances that your prospect will keep your card is by printing valuable information on the back, for example important phone numbers (local police, hospitals, etc), a calendar, or a football schedule.

Offer to hand out cards of complementary (non-competitive) business people in exchange for them distributing yours. An example of non-competitive businesses is real estate brokers and mortgage brokers.

If somebody gives you their business card, you should give them yours in return.

Always give your business card face up.

Take a cue from Far East business people, who hand out business cards with both hands. It helps give the impression that your business card is something very important.

If you conduct business internationally, use the back of your card to print a translated version of your business card in your customers' language. Even if they have no problem reading English, it will be a classy touch and they will appreciate it.

If you sell different product brands and want to put their logos on your business card, print them in only one color. Using each logo's brand colors could make your business card look chaotic and busy.

Create a business card in magnet form. Magnets are widely used, to hold important papers on the refrigerator door at home and on file cabinets at work. They are always visible and always get read.

When receiving somebody else's business card, don't put it away immediately. Instead, keep it in your hand for a while you talk to your prospect, or place it neatly over the table, and try to develop a conversation based on the information on the card.

Use the back of the cards you receive to write down important facts about the persons who handed them to you. It will help you enormously when you follow up with them.

If you are in a profession where relationship selling is important, it may be a good idea to include your picture in your business card (i.e. real estate brokers).

Even if your business is a sole proprietorship, you can still use "account manager" as your title instead of "owner" or "president". If you do sales (and we all do) "account manager" is a perfectly appropriate title, and it will give the impression that you work for a larger company.

Use logos of organizations that you or your business belong to in your business cards. They are an easy way to provide instant credibility to your business. For example, if you operate a repair shop you can display the logo of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) or the Triple A (AAA). (Check with them first about the terms of use).

If you participate in affiliate programs online, you can still use business cards to promote your affiliate links. Use the name of the affiliate company as the company name, use 'partner' or 'associate' as your title, and the URL of the directory or web page where you have placed your affiliate links as your web address. Just because affiliate programs are online doesn't mean that you can't use off-line marketing methods to promote them.

If you need to give cards to different kinds of prospects (for example if you are a student looking for work), make business cards with just your name and contact information, and attach custom made self-adhesive labels at the back with information of interest to each specific prospect.

Include an information email address (for example: info@yourdomain.com) that is set in autoresponder mode, that automatically triggers an email message with full information about your product, service or company. This will increase the effectiveness of your business card since you will give your prospect much more information that you can fit in a card.

Take good care of your business cards. Keep them clean and crisp in a cardholder. Don't give away cards that are bent or damaged.

Try to get a cardholder with two pockets. That way, you can use one for your business cards and the other one for the business cards you receive.

Keep all the business cards you receive neatly organized in a rolodex. It will save you time and will provide you with a database of contacts with whom to build positive business relationships.

Collect all the business cards you can find, even if you don't need them. Together, they will act as an "idea file" that will provide you with valuable tips that you can use to design your business cards.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/15204

The Secrets of Starting Business Successfully

2011-07-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Starting Business Secrets will help you to start your own business successfully.

The American Dream is, and always will be, to come up with an idea, start a business and become rich from your own efforts. Based upon this motivation, thousands of businesses fail each year, due primarily to not being familiar with the basics involved in running a business.

This report will enlighten you, and give you a number of suggestions you can use to better guarantee your chances for success. This report is written with the warning that any and every business venture contains certain inherent risks, and any number of alternatives.

We do not espouse that any one way is the right way or that our suggestions are the only way. On the contrary, we advise that before investing any money in a business venture, you seek counselling and help from a qualified accountant and/or attorney.

Just about the first thing you should consider before deciding to start or purchase a business is the legal form you'll be operating under. There are basically four choices: sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, and/or corporation.

Each has a number of advantages and disadvantages. We'll try to enumerate some of them for you.

As much as anything else, for many people starting a business is a form of ego-gratification, and they form a corporation for some sort of prestige gain - just to say, "I own a corporation."

With just a little bit of observation, you'll find that one of the major causes of business failures is due to the founder wasting start-up capital on frills, such as an impressive store- front office, expensive furnishings, and corporate legal costs.

One of the basic traits you must develop it you're going to be successful in business, is a tight hold on your expenditures. In fact, a good rule of thumb is that anything that does not make money for yo or protect your investment, should not be purchased at this time.

Very definitely, this applies to the expense of setting up your own corporation.

Unless you have a partnership and start your business as such, the only real advantage to forming a corporation would appear to be that a corporate structure will semi-protect the property you personally own.

As an example, you own a home and car. You form a corporation to protect these possessions from business losses. Yet, if you can be found guilty of misusing corporate funds, your business creditors can pierce the corporate shield and come after your possessions.

Basically, if you invest everything you have in your business, as most newcomers do, you don't usually need a corporation because you have nothing to protect. Your household possessions, personal belongings, generally your car, and even a portion of the equity in your home is protected by the homestead provision of the Federal Bankruptcy Act, and cannot be taken away from you.

As a sole proprietor or partner of a business you'll be paying taxes on your overall earnings, much the same as if you were holding down a salaried or hourly paid job. Whether you do or don't take out money as a salary will have no bearing on the earnings of your business and tax return.

The often advertised advantage of incorporating, that you can manipulate your salary in order to save on tax dollars, is real because of corporation laws. However, the IRS frowns on this practice. When your business is successful and making a lot of money, definitely check with your accountant on the advantages of incorporating.

As a corporation, you'll be subject to a number of other drawbacks as well: generally higher state taxes, stricter laws concerning the operation of your business, more elaborate accounting procedures, and legal papers that are required just about every time you make a major move or sign almost any contract.

Thus, your legal and accounting fees will be much higher as a corporation than will those required for a sole proprietorship type of business.

As a sole proprietor or partnership, you'll find many areas require the registration of your business name. The cost however, is minimal, ranging from $5 to $100.

About the best way to find out what laws apply in your area, is to call your bank and ask if they need a fictitious name registration card or certificate in order for you to open a business account.

Selecting a name for your business is quite important to you and particularly relative to advertising. Your business name should describe the product or services you offer. Fancy names such as, Linda's Clipping Service will lose potential "walk-in and passing" customers to the beauty shop across the street that calls itself, Patti's Beauty Salon or Jane's Hair Styling Shop.

The advantage of using your full name in the title of your business, such as Johnny Jones' Meat Lockers, has the advantage of making credit somewhat easier to come by - provided you pay your bills on time - but it also includes the disadvantage of confining your services to a local or at most, a regional area.

Should you buy, lease, or rent a space for your business? think twice before you make any decision along these lines. Most businesses tend to grow quickly or they never get off the ground.

There are a few exceptions, but only a very few, that tend to grow at a modified rate.

So, buying a piece of property and setting up your business on or within that property, obligates you to ownership regardless of what happens to your business.

Leases are almost always very strong contracts written by attorneys to the advantage of the property-owner. When you sign an agreement to pay someone for the use of their space over any length of time, you're "nailed in" to paying for that space regardless of what happens to your business.

In the beginning, it's wise to either get the shortest-term lease possible, or arrange to rent with an option to lease at a later date. This does not apply to a retail business, unless your particular business happens to be an untried one.

Definitely, you should open a business bank account. In selecting a bank for your business, scout around and look for one that can, and will help you. Determine what your banking needs will be, and then via telephone, interview the managers of the banks in your area. The important convenient bank to your business location.

A point to remember: the closer you can make the relationship between you and the bank manager, the better your chances are going to be for approval on loans and/or special favors you may need at a later date.

Try to become acquainted with as many of the bank employees as possible. The better you know them, the more courtesies they'll be extending especially to you in the course of your association.

Just as a doctor is a specialist in his field, and you go to him for medical problems, your banker is a specialist in his field and you should go to him for your money problems. In business, you'll have to learn that everyone is an expert in his own line of work, and in your associations with other business people, refrain from acting like a "sharpie" and/or pretending that you know exactly how everything works in someone else's specialty.

You'll find that very often, different banks specialize in different types of businesses. As an example, you're sure to find banks that specialize in real estate transactions, export- import businesses, and even manufacturing operations only.

What I'm saying here is that if you're planning to sella fairly expensive item, your customers will probably need and/or want financing. It will behoove you to select a bank familiar with your type of product that will afford your customers, through you, contract financing.

Some of the questions you should ask of your banker include the following:

Is it necessary to maintain a certain balance in your account before the bank will approve a loan for you? What qualifications must you have in order to obtain a line of credit with the bank?

Does the bank limit the number of loans, or types of loans it will approve for small businesses?

What is the bank's policy regarding the size of a check you might deposit that requires holding for collection?

And what about checks less than that amount - will they be immediately credited to your account?

In almost all types of businesses, it will be to your benefit to set up with your bank, a method of handling VISA, Master Charge, and regional credit cards. The important thing here is to ultimately set up your account in the bank that will service all of these credit transactions for you - one stop for all your banking needs.

In most instances, you'll find that having the capability to fill orders/make sales via credit card transactions, will increase your volume of sales appreciatively.

Once you've made the decision as to which bank is going to handle your account, you'll need your Social Security Number or your Federal Employer's Identification Number, your driver's license, the fictitious name certificate, and if you're requesting a VISA or Master Charge franchise, you'll also need a financial statement.

For corporations, you'll also need a corporate resolution approving of the opening of your business account.

There are different policies exercised in just about every state regarding installation/hook-up charges by the telephone and utility companies. Some require a deposit, and some don't.

You'll find that a great number of city business license departments are there solely for the purpose of collecting another tax. Depending on the type of business you're asking a license for, the building and zoning people may inspect your premises for soundness of structure and safety

Generally, you won't encounter any difficulties - you simply pay your fee to operate your business in that city, and the clerk types your name onto a city license certificate.

Relative to sales tax permits and licenses, each state's rules and regulations very widely. The best thing to do is call your state offices and ask for information concerning registry and collection procedures.

Many states require an advance deposit or bond, and you'll find that some wholesalers or manufacturers will not sell to you at wholesale prices until you can show them your sales tax permit or number.

Should your business entail selling your products or services across state lines, in another state, you're not required to collect taxes except in those where you have offices or stores.

You may find also that your particular business requires the collection of Federal Excise Taxes. For information along these lines, check in with your local office of the Internal Revenue Service.

Some states also require certain businesses to hold state licenses, such as those required in many states for TV Repairmen.

These are known as "occupational permits" and are most often required of barbers, hair stylists, real estate people and a number of other consumer oriented businesses. If you have any doubts, check with your state offices for a list of those occupations that require licensing.

Any business doing business in any type of interstate commerce is subject to federal regulations, usually through the Federal Trade Commission. This means that any business that shops, sells or advertises in more than one state is subject to such regulation, and this includes even the smallest of mail order operations.

Normally, very few business people ever have and contact with the federal regulatory agencies. The only exceptions being when there is a question of your operating your business unethically or illegally.

Any business that sells or distributes food in any manner almost always requires a county health department permit. If your business falls into this category, simply call the county health department and invite them out to your place of business for an inspection. The fees generally range from about $25, depending on the size of your business when they first inspect it for permit approval.

There are also a number of businesses that require inspection by a fire marshall, and fire department approval. Generally, these are those that handle flammable materials or attract large numbers of people, such as a theater. Overall, the local fire department has to be allowed to inspect your premises whenever they desire to do so.

You may also run into a requirement for an air and/or water pollution control permit. These specifically apply to any business that burns anything, discharges anything into the sewers or waterways, or use any gas-producing product, such as a paint sprayer.

Without a doubt, you'll need to check on local regulations relating to advertising display signs. Each city or township makes its own rules and then enforces those rules according to its own thinking -check before you contract to have a sign made for your business.

The design and placement of your sign is very important to your business - specifically to retail establishments - but let me remind you that your business sign is usually the first thing a potential customer sees and as such, it should catch his eye and leave an impression that lasts.

It would be a good idea to ride around your town and take a look at the signs that catch your eye, and try to determine the impression of the business that sign leaves on you. This is a basic learning formula for determining the design, size and placement of your business sign.

Some of the other things to consider before opening for business - If you intend to employ one or more employees, you'll be required to deduct Federal Income Taxes, and Social Security payments from their checks. This will involve your filing for a Federal Tax Number and necessitates contact with your local IRS Office.

Most states have "unemployment taxes" which will have to be deducted from the paychecks of any employees you hire. And there are a number of states that have income taxes - disability insurance - and any number of other taxes. Again, the best thing to do is check with your local office of the IRS. And above all else, don't forget to ask for the rules of the minimum wage law, and comply.

When your business grows to the point of needing additional help, don't be afraid to look for and hire the help you need. when you're ready to hire someone, simply run an ad in your local paper and/or register your needs with the local office of your state's employment service. Businesses either grow or die, and those that grow eventually need more people in order to continue growing.

When that time comes, hire the additional people you need, and your business will continue growing. If you don't, for whatever reason, you'll find yourself married to your business and your business growth stymied.

Regardless of how small your business is when you begin, never walk in with the thought in mind that it's something to keep you busy. Anyone with an attitude of that kind is a fool. You begin and make a business successful in order to realize financial freedom.

Establish your business. Put it on its feet, and then hire other people to do the work for you. And those businesses that require an operations manager, or someone to run a phase of the business you're too busy to handle, hire the person needed or the business will surely suffer.

To protect the investment of your business, you need business insurance. If you've never had any experience with business insurance, simply look under the heading of "business insurance" in your phone directory.

Ask for bids from several different companies or agents...Primarily, you should have a policy that gives you general liability, fire, workmen's compensation, business interruption, and vehicle coverage. You amy also want coverage against possible losses related to burglary, robbery, Life & Accident, Key Man, and Fidelity Bonds.

As the sole proprietor of a business, you won't be paid as an employee, so there will be no income tax deducted from whatever you withdraw from the company's earnings. What you'll have to do is a gain check with the IRS Office for a Tax Guide For Small Businesses Handbook, and probably end up filing an estimated tax return on a quarterly basis.

The minute you open your doors for business, you'll have to spend some time engaged in the work of bookkeeping. Exactly how, and using what forms, you keep books, should be on the recommendations of a good tax counselor...The same holds true for your overall business and/or payroll accounting system. Look for an experienced CPA that knows the accounting problems to your particular kind of business, and solicit his advise/counseling.

If your business is going to involve the possible purchase or lease of operating equipment, again seek the help of your tax counselor for the most advantageous method of obtaining the needed equipment.

Basically, arranging for your suppliers to give you materials on credit will depend upon your honesty and personal financial statement. The best way is usually a personal visit to the person with the power to approve or disapprove of credit at the company where you want to set up a credit account.

Show him your financial statement, and explain your prospects for success. Then assure him that you've always honored all of your obligations, and that if ever there's a question or problem, you'd like for him to call you at home. And of course, give him your home phone number.

We won't go into the exigencies of advertising your products, services or business here, but there is something along these lines you should always keep in mind. The best kind of advertising your business can receive is that you don't really pay for - publicity.

When something unusual happens to you, your business, or your employees - that's news, so be sure to tell the news media in your area about it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4240

Popular Business Misconceptions Cost You Money

2011-07-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

Faulty information costs you money! Which of these
popular business misconceptions do you believe?

Popular Misconception #1:
"We Only Need Our Books Done Once A Year For Tax Purposes."
Are Your Accounting Records Adequate To Run Your Business?

Although it is important to keep records for tax purposes,
it is not the only reason (or even the primary reason) good
accounting records should be ke.

Another frequent reason
clients request financial statement preparation is to obtain
bank financing. Although important, this also is not the
primary purpose of keeping good records for your business.

Good recordkeeping will enable you to extract meaningful
financial information for your business that will help you
to manage it properly.

If you can`t access this information,
you will not be able to manage your business properly. Bad
management leads to business failure.

Yes, the primary reason good accounting records should be
kept is to produce periodic (at least on a monthly basis)
financial statements for management information purposes.

Only with this current financial information can you properly
manage your business. This information can alert you to
declining sales, excessive expenses, tax opportunities,
cashflow problems, and many other vital concerns for your
business.

To be of value, this accounting system should be set up
with meaningful account categories and departments. It may
be cost-effective to have an outside accounting service do
the monthly bookkeeping.

However, with accounting software
that is readily available, you don`t have to be an expert
bookkeeper to do your own books and extract meaningful
financial information.

If you do your monthly statements yourself, it would still
be prudent to have your accountant or business advisor help
you set up your system and, as well review such information
with you to discuss problems and opportunities.

Popular Misconception #2:
"Writing My Hobby Off As A Business Loss
Saves Me A Lot Of Income Tax!"
Is Your Hobby A Tax Write-Off?

If your business has no reasonable expectation of profit, if it is a
hobby and not really a business, you will ultimately fail in your tax
objective.

Since your losses are being incurred for a hobby and not a
true profit generating business, the tax authorities will take the
position that you aren`t entitled to any deductions.

This is a double
blow. First, you`re losing money. Second, you`re denied tax deductions.

It is true, however, that if you enjoy what you`re doing, you`ll do
better at it. You`ll be willing to work longer hours and you`ll be
willing to put up with more hardships in order to make your business a
success.

Rather than attempting to have the tax system subsidize your hobby,
why not turn that favorite pasttime into a real, profit generating
business? This is a doubly rewarding.

First, you make money at
something you love doing. Secondly, the tax authorities legally have to
allow your reasonable expenses to earn your now substantial business
income.

Prove that you`re running a business by running a business. Prepare and
follow a proper business plan.

Keep good accounting records with at
least monthly financial statements to give you the information you need
to manage your business. Above all, make money from what you do.

Popular Misconception #3:
"I Don`t Make Enough Money to Incorporate!"
Will Incorporating Really Benefit You?

Some persons resist the idea of incorporating themselves because
the tax savings may not justify the added costs of incorporation,
annual minutes, and extra tax returns. However, incorporation gives
advantages that go far beyond tax savings.

Insurance may give you some protection against loss. However, you
may suffer business losses and lawsuits that may not be covered. For
extra protection, consider incorporating yourself.

The limited
liability of your own corporation alone may justify the additional cost
and complexity.

Corporations may also be used for income-splitting with your family,
as well as estate planning and retirement planning objectives.

Additionally, corporations lend some credibility to smaller businesses
and may enhance your image and prestige in the eyes of clients or
suppliers.

Lower corporate tax rates will generally apply on small business income.
Even in loss years, wages can be paid by the corporation to you so that
you may utilize personal tax credits available.

If unincorporated, these
credits might be lost forever. The now larger corporate losses can be
carried forward to future (hopefully more profitable) years.

A full analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of incorporation is
beyond the scope of this report. However, being incorporated may give
you more flexibility and advantages than you originally anticipated.

Certainly, it is not prudent to reject it as an option simply because it
is more complicated and costly. In fact, it may be one of the best
investments you ever made.

Popular Misconception #4:
"I really need an office out.
Being home-based makes me look amateur!"
Is A Home Office REALLY Professional?

Many times small business persons make the mistake of generating
unnecessary overhead in order to impress clients and prospects. Often
this attitude leads to escalating debt and business failure. One such
example is getting an impressive, but expensive, commercial office
space.

Customers aren`t stupid. They can see when such outside space is
necessary or advantageous for them. They can also see when it is a
waste of money and designed to fuel your ego.

What matters most to
clients is whether they are getting cost-effective results or not. If
your product or service delivers such excellent value, your customers
will be impressed and come back.

In contrast, if one allows his ego to
get in the way of satisfying the customers` needs, they will go
elsewhere.

With the move to telecommuting, downsizing, networked communications,
and home-based businesses, operating from your home office is actually
smart and trendy.

Can you think of a more appropriate location for a
consulting firm specializing in home-based businesses? They of all
businesses should set the example in cutting unnecessary expenses and
operating efficiently.

This is not to say that there aren`t any disadvantages to being
home-based. One certainly must be well organized, disciplined, and
willing to follow good time management principles.

This alone could
mark you as more professional than other businesses, home-based or not.

Expensive office space is not the answer to reflecting a professional
image. If you are truly concerned about your image, offer quality
service.

Make sure that all your corporate communications (telephone,
websites, printed materials, et cetera) reflect the professional nature
of your business.

Popular Misconception #5:
"Since we`re not seeking financing,
we don`t need a business plan."
Do You REALLY Need a Business Plan?

To obtain financing, many persons will prepare a business plan.
Although entrepreneurs will go to great lengths to get their loan or
capital, these same business persons will not bother to plan ahead very
far or analyse their business.

Even if you required no additional
money, preparing a business plan can help you to succeed in your
business.

Running a business without a plan is like going on a trip without a
map,sufficient gas, money, or even a destination. Just as you wouldn`t
go on a vacation without some planning, no business can be successful
without it.

Putting that plan in writing helps you to think out a
strategy for successfully operating and growing your business.

Where is your business today? Where will it be tomorrow? What is your
mission statement? What product lines are profitable? Which ones
aren`t? What business do you think you are in? What business do your
clients think you are in? Should you be in a different business? Is
your product or service less attractive to your clients? How are
competition, global commerce, technological and social changes affecting
your company? What is your competitive strength? What are your
weaknesses? Who are your biggest competitors? What are their
weaknesses and strengths? What is your marketing strategy?

What are your projected income and expenses and cashflow for the next
year? How about the next five years? Do you have a capital budget?
What determines whether you buy an asset or not? Do you have an exit
strategy? How will you manage growth? Do you have a financial plan? Do
you have an operations plan? What definite sales and net profit targets
have you set for this year and the next five years? What factors could
interfere with the attaining of these goals? What contingency plans have
you made to deal with such problems?

The purpose of these questions is to get you thinking and planning.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Although your accountant or
business advisor can help you prepare your business plan, only you can
set the appropriate goals and follow through on them. Yes, you
definitely need a business plan, not just for obtaining capital, but as
a roadmap for your business.

