Tips On Returning to the Workforce

Special Guest Post By:   Barbara Pachter

Have you been out of work for awhile and now looking to return?  According to business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, author of  NewRules@Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, “The position people hold, the responsibilities they have and the type of workplace they enter may be very different than the one they left. As a result, it is normal for people to experience anxiety while learning their job and their organization’s culture”

Pachter stresses that it’s helpful for new hires to remember that no one expects them to know everything at once. Follow these eight tips to overcome new job jitters and make an initial positive impression:

1. Do more than expected of you. Naturally it is important to do your job and do it well, but you also want to get noticed. Doing more than expected of you is one way to have others see you as a competent person. Help others and volunteer for additional assignments.

2. Don’t keep comparing your former position to your current one It’s easy to compare the old to the new, but your colleagues don’t want to keep hearing, “Well, in my old company we did it this way” You sound like a know-it-all. Also, don’t complain about your salary. You may not be making what you did in your last job, but complaining won’t make it any larger. It just makes you annoying.

3. Know your company’s social media guidelines Social media has exploded in the workplace over the last couple of years, but it may not have been an issue when you were last working. Learn what you can and cannot do on Facebook, YouTube, etc. Also, do not post negative comments about your new employer. You don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you.

4. Greet people As you walk the hallways, stand in the lunch line, or ride the elevator, make an effort to say “hi” or “good morning” to others. You appear friendly and approachable when you do.

5. Listen to others. You cannot learn what others know when you’re talking. Listen more than you speak. Eventually though, if you don’t speak up, you can become invisible. Just make sure that when you do speak, your questions are relevant and your comments worthwhile.

6. Don’t advertise your inexperience. People often say “I’ve never done this before” or “This is all new for me” You want people to view you as a capable person. Reminding them of your lack of experience creates a different image.

7. Dress appropriately. What was appropriate in your old company may not be suitable for your new position. Look at what successful people in your company are wearing. You can usually model yourself after them.

8. Take business social situations seriously. Activities held outside the office, such as dinners in restaurants or holiday parties are still business events. Attend, mingle and don’t get drunk. You will meet more people and learn more about your company when you do.

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Do You Have Smile Power?

1. You’ll feel better – even if you fake it

There’s no doubt that the “best” smiles are genuine. They light up your face, crinkle the corners of your eyes and produces positive physiological changes in your body temperature and heart rate. But consider research findings that even if the smile is mechanically produced, positive feelings still emerge. This study matched samples of people looking at cartoons. The first group ranked every cartoon as funnier than the second group. The only difference is that members of the first group were asked to hold a pencil crosswise between their back teeth. The simulated smile caused by the pencil between their teeth effected their emotion – and their perception of the cartoons as funnier.

2. You’ll be unforgettable

Why do some people make a lasting impression while others are quite forgettable? The answer may be in their smile.

Research from Duke University proves that we like and remember those who smile at us – and shows why we find them more memorable. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the Duke researchers found that the orbitofrontal cortices (a “reward center” in the brain) were more active when subjects were learning and recalling the names of smiling individuals.

3. You’ll encourage collaboration

According to research conducted reported by the British Psychological Society, positive and negative emotional responses systematically alter the use of language. Speak to a positive listener and people will likely use more abstractions and subjective impressions. But if people talk to a negative listener, they’ll probably stick to the relative security of objective facts and concrete details.

Researchers speculate that this is because the smiles and nods of a positive listener are interpreted as a sign of agreement and understanding, encouraging the speaker to provide more of their own opinions and speculations. By contrast, negative listeners provoke speakers to adopt a more hesitant and cautious thinking style.

4. You’ll improve your productivity

Charles Garfield, the author of Peak Performance, once coached the Russian Olympic weight-lifting team. Garfield noticed that when team members lifted to exhaustion, they would invariably grimace at the painful effort. In an experiment, he encouraged the athletes to smile when they got to that point of exhaustion. This seemingly minor difference enabled them to add 2-3 more reps to their performance.

