Category Archives: Communication Skills

BUSINESS OWNERS: KEEP THIS CRISIS CONTROL DIRECTIVES IN YOUR FILES: LESSONS FROM UNITED AIRLINES

San Diego, CA, 2017-Apr-18 — /EPR MANAGEMENT NEWS/ — Every company has a crisis from time to time. If the company is small or medium in size, one crisis can take it off the map. Here are some directives that will get you through your next one; share it with your senior staff and don’t read it ‘after’ the event occurred, this should be in memory lest you compete with United for news space.

1. TRY TO RESOLVE IT WITH SOMETHING THAT COMES EASILY TO YOU, THAT YOUR CUSTOMER VALUES. Whatever business you are in, you get your goods or services wholesale (free flights, even on a standby basis). Try to resolve the problem by offering something that has a high perceived value but is not so dear to you that it creates a large loss. The customer is ‘not’ always right, but the customer can write something about you on Yelp and, as it hurts you more to respond, they will ‘seem’ right to the public, who will only read one side of it all.

2. AVOID CALLING THE POLICE (of any kind) FOR A NON-CRIMINAL INCIDENT. Once you try to make the police force your own, and they step in with people who are trained to control others, you will have alienated your client past the point of no return. Worse yet, if the person flails and touches a police officer, he or she now gets a criminal record thanks to you and believe me, you will pay dearly for that. As stupid goes, this is the most stupid move a company can use against a client when the company is not at threat. A disagreement is never resolved when one party is fully armed and the other is afraid of arrest.

3. SHOW THEM WHO THE MANAGEMENT REALLY IS, AND DEMONSTRATE COMPASSION FOR THE SITUATION. If your story makes it to social media, the first response from the CEO should be an instant public apology. The public needs to think of him or her as a nice, warm, empathetic individual who just had the bad luck of hiring someone who had no common sense. Mistakes happen. The public forgives you. If, on the other hand the CEO makes a bad impression or supports his or her staff, regardless of their poor choices, then people will fear the company and avoid it all costs. Do you understand?

4. DO NOT ANGER A CUSTOMER AND THEN ACCUSE HIM OR HER WITH BEING BELIGIRENT. This is a common tactic used by the police to arrest persons. Lawyers use it at trial all the time. You say something inflammatory, the person reacts, and you try to show the jury how unreasonable they are. This is dangerous behavior. Unless you have the powers of arrest, you shouldn’t do something to further anger your customer. If you have an angry customer, you should do everything you can to get them to a reasonable and calm state. The easiest way to do so: Offer something up front, then dine or have drinks with him or her in a casual manner and work out the rest. Using this system you may create the most loyal customer (who refers you business) when you are finished. People understand errors occur: it’s how you handle them.

5. IF YOU CAN’T SAY ANYTHING EMPATHETIC KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. A client/customer may upset you. They are in a heated state due to what happened. Don’t get offended. Many of them don’t even mean what they say in the heat of the moment. If you can avoid internalizing the person’s comments, try to mentally experience the situation from their point of view. The easiest way to do it is not to think of them, but to think of one of your parents, your spouse, or your best friend having gone through this and how you would respond. Now do this with your client.

6. BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS AND POSITIONING OF YOUR FIRM.
It’s easy to say and do what you want when you have a golden parachute. However, a corporation’s reputation is largely based on the philosophies of the CEO when it comes to customer service. Remember the corporation took care of you and your family when you were looking for a career or opportunity. Now, it needs ‘you’. Do everything with all the integrity the company deserves, even if you have to bite your lip in doing so.

7. MAKE CONTACT WITH THE AGGRIEVED PARTY ASAP. Call the person, arrange a personal contact and work things out. Do not let it get to the media or to a lawyer’s office. Let the person hear from you and know that you care. The difference it will make is phenomenal. It does not matter that you are on vacation when it takes place or even sleeping. You are better off losing a night’s sleep than months of sleep in the future while your and you company’s reputation are in the balance. Don’t just contact the party, make this up to them. For example, in the United Airlines’ case, I would have put Dr Dao on a private jet asap, with a limousine waiting at the other end. The scenario would have turned out very differently.

8. WORK IT OUT BEFORE IT BECOMES A LAWSUIT.
If a situation is so out of control that a lawyer has been hired or litigation is threatened, resolve it immediately through opposing counsel. Negotiate and work out a settlement or understanding of some sort. Keep the settlement confidential if you have to, or be generous and go public with it; especially if you are in the wrong. The worst thing that can happen in this case is what happened with United Airlines: the lawyer was enjoying free national airtime to say what he wanted.