Popular Misconception #6:
"I like bartering with clients
because it saves paperwork and taxes."
Are You Reporting Barter Transactions?

Bartering is an excellent way of doing business. However, contrary to
popular belief, some barter transactions are taxable, both for income
and sales tax purposes.

Legally, you must maintain adequate financial records for your business.
Barter transactions made by your business must be reported to the
appropriate taxation authorities and taxes paid. However, transactions
between friends not engaging in business with each other may not be
taxable.

If you are an auto mechanic and I am an accountant and I swap accounting
services for your car repair services, the transaction in this case is
most likely taxable, even if we are friends.

However, your accounting
fees should be deductible as a business expense and so should the
business portion of my car expenses. Note also that sales and similar
taxes may apply on this transaction.

On the other hand, if I trade accounting services for a vacation for my
family, I should really declare the value of such services as income.
The firm supplying the vacation would be able to deduct that value as
accounting fees. Any sales or similar taxes would have to be paid on
such transaction.

Many persons don`t record such transactions. For some, it may be a
matter of wanting to believe that you don`t need to be bothered with the
extra paperwork or taxes. Remember, though, that ignorance of the law
is no excuse. Legally, you must keep proper records and pay all taxes
due.

Popular Misconception #7:
"All My Workers Are Self-Employed, So I Don`t Need
To Bother With Payroll Or Workers` Compensation."
Do You Need To Pay Payroll Taxes?

To save on payroll taxes and workers` compensation premiums, many
employers arrange their affairs in such a way that those working for
them are self-employed, independent contractors. This is good tax
planning.

On the other hand, some employers take the position that all those
working for them are self-employed, whether they are or not. Although
it is tempting to eliminate payroll taxes and workers` compensation
premiums, care should be taken to do so legally.

Whether those working for you are employed or self-employed is a
question of fact (which can be determined by the Courts).

Do you supply
the tools and vehicles? Do you determine the working hours? Do you
have the right to control how the job will be done? Do you pay a
flat-rate or by-the-hour or a salary? Does your worker have other
clients?

By asking several such questions, a pattern will emerge as to whether
your worker is employed or self-employed.

If it turns out that your
worker fits all the criteria of an employee, don`t say he`s
self-employed. On audit, you would still be responsible for the payroll
taxes (and penalties and interest as well).

Even if your workers are considered independent contractors by the
Income Tax Department, it is still possible that they will be considered
to be "workers" for purposes of Workers` Compensation legislation.
Thus, it is the responsibility of the employer to determine whether such
coverage is necessary or not.

Failure to obtain proper coverage could
subject you to substantial (and unnecessary) costs.

In review, calling someone self-employed, doesn`t necessarily make them
self-employed. If you have a dog, call it a dog.

Your position that
your dog is really a cat will not be successful. Likewise, make sure
that your position regarding your workers is legally correct.

Popular Misconception #8:
"My Accountant Charges Too Much.
I Can`t Afford It Anymore."
Is Your Accountant Worth His Fee?

Many business persons view bookkeeping, accounting, and tax preparation
as necessary evils. In their view, accounting fees are an expense to be
reduced, deferred or even completely eliminated.

A good accountant, however, can give you benefits far in excess of the
fees charged. Well-designed accounting systems will enable you to
extract meaningful financial information for your business that will
help you to manage it properly, avoid business failure, and alert you to
declining sales, excessive expenses, tax opportunities, cashflow
problems, and many other vital concerns for your business.

Your accountant can save you lots of money with the advice you receive
on tax and other business matters. As well, a competent accountant can
be a valuable resource in discussing business problems and opportunities
with you.

Popular Misconception #9:
"Nobody Makes Money On The Internet."
Can You REALLY Profit From The Internet?

Many people feel that the Internet is all hype. Many others feel that
it is overrated. Still others are of the opinion that it may be good
for some types of business, but not theirs.

Typical comments heard include: "I`ve lost money on the Internet...Major
corporations have lost millions...Do you personally know anyone who has
made money from the Internet?"

However, if you check out the list of recent billionaires, a high
proportion of these are Internet-related, and many of them under
forty years of age. As well as the very rich, you can find many cases
of more modest financial prosperity resulting from Internet commerce.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/252

Busy Men - Great Workout Without Weights For Fat Loss

2011-07-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Men these days are busier than ever. For example my father has his own business. He leaves the house at 9 in the morning, and comes up at 2 in the morning.

He gets around 5 hours of sleep and some chit chat time with the family. That's it. Now, there are many people on this planet living a very similar lifestyle. These are also the same people that are either overweight or obese.

Time is of crucial importance in today's time. Time is probably even more important than money (or, you know the saying, "Time is Money"). Either way, you have a lack of it, but still want to get into great shape, right?

Lets get back to my dad. For around two weeks, I trained him with weights and bodweight training. He lost 7 pounds. He could have lost a lot more weight if he trained with me for at least another two weeks.

Unfortunately, the guy he hired to manage his store didn't work out. It's tough to find honest people who are willing to work as hard as you are to make things happen.

I'm actually just like my dad. I need to do everything myself. And with his business, he needed to go back into it. I was worried about his health, so I decided to show him some very simple exercises he could do at the store by himself.

Bodyweight Training: Anywhere and Anytime!

Here are some of the exercises I showed him how to do:

Updog Snap

Start in a classic "Push up" position. Shoot for a straight line from head to heels. Stretch the spine long. Pull the shoulders down away from the ears.

Keeping the shoulders pulled down and back, and your arms locked straight, allow your hips to drop towards the ground. Squeeze the butt muscles slightly to protect the low back.

Forcefully snap the hips towards the sky in one powerful movement in order to bring the feet back in underneath you. Exhale on the powerful effort.

You should finish in a low Ball-of-Foot Squat, hands still in contact with the ground. Hop the feet back out to the original starting position.

Lower Body Russian Twist (knees bent)

Lie on your back with knees bent, and shins parallel to the floor. Arms are held out to the sides palms down, pressing into the floor for stability. Chin is tucked and crown raised to ensure good spinal alignment.

Moving to the right, rotate from the waist to bring the knees to the floor on your right side. The legs should remain in the same bent alignment throughout.

Both shoulder blades press into the floor to prevent compensating with the upper body. With a hard exhale, rotate from the waist to bring the legs all the way to the left side.

Again, the legs maintain their alignment, and shoulder blades are pressed int the floor to keep the back down. All movement is generated at the waist.

My dad usually just performs 10-12 repetitions of a bodyweight movement when he gets a chance. But it adds up because he does it multiple times a day. You don't need to a concentrated workout, once a day.

For extremely busy men, doing 1-2 exercises ever few hours may be a better option to get in and stay in shape.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3020704

Still Kicking - Business Opportunities For Retired Business Men and Women

2011-07-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

With the government mandated retirement age increase that will take place later this year, more and more aging men and women will remain in the workforce. Many of these individuals do not want to work anymore as they have worked most of their life. They are forced to work either because of a lack of retirement planning or investment decisions that have gone wrong.

Now they have to work so that they can maintain their health insurance policies or just to make ends meet. Many will be on fixed incomes if they are of retirement age, but this income does not allow them to live comfortably. There are business opportunities for retired business men and women out there that will allow them to have their dream retirement.

Whether they realize it or not, retired people really have an advantage over others. The advantage that they have is their vast magnitude of work and life experiences. Older individuals have the keen ability of attraction. This attraction occurs with their speech, body language and the fact that they are looked at as a parent figure. Most have grown children of their own, and can treat their business as another child. That is; they will make sure that it is well fed and nurtured.

Being retired, some might feel that they are behind the curve when it comes to technology. If you look at all the new gizmos and gadgets that are available today, some may be quite intimidating. The opposite is true. As technology improves and new equipment is introduced into the market, they are designed for ease of use and are simply foolproof. This situation also applies to computers, the internet and business opportunities.

Legitimate and reputable work at home businesses will have step by step methods in place that will assure that anyone can follow them. These business models and systems are in place to literally guarantee success which only makes the company more attractive.

These step by step methods will guide the new entrepreneur through everything that needs to be accomplished in order to have a successful business. There usually is training videos or calls that have been prerecorded or live to further assist.

The best part about having a home based business is the hours. Most retirees do not want to constantly work. Maybe they are just looking to supplement their income. Either way, having a successful business does not require eight to ten hour work days.

Most of what needs to be done can be accomplished in as little as two to three hours a day depending on the amount of income desired. Retirees can use this to stay physically active and mentally focused. The business can be worked in the morning or evening hours freeing up the middle of the day for them to go on a walk, golfing, fishing or whatever they desire.

One consideration that should be made when selecting the work at home business opportunity is the products. Can they use these products to help them in their retirement? Are there investment opportunities or advice offered by the company? In order to become successful in your business goals, you have to become a product of the product.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5708235

Best Home Business Opportunity

2011-06-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

By Lukas Rethke

Having the Best Home Business Opportunity on the planet is more of what each individual person makes of it, if you ask me. Are you a true Entrepreneur, or a business opportunity seeker? Sure marketers these days need products and opportunities to promote and timing does have a lot to do with it, but do you posses the skills, knowledge and mindset to be able to build a system online to promote your opportunity?

Can you generate leads on demand every single day at no cost? Do you know which page to send your web traffic to for maximum results? Do you know the best way to build relationships with the people who have opted into your list?

These are all areas that need to be addressed if anyone is planning on building a successful home based business or any business for that matter.

Having the perfect timing with the right opportunity can help, but if you don't have the slightest clue how to generate leads on a regular basis, when the wave of that particular opportunity or company starts to fade a bit, you will be back to square one.

So, if you ask me, investing the most in personal growth and developing the right skills and mindset to truly succeed in the world is the best decision anyone could make.

Most MLM companies these days still promote the old school way of marketing which is make a list of the 20 people you are closest to in your life and start calling. So if you are thinking about joining one, here is something to consider. What happens if that doesn't work fast enough or generate enough income to set you free?

The best way, in my opinion is to position your business on the internet to have traffic flowing everyday of people who are truly interested and searching for what you have to offer.

Five Steps For Work From Home Success

2011-06-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

By Michael R Law

Want to work from home and make enough money that you never have to work for someone else again? It is possible - it's just not as easy as all the over-hyped late-night infomercials and spam mail would have you believe.

There are five big steps to being a work from home success, and every one of them takes work, research and persistence. If you're willing to follow them, though, you'll find yourself on the road to being a successful business owner working from your own home.

Pick the Right Business and the Right Market

Your first step to a successful work from home career is picking the right business. There are literally dozens of ways to make money working from home. Pick through your interests and skills and decide which are the possible money-makers for you.

Do you have a service to sell, or would you rather sell concrete items? Do you have marketable skills? What products, services or skills are in demand, and which can you build a market for? Do you want the support you'd get with a home party plan or a franchise?

Your best chance for success is to find a niche and provide the product or service to fill it.

Get Organized

Organization is far more important when you work from home for yourself than if you work for someone else. In order to grow your business and make money, you'll need to track your income and expenses, deadlines, delivery dates, ads and revenues - in short, you'll need records of absolutely everything you spend and take in.

You'll also need to keep track of the work you're doing - and that's true whether you're taking orders for mail order, booking parties for a home party business or doing freelance work through an outsourcing service. Start out organized, and you'll find it easy to keep it up.

Being disorganized will take money out of your pocket. It's as simple as that.

Promote, Promote, Promote!

The best business idea in the world will fall flat if no one knows about it. The key to making work from home work for you is promotion. No matter what business you choose, you need to get the word out, and get it out to the right markets. Figure out who is most likely to buy your product or pay for your services, and target them with marketing and promotional offers.

Depending on what you offer, that may mean spreading your flyers around the neighborhood, taking out newspaper or radio ads, sending out email newsletters, posting on bulletin boards and other Internet services, asking for referrals or any combination of the above.

Advertising is the only way to let people know about your business. If they don't know you, they can't buy from you.

Take Your Business Seriously

If you think work from home means take it easy, this isn't the business for you. You'll be working harder when you work for yourself than you ever have in any other job. The key difference is that you're working to put money in YOUR pocket, not someone else's.

This is especially true in the first several months to a year when you're getting off the ground and establishing a reputation. Expect to work every day on your business, and keep at it till you start seeing results.

Work from home businesses that succeed do so because their owner takes the business seriously. Your profit is directly proportional to your work.

Never Stop Learning About Your Business

There are new developments, new techniques and new products every day. Don't stop researching and learning once you get your work from home business established, or you risk becoming obsolete.

Take courses about advertising and marketing, or learn new skills to keep your skill set current and marketable. Whatever you do, be sure to invest time in keeping up on the latest developments in your field, whether it's web hosting or real estate, cosmetics or desktop publishing.

Once you reach the top, stay ahead of the crowd by educating yourself.

Those five key points encompass everything you'll need to do to make your work from home business successful. Follow them, and you WILL make money working from home - guaranteed.

How to Master the Art of Negotiation

2011-06-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

By Alan Gillies

There seems to be unlimited material at everyone's fingertips on how to learn expert negotiation skills. After all, you must compromise while negotiating, and therefore it usually results in a 'lose some to gain more' situation.

Supposing you had the possibility of changing your negotiating opportunities consistently into "gain more" situations - and stay far ahead in the game, wouldn't you jump at this chance? Read further and discover several useful charismatic methods to move the bar radically in your favour.

This task will require that you to do a lot of homework, as you have to learn how to win a battle - without ever stepping foot on the battlefield!

Try to uncover as much detailed information as you can about the person in question. Find out how the individual dealt with similar issues in the past, and if negotiation has been taken up a few times, remind him of the ways in which he had failed - and point them out to him.

This would at least deter him from using those same processes with you. Also, brief him about the chances of a 'win-win' situation turning into a 'win-lose' one, with he being on the losing end.

The vast majority of negotiations don't turn out the way the parties want them to. Negotiation can be very time consuming and is often a strenuous exercise, and in such situations, it may lead to both of the parties becoming disinterested and losing the initiative to continue.

Also, a lack of motivation on the part of either of the individuals can rapidly lead to a breakdown, thereby terminating any likelihood of an agreement in the future. Sometimes, a third party can set up a deal with your suppliers or customers with less difficulty than you can, and as there is 'no use of crying over spilled milk', why let that kind of situation ever happen?

Negotiation is certainly not something to run away from, but when it is known that the process won't help much, it should be held back as a final option. For instance, if negotiation attempts with one of your suppliers or customers have not yielded enough in previous situations - stop negotiating, and try something new.

In this sort of situation, one should proceed in a very direct way and establish clear terms. This will at the very least save the time and effort which would have been in vain had negotiation otherwise ensued.

10 Easy Steps on How to Find the Right Home Based Business Online For You

2011-06-04T01:58:00.000-07:00

By Lennie Kaipara

It's an overwhelming challenge for first time online business seekers to find reality in a sea of vastness, such is the internet.

However, with an easy to follow guide home based business seekers can manage this task with a certain degree of confidence. What you need is a simple plan to follow.

1.- Keyword search- using Google choose a variety of keywords or phrases related to your subject of interest, insert into the search bar and Google will bring you pages of results for your keywords and phrases. e.g. Home based business type in these words and you'll be given pages of relevant content. another e.g. make money online, make money on the internet, your home based business online. Remember to save your keyword and phrases on your notepad.

2.- Scroll through the results, the 1st page on Google will have the highest ranked content and websites available. The most widely read information is on this page.

3.- Select and read all relevant material related to your subject. Click on any links in the material that will give you more material.

4.- Bookmark or 'save as' all relevant material.

5.- Read and save Blogs, Articles, Press Releases, Ezine Articles, Newsletters, Bio Pages on all relevant subject matter.

6.- Assess what you think is important, the key here is to sift out non relevant information, this is the research, this is where you dis guard unimportant non useful material. Take your time and be thorough, unlike me be aware of the 'hype or promises of riches in minutes' there are loads of these and they can distract you if you let them.

7.- Minimise your choice to two or three opportunities and prepare a set of questions for the prospective Business partners to answer.

8.- Get your answers from PEOPLE, use your instincts and life's experience to determine who you would like to associate with. Relate these answers to all the information you've gathered. Assess your answers and make a decision.

9.- Be decisive, be bold and trust in yourself and make a decision.

10.- Finally be patient, the internet is vast and the top money making opportunities will always be there

Napoleon Hill author of 'Think and Grow Rich' says that having faith and desire are essential ingredients for planning to be successful.

Discovering the business opportunity that will provide you with the chance to build your financial freedom is a process, follow these steps and I'll see you on the road to financial prosperity.

Feel free to share it with your own list, post it on your site, on your blog or add it to your autoresponder. As long as you leave it intact and do not alter it in anyway.

Game Theory and Business Strategy - A Wonderful Association

2010-12-14T21:05:00.000-08:00

To solve many practical problems that are encountered in economic, military or other disciplines, one has to deal with situations in which there are two or more conflicting parties striving for the same objective and the outcome of each action of one party depends solely on the opposite parties choice of a course of action.

As we all know only one horse can win the race ultimately and the other parties only can prolong the race or see to that they make every possible move to delay the opponent's success.

So, what's this game theory all about?

This is a special mathematical method that was evolved mainly to analyze conflict situations where the number of competitors are finite, each participant has a definite set of actions to choose and there is a conflict of interest between the competitors. So it helped the participants to reach a decision that would put them in the winning post.

This theory has spilled its implications on business situations where success is the motto and conflict and competition the order of the day. Only the best among the best survive. Darwin's theory, "Survival of the fittest" applies not only to biological organisms but also to business organizations which are also abuzz with activity.

Games like chess, checkers are played according to the definite set of rules laid down and these game patterns has inspired the business world to pick up its cue for playing strategic business games, where the concentration is mainly focused on the chance moves that defeats the opponent.

Big business corporates mainly concentrate on the strengths and weaknesses of their competitors to have an edge over them. A real game is controlled and regulated by the statutory rules to be followed but a business game involves lot of killer instincts and intuitions combined with rational thinking and logic.

The first party always puts himself in the shoes of the other party and tries to perceive how the other party would react in a particular situation. Although the aim is to win, choosing the optimal strategy is what matters.

It will atleast keep you in bay. Precise solutions can be arrived at if you plan your game accordingly. The anticipation and thrill that is involved in a strategic game cannot be matched.

We witness a lot of firms imitating what the leader of the market does. The risk is borne solely by the firm introducing the change and if he wins he takes the major share of profit as he is the pioneer and if he loses he goes for the next strategy.

For a company with sound financial position, the chance move is worth giving a try, head or tail doesn't matter. The firms that follow this leader as a shadow are benefited by the waiting period during which they come to know of the pros and cons of the strategy employed by the leader and if it is a winning strategy, they follow suit.

Games are played in the true spirit of sportsmanship, but a business faces cut throat competition. There is no space for any courtesy or liberal approach. If you are quick enough to pick the pulse of the people by gauging their preferences, analyzing the market conditions and employing timely strategies you will atleast survive in the market lest becoming a leader. The presence of mind with which the entrepreneur or the corporate team brings strategic revolutions

* to bring their products quickly into the market
* to identify one's own competitive advantages
* to arrive at optimal decisions for problems in a complex business environment

makes them understand that the business environment is interactive and a single firm cannot survive on its own. We only talk about competition between firms which act as rivals in pricing, promotions, production and employing human resource. But there is another aspect to be considered by the firms. Yes, consideration about co-ordination.

In oligopolistic markets where few large suppliers dominate the scene, all the players can coordinate to fix the price of the same product to their advantage and to enjoy a possible outcome. The pay -off matrix doesn't always favor one particular firm, it favors that firm which employs this applied (game theory) science in a proactive manner.

Recruiting the right person to the right job, fixing the pay scale, advertising, legal arbitrations, auctions, investment decisions, bidding, calling for tenders and much more fields employ game theory to arrive at possible outcomes that prove to be successful. Employ game theory in your business to outsmart your competitors and capture the saddle point which is unique to your product or service.

By : Shyamala_Sankaranrayanan

Get More Sales Today!

2010-12-04T20:10:00.000-08:00

Many otherwise good salespeople set themselves up for failure by expecting it before even picking up the phone. A winning attitude is essential to turn a telephone call into an in-person appointment. Failure is when excuses stall making prospect calls.

Remember that no call is bad and all results work to groom the salesperson. Attitude can override inexperience.

* Set aside a chunk of time for calls.
* Plan and prioritize a call list.
* Outline specific goals to meet.
* Know who you're talking to and why.

Apprehension is a salesperson's worst enemy, as most salespeople don't want to pick up the phone in order to do their job. To overcome nervousness, you must first admit the problem. Then analyze why you really don't want to make the calls. Fearing rejection is solved by gaining more experience.

It is not intrusive to call businesspeople, who expect interruptions during their day, so don't ever apologize for calling. Remember to simply sell the idea of making an appointment. To get an in-person appointment, be prepared and establish a relationship from "Hello."

* Be armed with background on your prospect and your goal.
* Clearly introduce yourself and your business.
* Know their needs and explain briefly how you can help them.
* Keep conversation geared toward simply making the appointment and directly ask for a
* meeting.
* Once set, thank them and reiterate details like your name and the time and date of the appointment.

It is important to distinguish between useful and time-wasting prospects. It is easy for a prospect to simply hang up on you. You must be quick but not act like a smooth telemarketer.

* Consider not setting an appointment if it's very far away or there's really not the money or need.
* Increase your chances of getting an appointment by setting and adhering to a 20 to 30 minute time limit.
* Use words like "understand."
* Accept a real "No" but consider trying later.

