Archive for the ‘Business Feedback’ Category

Elevator Speech / Pitch?

You need to describe yourself in detail, concisely and impressively, making sure you also inform what is you do and what you have to offer that is unique.

Also think outside of the box, by not having your own agenda, it is a bit like when you go fishing, there is you, your rode & reel, plus you have your hook & bate. Now all you need is a fish to take the bate, so you need to tease & entice your audience to take firm interest & for them to ask you questions! Once this happens you have the interest from you potential client or buyer? This is when you can switch into selling mode & to match the benefits & services to that you have offer & have established from them.

Be different.

You have to stand out from the crowd, so your audience want to know more & will seek you out to find out more! And remember people buy of people, but they want something that stands out from all your competitors. So be original & look to inspire those around you.

Help others.

Always seek to support & help others, for what you give out, you will get double in return. Also you will get support & free advice that is invaluable, which if you had to pay for would really cost you dearly.

Personal integrity.

Trust, reputation are key requirements that fellow businesses value & your potential clients will be looking for this, they do not want to deal with the insincere or people with the gift of the gab type of person. So invest in time & effort to build relationships that will stay with you & provide you with repeat business, but more importantly you also build your reputation & the key ingredient of respect & trust.

Relevant targeting.

One thing to remember no matter who your ideal target market is, that potentially everyone who has surplus cash available is a potential customer, it all depends on what attracts an individual marketing wise, as to what they will eventually spend that surplus cash on! So always remember even the most unexpected buyer could become your customer.

With this in mind, it is also good to know who your ideal target market is likely to be & how are you going to be able to actually present to them directly or in person.

i.e. Flyers, be mindful that these cost money, so make sure they are used effectively? For example do not suddenly decide to deliver a thousand flyers in your neighbourhood & a healthy return, the normal response rate is about 0.62% per hundred flyers, so not a great return for your investment.

But if you take one flyer & take it to one of your ideal target market & present it to the proprietor / owner? for example lets take a mobile valeting service & you take the first approach not much return from delivering to your local housing estates, but if you took the second option & take one flyer to say a supermarket with say 30 -40 staff working shifts & speak to the manager with a special offer plus perhaps a guaranteed day that you can be at the supermarket, you are likely to get a minimum return which will be much higher anything from 1 – 40 from one flyer. Far better odds don’t recon?

Plans & aims.

Always think about what type of networking is best for you, & how much time to invest in networking, there are lots of various groups, clubs etc out there, so be selective & plan your time to maximise the benefits available to you. Networking is a vital part of getting  your business the correct amount of exposure.

Follow up.

Make sure you follow up any meetings or referrals you have obtained, because delay, gives the impression that you either don’t care or are not interested, so make sure you act quickly to avoid losing any potential business. You might actually be very busy & just find it difficult to find time in your diary, but trust me find the time, otherwise you with very quickly have an empty diary.

Be positive.

This should go without saying, but I will mention it for those who think they can get by because they have a product or service that is vital to your client so don’t  have to be that positive. Well I have news for you, you are not the only supplier & people buy of people, a non positive attitude funny enough has a negative effect on those who have lost there positivity!

Sustained focused effort.

You need to always be focused & up for any challenge, this is vital for sustained growth, your efforts & commitment will be reward from remaining focused every day.

Life balance.

If you are grounded in your approach & find the right balance to suit you, your family, then your business & your clients will also benefit, because they will feel assurance in your abilities etc.

Follow the above principles & you will not go far wrong with your business marketing / networking.

My Previous Experience

My experience prior to my career in life coaching has seen me have roles at all levels and in many different business sectors and this enables me to relate to many different people, their backgrounds and their personalities. I have worked as a front line staff member, as well as in both sales and supervisory capacities.

I also have a wealth of experience in management and teaching roles and as an examiner, demonstrating my strength in having an eye for detail. Latterly I have had roles as a local sales coach, area sales/performance coach and national sales coach as well as a business partner.

The knowledge and experience gained during my career to date. When I left school I started a messenger for the Royal Mail at the age of 15, based in Central London. At the age of eighteen, I progressed up and into the role of Postman also for the Royal Mail. I enjoyed meeting people and getting to know my local community at the same time.

I decided to get a trade and left to undertake a position of trainee butcher, for Wallis Supermarkets, once I became qualified I move on into Mac Markets as a butcher and became after a short period of time a manager for the butchery department. This role helps me to develop my skills with how to display and attract customers to buy existing and new cuts of meat. I had to learn stock control and to order the correct amount of stock, especially because they are perishable goods, so it was very important to get it right to avoid making potentially large losses.

