Importance of Customer Appreciation

In the world of business; customer relationship management is often overlooked. Companies that don’t fully appreciate the business from their customers greatly hinders their chances for success. The good news is that the reverse of this is also true. If you treat your customers well, they will come back to you and reward you many times over.

Peak Performance2 realizes this and incorporates this philosophy into their programs. To remind companies of the benefits of providing customers with the best possible service, we summarize them in Four R’s:

Retention – Customers who are treated well tend to be more loyal and develop feelings of trust and confidence. These customers also resist offers from the competition.

Referrals – Receiving excellent customer service themselves, loyal customers will also encourage others to choose your organization over the competition, which ultimately saves you the cost of seeking new customers.

Reputation – When customers speak well of your organization they increase public support, along with positive interest from investors, future employees, and the media.

Revenue – Customers vote with their wallets and to show their appreciation for stellar service, they give your organization a larger share of their business.

To put it simply: “Customer service is what the customer perceives and remembers.”

If your team focuses on managing the customer experience from beginning to end, with positive defining moments, then your customers will perceive great benefits of doing business with your company, and remember to return to your company when they need that service again.

Jonathan Proulx-Jones

Effective communication skills.

     Good communication skills are critical in today’s business world. Poor communication starves a relationship, while good communication nourishes it. In order to become a truly successful professional, one needs to master business communication skills. The communication factor plays a fundamental part in organizational structure. People in the workforce know how extremely important a role communication and interpersonal skills play in business enterprise. There are several elements in business communication that include public speaking, active listening skills, email and report writing skills, and body language. Effective communication skills are critical component in trust-based relationship, and the person’s success in the business world requires continuous practice and improvement of the communication skills.

    Keys to effective communication:

• Keep an open mind- Don’t judge, criticize or verbally disagree with the person just because you have a different opinion. It is important to learn how to make objective evaluations about ideas that are being shared.     
•  Check for accuracy- Paraphrase and repeat main ideas after the person is finished talking. Repeating what was said confirms your understanding.        
• Visualize- Think about and visualize what the person is saying in order to maximize your attention and understanding.
• Pay attention-Listen to understand, not to reply. Resist the urge to interrupt and receive the full message the person is communicating.
• Encourage the person to talk- Encourage the flow of information by giving positive feedback and help the person stay on track by asking purposeful, related questions. Be genuinely interested in what the person is saying. All of us have the need to feel important and be understood. So, talk in terms of the other person’s interests and understand another point of view.
• Motivate others- There are several ways to motivate people. Both negative and positive reinforcements can be effective. However, in the long run, negative reinforcement like criticism or punishment often leads to disadvantageous relationships.
• Nonverbal messages- Right body language and posture can represent confidence and clarity that are necessary in a professional environment.
• Maintain positivity- Always put your message across to your audience (business employees, partners, and customers) in a very positive manner even if the message is something they wont like. This tactic will cut down the message’s overall negativity
• Know your audience- Completely acknowledge your audience. Always research the cultural background of your audience and the personality types that they posses.
• Be a good listener- Practiced listening skills enable people to pick up, interpret, and sort out a greater number of verbal and nonverbal messages.

           Julia Spraiter

Consulting for Teams in an Increasingly Technological World

It is quite apparent that the work of a consultant changes day in, day out. Consultants are constantly dealing with different individuals and different groups of people, all with their own sets of challenges, needs and goals. However, aside from these major  differences from project to project, consulting firms are also faced with the challenge of integrating technological considerations into their consulting services. Whether consulting clients are looking to improve individual or team efficiency, wanting to increase sales, or wanting to improve their overall customer service, technology must be considered in all recommendations.

In this day and age, almost all productive businesses are highly active in terms of computer usage and online activity. This is a major consideration in terms of communication and productivity. Additionally, many firms are now making use of social media for communication, advertising and networking. Those firms who are not yet involved in social media may find themselves lagging behind their competitors. This is again a major consideration for firms seeking consulting services. For firms that are looking to improve their customer service, there are many technological advancements that are being made available. There are many database systems available that may help firms to improve their Customer Relationship Management. It is crucial in a professional team setting for all employees to understand the implications of this. Even when it comes to increasing sales and productivity, there are many ways in which technology can help companies improve overall productivity and efficiency.

It is for these reasons and many others that consulting firms must not only always be considering technology in their services and recommendations but even more importantly they must stay on top of all upcoming technological changes in order to advise their clients best.

Chelsea Bonneau

'The Winning Edge' - Working to Improve Overall Sales Performance

One great year of sales, although rewarding at the end of that year, could be all for nothing if the success isn’t carried over to the following years. The world of selling is a constantly changing environment, and the best organizations understand how important adaptation is. Because certain, high level sales performers account for the majority of sales results, it is an organizations responsibility to develop their skills, and help position them for success in a dog eat dog world. Although top performers are assets to any company, it is also imperative to nurture others, and help them become part of the elite group of top performers as well.

After a great year, Peak Performance2’s ‘Winning Edge’ can help exceed expectations in years to come, because the difference between making a sale and losing one is small. ‘The Winning Edge’ is a sales force enrichment program designed in part by President Paul Fergus, to optimize the sales force of any company, through 6 unique steps:

1. Aim to be better a just a few things: A 3% increase in sales is a larger number than it appears. Team members must be well informed and empowered to have the confidence to efficiently present a sale.
2. Adapt to your clients: It is important for a sales force to have the flexibility to deal with the most difficult buyers, or buyers who may have a completely different style or way of thinking that the seller.
3. Understand the clients buying process: Regardless of how good your product or service is, a sales force must be well informed about buyers buying style, criteria, language and culture.
4. Ask better questions: A sales force needs to ask the kinds of questions that will raise the needs and challenges of clients, allowing sellers to solve their problems.
5. Meet the right people: Find a friend or mentor who can help you understand the politics within a company. This way, you can find the right clients to sell to.
6. Manage your time effectively: Your sales force much be coached in finding the clients who find value in what you’re selling, or the time they spend looking for them will be lost.