It is also essential to avoid critical mistakes when a prospect attempts to reject making an appointment. A salesperson should not simply accept a quick "No," but must be careful not to ignore or manipulate the client in the process.

Always figure out what they really need, but don't ever be self-serving when faced with an objection. Remember, don't give up on the first "No." For example, don't use words like "but" or "better." Finally, don't ignore the prospect and try to push other services or merchandise.

By : Stephanie_B_Mojica

Perfect Words Blended Together Perfectly Yield Best Results

2010-12-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

I hear a lot of salespeople criticize the use of so-called "sales techniques." I most often hear salespeople say two things when they refer to sales techniques: First, they say that decision makers can see them coming a mile away. Secondly, they say that they sound phony.

I disagree. When I have heard a dozen or more times the same reason for not doing business with me or my company, I figure it's time for me to come up with just the right words to overcome the objection, memorize those words and repeat them in such a way that I convince the prospect to give me his business.

Yes, this may include the use of a technique, but my definition of a sales technique is to string together a series of words that help salespeople accomplish their objective. As salespeople we must be persuasive. Product knowledge is essential, but product knowledge alone is no better than sending a dictionary on a sales call.

Recently, a lumber company I know experienced some severe cash flow problems, so severe in fact, that several of the company's vendors held up shipments thereby forcing the lumberyard to be out of stock on several key commodities.

The competition jumped on this situation with both feet and spread the word in the community that their competitor had been "cut off" by several vendors and couldn't meet their delivery commitments.

Even though the dealer was able to get his bank to extend his line of credit, pay his past due invoices and get caught up with his vendors, his salespeople were bombarded with questions from customers about what had happened and what assurances could they be given that the barrage of backorders wouldn't be repeated.

The owner called me for some ideas. I recommended a technique that I thought would be perfect for the salespeople to use to deal with this customer concern.

It is called the Feel, Felt, Found technique.
To use this technique, the salesperson had to first of all identify a well-respected contractor who had experienced the inconvenience of backorders, but who had given the salesperson (and the lumberyard) a second chance and was well pleased with the results.

Let's say that the contractor's name was Lou Goodfellow, owner of New Home Construction.

Salesperson making a sales call: "Okay, Joe, it sounds as if you and I pretty much agree on the pricing and the quantities for the framing package on the Cotner Job, may I go ahead and schedule the initial shipment for next Monday morning?"

Contractor: "I don't know, Eddie. You guys put me in a really bad position on the last job I bought from you. If you remember, my framing sub walked off the job when you guys backordered all of those 2 x 6s. I can't afford to let something like that happen again. I thought I'd never get that [framing] crew back on the job. That snafu ended up stretching that job out an extra five days."

Salesperson: "Joe, I totally understand how you feel. If that had happened to me, I would have felt the same way. We went through a bad time of it there for a few weeks, but now we have our act together and we have plenty of stock on hand to take care of your needs."

Contractor: "I'm just not sure, Eddie."

Salesperson: "Joe, do you know Lou Goodfellow over at New Home Construction?"

Contractor: "Yeah, I know Lou."

Salesperson: "Do you respect him?"

Contractor: "Of course, I respect Lou. He is one of the most successful builders in this community."

Salesperson: "Well, Lou had the same experience that you did. And he felt the same way you feel right now, but I convinced Lou that all of the problems we where having with backorders had been fixed and that we had our act back together. So Lou gave us a second chance and he found that our service was better than ever. So what do you say? I sure would like to have a chance to get back in your good graces."

Contractor: "Okay, Eddie. I see your point. Go ahead and ship it. I need it on the job by no later than 7 AM, okay?

Salesperson: "You got it, Joe. Thanks for your confidence.

I understand how you feel, Lou felt the same way, but he found...

Call it a technique if you will, but in this case it did the job for the salesperson. Using these words helped Eddie convince Joe that he should give him a second chance.

Eddie practiced the technique until the words rolled off his tongue. He didn't sound like he was trying to trick Joe into anything, he just sounded sincere. He simply made a good case for being given a second chance.

My advice to all salespeople is to have effective words and phrases memorized to deal with recurring customer objections. The time to learn how to deal with an obstacle is well in advance of encountering it. The worst time to start thinking about what you're going to say is immediately after you encounter the obstacle.

When a golfer hits a shot into a bunker, he must know the correct technique to get out of the trouble he finds himself in. He must know the right way to open the blade of the club, hit an inch or two behind the ball and follow through, letting the sand become a friend instead of an enemy.

Think of the use of sales techniques in the same way as you might think of a technique in golf.

By : Bill_Lee

The Customer's Process Rules: A Sales Rep Pop Quiz

2010-12-04T01:01:00.000-08:00

Whatever you're doing right now, stop.

Put down the phone, quit fiddling with your iPad, and shut down your Tweetdeck while you're at it.

It's time for a Sales Pop Quiz, hotshot.

Here's the rules: Without looking at your CRM system, think of your highest-probability deal in the pipeline right now, and answer these questions.

1. Name the specific title of the last person at the account you spoke with on the phone, and the department they work for.

2. Give the name and title of the person that the Person in Question #1 directly reports to.

3. Give the name and title of one of the people that reports to Person #1.

4. Give the name and title of the person that's going to write the check/drop the corporate credit card/put the final signature on the PO when your prospective sale closes (if you're lucky, the answer will be the same as Question #1).

5. When was the last time the Persons in Questions #1, 2, and 4 met together to discuss the problem your product/service is going to solve?

6. What paperwork/research/data did they have in front of them when they did?

7. Who else was in the room?

8. How long is it going to be before they meet again?

9. How many other vendors are they considering?

10. Who are they?

11. What features/benefits/advantages of competing vendors are most appealing to them?

12. What's their "drop dead," point-of-no-return deadline for implementing any purchased products or services?

13. Which of the Persons in Questions #1, 2, or 4 is setting the budget? Or is it someone else entirely?

14. If it's someone else entirely, do they even know your company is in the running for a major purchase?

15. What is the budget they've set?

16. How is your product service emotionally making life better for the Persons in Questions #1-4? This isn't about features and benefits, it's about the direct connection to how you're going to emotionally change their lives, their jobs, their daily tasks. From Day 1, how is what you're about to sell to them going to make them enjoy their job more/hate their job less?

17. How is your sales data, case studies, testimonials, research, and best practices justifying the emotional reactions of the Persons in Questions #1-4?

18. Based on Questions 9-17, are you even in the running for this sale, or are you clinging to false hope?

19. Are you tracking the progress of the deal based on your internal sales process,, or on how the prospect is actually approaching the purchase?

20. Based on Questions #5-19, how accurate is your current closing forecast?

21. If your sales manager knew the true answer to Question #20, how would that change what you do for the next 14, 30, 90 days?

It may seem a bit didactic, but the point is if you didn't have answers to more than four or five of these questions, it's indicative of a mindset.

Are you really focusing on the prospect's needs? Are you approaching the process of the sale from their viewpoint, their decisions, their company hierarchy and culture? Based on your action items, are you making the decision to purchase your solution harder, or easier?

It's these every day questions that ultimately lead to a customer-centered, rather than a seller-centered buying cycle, that will lead to more success.

By : Steven_Watts

Give Pain to Get Pain When Making Cold Calls

2010-12-04T00:51:00.000-08:00

Regardless of where you are in a sales cycle, it is critical that there must be identified pain in order for the opportunity to be qualified. This is because regardless of the relationships that you have established and the cool things that your product can do, if there is no pain there is no reason to change. Thus, you will want to find pain and find it as early as possible and one way accomplish this is to give pain while making cold calls.

Giving pain to get pain refers to sharing a story of how someone else has experienced a challenge to a prospect and exploring if they can relate and have seen anything similar. This is a probing technique and can help the prospect to become more self-aware and share information that they might not if you ask them directly without the story of the other company.

A Brief Demonstration
An example of this would be to tell a prospect that a lot of your clients have complained about not being able to produce financial reports that have data from all their international operations. You can go on to share the impact of this challenge and how it prohibited the companies from having visibility across the entire organization and that impacted the quality and timeliness of decision making, which impacted the ability to manage labor costs resulting in decreased profitability.

From there, you can ask the prospect if that is something that they have had any similar challenges with. The prospect will then either share similar pain, will share pain in a different area, or will not admit to any pain. When you reach this point while making cold calls, you can either drill down into pain that is shared or if there is no pain uncovered, you can continue on to give pain from another example in another area.

Latent Pain
One of the reasons that giving pain can help to get pain is that many prospects are not fully aware of their pain. And when making cold calls, since you are calling them, any pain they may have, whether they are aware of it or not, it is not the top of their mind. When this is the case and the prospect is not actively thinking about pain in an area and trying to fix it, we call this "latent pain".

In order to improve sales effectiveness, we need to uncover this latent pain and bring more attention on it. One of the ways to accomplish this is to ask very direct questions about it. The downside to doing this is that either the prospect can fall into denial and avoid acknowledging it or the prospect could feel attacked by the questioning and get defensive.

This is an example why giving pain to get pain can be powerful when making cold calls as you give the prospect an example that helps them to become more aware. You also bring it up in the context of another company so not only do they not get defensive by feeling attacked, they also can feel comforted by knowing that they are not the only company out there in that scenario.

By : Michael_Halper

The Need for Product Innovation

2010-11-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

Developing new products and launching them in the marketplace can be a difficult, costly and even dangerous business. So why do it? Why not leave well alone and be content with profit from existing products, concentrating effort on expanding sales of these products and finding new markets for them?

One reason is that seizing new opportunities as they emerge is a way to increase profits. (To be first in the field with a successful new product gives one the chance of creaming off large profits before effective competition develops.)

But the main reason is that it is dangerous to assume that profits from existing products will continue at present levels for ever. The product life-cycle concept tells us that they will certainly not continue for ever.

At different rates, over varying time-scales, all products eventually achieve market saturation and then start to decline. Even while sales volume holds up, profits may well not; and retaining sales volume and profits may call for regular updating of existing products.

For most companies, therefore, a programme of product review and development is essential; and, for all companies, to ignore this area of activity is highly dangerous. A McGraw-Hill study in the United States showed that in 1963 the percentage of sales accounted for by products introduced since 1959 was 28 per cent for transportation, 18 per cent for electrical machinery, and so on, through a whole list of categories.

In the consumer goods fields successful new products introduced more recently -include a wide range of increasingly sophisticated computer games, the 'superglues' and a whole host of pre-prepared meals for cooking by microwave.

In consumer durables we have seen the successful introduction of video cameras and answering machines, with mobile telephones and fax machines for home use not far behind. Innovative services (intangible products) include direct purchase of insurance by telephone and 'home banking'.

The most 'safe' and inexpensive way to launch a 'new' product is modifying an existing product.

New Products from Old

We first need to be clear what is a new product. There are basically three clear kinds of new products:

1. Innovative products which are unique products for which there is a real need, not being met satisfactorily by an existing product. Penicillin when first introduced fell into this category, as did the telephone, the internal combustion engine, and chloroform. We can also describe as innovative those products which, while replacing existing goods that have been satisfying existing markets quite well, offer totally different solutions. Examples would be television partially replacing the cinema and the radio, the zip fastener and later Velcro instead of strings or buttons, and solar power for other energy sources;

2. Adaptive products which offer significantly different variations on existing products: they include such items as instant coffee, freeze-dried foods, self-adhesive wallpaper, and typewriters with a memory. Another kind of variation is represented by package changes, styling modifications, new designs and colours.

3. Imitative products are already being sold by someone else but further sales opportunities exist for an additional brand, with or without minor modifications. The divisions between these categories are obviously very fuzzy. Indeed, some authors have distinguished as many as a dozen different ways in which a product can be 'new'.

The truly innovative product is rare. Adaptive new products can sometimes necessitate a great deal of new technology and extensive research and development, though a 'new' product can often be produced by changes to an existing one. These may range from relatively minor changes, which effectively extend the life-cycle of a product, to much more extensive improvements.

An example quoted by Peter Drucker that covers both is nylon, which was introduced in the U.S.A. by Du Pont and fairly rapidly became the dominant fiber in women's hosiery. However, once this market was saturated, the growth curve flattened. Du Pont had anticipated this and had developed strategies for providing further increases in sales of nylon stockings by such tactics as the following:

1. Introducing a wider range of colors, leading to an increase in the number of stockings bought by each user and a tendency to wear different colors with different outer garments.

2. Developing new uses, such as stretch stockings and socks. In addition, they moved into other fields such as tyre cord and carpets. In this way nylon sales showed an overlapping series of life-cycle curves, giving a continuing upward trend.

The nylon success story depended both upon changing the product for existing users and making it suitable for whole new markets. Changing products for existing markets can be done in a number of ways, in particular by improvements in quality, features, and/or style.

By : Martin_Hahn

Understanding Business Growth and Innovation

2010-11-29T20:38:00.000-08:00

Most successful companies start with a creative idea from a visionary businessman. Being creative equals to innovation and innovation brings growth. Most companies have not grown the last decade and gave gone from strong growth to low or no growth.

One of the reasons for not growing is focusing all the strategies on a single or group of products or services. Today most markets are saturated with little or no differentiation. Stagnation brings lack of innovation and consequently lack of growth.

It is important for companies to apply new strategies to be able to survive and grow. Times are challenging and ways of thinking have to change. The following points should be a guideline of what successful companies are doing in these tough times:

* Look for and deliver real value to customers. Solve their issues, develop ways to identify their problems and meet their expectations.

* Products and services have to be customer oriented. Leverage your strengths and develop new and creative products and services that meet your customer's expectations.

* Analyze who and what your company is, look at the advantages over other businesses and transmit those findings to your clients.

* Innovation does not mean only creating new products or services. Innovation is also finding new ways to streamline processes, to lower costs. Companies should involve and reward personnel for their ideas and their commitment.

* Innovation is a process not a magical stick. As all processes it has to be managed and understood. It is better to generate lots of creative ideas than just to focus or one big project.

* The more ideas leaders and team members generate the better. The best ideas come from the employees that work directly with the customer. Manager and leaders have to support customer service employees.

* Consultants can also generate innovative products and services, engage them as they come from the outside with new and clear options.

* Create focus groups incorporating team members and clients. Incorporate into the products and services the findings to be able to deliver value to the customer and generate new and more sales.

Innovation is challenging. It is a group process not an individual task. Employees and staff members have to be on board, they have to be motivated and integrated in a proper environment. The more people involved in the process the better chance there is to come up with creative ideas and differentiated product or service.

Innovation involves several steps:

* Defining the opportunity
* Team collaboration and participation
* Management believe and investor participation
* Investment of resources (time, dedication and commitment)
* The use of new and appropriate techniques
* Execution

Innovation leads to growth, it is not only a tool to take a business from one level to the other it also helps motivate teams and organization. A well motivated team will innovate and the company will grow, it is a cycle that companies have to believe in.

By : Joaquin_Duenas

How to Write Headlines - 7 Tips for Writing Effective Marketing Headlines

2010-11-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

Learning how to write headlines is crucial for marketing success. Whether you're writing a headline for your brochure, a title for your white paper or a subject line for your e-mail marketing campaign, you need those first words your prospect reads to be catchy and intriguing.

These seven strategies will get you thinking about the creative headline options you can use next time you need an attention-grabbing headline. The examples (for a dog food called Healthy Paws) following each tip will help you understand exactly how to apply each strategy to your writing.

1. Appeal to your prospect's emotions. A little tug on the heartstrings is sure to get your potential customer's attention. Example: Is your dog's food harming his health?

2. Tailor your message to specific customer segments. Every customer wants to be unique. By appealing to each customer group's interests and affinities, you'll connect on a deeper level. Example (targeted to fitness-buff women): You care about your health - what about hers?

3. Be the teacher. People are always on the lookout for useful, relevant information. Offer to provide the information they're searching for. Example: Seven ways to help your dog live longer.

4. Ask a question. Open up a conversation with the reader by asking them a question they'll want the answer to. Example: Why does Healthy Paws have dog tails wagging?

5. Make an offer they can't refuse. When you have a great offer to deliver, don't beat around the bush. Tell them upfront what the offer is with a direct, to-the-point message. Example: Get your free sample of Healthy Paws - today!

6. Share the news. Prospects are drawn to things that are fresh and new. If you have a new product, or if there is recent news relating to your product, try incorporating it into your headline. Example: New study shows Healthy Paws dogs live longer.

7. Make it personal. People love to hear about what you can do for them. Include the word "you" or "yourself" in the headline to make sure they get this message. Example: Help your dog live longer - here's how.

By : Megan_Tsai

10 Things Every Business Owner Must Know

2010-11-27T19:22:00.000-08:00

The world of business is constantly evolving and there is always something new to learn. But no matter how much innovation takes place there are certain business basics that remain. Do you know what makes up the foundation of a successful company? This article describes 10 important principles that every business owner must know.

1. Plan to succeed. Develop a business plan to move the company forward. Outline key goals, objectives and the strategies to achieve them. Review plans regularly to measure results and make needed adjustments along the way.

2. Manage well. Set the direction for how to run the business. To manage well it is important to implement systems and have written policies and business procedures. This sets the tone and ensures that standards for performance are maintained.

3. Build a sustainable business. In the early stages of business it is common for owners to be the company's number one source of funds. Over time it is important to create a business that can stand on its own. Identify financial options so that you can position the company to take advantage of them.

4. Market strategically. Marketing, advertising, and sales are important keys to increasing revenue. Identify proven strategies for branding, attracting clients and building relationships to grow your company.

5. Tighten up administration. There are various types of administrative tasks that are important in every business. Be sure to implement efficient systems to manage paperwork, stay on top of deadlines, and process financial transactions.

6. Financial Reporting. Regular, timely, and relevant financial reporting can give companies an advantage in the market. Two keys to good financial management are maintaining accurate records and using financials to grow the business.

7. Follow the rules. There are rules that govern the legal and financial activities of business. No company is above the law. So take time to get familiar with industry and business regulations. Understand the type of business documents and tax returns you are required to file and stay on task with submitting them on time.

8. Create your dream with a team. No man is an island which means you don't have to run your company alone. Fill in the gaps in your business by hiring part-time staff, using temporary assignments, outsourcing, or teaming up with companies for special projects.

9. Invest in yourself. Increase knowledge and stay abreast of business trends in new technology, industry practices, and customer wants and needs. Use training to increase efficiency and profitability in your business.

10. Reinvent when necessary. If your business model is no longer profitable don't be afraid to take a new direction. As noted by success coach, Ken Brown, "Those who are unwilling to change will either expire or become extinct." Be willing to rebrand, reposition, or release an idea if the market you serve doesn't need or want it any longer.

By : Benita_Tyler

Using Indicators For Planning

2010-11-26T00:25:00.000-08:00

With the intensification of sales planning and sales control, diverse sales indicators are becoming increasingly important as planning instruments of management. Effective planning is a core subject on all good management courses. The results of a survey of 316 European sales managers testify to this.

Economic data considered when planning sales include:

Industrial indicators 41%
Purchasing power indicators 39%
Retail trade indicators 30%
Number of inhabitants 28%
Wholesale trade indicators 26%
Manual worker indicators 20%
Property market indicators 19%
Health indicators 10%
Transport indicators 6%
Agricultural indicators 3%
Tourism indicators 2%

The basic premise is - the bigger a company's sales force, the more economic data is used to support sales planning.

1. Industrial indicators

The following data serves as a basis for planning: number of companies (79%), turnover (51%), number of employees (34%), investments (21%). Any planning which is done on the basis of industrial indicators depends greatly on the size of the company. Investment indicators are more likely to be used by companies with 51 or more sales people, for example, far more than small or medium-sized companies (40% compared with 21%).

2. Purchasing power indicators

Purchasing power indicators based on the net income of the population in the sales area, are primarily used by companies dealing in consumer goods.

3. Trade indicators

70% of the sales managers interviewed direct their planning in accordance with the number of retail and wholesale companies; 60% base their planning on the regional distribution of turnover and 25% on the number of company employees.

4. Population indicators

If population statistics are considered in sales planning, 93% of the sales managers consider the regional cross-section of the whole population, 14% distinguish between age categories and 9% distinguish between the size of community. Larger consumer goods companies also use the size of individual households and the number of married couples and babies as criteria for sales planning.

5. Property market indicators

The sales managers mainly consult four indicators: property investment (67%), planning and building permission (65%), condition of property (30%), completion of property (28%). When it comes to property investment, larger companies in particular distinguish between the renovation of old buildings and new buildings.

6. Agricultural indicators

Here is a list of the main agricultural indicators: the number of agricultural companies (73%), the condition of farming equipment (64%), arable land (27%). Other criteria include timber, livestock, special crops.

7. Health indicators

These are the main indicators for manufacturers of medication and medically-related machinery: the number of hospitals (50%) and the regional distribution of doctors (63%). Other statistics used in sales planning include the number of hospital beds (44%), the number of pharmacies and chemists (34%) and pharmacy turnover (19%).

8. Transport indicators

When making sales estimates, indicators such as the number of lorries (74%) and cars (60%) are taken into consideration. The registration of new vehicles (cars 53%, lorries 47%) plays a secondary role.

9. Tourism indicators

The number of tourist industries is an important planning criterion (71%). Others aspects which are considered include the number of beds/rooms (43%), and the number of bed and breakfasts (29%).

Indicators are not laid down for all eternity. In practice, it is a question of being flexible - When asked, 74% of the sales managers said that they take into consideration developments both within and outside the company and adapt their sales planning accordingly.

As covered on management courses any changes in the following external criteria would force a modification in sales planning:

Activities of competitors
Developments in clients' turnover
Price trends
Developments in branch specific investments
Technological developments
Developments in customer orders
Legal plans
Developments in environmental protection
Developments in customers' stock
Developments in consumer spending

Surprisingly enough, economically relevant statistics such as the development of interest rates, the exchange rate, unemployment or public debt are given little or no consideration.