Unfortunately I develop a blood disorder, which meant I have had to give up long term work within the butchery trade.  I decided to use my natural abilities of being a very keen sports person and became a life guard at my local swimming pool and after a short period of time I was offered the opportunity to become a swimming teacher, coach and examiner for all age groups and also support and taught various types of disabled people. I really enjoyed this role this was the beginning of knowing that I wanted to work within the training, development and coaching market.

At this stage of my career, I got married and moved from London to Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. Which meant a change in direction due to limited sports centres etc within the area, so undertook a job laboring at the British Steel Works, again I was interested to learn another skill, so started training as an over head crane driver, which was a very challenging and skillful job. Because you were responsible for moving tons of sinter from stock yard onto trainings who delivered the sinter to the furriness.

After three years, I decided to move from Gainsborough to Cardiff, which is where my parents came from originally. I rejoined the Royal Mail as Postman Higher grade, and learnt how to touch type and spent a number of years typing postcodes onto letters. I spent ten years with the post office.

I then became restless and wanted to find work that would satisfy my thirst for work that was challenging and stimulating at the same time.

I entered a very mixed and crazy period of my career, working within financial services as a sales person either face to face then via the telephone as an inbound advisor then outbound advisor and finally as a field sales agent, for Legal & General, Colonial Mutual, Standard Life, Lloyds TSB, had a period of as a salesman and then store manager for Tandy’s (Intertan UK). Before putting all these skills together and was successful in becoming a sales advisor in all three areas i.e. inbound, outbound & field sales. After a few years I was asked if I would like to apply for a position of sales trainer and coach. I applied and was successful, British Gas provided and also paid for external training around train the trainer, coaching and feedback.

I was then successful in becoming a local sales coach for Cardiff providing training and coaching to all call centre managers and team managers. I had to design training material and programs around how to build upon your customer / client base, also developed a sales process that was effective yet reasonably simple to use. This was followed by in the work place observations and feedback on overall performance.

The results lead to British Gas deciding on taking this from local based project to a national scheme and I was promoted to become one of the national team, which lead to rolling out the Cardiff project to all call centre’s throughout the UK. I found a position that I absolutely loved and I was also able to travel and work with so many different types of people and this enable me to develop my interpersonal skills to a higher level. I spent the next couple of years traveling around the UK, until I was approached by Barclay Bank to become an area performance coach and trainer, covering SE Wales, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire.

The role with Barclays Bank, was really challenging role and I worked with all levels of staff from cashiers, personal bankers, assistant branch managers, branch managers and area directors on how to change behaviors / attitudes, increase sales, improve overall performance via training, coaching and feedback.

And then after nearly four years, due to the financial climate of 2008 and the impact that had on the business world. Meant that training and coaching is deemed to be a luxury, so when cut backs are to be made, businesses decide to reduce in areas which they think are not going to effect day to day business.

I lost my position as area performance coach, but was offered an alternative position as an assistant branch manager, which I agreed to take rather then be unemployed. I continued in this role for approximately nine months. I did not enjoy this role and found that there were to many limitations, which went against my beliefs. So I decided to leave and start my own training and coaching business, which I started in March 2010 and has taken time to get up and running and I am happy I made this decision as it is a job I love, but find it frustrating times having to stop training or coaching to do marketing and networking to find new business etc. but hay that is what business is about, it is made up of marketing, sales and customer service / focus.

The reason being a coach and trainer is so rewarding, is because I am able to support and help people and businesses to handle day to day life and overcome obstacles / barriers that may get in there way alone life’s path.

You need to work out your journey’s end before beginning your journey in life, this will help you to avoid certain pitfalls along the way, also by knowing what to focus on, you know what it is you aiming to achieve, this helps when it comes to the end results and whether you are going to be successful?

Success comes in many forms and is not just about money and how much of it you currently have, don’t get me wrong money is important but money should not be your only motivator, otherwise you will have  gaps in other areas of your life that money can’t fill.

My work and life experience journey has taken 40 years so and has hopefully many more years to go, which I hope to continue developing my skills even further. I am currently giving talks, seminars and presentations to people based on my own work and life experiences, which is something I love doing, because by sharing knowledge aids increased awareness.

I will continue to write articles and I am also planning to write a book and a series of CD’s & DVD’s about Coaching,Training and Mentoring people and the benefits of doing so!

The next stage of my work and life experience, will be to help schools, collages and universities with preparing them for the big wide world of business and how to enhance there chances by being focused and fully prepared to enable them to hit the ground running!

