But what makes an ethical business? Ethics is a term that is often bandied about but is rarely talked about in depth. And yet it is one of the foundations for each and every business. If you ask each person to define ethics or ethical behavior you will get hundreds of different answers. And yet we hope that all of our team will act as one in complying with ethical behavior.
Over the years I have learned that ethics in your business is something that regularly needs to be talked about. You need to use stories and examples to highlight what is and isn’t acceptable behavior and to help build a common understanding of what is OK for your business.
Many years back I was involved in creating the first Code of Conduct for a large government agency. It was a long process, with lots of consultation. There are some broad guidelines that we developed that are applicable to most organizations, no matter their size.
Respect for people
You want your team members to respect each other, clients and suppliers. But you need to define what respect means. For example language that is totally unacceptable in a legal office may be OK on a building site or on the wharves. As a manager you need to talk about what the boundaries are. Talk about some challenging areas such as when people “flame” your company on blogs or forums how should your team respond.
Respect for the law
You want your team to comply with all laws and legislation. If there are particular “hot spots” you need your team to understand what they are. For example you may need to discuss the impact of privacy legislation on your business and what that means in terms of managing customer records. Challenge areas could include things such as meeting deadlines for tax or superannuation returns or dealing with conflicts between professional codes of ethics and company policy.
Integrity
You need your team to act with integrity but as we have seen by many business leaders and politicians, many people don’t understand what that word actually means. Challenge areas include talking about things such as bribery and when it is OK to accept gifts from people and breaching of confidentiality (many Gen Y’s in particular need help with what is OK to disclose and what isn’t). You may also want to talk about things such as using other people’s images or words without acknowledgment.
Conflict of interest
This is such a big area that it warrants a lot of discussion in its own right. You need to talk about the difference between real conflicts of interest and apparent ones (the ones that someone looking in from the outside says “looks suspicious” but really aren’t.) Challenge areas include whether you should take two clients who are in competition with each other.
Diligence
This has to do with giving your best efforts and not slacking off on the job. Challenge areas include things like gossiping, over-use of social media and not meeting deadlines.
Economy & efficiency
No business has bottomless cash reserves. You need your team to understand their financial boundaries. Challenge areas include falsifying time-sheets, taking sick days when they are not sick and using company property (company stationary budgets go through the roof at back to school times).
Insider trading
This is another area that is so important that it warrants its own discussion. People may not be aware how a casual slip in conversation or on social media can be interpreted as insider trading. Challenge areas include social media and what is OK to say on your private Facebook or Twitter account.
What I recommend is at each staff meeting taking one of these areas and talking about it with your team getting them to put into their own words examples of what these areas could mean. You can also give them some scenario or hypothetical examples and ask their opinion on whether or not the example shows a breach of ethics.
Ethics in business is not easy. If it was everyone would be doing it. All you can do is to help your team to become aware of what your particular boundaries are, and guide them in the right direction.
http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com
http://business-ethics.bestmanagementarticles.com
Ingrid Cliff is a freelance writer and the Chief Word Wizard of Heart Harmony – a writing services studio that helps put your business into words. For a free copy of the “7 Secrets of Compelling Copy & Powerful Words” visit her website http://www.heartharmony.com.au
Tags: business ethics, business relationships, conflict of interest, integrity, respect
By Tom Ninness
Establishing trust comes through integrity, purpose and your values commitment. For this to happen, there are certain characteristics and skills that the top sales professional must possess for trust to occur with the client. By having complete trust, your sales closing ratio will increase and more referrals will come your way.
The top sales professionals are great listeners and ask well thought of questions. By learning the art of listening shows the customer that you care. Trusted sales professionals understand that God gave each of us two ears and one mouth so they should listen more than speak. When they speak, it is to reinforce or ask questions to clarify their response. They have learned the art of conversation and never interrupt the client till they finish their thoughts. They have good rapport with clients. They establish deeper and broader conversations. They take the time to listen, thus the potential client appreciates the ability to express themselves and not feel that they are being rushed into a decision.
