Tag: smart executives

HOW TO RESET YOUR BUSINESS AND PEOPLE POST-COVID

Posted on | by Sienna
We cannot ignore the fact that COVID-19 has had a serious impact on the Australian economy. This has resulted in many business leaders enduring sleepless nights and scratching their heads over the current and future impact of this pandemic on their business. But it is important to remember that the situation is entirely out of our control – everyone’s in the same boat. What is in your control however, as a Leader, is:
  • How your business recovers
  • What actions you take
  • How you get your team back on target
  • What outlook you hold
  • What strategic plans you have in place
  • What you are going to do to increase momentum

HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF HITTING THE RESET BUTTON ON YOUR BUSINESS?

For many of us, we may have issues about “coming back to the office”, or getting back on target, or concerns about our people being out of the physical hunt for results for too long, or simply – achieving ROI. Soon the pace of pre-COVID days will return, do you have actions in place for when we all can come together again? Have you considered:
  • How you are going to build a culture of performance?
  • How you will instil a mindset of positive thinking?
  • How to get results from your team?
  • How to re-frame your team’s conversations around the future?
  • How to React, Restore, Reset your business and people?

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

Have you considered a positive movement of encouragement and support for your team on their return – recognition of coming together when we can come together? But how? How, as a forward-thinking Leader, do I encourage and support the return of my staff? The strongest way to support your staff and show them self-worth with a definite ROI, is through instilling a positive mindset – that is the gift that keeps on giving. At the KONA Group we know the value and the power of Motivational Speaking. We can assist you in any capacity to harness positive thinking, spread its powers and skyrocket productivity as a direct result. All our exceptional Motivational Speakers have great stories behind them, their teachings come from walking the pavement of life, the words come from experiences not textbooks. Come on a journey with one of our team. Here is a snippet of one of our Senior team and the founder of the KONA Group. 10 years ago this week the 60-year-old inspiration climbed into the boxing ring with ex-Heavyweight Boxing Champion of Australia John Hopoate all in the name of raising funds for very worthy Breast Cancer patients. Glenn also ran across the Sahara Dessert for the same cause, AND – completed the Hawaiian Ironman in KONA. Oh, and did we mention earlier this year he became the world’s oldest CAGE FIGHTER?! His physical stamina is nothing compared to his mental strength – Glenn has built an outstanding reputation as a Personal Mentor, helping individuals of all ages to achieve goals they never thought possible. He is a specialist Business, Health and Sport Mentor.

To find out more contact the KONA Group 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au

And there are many more like Glenn for you to meet: kona.com.au/meet-the-team/ Everyone has a story and every story can be transformed to lead to positive outcomes. Hit the reset button on your business, engage one of our modern Motivational Speakers and bring out the best in your team and business. We did. To learn how to RESET YOUR BUSINESS or book in your team’s MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, contact KONA: 1300 611 288 | info@kona.com.au for a confidential conversation today.

SIX TIPS FOR SMASHING A VIRTUAL SALES MEETINGS

Posted on | by Sienna

PROSPECTING IN A PANDEMIC

man at laptop in background, foreground image mask and keys in a table
A third of the Australian economy is generated from New South Wales, so what happens when that state goes into lockdown? Add to that Victoria in lockdown, and that is a sizeable portion of the nation’s economy taking a hard hit. We are once again in a situation where we need to be creative about how we are going to function and keep producing results. Virtual Sales Meetings are indeed back and look to be settling in quite comfortably for at least a month. So, do we stop selling and wait or do we power through and get busy smashing Sales remotely?
Imagine if at the start of 2020 you were told you can double the number of leads you see a day? Virtual sales meetings looks to be settling in quite comfortably as the preferred procedure moving forward. And used correctly this new modus operandi can work wonders for you, enabling you to see up to 10 times more prospects during a day than if you had to commute.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WIN OR LOSE
Acquiring and retaining strong professional sales relationships remotely is not as daunting as it seems in this new – online only world we are living in. As a Leader, is your sales team virtually afloat and motivated or really sinking? Are you as a manager making the right leadership decisions during this time of change?

MS Teams ZOOM meetings sales training with Brickworks

The simple truth is effective virtual communication skills could be the difference between winning and losing a sales deal. Just like in-person meetings, there are protocols to a sales meeting to bring about results. DOES YOUR TEAM KNOW HOW TO SELL EFFECTIVELY VIRTUALLY?

Here is both the why – and the how – of effective virtual sales to skyrocket sales results remotely.

