Years ago I was walking through a client site, it was strangely quiet and all the manager's office doors were shut. I asked a manager, “What’s going on around here, why is everyone so quiet today?” He responded by explaining that all the managers were busy doing their yearly reviews of their staff, and that they were due to HR by the end of the day. While this may be a typical scenario, it left..

We often speak about utilizing group discussions and best practices as a part of your employee coaching program, to help improve your sales team.  Now we propose you to take it one step further, and actually document these best practices, to create the greatest sales handbook your team could ask for. You can read hundreds of books and articles about selling, but who better to learn sales tips..

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I was just asked a question by a client in regard to starting their coaching program. I asked what she meant and she said I would have no idea because there are so many things my teams need to improve. It was at that moment I realized most people think coaching is about "only" improving things when in reality the way to truly motivate and develop areas of needed improvement is to leverage what..

Coaching and mentoring a children's basketball team and coaching adults in a business environment should not be all that different. In order to successfully coach both children and adults we must reward effort, and allow pupils to learn from their mistakes. Just telling them what they are doing wrong and then walking away in either situation won't work. Typically it’s easiest to just reprimand,..

A recent research study shows that 1 in 4 employees have a strong sense of how their job contributes to their company's goals.  With that said, 75% of your employees could be working under the impression that their job doesn't matter.  That's 75% of your people who don't take an active and proactive role in what they do because they don't believe it affects the bottom line.EVERY position affects..

Over the next 10 years, Gen X-ers will be needed to take over the positions left behind by the baby boomer generation.  While this seems like an obvious statement, what is not obvious is what companies should be doing to prepare this new generation, or even how to keep them around long enough to fill the positions that will be opening. Recent reports point to GenX-ers as being the first group..

Engagement with your employees, is the most effective coaching tool we have.  What comes first and what comes last is remembered best, so engaging first thing in the morning, or right before the end of day is highly effective.  How are you beginning your morning, or leaving your team at the end of the day?  

Dealing with criticism is rarely easy or pleasant.  Some people are good at giving criticism, while others can be quite abrasive; some offer it in order to make you better (like your coach or manager), others to put you down.  With this in mind it’s important to accept criticism, matter how it comes, gracefully in order for you to use it as an effective learning strategy.

1. Have your team warm up: athletes do why shouldn’t they?  Do one quick role-play with a fellow team member or have them call their own voicemail and do a practice run of their sales pitch.
2. 30 second rule: when coaching your employees you should never be talking for more than 30 seconds at a time.  Longer than that and you are not listening enough.
3. Employees should NEVER just read a book or..