No matter the task, when you grimace or frown while doing it, you are sending your brain the message, “This is really difficult. I should stop.” The brain then responds by sending stress chemicals into your bloodstream. And this creates a vicious circle: the more stressed you are, the more difficult the task becomes.

When you smile, your brain gets the message, “It’s not so bad. I can do this!”

5.You’ll positively contaminate others

Some nonverbal behaviors can bring out the best in people. Smiling is one of them, as it directly influences how other people respond. When you smile at someone, they almost always smile in return. And, because facial expressions trigger corresponding feelings, the smile you get back actually changes that person’s emotional state in a positive way.

Want to brighten your mood, make a lasting impression, encourage collaboration, lighten your work load, and positively influence others? Then smile – really smile. Think of someone who genuinely amuses or delights you. But if you can’t do that, then fake it . . . or hold a pencil in your mouth. 

Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D.

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7 Career Mistakes That Turn Your Mojo into Nojo

 Special Guest Post by:  Dr. Maynard Brusman

If you’ve been working hard for any length of time, in any field, chances are you’ve experienced at least one humiliating career failure. Career “hiccups” can kill your spirit and make it difficult to regain your intrinsic motivation and drive.

Some of the “bad” things that happen to hardworking, well-meaning, capable people each day include:

• Missing the big opportunity

• Getting passed over for a promotion

• Getting demoted

• Losing a lot of money

• Getting fired

• Going bankrupt

What happens to us when our worst career nightmares come true?

There may not be scandalous headlines in the local papers, but with the emotional turmoil you’re experiencing, there may as well be.

Public or company humiliations suck the air out of one’s spirit, making it hard to carry on with dignity and drive. Our lifeblood and mental energy are drained.

Career-altering events can happen to anyone — and they do. But when they happen to us, they seem incomprehensible, largely because we’ve worked so hard to be nice, dedicated and well-meaning.

But even when we can partially blame the economy, there comes a time when we must take a hard look at what we could have done differently. Despite faltering companies, imperfect leaders, coworkers who don’t like us and other external variables, we must eventually engage in private, honest introspection. It’s time to ask: What part did I play in the events leading up to the career crisis?

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I maintaining my career mojo?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to be maintain their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

About Dr. Maynard Brusman:

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders. Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman “Board Approved” designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.  To learn more about Dr. Brusman, visit his website:  Working Resources

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5 Tips to See of Your Website is Up to Snuff

1. Is it simple, clear and fast—think of your homepage as a billboard. Tell them exactly what they need to know up front.
2. Leave plenty of white space around text. A simple font on a light background works best. Separate wide blocks of text into columns.
3. Sub-headings make for quick reading. Make sure pages are easily skimmed.
4. Let your best customers sing your praises. Display their testimonials prominently on your site.
5. After each update, click through your entire site. Mistakes or broken links will only send visitors away.

Brought to you by SCORE, America’s small business mentors, at www.score.org.
Ask SCORE

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Tips for Returning to the Workplace

Though the unemployment rate is still high, people are returning to work and hopefully this trend will continue in the future.

According to business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, author of NewRules@Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead, “The position people hold, the responsibilities they have and the type of workplace they enter may be very different than the one they left. As a result, it is normal for people to experience anxiety while learning their job and their organization’s culture”

Pachter stresses that it’s helpful for new hires to remember that no one expects them to know everything at once. Follow these eight tips to overcome new job jitters and make an initial positive impression:

1. Do more than expected of you. Naturally it is important to do your job and do it well, but you also want to get noticed. Doing more than expected of you is one way to have others see you as a competent person. Help others and volunteer for additional assignments.

2. Don’t keep comparing your former position to your current one It’s easy to compare the old to the new, but your colleagues don’t want to keep hearing, “Well, in my old company we did it this way” You sound like a know-it-all. Also, don’t complain about your salary. You may not be making what you did in your last job, but complaining won’t make it any larger. It just makes you annoying.

