HCM_Sales_Marketing_&_Alliance_Excellence_August_2022 by Excellence Publications by HR.com

AUGUST 2022 • Vol.21 • No.08 (ISSN 2564-2057)

HOW TO NEGOTIATE ANYTHING - William A. Cohen,

President, Institute of Leader Arts

Multi-Channel Attribution: How To Choose The Best Model? - Hanson

Cheng,

Freedom to Ascend

How Sales Enablement And Sales Managers Can Partner To Drive Results - Mike Kunkle, SPARXiQ

Hiring Top Performers Post Covid Recovery - Steven Rosen, STAR Results

Business Success: Adopting Mother Nature’s Strategy - Jerry W. Thomas, Decision Analyst, Inc.

INDEX

HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence AUGUST 2022

Vol.21

No.08

( ISSN 2564-2057)

How To Negotiate Anything 5 rules to negotiate with a powerful entity

On the Cover

- William A. Cohen,

President, Institute of Leader Arts

Articles 10 Customer Experience: Creating Colorful Memory Bubbles What can you do to become a significant memory maker for your customers?

- Chip R. Bell,

22 The Relationally Intelligent Introvert You don’t have to be an extrovert to be wired for connection

- Dr. Adam C. Bandelli,

Founder & Managing Director, Bandelli & Associates

Customer Loyalty and Service Expert

17 Lost Luggage Fiasco: How To Deal With Irate Customers No employee should be treated poorly by customers

- Shep Hyken,

27 How Tech Can Help Bridge The Gap Between In-Person And Remote Work Challenges are opportunities disguised as creative problem-solving

- Ian Foster,

Founder and CEO, Center Cam

Customer Service and Customer Experience Expert

32 Tips To Lead Your Remote Team Better In 2022 The challenges, tools & engagement strategies

- Ian Fraser,

Co-Founder & CEO, The Go Game/Weve

Top Picks

INDEX

Multi-Channel Attribution: How To Choose The Best Model? Buyers’ journey is no longer linear and predictable - Hanson Cheng, Founder of Freedom, Ascend

How Sales Enablement And Sales Managers Can Partner To Drive Results Deriving best possible results from your enablement investments

- Mike Kunkle, Vice President, Sales Effectiveness Services, SPARXiQ

Hiring Top Performers Post Covid Recovery How to identify top performers during a hiring process - Steven Rosen, President, STAR Results

Business Success: Adopting Mother Nature’s Strategy Key principles to help increase your chance of long-term success - Jerry W. Thomas, President and Chief Executive, Decision Analyst, Inc.

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Mastering the Art of Negotiation

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HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence (ISSN 2564-2057)

In How To Negotiate Anything, Institute of Leader Arts President William Cohen delves deeper into the concept of negotiation and draws an interesting analysis of how it won America its Independence. William also shares a few important rules for negotiating with powerful entities.

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SPARXiQ Vice President Sales Effectiveness Services Mike Kunkle tells us How Sales Enablement And Sales Managers Can Partner To Drive Results. Also, read Hiring Top Performers Post Covid Recovery by Steven Rosen, and Business Success: Adopting Mother Nature’s Strategy by Jerry W. Thomas, among others. We hope this edition of HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence, will help you achieve excellence in your sales and marketing efforts. Happy Reading! Write to the Editor at ePubEditors@hr.com

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Multi-Channel Attribution: How To Choose The Best Model?, discusses why multi-channel attribution matters in today’s world, the various types of attribution models, and how to choose the right model for yourself.

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COVER ARTICLE

How To Negotiate Anything 5 rules to negotiate with a powerful entity By William A. Cohen, Institute of Leader Arts

e negotiate everything. Our negotiations include starting salaries, raises, terms of employment, automobiles, homes, contracts of all types, commissions, fees, fines, choice vs. not-so-choice hotel rooms, relationships with the opposite sex including our spouses, table location in a restaurant, marriages, divorces, acts between countries in both war and peace . . . the list is unending. All of us negotiate every single day. It is no surprise that our political leaders must negotiate frequently, and it would be difficult to overestimate the influence of negotiation on both our professional and our personal lives. Yet negotiation is taught in a few professional schools and even many relationship experts skip instruction and advice in this area. What makes negotiation especially interesting is that superior power from strength, knowledge, wealth, or any other advantage does not in itself ensure a win and even a so-called “win-win” negotiation may be dramatically unfair to one side or the other depending on a point of view or what one side expects and ultimately obtains. Peter Drucker was a master negotiator, and he knew its importance. He was not selfish and wanted to help individuals, their businesses, and non-profits. But this did not stop him from negotiating $10,000 a day from willing corporations for his consulting services or charging zero to others if he had other objectives in mind.

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A Simple Negotiation Won American Independence

Long before he became president, George Washington was a general, and commanded the American Continental Army. In the final battle of the American War of Independence, he had a short-term advantage, but there was also great danger in his strategy. Washington had moved the bulk of his army south to Yorktown, Virginia and maneuvered it so that he had superior numbers in the south as he confronted his British adversary. Lord Cornwallis’ commanded the British force which opposed him. Another major part of the British Army was in New York. However, because England had superiority at sea and had transport ships available in this situation Cornwallis considered the two forces mutually supporting because with the small American navy he could move the large English force from the New York area to Yorktown to join with the British army already in the Yorktown area fair easily. If Cornwallis did this, his army would outnumber Washington’s and the advantage of numerical superiority in Yorktown would pass to the English. The Americans had no fleet to oppose such an operation. However, France was allied with the Americans and there was a French battle fleet in the Western Hemisphere commanded by Admiral Francoise De Grasse. Cornwallis probably overlooked it because it was in the Caribbean, where it was safe during the storm season occurring in the Northern Hemisphere.

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How To Negotiate Anything

We May Want a “Win-Win” but There Are Many Definitions of this Term

The term “win-win” negotiation has become popular over the last thirty years or so, but if you look closely, even a negotiation under the most draconian terms may be considered a “win-win.”

Washington wrote to Admiral DeGrasse asking him to bring the fleet to stop the two British armies from joining together and to lend ship firepower in support against Lord Cornwallis’ Army at Yorktown for the upcoming battle. DeGrasse replied that though he could see the advantage of this move he was unable to comply due to the risk of losing his ships at sea in the upcoming season of hurricanes and tropical storms. If caught without a suitable port in northern waters, he would risk the loss of his entire fleet. Washington immediately informed him that if he brought the fleet north at once, he would initiate the battle before the coming storms. He could, therefore, guarantee that his action against Cornwallis would be over before the fleet was endangered by the weather. The fact that the fleet could help the Americans in battle without the risk of weather damage was an important factor in their negotiation which convinced DeGrasse, who moved the fleet and supported Washington during the battle first by preventing the two British forces from joining to gain numerical superiority, but also by using the fleet’s firepower during the battle itself, Cornwallis was unable to bring reinforcements from New York, and outnumbered, outgunned, and running low on supplies, he was forced to surrender his army to Washington. This ended the American War of Independence. During surrender ceremonies, Cornwallis ordered music played appropriately entitled “The World Turned Upside Down” confirming the enormity of the outcome from his point of view.