Finally, here are some in-house reasons for transforming sales planning:

Introduction of new products Sales promotion measures Change of conditions Advertising measures Extension of capacity

Effective planning has many benefits especially with increasingly focus on maximising the return from the sales side of an operation. You can develop your planning skills on good sales management courses.

By : Richard_A_Stone

Developing New Products

2010-11-26T00:18:00.000-08:00

Businessmen and manufacturers are manufacturing products according to their taste and perceptions and forgetting the major and most important thing about selling more and earning great profits that is to design products according to the consumer taste, wants, needs and desires.

This is the most common mistake that nearly every manufacturer and businessmen make that is making such product that they themselves like and perceive that customers are going to like it. This is nothing but a very simple kind of gamble.

If you win it that means it was your luck and if you lose that it's your fault because you did not start well and so you ended badly. Good ending means good starting and good planning. Its not a gamble.

It is something that you have to confirm that is growing sales and increasing your margins of profit. That is possible if you are designing the product as simple as according to the customer need and want. They are not going to buy something they don't want or buy.

Like if you think that you love yellow color, people are not going to prefer it because they like other colors.

So it is never possible that the things you like will be liked by others. The products should be rather must be designed according to the customer taste. That is only possible if you know it, and if you don't then you need to go and ask them. You must go for a survey first and after an analysis of what they like in majority declare it and manufacture that.

Only then sales can improve and you can earn great profits.

The following should be taken care of in developing new products:

1. Ask the customers about their perception of a product based on

a. Taste

b. Color

c. Design

d. Flavors

e. Packaging

f. Ingredients

g. Weight

h. Price

2. After confirming all these test the market from certain areas and find the response

3. That can be done by

a. free sampling

b. Buy one get one free

c. Introductory prices

d. Any other promotional campaign

4. If majority likes, approve it and then commercialize and start heavy manufacturing of the product/s.

Following these ways can guarantee success of your products sales and can earn you great and abnormal profits. Just simply think like a customer and make it like a manufacturer. This will work very well for your company and business.

By : Aasim_Gill

Myopia in Leadership Development

2010-11-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Typically, our view of leadership development encompasses the escalation of current high performers into an environment where they can develop a broader set of competencies and capabilities.

In many organizations, the senior leaders aim to manage the perception of the issues, form coalitions, and use relationships to influence change in the organization. Without "relationships and influence," they are without arrows in their managerial quiver.

In our experience, however, we have found that many leadership development programs fail to include the quantifiable and strategic value of business relationships - not only as another bucket or segment of the curriculum, but also as a part of the encompassing framework in the development of the next generation of corporate leaders.

In other words, you could be the most astute financial leader, operations leader, manufacturing executive or complex project owner, but if you lack the ability to proactively and systematically identify, build, and nurture personal, functional, and strategic relationships to influence others, I am not convinced of our fully realized long-term success in any organization.

The increasing diversity of today's workforce makes it that much more critical that our future leaders can effectively engage those who don't look, sound, or think like us and lead them toward a common set of strategic goals and objectives. In addition to providing cultural diversity, key individuals with unique perspectives and insights can accelerate any leader's ability to achieve results. We call these people Pivotal Contacts.

In researching dozens of Fortune 500 leadership development programs, we found many to be myopic in their perspective and focused purely on safe topics such as strategy, financial engineering, and global expansion. Many try to elevate your thinking, executing from the purely tactical (what we are doing) to the more strategic (why we are doing this).

Then there is the holistic approach that questions not just the ability, but the social responsibility aspects as well. Although extremely beneficial to current high performers and those perceived to be high potentials, these questions don't include a systematic, disciplined approach to functional and strategic relationships.

Strategic relationships are seldom part of any personal evaluations we have reviewed to date. Nor are they part of any compensation model we have seen, at least no compensation plan that actually moves one's needle (a 5 percent variable is not really an incentive).

They are not part of a human resource organization's competency maps, nor formal mentoring programs aimed at raising the bar on key functional leaders today.

Unless the appropriate metrics and rewards are in place to accurately align the organization's goals and objectives with that of the individual in a highly relationship-centric environment, how will we overcome this fundamental and often myopic perspective of world-class leadership development programs?

By : David_M._Nour

Your Team of Advisors - An Important Part of Business Planning

2010-11-24T20:58:00.000-08:00

There are many different aspects of business planning that every owners will at some point need to address. Most are familiar with marketing and financials but when it comes to drafting the management piece one area that tends to be underdeveloped is that of the advisory team.

Do you know how a team of advisors bring value to your team? Let's take a look at this important part of business planning to see how these professionals strengthens companies.

Insight

First, there is a proverb that says "Wisdom is found in a multitude of counsel." This suggests that it makes good sense to seek the advice of others who can maturely guide you in getting the results that you want to achieve. Advisors possess wisdom that comes from having insight into a particular area which will help you plan and implement successful business strategies.

Accountability

Next, when it comes to advice whose is the first that you normally trust? It's probably your own, right? After all, if you cannot trust your own instincts, then who can you trust? But listening solely to your own opinions at all times produces biased results.

Humans are creatures of habit and tend to do things within their comfort zone which is not the way to build a sustainable business. Instead, aim to create a team of advisors that will help you push past the limits, come up with new ideas, and hold you accountable for reaching them.

Diversification

Finally, advisory teams are there to support your success by providing their expertise. Build a team from diverse industries so that you receive a holistic view of business The areas that you want to cover are law, accounting, banking, insurance, finance, marketing, and management.

Look for someone with experience in each of the following professions and you will have a solid foundation to create a business that thrives.

If you are unsure where to find the ideal people to fill advisory vacancies start by contacting other business owners that you trust. If you regularly network in small business forums pay attention to what's being said and by whom.

Many times you can glean great information just by listening to the wisdom that's right at your finger tips. And if none of these sources produce any leads remember to try out your local Chamber of Commerce where a host of industry specific professionals meet and network.

By : Benita_Tyler

Event Planning - 10 Tips to Planning A Better Event

2010-11-23T18:40:00.000-08:00

Whether you are a planning a wedding, a birthday party, or even a convention there are some simple things to consider and implement that can drastically improve the quality of the event. Using the knowledge I have gained over the years I've put together a list of 10 tips that have helped in my pursuit for terrific events.

1. Always have a little bit more food than needed

2. If you don't hire an event planner at least have someone act as one. That person would be in charge of making sure the vendors are set up properly and can help keep everything running smoothly. Whether it's a friend or family member the organization will be appreciated.

3. If you hire a DJ be wary of the distance between his/her setup and your guests. The last thing you want is a blaring speaker deafening a guest.

4. Try to find a suitable venue and make sure it suits your particular needs. Consider things like the number of guests, whether or not it needs to be wheel chair accessible.

5. Consider trying to find package deals which some venues might offer.

6. Be wary of weather alerts before and the morning of the event. Nothing is worse than having an event washed out or worse.

7. Lists!, lists!, lists! I can't stress this enough. If you keep an up to date list the chances of anything being forgotten or going wrong are greatly reduced. Anytime I have an event or even just trying to accomplish a goal I create a to do list. If something doesn't get accomplished I roll it over to the next day. When planning an event it helps to not forget things like carded place holders for tables or napkins.

8. Maintain contact with people your vendors. When planning an event make sure to maintain contact with your DJ, caterer, limousine driver. Sometimes in the chaos of preparing for an event services or people you require to get the job done can get left behind.

9. Develop and stick to your event budget. The quality of an event does not depend on the dollar investment, rather it depends on effective event planning. There are easy ways to save money shop around a little and check event directories planning directories which will sometimes allow you to find inexpensive event related businesses.

10. And last but not least keep calm, cool, and collected. Event planning is a lot of work and it's easy to be overcome with stress. If your stress or exhausted you can't put together a great event and remember stress shows.

By : Hassaan_Simpson

Corporate Manipulation - The Game Of The Big

2010-11-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

Corporate Manipulation is the game of the big companies striving to control more shares of their relevant market. Big industries like the tobacco, pharmaceutical or the mining industries use different manipulative techniques in order to make more profits than their rivals.

The impact of such manipulative strategies has been sometimes so big that they have attracted the attention of law regulators and have provoked the passage of important anti-monopolistic laws.

There could be two types of corporate manipulation - manipulation intended for consumers and manipulation addressed for other rival companies. Big industries usually have little trouble manipulating their clients - oftentimes the companies are large enough to have control over a big share of the market and to have an important impact on people's lives.

Once consumers are dependent on the company, they find themselves following the business rules of this industry and it's hard for them to break up with the company.

Corporate manipulation directed to other companies seems more difficult, because the companies usually have the same resources and the same access to information. Which makes manipulation less easy, but not impossible.

One striking example was the case with Intel. Intel is a company that produces chips for personal computers. In the mid 90s, Intel had monopolistic control over its market but it was starting to get outdone by its main rival - AMD.

Both of these companies were fighting for the attention of Dell - the most important computer manufacturer at that time. In order to secure itself deals with Dell, Intel paid $1 billion to Dell and became its main provider of computer chips even though the chips of AMD were better and cheaper.

The company manipulated the choice of its partner and this later became a usual tactic for Intel - in the next years the company made such deals with many other manufacturers.

Corporate manipulation is the way of big companies to continue making millions of dollars when they see that their rivals are starting to gain more and more influence. With time, many such strategies for controlling the market have become illegal as legislators perceived the threat of them to the rules of free economy and free market competition.

Most of the time, these processes have stayed unnoticed by the general audience as the press didn't cover them, but the little media attention is a whole another topic about manipulation techniques.

By : Manny_Hawkins

Time Management - A Vital Business Development Strategy

2010-11-13T18:49:00.000-08:00

Proper time management is absolutely vital for a company's success and is a critical part of effective business development. Many companies rightly stress on its importance in order to make its employees more efficient and productive.

Today's article will focus on why time management is so important for businesses development and how profound of an effect it can have on the company's overall performance. Consulting services are available to teach employees about how to make the best use of their time in order to maximize their efficiency. Therefore, companies struggling with time management would find this article of great use.

· Ability to Meet Deadlines

There is hardly a project today that is not deadline oriented. Clients want to see results and therefore divide their projects into multiple segments setting deadlines for each segment completion. These deadlines are extremely important for companies that provide service to the clients to adhere to. Failing to do so could result in hefty penalties. Time management ensures that the project gets finished ahead of time.

· Improving Performance at Work

Time management makes a good employee even better. It improves performance and gives a boost to their confidence. Typical day to day work tasks comprise of many things and sufficient amount of time should be given to each task if one is to keep things moving along at a smooth pace. Educating employees about how to manage time properly ensures that the company is working at optimal levels.

· Prioritizing Work load

A very common business development strategy is to prioritize and undertake tasks based on its size, relevance and importance. Tougher and more important tasks should be tacked first and the easier, lower priority ones should follow afterwards.

No two tasks will require the same amount of time. Depending on its nature and the amount of work involved, certain tasks should be given and may require more time than others. Proper business development through time management will teach employees how to do so just that.

· Money Saving and Revenue Increasing Feature

Time management is highly productive and lucrative business development practice. Not only does it shields a company from paying hefty penalties by completing projects on time, it also increases revenues by creating a good impression of the company in the market and portraying them as an establishment devoted to their clients.

The above mentioned tips are just a few benefits of managing time effectively. All companies should strive to implement this business development skill at all levels including managerial and executive.

Today's competitive market is moving at an extremely fast pace and it is ever so important to maximize work output every day. Companies having difficulty meeting deadlines should seriously consider hiring consultants to rectify this problem. They will provide sound advice as to how to proceed forward.

By : Milton_J_Paris

Action-Oriented Approach to Performance Management

2010-11-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

Performance management aims to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on performance of individuals, groups, processes and organizations. Its main objective is to deliver results and optimize performance of human and capital assets.

Although the term 'performance management' is a relatively new idea in the field of management, managers and supervisors have conducted performance appraisals with their staff and departments for years. Employees have been trained for centuries, and people have worked long, hard hours for many years.

Processes such as planning, budgeting, sales and billings have also been carried out for many years in organizations. But all too often, these activities are done for the sake of doing them, not for contributing directly to the desired results of the organization.

Being busy is not the same as producing results and adding value to the business. Participating in training, or exhibiting strong commitment and working for long hours do not necessarily lead to results. Performance management focuses on attaining results and adding value; for example, realizing a profit target, securing new deals, delivering new products and services to customers, or retaining customers. Performance management channels human capital towards effectiveness.

In recent years, businesses have faced significant challenges, including increased competition from businesses across the world, scarcity of talents, and environmental challenges. These challenges have meant that businesses must be much more careful about the choice of strategies they take to remain competitive. Everyone and every resource within the organization must be aligned to the business objectives.

This places more focus on ensuring that systems and processes in an organization are properly applied to achieve desired results in the most effective way. Management must ensure that all results across the organization continue to be aligned to the overall organizational objectives. This enables long-term survival and sustained profitability.

Performance in organizations is not limited to the effectiveness of employees; performance management can also be applied to departments, processes, programmes, products or services, and teams or groups. It is right to assume that performance management of every aspect of the business is heavily dependent on the human capital responsible for them.

For optimum performance management, managers and employees must keep the end results in mind, and such results must be in total alignment with business objectives. This is easier say than done, due to the absence of practical and effective tools.

A daily goal-orientated tool that offers employees and management a platform to communicate company strategies and objectives on a daily basis would be greatly welcome by the business community, where employees and managers set their targets for the year and break them down into monthly objectives. Users can then set daily and weekly incremental actions that are required to deliver results.

Such a tool makes it easy to focus on the end results and execute actions that add value to the target goals, whilst discarding non-relevant, time-wasting activities. Such a tool also enables the user to reflect on his/her performance on daily basis and keep track of what works and what does not. With the adoption of such a tool, employees will be able to overcome procrastination and develop new habits of progress and achievement, which are proved to be the best motivator for employees.

Such a goal-achieving tool enables management to keep track of their employees' performance, help them appreciate the challenges employees are facing and identify the required support they need to accomplish target goals. The diary itself serves as a logbook for employee performance and can be instrumental for performance review appraisals.

Performance management is a critical constituent of business management, and for optimum performance the focus should be placed on utilizing the human and capital assets deployed by a business, with the focus on the end results.

The need for a practical tool to enable compliance can not therefore be overemphasized. A daily success organizer or a planner can be a practical tool that enables communication of company goals and strategies, alignment of employee actions with business priorities, and eliminates wastage.

By : Yahya_S.

How To Make Freelancing Worth It

2010-11-12T20:22:00.000-08:00

Many people think freelancing is a glamorous job -- working at home, in your pajamas, in full control of your time. Sure. But you MUST plan your freelancing career as carefully as you'd plan a new business, or else it's going to be a nightmare! Here's how to make freelancing worth the move.

First, Choose Your Projects Wisely.

Freelancing becomes fun when you're doing something you love. So look for projects you KNOW you want to work on. Don't be tempted to accept a project simply because "it's there" or "the money is too good to turn down" -- you'll pay for it in stress. Trust me.

Second, Work With Clients Who Think Like You.

Try to avoid clients who pay too low for your tastes, or those who demand unreasonable deadlines. These clients tend to NOT treat freelancers well, so only look for clients who are willing to do things on YOUR terms.

Otherwise, you might find yourself keeping Skype logged off simply because you don't want to catch a toxic client online!

Third, Decide Your Preferred Income.

Let's face it -- freelancing isn't easy. And to make it worth it, you'll have to receive a good enough income to keep you happy. Check how much your corporate-hired counterparts get paid, and start there. No sense freelancing when you could get a better pay with a job!

And Lastly, Plan Your Lifestyle.

Want to keep your weekends clear? Want to have breakfasts at your favorite cafe? Want to take quarterly vacations with your family?

Decide! The "lifestyle" part of freelancing is precisely what makes freelancing worth it. Remember, the most successful of today's freelancers left their jobs for greener pastures. And it's up to you how "green" you want your freelancing career to be.

So plan your lifestyle -- your freelancing career depends on it!

By : Mike_Madrazo

Guidelines to Hire an Expert Witness

2010-11-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

Dave McDonald from the National Expert Witness Network (NEWN) has developed and released an excellent (and free) instructional program to explain the best methodologies for finding, assessing the credentials of, and hiring an expert witness.

Although created with an obvious tilt toward the interests of attorneys looking for the right one, many of the training slides are equally valuable for experts seeking to appreciate the process. In fact, many slides appear to emphasize IP cases primarily, but the reality of the legal arena is such that the material on these slides applies equally well to many different types of cases, and to the decisions made by lawyers in these matters as well.

Mr. McDonald covers everything from the definition (Rule 702) of a witness to the differing roles played by them as either a defendant or plaintiff expert. His program spans such fundamentals as finding the expert, fees for experts, and the necessary skills of an effective witness. He discusses retention agreements, payment responsibilities, and, from the business perspective, considerations related to managing witnesses during a case.

In the later stages of retaining an expert, he also explains elements of confidentiality as well as parameters for reports, and even some admissibility considerations. He also includes suggested rules for responses during depositions, such as his 5-second rule for pausing to answer questions, and his 30-second rule for limiting the time used for elaborate answers.

Finally, he discusses the Supreme Court's Daubert case and the risks of expert disqualification that should be understood by both experts and attorneys before any case is actually offered to or accepted by an expert.

Since many experts have never actually testified at trial, Mr. McDonald includes some valuable slides on advice and preparations of an expert witness for trial proceedings. He further includes some suggestions for both the expert and his attorney regarding opinions and objectivity.

For the larger cases, such as many intellectual property matters become, this training program also provides information for effective management of the eventual work product and of a possible team of multiple experts.

Mr. McDonald's course is available at the National Expert Witness Network's website, http://www.newnexperts.com in the About main menu choice, and in the 'Training' submenu choice.

By : Judd_Robbins

Sure Fire Steps to Profitability

2010-11-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

"Any successful relationship, whether personal or business, is unique to every pair of individuals and evolves over time. It starts out tentative, fragile, full of unfulfilled possibilities and expectations. It grows stronger with experience and familiarity. It matures into trust and commitment.

As it deepens, it evolves through three phases: visibility, credibility, and profitability" states Dr. Ivan Misner along with David Alexander & Brian Hilliard in the New York Times Best Selling book, Networking Like a Pro Turning Contacts into Connections.

In my recent interview on my Navigating Change Radio Show, Dr. Misner explains a process of creating relationships in networking. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting, growing relationships are essential to building a sustainable business. Many business owners make the mistake of meeting someone and immediately trying to get a sale before they've nurtured the relationship.

There are two really important steps before you jump to profitability suggests Dr. Misner. It's a process called VCP:

Visibility

Visibility is about awareness. That is, you're visible to each other or a potential customer becomes aware of the nature of your business. You two begin to communicate and establish links. The greater your visibility, the:

• More widely known you become.
• More information you obtain about others.
• More opportunities you will be exposed to.
• Better your chances of being recognized as someone to whom others can or should refer business.

In this step, it's important that you obtain information about the other person with whom you are establishing visibility. Many entrepreneurs want to do what I call the verbal vomit, that is, they want to share all about their business with others and the other person doesn't get in a word. In this step, it is important to find out about the other person first. As the relationships deepen, you'll have your turn.

Credibility

The next step in this process is Credibility. Only when you and a new acquaintance begin to form expectations and those expectations are fulfilled, your relationships enter this stage. Credibility is gained through reliability. In this stage you want to keep appointments, promises and do what you say you're going to do. This can also be gained through third parties. Here's where others you've done business with can create credibility, like through testimonials or even references.

Profitability

When you've mastered visibility and demonstrated credibility, it is then you move into profitability. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of confusing direct selling and networking. In networking it is necessary to cultivate the relationships (as outlined in visibility and credibility.) It's when you've created a solid foundation in those two steps you move on. In profitability, the relationship is mutually rewarding and both partners are gaining satisfaction. The relationship probably won't endure if it doesn't profit both partners, states Dr. Misner.

With every process or formula there is an important element: time. It can happen quickly or take a year even three years. If you want a real life inspiration to the practicality of this process, listen to learn how Dr. Misner through one relationship went on to meet Chicken Soup for the Soul Author, Jack Canfield and music mogul, world adventurer and owner of Virgin Atlantic Airways, Sir Richard Branson.

One change in the way you network today yields giant leaps later.

By : Lisa_Mininni

Experts Can Still Have Their Testimony Rejected by Courts Even If Their Work Is Proper

2010-11-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Do you know if standards and accreditations exist in your field? Do you meet the standards in your field as an expert? Did you obtain available accreditations in your specialty? Did you earn the license required in your specialty?

Did you obtain expected and available certifications in your specialty? Consider additional work to prepare yourself. Lawyers and the courts they serve want expert witnesses to look good on paper, sound good in court, and legitimately have the qualifications to be there.

You will hear the term 'admissibility.' A judge determines whether to 'accept' you, your credentials, and your work into the court. The judge has the 'gatekeeper' role and decides whether to allow you to present your work and your opinions in the courtroom. The opposing attorney may successfully present legal reasons why the judge should not admit your work into evidence.

Inadmissibility may not indicate that your work was poor, but it does declare that your work did not meet legal standards. This can be a damaging loss to your side and a great victory for the other side, and will successfully keep your work from ever being considered by the jurors.

Your retaining attorney has to deal with legal considerations regarding admissibility. However, you can help provide your opinion with a strong foundation by performing your work carefully, preparing it to meet standards, and presenting it well.

You cannot scrimp on care, and your work must meet the norms and standards of your industry. If you express an opinion that seems straightforward to you, it still may sound ridiculous in court if you based it on incomplete, poorly documented, or otherwise shoddy procedures.