First level sales performance facets include confidence, optimism and a take-charge attitude. These, in addition to your personal brand, listening between the lines, influence without manipulation, and so much more, are used to give you that winning edge

Peak Performance²’s main goals are helping organizations reach their targets in terms of team success, sales performance and exceptional customer service. Sales performance is obviously not the key for every organization, however these skills can be modified and transferred to many types of industries.

Check out President, Paul Fergus' presentation regarding 'The Winning Edge' for a more detailed explanation of the information found in this post.

If you are interested in Peak Performance²’s services, visit their website: http://www.peakperformance2.com/

Or check out their brochure on Sales Performance: http://www.peakperformance2.com/files/files/brochures-en/Peak-Performance-2-Sales-Performance.pdf

Katie Cunningham

Keys to Effective Listening

Being an effective listener is always beneficial in a business setting. We live in a high-tech world where proper communication is more important than ever to the huge amount of information being shared. Being a  “genuine” listener is becoming a thing of the past, as people seem to not want to take the time to actively engage in conversions in the workplace.

Effective listening has many benefits such as quicker conflict resolution, less communication errors, more accurate transfer of ideas and in turn less wasted time. In short, being a great listener is paramount when it comes to building relationships whether at work or a home.

Making eye contact is arguably one of the most important things to do when listening. Not only does it show the speaker respect but it also conveys confidence. There’s nothing worse than meeting someone who is ether too shy/rude to look you in the eyes during a conversation.

This must be done naturally however; there is no need to hold eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time but it should feel “natural” and you should be relaxed. By given your full attention you also put the speaker at ease, which also improves effective communication. Regardless of who the speaker is, try not to be biased or get distracted by your emotions.

Keeping an open mind allows for the best possible transfer of ideas; try to not jump to conclusions. Bare in mind, everyone generally does the best they can to express themselves with varying degrees of success. Even if someone is slower at getting to the “point” than you would like it’s important to let them there on their own.

Put yourself in to the speaker’s shoes; if you don’t agree with them, try to understand where they are coming from. Listen to the words and do your best to best grasp the concepts being spoken. Whatever you do, don’t interrupt and don’t “impose your beliefs”. There is a difference between giving feedback and being rude.

If you have any questions or concerns wait for the speaker to pause then ask questions or for clarification. Quickly summarizing what has being said helps you stay on the same page and eliminate any potential miscommunication. By giving regular feedback you let the speaker know that you’re engaged in the conversation.

Lastly, pay attention to non-verbal cues. Is the person bored, annoyed, angry, excited, etc… Body language is often the best indicator of someone’s true feelings.

In a business setting effective listening cannot be emphasized enough. It is key to improved productivity and less communication related errors. The bottom line is that everyone, whether at home or at work, can benefits from taking the time to improve their listening skills. 

Jonathan Proulx-Jones

Importance of teamwork in the workplace

   A workplace is necessarily composed of individuals, but a workplace in which these individuals don’t work together in positive ways will never perform to its full potential. Creative teamwork maximizes individuals’ strengths and minimizes their weaknesses, leading to a workplace that is efficient, dynamic and productive.

   Managers and employees essentially want the same things: success, profitability, and enjoyment in the work environment. Fostering a winning team culture can complete all of these goals. Business leaders classify two critical factors that drive organizational success: Constantly improving performance and involving employees in identifying and solving problems. In an organization everything is interrelated, so employees need to understand the importance of teamwork. Encouraging group work is a critical duty of the management to help improve productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Promoting teamwork isn’t as easy as it seems, due to many problems that arise when working with a group of people: dealing with individual egos, conflicts between people with strong personalities or different point of views, lack of communication, and competition within the organization.

Teamwork in the workplace is extremely important to he success of an organization. Understanding this reality is crucial when building a valuable team. Effective group work fosters the foundation needed for competing in today’s environment

   One of the major advantages of teamwork is getting things done in less time. When leaders involve their teams to brainstorm together to find a solution, they will get many different and creative ideas. This effort will enable them to implement the best action plan and assign the tasks to the people involved. When a team is functioning as a whole instead of individually, productivity, efficiency, and employee morale increasing.

   Working in the group enables quicker learning processes. Individuals grasp concepts regarding work better and with ease. Seniors in the team can always guide newer members regarding possible pitfalls, and help them learn pathways better. Teamwork can also increase creative output; a suggestion can lead to another, which can bring in interesting results.

   Synergy is a central factor of effective teamwork. The combined efforts of a team that works well together accomplish more than the total efforts of all the members would have accomplished if they were working individually. Cooperation greatly increases the efficiency of an organization. Group members can learn from each other, consult with each other about complications and come to agreement about the best ways to reach goals.

   Teamwork promotes unity, rapport and bonding. When people work together, they are able to give and take, help and support one another because the main focus is to accomplish common goals.

   Peak Performance2 strives to increase professional effectiveness by improving teamwork. For more information about Peak Performance2, visit their website http://www.peakperformance2.com/

Julia Spraiter