Smooth Move Marketing

Archive for the ‘Management’ Category

Mention “team building” in almost any office or company and you will likely get long faces, groans, and maybe even some good old-fashioned heckling. People avoid voluntary team building seminars and classes like voting. You practically have to bribe them and close down the bars and liquor stores in order to get them to attend—much like voting! But, team building is an important tool that will help any organization remain competitive in this fiercely global marketplace.

One of the main forces driving the increasing need for team building exercises is the changing nature of the workforce itself. At an ever increasing rate, company resources are being allocated with scarce margin for error. Companies simply are not hiring or they are doing so only after the need is so acute that it can no longer be ignored. Even then, it can take weeks, even months, before the Human Resources department can add additional personnel and get them through the process.

The need for team building has become so severe because resources are so very scarce. Businesses had the luxury in years past to completely dedicate personnel to projects which arose throughout the year. In these razor thin times, the only option to contend with projects such as accounting changes, new product line launch, software upgrades and training—any issue that is out of the norm but significantly demands time and resources—is to create teams out of existing resources.

Team building is now a critical factor in Corporate America. Specialists from an assortment of departments from within the company are asked to dedicate a portion of their time to complete various projects throughout the year. The people chosen to form these teams depends upon the nature of the project itself. Different projects will demand different skills and personnel. People must constantly immerse themselves in these teams and bring their particular skill set and experience to the table and help solve the “big picture” issue.
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Every day you miss calls from customers who need your products or services. But now you can get rid of all these problems, your call will be answered by a live answering service with your company name. Representatives at answering services will provide you services like answering phone service, answering message service or even enter data into your web form.

But finding an answering service company is not easy, after all you are going to trust one of your assets i.e. your customer or prospects or clients or patient – to a third party about whom you know a very little. Hence, it is very important to choose a perfect answering service suitable for your business. We recommend you to take a glance of this article before taking a decision regarding answering services.

If you are serious about growing your business and providing superior customer service, you need a solution that provides 24/7 answering services with live operators that handle every call correctly and professionally. Some big companies are available for you to assist you in the regard. These service providers not only serve you with answering phone services, they also assist you with other services like answering message service, pager, voice mail, PDA, live operator and even via web portal to fit your schedules and needs.

People at answering services are consultant. They recommend right products and services to help you accomplish your goals. These answering services are working from the 1980’s and developing cost effective, customized answering services to meet your specific objectives.

There services include:

•In-depth, 24/7/365 customer service support
•Dispatch of service, emergency, or technical support personnel
•After hours, weekend, holiday, overflow coverage.
•Dedicated receptionist during normal business hours.
•Live operator answering service.
•Medical service bureau.
•Message delivery service.
•Toll-free telephone answering service.
Whether you are a corporation, an independent professional, in the medical field or related to any other profession that demands round-the-clock answering service and telephone support, companies can deliver the coverage you need and the professional care of your clients, patients and customers.

Leading answering service firms are continually search for pioneering technologies and services to help you better serve and improve your business.
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No doubt you’ve collected memorable quotes from your job or business. Here are some of the amazing things people have said to me since I started my business in 1992. And, yes, all of the quotes are true.

“Paying these royalties is a real hassle.”

> Comment: You can’t judge a book publisher by the cover.

“I know that you’re a much better speaker, and that your content is better, your materials are better, and even your fee is lower, but I decided to use a seminar company from out of state because my boss will approve it without asking any questions.”

> Comment: That explains why sometimes you find yourself in a really terrible seminar.

“I save all the invoices in a drawer and every four months or so I go through the stack and approve them.”

> Comment: I bet she would go ballistic if her paycheck were ten minutes late.

“Okay, in your case we’ll make an exception and pay you on time.”

> Comment: Here’s another person who fails to understand how business works.

“Instead of hiring a speaker we decided to spend our money on an ice sculpture.”

> Comment: I suppose it’s more important to watch ice melt than learn something.

“I want you to send me a proposal with complete descriptions of all of your workshops, a resume, your client list for the past five years, a dozen testimonial letters, and a fee schedule. I’ve got 21 proposals so far and I want to collect 25.”

> Comment: If I were this man’s boss, I’d fire him for being a public nuisance. (And I did not submit a proposal.)

“If she had wanted to act on your proposal, she would have returned your calls. Duh!”

> Comment: Every vendor is also a customer, and in this case I responded to their rudeness by transferring my phone service to another company. Cost to them: over $1,200 per year.
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Picture yourself entering a corporate meeting, team meeting, or business meeting. There you are sitting in the room, while someone in the “expert” or “boss” chair speaks to you or at you. There you are, not aligned with that person’s mission or vision. There you are, feeling apart from the process. There you are, lacking energy and the desire for being there. There you are, hearing what is going wrong and what you or your team or department needs to change or improve. How are you feeling?

Are you feeling a great connection to the meeting? Are you feeling enthusiastic about being in attendance at the meeting? Are you fully present at the meeting? Are you deeply tuned in and listening with your heart and your head? Are you inspired to co-create, participate, and contribute? Or, are you ready to fall asleep, or count the minutes of what you feel is wasted time?

My experience in my two plus decades of being in business and in coaching business clients around the world is that the system of meetings, clearly, must change. Most meetings don’t include participant involvement and actually serve to tune people out rather than tune them in, and as a result, the intention of the meeting falls short of its purpose. In other words, they really can be a waste of precious company time.

The process of Meeting Alignment, that we’ve been teaching companies around the world, has allowed them to use a systematic process that engages people in meetings and creates a desire for them to contribute and fully participate in these business meetings.

The Meeting Alignment Process and the results it creates include:

A desire to co-create: The purpose of a meeting isn’t to get across “your” agenda; it shifts to sharing your thoughts and hearing fully the thoughts and ideas of others to co-create the meeting purpose and actions.

Deep tuning in: Most meetings involve people talking and listening to themselves. The Meeting Alignment Process teaches people to fully listen with their hearts and to listen beyond the words to what is not said, to emotions, and to fully hear others.

The Meeting Alignment Process teaches techniques of being non-judgmental, so that people can fully hear and support each other and let new ideas IN vs. rule out and defend against why things won’t work. It produces a safe environment in which people feel encouraged to participate.

Non-attachment: Many people think meetings are about a specific outcome occurring – the meeting holder’s outcome… that’s a surefire way to alienate people and result in them NOT wanting to support you. The Meeting Alignment Process allows for each person to give up “their” outcome and allows the meeting and solutions to unfold for the good of the entire group.

What’s wrong: Most meetings focus on problems, fixing problems, or informing people of change. The meeting needs to come from a place of asking what IS working and involve what IS the right type questions. These questions form the basis of creating a positive energy flow and opening up creativity. It’s the basic principle of encouraging a sense of positivity rather than negativity.

Framework of questions: Questions in this process focus on what is working, why it works, what would be the perfect ideal vision, and what isn’t quite right yet, and then, coming up with resources and inspired actions to create the outcome of the meeting.

Feel good! When people attend a meeting where EVERY idea is praised and contributions rewarded and people thanked and really appreciated for their contributions, this raises self-esteem, confidence, and morale. People want to participate in meetings that make them feel good, not only about the company they work for, but about themselves and their role in it.
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