Just over eighteen months ago I bought a convert camper van, to enable me to travel and explore our beautiful countryside and coastal areas and to take my trusted camera to capture images to enhance my memories.  The feeling of knowing I have another set of wheels available, which will allow me to travel and sleep in, is wonderful. I also love cooking, so I aim to be like the hairy bikers on TV and travel in my camper van and buying local ingredients on my travels and cooking them whilst I am out and about.

That is the question?

When do you need a business or life coach?

The answer is when you feel you want to develop yourself or your business further than you currently are at present. Its not rocket science, you need coaching when you are not able to achieve or progress in the direction you want to go and seem to struggle or find you have obstacles that stand in your way!

The coach is not a person who has all the answers, yet they may think they know what you require. Though a good coach will get you to come to your own conclusions via a series of questions carefully designed to make you think about what it is you really want in your business or in your own life.

Coaching can be viewed a bit like map reading and route finding combined together, first of all you need to know where you are aiming for and why you are heading in that direction at this point in your business or life. Once you have established your destination you can retrace your route back to the present time via a series of mini goals or objectives. Now you will have a clear direction of your future route and what stages you will met and have to achieve along the way.

It is so important to know what it is you really want and to know why you want it so much, because without a clear focus and understanding you are very unlikely to achieve anything at all. Or you will get to your destination and find it is not what you thought it would be, which will only lead you to frustration and disappointment.

Although I am a business and life coach, I believe everyone needs a coach including me, the reason why, is that we do not ask ourselves the right questions which are challenging enough to provoke the correct responses needed to know what and why something is important enough to set realistic goals and objectives.

Until you experience being coached it is difficult to know what the true benefits are, most people because of the lack of experience in this field, feel it is an expense they can do without. Well a good coach will provide you with many benefits which far exceed any material costs.

How do you put a price on the amount quality and happiness you have in your business or life?

This is my soap box bit now!

When you want to look good, what do you do? You pamper yourself by investing time and money, on having your hair done, new outfit, etc. etc.

When you want your home to look good, what do you do? You invest in new paint, paper, kitchen, bathroom, flooring or perhaps new windows, etc. etc.

When you to work in a particular field, what do you do?  You invest time and money to get the right qualifications and skills to pursue your chosen career!

When you want a relaxing break, what do you do? You invest time and money looking for a place in the sun with all the trimmings, etc. etc.

So why is it, that we do not invest time and money setting out clear goals that you want and would bring you so much happiness and joy?

Soap box over!

I hope the above goes someway to explaining and answering the question 2 Be Or Not 2 Be Coached?

Ever experienced feedback?

What was it like and how did you feel afterwards?

My experiences of feedback over the years is based on, I only seemed to get feedback when I had done something wrong!

Yet when I exceeded expectations, nothing was forthcoming, apart from the odd well done, but that is what we pay you for away.?

There is no such thing as failure, only feedback and renewed opportunities?

Feedback is about helping you to know and be aware of what you are doing well and identify any areas you may need to work on. And this should be from direct observation and feedback asap, whilst it is still fresh in the persons mind. There is no point in giving feedback more than 24 hours old, as the person in question would have generalised, distorted or deleted most of the information.

So the key is to give feedback asap after the event took place, this way you will gain maximum benefits for everyone involved.

Also the feedback must be given by the person who actually witnessed the event and not by a third party, the reason is obvious because if a person does challenge any aspect of the feedback, a third party can’t oppose or confirm, because they never actually witnessed the original event.

When you give feedback to anyone, it must based on pure facts, actually what you witnessed, that went on at the time.

It must be objective and not subjective, and the difference between the two is fact versus personal views (avoid what you already know about the person) base the feedback purely on what you have seen and witnessed yourself.

You need to make your feedback as specific as possible to enable the individual to know what they actually need to work on. Also what worked well and what didn’t work so well?

Specifics – mean to give an example of what someone said or did, i.e. it may be a question someone used, tell them what the question was that they used, to allow them to formulate this into future similar situations.

The key to feedback is to not over whelm a person with to many development areas, a because you will demotivate them and secondly we can only work on two / three development areas at any one time.

You need to reload the good points to make sure the person is aware and can continue doing them and turn them into normal habits.

Finally you need to identify the areas that require any improvement or development from this feedback session. The key is to enable a person to achieve success in bite size pieces. If there are more the two / three development areas to consider, choose the most important to deal with first, because the other areas will still be there and once the key areas have been dealt with you can then work on the other areas at a later date.

Feedback is all about development and if delivered in the correct manor, will enhance the performance and development of a person and increase their motivation at the same time.