A combination of regulatory agency, academic, and industry expertise will strongly support you in your role as an expert witness. Academic expertise alone, without hands-on work, can seem only theoretical and may lead to rigorous cross examination. Attorneys may capitalize on this weakness by presenting hypothetical questions that can be unpleasant during testimony because of your lack of real-world background.

Lack of industry background can come across as 'ivory tower syndrome,' a weakness found frequently in academic expert witnesses. Jurors may find you less believable and your opinions less acceptable.

Extensive industry qualifications will help you most when making a transition from just an industry expert to a litigation consultant. Jurors will easily recognize your expertise if they find out that you have worked as an industry expert for years. Attorneys will then find it unpleasant to discredit your credentials.

If you have worked for a law enforcement agency or governmental commission, at the state or federal level, you may have a built-in acceptability to jurors. While some jurors may have a bias against you because you worked for the government, government employ does bring a notable credential to the table on your behalf.

By : Judd_Robbins

Team Building Helps in Binding A Group Together

2010-10-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Employees feel isolated and boring if they have to slog down the weeks and months with some monotonous and mechanical work. It is more concerning to get non-cooperative vibes from their colleagues and especially managers.

Team building events are some special occasions undertaken by most of the companies to initiate a boost of confidence amongst employees and letting them mingle and know each other. Team building activities do not fall under any school activity curriculum; it has more fun to it than just setting on a boat packed with people

Events for Amusement

It is not merely boat but you can call it a cruise where everyone gathers together to collaborate, speak, share their thoughts and also have fun. The objective is to bring different mind sets and personalities together and make them match and bring flavour of working spirit in their minds. Nevertheless, never think that the whole concept is merely about building teams and helping group of all kinds of employees to work together.

Building team means fostering a sense of responsibility among people to let them understand their objectives and strive together to achieve their target. It is like working in group and understanding how integration works for a mission to be successful.

Remember, the idea is not what one has to do and what is one's responsibility; but there lies more to it. At some point, each member has to understand what will be apt for the team and their sense of commitment that is required.

The program taken by a team should not be too confusing or out of competitive market strategy. The market has to be studied and pertinent to it the team has to study the demands of the company. Aggression can work in reverse at times and therefore there should more humility in approach and understanding.

Everyone should work cooperatively. The idea is not to overpower one's sense of ideas but to listen as a group and come to a conclusion as a group otherwise the weaker ones will feel threatened and stray from the team.

A strong spirit combined with awareness actually make a team Remember, a team can only win on the basis of professionalism, skill and talent. There should be fun events too like parties with intelligent twists to it that a team has to solve. For instance any murder riddle that a team has to solved, definitely the riddle or murder is all fictitious.

Besides, projects help group of people combine and work together. Else, companies can give a theme out of which a team has to build a cost planning for budget saving or if it is an advertising company then the team can be asked to build an advertisement for a particular company.

These above points will help to assess the strength and weakness of the team and once this is done team building will become a successful task for any company.

By : Brad_Marc

Team Building and Loyalty

2010-10-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Loyalty means a lot to me. I'm delighted to say that I believe that our team is loyal to one another and the company as a whole. Working for a professional team building company as we do, we get to see all sorts of teams and not all of them have the same degree of loyalty within them that we have.

Indeed, often the reason we have the opportunity to work with them in the first place is to help start the process of increasing the loyalty with a team. I thought I'd write about that.

What we can't do is to fix a loyalty problem at a single event. Loyalty is something that is built up over a long period of time, not something that can be wrapped up into a small package and delivered along with the mail. But we can make a start.

Step one is having the event in the first place. I believe that most people want to be loyal to their team and organisation from the moment that they join them. They join with high hopes and expectations and what happens is that, over time, little things chip away at that desire.

I remember being told on a management training course once that most people are naturally motivated from within and that a manager's job is, in part, to demotivate their reports as little as possible.

I think that is good advice, if somewhat different to the normal guidance that you can find on motivating people. So organising an event that people will enjoy is unlikely to demotivate anyone and can only increase move their loyalty in an upward direction.

Step two is all around the choice of activity. If step one is to be positive, then the option chosen needs to be something that everyone in the team will actually appreciate. That doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be full of belly laughter from start to finish.

While a "fun" team building day might well be just what the doctor ordered, people often understand that all is not well with the team and can really appreciate a day spent tackling the issues they face. Providing the experience is a positive and constructive one, that is.

An activity that offers a combination of being something different to what people do at work and yet has plenty of parallels to the workplace is a pretty good one. That means offering the team a challenge that needs the same kind of skills and team methodology as they need to be affective at work.

Step three is the team building activity debrief. It needs an experienced facilitator and a structured process that encourages people to speak honestly and without fear of recriminations. The facilitator's job is, in part, to keep the focus on the team and not on individuals while at the same time ensuing all conversation is constructive and productive.

It also needs to specifically touch on loyalty as an issue and generate an action plan that the whole team is committed to implementing back at base.

By : Alan_Hunt

Team Working - 5 Things That Destroy Trust

2010-10-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

A team, if it is going to prosper, needs many things but one thing it needs in bucket loads is trust. Trust is one of those things that takes time to build but can be destroyed in minutes. So what do you need to be alert to in order to avoid trust being destroyed?

1. Not following up: If you have said to team members that they are expected to deliver something specific by a certain time and date, you need to make sure that you follow up. If you fail to follow up, people will interpret it as you don't care or what you ask them to do is not important.

2. Favouritism: If you are part of a team, there are going to be people that you connect with better than others. It can be really tempting to treat those who you connect with differently to others. Don't do this as you will create divisions.

3. Not delivering: If you, as the leader of the team, made certain commitments, then make sure you deliver on them. You set the tone for the rest of the team. If you have a reputation for non-delivery, others will follow suit.

4. Publicly criticising: The best laid plans don't always come off. There may have been several people who contributed to the poor outcome or whose lack of contribution led to a less than ideal outcome. Deal with this behind closed doors rather than publicly.

5. Not dealing with toxic behaviour: People will, if you allow them, take advantage. If their behaviours are toxic, they will bring down the whole team eventually. When you notice toxic behaviour, deal with it.

The Bottom Line: Trust is core to success on teams. So what do you need to pay attention to in order to achieve more success on a team?

By : Duncan_Brodie

Successful Workplace Teams - What They Look Like And How To Create Them

2010-10-28T19:21:00.000-07:00

Summary

The team is the basic human unit in the workplace. And effective team development is essential for the success of small-medium business. If you employ people, they must be able to work together effectively.

What's A Workplace Team?

A workplace team exists where two or more people must work together to achieve business results. Even in relatively small businesses, an employee can easily be a member of more than one.

Characteristics Of A Good Workplace Team

In the workplace an effective team

* has clearly defined goals which each member accepts
* has a clearly defined roles for each member
* each member accepts the defined role and responsibilities of each other member
* team goals are more important than individual goals
* members willingly support other team members to ensure the overall effectiveness
* each member accepts that their contribution will be a major factor in measuring their personal performance
* the measure of team effectiveness is performance not behaviour
* co-operation with other teams is essential for effective performance

Effectiveness Not Affection

Notice that good interpersonal relationships is not a characteristic of an effective team. It's usually an outcome. People who work effectively together usually develop good interpersonal relationships. At the very least they learn to tolerate each other's personal idiosyncrasies.

But there's no guarantee that a group of people who "get on well" will produce effective results.

Teams Exist Regardless

Teams are the human core of the workplace. Whether admin, sales, production or warehouse or whatever, the team simply exists. As manager you have to deal with the teams as well as the individuals in them.

Dismiss Definitions

Forget the notion of what's different about a team or a group or staff versus functional relationships. That sort of thinking leads to paralysis by analysis. You have teams in your workplace. You need them to be effective. That's the reality.

Team Building v. Team Development

The team exists. Forget about building it too. It's there. Your job is to ensure it develops into an effective and important unit. It is the human cornerstone of your business success.

Team Development Tips

* Select and train for competence. Employees who are incompetent are the biggest threat to effective team development
* Establish goals: what the team exists to achieve. Each member must accept these goals.
* Clarify individual roles and goals. Each member needs to fully understand the contributions and roles of other members.
* Allow team members to develop relationships in a way that suits them overall.
* Emphasize the importance of co-operation and respect for other teams. Healthy competition between teams is desirable. Competition that attempts to denigrate others is utterly unacceptable.
* Ensure they develop effective internal systems to ensure that their goals continue to be achieved in the absence of members.
* Stress the importance of positive co-operation between teams.

Change Your Management Mindset

As managers, we're taught to focus on individual employee performance. This ignores the reality of the workplace. Each employee depends on other employees to be successful at work. Each employee is a member of at least one team. Their success depends on how effective they are as members.

Conclusion

Concentrate on developing effective teams in your workplace. Ignore so called "personality conflicts". They're almost always a result of role and goal conflicts. Focus on sorting our roles and goals. Help teams develop effective systems so that they contribute more effectively for business success. You and your business will be the beneficiaries in the long run.

By : Leon_Noone

Activity for Better Communication: Team Building Activities

2010-10-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

As more and more people spend at least half a day at work, team bonding and Team Building has become the need of the hour. More and more people are realizing the importance of Team Building. Most people spend more than 9 to 10 hours at work and they need to release their stress.

Most projects and task involves a strong and bonded team that can perform well. Most teams end up with below par performances largely due to either lack of communication or co-ordination, this is where most big companies face problems.

Proper Communication and co-ordination is the key to a well-managed company. Hence, more and more companies are investing in Team Building Activities like team parties, picnics and other such activities to keep the environment friendly and stress free.

Team Building Activities need to be fun, but at the same time, they need to impart wisdom to your team. Your team should get to learn and understand the importance of unity and integrity. Team Building Activity must have a clear objective. The objective can be anything from communication to co-ordination or even efficiency.

With every team building activity, your employees/subordinates must progress as a stronger team that performs with much more efficiency. You must organize Activities that will help them overcome their weakness.

There are many Team Building Activities. However, you need only those activities that will make your team stronger. Here's how you start developing better communication between your employees/subordinates

Start with analyzing what are the pros and cons of your team. You do not require wasting your precious time on activities that will help improve their plus points.

The objective is to concentrate on the negative aspects. Most Teams face communication problems. The activity given below is easy and can be organized every week:-

The basic problem with communication is that most people are embarrassed to talk about their problems with others and at the same time it is very embarrassing for that one person to listen to his negative aspects.

Hence, the first step is to create an environment where nobody is scared to talk or communicate. You can have people write name or names of their team members with whom they are facing communication problems.

Now, collect the chits and play this game. Make all the other members talk about why two people in your team are facing a communication problem. As the other members talk, the two prospective members cannot utter a word and will simply sit and listen.

The other members of your team will also give a solution to how they can communicate better.

This game could be played every week with multiple team members and will help resolve many work related issues. You will also see an improvement in your team building and how everyone is making an effort to create a friendly and stress free environment. This activity will also help everyone learn about each other and know each other better.

By : Tom_Harry

Team Building Games: Improve Business Effectiveness

2010-10-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

It is often said, team building games in fact play a crucial role to foster camaraderie among your team members. It is widely acclaimed; most corporate entities opt to choose these for a larger purpose. And it is of achieving business successes for their company.

Normally, such entities organizations are believed to consist of individuals of various mental frames, IQs, characters and attitudes. So, it is believed to be wise practices to indulge them work as a composite team to achieve twin-purpose, namely:

For achieving company's, and

Their personal growth.

It is thought that a growth story of any company indirectly also means efficiency and effectiveness of the human resources which are known to work under its tutelage. More than often, you will find more and more companies incorporating team building event days in their annual fixture.

This is primarily done with the idea that:

It will be a kind of an exercise to boost morale of their workforce within fold of a business entity.

Allow workers to have a fun day out at company's expense, so that they don't feel a pinch in their pockets

Workers normally are seen to bond better when such an event is organized.

Serves as a platform to provide more serious learning and personal development.

Extensive use of it helps corporate employee motivation and personal development.

It has been observed, when employers take such measures, it increases business effectiveness.

There are numerous games which might be used to imbibe a spirit of unified group.

Some of these games include:

Minefield: In this game participants are given a chance to talk on things that are believed to be detrimental to a group's functioning. An object is then thrown in the so-called 'playing arena' which is actually termed as minefield for each of the characteristic or action. The group then proceeds to select partners from other participants in their group.

One partner is then blindfolded at one end of field while those partners who aren't blindfolded stand at opposite end. The later then direct blindfolded partner to help him negotiate through the minefield. This way they ensure blindfolded mate doesn't fall into any of the obstacles.

Quizzing: These are basically quiz nights where participants can be seen answering general knowledge questions. This way they develop a healthy environment by competing among themselves.

Letters: Here a group of four or five people is formed and an English alphabet is then called out. The amazing feature of this game being participants are supposed to spell out letters only using their body on the ground. Scores are maintained and the group who succeeds to spell fastest is the winner.

By : Jeesh_Muake

Learning to Lead Organizations

2010-10-26T18:13:00.000-07:00

A true leader is not only born it can also be developed through time and experience. Great leaders are charismatic, part of it comes since birth but most of it comes through the development of different skills that create a sense of confidence in the person.

Being charismatic is more than just simple charisma - it is something magical that makes other people follow, without a real true explanation. It motivates groups to fight uphill battles, go over their limits, weather storms, live on long after the leader is gone, or simply perform without a grouch.

Leading implies knowing and learning skills. The following list is a sample of patterns that can be applied while leading an organization:

Know your competition, not only the ones you know, know them well and know them all. Keep you eyes open to new competitors. Know their strengths and their weaknesses. Once you know well your competition you can only then improve and lead your organization better.

Try unusual and extraordinary things, why limit yourself. Spend time in being a better person, improve your ethics, your principles, motivate yourself and act appropriately. Know what you want and how to get there, just then you can show the way.

Constantly look at where you are and where you want to be. A clear vision is critical for moving ahead, but you have to know where you are before you can move forward. Regroup as needed, readapt and then move on.

Create a team and teamwork. Teamwork is key not only a concept believe it in. Everyone in a team is equal, everyone has responsibilities and obligations and the leader has to guide the whole team in the right direction. A well lead team is capable of setting its own goals. Is your team capable of setting their goals?

Lead by example, teams have to believe in their leader. Keep teams motivated and focused by being authentic, act accordingly, forget about "Do as I say, not as I do". In order for leaders to gain authority there has to be respect, followers will respect their leader if the leader respects them.

Leaders take care of their customers but most importantly they take care of their teammates. Leaders care about their team, they involve them in every step of the process and results are achieved. Every team member is important.

Organizations should be in the business of creating leaders. Leaders need to be found, placed in different levels and developed. When a team member knows they are performing and are being recognized for it, they will feel important and perform even better.

Leaders should know their team members. Leaders do not lead teams they actually lead individuals with different personalities and levels of expertise who together make up a team. Every person in a team has different strengths, weaknesses and needs, a team leader know that about each team member. A team will only be effective and efficient if their needs are known, recognized and grown.

Organizations have to constantly embrace change to be able to reach their goals. Leaders have to take necessary time to list the goals of the organization and to compare them to the list of principles. When leaders make sure their approach matches the organization's goals then they become better leaders.

By : Joaquin_Duenas

Six Different Types of Team Players - Which Type Are You?

2010-10-26T18:07:00.000-07:00

Many studies are conducted every year to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of personality and type of team player. Do different types of team players have an edge? If they all possessed more or less the same skills, then multitude facets of the project or assignment will be hard to tackle and the whole exercise of assembling the team will be defeated.

A team is never homogeneous and it never should be for it to succeed. The essence of an organizational team is the variety of skill sets they bring to the table. Different types of team players, each chips in with their own individual skills or domain knowledge to bear on the task and to finish it with efficiency and expertise.

Analytical team members:

While one team member may be very good at analytical skills, the other may be able to organize and collate information and data in a cohesive manner.

Communication Experts:

Still another player may be very good at articulating and communicating difficult concepts and strategy to all.

Strategy & planning think tanks:

Some are very good at strategizing and making plans on the drawing board, and another very adept at executing and taking it off the ground.

Team leaders & captains:

Some are very good leaders, having great vision and projecting the goals and targets to be achieved, sharing that vision and at making the goal as a common goal for all in the team.

Hard workers & finishers:

There are team workers who are happy to follow instructions and work like a horse around an assignment and win hearts and appreciation with their stint of hard work.

Difficult & problematic type:

Their may be others who may be domineering, aggressive and go getter type riding roughshod over all others around them.

Much like a soccer team or a basketball team, the people working together on a job, must seamlessly and without friction gel with each other and constantly proceed towards a common end. The difference in skills, knowledge, mental composition, personal traits and personality type actually helps the project to reach its logical conclusion more efficiently and effectively.

The whole is only a sum of its part and to find a total or holistic solution, differently skilled team players are more of a necessity than a pain. The key player is the team leader who holds all the spokes of the wheel to the wheel frame and ensures that the destination is the goal and motto of all concerned.

By : Takuya_Hikichi

10 Characteristics To Explode Your Teams Success

2010-10-25T18:58:00.000-07:00

As a leader, you are certainly looking for the best out of your team. However, it is possible that you still don't know the potential of your team. It is possible that you don't even know who the best players in your team are. If that is the case, it becomes difficult to set your team in the right direction when it is needed.

If you look closely at your team, there are a few characteristics that can tell you a lot about your team, including whether they are charged for success or not. The following are these characteristics that you must keep your eyes peeled for.

1. A team that gets to be truly successful is one that sticks together. Good coordination is a must and there shouldn't be petty issues like personal egos bogging your team down. Your team should be devoid of arrogance.

2. A focused team is what you should hope for. Such a team works with well-defined objectives and is geared for achieving end results.

3. Personal accountability is an asset for corporate teams. Instead of laying the blame on others, such teams shoulder their individual responsibilities and help each other.

4. Members are respectful of each other. They recognize that other people in the team have their specific talents as well and they are honored.

5. Members also realize that every member in the team is different. Instead of pulling each other down, they realize that every member is a vital link in the strength of the entire team.

6. Every person of a successful team has an innate drive to accomplish something. This is motivation, which is a vital ingredient of all winning teams.

7. Teams that are successful today have dollops of confidence in them. They take criticism constructively, but they are quite sure of their own skills and talents.

8. All teams that have stepped on the pedestal of success today are creative. They can find solutions to problems, often in highly innovative ways that others might even bill as a risky proposition.

9. A sense of humor might seem to be a weird inclusion in this list, but it is a definite characteristic of winning teams. If a team cannot laugh at itself, it will never take its shortcomings seriously.

10. Another important talent is to have an inquisitive mind, always. This is what separates a good leader from the also-rans.

So, these are the top 10 characteristics of winning teams which you should look for in your own team. If they are lacking, you can find suitable leadership coaching advice on the Internet to give you tips and pointers that could help you immensely.

By : Mike_Krutza

Improving Your Business Teamwork

2010-10-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

There are many business teams in the business world where teamwork is not of concern and these business teams can usually only manage sloppy results. If you are looking to improve the quality of teamwork at your own business, there are several actions you can take to accomplish this.

First and foremost, a business owner or leader of any kind must be able to properly educate their employees on the meanings of team and teamwork. If you are working to teach members of your team about teamwork, you will need everyone to be on the same page.

You will want to explain that a team is a group of people constantly in a state of cooperation with one another and sharing their personal skills to help the group reach a common goal.

Explaining that open communication is essential for teamwork is also a must. If any of your employees wish to express their opinions about what makes a well-functioning team, be sure to listen and allow time for discussion.

Employees will always want to share their ideas as they are all working toward the same goal and all matters should be out in the open. In business, there are innumerable occasions where certain members of a team will not be exactly fond of one another.

However, you will need to let your team members know that just because they are on a team does not mean they must like everyone else on the team. Personal issues will need to be put aside at the work place at all times and especially when issues interfere with teamwork.

Employees will need to understand that each person is on the team to fulfill a certain role, and this role will not be able to be done by others. Teams are often composed of several different people who have different specialties.

This means if one person slacks on their job duties, another team member may not be qualified to complete these duties.

By letting your employees know how valuable they are to you on a project and at your business, you can cut down on employees getting far behind on their work. Also, letting your team members know that they are valued will give them a better workplace attitude, which aids in business teamwork.

By : Tony_Jacowski

Different Types of Team Structures - Organizational Structures That Meet Specific Objectives

2010-10-24T18:36:00.001-07:00

There is nothing like one size fits all type of concept at play when handling different types of team structures for specific goals in mind. Deep thought and consideration is required to identify, assemble and also convince the team members to work together on a variety of assignments.

Here are two major team structures that an organization forms to meet objectives.

Functional teams:

Some teams are like a shadow in the background - always there but not very visible, yet most essential to run day to day operations of the organization. These teams for most part handle finance, sales and marketing and are deemed to be the functional leg of the entire organization. Such teams usually work under broad guidelines and policies formulated by the top executives of the corporation and it runs more or less smoothly without much fuss and noise.

Largely they are left to execute and achieve the grand vision of the organization, until there is need to take stock of the situation. Such scenarios may arise out of market dynamics like competition breathing down the neck, technological shifts, and change in regulatory framework or amendments in the Law of the land.

These teams are recruited with due consideration and deliberation and they follow a routine and pattern laid down beforehand by the executives. They are more or less permanent and some team members may even outlast the organization.

Project teams:

On the other hand project teams are different animals altogether. They are put together to execute certain tasks, reach certain goals or accomplish a vision in a time bound manner. Once the target is achieved, these teams are in most cases disbanded and team members go back to their routine tasks. For example a project specific team may have ten percent increase in market share as their target to be achieved in a span of three quarters.