If a lawyer has been hired, you did not follow the rules above very well. Once the legal game is in play, in will only serve to infuriate the customer more and the legal game is all about sides. At this point, hope the party has a reasonable lawyer as you can no longer directly communicate with the person. Litigation is one of the worst diseases a company can catch, avoid it at all costs.

We hope your next crisis is averted rapidly and wish you the best!

________________________________

Steven Riznyk is the CEO and senior litigator of San Diego Biz Law, a crisis-negotiator, and business strategist who is hired to analyze and resolve complex and crisis issues worldwide. He can be reached at 619-793-4827.

SanDiegoBizLaw.com
Contact: Amanda Berkshire
San Diego: (619) 793-4827
Email: ab@Worldwide-Press.com

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Hunter Boot Ltd. Names Alasdhair Willis as New Creative Director

The UK’s leading designer and retailer of quality wellington boots, Hunter, has announced the appointment of a new Creative Director, and also, a new Commercial Sales Director

Hunter Boot Ltd. today announces the appointment of Alasdhair Willis, as its Creative Director, and Fabrizio Stroppa, as its Commercial Sales Director. Based in London, both roles will report into the CEO, James Seuss, who was appointed in December 2012.

A spokesperson for Hunter Boot explains, “Alasdhair Willis brings amazing creative talent, style, and commercial realisation to the helm of Hunter. His experience with British heritage brands and developing brands globally makes him an ideal choice to lead the creative team at Hunter as we enter our next stage of growth. Alasdhair will define the vision for the brand and develop our creative voice, while working closely with our strong commercial team to bring the world of Hunter to consumers worldwide,” James Seuss commented.

Alasdhair Willis said: “It is a genuine honour and a tremendous opportunity to be in this role at such a significant moment for Hunter. Hunter is a fantastic British brand with enormous potential. It has a very strong history dating back nearly 160 years, and I believe the Hunter story and spirit are just as relevant today. The business has already built a strong foundation for growth with its current product offering, centred on theOriginal Boot. Going forward, we will be focused on expanding the footwear business while building on the exciting opportunities in other categories such as outerwear. We will also be clearly defining the brand’s position in the market and communicating our unique vision across all platforms. I look forward to working with the growing and talented design team.”

Jim Seuss remarked, “I am also pleased to welcome Fabrizio Stroppa to Hunter as Commercial Sales Director. With over 25 years of experience working with luxury brands, including Mulberry, Giorgio Armani and Donna Karan, Fabrizio brings an incredible wealth of expertise in the luxury goods sector. He will be integral to the further development of Hunter’s international presence.”

Fabrizio Stroppa commented, “I am delighted to be joining Hunter at such a unique stage in its development. With James’ strategic and commercial leadership and the new creative direction, Hunter now has the dynamic team needed to create a global brand. As we develop and open new markets, we will be working with some of the best retailers in the world to showcase the Company’s collections. Hunter also plans to launch branded shop-in-shops in key markets and flagship stores in key cities worldwide.”

The first new collection for the brand will be showcased for Autumn/Winter 2014. Willis will also maintain his role at his Creative and Branding consultancy firm.

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Do You Know How School Prepares You For Success?

All activities that you engage in can be training fields for success. This includes school and all of the activities associated with it including class, extracurricular activities and sports.

The most important aspect of how school prepares you for success is that it teaches you how to learn. In elementary school you learned some of the most important skills of all how to read and write. If you can read and write you can get additional information from books and you can use powerful technologies such as computers and the internet. A person who knows how to read and write has the ability to learn for the rest of his or her life.

School also teaches you how to plan, if you can put together a report you can create a business plan. If you can plan you can organize and apply information.

Socialization and Emotional Intelligence
An equally important example of how school prepares you for success is socialization or emotional intelligence. You can learn how to get along with others, to live and work with them in school. School teaches you vital social skills such as networking and working within the group or organization. It also teaches you how to live and work with those whom you might not get along with.

Through sports and similar activities school teaches you how to strive for a goal and to work with others on a common goal. It also teaches you how to win and lose.

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Poll: 60 Percent of Israelis: ‘President Barack Obama’s Best Quality is His Power of Persuasion and Public Speaking Skills’. 50 Percent: ‘Obama is the Best Speaker among Western Countries’ Leaders’

Poll: 60 percent of Israelis view “power of persuasion and public speaking skills” as President Obama’s strongest personal characteristic. 10 percent consider that his strongest quality is “daring”. A further 10 percent consider that “the striving for excellence” is his most prominent quality. 7 percent think that “authenticity” is the President’s prime quality.