3. Know your company’s social media guidelines Social media has exploded in the workplace over the last couple of years, but it may not have been an issue when you were last working. Learn what you can and cannot do on Facebook, YouTube, etc. Also, do not post negative comments about your new employer. You don’t want to bite the hand that feeds you.

4. Greet people As you walk the hallways, stand in the lunch line, or ride the elevator, make an effort to say “hi” or “good morning” to others. You appear friendly and approachable when you do.

5. Listen to others. You cannot learn what others know when you’re talking. Listen more than you speak. Eventually though, if you don’t speak up, you can become invisible. Just make sure that when you do speak, your questions are relevant and your comments worthwhile.

6. Don’t advertise your inexperience. People often say “I’ve never done this before” or “This is all new for me” You want people to view you as a capable person. Reminding them of your lack of experience creates a different image.

7. Dress appropriately. What was appropriate in your old company may not be suitable for your new position. Look at what successful people in your company are wearing. You can usually model yourself after them.

8. Take business social situations seriously. Activities held outside the office, such as dinners in restaurants or holiday parties are still business events. Attend, mingle and don’t get drunk. You will meet more people and learn more about your company when you do.

Barbara Pachter is speaker, coach and author of numerous business books, including The Power of Positive Confrontation ($15.95, paperback, Marlowe & Co.) and When the Little Things Count ($13.95, paperback, Marlowe & Co.). 

For a free copy of Pachter’s communication e-newsletter, Competitive Edge, go to www.pachter.com.

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5 Tips for Successful Networking

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Creating and Building an Opt-In Subscriber List

When building an online business, opt-in list subscriptions allow you to keep in contact with your customers. How can you get started with email marketing? If you want to create an effective subscription list, use these proven techniques.

1. Utilize marketing programs already in existence.
When sending customer emails, include a link to your opt in page. If you send out paper statements, include an insert, which contains information about your opt in email list. Customers, who have purchased one of your products already, may show an increased interest in buying additional goods and services in the future.

2. Conduct market research.
Find out what your clients are looking for. Short surveys engage your clients and interest them in the research process. After gaining basic information about a client, merchants should tailor their message to their customers’ interests in future promotions.

3. Make the opt in subscription process easy.
Fewer fields yield improved results. Use large subscription buttons and highlighted fields. In order to ensure the highest conversion rates, keep the subscription box simple. Use a simple coloring scheme for your opt in box, which most internet users will recognize.

4. Be clear.
When dealing with a wide audience, a clear message results in high conversion rates. Highlight the reasons that a visitor should subscribe to your opt in list. Long lists of benefits may send mixed signals to a prospective list subscriber.

5. Be concise.
When trying to increase your opt in email list, include as few words as possible. Do not cheapen your points, but make them fast.

6. Be compelling.
Convince your customer. Tell them why they need to become a subscriber. Forcing your client to divulge their personal information is a personal sacrifice. Give them a good reason to offer you their email address.

7. Focus on your customers
Customers respond to incentives. Offer them a free course or e-book. In order to entice buyers to sign up for their opt in list, online merchants may offer sales coupons or special promotional offers.

8. Use word of mouth.
Viral marketing yields inexpensive results. A clear and concise message, focused entirely on your customers needs, will be passed around to others, ensuring increased business.

9. Research your competitors.
Look at what your competitors are doing. You can gain valuable insight, by studying what techniques work for your competition.

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How to Thrive Through The Recession

Guest Post by Francie Dalton

Be Proactive, Be Positive, Be Practical, and Be People-Centric

“Stop being your own worst enemy!” says Francie Dalton, President of Washington D.C. based Dalton Alliances, Inc. “If your thoughts are primarily fear based, if you’re envisioning the worst for yourself and your business, if your conversations are focused predominately on bad news, then”, she warns, “you’re seriously impeding your own success’.

Instead of giving succor to all the negative blathering, Dalton’s advice is to buckle down and commit to taking 3 actions every single day to improve revenue. Here are her suggestions.

