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As a professional, you’re judged by your actions, abilities, results and your attire. Your job is to represent your company and clients to the best of your ability. Cydcor prides itself in being able to set-up its employees for success, and earn their way to the top. To get the respect of both your peers and clients, there are some major key strategies to follow. The following major keys are perfect for any entrepreneur who wants to do better.
Communicate Effectively
Let your customer know exactly how you can help them, and listen - really listen - to their needs. Be thorough in your explanations and don’t leave any questions unanswered. Make sure your customer understands both you and your product 100 percent.
Be Visible
Don’t stay under the radar; the key to success is to make a name for yourself. Speak up in meetings, take on new work and be an active participant in team projects. Let others know who you are and see what you can do.
Negotiate
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you’re worth when you start a new job or take on new clients. If you’ve been a stellar employee, ask for a raise. Let go of the fear and learn how to negotiate. Your confidence in your work as well as the effect your accomplishments have on the business you are part of can guide you through the process.
Shake Hands
It seems like such a small detail, but a handshake is a common first impression on which many are judged. Always offer your hand to clients, senior staff and hosts right away, and keep your shake firm. People will remember.
Have/Be a Mentor
There is always something new to learn. Seek out advice and knowledge from those who’ve been in the game longer, and ask them to help guide you through your career. Finding a mentor that works for you can give you a different perspective on how your career is going. On the flip side, be willing to give the same guidance to those who are new to the game.
Say No When Needed
It’s okay to say “no.” You are not required to take on extra tasks that will overburden your already hefty workload or take on work that makes you uncomfortable. Stop feeling bad when you can’t do a favor for a teammate. If you have to say “no,” do it, and then don’t feel guilty.
Say Thank You
Courtesy goes a long way. So does appreciation. Let your team know you are thankful for the work they do and the help they give. Let a customer know you truly value their business. It’s a simple statement that says so much, especially when the receiver wasn’t expecting to hear it.
Put Customers First
No, this doesn’t mean the customer can do no wrong; it means that customer satisfaction is the backbone of your business. If there’s a problem, fix it. If there’s a question, answer it. If you have a good rapport with a loyal customer, find ways to show them how much you value their business. Never forget that they are a big part of your career, and their satisfaction with your business determines future successes.
For additional blogs from Cydcor, be sure to check out https://cydcor-offices.com/
We are Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales services located in Agoura Hills, CA. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company based in Canada to garnering a reputation as the global leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor has come a long way. We’ve done this by having exceptional sales professionals and providing our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.
Who is the best leader you’ve ever known? What qualities do you think made them successful?
At Cydcor, our idea of a leader is someone who can create a vision of the future, express that vision well, and use it to motivate people. Building a team, providing coaching, and setting clear expectations are some of the things leaders need to be really good at in order for the team to work effectively.
Leaders also need to master three key qualities to have a true impact: discipline, determination, and dedication. Examine these skills and discover how you can integrate them into your professional life.
Discipline
Discipline by its very nature is not an easy quality to master. It’s not glamorous—it’s simply unrelenting hard work. Excelling at discipline means that you approach each project with a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how you will get it done.
Don’t misunderstand the nature of discipline. It does not require you to be rigid or unrelenting. At its best, discipline is flexible and responds to changes in circumstance; it doesn’t mean that you’re unable to adapt as circumstances change during a project or when a new opportunity presents itself.
A disciplined leader is willing to address problems that arise and provide solutions. He or she looks for the best compromises and puts in the extra effort to make sure the job gets done well. They communicate clearly with the team and exemplify how to get the work done right.
Determination
A leader’s beliefs, principles, and values are founded in their determination. Determination can be a source of motivation, helping you through any and all challenges that might arise.
Did a family member, friend, or public figure inspire you when you were young? Often, a leader’s determination is learned through observation, stemming from a profound personal experience. Those who are determined to succeed recognize potential opportunities in a situation someone else might see as a dead end.
Dedication
A leader must develop and examine their dedication to projects so that they don’t lose sight of the goals. You must be a relentless worker: regularly check your progress against objectives throughout any project. Dedication requires focus. Make sure that the goals you establish are clearly stated and understood by your team as well. Schedule regular check-ins with team members to make sure everyone remains on the same page throughout a project’s duration.
A dedicated leader engages colleagues and keeps a conversation going throughout the life of the project. Dedication is fueled by communication and mutual respect. Let your colleagues know that you appreciate their efforts.
Leadership is a lot more than the three D's, but discipline, determination, and dedication are all necessary to being an ideal leader. Integrating these key attributes of a great leader into your work and personal life will have its own rewards.
Becoming fluent in body language empowers you to make a lasting impression on colleagues and supervisors
Your conversation begins when you enter the room—before you begin to speak. Your body expresses your moods and, depending on your awareness of how your body talks, you will communicate confidence or fear. Fortunately for you, it’s possible to learn to communicate confidence nonverbally.