We should all seek feedback on a regular basis, otherwise we will pick up bad habits without even knowing we have! If you don’t have feedback you will not know and this can hinder your own development.

The simple way to remember this process is via an acronym known as B.O.O.S.T.

1. Balanced  -  (ratio in favour of positive & limit development areas to 2/3),

2. Observed  - You have actually witnessed,

3. Objective  - Facts that you have actually witnessed,

4. Specific  - Provide details and examples,

5. Timely – Give feedback asap after the event took place.

Feedback should be an enjoyable experience that people want and actually seek. Because it helps to develop and motivate them as well.

What does it take to enjoy your life?

What does it mean to you?

How important is it to you to achieve success?

Unless you know what you want in life, and  how do you intend to achieve success – then you can underachieve your desires which can have a knock on effect.

Which can lead to you feeling at a loss, not knowing what to do or where to go in the future?

Well believe in yourself and what you can actually achieve, then you need to plan your goals and objectives for the future. Set yourself time scales to be able to measure your own success and achievements. Only by taking time out to reflect what you have already achieved and what you still need to achieve to enable you to move forward towards your goals and objectives.

There is no rocket science involved, just using your existing knowledge, skills and attitude can make the difference between success and missed opportunities!

So seek support and help to maximise your full potential via a coach, who will help you to identify  the key issues you need to address.

Firstly you need to know who you are and what you stand for? Also you need to want to make changes to enable you to succeed success!

And this means in all aspects of your life, including your career & your personal relationships, because you may be happy in one area but not all three?

So the key thing is to accept you need to have a balance in your life between your career and your relationships, because if you get the balance wrong then you are likely to head towards problems, which include emotions, your family, your career and finally what it will cost you in financial and personal terms.

So seek support on a regular basis with a coach to avoid the pitfalls that can impact on your life?

Don’t forget they creep up on you without your full knowledge that they are happening to you before it is to late!

There is nothing more important in life than your family & friends, compared to having money and career success, otherwise you will become the richest person in the cemetery!

So believe in the future and that you can make the changes that make a difference to enhance of your life and ambitions for the future.

Only conditioning during our lives makes us think or believe that you can’t do something! When in fact this is not true and you can achieve what ever you want if you really want to!

So always remember you only have one life, so why would you want to waste it? Make the most of your life and yes this will mean at times you need to take chances? Hay this is part of life, and what we need to accept and decide what we want and how we are going to achieve what I want in life.

You can have it all, happiness, success and fulfilment, provided you are adaptable and prepared to adjust to enable you to achieve your desired goals.

And trust me you can, I have worked with lots of people, including clients who have changed they way they do things for the better and achieved the desired results they wanted in like!

Motivate & Develop via Feedback

What is your experience of feedback at work, when you hear the boss say come into my office, I have some feedback for you.
I know through my career, my experience has been, what have I done wrong and my head and heart would go into defensive mode.
Why do so many people get it wrong, when they have a golden opportunity to have a 121 with a member of staff, they turn it into a mini war based around performance and figures. Don’t get me wrong performance is important, in fact it is vital, if your job is based in sales. But telling people what to do or trying to extract information out of an individual that is in a none responsive mode, is not good. Because the whole experience in a lot situations is not an enjoyable one.

You have your line manager saying why aren’t performing so well at present, what is wrong? And an individual thinking there are to many meetings, briefings and researching going on and not enough time left to really sell? And the response back is you are no different than everyone else, yet they are performing ok? etc.etc.

We are all different and the way we work is also going to be different, so why do managers think the same format is right for everyone!
I have witnessed, in my career as a coach working for various corporate companies the same behaviours being demonstrated time and again. Rather than invest time via diagnostics, coaching and feedback to identify the issues and provide the right intervention. i.e. if it is a knowledge issue, provide training, if it is skills or attitude issue, then provide coaching and feedback and if it is an aptitude issue then the individual will need to be redirected into another role that they can do.

Feedback is a vital part of anyones development, without it, they are unlikely to make it on there own. Investment in coaching and feedback is the correct intervention and the cheaper option which gives everyone the desired results. Yet when the going gets tuff, why do a lot of companies make coaching and feedback training one of the first areas to save money on.
That’s my soap box for the day!

Use and give feedback as often as possible see the difference for yourself, watch a person grow before your eyes just by motivating and developing them. Get your colleagues to do the same for you and see the benefits for yourself.
Or engage in my life of business coaching services and let them help you achieve motivation and develop your own goals and desires.
There is no such thing as failure, only feedback and renewed opportunity. The purpose of feedback is to motivate and develop an individual. Read the rest of this entry »