1. Don’t you DARE Pick up that Phone, go into Twitter, FaceBook or LinkedIn Unless it’s to Generate Business! Be ruthlessly disciplined about generating business as JOB ONE. Any activity that doesn’t secure new business should be delegated, or done during non-business hours. Prioritize everything else around this fundamental principle. During business hours, dedicate yourself exclusively to expanding your client base or deepening business with your current clients.

2. Virtually “Stalk” your Prospects: Describe your ideal client. What types of organizations do they belong to? Join them. What kinds of publications do they read? Read them. What types of events do they attend? Attend them. Differentiate yourself with detective work about your targeted prospects. Research them; research their industry; tap your network to learn more about them. Think about how impressed you would be if someone had clearly extended effort to learn about you, your achievements, and your industry. This tip will help you warm up the cold contacts and will set you apart from most others who won’t go to this much effort. The result? You’ll be more likely than your competitors to get the business.

3. Work Backwards to Move Forward: If you’re tracking important ratios, you know how many qualified prospect meetings it takes to generate one client, and the average sale per client. With only these two pieces of information, you can control how much you sell each month. Determine desired sales volume, then conduct two to three times the number of qualified prospect meetings required to achieve your revenue goal.

4. Invite Scrutiny: Whose business acumen do you admire? Who’s already successful in your field? Whose clientele do your products or services complement? Establish an Advisory Board, and invite these folks to be part of it. Meet quarterly to gain their advice on your business challenges. Advisory boards impose a level of scrutiny and accountability that both challenge and comfort, and a level of ideation and innovation that helps you expand your scope and reach. Ensure you get unbiased, unemotional, tough truths by not including friends and loved ones on the board. Alternatively, you could treat selected individuals to a meal now and then to get their advice. Whatever the way in which you access the intellectual capital of others, be sure to thank them, act on at least one of their suggestions, and follow up with them to them know the outcome of having implemented their advice.

5. Your Pipeline is your Lifeline: NEVER stop prospecting. In good times or bad, keep your pipeline full! Even when you’re flush with business, don’t get cocky. Realize that if you wait to prospect until you need new clients; it’ll be too late to achieve immediate results. Sales is, in a large part, a numbers game. If you aren’t getting enough business, a major contributing factor is that you’re not contacting enough prospects, which means you’ll erode or prevent your success. Understand this: whether you like it or not, prospecting is how to keep your business pipeline full of potential clients. If you neglect this critical function, you can hardly complain when business is down.

6. The “Lag Before you Bag”: The lag time between your first meeting with a qualified prospect and closing the sale is an essential ratio for managing your productivity. The sales you bag today likely began at least 3 months ago. In achieving your goals, knowing your average lag time is essential. If you’re calculating the total lag before you make a deposit, don’t forget to add in the time it takes to render the service before you bill it, and the time between the billing and the receipt of funds.

7. You Gotta Network to Get Work: Whether you enjoy it or not is irrelevant; networking is an imperative. Learn how to do it well. If you want to survive the lean times, you have to network regularly. Go to appropriate events with the objective of helping others rather than seeking those who can help you. Doing so will make others want to help you in return. Remember – nothing “comes out of the blue”. The seeding you do today will produce unexpected business in the future. Suggested reading: Make Your Contacts Count by Lynne Waymon.

8. Don’t Pander; Ponder! Showcasing your wisdom too early, without taking time to probe causal factors, can be insulting. Instead, if what you sell is intellectual capital, honor the complexity of client issues by asking probing questions. Be inquisitive about their goals, frustrations, hopes, and struggles. Then construct a matrix of options, and augment this with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Use the matrix as a discussion tool, inviting edits, improvements, and further details.

9. Prepare to Bend by Predicting the Trends: Be vigilant about monitoring relevant trends, since they’re always in flux. Just as important are tangential trends – forces that could affect the trends you’re already monitoring. Doing so enables you to foresee and adapt to emerging trends before your competitors do. Set up Google alerts at http://www.google.com/alerts to ease the monitoring process.