Such a team may comprise the marketing head, the advertising head, the financial controller and the operational supervisor, each contributing with their respective expertise and skill set to realize the common goal.

As soon as the market share goal is achieved within the time frame, they may hand over the reigns of maintaining the market share to the functional team. Some time the goal is too large to achieve by a single team, so it is broken down into smaller goals and set to be achieved by sub teams within a matrix of teams.

By : Takuya_Hikichi

How to Motivate Your Team (Even During Difficult Times)!

2010-10-24T18:30:00.000-07:00

Dale Carnegie said "There is only one way to get anyone to do anything. And that is by making the other person want to do it!" That simple statement represents a profound shift in thinking for many of us. I'll admit that when I'm thinking about motivating my husband to wash the dishes, I'm really thinking OK...how can I get him to do what I want him to do?

That sort of thinking may elicit short term results (or not), but it definitely won't yield the longer term results I'm seeking. In many ways that is the exact challenge that team leaders, managers, and executives have with their teams - how to motivate in a way that is truly lasting?

Even more daunting is the thought of trying to motivate during difficult times. These difficult times often come in the form of a down economy, layoffs, organizational changes, etc. The good news is that many of the best motivation techniques still hold true even during these difficult times. In fact, in many ways motivation becomes even more important during these times. Let's explore a few secrets...

Secret #1 - Get to Know Your Team Members Beyond the Resume - Relationship Building is Key! It sounds simple and basic, but this principle is truly the basis for most motivation strategies. Motivation is very personal. What is motivating to one person might be viewed as a punishment to another. You simply cannot effectively motivate individuals without knowing them as a person - their likes/dislikes, strengths/weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, lifestyle, etc.

A friend of mine was trying desperately to launch a line of soaps and lotions out of her apartment. Although her heart was in her own business, she kept her corporate job to pay the bills while her business was getting off the ground. When she gave out some of her products as gifts during the holiday season, her manager asked her more about her business.

Although she initially was a little hesitant to discuss it, she eventually beamed as she talked about her new product line. Seeing her level of excitement and natural motivation, he asked her if they might explore some new responsibilities that she might take on that would build her skills in a few areas beneficial not just in the workplace but equally valuable to her as she grew her business.

This approach was amazingly effective. She attended a few courses in internet marketing and was able to not only use these skills in her primary job but also to help grow her business. She was highly motivated and also appreciated his taking an interest in something so important to her.

Indeed, managers will naturally vary in their level of focus on task and relationship in daily interactions with our team members. During difficult times, it can seem even more important to "crack the whip" so to speak and focus on task, but to truly motivate the team, focusing on the relationship component can often yield longer lasting benefits.

This does NOT mean that you should spend inordinate amounts of time socializing with team members or becoming overly personal. It does mean that in almost any interaction you can strive to strike a balance between task and relationship.

Secret #2 - Walk the Talk! As a management consultant, I often worked really long hours. But no matter how late I stayed up perfecting a presentation, I knew my director Jim was up just a little later. I also knew that he would never ask me to do something that he wasn't willing to do himself. That simple fact made me extremely motivated to do whatever he needed. In contrast, years later a new director joined the organization.

Shortly thereafter the company sponsored an all employee retreat and asked employees to room two to a room to reduce costs or pay an additional amount for a private room. Most members of our team roomed with someone, and a few paid a bit extra for a private room.

The new director decided that she didn't want to stay in the designated hotel at all (a four star hotel on the Las Vegas Strip) and paid for a room at the Four Seasons instead. That one decision caused irreparable damage between her and the team...indeed her actions spoke loud and clear!

A wise man gave his young daughters very sage dating advice, "Ignore everything they say, and just pay attention to what they do". That is exactly what team members are doing...watching what leaders do! If you're constantly telling your team that times are lean and everyone needs to do more with less, let them see you doing it!

Secret #3 - Provide Support for Personal Crises Part of what makes leadership so difficult is the fact that team members aren't robots and are constantly dealing with personal issues and problems that impact them significantly (and can spill over into the workplace).

As a team leader, the reality is that you're wearing several hats and one of those hats is friend/mentor/confidant. Don't ignore the reality that sometimes crises strike, and at those times team members need support.

As a public school teacher in the Bronx in the 60s, my mom struggled with the daily challenge of how to motivate her students. She taught the "drop out" class - those who had performed the worst academically and were just expected to likely drop out as soon as they reached the minimum age required to drop out.

She'd decided to use the DMV's driver's permit exam prep materials as her course materials because her students were all 15 years old and VERY motivated to get their drivers permit. Her thought was that she could use virtually any reading material to teach reading skills; she just needed the right topic to really motivate them.

This approach was extremely effective...with one exception. One student (Melissa) seemed impossible to motivate. After using every motivation technique in her arsenal, she decided to have a heart to heart with her after class one day. She asked about her home life, and Melissa immediately burst into tears.

Evidently, her mother was gravely ill and needed a kidney transplant. Melissa's mom had asked her to donate one of her kidneys, but Melissa's own health problems made that option very risky. She was torn and couldn't concentrate on anything else. Immediately, my mom shifted from teacher to mentor/supporter.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs clearly indicates that a person's physiological and security needs must be addressed before higher level motivation tactics will be effective. As team leaders, we must remember this and check in with team members who seem to be particularly unmotivated or distracted. Whether the crisis is personal or generated by workplace difficulties, any real crises should be addressed proactively.

Secret #4 - Tell the Ugly Truth Remember that during difficult times, it's vitally important to be honest about the organization's health/current state. Most managers make the mistake of decreasing communications during difficult times when just the opposite is what is really needed. In the absence of information people create their own information, and it's usually not positive (think rumor mill).

If the group's project is really an "ugly baby" or if budget/headcount cuts are likely, be honest about it! People are motivated to work in an environment where leaders will be candid and honest...even if the news isn't good.

Motivation is certainly one of the keys to effective leadership, but figuring out how to do it in the midst of a difficult environment can certainly be challenging. The reality is that there isn't a bag of tricks - just a few proven secrets that will enhance your ability to motivate your team in virtually any environment.

By : Dana_Brownlee

Helping Teams Reach Consensus in the Midst of Conflict

2010-10-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

The Problem:

Do you ever feel that you're herding a group of feisty cats instead of leading a meeting because your team members simply can't agree? Well, take comfort in knowing that this common problem plagues most meeting facilitators at one point or another.

Indeed, if your group is disagreeing vehemently (but respectfully), that's a sign of healthy conflict...congratulations, you're likely on your way to some great ideas and solutions! Unfortunately as meeting facilitators, we often need to guide the group towards a consensus decision and oftentimes that just doesn't seem possible.

The good news is that reaching a consensus decision does not mean that a two hour session must turn into a two week session...or worse, a real knock down drag out. Let's explore a few tips you can use the next time you're faced with this situation...

Consider these suggestions....

* Remember first that consensus does NOT mean everyone gets exactly what they want. It does mean that everyone can live with the decision and support it outside the team.

* Develop a ground rule with the team about how the group will make decisions BEFORE you need to make those decisions. If the group has already reached agreement on the decision process, making those subsequent decisions becomes much easier (and less emotionally charged). For example, if the group has already agreed on the decision criteria and selection process before initiating the discussion of which employee gets the "Employee of the Year" award, this decision suddenly becomes much easier.

* When you get bogged down in disagreement, separate areas of agreement and disagreement. Clearly identify and document areas of agreement to continue to move the group forward. For areas of disagreement, clarify the range of disagreement. (e.g. Mike, it sounds like you and Beth both agree that the current cycle time of 5 days is too long. It sounds like the area of disagreement is around just how much that should be reduced. Mike proposes 2 days while Beth thinks 1 day is a better target, so we have a difference of opinion of 1 day. Is that correct?)

* Sometimes we can't agree because we don't have enough information and we're operating based on poorly informed assumptions. Inviting key stakeholders to participate in the discussion (e.g. IT experts, members of the leadership team, HR or Finance subject matter experts, etc.) can often shed light on critical issues and help the group more easily expose the best alternative.

* If you have a tendency to think the group may be quibbling over trivial differences, consider suggesting that they conduct the remainder of the meeting standing (until a decision is reached). This technique is sometimes used as an "out of the box" method for encouraging brevity and a spirit of compromise.

* Use a facilitation technique that encourages collaborative decision making (e.g. affinity diagramming, dot voting, etc.) These techniques typically offer each participant a certain number of votes; then participants vote simultaneously and the option(s) receiving the highest numbers of votes overall is typically selected.

* If you sense that the disagreements may be driven by personality conflicts or other personal reasons, address those issues offline in a more private setting with the individuals involved.

By : Dana_Brownlee

Team Building for Specialist Teams

2010-10-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

Specialist teams tend to have less diversity within them than your average team, if there is such a thing. Highly specialised jobs tend to attract quite similar individuals to them. As a result, teams of people who all have the same core speciality, whatever that might be, often face a similar challenge.

It doesn't matter whether the team is comprised of fire fighters, software engineers or nurses. The chances are that all decided to move into that line of work for similar reasons, with similar interests and similar talents.

For diverse teams to reach their full potential, the individuals within them need to work in such a way as to harness the different strengths with them. For the more homogeneous specialists teams the challenge is almost the reverse.

Whereas diverse teams tend to have plenty of clashes within them due to the differences between the team members, groups who are full f similar people can instead suffer from something that is called "groupthink". That is, they all are happy with what one or two people are saying over something important, so they settle for what is being said.

When everybody is happy with something, why should they try to improve upon it? Well, without a contrary viewpoint, they lack the natural, inherent team ability to challenge ideas and challenge is a key ingredient in effective team working. Without it, great strides in team improvement is unlikely in the extreme.

Professional team building activities will often be structured in such a way as to help the participants identify the team strengths that exist within the individuals and also show how the team's favoured processes do not always enable those strengths to be utilised as effectively as they could be for the benefit of the team.

While that makes the ideal for most teams, specialist teams of all kinds need something different. They need activities that highlight such a group's tendency to accept the first idea that someone comes up with, the lack of challenge within the group and the lost opportunities that are the inevitable consequences of such an easy-going team environment.

More than that, they also need to structure a debriefing session to help the team identify ways in which this groupthink issue can be solved. All teams need processes to support them and add strengths to what the team does and how it does it.

Specialists teams often need some of these to be targeted at effectively adding a dissenting voice. It's simple enough to add an item to the agenda for each and every meeting that the team has collectively, for example, that stipulates that no decisions can be made without someone suggesting an alternative that is then discussed for at least five minutes.

It may sound a little change, and it is, but it can make such a difference to what the team produce at the end of such a session.

Tools like lateral thinking techniques can also be added to the mix to help a team really come up with quite different alternatives. Add those to the challenge added procedurally and specialist teams will find that they really can improve significantly in a short space of time. And well-chosen team building activities are well placed to help them see that and implement those improvements quickly.

By : Alan_Hunt

Boss Gifts - What To Get The Boss This Year!

2010-10-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

It soon will be that time again, what to get your boss this year? Regardless of how you feel about him or her, there's no denying your boss plays a significant role in your life and a major role in your working life. Besides, simple workplace etiquette says you have to get your boss a gift.

Actually, gift giving is an important part of the modern workplace and can be used to benefit both bosses and employees. Used properly, corporate gifts can do much to both motivate and reward a hard-working workforce. That's why any gift giving in the workplace should not be taken too lightly, it can be a great morale booster and motivator.

Likewise, giving a good practical and well received boss gift, can go a long way in creating a good working atmosphere in your company or workplace. Truth be told, we do all have to get along with our boss if we want to advance in our jobs. Most employees try to please their boss in order to create a good working relationship with them. It simply makes your life a lot easier.

So what gift should we get the boss this year?

A "bag of bedbugs" is out of the question, and you can also rule out a "one-way ticket" to Siberia! Let's try to keep the discussion civil and consider some possible gifts for your boss.

First, have a quick employee get-together to discuss the major interests or hobbies of your boss. You really want to make this a group effort so that everyone can take the credit or blame if the gift doesn't please the master. You need to discuss your employer's favorite pass-times as this will probably give you some clues on a practical gift that will please the boss.

Second, many employees go for a gift which is work related, yet can be personalized. Desktop sets, office furnishings, laptops, pen sets... can be engraved and personalized with your employer's name and a personalized message from all the employees. Regardless of what gift you get, personalizing that gift with a special greeting or message will make the gift more meaningful for all concerned.

Third, many people like giving and receiving the latest special electronic gadget or gizmo - especially something that is hard to buy because of overwhelming demand. Getting such a gift will show you have gone out of your way to please or satisfy the boss. Besides, many of these gadgets such as an Apple iPad, RIM PlayBook can have a good practical use in the office or for business.

Fourth, don't forget that a sense of humor can go a long way in breaking the ice or mending fences, but don't over do this with gag gift that will back-fire on you. Sometimes it is good to give both a gag gift in addition to a really nice practical gift as well - separate the two and your gift giving will generally go much smoother.

Fifth, sometimes a thought or message can get lost in translation. So make sure the gift that you do eventually give your boss, whether it be the latest electronic gadget or a practical desktop set or a pair of engraved golf-clubs, just make sure that a clear message is included from all the employees that the boss is appreciated and respected by everyone. This sign of respect and appreciation, in the form of a simple token, is probably the best gift a boss can receive.

By : Titus_Hoskins

Team Building Corporate Events

2010-10-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

Corporate events take more forms than a simple day out at the races. Using them to build the sense of unity in a sales team, an office unit or just for all your employees, is a great way to mix business with pleasure - and get outstanding results at the end of it all.

The opportunities for creating, displaying and using untapped skills in the workplace often manifest themselves first in the corporate events environment: which is why using an agent to source the best of the best can rally pay off for a company.

Going direct to a single events supplier is usually a bad idea - simply because that supplier is going to do its utmost to convince you that it is right for the job, whether it really is or not. Using an agent, which cannot afford to be associated with anything other than the best, guarantees you a much greater chance of finding corporate activities and entertainment that really fit the bill.

Plus, with an agent you're looking at a much wider variety of corporate events in terms of type: from sporting days and team building loopiness all the way through to five star treatment at a VIP sports dinner, a film premiere or a gala performance.

The thing about agents is this: they have their fingers in all the pies, and they make sure that the pies they keep their fingers in are the tastiest ones on the market. So a company can go to a corporate entertainment and events agency with an idea of what it wants, and have the perfect bespoke package put together from a wide range of sources, contacts and locations.

Try the same thing direct with a single hospitality company and you'll get shoe horned into whatever they happen to have on their books at the time.

Corporate events take all sorts of forms and have all sorts of ways of building a team spirit. A good old fashioned drinking session in a swanky environment is as good a way of building team feelings as a five a side tournament or corporate golf day - it all depends on the reason for the event and the personalities of the people going on it.

Taking a sales team out for a top dollar night at a show, or to a sports person's gala dinner, is an excellent way of rewarding performance, and will strengthen team spirit through a sense of shared achievement. Activity days work better for building new relationships within a team and testing the limits of people's work skills.

Depending on whether you are looking to train and teach, or reward, the corporate events you choose will differ - and only an agent can give you a truly unbiased selection of events and occasions to choose from. Use them wisely and use them well - they can bring out the best in your employees.

By : Shane_Piter

Building Team Trust - Activities That Build Team Cohesiveness

2010-10-20T19:35:00.000-07:00

Successful teams build trust while understanding and accepting team members and their work ethics. When team members open up and cooperate, they slowly build a routine and system of trust and expectations. This process is enhanced through social activities, defined goals, and experience.

Through social events: Social activities, such as dinner parties or sports, help teammates collaborate outside the work environment. Team activities such as paintball, bowling, or capture the flag also instill team spirit and encourage loyalty. Interacting in less stressful atmospheres allow them to express their personalities and feel comfortable around each other.

When team members are enthusiastic about being a part of the group, they are likely to put in more effort and work harder, earning the respect and trust of coworkers. A common enthusiasm amongst team members will increase efficiency and morale in a healthy manner.

Celebrating the strengths of team members: Celebrating the strengths and skills of individual team members and rewarding overall teamwork will build respect for each other and for the team. It is also informative for team members to understand each others' expertise so expectations are not kept too low or too high.

Promoting fairness: Defined goals which are communicated uniformly to the team will help build trust. If there is more interaction between superiors and one person of the team (unless a team leader), the team will feel unfairly represented and respected. Contact with superiors (which aren't personal in nature) and rewards should be a team experience, not individual.

Team goals and ideas should be expressed so that everybody understands and feels comfortable with the expectations. An expectation of work quality, if possible, should also be included, so that teammates can expect a certain standard of performance from each other. Granted, team trust cannot be built overnight.

Trust is built over time, as the team mates learn each others' capabilities, habits, and work quality. However, open-mindedness, acceptance, and enthusiasm from social interactions and shared goals will help speed up the process.

By : Takuya_Hikichi

Team Building - Watch Your Profits Soar!

2010-10-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

A motivated and enthusiastic team can literally turn your business around, but how can you achieve such an awesome result. Actually it is quite an easy process and will cost you absolutely nothing.

These days there are many stressors in our lives and just surviving can be a monumental task. So to ask an employee to turn up and be motivated to achieve great things is a tall ask indeed. Except - if you provide an environment that is:

* Fun
* Supportive
* Encouraging

Research shows that employees respond well to encouragement, constructive feedback and personal development opportunities. You will also find that your business will benefit from incorporating some fun activities into otherwise dull training sessions, workshops and conferences.

It is a great opportunity to introduce exercises for team building and motivation which will strengthen the connection between individual employees, and also between employees and management.

OK, so how is it done? It really is quite simple; you just need to find ways of integrating fun activities into your business.

This can easily be achieved by adding some simple games, puzzles and quizzes to the mix. They can be utilised in all kinds of meetings to inspire unusual ways of thinking, which usually leads to some great unexpected positive outcomes.

Games and quizzes have a way of assisting the brain to think quickly and they can often result in amazing levels of heightened motivation, enthusiasm and participation.

You will probably be familiar with the popular 'Trivia Night' concept that is often held as a fund-raising activity for charity groups, schools, community groups, aged care facilities, sporting clubs etc.

The format for most Trivia Night functions is to choose a broad range of general knowledge questions as a base for quizzes; but just imagine the results if you could adapt your Trivia questions to focus on specialist subjects pertaining to your own business!

Staff would be rapidly skilled in all aspects of the business and you would know instantly, just by their answers, where their individual interests lie and who is best suited to which department.

Don't forget to reward the highest scorer in some way, perhaps with a cash bonus or generous discount voucher to use within your business. If held on a regular basis you will find that product knowledge, customer service and business knowledge will increase beyond your wildest dreams because everyone loves to have fun and be rewarded for their effort.

By : Sharon_Tappenden

How To Improve Team Work

2010-10-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

Several businesses have a sales team of which others can only dream at their disposal. These teams are steadfast, stimulated and successful, even when it is necessary to work with limited budgets and under time pressure. A major theme throughout all good leadership training courses is team spirit which has many benefits.

Even the famous French army general and military strategist Ardant du Piq knew what worked better than the principle "order and obedience" - "a mutual social control which rests on trust in comrades and the fear of having no chance alone in a dangerous situation. The desire to go wherever the others go and what is more without quaking more than the others... the unit spirit."

In an extensive study of 800 businesses, scientists looked at the phenomenon of team spirit.

In businesses with a strict hierarchy and clear command structure, team spirit scarcely exists. However if the employees have an opportunity to make their own decisions, they work significantly more productively.

Employees' freedom to make decisions when expressed in terms of percentages improves team spirit by at least 17%. The balance between control and empowerment regarding decision making is a very challenging skill which is covered on good leadership training courses.

The more detached the individual functions in business and sales are from each other the less communication there is between the employees. The so-called departmental thinking barely gives employees the chance to peep over the edge of the plate to recognise greater community of interest. With this, variety is missing in the job.

One statement from the study: "It is precisely the different demands of my job which I experience as stimulating. These keep my interest awake. I could not imagine doing the same routine work every day." Purely in terms of calculations, this aspect improves team spirit by 34%.

The existence of strict rules, like for example, work times or procedures in the business, decreases the chances of development of team spirit by 18%. However it depends on the way rules are set out by the person in charge - if they permit their employees more room for maneuver than is allowed, generally morale increases.

Also important for team spirit are the criteria by which new employees are chosen and existing employees are promoted. All those questioned want competent and successful colleagues in their team. In this their career to this point is less decisive, the actual performance much more so. But overall this point only contributes 10% to improvement of the team spirit.

Of considerably greater significance is the question of whether employees are treated both within the business and also outside with the customers in a way that is business-like and impersonal or human and personal - anyone treating an employee as if they had no personality, no soul and no emotions can not expect any team spirit from them. On top of that it is important that personal friendships develop between colleagues.

Apply the following eight statements to see whether team spirit reigns within your team:

1. My employees give mutual help to each other, even when they will not profit personally from this.

2. When my employees are together they usually have a good time.

3. In our meetings you feel that the people really want to achieve something.

4. My employees also help colleagues outside sales if there are problems.

5. Other departments readily help us if we ask.

6. My employees feel a mutual obligation to each other, they stand up for one another

7. My employees pursue common goals.

8. In my department there are common conceptions of values and basics of behaviour, a kind of code of belief of the field salespeople.

If you have answered fewer than five questions with a "yes", team spirit still needs improvement. To develop a greater understanding of team spirit attend a good leader training course.

By : Richard_A_Stone

Team Building for Wide Age Range Groups

2010-10-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

One of the most challenging characteristics of a group when it comes to selecting an appropriate team building activity is if it has a wide age range within it. A wide age range is almost certainly going to mean that you will have a very diverse group in all sorts of ways.