 
1. PREPARE FOR THE VIRTUAL SALES MEETING FIRST
  • Make an Appointment: make sure you email an invite to all the participants to accept it – include a link to the web-conference into the invite and make sure you point out that it is a video meeting, so it is no surprise for the client.
  • Inform your prospect about your agenda, the questions you are bringing to the table and the goal you are both pursuing.
  • Provide your prospect with leeway to decide on the time that is convenient for them.
2. CONTROL THE MEETING
  • Encourage everyone to identify themselves before each contribution, “This is Fred from…”
  • As host, repeat questions that are asked of you before answering. Some participants may not have heard the question.
  • Remind participants before and during the meeting to keep their microphones on mute when they are not speaking.
  • If you are bringing in additional material via screen sharing, such as PowerPoint presentations or product demos to make the conversation even more productive, send the documents to participants in advance.

3. MASTER THE ART OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION
Do your remote salespeople know how to listen to yield results?  Listening is key to selling. There, the secret is out. Active listening requires both ears and eyes. Ever watched a show on mute (no subtitles)? You get the idea of what is going on yes, but you miss key facts. Selling without listening is akin to watching tv with the volume down to zero.
Reading Non-verbal Behaviour
Most interpersonal communication (> 55%) is non-verbal. It may be a revealing facial expression, a particular style of body language, or the subtle yet telling flicker of an eye – these non-verbal communications are key to understanding the person in front of you and how to, in turn, effectively communicate with them. If more than half of what we communicate is non-verbal then more than half of what we are trying to say/sell is being missed if we cannot master our non-verbal styles.

4. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
Just because you are not in a person-to-person scenario does not mean you can be lax in your line of questioning. In fact, it is even more vital in video conferencing to ask the right questions in order to engage and hold attention in a remote set up.

The difference between you and your competitor lies in the questions you ask clients.

Do you and your salespeople possess Advanced Questioning skills?

Or does your competition question better than you?

5. OBJECTION HANDLING ONLINE
Humans are humans, their environment will change much faster than their mindset and behaviour, therefore being objectionable is a trait even the strongest virus won’t diminish. But to protect your sales armour against the inevitable objections that come in sales, even remotely – preparation is key. Do you know how to handle an objection on the spot during a video conference? Can your team handle the heat on their own when selling remotely?

6. BE EXCITING!
Video conferencing is the prime platform to show off your presentation skills. Everyone is video conferencing now, so you need to stand out – add some spark to your next sales meeting.

How will you build rapport?

How will you break the ice?

What presentation skills does your team have?

These remote SALES SKILLS are just the tip of the learning pyramid and make up part of your bespoke  REAL | Remote Education Active Learning Program* developed around your sales team and delivered remotely by the KONA Group. *The recent changes in work from home situations globally has seen access to our REAL Learning Program skyrocket, so we will continue to fill the learning spots on a first in first scheduled basis. Call 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au to secure a spot.

CONTACT US: 1300 611 288

or

email info@kona.com.au

Work From Home Mojo | 5 Ways to Keep Your Team Motivated Remotely

Posted on | by Sienna
Here we go again! Another lockdown, and another Work From Home set up. Yep. Work From Home (WFH). Now since the last episode of remote working, we have all progressed in our systems and processes. We have all established our own WFH routines and near mastered virtual meetings and the glitches that go with them.
But, one thing that will still test us and continue to rear its heavy head, is our motivation levels. No matter how many times we do this lockdown game, in fact the more we do it it seems, our mojo always at some point suffers.
Work From Home Mojo
You know something is set in place when it becomes an acronym – that is, WFH: Work From Home. But for some of us the trending hashtag #WFH is a bit of a WTF. Work From Home. It’s not an option nor a plea for management to gift you twice a week anymore, it is now mandatory, at least for the immediate future.
Now you have almost figured out how to manage your remote employees.
  • But have you any idea how to maintain motivation on a virtual scale?
  • How do keep your remote employees fully charged?
  • How essential is employee stimulus to the performance of your business?
Monitoring moral does not mean you need to change the entire business strategy. It just means that you need to make a little more effort to keep employees driven and feeling part of a team. The proven way of maintaining staff motivation is to show you care. Simple sounding right, but how? Care can come in the form of incentives or bonuses, awards, recognition and appraisals.

But the biggest indicator you care for your staff is what you invest in them. They will see that you care for their personal growth and success, and without batting an eye lid productivity will skyrocket – even remotely.