Top professionals manage client expectations up front and never give false promises to the client. They understand that they must keep even the smallest commitments. If you don’t know something, then you admit it and get back to the client. Don’t ever “wing” and answer. You will only have to backtrack later on for this. By not having all of the answers upfront will only enhance your credibility with the client. If you can’t be trusted with the smallest details, what will happen when the critical issues come along. Top professionals never talk poorly about other clients, share gossip or talk negatively about their competition.
The trusting sales professional knows his products and services better than anyone in his field. They block time to increase their knowledge along with knowing what their competition offers. For the successful sales professional, you have to do your homework to “ace” high client conversions.
For high trust to occur, you must have consistent quality service. Putting your service guarantee in writing provides the guarantee of both your word and the service you promise. Assurance comes from integrity and personal commitment. This should be the desire of all professionals to be consistent in their professionalism and services. Integrity is when you adhere to a set of ethics and values and it is a major quality of consistent behavior. This value focused, integrity-based sales process builds, identifies and develops the customer’s needs. Buyers feel the sales person is not just interested in selling their product, but truly interested in understanding and fulfilling their needs. Buyers have more confidence in the sales representatives and are more willing to make long-term business commitments.
By creating trust from the presale process through closing the transaction, you will create customer loyalty and more referrals. Loyal clients are the best referral partners because they’ve already went through the sales process with you and feel comfortable trusting you with their friends, family and business relationships. Loyal clients know that when they refer prospects to you, that you understand that they are trusting you with these relationships and know that their referrals will receive the same treatment as they’ve received.
Hopefully, you meet every characteristic listed in this article. Learning from past mistakes myself, I’ve realized that winging answers, rushing through the interview and sales process has only hurt me in the long run. Not only did I not get the transaction, but I also didn’t get future business and referrals. Never let down your guard when it comes to integrity, your values and your honor with your clients. Trust is what the client is looking for, and you need to deliver full trust with every sales appointment.
Article Source: Learn more about The Journey and Summit Champions
Tags: business values, integrity, sales professional, service guarantee, trust in sales
In this classic best-seller, “How To Win Friends And Influence People,”, Dale Carnegie’s second chapter is entitled “The Big Secret of Dealing With People”. The secret is summed up in this principle: Give honest and sincere appreciation.
Carnegie said there is only one way to get anybody to do anything — by making the person want to do it. How can you encourage customers to say good things about you and give you referrals? By giving them what they and all human beings crave: honest and sincere appreciation.
The Two Magic Words
The big secret of dealing with people (or customers) is often overlooked or forgotten. It’s simply saying “thank you” consistently, personally and, above all, sincerely. These two words work marketing magic because customers want to feel important.
Saying “thank you” is an act of kindness, besides. But don’t say “thank you” for the sake of flattery. It must be sincere. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “You can never say anything but what you are.”
“Thank You” Promotes Referrals
The uncertainty of referrals can be disconcerting. Can you control them? No. Can you influence them? Absolutely.
First you must provide a valuable product or service for customers. (You’re already doing this, right?) But perhaps you can make an even bigger difference in their minds by your continued interest after you’ve delivered the product or service.
Each customer has a different level of satisfaction with your products and services. However, all customers to whom you say “thank you” are satisfied that they’re important to you. This can determine whether you’ll continue a relationship with them and get referrals.
“Thank You” as Direct Mail or E-mail
If you’ve never used direct mail and are considering it, start a thank-you correspondence program. If you’ve used direct mail or e-mail but haven’t sent thank-you letters or e-mails, start now.
The thank-you letter or e-mail to your customers is targeted (you know them, they know you), personal and effective. It’s guaranteed to receive a positive response.
Furthermore, it’s a pleasant surprise if it’s snail mail. They see your envelope. They think, this must be something for me to review, to sign, or worse a bill. Surprise! They’re appreciated; they’re important. And you’re the one telling them so.
Write a thank-you letter or e-mail at every opportunity. But don’t send one with an invoice or other correspondence. Always send it separately.
Writing the Thank-You Letter or E-mail
The thought behind a thank-you letter or e-mail may seem simple, but writing one can be tricky. Here are 9 tips for writing a winning thank-you letter or e-mail:
- Keep it brief. A half dozen lines (or fewer) are sufficient.
