How to Network with Senior Managers at Work

How to Network with Senior Managers at Work
Networking is a big part of the business world today.
Because of new computer and communication technology, you
may work with people every day who you have never laid eyes
on.

This is especially true in larger companies, where the
senior managers may never come down from their offices and
mingle with the employees. By attending or planning an
event, you can have the opportunity to mingle with the
upper management. It can also improve your reputation
within the company. It is never a bad idea to get to know
the people around you.

There are several ways that you can network. One of the
most common ways of networking is the Friday afternoon
meetings after work at the local tavern. This gives
everyone a chance to relax and blow off steam before going
home for the weekend. This is a good way to get to know
your co-workers. For some employees, it may already be part
of their routine. Invite your supervisor and some of the
other managerial personnel to join you. You may have to ask
several times, but more likely than not some of the bosses
will show up. Getting to know your immediate superiors may
help open the door to meeting the senior managers.

Planning a fundraiser for charity is also a useful way to
meet the upper echelon of the company. If your company
already supports a charity, invite a spokesperson from the
organization to speak at a special luncheon to discuss the
different ways that your company can raise money for them.
Make sure that you invite all the senior managers to this
meeting. At least one or two of them may make an
appearance. By organizing this luncheon, you may impress
them with your motivation and commitment to a good cause.

Most companies have action committees to promote open
communication between the workers and management. These
usually involve volunteers from both sectors of the company
getting together and discussing methods of improving
productivity. Becoming involved in one these can put you on
a first name basis with at least some of the senior
management members.

You may want to look into setting up training programs
within your company. Make an appointment with the CEO's
personal assistant well in advance to discuss the project
with him. Show up well prepared with a complete plan of the
training sessions that you would like to see incorporated
and a time schedule in which the programs should be
completed. Your knowledge and organizational skills should
leave a lasting impression on him.

You could also plan a company picnic or dinner for the
employees and their families. Make sure to invite the
senior managers. Most will feel an obligation to make an
appearance. Plan numerous activities and make a point to
invite them to join in. They may end up having a wonderful
time.

There are many other ways to network with the senior
managers at your company. Remember to involve yourself in
activities that will highlight your best qualities and earn
you a good reputation within your organization. The more
you become involved, the better the chances are that you
will be noticed.

----------------------------------------------------
Sharon Alexander is the author of the ebook Claim that
Job.com - The Ultimate Job-Hunting and Career Management
ebook that teaches the skills and techniques needed to
succeed in a competitive job-market.
http://www.claimthatjob.com .
http://www.claimthatjob.com/blog .

Touch It and Feel It....Let Customers Experience Your Product or Service

Touch It and Feel It....Let Customers Experience Your Product or Service
We have all had the experience of waiting for a client to
make a final decision. Some customers may even need to
visit two or three times in order to make a decision, but
we all need to feel more confident about what we are
buying. How? Why is this so difficult for some people?
What can be done to help these customers make up their
minds in a more timely fashion?

For many customers, visualizing the change they are
planning to make can be very difficult. This difficulty
prevents them from being able to make decisions without a
struggle. However, there are several things you can do to
help these customers speed up the decision process with
confidence.

Home improvement centers are experts in allowing customers
see and feel their products. Think about the last time you
wanted to paint. Did someone in your home have a difficult
time deciding on a color? Many homeowners are reluctant to
change their home because they are unsure of how the new
paint color will look. Paint companies and home
improvement stores recognize this fact. Some stores and
paint companies now offer special computer software which
allows the home owner to scan in a picture of their room
and digitally "paint" it any color they wish. This helps
people make an informed decision about their paint
selection and increases the sale of paint.

Another type of business that also attracts customers by
using the senses is the liquor and wine industry. Many
people do not know much about wine and are intimidated by
the prospect of purchasing the wrong wine. They are simply
afraid of making a mistake, so they tend to avoid making
any decision. Many liquor stores and wineries are now
offering wine sampling and education classes in order to
educate customers and create loyal wine connoisseurs.
People will come in, experience the wine, learn what they
like, and purchase wine, even if they are not usually wine
drinkers. These customers tend to be repeat customers
because of the experience.

Grocery stores also allow customers to use their senses
when making purchase decisions. Sampling is a frequent
tool used by grocery stores in order to introduce new
products to customers, especially higher end products.
Again, consumers are afraid of spending a lot of money on a
product and not liking it. Some stores even offer hands-on
cooking experiences in order to help promote new products.
This allows people to learn how they can use these new
products at home with very little risk to them. Stores
have found that they often sell out of the products they
are sampling because people become so excited by the
prospect of using a new and exciting product.

If you want to help your customers make quicker decisions
that they will feel happier about, find a way to allow
customers to use their senses in the decision making
process. You will soon find that you will develop loyal
customers who trust you and view you as a resource.

----------------------------------------------------
Nicole Shields is a marketing veteran and the creator of
the 7 Step Marketing Plan which helps small, offline
businesses market their products and services effectively;
generating higher sales and profits. She provides lots of
f'ree resources including a f'ree marketing course which
walks you through the 7 steps at
http://www.7stepmarketingplan.com

How to link coaching sessions

How to link coaching sessions
When you have a follow up coaching session with somebody
you've worked with previously, it can be hard to pick up
the flow. I like to use the Achievements, Issues, Plans
model to help with this.

