Casual Articles - Business

Selling is the Transference of Passion
When you boil it down, selling is about transferring the passion you have for your product or service into the heart of a prospective customer. If you are not succeeding in sales, look at your passion. Passion produces followers. Are people following your advice? If not, you may be lacking passion. Find the true purpose of what you do and what you personally bring to the table.Transferring passion is similar to a bonfire transferring heat. It`s a natural process and draws people to its warmth. Have you lost the passion you once had? When the church at Ephesus had lost their passion, Jesus said, "Repent and do the first works." If you have lost your original passion perhaps it`s time to

eights applicable based on current strategic direction? If not, what modifications are required?

• What employee equity challenges or pressures will be placed on the compensation program in the coming year?

o Have recent market adjustments and system modifications forgotten the employees? Are we able to attract employees without causing internal pay compression?

• What financial challenges will impede the ability of the organization to successfully fund and implement needed compensation program elements?

o Can the organization sustain past financial commitments to the compensation program? If not, how will spending priorities be set?

• What changes need to be

How to Create Trust
People buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based on trust. Here are ways to increase your success by creating trust. While we do most of these things, missing even one of them can ruin it all.Be Dependable* Deliver what you promise and promise only what you can deliver. Report delays immediately.* Be on time. Leave early for appointments. Set realistic deadlines allowing for the unexpected.* Show courtesy by returning phone calls.* Be predictable. Use self control: anger repels and scares others.Listen* Show interest and respect by paying attention to what the other person is saying.* Ask questions. Then make it easy to answer the

Now that winter has passed, the annual ritual of spring cleaning is in full swing. Spring cleaning is more than cleaning the windows and clearing the cobwebs that hid in the corners during the winter. “Spring is a time to take a serious look at your compensation program and begin planning for the next budget cycle. Depending on your organization's fiscal year, it may also be time to determine appropriate market adjustments and pay increases for the coming year,” said Michael Maciekowich, National Director, Astron Solutions.

Compensation program spring cleaning is more than looking at the market and determining adjustments. It is a time to step back and determine if the system remained in alignment with organizational and employee needs. Most organizations have long-term strategic plans with short-term objectives to determine progress. A compensation program designed at the beginning of a long-term strategic cycle also needs flexibility to address yearly short-term organizational objectives. As new objectives come to the forefront, or current ones are modified, the compensation plan must also change.

This is a different way of thinking about compensation programs. There are a number of tools and processes to help with this matter. One is a survey of the compensation program's effectiveness for users, including executive management, department management, and employees. The focus of this annual survey is the following:

• What aspects of the current compensation program were most effective in the past year?

o What aspects seem to have had a positive impact on employees in terms of retention and morale?

• What aspects of the current compensation program were least effective in the past year?

o What issues did human resources seem to spend the most time discussing with employees and managers?

• What should be the focus of the compensation program in the coming year? o What are managers' and employees' expectations in terms of compensation determination? • What will prevent this from happening?

o To what extent do managers and employees understand current financial issues facing the organization?

With this understanding, human resources must answer the following five questions:

• What external market challenges or pressures will be placed on the compensation system in the coming year?

o Has the market shifted? Is there a new strategic need in the organization that will alter our market focus, either by type of job or market definition? Is the organization in a position to remain competitive?

• What internal job equity challenges or pressures will be placed on the compensation program in the coming year?

o If a job evaluation system is used, are the factors and factor weights applicable based on current strategic direction? If not, what modifications are required?

• What employee equity challenges or pressures will be placed on the compensation program in the coming year?

o Have recent market adjustments and system modifications forgotten the employees? Are we able to attract employees without causing internal pay compression?

• What financial challenges will impede the ability of the organization to successfully fund and implement needed compensation program elements?

o Can the organization sustain past financial commitments to the compensation program? If not, how will spending priorities be set?

• What changes need to be m

Bike Shop Sales Training
Most bike shop sales people are there because they love bicycles and this indeed helps them answer all the questions that a rider might have and yet this is not the only thing that a bicycle shop sales person needs. You see, they also need good sales training and they need to listen and help the rider or shopper understand why things cost so much, the differences between types and which bike might be best for them.Giving a cyclist too many choices could lead to a NO Sale and the rider leaves to go shopping, perhaps never to return and that means lost sales. To prevent this they will need training and good training too. Not only sales training but they need to be in training too, cyclist train

d in alignment with organizational and employee needs. Most organizations have long-term strategic plans with short-term objectives to determine progress. A compensation program designed at the beginning of a long-term strategic cycle also needs flexibility to address yearly short-term organizational objectives. As new objectives come to the forefront, or current ones are modified, the compensation plan must also change.