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The Treaty of Versailles was an example. When this treaty was signed with Germany, ending WW I, it was thought that it ended “the war to end all wars.” In fact, it led to a much larger war. Germany had little choice but to sign the treaty. Its armies were undefeated, but they could no longer be supplied to meet the allies increasingly stronger forces after the U.S. entered the war. The terms the allies insisted upon were extremely severe, with Germany not only suffering the humiliation of having to formally accept responsibility for the whole war, but also loss of territory and agreeing to pay heavy war reparations to the allies. Still, it was a “win-win” in that Germany avoided complete collapse, starvation of its population and worse at the hands of the victors, since Germany was defenseless, the allies had the power to do what they wished. Of course, there are situations where both sides may benefit mutually, and the situation may be considered fair-minded to both sides. One of the most popular books on negotiation infers that both sides in most negotiations should be fair-minded. That may be true in some situations; but the assumption that this can be true in all, or even most, situations is a dangerous assumption.

Of course, We All Want to Be Fair and Ethical

One should be ethical and, of course, seek common interests and compromises that work. But it is foolish to assume that the other side always has such high moral principles and that it will not take advantage of you if they can, or at minimum what you consider fair and ethical and what someone else considers fair and ethical may not be the same.

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How To Negotiate Anything

A salesman may not weigh your interests equally when his own family’s welfare is at stake, nor an opposing attorney when the very ethics of his profession is to do everything within the law to protect and seek the other side’s best interests, not yours. Or another example. When you negotiate a salary at work, as a new employee, your future employer may see it in the best interests of the company to keep your starting compensation as low as possible. It may be limited by company policy to salary increases of 3% or less in a year. So even a 10% increase in starting compensation over your current salary could be the equivalent of more than three years in raises no matter how spectacular your performance is. If you depend on a negotiating adversary’s goodwill, regardless of implied promises, you may be disappointed.

We Frequently Must Negotiate with Those More Powerful If this were not bad enough, we frequently must negotiate with those who are more powerful or at least appear to be more powerful than ourselves.

are negotiating with unless the accuracy of the information presented to you has been confirmed previously. Otherwise, assume only that it could be true. 3. There will always be pressures on your side to make a deal. Usually, whoever you are negotiating with has an equal, or even greater pressure to make a deal for some other reason. You may be in a much stronger position than you think. 4. Never be afraid to ask for more after someone has given you a “best and final” offer. Sometimes just the question, “is that the best you can do?” can be worth a great deal. 5. Always be courteous and polite to the one you are negotiating with even if you can’t make a deal. 6. Never disrespect a negotiating adversary. 7. Think of the effect of anything you say to or about an adversary in a negotiation. *Adapted from the book Peter Drucker on Consulting: How to Apply Drucker’s Principles for Business Success by William A. Cohen (LID, 2016) and syndicated elsewhere.

William Cohen was the first graduate of the Ph.D. program that Peter Drucker co-developed at what is now the Masatoshi Ito and Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management. Graduating and becoming Drucker’s friend, he applied Drucker’s methods and rose to become an Air Force general and the author of more than 50 management books published in 23 languages. He is the President of the Institute of Leader Arts. Cohen’s latest book is Peter Drucker on Consulting: How to Apply Drucker’s Principles for Business Success.

How do we deal with one who has greater clout? If you are a millionaire, you can hire a high-priced lawyer. But what if you are not and you must negotiate with an entity, such as the U.S. government, a large corporation, or a traffic cop? In international negotiations, countries are happy to negotiate a result that leaves them in a position to attain goals in the future to obtain that cannot be attained in the present.

Five Important Rules for Negotiating with a More Powerful Entity The following simple rules for negotiating with powerful entities can help you to be effective:

Would you like to comment? 1. Prepare yourself fully. Never attempt to negotiate anything without doing a complete analysis of the situation and preparing a plan including your response to unexpected problems or opportunities and surprising situations or information. 2. Never believe anything told you by someone you

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Customer Experience: Creating Colorful Memory Bubbles What can you do to become a significant memory maker for your customers? By Chip R. Bell, Customer Loyalty and Service Expert

cousin of mine recently passed away. She had been very ill for a long time. She was surrounded by her immediate family as her spirit exited this world. At the funeral, I spoke to one of her family members about her final time. “Right before she breathed her final slow breath,” he

told me, “She smiled. I wondered what she saw and felt that created this unexpected reaction.” His comment reminded me of Natalie Wood’s last movie. The last movie that starred Natalie Wood was the 1983 movie Brainstorm also starring

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Cliff Robertson and Christopher Walken. The gist of the movie was the creation of “the hat”– a helmet-like device that, when worn, could tape an exact experience the wearer was having (sights, sounds, feelings…the whole works).

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Customer Experience: Creating Colorful Memory Bubbles

If another person then wore the hat and played the tape he or she would have the exact same experience as the person who taped it. You could borrow an adventurer’s tape and vicariously experience extreme skiing, a fast canoe trip down the Amazon River, or skydiving over NY City without ever leaving your living room. The climax of the movie came when one of the researchers, while working on the device, started having a heart attack. Alone in the lab, she quickly donned the hat and taped her own death. The question then became: if someone wore the hat and played her death tape would that person also die? I won’t tell you how it ended. But, the coolest part of the movie was what she experienced right before the end—a continuous series of “memory bubbles” filled with the highlights of her life.

The bubbles were like mini-scenes inside a giant, clear soap bubble. They were not all super big events; but all were significant, colorful experiences. The movie made a strong case for creating lots of positive memory bubbles. In the end, that is the essence of our lives. As service providers, we have the important opportunity of contributing to the significant memory bubbles of our customers. Buy a product, you end up with a tangible object; buy a service and you are only left with your need met (or not) and a memory. The memories that wind up the bubbles and do not vanish from the screen like an etch of a sketch are those that are unique and poignant. Innovative service is about creating colorful memories. It is not about great service like an excellent cupcake; it is about special service like an excellent cupcake with sprinkles!

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What can you do to become a significant memory maker for your customers? Become the sprinkle-adder to your customers’ experiences and watch their pleasures grow, right along with your profits and reputation. This article first appeared here.

Chip R. Bell is a renowned keynote speaker and the author of several award-winning, best-selling books. Global Gurus in 2022 ranked for the eighth year in a row among the top ten keynote speakers in the world on customer service. His newest book is Inside Your Customer’s Imagination.

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CALLING ALL HR MARKETING GURUS - SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE WITH OTHERS! Are you an expert in Marketing in the Human Capital space? If yes, you’re invited to submit articles for inclusion in our publication, HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence! This publication helps Sales and Marketing professionals in the Human Capital space learn emerging trends to help them in their business and now you can share your marketing expertise with them!

