newsclips
MARCH 2014
Twelve Outstanding Junior Citizens Recognized During Queen’s Park Ceremony On Friday March 6, the Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, hosted the 32nd annual Ontario Junior Citizens of the Year Awards ceremony in his Suite at Queen’s Park. Twelve outstanding youth from across Ontario were recognized in front of family and friends for their inspiring community involvement. The Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) would like to thank corporate sponsors TD Bank Group and Direct Energy, as well its member newspapers for their continued commitment to recognize tomorrow’s leaders. Top from left to right: Dave Walton, Manager, Business Generation, Direct Energy; Sarah Jones, 16, Guelph; Bailey Whitehouse, 17, Augusta; Zachary Blatman, 16, Thornhill; Anna-Sofia Lesiv, 17, Nobleton; Brody Longmuir, 17, St. Catharines; Tina Murphy, Manager, Community Relations, TD Bank Group. Middle from left to right: Connor Withers, 8, Burlington; Faith Dickinson, 11, Lakefield; Thomas Glatzmayer, 11, Manotick. Bottom from left to right: Kelsey Hroch, 17, Sault Ste. Marie; Justina Marianayagam, 17, Mississauga; the Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Hannah Bywater, 13, Callander; and Jonathan Marcello, 16, Barrie.
WHAT’S INSIDE:
MUNICIPAL ELECTION GUIDELINES
GIVING...OR GIVING IN?
Regulations in place for publishing campaign advertisements and other material.
It’s our job to create ads that will generate traffic for the advertiser.
See Page 8
See Page 10
MANAGING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS Trying to view a hiring process from the candidate’s perspective
See Page 14
March 2014 MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE ONTARIO1 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS ASSOCIATION www.ocna.org
ASSOCIATION NEWS
The Squeaky Wheel
By Anne Lannan OCNA Executive Director
First of all a special thank you goes out to all our publishers, advertising managers and editors who have been so diligent in promoting the strengths of our industry with their local MPPs and MPs. We would like to believe that the squeaky wheel really does get the grease and are very pleased to see both a provincial government and federal government ministry campaign come through in March. This happens to be the end of both government’s fiscal years. The provincial government’s Ministry of Health is advertising Eat Right Ontario. This is the first full ministry campaign since the Seniors’ Home Renovation Tax Credit campaign (Ministry of Finance) in December 2012 and February 2013. Other than firewood ads from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in specific markets across the province, the federal government’s Ministry of Finance is ad for the Economic Action Plan is the first significant campaign community newspapers in Ontario have seen since the Spring of 2012 with the changes to the Old Age Security Pensions. The association is committed to ensuring the government, and all advertisers, receive the message about how effective community newspapers are as an advertising tool to reach Ontarians. There certainly is strength in numbers so local support from our publishers has an impact.
NEWSCLIPS VOLUME 03, ISSUE 06 3228 South Service Rd. Suite 116 Burlington, ON L7N 3H8 p.905.639.8720 f.905-639.6962 e. info@ocna.org w. www.ocna.org
OCNA BOARD PRESIDENT
Gordon Cameron
FIRST VP INTERIM
Dave Adsett
SECOND VP
Andrea DeMeer
SECRETARY/ TREASURER
Dave Harvey
PAST PRESIDENT
Mike Mount
DIRECTORS
Abbas Homayed Mike Power Rick Shaver Ray Stanton John Willems
It’s Time to Get Together I look forward to seeing many of you at the OCNA Spring Convention on April 3-4 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan. The convention is a special time for us to get together to Continued on Page 9 >>>
IN THIS ISSUE... 05 ......................OCNA’S ANNUAL SPRING CONVENTION PROGRAM 07 ...........................REPORTER COMPOUNDED MISTAKES IN STORY 08 .................................................MUNICIPAL ELECTION GUIDELINES 09 .......................................................NEW MULTICULTURAL WEBSITE
OCNA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Anne Lannan
CONTROLLER
Todd Frees
