Build a Superstar Team!

The Perfect Team You’re excited about your business! You have great ideas for growing your firm and engaging your clients. You are motivated to find new ways to market your services, and what you need is a dream team of employees who not only understand your goals, but who are equally enthusiastic about your vision of the future. Here is a quick guide to building your own superstar team! Your Enthusiasm Informs Theirs When you hire new employees, consider your vision, and include your employees in your plan for the future of the company. Hire people who are enthusiastic about
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Keeping it Together in the Office

Creating a work environment in which many types of employees feel respected and at ease is essential to building a solid team who are in it for the long haul.  Conversational Guard Rails Some subjects just shouldn’t be brought up in the office environment. In general, these topics can be inflammatory and divisive … not the greatest at bringing employees together. Subjects to avoid: Politics Religion Compensation Personal details including relationships, health problems, etc. It’s also important to stay away from gossip or openly speaking detrimentally about any employee or coworker. This can create distrust among the team. Email Etiquette
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Listen for Clues to Promotion

Some employees who are ready for promotion may be easy to spot, but others aren’t always so obvious. If you think you may be overlooking some talent that can be developed, look for these clues that a worker is ready for a promotion:  Free time. If an employee has finished all his or her regularly assigned work and has nothing to do, it could be a sign that he or she is ready for more responsibility. Fast response time. Keep track of how quickly the employee finishes assignments and short-notice tasks. If he or she is getting faster, a promotion
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Creating A Positive Attitude

Winston Churchill once said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” You could actually take this statement one step further and say “Attitude is the little thing that makes all the difference”. Think about your last setback or your last bad day. Did it seem like everything went wrong all day? How did your attitude change over the day? Chances are that once you perceived that something went wrong, you started seeing everything going wrong, and saw only the bad things. You have also probably had at least one or two “perfect” days, where absolutely nothing could
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Know Your Role As Manager/Owner

Management can be one of the biggest roadblocks to great customer service. What is your reputation as a manager or owner?  Are you a slave driver, naysayer, devil’s advocate, overly negative and discouraging, or are you a consensus-builder, coach, nurturer and facilitator?  Successful managers and owners truly are part of the team. They want to see team members thrive and grow along with the business’ bottom line. Excellent customer service is dependent on every team member from the top down. Remember, your team members will take their cues from you. For information on this topic, please go to www.getoffthewheel.com ____________________________________
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LISTEN

LISTEN! Being an excellent and effective listener is key to a professional’s success in life and business. The ability to really, truly listen to another can strengthen relationships, aide in resolving conflicts and improve accuracy. Active listening is as simple as L-I-S-T-E-N.  L – LIKE First of all, you have to find something you sincerely like about the person you are talking to. I – INTEREST You have to have a sincere interest in the person OR in what they are saying. S – SEE Try to see things from the other’s perspective, try to understand the reasons why they
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Grow Your Brand and Your Business in 10 Seconds

Grow Your Brand and Your Business in 10 Seconds We have all been standing or sitting next to someone who looks at you and says: “What do you do?” or “What business are you in?” or “Not seen you at this event before; what made you come?” This is an invitation to make a great impression. This person may need exactly what you’re in business for, or they may know someone who does. Their question gives you two choices, you can: Say something obvious, that produces an “Oh, thanks.” Or you can say something that makes them sit up and
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Seize Opportunities to Review and Retrain

Seize Opportunities to Review and Retrain Why ask why? How do you respond when a team member makes a mistake? Do you know what will happen if your immediate response is to scold an employee or punish them in some way? Next time they make a mistake instead of coming clean they might just opt to cover it up.  Don’t beat up your team members when they make an error. Instead, use the situation as an opportunity to review and even retrain. Take time to examine the system you have in place. There just might be room for improvement. There
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5 Pointers to Grow Your Practice by Networking Effectively

Networking Effectively To Grow Your Business You grow your client base in a lot of ways; networking is one of the most common and least expensive. But as with the elevator pitch, which we discussed in an earlier blog, there is the effective way and the way most people do it. Effective networking brings in new business for a number of reasons; one of them is because when you network effectively you stand out from the crowd, and that is always good in any crowded marketplace. The other is because you actually do it well, you are welcomed and seen as a valuable source
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7 Productivity Tips

Increase Your Productivity With These Tips!  Know your priorities Have a vision Do you have a 5 year vision? Do you keep a vision board? If yes, how often do you look at it? What you focus on expands – Google images, words such as health, fun, travel, etc. – a visual of what you want Goals are essential Divide them into 90 day chunks Write them down – be accountable If you aren’t achieving your goals, then check your vision & get clear direction Planning beats willpower Willpower will fail you – don’t rely on it Rely on planning
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