Check out our magazine here Our readers are interested in a number of topics including: ● Marketing hacks for HR Solution Providers ● Building relationships with current and potential clients ● Tradeshow expo halls - best practices for ROI

● How to nurture stronger partnerships between marketing and sales ● Tips for working with influencers and analysts ● Market planning process

● Branding and your online presence

● How to build a brand

● Aligning Marketing roles with your business growth strategy

● How to use Social to drive brand recognition and sales

● Marketing Tactics to increase ROI ● Martech Enablement ● Marketing Analytics ● How to define a “real lead” and how to count its sale value

● How to win with PR

● Your approach to producing and disseminating meaningful thought leadership ● How marketing needs to evolve for success

Article submission deadline: 1st of each month

Kindly let us know if you’d be interested to feature your article in our magazine by emailing the editor at ddamodaran@hr.com. You can also review our submission guidelines by clicking here. Also, if you are in marketing in the human capital space, we invite you to host a webcast for our HR Marketing Institute. For more details, please email Shelley Marsland-Beard at smarsland@hr.com

Top Pick

Multi-Channel Attribution: How To Choose The Best Model? Buyers’ journey is no longer linear and predictable By Hanson Cheng, Freedom to Ascend

ulti-channel attribution is a marketing buzzword that means different things to different people.

For some, it is the holy grail of marketing analytics and something they have been looking for since they started their business. Others have no idea what it is or how to use it. We wrote this article because we want you to understand multi-channel attribution, why your startup needs it, and how you can choose the best solution for your company’s growth goals.

These touchpoints might include paid advertising, your landing pages, and your email sequences, among others. Each of these channels plays a role in leading the prospect closer to making a purchase decision. Multi-channel attribution recognizes this, and it comes in to help you determine your most valuable marketing touchpoints.

The Modern Buyer’s Journey

The buyer’s journey is no longer linear and predictable. You are under constant pressure to deliver great buying experiences to prospects by being present during their buying journey.

Why Does Multi-channel Attribution Matter?

The inclusion of platforms, such as chatbots has attempted to fast forward the buyer’s journey. However, understanding the evolution of marketing measurement is key as this allows us to know what various stages need to be considered. As a marketer, you risk spreading yourself too thin as you try to be present on every marketing channel to get hold of your leads. Multi-channel attribution is a segment of marketing attribution that assigns value to different touchpoints prospects interact with during their buying journey.

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Customer purchase decisions do not happen in an instant. Once a prospect realizes they need a product or service that you provide, they will interact with different touchpoints, looking for information to guide their buying decision.

Multi-channel attribution helps you understand how each marketing channel affects conversions. Depending on the channels you are present in, the level of engagement you get from users at different buying stages helps you determine what campaigns are working and the importance of different touchpoints on conversions. This allows you to set realistic goals for your marketing campaigns, as you know where to direct your efforts and resources, saving you time and money.

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Multi-Channel Attribution: How To Choose The Best Model?

Multi-Channel attribution also guides you on what to optimize in your sales funnel. Let us say that your attribution model shows you that your landing pages help in driving conversions more than any other touchpoint. Optimizing your sales funnel will improve your conversion rate by including video testimonials on your landing page, improving its copy, and even A/B testing different elements. Based on the data you have available, you will be able to use multi-channel attribution to improve the performance of individual channels and your entire marketing stack.

Types of Multi-channel Attribution Models

Think of conversions as a baseball game, where it takes more than one player to win the game. While all players play together to win, some individual players play a more significant role in securing the win. The same applies to multi-channel attribution. Having seen that different channels impact conversions, let us talk about other models you will find in multi-channel attribution. 1. Linear attribution It assigns equal credit to all the touchpoints a prospect interacts with on their buying journey. A prospect looking for legal services will interact with different touch points before working with a particular law firm. These touchpoints include email, Google Ads, direct search, and organic search. The linear attribution model assumes that each touchpoint has an equal impact on the conversion. 2. Time decay attribution This model assigns more value to the touchpoints closer to the sale. If a prospect, who clicks on your Google Ad today, visits your blog post tomorrow, then clicks on a Facebook Ad and buys from you, then the touchpoints closer to their conversions are deemed more valuable.

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3. Position-based attribution This model is a combination of both the linear and time decay models assigning equal value to the first and last touchpoints of the buyer’s journey. The rest of the value is distributed equally between the remaining touchpoints. For example, a prospect looking for contract management software will click on a Google ad and finally convert on the landing page, then the Google Ad and the landing page get 40% each. If the prospect interacts with their emails and blog content, they will get 10% of the value. 4. First click attribution This model assigns all the credit to the first touchpoint that led to the sale. If the first touchpoint a prospect interacts with is a google ad, then all credit goes to that touchpoint. While it helps in measuring metrics, such as brand awareness, there’s no way you will know how to optimize for conversions since you’re not taking into account any other touchpoints that a prospect interacts with. 5. Last click attribution This model assigns all the credit to the last touchpoint that led to the sale. If a prospect went through your funnel and converted after watching a webinar, you disregard all the other touchpoints, even if the link to the landing page was from an email marketing campaign.

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Multi-Channel Attribution: How To Choose The Best Model?

● What channel combinations work best for my business? If your business focuses on several different verticals, you will need a combination of channels to increase brand awareness amongst multiple demographics. The answers to these questions will help you determine the type of attribution model that aligns with your goals and gives you a clear view of how different touch points affect sales. Let us say, for instance, you are using a first-click attribution model. How do you account for a bottomof-the-funnel blog post, e.g., a comparison post that convinces a prospect to buy from you, yet you are giving credit to an ad they clicked to land on your site? It’s easy, but it gets in the way of showing you how different touch points contributed to the conversion. Some platforms will also have their own attribution models. For example, Google Analytics has a multi-channel funnels option that might be suitable for your business. With some of the best platforms that sell online courses having Google Analytics integration with their software, it is usually relatively easy to measure and attribute conversions.

Steps to Choosing the Relevant Attribution Model

Here is what you need to do to choose a relevant attribution model that meets your needs:

How to Choose the Right Attribution Model

Each of the attribution models we have discussed above has shortcomings as they are not always accurate when assigning credit to touchpoints that lead to conversions. And that is where you need to decide what attribution model is right for your business. First, answer the following questions: ● What are your marketing goals and what is your marketing budget? ● Are you looking to increase personal brand awareness or sales? ● Do you want to show a clear connection between what you’re doing and the results?

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This, among many other shortcomings, gets in the way of accurately knowing which channel has the most impact if you rely on “recommended” attribution models. Every business is unique with different needs, so using models that everyone else is using will not help you perform better.

Step 1: Map out your buyer’s journey - This will help you understand the path your prospects take until they buy. You will also see touchpoints where your prospects are likely to engage with your marketing messages at different touchpoints. Step 2: Identify critical moments in your buyer’s journey - Every prospect has that pivotal moment that seals the deal. It could be a landing page, a case study, a blog post, or even Google Ad. Whichever it is, you need to identify these moments because they are your conversion drivers. You can do this by looking at the data you already have. If you are using Google Analytics, look at how your traffic from different channels behaves.

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Multi-Channel Attribution: How To Choose The Best Model?

Visitor behavior will tell you about their stage in the buyer’s journey and the impact of these channels on conversions. Buyers, who visit your site for the first time from social media and then leave after reading one blog post might suggest these channels are not huge conversion drivers.

from you. This information, and the ones collected in step 2, will help you determine the attribution model to use. For example, if a buyer clicks on your ads and heads over to buy from you, you might want to use a first-click model to inform you of your decisions about running your Google Ad campaigns.

However, say you run a CV maker tool that helps job seekers create professional resumes. If you notice that most of your conversions come from people, who visit your pricing page after landing on your site from an organic search, then you know this touchpoint is influential in the buyer’s journey.