- Make it sincere. This is crucial. If you aren’t careful, it can sound awkward, even when you’re trying to be sincere.
- Start with “thank you.” Dear Ms. Johnson (or first name, if appropriate): Thank you for …
- Make the tone warm, but professional. Be friendly, but keep it businesslike.
- Reinforce a positive. Jog their memory of a positive aspect of the relationship.
- Offer your continued support. If I can help, please call …
- End with “thank you.” Thanks again for …
- Use an appropriate closing. Sincerely, Best regards.
- No ulterior motive. Make it a pure “thank you,” otherwise sincerity is jeopardized.
Remember: Saying “thank you” is part of building strong customer relationships over time. Use these two magic words consistently and watch your repeat business and referrals grow.
Tags: direct mail, email, referrals, repeat business, sales, small business marketing, thank you
By Julia Rogers
The goal of any professional marketing campaign should be to grow a customer base, and no small business owner can do this in a vacuum. The most successful marketers in any industry are those that are social and get out into their communities to meet people, particularly targeting those that make the big business decisions for potential clients, or are the gatekeepers to connecting with these key individuals. There are of course two main challenges involved in this process: figuring out where to find the people that are decision makers or can get to them directly; using the right tactics to speak meaningfully to these people with a strong, relevant marketing message.
Where Do the Gatekeepers and Decision Makers Hide Themselves?
For small business owners providing goods or services that are trying to build their client base, successfully marketing to those that will make decisions means knowing where they hang out, both during and after work hours. Many business owners only get these marketing tricks “sort of” right by failing to completely fine-tune their search. They throw out a huge net and say, “I want to find anyone that makes a decision about anything important within my target market.”For example, the owner of a small accounting firm that provides services to small medical offices might decide to attend networking events with hospital administrators or pharmaceutical reps. These events might connect this person to a lot of people that do make decisions for large hospitals and may have connections to smaller offices, but ultimately do not provide direct connections to the right decision makers and gatekeepers. These networking events might start relationships that over time indirectly connect the accountant to the right person through referrals, but when time is money, the months and years this might take are unnecessary time wasted. A better fit would be to find a local conference, trade show or meeting place well-attended by doctors or administrative assistants working at small medical practices and go straight to the source.The most efficient marketing tricks will always be those that produce the highest number of qualified, viable leads. Small business owners that are great at getting these leads are those that know the specific problems of their target clients inside and out and can explain how their products or services help solve these problems in a way no other similar product or service available can. Being able to accurately find the places those that make purchase and contract decisions and delivering a marketing message that resonates in an appropriate setting where the target customer or client will be receptive is one of the best small business marketing strengths anyone can have.
The Gatekeeper or Decision Maker Is Not Instantly Interested
The harsh truth is, no matter what industry a small business owner is in or what product or service he provides, his/her target clients don’t have to and will likely not care about the average – and even above average – sales pitch that comes across his/her desk.
Everyone from administrative assistants – the standard “gatekeeper” at most companies – to company presidents, CEOs, CIOs, staff accountants or human resources directors get overwhelmed by hundreds if not thousands of people trying to sell their products and services on a daily basis. They are also typically pretty hip to age-old tactics of “tricking” them into standing at attention.
Tags: gatekeepers and decision makers, marketing tips, marketing tricks, professional marketing, small business, small business marketing
By katahdinme
Your business goal on Twitter is to provide customers with what they want and need. To do so, you need to develop relationships with your core 20% clientele base/joint venture folks and to develop trust and earn a reputation for being the go-to business for the other 80% in your niche.
Developing trust and relationships takes time and is based on a bit more than spamming sales pitches. Therefore, if relationship building is the goal, self-serving tweets should be in the minority. Alternate kinds of tweets fall into a limited number of categories.
The Other Kinds of Tweets
- Questions: Asking questions is a great possibility, though there is an art to asking questions that can reasonably be addressed in 140 characters.
- Humor: One can of course inject a bit of tasteful humor or respond to humor.
- Retweets: Retweeting others’ tweets compliments and benefits both the tweeter and the retweeter as long as the frequency of retweets is not overdone. In moderation, a retweet forms an independent witness to the value of the original tweet.
- Thanks: Expressing genuine gratitude or praise is always a good thing too.