INVESTING IN YOUR STAFF BY UPSKILLING THEM SHOWS YOU CARE
Contact the KONA Group and we will not sell to you but help you tailor the best growth strategy for your team with focus on employee motivation and coaching the manager training. Keep your virtual team realistically motivated, focus on stimulating their ideas and maintaining their mojo. Here, we’ll get you started:
WEEKLY TEAM VIDEO CALLS

MS Teams ZOOM meetings sales training with Brickworks

Be connected by staying connected. Include everyone. Akin to a normal team office meeting, this will allow your employees to have their voices heard, literally, as well as allow space to air concerns as a network. There is a lot that can be understood from eye to eye contact.  
USE AN INSTANT MESSENGER SERVICE
It’s all well and good sending emails back and forth to one another, but even these can seem a bit too formal at times. Instead, have your employees use instant message platforms that come with video conferencing software, such MS Teams or Skype, to be able to quickly fire questions across to each other, or even just to chat, feel connected and build better working relationships with one another.  
TRUST THEM
Do you doubt your remote staff are actually working the required hours each day from the comfort of their home? It’s okay, they also wonder if you know they are working the required hours each day. It’s a two-way trust. And the key to letting go and trusting both your employee and in turn have them trust you, is belief – if you’ve hired the right people in the first place, you have to give them the autonomy to go away and get on with it. A lot of people will find that they’re more productive when working remotely for a team, as they feel they need to prove that they’re getting things done without the boss nearby to check in.  
APPRECIATE TO ACCELERATE
Ensure you’re providing incentives to help encourage your remote team members. Give plenty of recognition for the great work that they do, letting them know that it doesn’t go unnoticed, despite them not being present in the office. And, where possible, offer plenty of opportunity for learning, development and growth in their role.  
KEEP THE MENTAL STIMULATION UP
  Just like an office environment, WFH can also become stale for some staff, especially if they love to socialise and network with team mates daily. Throw a new project their way with a challenge attached. Ask them to design something completely out of their realm and see what they come up with. Set them a group task or an exercises that must be submitted in pairs.

Learn more from our Virtual Business Platform.

There is an entire day’s learning and more on how to stimulate, motivate and nourish your staff remotely – it’s just a matter of you opting to invest in your team to produce results for your business. Get motivated with KONA’s remote REAL Academy. Call 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au and we will help.  

CONTACT US: 1300 611 288

or

email info@kona.com.au

WORK FROM HOME PROTOCOLS OF AN E-MEETING

Posted on | by Sienna
Protocols of an e-meeting.

In uncertain times it is vital to keep your business active, busy as well as professional – that means ensuring your staff have a solid grasp on the dos and don’ts of E-Meetings and video conferencing as virtual workplaces become the new normal.

In light of these new challenges we face as business leaders, more and more of our clients are requesting virtual training, coaching and mentoring on the below topics, to mention but a few:

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION

It is important our Leaders and Managers embrace the shift in training and take on this platform as part of the development of their team.

Think about this, does your team:

  • Know how to behave in front of the camera?
  • Understand the art of non-verbal communication?
  • Have techniques to read the e-room?
  • Know how to hear not just listen in a virtual meeting?
  • Ask the correct question to captivate a segregated audience?

Work-from-home has many benefits, but it also has many pitfalls like how do you manage your staff remotely?

For a business to prevent the perils of a work-from-home set-up undermining productivity, managers must maintain face-to-face interaction with employees online – often. It’s not about ‘checking in’, rather it shows you care for how your staff are performing.

Here are essential tips for E-Meeting Protocols, however remember, the virtual employee has now become a professional discipline that needs to be managed, continuously.

CORRECT TECH

The correct software in a virtual workplace is integral.

There are plenty of cool tools and gadgets for a home office set up, but whatever the setup you go with – keep it simple.

Time means value in remote work, so you don’t want employees wasting their meeting times unnecessarily setting up devices and downloading software.

Also, by keeping things basic – using software like Skype, Facetime, and Teams, these platforms allow you to communicate virtually as well as exchange documents, view presentations and share screens.

 LIMIT TYPING

Some people find the sounds of people typing soothing, but many find it irritating, especially one finger keyboard pounders.

This applies in an office environment as well as in a virtual meeting. Be it typing notes or on the spot emailing – keep your hands well away from the keyboard in an E-Meeting.

Apart from not being annoying, you are also indicating to your fellow e-meeting participant that they have your full attention.

Note taking should be hand-written, for courtesy as well as information retention – you remember what you write better than what you type.

LIMIT DISTRACTIONS

Only keep programs open that relate to the E-Meeting.