Conclusion

You might also track specific pages that are key to your conversions. Continuing with the previous example, say you sell substitute teacher resume examples. If most of your conversions that land on your site from a search go to this page and then convert, you know this page is influential in the buyer’s journey. You might then invest more in SEO to rank for keywords that send traffic to this page. You might also create more content related to this aspect of CV building, as the data would be showing you that this is what your audience wants.

Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of multi-channel attribution, why it matters, and how to choose the attribution model that gets you close to achieving financial freedom. The most important thing to remember is that each touchpoint a prospect interacts with is essential. Knowing which channels impact your marketing campaigns most will inform your decisions. When choosing your multi-channel attribution model, map out your buyer’s journey to understand how your customers behave on their buying journey and identify critical moments by looking at their behavior. That way, you are going to choose a model which will help you improve your marketing campaigns and allow you to demonstrate the value of what you do to your clients.

Hanson Cheng is the Founder of Freedom to Ascend.

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Conversely, buyers who click on your email links, head to your landing page, and buy from you indicate that these touchpoints are huge conversion drivers, so you need to pay more attention to them. Step 3: Determine the number of touchpoints before conversions - Depending on the product or service you sell, your prospects need different numbers of interactions with your brand before deciding to buy

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Lost Luggage Fiasco: 7 ways To Deal With Irate Customers No employee should be treated poorly by customers By Shep Hyken, Bestselling Business Author

feel bad for the people who work at the airport luggage office. The office is usually next to the baggage carousel and the airline employees, who work there, interact with one passenger after another, all with the same complaint: My luggage is lost!

irate passengers verbally abusing its employees. According to a BBC News story, the Edinburgh Airport decided to simply disconnect its customer support line. It turns out that 90% of the complaints the customer support team received had to do with lost luggage. An Edinburgh Airport spokesperson said, “Unfortunately, we have seen a rise in the amount of abuse our teams are facing from passengers. Although we appreciate the frustration they are facing, it is not acceptable and there is no excuse for abuse.” I could not agree more with the reason. However, the solution to cut the customer support number is a bad one. Not all customers are abusive. They may be upset and angry about their lost luggage, but most people are not abusive. The decision to cut the customer support number means that the good customers are now penalized for the “sins” of a few. Furthermore, the frustration level gets even higher if customers can’t get the support they need.

Nobody ever goes into that office to say, “Thank you, my luggage is here. You guys do a great job!” Recently, the Edinburgh Airport in Scotland came up with a solution to deal with the many calls from

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It is important to note that while the airport gets calls for lost luggage, the responsibility falls to the airline, which sends passengers to the airline’s luggage office or customer support number.

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Lost Luggage Fiasco: 7 ways To Deal With Irate Customers

So, what’s the solution? Here are a few ideas: 1. Have a recording that directs the customers with lost luggage to call the airline they used. 2. If the customer ignores the recording, have the customer service rep properly trained to empathize and provide the customer with the airline’s phone number. 3. As part of the customer service rep’s welcome, mention that the call is being recorded for quality assurance. A live agent saying this has more impact than a recording. It also serves as a warning to a potentially abusive customer. 4. If a customer is abusive, warn them that you may terminate the call. 5. All customer service reps should assume the call will be friendly until the customer proves them wrong. 6. All customer service reps must be trained to de-escalate anger whenever possible, before it becomes an abusive conversation. 7. Leadership must show employees they have their backs regarding abusive customers. If employees are properly trained, leadership should respect an employee’s decision to end the call.

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You do not have to be an airline to appreciate these seven ideas. Not all may work for your particular situation, but one thing definitely will not work: eliminating the calls by disconnecting the phone number.

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Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker, researcher, and New York Times bestselling business author.

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How Sales Enablement And Sales Managers Can Partner To Drive Results Deriving best possible results from your enablement investments By Mike Kunkle, SPARXiQ

here is still a lot of discussion these days in the sales enablement community and the market at large about the need for sales and marketing alignment. I wish I saw more of it actually happening, but the concept is out there and there are examples of what good looks like.

When it happens, the results can be impressive: less internal friction, more effective messaging to both the market and individual buyers, more marketing-qualified leads and more efficient lead gen, improved deal velocity and sales velocity (greased by putting the right content in the right hands at the right time, for both sellers and buyers), and ultimately, improved sales results.

There’s another alignment and partnership opportunity that gets a lot less airplay yet has equal or greater potential to drive sales results: the alignment and partnership between sales enablement and front-line sales managers (FLSMs). If it sounds as if I am ignoring the need for top-down support for enablement from company executives and especially sales leadership – trust me, I am not. Sponsorship and support are critical. Leaders have a key responsibility in sharing the change story and inspiring and gaining support from front-line managers and employees. But without buy-in (not just compliance) from FLSMs, getting large-scale organizational results from sales enablement initiatives is a pipe dream. The role of these managers in driving change seems to be a fairly well-acknowledged point of view. Given that, engaging FLSMs is a critical strategy and worthy of further discussion. Disclaimer: Before I continue, I want to disclaim that while I try to mention other initiatives throughout, I will talk a lot about training in this post, using it as an example. It should be clear from my book, The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement (see a graphic of the blocks and systems here), that I champion enablement as being far more than just training, but it’s a convenient example for this post.

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How Sales Enablement And Sales Managers Can Partner To Drive Results

As a friend of mine says, “Don’t hear what I’m not saying.” You can apply the thoughts shared in this post to most of what you do as an enabler, to better partner with your FLSMs.

Recognize That Sales Enablement Is Change Management

from front-line managers, top-down support will only gain you a certain level of compliance. We all know that typically, FLSMs get promoted because they were good sales reps. And, they also still see their reps grappling with reality every day. This makes your FLSMs a great source of content, customization advice, feedback, and training program (or other enablement initiatives) reality checks. Getting your FLSMs involved in content development or customization is a great way to not only ensure your content will make a difference when used, but also to gain your managers’ support. Engage them, listen, take their advice when you can, and explain why if you can not (and have a good reason), and this will go a long way toward getting their buy-in. Doing a top-performer analysis will also add credibility to your efforts with managers.

I want to recognize that I’m talking about sales enablement as if it were some sort of, well… prepare yourself… change management project. [Insert ominous music here.] In case there is any doubt, I want to dispel it here before I move on.

Sales Enablement initiatives ARE Change Management projects. If you don’t acknowledge that, you will never get the best possible results from your enablement investments.

2. Develop FLSMs as Coaches Preparing FLSMs to coach effectively is another critical step. It is hard to ask them to coach if they have not received great coaching to use as a model to follow, or been trained on how to do it effectively. In one client organization, years ago, where I was asked to improve sales coaching effectiveness, managers thought they were coaching when they said, “Mary, you’ve missed your goal for the past two months and if you don’t hit it this month, I’ll be forced to document it and start performance management with you.” (And no, I’m not kidding.) In another, “sales coaching” was where the managers sat down with the reps to tell them what they were doing wrong and what to do instead. Then, it was “Go get ‘em, tiger” and “Do better next month.”