Poll: 60 Percent of Israelis: 'President Barack Obama's Best Quality is His Power of Persuasion and Public Speaking Skills'. 50 Percent: 'Obama is the Best Speaker among Western Countries' Leaders'

Poll’s additional disclosure: fifty percent of Israelis view President Obama as the best speaker among the leaders of the western countries.

These findings were revealed by the first survey of its kind undertaken in Israel by Market Watch, a research and public opinion poll company. The telephone poll was carried out on a national sample of the mature Jewish population in Israel, (aged 18 +), in celebration of the publication in Israel of the new book “Barack Obama’s Secrets of Influence and Persuasion”, by Gil and Nili Peretz.

According to the survey results:
Almost half of Israelis rank President Obama as the best speaker among leaders of the western world.

Poll results:
1. President of the United States, Barack Obama – 47 percent.
2. Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel – 12 percent.
3. President Sarkozy of France – 10 percent.
4. Prime Minister of Italy Berlusconi – 7 percent
5. New Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron – 2 percent.

Analysis of the survey’s findings reveals additional results:
A: Gender comparison: 66 percent of men in Israel think that President Obama’s most prominent quality is his power of persuasion and rhetoric. A little more than half the women chose this quality (53 percent). The percentage of women, who chose “daring” as the President’s dominant quality, is almost double the number of men (12.9 percent of women versus 6.8 percent of men).

Comparison among the leaders, more than half the men (54 percent) chose President Obama as the best speaker, compared to 41 percent of the women.

President Sarkozy received the support of 11.5 percent of women’s votes, in comparison to 7 percent of men’s votes.

B. Comparison by age: young people at the ages 18 – 24 chose the “daring” quality twice as much as the rest of the population age groups, as President Obama’s strongest quality: 19.8 percent of young Israelis chose this quality. 50.1 percent of them chose his rhetoric ability facing an audience.

The book “Barack Obama’s Secrets of Influence and Persuasion” was written in Hebrew by an Israelis couple who are experts in their fields: the international speaker Gil Peretz, together with the excellence researcher, Nili Peretz, and was published in Israel by “Matar” Publishers, who publish Hebrew translations to works by Jack Weltch, Tom Peters, Spencer Johnson, Ken Blanchard, Lee Iacocca, Harvey Mackay, Robert Kiyosaki, Dan Arieli and Rudolph Giuliani.

Gil Peretz lectures across the globe on Obama’s effective secrets of communication, and the manner they can be utilized in speeches, presentations, sales meetings, and appearances in the media. Over the last two decades, Peretz has been advising and coaching company directors, international corporation chairmen and politicians in various countries, in preparation for important appearances in the media, and toward significant speeches in their career. Among others he has in the past coached and advised two Israeli Chiefs-of-Staff, ministers and ambassadors. Gil Peretz has worked with directors of international organizations such as: Microsoft, Allergan, Merck/MSD, Teva, HP, Hilton, British American Tobacco, Manpower, M-systems, SAP, and more.

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New Sales Training and Sales Coaching Programs By eXubrio

eXubrio Group LLC CEO Paul McAfee announced today that his company has introduced new sales training and sales coaching programs. The programs teach business-to-business sales people how to match customer needs with their products and services. This process also is called consultative selling or needs-based selling.

Not every sale requires a needs-based approach. Some sales are transactional, such as the purchase of a candy bar at the grocery store checkout line. However, many sales situations require consultation with the buyer to determine the right product or service. eXubrio Group’s new sales training program prepares sales people to approach a consultative sale as a relaxed interview process that is enjoyable for both the seller and the prospect.

The properly trained sales person’s goal is to understand the prospect’s needs, and to match appropriate products or services with those needs. This is vastly different from hard sell – or pushy – sales processes taught by other training organizations. An eXubrio Group trained sales person will build rapport, and a trust relationship, with the prospect. The salesperson will ask appropriate questions to understand the prospect’s needs. The ideal conclusion of a successful needs-based sales cycle will hear the prospect explain why he or she wants to purchase the sales person’s product or service.

eXubrio Group sales training and sales coaching services are available immediately. Companies wishing to participate can arrange for in-house sales training and coaching programs. In early 2010, eXubrio Group will begin offering offsite training workshops for companies with small sales forces.

eXubrio Group’s sales training is closely aligned with the business and marketing strategy processes used nationally by eXubrio Group. These include the Delivering Profitable Value methodology developed and practiced by Michael Lanning’s DPV Group LLC. eXubrio Group also uses its unique customer adoption model that identifies the marketing and sales steps through which every customer passes.

eXubrio Group sales training teaches sales people how to recognize the positive business experiences a prospect will receive if they purchase from the sales person. The program helps the sales person recognize where the prospect is in the buying process. Sales people learn how to help the prospect move through the steps to purchase. This integration of a marketing strategy with the sales process differentiates eXubrio Group’s training from others’ training. eXubrio Group will customize and personalize in-house training and coaching programs for each of its clients.