- Useful Stuff: Then there is the plethora of news, quotes, and tips which may be interesting or useful to the reader. Some of it should be self-serving (or you are in the wrong business).
- Links: Include tweets with links to continue the conversation on blogs and announcements of webinars and conferences. Links can also be to further helpful information related to words that comprise the rest of the tweet. Various services exist to shorten URL’s so as to take up fewer of the 140 character limit Twitter has established.
- Engage in their conversations: Address their concerns. Be a listener. Don’t just talk. Answer questions if you have a ready answer or can readily research an answer.
Frequency of Tweets
Another issue important to developing relationships is the number of times each tweet is given. I’m not talking about the stuff you do for individuals once, but there are tweets that can be given multiple times. The question is how many without turning into annoying spam.
I am thinking of four factors to consider.
One, your followers are not always on Twitter at the time you are tweeting. Repeating a tweet at different times of day increases the chances your followers will see your tweet.
Second, consider which time zones your want to reach. Tweeting when your target audience is most likely to be asleep or busy elsewhere is not wise. Lunch time, evenings, and weekends often are better times.
Third, tweets will pass by the eyes of your followers at different rates depending on how many people your followers are following. One of your followers with a hundred followers will not see as many tweets flying by as a person following five thousand. For a given tweet, you can look like a spammer to the one following a hundred at the same time that you barely register on the radar of someone following five thousand. Striking a moderate balance between extremes is important.
Four, be persistent over a long period. Sooner or later most of your followers will become familiar with you. If your persistence consists in spam, your followers will drop out, but a with bit of creativity in providing real value, persistence pays off.
Article Source: Twitter For Business
Tags: business relationships, engaging customers, Social Media, twitter
By Aileen Bennet
I often start my speeches by asking members of my audiences, “What business are you in?” I usually get a whole range of answers, even from within the same company, and they are very insightful. I really only ask the question to remind them of one thing — they are in the people business. We are all in the people business.
People do business with people they like. That’s it — not the lowest prices, the most established company or the one with the biggest budget or fanciest ad campaign. If we like and trust someone, they will get our business. We are all in the people business.
Building relationships has always been the foundation of any business, but it has become increasingly important as those relationships have become increasingly visible. The work life and home life line is blurred with social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn becoming new portals into our lives. People are talking about your company. Shouldn’t you be at least listening? Shouldn’t you really be part of the conversation?
There used to be a huge work/home divide. People actually used phrases like, “Never mix business with pleasure.” If you still find yourself thinking or saying this, you may want to find a new career.
I often tell people that I have the best job in the world, but I know it’s a lie. I get to travel around the country making people laugh and make them feel differently about the way they work. I love what I do, but it’s only the best job in the world for me. You may shudder at the idea of speaking to thousands of people. That’s good. You don’t have to be like me; you have to be like you.
The workplace is increasingly becoming a place for individuals to shine. We are no longer expected to be just a worker following procedures but a unique individual bringing ideas, passion and our own strengths. It’s a whole new way of working. It’s a whole new way of thinking.
I look at it this way. No matter who you work for, you work for yourself. Someone else may write your paycheck, but every action your take shows people who you are. As you change jobs or move companies, you take that reputation with you. You are building a brand. Our company loyalty is fickle; our people loyalty is intact. We do business with people we like.
Are you in a position that plays to your strengths and lets you be who you really are? I hope you are smiling and saying to yourself, “Of course I am; why is she even asking that?”
If you are not yet following your passion, ask yourself some questions: What comes easily to you? What would you do if you didn’t need the money? How would you like to be remembered?
Whenever I choose a company or an individual to work with — from my hairdresser to my biggest clients — I ask one question. Do you love what you do? It’s my measure of how good they are going to be.
Aileen Bennett is a professional speaker and author who is obsessed with communication. For more information, go to www.thatspeaker.com. She can be reached at aileen@thatspeaker.com.
Article Source: Building Relationships
Tags: building relationships, business relationships, customers
Talk Shoppe Presentation by Shelley Baur, Noted Author and Speaker
Building Your Relationships-and Your Business-with Integrity-Based Communications from Judy Burda on Vimeo.