10. Don’t Defer Getting Referrals: If you’re not comfortable asking your satisfied clients to provide referrals, do it anyway! Once you’ve delighted them, conduct a brief interview to learn what they valued most about working with you. Using this information, draft a brief testimonial for them to edit and print onto their letterhead. Suggested reading: Referral Prospecting by Bill Cates.

11. Publicize to Optimize: Both credibility and sales increase as a result of publishing articles or books, and speaking on your area of expertise. It’s not that hard. Every time you solve a problem for a client, produce an outline of the process from start to finish. Then fill in the outline, and voila, you have an article or a speech. Multiple articles can comprise a book. Writing a book is less daunting if you write only one chapter at a time without thinking of it as a book. Suggested reading: POP by Sam Horn.

12. Link Value for Free to Service for Fee: Consider providing an educational session to prospective clients at no charge, but structure the delivery so that they want more. For example, deliver the information promised, but make reference to additional, high value information that you can provide and how it has helped your clients. Consider making complimentary presentations at conventions whose attendees are great prospects for you. Or select a few organizations locally that would be great clients for you, and invite their top 3 executives to breakfast, or offer a no-fee brown bag session to their employees.

13. Don’t Attend Conventions without Clear Intentions and Quotas: Recoup the opportunity cost of attending conventions. Get an attendee list in advance of the meeting, then identify and research your targets before you even leave town. Then make it your mission at the meeting to establish contact and engage these targets. Remember: attendance is not an outcome. Make your attendance result in new business by preparing in advance.

14. Break it Down to Build it Up: Identify key result areas of your business, such as prospecting, delivery, writing, marketing, speaking, new product development, etc. For each, assign yourself measurable goals for each month or each quarter. Break these down into component parts, and include them in your calendaring tool.

15. Diversify to Amplify: Particularly important in tough economic times is that you have established multiple lines of business. Ensure your repertoire includes as many of the following as possible; business consulting, facilitation, an ever expanding menu of workshops on as many topics as you’re fluent in (both virtual and on site), surveys of as many types as you can do well, coaching (both in person and virtually), speeches, retreats, and more. You might also consider partnering with others whose offerings are complementary, and/or subcontracting to others who have skills that you don’t have.

16. Essential Certifications: If you’re a consultant, or if consultants are your target market, get your CMC from the IMC. The Institute of Management Consultants is an extremely prestigious group of professional consultants, from which you can earn the highly coveted “Certified Management Consultant” designation. The CMC certification confers competitive distinction globally, making it much more likely that you will gain the attention of decision makers. Find the chapter nearest you, and learn more at www.imcusa.org.

Every bit as prestigious and essential is the IOM from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Earning the “Institute of Organizational Management” certification requires a total of four weeks of classroom attendance, which can be completed in a variety of time frames to suit your schedule. The learning process puts you in close contact with decision makers from both for profit and nonprofit business sectors, all of whom are potential clients. The scope, depth, and quality of instruction is top notch, and the relationships you’ll develop are of a caliber you’ll want to retain throughout your life.

Regardless of how many of these tips you implement, Dalton challenges business owners to remember that their own outlook and attitude can diminish their effectiveness. “Those who prevail in difficult times” she notes, “are the ones who steadfastly refuse to allow negativity to form a barrier to their success – who instead deliberately and diligently take multiple constructive actions every single day. Doing so refreshes the spirit, helps sustain a positive attitude, increases resilience, and reinvigorates a commitment to success.”

So – which of these tips will YOU implement today?

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Meet Featured Diva Livvie Matthews

What is the name of your business and a description of what you do?  Simple Social Media .TV.  I’m a social media and Internet marketing consultant and coach with a specialty in Dentistry. Keeping social media simple and easy to understand.