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Leadership Failure Is Epidemic Claimed Will Marré, Leadership Development Speaker

Leadership failure is epidemic, claimed Will Marré, leadership expert and the author of a new book, Save the World and Still Be Home For Dinner (Capitol Books, Sept. 2009), at the recent Excellence in Workplace Forum in San Diego. As evidence, he pointed to the successive failures of corporate leaders and the demise or bankruptcies of companies ranging from Enron to GM as well as the bailouts of our global financial system. In his remarks, however, Marré inspired senior executives and human resource leaders to be apart from these leadership failures by embracing a new leadership framework.

Marré proposed that leadership development has been dominated by business schools over the past forty years which has led to a “dumbing down” of leadership to a set of skills and attributes. He proposed that reducing leadership to abilities such as decisiveness, discipline, vision and inspiration fail to distinguish the critical difference between Hitler and Churchill or Stalin and Roosevelt. “The core problem,” stated Marré, “is that we’ve abandoned the first principle of leadership which answers the question, what am I trying to accomplish? If we are going to have a sustainable future leaders must have a noble intent, a purpose beyond self-interest.”

Leaders want to make a change in how they do business. A recent global survey by McKinsey and Company reveals that over 70 percent of global leaders say they need to improve their performance in solving social and environmental problems but are not sure what to do.

Research reported by Ashridge Business School reports that 76 percent of CEOs and senior executives believe that it is important that senior executives have the necessary knowledge and skills to respond to trends like climate change, resource scarcity and doing business in emerging markets marked by poverty, corruption and human rights violations. Alarmingly, however, only 8 percent believe that these knowledge and skills are currently being developed very effectively by either their own organizations or by business schools more broadly.

Marré has the answer for this leadership development dilemma, his new leadership framework he calls REALeadership. He stated, “If we are going to avoid the massive potholes in our future – resource depletion, environmental collapse, trade wars, massive unemployment, market disruptions and corporate extinction – we need leadership of a different kind, now.” Marré’s REALeadership framework creates a new, three-dimensional business model that “REALeaders” must take on in order to thrive in the coming decade. To find out more about REALeadership, visit Marré’s blog, CSR and the 4 Ideals of Socially Responsible Leadership.

Marré truly believes that REALeadership is the only leadership for a thriving future. In “The Future of Work: Engaging Employees to Drive Innovation” Marré discusses how leadership in the 21st century workplace based on creating a sustainable future drives employee engagement and innovation based on shared values where value is added to both the future and the bottom line. Furthermore, in his leadership development workshops, Marré shows organizations how a future of environmental sustainability, increased world health, and educational and economic opportunity create the greatest business opportunity in history.

About Will Marré:
Will is an Emmy Award-winning writer, leadership speaker and coach. He is the co-founder and former president of the Covey Leadership Center (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) and CEO of the REALeadership Alliance where he helps leaders identify, communicate and implement new socially strategic business models. Will has been a personal leadership coach and advisor to multi-billion dollar global companies such as Disney and Johnson & Johnson. For the past 10 years he has focused on making corporate social responsibility strategic. His book, Save the World and Still Be Home for Dinner will be released in fall 2009.

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Quest CE Promotes Mike Kufahl To Vice President – Client Relationship ManagementQuest CE Promotes Mike Kufahl To Vice President Client Relationship Management

Quest CE President and CEO Alan Krenke announced the promotion of Mike Kufahl to Vice President – Client Relationship Management.

We are very pleased to promote Mike in recognition of all that he has done for Quest,” Krenke said. “Mike has contrib¬uted greatly to the success of Quest, especially the client services area and has shown his com¬mitment to ensuring our clients receive the best and most professional treatment in the financial services industry.”

Kufahl joined Quest in March 2006 and acts as the company liaison for several key accounts. Prior to joining Quest, he worked as an Account Executive for Strong Funds in Milwaukee.

About Quest CE:
Quest CE offers customized continuing education and online compliance management programs to financial service firms across the country. With over 100 clients in the insurance, mutual fund, and banking industries, Quest has the resources and expertise necessary to create and administer successful training programs for organizations of all sizes.

For more information about Quest CE you may also contact Quest CE at 877-593-3366 or visit their website at www.questce.com.

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