Tags: building relationships, business communications, communications, integrity based communications, video sharing
What does love have to do with sales? Any time you have a relationship with your friend, your neighbor, and everyone, you are selling yourself and putting your integrity on the line. Relationship selling takes on a multitude of forms.
However, the quote, in my opinion, is faulty. If everyone acts righteous in personal relationships and no one ever utters I am sorry, when trouble brews, I believe this is a recipe for disaster. Without hearing an apology, the offended person will begin to stew over the issue, there will be a long-term simmering and finally, like a pressure cooker not carefully watched, an explosion will occur.
The same concept is true for business. Everyone is human and sooner or later we will make a mistake, like forgetting to follow-up at a designated time or misunderstanding what the other person meant.
Just as the little things can break up a marriage, so can the little things break up a business relationship. Your best course of action is to take action to avert the stewing, simmering and ultimate explosion.
Rather than indignation, your first reaction should be to immediately utter, I am sorry. Follow that brief statement with, That was not my intention, how can I (we) fix it?
Once you take ownership of a bad situation, strive to fix it. The second part of taking ownership, is to do it with a smile. Your smile will put the other person at ease. Your swift actions will present you as ethical and trustworthy, and when the other person arrives at this conclusion, you will be the vendor of choice for the long-term.
If you dislike apologizing, you can minimize mishaps in the future by taking these steps:
When someone begins to communicate with you, Stop, Listen or Read carefully and Question. Dig deep with questions to get their true meaning.
Learn the rules and processes of the other person for doing business together. Write their list down on paper so that you have it to refer to. Once the list is finished, ask, Is there anything else you would like to add? This demonstrates, within reason, you are willing to abide by their rules and are truly interested in becoming a model vendor.
The point is, when you begin asking questions, the other party realizes you are interested in working hard on their behalf. The likelihood of conducting business will greatly increase as will the size of the sale.
As in all relationships, business is a two-way street. You are as equally important as the customer. If the relationship is not 50-50, the person with the lesser percentage loses and will feel lost. This next question will pinpoint whether or not the other party is truly interested in conducting business with you.
Ask, If I abide by your rules and I able to produce everything you require will you seriously consider me or my company for your next vendor?
The above question demands that your prospect be honest about intentions of doing business with you. You are a professional and deserve the respect in return.
By not asking these types of questions due to fear, you are opening yourself up to risk. The risk will be in the form of letting others take advantage of you by leading you on without intent of ever purchasing. Most importantly, you will be wasting too many hours of precious time.
It is critical to get a reading on how interested the other party truly is in working with you. Your income depends upon it and you must know whether you are wasting your time or spending quality time with your prospect building your relationship.
If the getting to know you process is taking far longer than it should, and you begin to have doubts, test the waters of intent. You have every right to do so. Suggest to your prospect they begin with the smallest unit of product or service. Follow this question with the following statement, if it provides you with everything I say I will, may wethen move to larger units for your entire company.
This last statement most often will work to get your prospect off of the fence. If a favorable decision cannot be made on your behalf, it is either time to find someone else in the company who can make a decision or find a better prospect. In the end, you are in control of your destiny. It is up to you to keep pursuing!
Article Source: New Business Ideas
Tags: business communications, business partners, business relationships, customer satisfaction
By: Damian Papworth
Just as our world changes every day, so too should the way that we conduct business–there’s no way of getting around it. Among the most significant opportunities to arise in recent times for innovation-indeed a necessitator of change-has been the advent of the internet; the new ways to operate are simply countless compared to before the advent, which were previously plain impossible.
Particularly pertinent to the business community has been the rise of Web 2.0, especially the many uses of today’s social media outlets. As will be seen, social media are one of the most effective and far-reaching methods for a business to grow a web of contacts and build up a solid reputation.
The spread of social media on the web has proceeded at the rate of a virus, though this is one infection that is actually good to get! The principal reason underpinning this extraordinary proliferation is that it is impossible to monopolize the ways and the venues through which people interact-if a new site pops up allowing people to communicate amongst themselves with a host of different features, then it is practically inevitable for it to acquire some users (clearly not all such sites command the same followings though).
