Building Trust

What does trust mean to you?  Our definition is "confidence in your relationships with others."  When you have high confidence (high trust) in your work relationships, yours can become a high-performing team and organization.

All of us have felt vulnerable before -- dependent upon someone else and open to being hurt or burned.  When that happens, let's suppose you take a risk, sharing and opening yourself up to the other person.  He/she responds with respect, and your relationship is strengthened.  Your desire to share more or risk more goes up too.  The next time you feel vulnerable again, you are likely to take a risk because you have had a good experience.

What happens, though, if one day you open yourself up but get stabbed in the back?  Your confidence goes down and your relationship is weakened.  It will take a long time to build back the trust you had established if that can be done at all.

Remember that one negative incident can undo many, many positive ones.  In order to build trust, you need to respond with respect, confidence, and appreciation.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://Tools2Succeed.com/

Accountability

Do you know what you need to do but you just don't do it?  I hear this type of comment often, especially now that our Time Management workshops are coming up next week.  "I know what I'm supposed to do to manage my time, but I just don't get around to it." 

Have you ever had someone to hold you accountable for your actions?  A boss?  A coach?  A friend or colleague?  When you know that someone is counting on you or is pulling for you to succeed, it gives you the extra motivation to get things done.  Maybe you've had an exercise partner or a friend to help you both lose weight.  Usually this buddy system works much better than just going it alone.

If you have a goal in mind but are having trouble doing what it takes to get there, look around for someone to help hold you accountable.  In our public workshops, we choose "Accountability Partners" at the end of each workshop.  These partners keep in touch throughout the month and help each other with the goals they have set for themselves in the workshop.  You can use this same concept in your personal or professional life also.  Find someone who truly wants to see you succeed.  We can also provide professional coaching for you.

Think about what is most important to you.  What are your dreams and goals?  How will you get there?  Find someone to help you, and get started now.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://Tools2Succeed.com/

What do you want to achieve and why?

Goals are the driving force behind all achievement -- from creating great nations to closing sales. The way goals are defined and stated provides the make-or-break difference in achievement.

While dreams are important, they don't become reality unless they are stated as measurable goals. There are basically three key elements needed for successful goal setting:

* Vision - a clear, specific picture of what you want to achieve. Most goals set are too general, as in "I want to be rich". The goals you set need to be SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound. A smart goal might be "I will make $10,000 in sales per month beginning April 1st through September 30th. This goal meets the "SMART" criteria.

* Planning - your strategy, or the steps you will take to get to your goal. Let's take an example. Imagine that you have a goal to get to Boise, Idaho. This is not an achieveable goal because you haven't taken into consideration how you're going to get there. You could drive, fly, go by train, or take a bus. You decide to fly. Now you need to make flight reservations, consider transportation to and from the airport, and make arrangements for parking and rental car reservations. These are tactics to implement your strategy. Combining strategies and tactics, your goal of getting to Boise is achievable.

* Motivation - what induces action. Goal-setting and planning is useless without the motivation to follow through. Motivation may be different for everyone. It could be money, security, risk, acceptance, or self-esteem, for example.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions, or let us know how we can help you.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://www.tools2succeed.com/

Time Management

What can you do right now to manage your time more effectively?

Make a list of everything you need to do - everything you can think of. What do you need to get done today, tomorrow, next week, next month, etc. Make your notes as detailed as possible, so that when you look back over them, you'll know exactly what needs to be done.

Next, decide what is most important to you. What are your long-term goals? Are they listed on your to-do list already? If not, add them now. Break them down into small tasks. For example, if you want to get a college degree but haven't started yet, write "obtain college application", then "complete college application", etc.

Prioritize your tasks. Make sure you include those things that are most important to you on your daily task list. It's easy to be "reactive" and do whatever comes at you. Be proactive; take charge of your life!

Click here for a simple to-do list form you can use to get started.

Our Time Management workshops in Southern California are coming up in March; join us!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions, or let us know how we can help you.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://www.tools2succeed.com/

Drip Marketing at its Best!

Content Marketing Mistakes Made by Marketers

1. They give up on the content program too quickly. It takes some time to build a real relationship with customers. Some corporations start a newsletter or blog and expect magic to happen in three months. Usually doesn’t happen. Content marketing must be consistently delivered in order to really build a relationship.


2. They don’t understand the informational needs of the customer.


3. They don’t ask for help. Many companies leave this to internal marketing or pr people. Many times these people can’t take their sales hats off – so the content isn’t perceived as valuable to the customers.


4. They don’t integrate the content program with their overall marketing. In many companies, a corporate magazine, newsletter or e-newsletter seems to fall outside of the other marketing initiatives. Integrating both can be powerful.


5. They see social media as just another distribution channel for selling – and don’t see it as an opportunity to get closer to customers and begin to better understand their needs.


6. They don’t plan. You need to plan out good content and not just rush to get content out when you see an opportunity. Editorial calendar anyone?

When you are creating your drip marketing program, here are a few things to think about:

Behavioral

• How do we want the customer to feel?
• What effect must we achieve with them?
• What action do we want them to take?
• How will we measure their behavior?
• How will we put them on the path to purchase?

Essential

• What do our buyers really need to know?
• What will provide the most benefit personally or professionally?
• How can we present the content for maximum positive impact?
• What media types must we include based on our current/near future customer behavior?

Strategic

• Does this content marketing effort help us achieve our strategic goals?
• Does it integrate with our other strategic initiatives?

Targeted

• Have we precisely indentified the prospects we want to target?
• Do we really understand what motivates them?
• Do we understand their professional roles?

MORE TIPS:

• Create content that is bite-sized and has handles, meaning that people can share it and make it actionable. "People don't read Moby Dick anymore!"


• Go niche - the smaller the better...and easier to solve your customer's informational needs.


• Call your customers - find out what their challenges are so you can better share relevant content with them.


• Listen first.


• Just starting? Get a nice bed of content that will form the base of your site after you've listened.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://www.tools2succeed.com/

Learning By Doing

Those who learn by doing are able to retain 75% of the information taught. (Source: Accenture Ltd.)

This percentage is compared with a 5% retention rate from hearing a lecture and 10% from reading the material. So, the best bet for knowledge retention of is having your employees participate in hands-on learning.

Virtual simulations are a great tool as they make instruction more effective by mimicking the way people learn best, putting knowledge to practical use. Small-group work, role-playing, and games are other hands-on learning techniques that could be effective in your training programs.

Not only does incorporating hands-on activities increase knowledge retention, but it they are interesting for learners and will give them more outlets for participation.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://www.tools2succeed.com/

Training in a Down Economy

Are your sales down? Are your profit margins shrinking? Are you calling emergency senior-management meetings focused on cutting budgets? If so, you are not alone in mid-2008!

Cutting expenses may be wise, but be sure to cut only those expenses that are not contributing to your organization's goals. Analyze your telecom costs. Could you get better and cheaper service elsewhere? Could you outsource a task and save money without compromising quality? Could you find less-expensive vendors or ask your existing ones for more-competitive rates?

Are your processes efficient? Are your employees as productive as possible?

Do you think that employee development training does not contribute to your bottom line? Think again! Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines said, "There is one key to profitability and stability during either a boom or bust economy: employee morale." High morale equates to high customer satisfaction. Be sure to invest in your people to keep morale high and to continually develop their skills. The increase in your bottom line will follow.

Until next time...

Sheryl Tuchman
http://www.tools2succeed.com/