MEMBER SERVICES
Karen Shardlow Kelly Gorven
ACCOUNTING
Lucia Shepherd
AD*REACH
Ted Brewer Carolyn Press Erica Leyzac
10 ......................................................................GIVING...OR GIVING IN? 11 ...........................................DID THE DOG EAT YOUR HOMEWORK? 12 .......5 REASONS TO BECOME A BETTER BUSINESS NEGOTIATOR 14 ............................................MANAGING THE INTERVIEW PROCESS March 2014
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MEMBER NEWS
Publisher of Lake Erie Beacon Wins Ontario Heritage Trust Award
OCNA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
The Ontario Heritage Trust recognizes individuals and groups who have made volunteer contributions to preserving, protecting and promoting community heritage. Since 1996, the Ontario Heritage Trust has asked Ontario municipalities, First Nations band councils and Métis community councils to nominate individuals in their communities who have made a significant contribution to the promotion, preservation or protection of Ontario's heritage. At a recent Central Elgin Council meeting the annual Ontario Heritage Trust Awards were presented to recipients from the area by Mayor Bill Walters and Councillor Sally Martyn of Heritage Central Elgin. For 2013 the Cultural Heritage Award was given to Andrew Hibbert for his work preserving the heritage of the area and especially Port Stanley. He and his wife Linda run the biweekly newspaper, the Lake Erie Beacon, where Andrew writes about local history and for the last two years on events from the War of 1812. He is an active member of Heritage Port and the Stork Club Museum and Cultural Centre. Andrew has served on the Doors Open Committee for Port Stanley/Sparta since its inception nine years ago. Those selected receive a certificate of recognition and a pin honouring their volunteer work. Individuals are recognized for leadership of natural heritage conservation and restoration projects, long-standing voluntary service to local heritage organizations, production of local history publications and participation in the preservation of heritage buildings.
CELEBRATIONS AT THE STURGEON FALLS TRIBUNE OFFICE Sturgeon Falls West Nipissing Tribune celebrated a birthday on February, 28. Journalist Allison Roy-Loranger was surprised with a red velvet cake by graphic designer Charlene Bolduc, and serenaded by JR Aubertin, who is being inducted into the Northern Ontario Country Music Hall of Fame.
Allison also celebrated her marriage in February.
From left to right: Mayor Bill Walters, Andrew Hibbert and Councillor Sally Martyn of Heritage Central Elgin.
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
OCNA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT NEW REPORTER AND LAYOUT DESIGN EMPLOYEE AT STURGEON FALLS TRIBUNE Bradley Aubin joined the staff at the Sturgeon Falls West Nipissing Tribune on January 21 as Reporter and Layout Designer. Brad claims to have landed his dream job - he is ecstatic about sitting in his chair and playing on his computer.
NEW REPORTER FOR THE WATERDOWN FLAMBOROUGH REVIEW Mac Christie has joined the staff of the Flamborough Review. A native of Ontario's west coast, Christie has previously reported in Ottawa, Saskatchewan, and most recently at the Exeter Times-Advocate. A graduate of Carleton University's journalism program with a passion for news, sports and everything in between, he now lives in Hamilton and looks forward to telling stories of the Flamborough area.
BREAKING NEWS
Newspaper layout expert goes freelance • More than 20 years’ experience in newspaper production • Deadline-driven, meticulous production professional • Reasonable rates • References available
LEADERSHIP CHANGED FOR METROLAND KAWARTHA Bruce Danford, VP and Regional Publisher, Kawartha, has decided to retire after 35 years at Metroland. As of February 10, Mike Mount expanded his responsibilities and the Kawartha Region became part of Metroland East. Best wishes to Bruce as he enjoys retirement and congratulations to Mike on his expanded leadership role.
March 2014
If you are an established or start-up newspaper looking for a reliable design and production expert to work from home, give me a call...let’s chat.