This irresistible desire people display to “socialize” on the net is the perfect means for business relationship building; as a matter of fact, it is one that absolutely must not be forsaken. Failure to heed the significance of social media at this point in the game is synonymous with essentially sinking your business.
Despite the impressions that some people have of social media sites as being mostly for infantile and superficial purposes, nothing could be further from the truth: no matter how silly some people may be with their social media usage, the potential uses go much beyond such trifling matters. Ultimately, what social media allow a business owner to do is establish a recognizable image, convey a professional attitude, and increase the likelihood of new client patronage.
The biggest reason to use social media sites-beyond the fact that countless potential customers are lurking in such sites-is that they are absolutely free. That’s right: an invaluable business-growing tool without a price tag! Such things actually do exist, and only on the internet.
The permanent upkeep and improvement of one’s social media website accounts allows any entrepreneur to ensure the central facet of their marketing drive (and consequently a good marketing tool too). Online or not, efficiency like that just can’t be had elsewhere.
At the moment, the giants of the social media scene include but are not limited to: Technorati, Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, YouTube and LinkedIn. Insofar as a business owner uses these media to get their message and brand out there on the market, the more their market impact will be-though a bit of prudence is in order for balancing depth and scope in this regard.
All in all, the potentially exponential growth in brand recognition and network connections that a business stands to gain via the use of social media means that these technologies will continue their drive at the heart of business priorities.
Damian Papworth is aware of the influence social media can have on branding. This is why he actively employs websites like FaceBook, Twitter and Technorati for internet marketing strategies You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.
Article Courtesy of MyArticleWizard.com
Tags: building relationships, business relationships, Social Media, socializing
Buying a corporate gift is a great way to enhance a business relationship but can certainly become a daunting task. Giving it is worse since you have the intention to gain business ties, connect with clients, and send your message of giving thanks. Knowing the following corporate gift buying essentials will increase your chances of attaining these goals.
Know the company policy – Some companies prohibit gift giving; some have dollar limits on the gift item; while other don’t have limits at all. Check on this particular detail so that you will know how much you have to spend on a particular item to avoid your gift being sent back to you.
First impression lasts – Packaging is important. This will give the first impression to the receiver. A good packaging will send a message to the recipient that he or she is important to you. A poor packaging on the other hand will tell the recipient that the item inside is not that important, or worse, the recipient may think that he is not important. So regardless of the price of the gift inside the package, it is inevitable that a corporate gift is packed appropriately.
Handwritten cards is much appreciated – Yes, it is easier to buy a Hallmark card and put your signature on it together with your gift, but it will leave a more lasting effect if you prefer having your message handwritten. This would mean that you personally made the massage to the person and not use a ready-made one.
Deliver the gift personally – If your gift does not require a crane or more than one person to carry, make it a point to personally deliver the gift to the intended party. This will create a better and lasting impression of you once he opened the gift.
Know the cultural differences – For Germans, red roses mean romantic intentions. For Chinese, a white gift wrapping symbolizes death. For Japanese, a gift in sets of 4 means death. These are some of the cultural differences or symbolism that you need to take note of when considering giving a corporate gift to someone of another culture. You may have a clean intention but it is safe to follow and respect who they are and what they believe in.
Know the recipient’s wants – Knowing what kind of corporate gift to buy is very challenging and is often very risky. Sometimes, if you have no idea on what to give, you often end up giving the wrong kind of gift. This will ruin you as well as your company image. To lessen the difficulty and reduce the risk, know the person who will receive the gift what his wants, his hobbies, interest, etc. What is the best way to do it? Make a call and ask him such information.
Go for quality – The corporate gift often reflects to your company’s image. It is hard to build up reputation and good image, do not ruin it by giving something of a low quality. Choose a corporate gift that is of high quality but does not destroy your budget.
Check IRS deductions – The IRS Publication 463 is something you should know of since business gifts in America are tax deductible (as much as $25/person in a tax year). This excludes shipping the gift and packaging. Other rules may apply to other types of business structure.
With the items above in mind, the giving of corporate gifts will be a gratifying one for you and a welcome surprise to the recipient!
Tags: business relationships, corporate gifts, Customer Appreciation, gift giving essentials