How much has your business direction changed in the past five years and why?  I’ve been online since the late ‘90’s and in
the business area of dentistry for over 30 years. I began online with internet marketing and copywriting, however when social media came on the scene, I loved the opportunity and benefits (free to low cost marketing) it presented for all service professionals (and businesses) to capitalize on  using social media, because social media IS “word of mouth and social networking”…on steroids!

What advice do you have for women who are trying to grow their businesses? First:  Realize you need a marketing strategy and
many tools in your business toolbox.  Social media isn’t a marketing strategy, it’s a promotional tool you need to use IN your marketing strategy.

 Second:  Be genuine, be committed, and be consistent. Social media is all about transparency and authenticity.  Start slow and add as you go.  Facebook and Twitter offer exceptional ways to communicate and engage your target market especially in the business to customer (client/patient) arena.  LinkedIn presents a great platform for business to business. The point is to find where your “eyeballs” are (what platform your viewers are on), start  there, and become their ‘go-to’ source for information and services.

Last:  Two words -  Take Action! So many of us have a tendency to think everything has to be in place and that it all has to be perfect BEFORE we can start or do anything.  When in fact, just the opposite is true.  Get it out there…  someone needs what you know and what you have to offer!  You can always “tweak” as you go along.   Knowledge is power….BUT Knowledge WITH ACTION is Powerful!!

 What do you know now that you wished you knew 10 years ago as it relates to business? How powerful the combination of Internet marketing and building relationships can be to growing your business.  Don’t be afraid to try new things: Technology, blogging, social sites, web design, copywriting, online resources, forums, …and it goes on and on.  Online marketing offers so many areas for reaching your target market…IF…you take action!

How can someone get in contact with you? E-mail is best Livvie@SimpleSocialMedia.TV – by phone: 704-598-5856, – or Skype Livvie.Matthews   Website: www.SimpleSocialMedia.TV

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Meet Featured Diva Sharon McMillian

What is the name of your business and a description of what you do?

I operate a business called Write to Type – http://www.writetotype.com – and we specialize in customized web content for businesses.

We “write to type” and equip our clients with content designed to appeal to their target market. Our services include:

• Search Engine Optimized articles and blog posts
• Social Bookmarking
• Article Syndication
• Sales pages
• Website marketing plans
• Website layouts and designs

I like to tell my clients that having a website is just the beginning. A well written and planned website will actually work for you by turning website
visitors into paying customers.

How much has your business direction changed in the past five years and why?

Five years ago I decided to take my long-standing freelance business online and started a custom writing service called Sharon Writes.

This fall I re-launched that business as Write to Type to serve the specific online marketing and communication needs of small business
owners and solopreneurs.

What advice do you have for women who are trying to grow their businesses?

Stay focused on your goals and stay connected with other women entrepreneurs. The practical insight you can gain from those who are actually succeeding as entrepreneurs is invaluable.

What do you know now that you wished you knew 10 years ago as it relates to business?

I could have grown my business faster if I had known about the benefits of outsourcing and working in partnership with other independent
business owners. Balancing motherhood and career commitments with my freelance business was a huge task. I now realize I didn’t have to do it all alone.

You can reach Sharon McMillan at Sharon@writetotype.com or visit her website at http://www.writetotype.com

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Meet Featured Diva Sophie Zollmann

What goals did you set for 2010?

Focus on growing my business to bring in more money and have more time for me. Take time for me and self-care as often as needed. Find a way to provide the services I don’t know.

Are you carrying over any New Years Resolutions from 2009 into 2010?

No, I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.

What advice do you give to others when it comes to completing tasks?

Delegating is the key to success. Delegate the tasks that keep you from doing what you love, making more money, you don’t do well, and don’t enjoy doing.

When someone does business with you what are some things you hope they take away from the experience?

They can do what the love to make more money and know that their business is taken care of on the back end without worry. Therefore, they can do the things that bring in income and take care of themselves and their family. Self-care and family time is important when running your own home-based business.

Where can we connect with you? Website(s)? Blog(s) email address

Website/Blog: SophieZo
Email: sophiez67@gmail.com
Phone: 865-712-7702

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