613-612-5373 • patti@pattimoran.ca www.coroflot.com/pattimoran
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
Join OCNA for the Annual Spring Convention and BNC Awards Gala Join OCNA for the 2014 Spring Convention and Awards Gala on Friday, April 4, 2014 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Vaughan. Take advantage of the information sessions being offered, including What’s Hot in Advertising and Editorial and How Technology is Revolutionizing Community Newspapers. The day will also include the introduction of OCNA’s 2014/2015 Board of Directors, Quill Award Presentations and of course, the BNC Gala where first, second and third place winners of the Better Newspapers Competition will be announced. OCNA members can register for this year’s Spring Convention online at www.ocna.org/registration2014. For more information, please contact Karen Shardlow at k.shardlow@ocna.org or 905-639-8720 x 232.
2014 OCNA SPRING CONVENTION
Hilton Garden Inn Vaughan, ON April 3 - 4, 2014
CONFERENCE PROGRAM: Thursday, April 3rd 9am-12pm 12pm-3pm
cnrie Board Meeting OCNA Board Meeting
3pm-5pm
Annual General Meeting - OCNA/OCNF/ cnrie Independent Publishers’ Sessions Welcome Soiree at Dave & Busters
6:30pm-10pm
Friday April 4th 8am-9am 9am-12pm
12pm-2pm
2pm-3pm
3pm-4:30pm
5:30pm-6:30pm 6:30pm-10pm 10pm-1am
March 2014
Breakfast What’s Hot in Advertising & Editorial • Offering hot topics for both Advertising and Editorial - more info to follow Lunch • The Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario • Introduction of 2014/2015 Board of Directors • Quill Award Presentations Kevin Donovan, Investigate Editor & Senior Reporter, Toronto Star • Focus on Investigative Reporting Industry Panel • How Techonolgy is Revolutionizing Community Newspapers BNC Gala Reception BNC Gala Dinner Celebratory Gathering at the Great North American Grill
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
Local Media Association Mulls Broader Membership The Local Media Association board of directors is recommending a bylaw change to allow for the creation of a new class of membership called ‘Local Media Members,’ which will include non-newspaper media companies, such as TV stations, radio stations, directory publishers, pureplays and more. "We can showcase best practices in local media by inviting all these groups," says Nancy Lane, LMA’s president. Lane says the group has had a dozen inquiries in the last six months from non-newspaper companies interested in membership. The group’s board of directors has spent the last two years analyzing the current membership requirements for the organization and soliciting input from a diverse mix of LMA members. According to a survey sent in December, members support the change to the bylaws but they also want to keep the association’s focus on the newspaper industry. There is a 21-day period for the change to be accepted, but the vote currently stands at 20-1 in favour on the first day. “We knew there was strong support going in,” says Lane. Though trade organizations are under increasing pressure and the need to be relevant, Lane denied that the move is a survival play. “It’s not about survival, but we’re not going to sit back. We’re always looking to get better,” she says. “Being more inclusive helps us help our members with the digital transition,” Lane adds. Suzanne Schlicht, LMA treasurer and chief operating officer of the World Co., is heading a bylaws committee, which also includes LMA directors Bob Brown, president, Swift Communications; Brandon Erlacher, publisher, The Elkhart Truth; and Chris Lee, president, Deseret Digital Media. “The LMA board has long thought there is a place for non-newspapers in our organization,” Schlicht said in a statement. “We agree with our members that there is opportunity in casting a wider net to learn from other local media organizations outside our core industry.” The LMA is already reaching out to non-newspaper groups including the Local Search Association Lane says the group will be conducting Google Adwords training at the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual convention in Las Vegas next month.
E-paper (Flipbook) versions of your newspaper editions and sales brochures with live links.