One of the biggest indicators of disrespect is showing you don’t care – so avoid even the temptation to be distracted and keep personal tabs and programs closed during an E-Meeting.

And – stay away from your mobile!

MUTE THE MIC

Mute your microphone when you’re not speaking.

Unexpected sounds are just that – unexpected. A dog barking, children playing, sirens screaming down the street. This may not seem like much, but it can be distracting as well as annoying to the other E-Meeting participants.

So, keep the mic on mute and when it is your time to speak, un-mute the mic and talk.

SPEAK CLEARLY AND SLOWER THAN USUAL

Despite the advances in technology, connection break-ups and two-three second delays in E-Meetings are still common.

Get used to pausing after asking a question. But most importantly – speak clearly and concisely and articulate your words.

You are at work. You may not be at work but nonetheless you are working. So, dress like you would if you were at the office.

 GET DRESSED FOR WORK – EVERYDAY

You are at work. You may not be at work but nonetheless you are working. 

So, dress like you would if you were at the office.

Every E-Meeting ensure both your attire and presentation is professional.

In fact, dress for work everyday you are working from home – you’ll be more focused and productive because you’re already dressed to win.

When in an e-meeting, think about what is behind you.

THINK ABOUT WHAT’S BEHIND YOU!

Washing basket? Dirty dishes? Empty bottles from the night before? Avoid embarrassment to yourself and the business and always be conscious of what people can see in your house.

NO EATING

Would you crunch on chips or sip a slushie in an office board meeting? No. So don’t do it in an E-Meeting either. Unprofessional and messy.

Rule of thumb – if you wouldn’t do it, wear it, say it, eat it or show it in an onsite office meeting, don’t do it in an E-Meeting.

The KONA Academy Protocols of a E-Meetings Training covers all of the above tips in detail, as part of the E-Meeting Program, which also looks at:

  • Understanding the Behaviour of Your Audience
  • Reading the E-Room
  • Virtual Presentation Skills
  • E-Management Training: how to manage your team remotely

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION

To organise your team’s Protocols of E-Meetings Training contact KONA on 1300 611 288 or email info@kona.com.au

Contact Us

8 Tools that make Online Profiles an Executive Decision, by David Coe

Posted on | by Sienna
Social media is transforming the way the big end of town communicates with professional and retail investors, fund managers, the media and market commentators. Smart executives are realising how to take advantage of this trend to build their online presence and achieve their career objectives. As the buy and sell sides increasingly adopt social media, smart executives are joining the conversations, raising their profile, and expanding their networks. They are connecting with people who can help them professionally. Some of the most important developments in Australia and overseas that are driving major corporations to use social media are:
  • Bloomberg now pumps Twitter messages on equities, currencies, commodities and bonds to the desktops of professional investors, brokers, analysts and the media
  • The ASX requires companies to be aware of what is being said about them on social media so they can respond appropriately
  • 62% of UK brokers and heads of trading desks says social media is influencing share prices
  • The New York Stock Exchange is giving tips to companies on how to use social media to engage investors
  • 66% of business journalists have written stories based on social media.
If you are looking for opportunities at the big end of town, hang out where they do. When you are there, it is important to know what channels to use because building a strong online presence is a lot more than getting likes on Facebook. Different forms of social media are suited to different uses and different types of information. When you make the most of their individual strengths, your efforts have maximum impact and you reach more of the people who can help you achieve your career goals. You do not need to use all of them and should use only those ones that will reach your target audiences. LinkedIn: When someone wants to find out more about you and types your name into Google, your LinkedIn profile most likely to head the results. That’s why the starting place for a strong online presence is your LinkedIn profile. Twitter has become the social media channel of choice for the financial markets. It is used by brokers, analysts, fund manager, SMSF investors, and business journalists. It may be restricted to 140 characters but this makes it ideal for headline-type announcements and alerts. YouTube is more than a site for videos. It is now a giant search engine owned by Google. Be found here for your area of expertise and you take a powerful step forward in your authority. Facebook allows sharing and commentary, which in turn creates a community among followers. It is best for consumer brands and suburban businesses to engage customers. Other channels are more appropriate for building professional authority. Pintrest is ideal for newsworthy graphs and information graphics. If you have data, create graphics to tell the story. Slideshare hosts presentations for others to find. When you give a presentation, post a copy here with a link from your website. Flickr hosts photos of your annual meeting, investor days and other events you want to capture visually. Smartphones mean that people can carry the internet in their pocket so be smart and build a powerful online presence to take advantage of the technology we take for granted.

By David Coe