Engaging Front-line Sales Managers

With that said, let us talk about how sales enablement leaders can get FLSMs engaged in your sales performance change projects. I could write another book about this topic alone, so for this post, will confine myself to four recommendations. 1. Gain FLSM buy-In Gaining FLSM buy-in is the first step. Executive sponsorship and senior sales leader support are certainly important, but if you do not have true buy-in HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence presented by HR.com

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How Sales Enablement And Sales Managers Can Partner To Drive Results

This is not a post on sales coaching, specifically, but generally, to coach behaviors effectively after sales training, a sales methodology implementation, a new tool or product roll-out, or other enablement initiative, managers must know how to:

● Engage the rep in the construction of an action plan to implement a solution that will address the issue and improve their results ● Once results are improved, go back to the beginning and start again – to create a cadence of continuous improvement and a coaching culture

● Use reporting and analytics to identify areas for improvement ● Hypothesize about the possible behavior gaps that are responsible for the performance gaps ● Have a dialogue with their rep and observe them in action to confirm their hypothesis or determine the actual behavior gaps, meaning what they are doing compared to what was taught and known to be the most effective practice (ties back to that top performer analysis I mentioned earlier)

Get this plan in place, support your managers in executing it (engage, enable, empower), and you will establish great relationships with your FLSMs as you help them move the needle on the metrics that matter most and achieve their goals Read the complete article here.

● Conduct an effective coaching session where the rep is engaged in both the discovery process (coming to their own conclusion about what the manager now realizes) and building the solution. (Interestingly, this is not much different than what we expect reps should do with their buyers.)

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Mike Kunkle is Vice President, Sales Effectiveness Services, at SPARXiQ.

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The Relationally Intelligent Introvert You don’t have to be an extrovert to be wired for connection By Dr. Adam C. Bandelli, Bandelli & Associates

any of our clients often ask me if it is possible for introverts to have strong Relational Intelligence. As an extrovert, I have found this to be a fascinating question. The typical stereotypes of introverts are that they are presumed to be anti-social, dislike most people, and are not personable. On the contrary, many introverts love meaningful conversations and relationships. Susan Cain, the author of the book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, argues that modern western culture misjudges the capabilities of introverted people. Cain describes how society is biased against introverts, and that, people are taught from childhood that being sociable is to be desired. Introversion is often considered somewhere between disappointment and certain types of pathology.

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Research conducted by organizational psychologists and behavioral scientists supports Cain’s perspective. Numerous studies have found that introverts deeply value socialization. High-quality personal relationships play a key role in introverts’ overall happiness, well-being, and fulfillment. However, the common misconception is that extroverts are greater at building relationships. That’s because they place more importance on social interactions, are energized and refreshed after being in a crowd, and prefer to work in groups or teams rather than independently. However, our research at Bandelli & Associates has found that introverts often possess greater levels of Relational Intelligence than extroverts do.

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The Relationally Intelligent Introvert

Relationally intelligent introverts are often highly self-aware, observant, and are excellent listeners. In fact, one study conducted in 2018 by Newport Healthcare found that introverts tend to make more accurate observations about human behavior than extroverts. Introverts tend to “read” people and situations better. They also tend to think before speaking, meaning they’re less likely to say something at the wrong time or place in organizational settings.

does not mean that they are not wired for deep, intimate connections. Mistaking introversion for shyness is a common error. Introversion is a personality preference, while shyness can often stem from trauma or distress. Our research on Relational Intelligence suggests introversion is not a “second-class” trait but is a great asset for many leaders. Here are five ways relationally intelligent introverts are highly skilled at connecting with people and building strong, long-lasting relationships.

Relationally intelligent introverts are also more curious and inquisitive than extroverts. They ask questions first before having the need to share their thoughts or perspectives with others. And when they ask questions, they actively listen to what another person is communicating. They don’t feel the need to prepare their response as someone is speaking, which is often a bad habit for many extroverts.

1. Use of energy to Establish Rapport when meeting new people: One of the many differences between relationally intelligent introverts and extroverts is where introverts choose to place their ENERGY. Introverts are completely comfortable being alone. Silence is extremely calming to them. They also tend to be deep thinkers. They thrive off conversations that provoke thoughts. So, when introverts meet people for the first time, they have a knack for creating a strong initial positive connection because they are selective in the language and word choices that they use. They understand how to use non-verbal behaviors and eye contact to draw others into a conversation. And they are comfortable when there are pauses in a discussion. They use this time to reflect on what is being communicated, whereas extroverts dread moments of silence when interacting with others.

Relationally intelligent introverts are highly skilled at putting themselves in other people’s shoes. They have deep levels of empathy and use their EQ to understand their emotions, and those of others when building relationships. Although introverts may feel more comfortable focusing on their inner thoughts and ideas, rather than on what is happening externally, this

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The Relationally Intelligent Introvert

2. Active listening and empathy when Understanding Others: One of the greatest Relational Intelligence skills that introverts possess is how they learn about people. Relationally intelligent introverts are INTENTIONAL about putting in the time and effort needed to get to know others on a deep level. Because introverts prefer smaller, more intimate gatherings, it gives them greater opportunities to spend quality one-on-one time with people. Introverts are also phenomenal active listeners. Unlike extroverts, who can hear someone with their ears, but not pay attention because they are so focused on what they are going to say next, introverts take time to process and internalize the “what” and “how” others are communicating. This enables them to empathize on a deeper level and emotionally connect with friends, colleagues, and coworkers. 3. Greater thought and reflection about human behavior when Embracing Individual Differences: Relationally intelligent introverts process people and events for longer periods before sharing their thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Because they have less of an impulsive desire to speak before thinking, they take more time to learn and understand what makes others unique. Our research has found that AUTHENTICITY tends to be more important for introverts than it does for extroverts. This is because many extroverts enjoy being the center of attention and can put on facades easily to make their social interactions more enjoyable. Introverts, on the other hand, tend to have close relationships with a smaller number of friends, so “being themselves” comes more naturally.

5. Develop deep, close-knit relationships that enable them to Cultivate Influence on those they care about: Many introverts are empaths. They feel emotions on a deeper, more powerful way than most extroverts do. And because introverts tend to have high EQ, and are reflective thinkers, what they share with their friends and loved ones are usually well thought out. Where extroverts talk more than they listen, and can have the tendency to dominate conversations, introverts choose their words wisely. So, when relationally intelligent introverts provide feedback or input to others it can have a greater positive IMPACT on the lives of those they care about. Introverts do not get joy or pleasure from having surface-level relationships, so the people they choose as friends find them to be great listeners who are not judgmental. Introverts accept people for who they are and this contributes to the depth of the relationships they build over time. Although most people are not on the extreme ends of the scale when it comes to introversion or extroversion, historically introverts tend to get a bad reputation. They are viewed as naturally withdrawn, shy, and antisocial while extroverts are seen as charismatic, outgoing, boisterous, and assertive. It’s time for introverts to be acknowledged and commended for many of the great qualities they bring to developing relationships. While you may not be able to change your personality, you can learn, practice, and apply the skills of Relational Intelligence. In fact, introverts may be able to pick up these skills quicker than extroverts and it’s why they have the natural ability to build great relationships with others.

4. Invest more time in Developing Trust with people: Researchers have found that introverts typically have very close relationships with a smaller number of friends than their extroverted counterparts. These relationships can span decades because of the commitment and investment introverts make to get to know those they care about. When a relationally intelligent introvert has the desire to build a relationship with someone, they have an easier time being honest, candid, and VULNERABLE. Using these types of behaviors is what quickly strengthens the bonds an introvert has with those they invite into their ”inner circle.”