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From $25 per edition. 416.929.0011 or production@thebulletin.ca March 2014
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
Reporter Compounded Mistakes in Story, Press Council Finds Press Release from the Ontario Press Council A complaint by a York University professor about a story in the Toronto Star that misrepresented statements he made regarding homosexuality following his lecture at a session sponsored by the organization Living Waters, has been upheld by the Ontario Press Council. In the Council’s opinion, the delay in identifying and acknowledging the error was not acceptable, compounded the potential damage to Dr. Martin’s reputation and could have been avoided. When the Star was advised of Dr. Martin’s concerns, the reporter defended the story. At the Press Council hearing, the Star acknowledged that the reporter should have been required to check his notes and his interview with Dr. Martin before asserting that the reported statement was accurate. There was then a delay before the error was discovered and acted on. During this time a letter critical of the professor was published, thereby adding to the impact of the story on Dr. Martin. The Star’s public editor acted promptly once the mistake was discovered by publishing a correction and a letter from the professor; in addition, the online version of the story was edited. The error in this case was significant. The Council concluded that the review by the reporter should have been done sooner and before defending the story, and that more care should be taken before deciding to publish letters to the editor that assume a published story is accurate before an investigation of a complaint is complete.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Do you have:
• New Employees • An Upcoming Retirement • A New Special Section
Share your updates and photos with us! Send all information to: newsclips@ocna.org
CLASSIFIED AD
March 2014
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
What Newspapers Should Know About the Municipal Election The following is information from the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and Regulations passed under it relating to campaign expenses of candidates and other relevant matters. The full Municipal Elections Act, 1996 as amended and the applicable regulations may be found at http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page219.aspx.
recorded for donations more than $10. The financial statement is a public document. Clerks are required to make all financial statements available in an electronic format free of charge. The limit on contributions donated in money, goods, or services from an individual, corporation or trade union is $750 to any one candidate, regardless of the number of offices the candidate was nominated for during the election period. The limit on contributions to a candidate who is running for mayor in the City of Toronto is $2,500. The maximum total amount a contributor may contribute to candidates in the same jurisdiction is $5,000. Each municipal council and each school board is a separate jurisdiction. Only the candidate and those persons authorized by the candidate can accept campaign contributions. Contributions can only be accepted during the campaign period and only from a person or entity entitled to make a contribution. For the purpose of this Act, costs incurred for goods and services by or on behalf of a person wholly or partly for use in his or her election campaign are expenses.
Dates to Remember Nomination Period: Jan. 2, 2014 - Friday, Sept. 12, 2014 at 2pm Final Day to Withdraw: Friday, September 12, 2014 Voting Day: Monday, October 21, 2014 Council Terms Begin: Monday, December 1, 2014
Contributions and Expenses Please note there are no advertising blackout periods nor requirements to print that ads are ‘authorized by’. Limits for newspapers selling advertising for less than market value: If goods and services used in a person’s election campaign are purchased for less than their market value, the difference between the amount paid and the market value is considered a contribution. The value of free political advertising, provided that such advertising is made available to all candidates and is in accordance with the Broadcasting Act (Canada) is not considered to be a contribution.
Formula to calculate the candidates spending limit: • Head of municipal council: $7,500 + .85 per eligible elector • Member of municipal council or school board: $5,000 + .85 per eligible elector During the period that begins on the day a candidate is nominated, and ends on voting day, his or her expenses shall not exceed an amount calculated in accordance with the prescribed formula. Within 10 days after nomination day, the clerk must give candidates a final spending limit.
Joint campaigns/Running on a slate - There is nothing in the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 that would prevent like-minded candidates from campaigning on the same platform or identifying themselves as a group or slate. However, each candidate must keep their campaign finances separate and any joint expenses (for example, signs with two candidate’s names on them) must be divided between the campaigns.
Other Considerations
For the purpose of this Act, a candidate’s election campaign period for an office shall be determined in accordance with the following rules [and subject to some variations set out in the Act]: 1. The election campaign period begins on the day he or she files a nomination for the office 2. The election campaign period ends on December 31 in the case of a regular election, but can be extended if campaign has run a deficit.