Begin by discussing achievements, i.e. what has been
accomplished since you last spoke. Remember that even if
every goal was not achieved in full, any kind of momentum
needs to be encouraged and recognized. This can be a great
way of raising confidence and of course, confident people
tend to make high performers. Confidence is a product of
being successful and knowing that we were responsible for
those successes. Let your coachee be the one to define what
an achievement is.

Then you can move on to issues. An issue is anything that
has cropped up since you last spoke that has prevented
agreed actions being carried. There might be external
factors such as time pressure or conflicting priorities.
There might equally be a number of internal factors such as
confusion, doubt or fear. I find it best to try to remain
neutral when discussing such issues. You don't want to come
across as a teacher quizzing why homework has not been
completed. This will be met with excuses rather than
reasons and you will not uncover what's really going on. I
would also suggest that you both look ahead to what looms
on the horizon that might create more difficulties.

Finally move on to plans. A good coaching session will have
two sets of plans. There will be a plan for the session
itself which you can establish by asking "What would you
like to gain from this session?" or "What would have to
happen today for you to consider this time well spent?"
There will also need to be agreed actions and plans
confirmed for making progress on whatever issue or
situation is being discussed. You should find yourself
asking "What are you going to do?", "When are you going to
do it?" etc.

This model works particularly well when you meet regularly
with your coaches. It creates a useful cycle in that any
plans agreed ought to become the achievements for
discussion at the next session. There will no doubt be
issues that occur, but you can agree plans to deal with
these and one again, these should become achievements for
next time. Over time this approach can develop a real
action orientation in any coaching relationship. Make a
plan, carry it out, identify issues, create a plan to solve
them, carry it out, recognize achievements and so on and so
on.

----------------------------------------------------
Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. For a bumper load of
coaching tips and tricks - including FREE resources - visit
http://www.mattsomers.com

Eight Great PR Tactics for Winning Visibility at Trade Shows

Eight Great PR Tactics for Winning Visibility at Trade Shows
Trade shows can be a real boost not only for finding
prospects but also for your overall visibility as an
organization. Before you go though, you need to be well
prepared.

Good prep means finding the right audiences, setting
realistic budgets, getting high-visibility booth space and
determining who and what will be in your booth.

Now is the time to think about using good public relations
tools to boost your visibility and build your business.
Here are a few items you may want to put on your to-do list:

1) Get the attendees roster in advance. Decide what
constitutes a qualified prospect. Make a list of all of the
companies you want to communicate with and assign each
person on your team a share of the targets to approach. Ask
show organizers, current customers and colleagues to make
introductions on the floor.

2) Cultivate press proactively: Get the press list a week
in advance if possible. Choose the top 10 reporters (start
with trade publications your prospects read most). If you
have news - or at least a product or service that is
newsworthy - call ahead and try to set up interviews. If
you have a news release or a factsheet, put a stack in the
press room - a fat press kit is not necessary.

3) The "Show Daily." Most big conferences distribute a
daily newspaper or newsletter to attendees. If you have
news, give the information to editors at least week ahead
of time so they can publish it on the day you make the
announcement. Show dailies usually are published on an
outsource basis by established industry magazine
publishers. Get to know the editor of the show daily and
you now have a good contact at one of your prime industry
publications.

4) Make your booth project professionalism and business.
Don't fall into a comfort zone of constantly chatting with
co-workers. Invite interest. Open your booth physically as
much as possible; make it easy for people to walk in
without feeling trapped. Once they step in, tell and show
them quickly what your product or service can do for them.
If you have a tangible product, get it into their hands as
soon as possible.

5) Take photos. Invite notables into your booth and snap
their pictures surrounded by you and your staff in logo
shirts with your booth in the background. These will play
well on your Web site with a descriptive caption.

6) Make follow-up with attendees a fast but formal project
for the team. Use contact information while it is fresh and
prospects are still interested. Prepare a short template
follow-up letter in advance and have it ready to mail-merge
with your list of new contacts as soon as you get back.
Send follow - up letters within seven days of the event.

7) Send a follow-up email to all registered reporters -
even those who did not attend the show. Call the ones you
made contact with, offer additional information and ask
whether they plan to write anything. Keep track of
potential articles so you will see them when they are
published.

8) If it's the right show, your competitors will be there.
Now is a good time to see them up close. It's not spying;
it's market research! Pick up their marketing materials
and listen to their pitch. Nothing wrong with that -- you
can be sure they'll be doing the same at your booth.

----------------------------------------------------
Robert Deigh is president of RDC Communication/PR and the
author of the ultimate PR guide "How Come No One Knows
About Us?" (WBusinessBooks, coming May 2008). To receive a
free preview chapter, titled "16 Ways to Come Up With Story
Ideas That Will Attract Press" go to
http://www.rdccommunication.com and sign up for his free
newsletter or contact rdeigh1@aol.com