The most obvious of these is that you will also have a wide range when it comes to physical ability and indeed willingness to engage in anything that is physically demanding in any way.

The youngsters in the team are likely to be up for anything that involves them breaking into sweat while the older members of the group will probably be dreading the day just in case they will be expected to run about a lot. They'll be thinking that they might as well be asked to leap tall buildings at a single bound.

However, physical differences will not be the only issue. A wide age range is also very likely to mean that the group will have a huge gap in general knowledge. Older colleagues will likely know facts and figures about things that their younger counterparts have never even heard of.

They may also have many practical skills that were once taught to children, either at school or at home, that seem to have fallen by the wayside these days. On the other hand, younger members are more likely to be up to date with current trends, fads, music and the like.

Keeping everyone happy with such differences within the team can, as noted right at the start of this article, can be a challenge. However, the challenge is one that all "proper" team building options should cater for already. Why do I say that? It's all to do with what makes a team effective in the first place.

The highest performing teams are those that manage somehow to turn the differences within them into their biggest strengths.

For example, if a team has someone within it who is good at painstaking attention to detail (with the danger of taking too long) and another who prefers to get things done in the fastest possible time (with the danger of not being done as well as it could be), then one possible outcome of this from the team's point of view is a big argument between the two.

A much better outcome though is where those two individual characteristics are combined so that the job gets done both quickly and to a satisfactory standard.

So if developing a team is at least in part about putting in place mechanisms and processes that help the individual differences that exist within the team members become team strengths then good team building activities should help facilitate that kind of development.

That is true whether the team tackling the activity is comprised of near identical individuals or is instead a widely varying collection of people.

So the answer to the challenge is really quite straightforward. If you want real team development from the time that you choose to invest in team building activities, then keeping that at the forefront of your mind in narrowing down the options should automatically mean that it will cope with a wide age range in the group.

Anything that will not do so easily will probably be less developmental and more purely about fun for one section of your group. Developmental, however, is not the opposite of fun. Most options that you will be able to find will be designed to offer the participants a lot of fun as well as offer the team a real boost in its attempts to become ever more effective.

By : Alan_Hunt

Physical Team Building Exercises For Business

2010-10-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Physical team building exercises are a means to teach members of an organization to work together horizontally and vertically. Building a high performing team is a goal in most corporations, because a team that understands how its members work and think is more likely to increase production and efficiency.

In order to achieve the goal of becoming a high performing team, physical team building exercises have become quite popular in within corporations around the world. Commonly most corporations hold some sort of business event at either a company or department level at least once per year.

Physical team building exercises are designed not just to teach the members of the team to work together as a unit to reach a goal, but also to teach the members of the team how each other think and work to solve problems.

These types of exercises should be monitored and evaluated by an experienced professional that can give feedback to the managers and team members so that they are not reduced to just a corporate trip to a posh resort for an afternoon of games. It should be a learning experience for everyone involved.

A lot of these exercises are military in style. While military style team building does teach a group how to work as a team in order to complete a task, such games have limited value to a corporation.

Military techniques are great for building trust in the team and teaching members to work as a unit, but they do little to help the team members to understand how one another think.

The best types of group building games for corporations are initiative games that focus more on the process than the end. By presenting the team with a problem and then observing how different members of the team approach the solution, the team gets a better understanding of the thought process of its members.

In these types of physical team building exercises, succeeding at the task is not as important as the decisions being make by the team members and their reactions to one another.

By : Joe_Sloan

Teambuilding - Foundation for Good Business Practices

2010-10-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

It is a well-founded belief that good team morale is good for business. Whether you run a small business or are the manager of a team, team-building activities will help to encourage a harmonious and productive working environment. These activities will emphasise the importance of communication, cooperation and the value of having shared goals and commitments.

Ranging from a simple meal together to a full-scale survival challenge, there are many ways to get your team or staff together for an enjoyable experience that will teach them the vital elements of a sucessful team.

These elements include self awareness, team awareness, how to improve unity and cohesion within the team. Activities such as sports days, sailing lessons, paint ball, cooking lessons, trivia nights and creative pursuits can help to teach these important values.

It doesn't really matter what activity is chosen, it is more about what your staff will learn by spending time and achieving something together. Activities with a competitive edge can work in three ways. They help to:

* Establish stronger unity within a group
* Isolate weaknesses
* Capitalise on strengths

The emphasis for the team building activities should be on fun. Ideally you want people to look forward to the event and feel good about the event. A positive, enjoyable experience will have a deeper impact than a boring, sterile seminar. Activities should help to generate feelings of togetherness, shared goals, shared commitment and good spirited cooperation.

Building a strong team equals good business practice. Team building teaches your staff the importance of delegation and hierarchies. When everyone understands and accepts their place within a group or team, they are more likely to feel secure in their job and better able to recognise their value.

Team building works by emphasizing the value of each and every member of the team, no matter what their position is and this will improve individual and team confidence. It is also good for business because it will help to recognise each team member's strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Strengths can be taken advantage of and utilized within the group situation. When an individual knows his or her own strength, this can have significant improvements on self-esteem and confidence.

By identifying opportunities for improvement, the vulnerable links in the team chain can be addressed and improved. Improving the weaknesses will improve team success. Identifying weakness can also be an affirming and positive step.

It can relieve an individual of feeling the pressure to disguise a lack of skill and it can give them an opportunity to improve. These improvements benefit self-esteem and confidence.

Team building aids the self-awareness of a group. It identifies group dynamics and works to use them in a positive light. Team building activities can educate your staff about methods to overcome friction. When the team's group dynamics are better understood, the social and political issues within the workplace can be minimised.

The strength of your team will become the strength of your business. Strength and confidence generates better results in all areas of business. Team performance will improve because the team members will draw strength from the group to perform at their best.

By : Tim_I_Millett

Teamwork In The Workplace

2010-10-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Teamwork should be exhibited by both employers and employees. The key to a successful team is the ability to work together toward a common goal. When projects are assigned, each member of a team will be assigned their own specific tasks.

Though the members will work individually on some of these tasks, there will most likely be much working together, hence the actual team 'work'. This is where each member will be forced to focus on the team goals instead of the individual aspects.

It is important to keep in mind there is an end result that everyone is working toward, and it is up to all team members to work together to get the job done.

Working together is absolutely essential. Teamwork is a collective effort and it is absolutely necessary that everyone involved do his or her part so no one person will be stuck doing the work that is left over.

The project still needs to be completed no matter how many people work on it, and this is always much easier to accomplish when everyone pulls together to do their part.

Companies use teams for a variety of tasks from problem-solving to manufacturing. It is important for each member of a team to possess a clear understanding of the team's purpose or goal and the various tasks each member must perform.

This can be especially relevant when one member is, for whatever reason, unable to perform a certain task. If the other members of the team understand the task and are familiar with how it is to be accomplished, they will be able to step in the absence of the other member.

Teamwork is a concept that will only continue to grow in the workplace. More and more companies are finding it necessary to set up teams to accomplish a number of vital tasks. Knowing how to work with others will help immensely when searching for a job these days because it is an aspect employers look for when conducting interviews.

By : Tony_Jacowski

Building Team Morale - 8 Tips to Gear Up for Success

2010-10-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

A drop in the confidence quotient of the members of a team can prove to be costly, since it can largely affect the team's performance and productivity. Only if heads are held high can there be expectations, and expectations escort a man to victory.

Building team morale is of primary importance, and here's what you can do to make sure your team doesn't get bogged down by pressure.

1. Divide work appropriately. Be certain of every member's capabilities, and assign work suitably. It calls for detailed understanding of their potential.

2. Trust your members with the work you give them. Have faith in their capabilities, and treat them the way you would like to be treated.

3. A team that eats together always look forward to working together. Book a pool-side table in the best restaurant in town, and watch your team mates bonding over pasta.

4. When you feel blue, please put those brains and muscles to rest. Your project is likely to go off-track at some point of time, which is quite normal a thing to happen. Meet off-site, relax and talk it out with your team mates. Arrive at a conclusion, as to what you can do to bring your project back on track.

5. Make it clear to your members that achieving their personal goals at work will be possible only if they perform to the best of their abilities.

6. Ask them to look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Everything is part of the learning process, and the misery is only for the time being.

7. Appreciate, and acknowledge their work, even the tiniest success. This helps them realize success better, and can boost up their morale.

8. Train them and accentuate their skills prior to the commencement of the project. Untrained skills cause more trouble than you can imagine. Get the help of a trainer if required.

Remember, when you are paid for a job, results are expected out of you. You wouldn't have been hired for the job if they found you incapable of performing, which undoubtedly means you have it in you. Buck up, and go get them all.

Most importantly, ask what your team would rather do for team building activities to boost morale, you'd be surprised how simple some of their wishes are. Sometimes, corporate want to look too professional and try too hard at coming up with activities.

By : Takuya_Hikichi

Team Work Is the Key

2010-10-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

Not having a strong team will jeopardize the success and growth of a company. Putting together a successful team is key; selection, management and leadership are crucial. These three points will lead the growth of a company.

A good team believes and follows its values, its mission and its vision and incorporates them into the business plan supporting the company and accelerating its growth. A team should be able to manage three very important roles: leadership, operations and execution.

The Roles and Responsibilities of a Team:

Each and every member of a team should be capable of following duties and responsibilities. Everyone has to be clear in this concept:

* Manage their operations and the resources allocated to them.
* Recruit and retain great employees.
* Effective communication so that everyone, in their department, understands what the company stands for, its values, mission, vision, business plan and how their jobs relate to the success of the company as well as the results expected of them.
* Manage the implementation of the company's business plan. Each leader should be a role model for innovation, teamwork and problem solving.
* Coach and help other team members succeed.

Team Evolution:

For a company to grow, leaders must focus on strategic planning. Only effective teams can focus on strategic planning and run a company. Improvement should happen on a daily basis. Each team member must operate as a team and as leaders of growth. A well-integrated team will help create new and better perspectives as the company grows.

Building a Winning Team:

Building a winning team starts with promoting and hiring the right people. During the recruitment process, make sure candidates are scrutinized and are trustworthy. Hire candidates that can handle new duties that are delegated to them, and who will follow through in a timely manner. Select people who use good judgment, who treat other with respect and that exceed performance expectations.

Teams are the central axis of a great company. Challenges in building and aligning different personalities towards a common goal, is the key for the development of a company. Those who master the development and leadership of team building are the ones that will succeed and sustain a company's growth.

Practice what you preach, guide and lead your team in good and challenging times, recruit properly, promote wisely, coach and train your team. Success is in your hands your company depends on you and your team.

By : Joaquin_Duenas

Event Planning - Corporate Bonding - Creative Venues

2010-10-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

What do you do for corporate bonding? Is your team more suited for golf, games or bingo? Well, whatever your team likes, it is important to get out of the box periodically and do some team building. Plan a time and a place to take the whole group or just your immediate team and let loose.

Here's what I recommend. Plan something to include an activity or activities, time for some social bonding and last, but not least, time to have something to eat and drink. Here's one idea that incorporates many options.

The other day I spent some time at indoor sports facility. Some would call it an ice rink, but is more.

Under one roof they have a full size Ice Rink for team competition, training and open public time. Also, they have two Indoor Soccer fields. One is 65 yards long and can be used for soccer, lacrosse or flag football. The second one is a little smaller and is perfect for team members that prefer less running.

What makes this special is the opportunity to give your team a choice and let them have fun.

Packages are offered that will fit any budget. Pick the type of sport you think will fit your team and then select your package. An example is their Turf package designed for Soccer or Flag Football. Sixteen guests get to play for an hour on their small turf field and have a private area nearby for those who get winded.

Three large pizzas plus two pitchers of soda are included. Obviously, time of day and the scope of your team might necessitate additional food or beverages. This covers roughly an hour and a half for physical bonding and then another one half hour to wind down, eat and drink.

But if that package is not enough or you need to expand your numbers, or add more food, they are more than willing to accommodate. Lastly, they have a Sports Bar where you can relax and watch all the indoor action.

It's right next to their soccer fields for those that want to continue bonding and has three large screen televisions on the wall with plenty of seating for everyone. In fact, the local Chamber of Commerce recently held their networking event in the Sports Bar area.

So, if you are looking for something different and out of the box, think activities, social bonding time, plus food and beverages at a facility like an indoor sports facility. It is all under one large roof and gives you the option to be creative and give your team something they will remember. By the way, take a camera along. I am sure you will get some great pictures of your team.

By : Greg_Carter

Team Building For Success

2010-10-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

Conflict or confusion can seriously damage productivity and workflow in a team - any manager worth having will tell you that. And, of course, the opposite is true. A team that bonds, gets on well together and works FOR each other will have a high quality of work and volume of output.

You can bring out the best in your team, both collectively and individually through team building exercises.

These can be as simple or as complicated as you like, but they will promote a healthy team ethic.

The reason that you build a team is to achieve success, strive for a shared goal. It doesn't matter if that is a business goal, a sporting goal or different kind of goal all together.

It might be a big project or it might be several small projects that make up a finished product or ending. It doesn't really matter, what matters is that a productive team will be able to work together, fully focused on reaching the goal and achieving success.

Creating a sense of ownership for everyone in the group over both the project and the finished product will help the team feel important, breeding a shared feeling of responsibility.

Start by making clear what your objectives are right at the start and how you intend to go about achieving them.

This will breed a shared commitment within your team and it is also the best time to address any issues or concerns they may have about the project. To help deal with any issues that may arise further down the road set progress indicators - if they're not met, you will know and you can sort it out, if they are, a sense of achievement will spread through the team, spurring them on.

The type of project you are working on will ultimately determine what team building strategies you will use. It may be a group-based project in which everyone pitches in, or a management run project in which there is a significant proportion of direction or it might be the whole business working as one team.

The group-based project will need more focus on an individual's strengths and abilities as there will be a good amount of working both in a team and as an individual, and you will need to boost morale as well as dealing with poor attitudes.

You should look to build your team building strategies into the daily tasks of the project. A group-based project will naturally create a sense of team purpose but by adding in your own strategies you will ensure this is continues and that each individual retains their own voice - and their own tasks - while continuing to work with their fellow team members.

Outside of the working environment it might be worth taking time out to further develop your team through team building events and weekends. A corporate event management company is the ideal way to organise this sort of team building exercise and there are plenty of them around.

Team building days incorporate all sorts of events that force individuals to work together and have proven to be a huge success for many companies.

By incorporating your ideas into a fun, productive and interesting environment you will foster a more productive team. All it takes is a little time to consider the goals you wish to accomplish and the skills that you wish to instil in your team so that they can realise the potential you know that they have.

By : Ian_Grainger

Team Building Activities for Youth - 5 Engaging Ideas, Games, and Activities

2010-10-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Building a team of young people might look simple as the young tend to flock together, but in actual fact it is quite tricky. Team building activities for youth have to be fun and at the same time we should keep in mind not to veer away from the actual objective, that of team building.

For a typical team building program for youth, be ready to have multiple games and activities to mix things up. Creative ideas come in handy to keep their attention span.

1. The Name Game: In this game everyone will sit in a circle. One person will say his or her name and a personal characteristic starting with the same alphabet as the name. The second person will utter the name and characteristic of the first and add his own to it. In this way it will continue till everyone has participated. A good game to start with, it opens up everybody.

2. Two Truths and a Lie: This game requires each participant to say a two true things and one lie about himself. The others in the group are supposed to guess the lie. This is another very popular activity of the youth.

3. Bingo: Here everyone has to write three facts about themselves. There will be a leader who will put two of the facts of each member on a Bingo board without any names. This is then photocopied and distributed in the group. Then in ten minutes each member will interview the group and try to correlate the facts with the names. The leader declares the winner.

4. Line Up: In this activity the members are asked to line up according to their age. The best part is it has to be done silently. So knowledge about your fellow team member is a must.

5. Rain: To round up a session the Rain, which is relaxing and sublime is a perfect game. All the members sit in a circle. All are supposed to close their eyes. First of all everyone rubs their palms together to make it rain lightly. Gradually they snap their fingers for it to rain harder. And finally they clap loudly to bring a downpour. They then gradually go back to a light drizzle.

There are numerous other activities that can be utilized to build and bind youthful teams. The main criterion here is that they have to be entertaining and varied.

By : Takuya_Hikichi

Team Building for All Female Groups

2010-10-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

From a team building perspective, nothing offers a greater challenge that when the group you are charged with delivering a great day for is, in some way, homogeneous. It might be that they are all accountants, or all fire fighters, or all trainers (one of the most critical groups as you can imagine!), but the most interesting and most demanding of all, in my experience, is when the homogeneity comes from the gender. And I'm not talking all male groups, here. By comparison, they are much easier to satisfy.

Without doubt, my experience is that the female of the species tend to be better at most types of team building. They are more naturally able to cope with multi-tasking and most of the best team activities demand that particular skill in abundance. They are often far more practical too when it comes to anything involving design and construction.

Yet, more often than not, the males always think they can build things better. So a team may have to wait until the males give up (something they are certainly better at!) for a female to take the reigns of that kind of task before real progress is made. and I am speaking as a fully paid up member of the male gender here, folks!

So when the group is one hundred percent female, we usually find that we have a very capable group indeed. And, given the increased level of multitasking capability in such a group, if it suits the activity and the type of day they wanted, we expect the laughter and the sheer level of involvement to be a step increase of a mixed group as well.

But that doesn't mean that every kind of activity is of equal interest and value to a single gender, all female group by any means. Activities that are mostly about construction tend to be of less interest. That might not always be the case, but in general bridge building or raft building just holds less fascination for women than it does for men.

Activities that include construction as one element among many are fine. Again in my experience, activities that appeal to a large variety of interests go down well as do ones that have a musical theme. Themes that you might think wouldn't appeal, such as an activity that we have that is set in the American wild west, go down extremely well indeed.

Even in mixed groups, the women are often the better builders of wigwams and their dexterity level easily matches the men when it comes to learning and showing off their gunslinging skills. Tasks such as gold panning, that require great patience to do well at, are again a female forte and a huge number of women are themselves surprised at how much enjoyment they get out of something like that.

When it comes to the full-blown fun activities, the level of competition and sheer noise that an all female group usually makes turns an event into a fabulous experience, even (perhaps especially?) for us as facilitators.

So my advice to anyone organising an all female team away day or similar is this. Pass on any team building activities that are dominated by some kind of construction and instead look to those with great variety within them.

By : Alan_Hunt

Fostering Behavioral Style Diversity

2010-10-13T18:45:00.000-07:00

When considering the concept of workplace diversity, most think in terms of ethnic, gender or cultural differences. There is an equally important perspective to consider: Behavioral Diversity. Within every ethnic group, gender and culture we find diverse behavioral styles. These differences in style can result in synergy and/or conflict. Most likely both.

What is Behavioral Diversity?

Here are some examples.

* Some people are more more comfortable with other people than with things and data. For others, the reverse is true.
* We know people who can be forceful and sometimes angry while other are patient and reserved.
* While we have those who are optimistic, enthusiastic and trusting vs. the their skeptical counterparts from the Show-Me state.
* We have those anal folks that tend to the most minute of details while their counterparts fly above at 30,000 feet.

Are any of these styles especially good or bad? Are any unnecessary? It depends on their job requirements and their surrounding culture. Is your organization or your team dominated by any one type of behavioral style?

Why Foster Behavioral Diversity?

We can likely agree that an over-dominance of any of these different styles has potential downside. Untethered cautiousness or optimism or forcefulness can lead to either flawed decision making or vacillation. Behavioral diversity provides an oft needed tether for effective execution.

The Challenge

In mixing people with diverse styles, there is inherent conflict that is difficult to overcome. The result is can be draining expressions of emotions that range from anger to fear to impatience to frustration to indifference.

In order to make behavioral diversity to work for us instead of against us, we need to help our people to understand and value the need for diverse styles and viewpoints and realize that conflict, when properly managed, conflict is a vital and necessary component to achievement for any team or organization.

Enhancing Your Awareness

* How well can you describe the behavioral styles of your team's members?
* How do their attributes serve to enhance decision making and team performance?
* To what degree to the members of your team respect and value those with opposite tendencies?
* If you could improve your answers to these questions, how would things be better or different?

By : Tom_Lemanski

Sales Training and Company Planning Meetings

2010-10-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Every Fall many companies, law firms, and other organizations start to look at the reality of their numbers, and resolve to do more the next year. Too often they write off the final quarter and begin making excuses to cover up the cold hard facts of the current year.

There is a lot of rationalization that takes place:

"It is the economy"

"We had turn over"

"Our competitors cut their prices"

"They 'moved my cheese'"

"Nobody returns phone calls any more"

"Our parent company wont invest in social media"

"The team is lazy"

"Customers don't know what they want"

"People are waiting until next year to buy"

But rationalizations will not put money into the bank. Actions are the only thing that can turn things around and get the ball rolling for the rest of 2010 and move you into 2011 with momentum.

The end of the year is an ideal time to hold sales training, team building, planning, and other company-wide motivational and educational events. Waiting until January means more wasted time, and plays into the mistaken view that November and December are non-work focused months.

Countless businesses stopped doing company meetings over the last two years. They were hoping to "save money" in a down economy and thus find prosperity. But you cannot save your way to success,.... it takes commitment, hard work, and sales!

The good news is that these company meetings are coming back. Businesses are again investing in their people, hoping to inspire and motivate them, but also to equip them with the tools and skills necessary to make things happen.

Not everyone is embracing the power of training their people: I spoke to a lawyer last week whose office is below the firm's annual projections. He fears cut-backs. When I asked about training, he said they were too cheap to spend money on the attorneys business development skills (meanwhile they are staring at lousy numbers, hmmmmm?). He is personally investing in business coaching, as he wants to make sure if they close the office he will have a portable book of business and a reputation to ensure himself a future.