New for 2014 - Voters are required to show identification in order to vote. The requirement to show identification that has your signature on it has been removed. Reporting and photography at polling stations - Under section 47(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, the only people who may remain in a voting place when the vote is being taken or counted are election officials, candidates, and scrutineers. Please note that the clerk designates each voting place, and the designation may include the entire property of the building where voting is taking place. There are also strict regulations about interfering with voters, influencing voters, showing/looking at ballots, etc. Reporters and photographers should be aware that penalties for contravention of the Act are fines of up to $25,000 for individuals and up to $50,000 for corporations and trade unions, or up to six months in prison.
A contribution shall not be made to, or accepted by, or on behalf of a candidate outside his or her election campaign period. Contributions received outside the campaign period that cannot be returned to the contributor, or any anonymous contributions, must be turned over to the clerk. An expense shall not be incurred by or on behalf of a candidate outside his or her election campaign period. Contributions accepted by the candidate must be reported in the financial statement to be filed with the clerk by the candidate, which includes the name and address of any contributor who made a total aggregate contribution, including the value of goods and services, exceeding $100. Funds collected at fundraising events must also be March 2014
The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 does not prohibit campaigning on voting day. While there are restrictions on advertising for federal and provincial elections on voting day, these ‘blackouts’ do not exist for municipal and school board elections. 8
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ASSOCIATION NEWS
Time to Celebrate Newspaper Excellence >>> Continued from Page 2
recognize the outstanding work produced by newspaper professionals week in and week out, to honour long-term service to our industry, to participate in meetings and educational sessions. But, isn’t there always a but, don’t forget the importance of networking with your peers, building relationships, and learning tips and tricks from others. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will also be joining us at the Friday lunch. It has been a long winter and I’ve heard from some of you how you are looking forward to shaking off the cabin fever by celebrating with people who really understand what you do and why you do it. It has been a long winter and you have had to work even harder in January and February to counter the impact the weather has had on ad sales and attitudes, so let’s ring in spring together and get reinvigorated for the new season.
Affordable media insurance for Canadian Community Newspapers Contact us for a quote: Todd Frees, General Manager 905-639-8720 ext. 234 t.frees@ocna.org
Added Value for your Media Kit Just a reminder for our member newspapers that they are welcome to use the Market Data Sheets the association has created for our member newspapers through our Geographic Information System. The sheets can complement your local media kits. Produced with Statistics Canada data and mapping software, the two page information sheets are used by AdReach when advertisers are looking at specific markets across the province. Data sets include such things as average household spending by category, population, age cohorts, household size, household income, education, languages, etc. and also contain a map of the newspaper’s distribution area. For a copy of your individual market datasheet, e-mail Carolyn Press at c.press@ocna.org.
New Multicultural Website Targeted at all Canadians, NewCanadianMedia.ca is a non-profit Web site servicing the multicultural market. It states it is dedicated to news and views about the one-fifth of Canadians who are immigrants. Their mission is to engage all immigrant communities and ensure they are a vital part of Canada’s national conversation. Founder George Abraham shared details of the new organization in an interview with J-Source and stated that essentially they are trying to represent the immigrant perspective in Canadian discourse. NewCanadianMedia.ca delivers original content on developments in politics and society, and helps enhance the understanding of diversity. Registered as a new non-profit corporation with an educational mandate, NewCanadianMedia.ca is providing new Canadian journalists a platform to practice their skills through training and mentoring. It will advance journalism education by sponsorhing and participating in public debates and offer internships. March 2014
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DESIGN
Giving...Or Giving In?