Adam C. Bandelli, Ph.D., is the Founder & Managing Director of Bandelli & Associates, a boutique consulting firm focusing on leadership advisory services and organizational effectiveness. He is the author of the book Relational Intelligence: The Five Essential Skills You Need to Build Life-Changing Relationships.

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Hiring Top Performers Post Covid Recovery How to identify top performers during a hiring process By Steven Rosen, STAR Results

iring top performers has always been the lifeblood of any sales organization. Covid-19 has changed sales forever. The three most important questions that we need to address when making hiring decisions for a sales position are:

performers do not always stand out in interviews. Despite good interviewing skills, many sales managers are guilty of making the following hiring mistakes:

1. Can the candidate effectively sell virtually? 2. Is the candidate agile enough to adapt based on the customer’s needs? 3. Does the candidate have the technical skills to sell using technology?

● Hiring experienced and industry knowledge over attitude

● Hiring people they like ● Settling for mediocrity to fill the vacancy

● Lack of a systematic process ● Not leveraging the power of science

Unfortunately, most sales organizations have not adapted their hiring process to identify top performers in the post-Covid reality.

Do your sales managers have the tools and processes to systematically identify top sales performers from those who are pretenders? Recognizing the difference is challenging!

Traditional Hiring Challenges

Your Hiring Process Is Key

The biggest problem that managers face is identifying which candidate has the potential to be a top performer. Most salespeople are good at selling themselves, and top

processes exist in-house that are sort of known and sort of used. This hiring process leads to mediocre results. Without a clear process, your sales managers will adopt their own approach and ultimately achieve sub-optimal results.

The Hiring Process Post Covid Should Consist of 4 Important Components 1. Fit Interview 2. Behavioral Interview 3. Virtual Selling Role Play 4. Scientific Assessment

Success in attracting, selecting, and hiring top performers depends more on a company’s process than the manager’s ability to hire. Like most companies, some hiring

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Hiring Top Performers Post Covid Recovery

1: Fit Interview As the title says, the goal of the initial interview is to assess fit. The beauty of the ‘Fit Interview’ is that even in the absence of excellent interviewing skills, the sales manager reviewing a candidate’s resume can ask questions about work history, education, personal interests, and accomplishments. The essential element in determining whether a candidate fits your culture and work environment. Is the candidate well-suited for a career in sales, does the candidate fit the existing sales team, and would you be able to work well with this candidate? 2: Behavioral Interview After determining whether the pool of potential candidates would be a good fit for you and your organization, you bring back the top candidates for a behavioral interview. This is a more formal interview with structured questions. The key here is a pre-established list of questions related to the organization’s core sales representative skills, competencies, and behaviors. Each sales manager should use this list and ask each candidate the same questions. The interviewer should take notes and rate the candidate’s response to each question. After each behavioral interview, the sales manager should rate each candidate.

Once all interviews are complete, the manager can reflect on each candidate’s competencies. Some companies also may conduct additional interviews with other managers and HR during this step. The goal is to determine if the candidate has demonstrated the competencies to function at a high level, as past successes are usually considered to indicate future success. 3: The Missing Link: Virtual Selling Role Play Once you have narrowed down your candidates based on behavioral interviews, it is essential to see how proficient they are at selling online. With the shift to hybrid selling, we need to ensure that potential candidates are equally adept at selling virtually. Before making any final decisions, I recommend that you incorporate a 20-minute role-play on Zoom to observe how comfortable and engaging they are on a virtual sales call. If you sell to a group of people, include other colleagues on the call. Make the role play as realistic as possible. Give them a scenario based on what they would be doing in their role and see how they perform. 4: Leverage Predictive Science Once you have narrowed the pool down to 1-2 potential candidates, the use of psychometric tests adds tremendous value to the hiring process. When hiring, a manager must understand that there are two possible issues in the interview process, 1) that top

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performers do not always stand out in interviews, and 2) that poor performers are adept at putting forth a favorable impression in the interview process.

Conclusion

With new realities, it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that sales representatives you hire can effectively sell in a virtual environment. It is also critical to utilize science to view potential candidates objectively. Adopting and following a consistent, multi-step process will ensure that your sales managers can determine who a top performer will be before making a hiring decision. This article first appeared here.

Steven A. Rosen, MBA, is the President of STAR Results. Steven brings over 20 years of experience in sales while coaching and mentoring senior sales executives and frontline sales managers to lead their businesses to new heights. Top Sales World named Steven one of the Top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencers 2013 - 2016.

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How Tech Can Help Bridge The Gap Between In-Person And Remote Work Challenges are opportunities disguised as creative problem-solving By Ian Foster, Center Cam

he dust is still settling from 2020, and we do not yet know the long-term ramifications up and down the strata of our societies from the

pandemic- but we do know that things have changed. The chart below is a startling visual of the change, provided by Statista.com.

Change to Remote Work Trends due to Covid-19 in the United States in 2020

take. But that is the point here. If almost half of us are working remotely now, why CAN’T we go to that vacation destination and work from there, costs of cave not-withstanding?

We spend a third of our lives working, so we can have food and a reasonable cave for the other two-thirds. Or afford that Airbnb for the one week of vacation we

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How Tech Can Help Bridge The Gap Between In-Person And Remote Work

It would have to be small enough that you would not notice it was there. Middle-screen webcams did not exist, so we made up the term.

What this does for teamwork, productivity, and most importantly, human connectedness, (which is different from technological connectedness), is the next phase of research of which we are only beginning to scratch the surface. There is a lot of general apprehension about the new shift to remote work; some of it is based on actual data, but much of it is steeped in the doctrines of the industrial revolution. Some of us do not think it is “work” unless it is “hard”, and a life where you can enjoy where you live AND your work schedule allows you to pick up the kids in the middle of the afternoon feels a little too spooky to be true. But like it or loathe it, the shift has happened, and when companies can get results and not have to service long-term commercial real-estate leases, it is not going away. The big question is, how can we take the best from the office, and the best from remote work, and combine it into something better than either alone? I started a company based on a problem that became personal in March of 2020. I was finishing an internship as a substance use counselor for teenagers when my Master’s of Social Work school told me I could not meet in person with the teenagers I was counseling. We switched to remote- but the tech instantly got in the way of the relationship. I asked myself the question, (and this question is valid across all industries when faced with a problem), “how can I/we improve this?” Simple enough question. An answer was to change the placement of the webcam from screen edge, to middle-screen- so we can see the people we are talking to in video conferences while we are talking to them. HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence presented by HR.com

There just is no substitute for in-person interactions. There still isn’t. It is why we go to concerts instead of just watching YouTubes of our favorite artists. There is an energy transference, a non-verbal communication exchange that happens that we have not figured out how to duplicate in the online space. Yet. But the pluses of remote work are enormous. Eliminate the commute. Eliminate work travel. Now, for you frequent flyer gold/platinum/MVP level jet-setters, this may be a downer- but the time wasted by even the most productive traveling worker is considerable. A day to get where you are going, get the rental car, check into the hotel, sleep in not your bed, meeting, do it all in reverse to get back to your cave. In-person is important to establish rapport as evidenced by many driving as much as seven hours for business meetings when flights are canceled. The time and cost associated with work travel are a thing of the past- and that is a good thing. To maximize our video conferencing, we need to take a little time and be deliberate about the way we are presenting ourselves. These are some easy, effective ways to make video conferencing more dynamic: 1. Care About Your Lighting The natural light from big windows in our office can be difficult for our webcam to deal with, so you may have to re-situate your desk or get a translucent curtain. Equally, a cave-like office with cold fluorescent lights will make your webcam project you like a vampire; switch to warm light bulbs if possible. Some indirect accent lighting with warm bulbs can go a long way. These are all $10 solutions that fix 90% of lighting issues. 2. Have a Dedicated Spot Where You Do Your Video Conferencing and Manage Your Background While some of my team’s favorite meme’s come from errant background errors, most of us are mortified when our kids are pulling shenanigans in the background of an important virtual business meeting.