If your company is not committed to training and including the team in planning, then your people may see it as a sign that you are not committed to their long term success. Thus they could be looking around at other options. You can't win loyalty when you do not invest in your staff. You either lose their productivity or the people (or both) when you run from educational and motivational events.

Now is the time to plan your team meeting for the end of the year and ensure you start 2011 with the best foundation for success.

By : Thom_Singer

Characteristics of Great Teamwork

2010-10-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Teamwork can be very specific in nature. When assignments are given, team members will know exactly what is expected of them and these members will be specialized in specific areas and able to perform the tasks. There are certain characteristics that must be present in order for teamwork to be successful.

The most important characteristic of good teamwork is foundation. Knowing the position of everyone on the team can help co-workers better understand each individual role within the team. It also enables each member to perform work in the areas in which he or she is the strongest. This way, assignments may be completed on time and without problems.

Respect is another very important characteristic of teamwork. Though all members of a team won't necessarily like one another, they must respect each other. Professional respect is just as important as personal respect and both can help a team perform more smoothly. If each member of a team respects the positions of all other members, the projects that are being completed will reflect the work being done.

Communication is another vital aspect of teamwork. This characteristic is often absent in many situations and this is where problems often arise. Each team member should not hesitate to speak up when an issue occurs.

Likewise, each member should listen to what everyone else has to say since all of the people working together will have varying view points they wish to express. Everyone can learn something through the process, and the different points may be just what is needed to find a solution to the problem.

It is also important to treat each member of a team as if his or her opinion matters. Communication goes both ways. Everyone should speak up, but listening should also be involved. Communication is all about providing information and assessing and assimilating what others have to say.

This is how important decisions are reached. If everyone can come together in a way that is positive, the various members of teams will experience the essence of what teamwork truly is which will translate into the overall success of a business.

By : Tony_Jacowski

How To Lose Credibility With Your Team In 3 Easy Steps!

2010-10-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

Many times as coaches, we see the effects a day has had on our players but are clueless to the cause. I'm sure you know all too well what I'm talking about. Someone comes to practice with a very obvious storm cloud above their head...you know that it can't be practice related, so you've got to figure out what's going on.

Or maybe it happens in a game when two of your players are chippy with one another out of the blue, again you're left to try and figure out the cause of the disruption. This is a major part of coaching and I've seen folks botch this one over and over.

When things start going sideways, there are three things that you can do to guarantee that you'll lose credibility with your team. Before we discuss how coaches sometimes lose credibility with their teams, I've got a story for you.

The Baked Ziti Story

In college, our coach had settled us into a routine for our pregame meals. When we were on the road, we'd go have pasta at a local Italian restaurant after our walk through practice, then slowly make our way back to the gym. No matter the city, it was the same routine...often with the same meal choices. Spaghetti with marinara, meat, or mushroom sauce. That was it, every road trip.

About halfway through the season, one of our best players had had enough. When we got to the restaurant, she started talking loudly about how she wouldn't play if she didn't get to eat baked ziti. Now if you remember, that was not on our list of choices.

The coaches, seated at their own table, just laughed her off. But she just kept on and on about this baked ziti. When the waiter came to ask for the orders at our table, he got: marinara, meat, meat, mushroom, and (you guessed it) baked ziti.

Of course the waiter knew that wasn't an option, so he smiled thinking that she was joking. She didn't smile. The waiter looked questioningly at the coach's table and asked with his eyes what he should do.

The coaches huddled up and decided that she could not have baked ziti. Well, she crossed her arms and legs, sat back heavily in her chair and announced loudly that "I guess I won't be playing tonight."

As the rest of us silently nibbled on our bread, we tried not to get caught as we stole glances at the coaches. After a while, our food started coming out and there she was without a plate in front of her...arms crossed, looking defiant.

Eventually we saw one of the assistants walk over to the kitchen and a few minutes later, the waiter came out with baked ziti. The rest of us pushed our plain ole spaghetti around our plates while she happily dug in to her yummy ziti.

So what happened here? Let's look into it by learning the...

3 Steps to Losing Credibility With Your Team

1. Create antagonistic relationships: Baked ziti girl and our coach butted heads early and often...this certainly wasn't their first rodeo. As coaches we have to realize that creating this type of environment forces your team to choose sides...but aren't we supposed to be on the same side as our team?

2. Ignore team's grumbling: Due to our coach's inability to successfully address the very obvious personality conflicts, the team hashed it out amongst ourselves. Now that I'm a coach myself, I think that I would have tried to connect personally and privately with each of my players and ask their opinion. Not only does everyone like to give their opinion, perhaps my team members would have felt "heard" and would be less likely to gossip in the locker room.

3. Be unapproachable: If your team is afraid to talk to you, then you may have put up a wall. Don't be a coward, face up to your team. Wouldn't you rather they feel comfortable talking to you instead of throwing a temper tantrum over baked ziti to get your attention?

Coaches, stay away from these three things and hopefully you can keep disorder from attacking your team.

By : Dawn_Redd

How to Create a Collaborative and Empowering Environment

2010-10-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

Each day, an alarming amount of reports and stories are being told in the media about how people are becoming more apathetic and disrespectful in the workplace, schools, and at home. What happened? More importantly, what can be done to bring about more compassion and respect for humankind?

High-performance teams evolve from a collaborative and empowering work environment. Personal relationships evolve from compassion and respect. Like the plague, apathy and complacency can spread throughout an organization and at home. It is easy to catch people who do not care and are not motivated. Motivation is an inside job that comes from making a personal choice.

Our minds are powerful. As soon as we make a cognitive decision to change, we do something different. Human beings are sensitive creatures that need to be validated and appreciated. John C. Maxell said, "People don't care about how much you know, until they know how much you care." For teams and relationships to evolve, it is necessary to show Compassion, Awareness and Respect for Everyone.

Ways to Show You C.A.R.E.:

1. Define roles and expectations.
2. Hold everyone accountable and do not enable others.
3. Develop a collaborative leadership style and positive character traits.
4. Involve others in decision making where appropriate.
5. Explain losses, outcomes and reasons for changes.
6. Ask questions and assume/jump-to-conclusions less.
7. Listen with empathy and concern.
8. Make everyone feel valued and appreciated.
9. Become more self-aware and less self-absorbed.
10. Follow the Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated.

These best practices exemplify relationship-building skills for your customers, employees, colleagues, students, family and friends. If mastered, you will reap the rewards of having a healthy work and home environment.

You will have increased morale and productivity in organizations. You will have increased happiness and closer relationships at home. Finally, you will have contributed to bettering our society and your life by showing respect for others, as well as yourself.

By : Nancy_Stampahar

How To Spot A Loser And Keep Them Off Of Your Team

2010-10-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

When you hear the word "loser", you think of awful people with no ambition in life. But that's not always the case, sometimes they are incredibly talented, charming, and fun people to be around. Sometimes they're your captains, your leaders, and the people of influence on your team. They're tricky, those losers.

They can sometimes even look like winners...until you delve a little bit deeper. Both winners and losers are skilled, but losers have an innate quality that will eat away at the fabric of your team. Want to learn how to stay away from those losers? Well, read on!

10 Traits Shared By Losers...and Feared By Coaches

1. Indifference: While winners are passionate about their sport and getting better at it, losers are just "meh". They're the folks you look at and think, "if only they would work hard, they'd be so good." But they won't work hard, because they're fine with just getting by.

2. Disorder: Winners thrive on discipline...of mind and body, while losers are free wheelers. You may think that your player is a winner because you haven't done anything that negatively impacts them. But bench them for a play or sub them out of a game and you'll see that they are unwilling to follow the game plan...which will of course lead to disorder.

3. Selfishness: Losers are selfish, it's all about them. If they do something great in a game, they're excited and seeking out high fives. But if they make a mistake, they withdraw and reject any efforts by their teammates to console them. These are the players that make it difficult to maintain any sort of team chemistry.

4. Disrespect: While winners spend tons of time studying film and finding out how to be a better athlete, losers slide by on natural talent. As the rest of the team is scouring over their scouting reports pre-game, the loser sits in the locker room texting their friends...they don't respect the game or the effort that is essential to become good at it.

5. Narrow focus: You can tell a winner that their teammates are essential to the team's success and they'd agree, but a loser? They're so focused on themselves and what they need that they may have forgotten that they even have teammates!

6. Fear: Winners take chances while losers hold back. Losers are afraid to take risks, so they do things that they've always done that have always worked...they are firmly entrenched in their comfort zone. Their coaches will scratch their heads wondering why the player hasn't gotten any better, but unfortunately they will be the dreaded player with "potential" that is never realized because they're afraid of making mistakes.

7. Weakness: Sometimes losers can camouflage themselves as winners...until crunch time. While winners will rise to the occasion, losers inevitably shrink under pressure. They don't mind being "the man" when everything is great, but when you need them to make their free throws...you can't find them.

8. Freedom: Leadership is something that winners willingly take on, but losers will shirk this responsibility. Don't get me wrong, they may be a captain, but that certainly doesn't make them a responsible leader. Losers want the freedom to slack off on their summer workouts, go halfway in the weight room, and be contrarian in practice. With all of that freedom, who has time to be a leader?

9. Defeatism: As we talk about these losers, I don't want you to think that these are bad people. It's probably quite the opposite, you probably really like them. Sometimes a player becomes a loser because they're soft-hearted and can't let go of a mistake or a loss or a criticism. They ruminate, they play it back in their heads over and over...they're so stuck in the past that they're of no use to your team in the present.

10. Reality: Losers can only see what's in front of them. The winners on your team can close their eyes and see their goals coming true in the future. Losers only see what is instead of what could be.

There you go coaches... now stay away from those losers!

By : Dawn_Redd

Do Sporting Team Building Techniques Work in Business?

2010-10-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

Many a conference calls upon external, respected and often famous people from the world of sport as guest speakers to entertain and enlighten the attendees in equal measure. It's a no brainer, for an organiser.

Nobody ever got criticised for bringing in someone famous, who had video clips of himself or herself in his or her heyday - or, if the speaker is a coach rather than a performer, the clips may be of those under his or her tutelage.

But how appropriate is it to get someone from a totally different world to provide advice to a group of business-oriented members of staff. They may enjoy it and get a buzz even out of meeting someone who they may well have admired from afar from some time, but will they get anything useful to them at work from it?

My view is that it depends on what your objectives are for inviting the guest speaker along in the first place. If it is to motivate your people, to send them away raring to get back to work and get their teeth firmly into the jobs that will have built up while they have been attending the conference, then the answer is a firm "yes".

These kind of presentations are always fascinating and, in my experience, always leave people with a sense of "yes, I could do that" that uplifts a team long enough to have at least a small, and hopefully larger, impact back where it matters.

However, if you are looking at ways to develop teams and make them more effective the next day than they were before the speaker stood up, them I think I will have to answer "no". Indeed, it would not matter who the speaker is if that was your goal.

The only way for teams to make sustainable and significant changes to their working behaviours is for them to uncover the improvements for themselves. And as teams as well, rather than as a collection of individuals.

Speakers speak to an audience as individuals and never as teams. And the act of speaking, no matter how entertaining and no matter the degree to which the audience are invited to get involved, is fundamentally a one way and mostly passive thing.

Where the answer can become "yes" is when the techniques are not just talked about, but actually used with real teams in a team building environment. Conference speaking may be passive, but team building activities are, as the third word in the description implies, active. And active, in turn, means that the participants are involved as a team. That gives them a chance to learn for themselves and that is something I am very much in favour of.

If speaking at people, on its own, generated real and positive change in teams, then it would never be necessary to ever run a team building event. Having worked in the industry for many, many years now, there are few, if any, team sessions that deliver any surprised to me or my facilitation team colleagues.

Having had the benefit of a good briefing from our client contacts, we probably know what the team issues are well enough at the start of the activity to just stand up and say "Here are your learning points". But that would have no effect.

Learning is necessary for teams to take ownership of their changes and teaching is not learning. Learning involves proactive effort and understanding on behalf of those involved and positive change requires all team members to buy into it.

That's why team building beats speaking in my book when team development is required. Let the speakers continue to entertain and provoke thought. I'm all for action.

By : Alan_Hunt

Six Simple Tips for Better Business Teamwork

2010-10-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

Teams that understand teamwork and know how to work together will be able to produce professional results and reach their goals. However, there are many business teamwork situations that do not work out smoothly. A business team should be one that is focused, with plenty of energy.

To begin the process of improving business teamwork around your work place, you will need to start evaluating your business team. First, a business team will need to know what their specific team purpose will be.

There will be different types of teams for reaching different goals in many cases, so this needs to be established first. Knowing the purpose of the team will allow for better performance measurements and will help determine if the purpose of the team is worth the investment it will take.

Secondly, you will want to establish the team's plan for achieving their purpose. The most successful teams take the time to plan out what their specific goals are and how these goals will be reached. There may be times when plans must change, and teams need to be ready for these changes.

Thirdly, once a plan has been established, the team will want to make a list of all the resources it will need to make their plan come to fruition. Teams without resources because of improper planning will not be able to reach their goals. The best teams know what they will need and will make sure to have access to those materials.

The fourth tip you will want to follow is figuring out what will be expected of each individual on the team. Business teams are often composed of individuals that specialize in different areas. Every team member must understand their role and also understand that if they do not do their part, there may not be someone else to do it for them.

The fifth tip is knowing how the team will make decisions. There will be a myriad of decisions to make and the team will have to work together to make these decisions.

Last, but not least, you need to know how each member feels about being part of the team. It is best to have team members who are excited to be a part of a team. Energy and motivation count for a lot in business teamwork.

By : Tony_Jacowski

The 10 Essential Characteristics That Winners Must Possess

2010-10-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

"I want winners!" -Mike Singletary, Head Football Coach, San Francisco 49ers

Recruiting is any team's lifeblood. You need new people for different ways of looking at things, different skill sets, and to take your team to the next level. Beyond the measurables, what makes one player a winner and another fall short? If I knew the definitive answer to that one, I could retire in the south of France!

I'm sure most coaches and leaders believe that there's more than just skill that contribute to making someone a winner. Let's use the book Values Of The Game by Bill Bradley to help shed some light on the intangibles that separate those who are just highly skilled from those who carry the qualities of a winner.

1. Passion: A winner loves to play and they have fun playing, they're what some coaches call gym rats. No one to play with? They'll play alone...the opportunity of playing the sport brings them joy.

2. Discipline: Winners follow the game plan. Think about the running back that has to patiently wait for the offensive line to open up a hole...that's discipline. Winners understand that they need to not only discipline their bodies through practice, they also know that their minds need to be reined in through that same practice.

3. Selflessness: Winners know their role on the team and are inwardly and outwardly happy with it. You won't find them grumbling in the background or trying to get others to be disgruntled with them, they put the team first. If you've got a team full of folks willing to sacrifice personal glory for the good of the team, then you're well on your way to a close-knit team and a team of winners.

4. Respect: Winners respect their coaches, their teammates, the department's support staff, the officials. Beyond that, winners are students of the game. They love watching video, studying up on the next opponent, and working on any weaknesses within their own game.

5. Perspective: Winners know two very important things. They know that they need to practice...no matter how good they are and they know that they need their teammates...no matter how good they are.

6. Courage: Winners have the courage to give 100% for their team, to risk failing or falling short. They courageously play through the times when their game is "off", because they know that the team is counting on them. Winners are willing to take chances.

7. Leadership: A winner knows that it's their job to get their teammates to truly believe in their team goals. Beyond that, they're usually your most prepared players...for preseason, for practices, and for games. Finally, and most importantly, winners are respected by their teammates...after all, can you really be a leader if no one follows?

8. Responsibility: Winners know that they owe it to their team to complete their off-season workouts, to follow the rules, and to be a friend...not just a teammate. They also understand that it's their responsibility to stay mentally and physically focused at practice.

9. Resilience: Defeat, bad games...winners know how to let those go. As a matter of fact, the game right after their disappointing performance is likely to be one of their best. Winners know how to bounce back.

10. Imagination: Winners are winners in their minds way before they win on the court. They visualize their success and then go about the hard work of making it happen. Winners imagine themselves as great.

There you go coaches...now go out and find some winners!

By : Dawn_Redd

5 Leadership Tips to Help Your Team Ride the Wave of Success

2010-10-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

When you are a leader, you are as good as your team is. Your success lies in the success of your team and that's the reason why you have to constantly implement methods that can help your team maximize their potential. The following are some lessons from leadership coaching experts on how you can achieve this.

Vibrant Energy

Your team needs to begin each day with a lot of positive energy. They should be enthusiastic about coming to work and look with anticipation at the tasks that will be assigned to them. Other things that you should help them develop are a cheerful disposition and a positive attitude about work.

Result-Oriented Approach

You must also help your team focus on the tasks that they have been assigned with, helping them to work at achieving results. The best teams are those that are personally accountable. This is an attitude that helps generate better results because there is no time wasted in the blame game and people are thinking more about what they can do to improve their productivity. Leadership coaching lays a lot of emphasis on the result-oriented approach of doing things.

Knowing Core Values

Every organization has a few core values that identify it. You need to inspire your team members with these core values. The rule of three always works. Divide everything, even your company's core values, into groups of three self-defining words and make a slogan out of them. Your team members will then remember these core values and will understand what they stand for.

Taking the Initiative

Encourage your team to take the initiative always, even if it is for something like voicing a suggestion on a particular organizational strategy. Then identify the people who can take initiative and play on their strengths by assigning them tasks that they can accomplish well. This will help to consolidate the potentiality of the whole team.

Open to Discussion

Leadership coaching always speaks favorably about group discussions, workshops, seminars and interactive sessions where different people of a team or even different teams can come together and discuss things and arrive at solutions.

By : Mike_Krutza

Showcase My Office Talent? But, I Don't Think I Have Any!

2010-10-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

You've heard the whispers, you know deep down what is about to happen. You've noticed your incoming work email has an extra unopened gem, ready to be viewed. But, you know you don't want to. The sweat builds on the back of your neck and your pulse starts racing as you see the words 'Work Talent show- Everyone must enter- No exceptions'.

Ok, so the email above is an extreme version because even your boss probably isn't cruel enough to have a no exceptions policy. However, talent shows do seem to bring out the very oddest and brightest in people and there are always a lot of surprises and closet genius's.

There is never really anyone that enters that is mediocre. They are either very good or very bad. When Bob from accounts mentions he has a trick up his sleeve to win the prize money there is nothing else you can do but wait in dreaded anticipation.

Talent shows are a company's way of bringing the workforce together. It's a teambuilding event that can either be introduced as a corporate event or just a bit of relaxed office fun celebration.

Whether you know it or not we all have something that we are truly good at, the trouble is that some of those talents are not particularly right for this kind of corporate event. How would Karen from reception show off her dress sense? Clearly it is a talent to be able to put tweed with leather and to somehow have the look work.

The same goes for Jim from Customer support, he reckons he can eat an impressive 10 course meal without leaving anything but to be honest I'm not really sure that 'eating' works within the talent show genre.

The most popular of the talents is to sing and dance, but when Margaret from Acquisitions says that she will do her version of a belly-dance you can't help but wonder where she gets her courage from...

Being able to run a marathon, or being a closet Chess player are talents that cannot necessarily be entered. Writing an essay for example cannot be featured in a talent show- it would be massively boring otherwise. So, what else is there that you can do besides singing and dancing during your teambuilding in Cambridge that will help you win the competition?

The mind boggles....

By : Sara_L_Wright

What Coaches Say When Staff Are Careless

2010-10-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Managing careless staff can be very frustrating for both the manager and the team particularly if the staff member appears not to care about how their performance is affecting others. If you ignore it, it will only continue and possibly get worse. Your job is to address the situation. But how do you do it without everyone feeling uncomfortable?

Some great one liners you can use to open the conversation include:

Coach: I noticed that there was a problem with the Widget project. You're usually on top of this stuff, but there have been some errors so I just want to make sure that everything is okay. How are you? Is everything okay? Incidence of errors is highly correlated with stress. Listen for underlying causes that may need to be addressed.

Coach: Hmmm... Well, we want you to be feeling and performing at your best. If you are OK, can we talk about how it's all progressing?

Then ask them some empowering questions like, "What's the ideal outcome here? What is it that you really wanted to achieve?" "I notice you've made some careless errors recently that caused a problem. What happened there? What got in the way of achieving the goal?" "What do you need to change to make sure it goes smoothly next time?" "Can I count on you to do that?" Is there any way that I/we can support you to resolve this? Encourage staff to share her ideas. Make notes of their suggestions

Managers please note: Ensure you help them focus on the ideal solution and then discuss what went wrong. Don't blame the person's character or personality and you will be far more successful at getting them to come up with the solution for themselves.

For managers, the key really is to focus on getting the staff member to admit there has been an issue and then agreeing to take steps to change and solve their own carelessness.

Before you even begin the conversation, you have to change your self from feeling frustrated and annoyed to getting yourself into calm and centered resourceful state." Maybe you need to go outside and take a deep breath and have a little walk around, make yourself a cup of tea, have a drink of water, whatever it might be just to calm yourself down.

You might perceive carelessness to also include laziness or stupidity but the role of an effective manager/coach in the situation is to empower that person to see that they are letting themselves down so that they want to pick themselves up and learn from their mistakes and minimize the risks going forward and do a great job.

It's no help to label someone as careless. All managers should be quite hesitant to label a behavior in that way, because it's not addressing the specific incident that's occurred. It's labeling, which can be quite dangerous.

The last thing you want to do is humiliate them in front of their peers when they've made an error. That's only going to make them feel more stressed and make more errors and perform poorly so it's the last thing you want to do.

By : Juliette_Robertson