By Ed Henninger Henninger Consulting I’ve been a consultant for almost a quarter century. Before that, I worked at newspapers for almost another quarter century. I’ve heard ‘I’m only giving the customer what he wants’ more than just a few times during those years. And every time I hear it, I cringe—because I’m convinced the person who says it is not doing what he/she says. In fact, I believe the person who says ‘I’m only giving the customer what he wants’ is doing just the opposite. Yes, there are customers out there who will tell us precisely what they want the ad to say—or precisely how they want it to look. And they can be very difficult to work with. They want a one-column by two-inch ad. They want it to contain at least 3,000 words. Twelve illustrations. Four colours. A 12-point border. Reversed. OK, I’m exaggerating…but you get the point. Some advertisers are stubborn. They claim to know what they want and they won’t advertise with us unless they get it. So, we run an ad like the one here. It’s just awful—and we know it. But we believe we are ‘…only giving the customer what he wants.’ We’re not. We’re giving the customer what he thinks he wants. What your advertiser really wants is traffic. He wants you to help get buyers to his store or to his phone or to his Web site. We create traffic for that advertiser by using our skills and experience to give him an ad that does the job—not one that satisfies his need to be ‘creative.’ It’s our job to create an ad that will generate traffic for the advertiser. To do that, we sometimes have to convince the customer that what he thinks he wants isn’t what he really wants. That may mean doing some spec ads. It may mean a longer visit in the customer’s shop. For sure, it’s going to mean more time and effort on our part. But that’s our job. It’s our responsibility to give the customer the best ad we can. We need to do our job. Part of that calls for us to convince the customer to keep an open mind and to give us credit for our experience, our training and our skills. If the customer doesn’t have an open mind—if he still insists on getting what he thinks he wants, we need to ask ourselves where we’ve failed to help him. Yes, there will occasionally be that advertiser who flat-out insists that you run an ad the way he wants it. But remember: It’s still your newspaper. You can choose to reject the ad. And occasionally turning down an ad means you’re not just going to let any customer cheapen the look of your product. And it may just gain enough respect from him that he will listen more closely the next time we visit him. Or…you can take the money, run the ad, and continue ‘…only giving the customer what he wants.’ It’s your choice.
ED HENNINGER is an independent newspaper consultant and the Director of Henninger Consulting, offering comprehensive newspaper design services at: www.henningerconsulting.com. March 2014
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ADVERTISING
Did the Dog Eat Your Homework? By John Foust Raleigh, NC
It’s no secret that the more salespeople know about their prospects – before they begin a sales presentation – the better their chance for a successful outcome. In advertising, this means learning prospects’ business and marketing histories, identifying major competitors and analyzing what they want to accomplish in their advertising. Since pre-presentation homework is such a crucial step in the sales process, why don’t more salespeople make it a top priority? There are several possible reasons:
Their mantra is not ‘Ready, aim, fire.’ It’s ‘Ready, aim, aim.’ This approach creates the risk of losing relevant, usable information in a mountain of details.
5. Poor Time Management
You may be familiar with the time management grid which illustrates four categories: (1) Urgent and Important, (2) Urgent but not Important, (3) Important but not Urgent and (4) not Urgent and not Important. It’s human nature to concentrate on the tasks which are in the urgent category, regardless of their importance. Something shouts ‘do this now,’ and we do it – often without asking ourselves if it can wait.
1. Impatience
High-energy sales people thrive on the adrenaline of the pitch and are eager to get to the main event. After all, isn’t that where the powers of persuasion come into play? And isn’t that where decisions are made?
Good time managers discipline themselves to focus on tasks which are important but not urgent. Preparation time can easily be put on the back burner, but they don’t let that happen.
Impatience has a big downside. It sends a signal that salespeople are (1) unprepared and (2) concerned only about themselves. That’s a negative first impression that is difficult to overcome in a presentation.
6. Lack of Desire
Every job has its most favourite and least favourite parts. Strong salespeople persevere through the parts they don’t like, because they see how those duties fit into the big picture. Weak salespeople simply avoid the things they don’t like.
2. Over Confidence
This is particularly common with experienced account executives; they feel like they can wing it, instead of spending time gathering information. They have dealt with so many widget dealers that they think they can skip the discovery step.
7. Lack of Perspective
Too many salespeople – veterans as well as rookies – simply don’t realize the importance of research. The message here for them is: knowledge is power. That goes for knowledge of the sales process, as well as knowledge of their prospective advertisers.
3. Lack of Knowledge and Skills
Sales people may skip this step because they don’t know the techniques to gather information. They may not have learned how to ask open-ended questions to encourage prospects to talk. They may be poor listeners. They may not know where to find information (online research, networking, etc.).
