Category: Sales Training

The small things make all the difference

Paul Wagenaar

Hiring the right person for any position is part craft and part science. You are dealing with experiences and trying to gauge potential. Reviewing these few points at the end of each interview with your co-interviewer can give you insights into the applicant that might just be enough to influence your decision on who to hire. They can make the difference between hiring someone who “could do the job” and hiring a person “who can excel at the job and grow with your organization”.

Using Theatre to Train Your Team

Paul Wagenaar

Everyone joins an organization with varying levels of skills and experience.  The effective use of role-playing can generate incremental leaps in capabilities through fostering interactive learning between co-workers. 

Make your meetings count …

Paul Wagenaar

Good meetings don’t just happen. Preparation, Planning and Practice make good meetings. Good meeting techniques, like your organization, change and evolve. Some meetings will be better than others but your goal should be to have your people leave your meetings feeling like they understand what is going on, why something is happening, and be excited about moving forward.

What’s holding YOU back?

Paul Wagenaar

Leadership takes many forms; I seldom hire the hard-driving people mentioned at the start of this post. Instead, I look for the quiet leaders, the people who appreciate that their organization succeeds when all of the people who comprise our team succeed. People who care, they may not always be the ones who attempt to be “in charge”, often they are the ones who work the hardest and set the best examples; these are the ones who I hire and promote.

Re-thinking small city malls

Paul Wagenaar

Many small city malls have failed and deservedly so.

They didn’t fail because the basic concept is wrong. Many of these malls failed to adapt and were not flexible to the changing realities of the merchants they almost took for granted. Is it too late? Perhaps for some.

For merchants and mall operators with vision, there is an opportunity in my opinion. By combining social needs, 21st-century environmental practices with the basic convenience, utility, and economics of “one-stop” shopping … there is a future.

SIMPLE TRUTHS

Paul Wagenaar

I have realized that many times I have contributed to my setbacks and defeats as much as I have benefited from the successes that I have had. In that journey friends, co-workers, and competitors have tried to teach me lessons that many times I stubbornly refused to acknowledge and appreciate …until recently.

Give me five minutes, and perhaps you might be able to apply their lessons for yourself on your journey.

If you let them … instead help them with tools, training, and a process that works.

Paul Wagenaar

Nothing about difficult situations and angry people is ever simple.

Rarely is there one trigger and one solution. Nuance, exceptions, and the lack of anything resembling black and white all are factors in finding solutions to their problems. There is never just one or two sides to a story, there are usually forty-two sides!

This post is about a process, the tools, and the training required to anticipate, avoid, and ultimately how to deal with these situations when they occur.

Customer Service is not a Profit Center

Paul Wagenaar

Customer service is not a profit center. Ironically, quality customer service has more in common with advertising and marketing than most organizations realize.

Today’s post is about giving the people who dedicate their careers to solving problems for our clients and customers, the tools and support they need.

What are the things you don’t see?

Paul Wagenaar

A famous racecar driver once said that races are won by how fast you get through the corners, not how fast you go in a straight line.  Many organizations focus on the flash and sizzle of their worlds, ignoring at their peril the routine and perceived “basic” things.  Failure to acknowledge and overcome Organizational Vulnerabilities are the things that will cause your team to fail. 

An Insider’s Guide

Paul Wagenaar

Buying a new refrigerator is not something that many people do very often. With online research tools, the consumer has never had more information available than now to make an informed decision. These can be large purchases, take your time, decide what you want, research what your budget should be, and approach retailers armed with this knowledge. You can always adjust your plan if necessary.