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How Tech Can Help Bridge The Gap Between In-Person And Remote Work

3. Your Webcam Should Be on the Level of Your Eye-gaze If that is not possible, get it as close to that level as possible. No one wants to look at the top of your head, regardless of how pretty your hair is; or up your nose, regardless of the singular beauty of your nostrils. By looking into the webcam while you are talking, and by managing the video conference app window to put the frame of the person/people you are talking to as close to the webcam as possible, you can get closer to approximating a natural face-to-face conversation, which can have profound results for engagement, sales, comprehension, and so on.

to support those that do not have a dedicated home office and want their family to be able to live in their house while they work. Green screen kits are less than $100 on Amazon.

If you are looking for more robust solutions,

The vast majority of people like the association of people, and I would submit that one of the results of an all-remote workweek is that we will miss each other. We may not miss EVERYTHING about the office, but there are a lot of subtle benefits to going into work: the routine, the need for consistent hygiene practices, dressing-up- these things are simply good for our psyche. Without some of these built-in self-care mechanisms, it will be easier for some people to fall off the wagon, so to speak.

4. Holographic Technology There are a few technological breakthroughs that are making video-conferencing more dynamic. A next-gen product is made by patent holder Steve Mcnelly and DVE Holographics. Their holographic technology coupled with a camera puts the person you are videoconferencing with right in the room with you holographically. Think Star Trek. It’s real, it’s here. 5. Microsoft and Apple both have AI Powered Eye-gaze Corrective Softwares available in select products. They consume a lot of processing power, but more powerful chips are in the works and it is just a matter of time. While this corrective software can not fix a bad videoconference set-up with a screen-edge webcam way above your head on a 40-inch monitor, it can do a passable job for smaller screens of allowing you to look at the person you’re talking to, while your irises are digitally corrected to look into the webcam lens, creating eye-contact simulation. It is not as creepy as it sounds.

7. Informal Meetings or Unscripted “Jam” Sessions These can help remote co-workers get to know each other more personally and can be facilitated by managers or team members that are good at facilitating. These can be integrated into your normal meetings or stand-alone activities. As cringy as some “team-building” activities can be, everyone enjoys a GOOD team-building activity- and there are many virtual versions of this.

Periodic in-person meetings and/or activities are essential for effective psychological well-being and for team-building- even for introverts like me. In closing, there are many other ways to make remote work feel more connected. This will not just happen on its own. The opportunity is for employers, employees, as well as technological innovators to collaborate in improving the means by which we communicate via distance. If we are going to spend a third of our lives at work, those hours will be more fulfilling in direct correlation to the level of connection we have with our teams.

6. A Lighting Kit The bigger opportunity here for organizations is to look for ways to support their people now that the new normal has set in. It might mean some training on lighting- the DOs, DON’Ts and REALLY DON’Ts.

Ian Foster is Founder and CEO of Center Cam.

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A decent lighting kit can be had for less than $50. It might mean allocating some budget for backgrounds

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Business Success: Adopting Mother Nature’s Strategy Key principles to help increase your chance of long-term success By Jerry W. Thomas, Decision Analyst, Inc.

lanet Earth’s life in its many forms has survived and thrived over a period of at least three billion years. During this time, living organisms have survived the most incredible extremes, from worldwide warmth to bitterly cold ice ages, from heavy rainfall to extreme drought, from cosmic rays' bombardment to protective atmospheric conditions, from collisions with asteroids and comets to periods of tranquility, and from earthquakes and volcanoes to changing sea levels and rising and falling mountain ranges. Somehow, through all of these monumental changes and life-threatening events, life in all its glory and beauty has flourished. Maybe life (or nature, or the natural world) has some lessons to teach us about strategy?

others at times, but these advantages are fleeting. What nature gives, nature can take away. What are some of the principles, some truths, that we might take away from this laboratory of pure competition to help businesses increase their chances of long-term success?

1. Massive Investments in the Future

Virtually, all living organisms invest incredible energy and effort toward reproduction (i.e., the future). For example, think about how many acorns a large oak tree yields each year (thousands). A female house fly lays hundreds of eggs in her less-than-30day lifespan. Nature invests heavily in the future. Short-term profits do not drive behavior in the natural world. It’s all about long-term investment—massive investments.

We can think of the history of life on earth as a vast, long-term experiment in pure competition. Every living organism is competing with all other living organisms for resources (nutrients, sunlight, water, territory, etc.). Nature, or the natural world, is a laboratory of unfettered competition. It’s a dog-eat-dog, no-holdsbarred, day-in and day-out struggle. There are no government regulators to protect the weak or favor the strong. All organisms are given a chance, but not necessarily an equal chance. As the climate and the environment change (and change they do), some organisms are favored over

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Business Success: Adopting Mother Nature’s Strategy

This is a lesson that would serve corporate America well.

other organisms quickly take its place. Diversification is the strategy that the United States should pursue to achieve the strongest and most reliable economic growth.

2. Constant Experimentation

As organisms reproduce, random variation is built into the offspring. We can see this pattern in our own households. If you have multiple children, you will see differences in their physical appearance and in their personality tendencies. This is nature’s experimentation at work. It’s true across virtually all living organisms. Random variation is built into the reproductive system so that each offspring has a slightly different genetic makeup. These little differences mean that some offspring will do better than others, and the genetics favored by the existing environment will be more likely to carry over to the next generation. Every business should constantly run controlled experiments to improve operations and marketing.

3. Unrelenting Competition

Every organism is competing with every other organism, directly and indirectly. This brutal competition weeds out the inferior and the ill-adapted organisms. Those that survive are better and more efficient in some way(s) than the organisms that perish. Though painful and difficult, business leaders must constantly prune their organizations to improve productivity.

4. Rapid Adaptation

Earth’s environment is constantly changing. Geological history reveals that our planet’s environment has been one of extreme and rapid changes. Without the ability to adapt rapidly, few species would survive long-term. Sexual species evolved because the selection of mates allows a species to adapt more rapidly. Death serves the same purpose—to clear the way for new organisms and accelerate the rate of adaptation. The message is clear; stay in tune with your customers and your markets and rapidly adapt to their needs.

6. Specialization

For an individual organism, however, nature’s strategy tends to be specialization. Each organism is best adapted, or specialized, so that it can exploit a niche in the ecosystem. This same specialization is evident in the corporate world. Businesses should strive to achieve competitive advantage by specializing in a limited number of products, categories, technologies, business models, and/or geographies.