4. Research Paralysis
Some people are more comfortable with technology than they are with people. Rather than avoid gathering information, they overdo it. You’ll find them at their desks, basking in the glow of their computer monitors, poring over online and database research, surrounded by charts and graphs.
March 2014
(c) Copyright 2013 by John Foust. All rights reserved. JOHN FOUST has conducted training programs for thousands of newspaper advertising professionals. Many ad departments are using his training videos to save time and get quick results from in-house training. E-mail for information: jfoust@mindspring.com
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BUSINESS
5 Reasons to Become a Better Business Negotiator By Patrick Tinney Managing Partner Centroid Training & Marketing I don’t believe “ you have to
or both. When we negotiate business deals they have a residual affect. Our ability to negotiate smart, cooperative, profitable deals that stand the test of time brings stability to our business world and to those who we work with. The reason we work for smart cooperative deals is that we want the party we have negotiated with to complete their side of the agreement in good faith. Cooperation in a negotiation has another affect. There are almost always problems that pop up with contract fulfillment. If we’ve created smart, cooperative deals it lays the groundwork for successfully working through smaller problems that must be negotiated to keep contract delivery on track, on time and on budget.
be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be. - Ken Venturi, PGA Golf Professional
”
As a life skill, business negotiation falls into a vague category. It’s not really taught as a business skill until college or university and then for the most part not given the same due diligence as other business subjects such as math, accounting, finance or marketing. Yet most in business profess to be good negotiators. However, most cannot name a single negotiation strategy or describe a negotiation philosophy or process. Experience gained over a successful business career has taught me that the subject of business negotiation is personal and even ego driven. The funny thing is that we spend a lifetime in business bargaining and negotiating on a daily basis but never really take the time to read current books on the subject, or better yet participate in negotiation training. Professional business negotiators have lived in the trenches and have learned from the business titans in their respective business categories. Professional negotiators learn not from easy victories over weak adversaries. They learn by watching and making mistakes in large business negotiations. They learn by sweating for months over multi-million dollar deals that could possibly affect the job stability of their business colleagues. They also learn by running a post mortem on every negotiation they complete grading it via a set of measurable benchmarks. I’m not sure about my business colleagues, but the reason I work so hard in business is for my family. I want to create a better life for them than I had growing up. So, if I’m passionate about creating better life conditions for my family why on earth would I allow myself to senselessly give away hard earned cash in poorly crafted business deals? Why wouldn’t I try to be my best in negotiating deals so loved ones can enjoy a tiny bit more!
2. Business Internal - In a prior life I worked on the management team of Canada’s largest newspaper company. We represented 125+ newspapers and I can tell you without hesitation that being a deft internal negotiator was critical. It seemed every day was an internal negotiation marathon. The smartest professionals I worked beside became proficient at negotiating upward in the organization. They realized the greatest gains were achieved in bargaining with senior managers to get budget approvals, change policy, and making sure year-end bonuses got the full internal bargaining treatment! It pleases me nowadays that business leaders such as KPMG are preaching the concept of ‘low self-interest’ to their employees and partners. Low self-interest, if executed sincerely, makes internal negotiations much more expeditious because it is built into their corporate culture. 3. Large Personal Purchases - The number of large personal purchases we make over a lifetime is mind boggling. We buy cars, homes, cottages, boats, vacations, financial services, home furnishings/ renovations and so on. It’s not too long before this number reaches $1,000,000. With this in mind let me leave you with a simple piece of negotiation arithmetic. Every single percentage point you can claim in a negotiation on $1,000,000 is worth $10,000. Think of the possibilities!
Here are five ‘life changing’ reasons to become a better business negotiator:
1. Business External - If you’re in business chances are you either engage customers, suppliers March 2014
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BUSINESS
4. Family Negotiations - Family negotiations are the most sensitive. Especially when dealing with children and the elderly. Knowing how to prepare and present negotiations on delicate subjects is paramount. We always want everyone to feel like they’re being heard and being fulfilled even under the most challenging of circumstances. So the question is‌.is your family worth your effort to become a better negotiator so you can gently weave these skills into your family relationships?