7. Autonomy

Each animal, plant, vine, insect, bacterium, and fungus stands alone and fends for itself. If an individual organism fails, the whole ecosystem does not collapse. Other organisms rush into the void. Social behavior among some species is a kind of collective intelligence, but each individual still retains autonomy. Micro-management does not work very well.

8. Intelligence

Each autonomous entity has the capacity to make “decisions” that might improve its chances of survival. Trees react to insects, temperature variations, rainfall and drought. Even the simplest bacteria have some decision-making capability. Everyone in an organization should be empowered to bring about positive change. These are some of the lessons that nature shares with us about long-term survival. If businesses and organizations follow some of nature’s principles, they too can improve their chances of long-term success.

Jerry W. Thomas is President and Chief Executive of Dallas/Fort Worth-based Decision Analyst Inc.

5. Diversification

For a whole planet or ecosystem, nature pursues a strategy of diversification. For example, thousands of trees, shrubs, vines, bacteria, fungi, etc., all compete with each other in a forest. If a tree falls, HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence presented by HR.com

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Tips To Lead Your Remote Team Better In 2022 The challenges, tools & engagement strategies By Ian Fraser, The Go Game / Weve

engaging and managing remote teams to create a strong company culture and an even stronger team.

What Are the Challenges of Managing Remote Teams?

Before you strategize solutions, it is important to understand the challenges you are facing or may face in the future. (And some you might not even realize you are already facing.) As a manager, your focus is often divided. With remote teams, your focus becomes even more divided as your staff is dispersed across the world. Small things like spontaneous meetings in the hallway or catching up at the water cooler become more difficult, and it might become harder to maintain personal relationships with your employees.

eing a manager is already tough. Navigating the switch to fully remote teams in the last few years has probably made your job even tougher. Leading remote teams is not intuitive and requires different skills than in-person management. However, with practice and the right tools, you can manage a remote team effectively. In my experience as the co-founder and CEO of The Go Game & Weve (the leader in team-building and culture-driving games), I have discovered a number of tried-and-true ways to better lead and manage a remote team. Use these tips and tools below for

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Tracking tasks, deadlines, and productivity can also become more difficult without a centralized office and meeting space. There is an inherent barrier in communication when teams are no longer in the same space. Without seeing the faces and body language of your employees daily, it may be hard to gauge and maintain team morale. If it is your first time leading a remote team, you'll have to consider things like what are the best ways to manage remote workers? And of course, more questions will arise depending on your specific team. On top of all of this, it is your job to promote a culture of strong teamwork, so you will have to navigate how to facilitate team building remotely.

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Tips To Lead Your Remote Team Better In 2022

Though these challenges can seem daunting, there are a lot of great benefits of remote teams (like having meetings in sweatpants). Seriously, though, it seems like remote work is here to stay, and with some planning, there are many ways to lead remote teams successfully.

scheduled time. In addition to honoring productivity, your employees will know that you are respectful of their time, which is part of being a good leader when leading remote teams.

How Do You Lead a Team Meeting Remotely?

Any job is made easier with the right tools. Set your team up for success by filling your virtual toolbox with tools for messaging, project management, storage, and more.

If you have a team that is dispersed across the globe, the potentially simple act of scheduling a meeting becomes more difficult when you take time zones into account. (You don’t want anyone to have to wake up in the middle of the night to talk strategy!) Once you figure out scheduling, it’s important to be strategic about meetings. No one likes to walk away from a meeting feeling like they wasted their time. Overscheduling meetings might lead to the feeling of wasting time. Having too many meetings might also get in the way of your employees actually getting work done. On the other hand, too few meetings might lead to a lapse in productivity and communication and people might feel out of the loop. Every team will have different needs, and don’t be afraid to ask your team what a good meeting rhythm might be. Once you have sorted that out, it is important to make your meetings matter and have the right tools to engage your team. In addition to the regular meeting agenda, take some time for some small talk at the start or end of the meeting. Start off with an ice breaker or an opportunity for everyone to share how they’re doing or feeling. Of course, with a meeting of dozens of people, this might not be feasible, so you can use a poll, text chat, or another way that may work better to check in with everyone. For regular meetings, you are going to need a stable and dependable video meeting platform. Make sure your meeting platform has the ability to create the kind of meetings your employees are going to want to join and that keep them engaged. Since gathering remote teams is an investment in time and resources, it’s important to get down to business in a timely manner, and wrap up by the

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Tools to Help You Manage Your Team Remotely

Messaging tools: In addition to email, you are going to need ways for your employees to touch base for quick asks. Messaging systems like Slack lets everyone message instantly. In addition to one-on-one direct messages and group messages, you can also create channels for different conversation topics to keep things organized. Project management tools: To keep everyone on the same page, it is important to implement project management tools like Trello or Asana. These tools make sure that everyone is aware of due dates. You can also assign smaller tasks within the project to different people so everyone knows what they are responsible for. Storage and sharing tools: It’s important that crucial documents and information are stored where employees can easily access them. Tools like Google Drive and Dropbox let everyone add, edit, and download assets so they stay current. Communication tools: In an office, it is easy to show someone how to do something. That becomes much more challenging for remote teams. Loom allows you to record quick videos of your screen so you can make explainer videos that your team can easily access, save, and replay. Meeting tools: While platforms like Zoom and Google Meets can do the basics, Weve was intentionally designed as an all-in-one virtual events and meeting platform to make meetings more memorable, engaging, and impactful.

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Tips To Lead Your Remote Team Better In 2022

Fun tools: Okay, these ones are not totally necessary, but they are totally fun. PizzaTime and CoffeeTime make it easy for your whole team to have coffee or pizza delivered around the same time so you can organize a pizza party or coffee break together. Keep morale high by planning a surprise hangout where food and drinks show up at your team’s door.

on how to better lead a team meeting remotely, and try out the helpful tools for managing a team remotely. Also, scheduling recurring team-building experiences is the key to creating and maintaining a strong and engaging company culture while managing remote teams. Now, go out there and have fun managing your remote workforce!

How to Engage Remote Employees

Engaging a team that does not get to connect regularly outside of work is one of the challenges of managing remote employees. There is a possibility that your remote employees don't know each other and even that you may have never met your employees in person. So how do you help them bond? There are many virtual team-building activities, but our favorite way to help teams bond is through games. Playing together is a great way to engage team members, help them get to know each other outside of their regular workday tasks, and change up workplace power dynamics as they interact in a new way.

Ian Fraser is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Go Game / Weve, the leader in team-building and culture-driving games. Ian and chief technology officer, Finn Kelly, co-founded The Go Game in 2000 to bring fun to work through interactive games, events, and experiences that make employees feel connected and engaged. In 2020, The Go Game launched Weve, which creates dynamic digital environments that enable real engagement that goes beyond the market standard video conferencing tool.

From Pictionary to Lip Sync Battles, make play a priority — employees who bond and create strong connections with their team are more likely to feel committed to and remain at their workplaces.

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To Wrap It All Up

If you’re wondering how to better lead your remote team in 2022, these tips will help. Follow our advice HCM Sales, Marketing & Alliance Excellence presented by HR.com

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