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5. Reputation - In my view, reputation is a variable in life affected on a 360 degree basis, in many cases without our knowledge. So, I take reputation in stride and let my positive actions speak loudest. However, in a business negotiation setting I want all those who know me or know of me to believe that I leave no stone unturned. I want them to believe they better have their game on if they plan to engage me! Business negotiation is like entering a high-stakes poker game. Your reputation and table presence matters! Real money is in play and points can be saved!
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Ontario Community Newspapers Association AND Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards
PATRICK TINNEY is the founder of Centroid Training and Marketing, a consulting firm helping organizations make and save money through consultative selling, sales prospecting and business negotiation training. www.centroidmarketing.com.
March 2014
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HUMAN RESOURCES
Managing the Interview Process - a Candidate’s Perspective A TwoGreySuits Article
As an employer, when we think of the interview process we think of interview questions and the offer letter. Once the offer letter is signed, employers often have a program to welcome employees on board. That’s great, but what about before all that? How are things being handled from a candidate’s perspective during the interview process? Most employers don’t think of the interview process from the candidate’s perspective. Recruitment professionals do think about this. They know that whether a candidate accepts an offer and stays in a job depends on how candidates are treated or how they perceive they are being treated during the interview process. I say, how they perceive they are being treated because what is happening from a company’s perspective versus a candidate’s are two different things. For example, a company is extremely interested in a candidate. They have a first interview with a candidate and then take a few weeks before going ahead with the second interview. There may be many reasons for this gap between interviews. The candidate often assumes the delay indicates a lack of interest on the part of the company. Even though the candidate was extremely excited about the position after the first interview, their enthusiasm is often dampened by what they perceive as a lack of interest on the part of the company. Let’s say the candidate is called for a second interview and all goes very well. The company says they are very interested and that there may be an offer. Then the company takes a week or so to put an offer together. There may be many reasons the company has for taking a week, sometimes more, to put an offer together. From a candidate’s perspective, they have now been in the interview process for a month or more. Shouldn’t the employer know by now if they are interested? Are they hesitating or looking at other candidates? The candidate has put things on hold and built up anticipation for the role over that month. How the offer stage is handled can affect the candidate’s future feelings about the organization once they are in the new role.
What about the candidate who doesn’t get the job after all that? How you treat an unsuccessful candidate will affect the opinion many people will have of your organization. A candidate takes their family and friends on their journey through the interview process. They will know how you treated the candidate and how the candidate perceives their treatment. Remember, those friends and family of the candidate may include a future ‘dream hire’ for your organization. In real estate location is everything. In the hiring process, perception is everything. How can you avoid leaving a negative perception in a candidate’s mind? Respond, even if it is by email or form letter to every application you get. De-brief candidates after each interview with your company (you will learn a lot about your hiring managers this way, as well) Let candidates who are no longer being considered for a position know in a respectful manner as soon as you decide you will not hire them. Thank them for their time Trying to view your hiring process through a candidate’s eyes, and adjusting your process, can make a big difference to new employee morale and job satisfaction in the future.
This article is part of the TwoGreySuits ‘Employee Performance Management’ Series and is offered by our partner, the TwoGreySuits HR Power Centre as a service to our members. The HR Power Centre and HR Hot Line is a one-of-a-kind product specifically designed to get you the answers you need fast, in hundreds of different HR situations. Signing up is simple. You can call us today at 905-639-8720. Why wait? Don’t let important people management issues go unresolved when you can deal with them today.
How do you prevent this from happening? ▄▄ ▄▄
Keep the interview to offer time less than two weeks
Have the candidate do first and second interviews on the same day ▄▄
Make sure the hiring managers, who will sign off on an offer, are available ▄▄
Be clear about your level of interest with candidates and what the next steps are in the process March 2014
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Feb. 25, 2014 Date
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