Practice makes perfect. Strategies for controlling nonverbal communication are easy to learn and fun to practice. Don’t be afraid to feel silly when you try them. Have you heard the expression, “fake it ‘til you make it”? It means that when you’re trying something new you should pretend to be an expert. Expertise will come in time.
Harvard professor Amy Cuddy suggests that posing for two minutes will have a significant positive impact on your confidence. We have a few poses you can start practicing today:
Strong Man Pose
Flex your muscles if you’re hearing negative information. It will help you remain focused. Curl up both arms as if you’re showing of your biceps. Flex your legs and bend your knees slightly. This is a bit of a cartoon pose, and you should have fun with it. Try it out before a meeting or presentation.
Superman Pose
Stand straight and tall. Place your hands on your waist and put your chin in the air. Hold your head high. This pose is a powerful tool for situations where you might feel anxious or afraid. Try using it a few minutes before giving a speech or presentation.
Embody Your Success
Sit comfortably in your desk chair. Call up a memory of a past success and let that positive energy fill your chest with each breath. Send that warm glow up and down your spine, out across your shoulders, into your arms and hands and down into your legs and feet. Feel the emotional power of your past successes come to life and ignite the positive power you carry inside.
Face Facts
Your face communicates your emotions, moods, and attitudes without you having to say a word. If your audience interprets your expression as sad, confused, or angry, you may lose them even before you start to speak.
You can improve your facial expressions with a little effort, awareness, and practice. It’s probably easier to schedule these efforts for important social, professional, or networking events. Tilt your head slightly to the side. Practice smiling and making eye contact with your audience to show that you are actively interested.
So, go ahead, pick a power pose and give it a try. What does it feel like? Do you have any other cool tips to help improve body language? Share with us! Comment here, share your story on Twitter, and follow us @Cydcor. Share this article with your friends and start a conversation with your community!
We are Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales services. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company based in Canada, to garnering a reputation as the global leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor has come a long way. We’ve done this by having exceptional sales professionals and providing our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.
TED Talks will improve your understanding of a complex concept or help you to master new skills. Humor, imagination, and authentic emotion energize these talks and guarantee your engagement.
TED wants to change your life. It’s that simple. This popular nonprofit was launched in 1984 as a conference exploring the convergence of Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED). TED Talks offer viewers a glimpse into the workings of some of the leading minds in the world today.
The problem with such a vast array of rich resources is that it makes tracking down the topics that will provide an immediate career benefit a bit more difficult. When you have the time, plan to take a tour of the TED Talks available online. You never know what insights you might find from a subject that has no direct connection to your industry.
When your time is limited and you’re looking for insights to improve your performance in business and sales, start with these 10 talks. Each speaker we’ve selected provides a powerful personal story and insights that will have a direct impact on your professional life.
Make yourself comfortable and prepare to open your mind. Your journey to excellence is about to begin.
1. The Puzzle of Motivation | Dan Pink
2. Five Ways To Kill Your Dreams | Bel Pesce
3. Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are | Amy Cuddy
4. Want to Help Someone? Shut Up and Listen! | Ernesto Sirolli
5. The Power Of Believing You Can Improve | Carol Dweck
6. Try Something New For 30 Days | Matt Cutts
7. How To Make Work-Life Balance Work | Nigel Marsh
8. Smart Failure for a Fast-Changing World | Eddie Obeng
9. The Key To Success? Grit. | Angela Lee Duckworth
10. What It Takes To Be A Great Leader | Roselinde Torres
Have you listened to a TED Talk or attended an event in person? Do you have a favorite speaker or subject? If you were going to give a TED Talk, what would you talk about? Please comment here, share your story on Twitter, and follow us @Cydcor. Invite your friends and colleagues to participate in this discussion; you might spark a TED Talk of your very own.
We are Cydcor, the recognized leader in outsourced sales services. From our humble beginnings as an independent sales company based in Canada, to garnering a reputation as the global leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor has come a long way. We’ve done this by having exceptional sales professionals and providing our clients with proven sales and marketing strategies that get results.
The leading provider of outsourced sales teams, Cydcor is dedicated to helping business professionals worldwide reach success.
Choosing the right words is key to creating a successful resume in 2015. But even before a hiring manager sees your resume, an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) could reject it. It’s estimated that nearly 75% of applicant resumes don’t make it through this automated scanning process. At Cydcor, we value all resumes that have been written well, and showcase the experience we're looking for.
Hiring managers may not understand your “passion” or you skill as a “problem-solver” if you do not explain how you demonstrated this in a work setting. You need to make sure your resume shows how you increased company profits. Use your resume to tell how your record-breaking effort contributed to your team’s success.
Start With a Summary
Your resume needs to let the hiring manager know that you’re the right person for the job and are worth being contacted for an interview. Get the hiring manager’s attention by identifying your relevant experience in a well-crafted summary at the beginning of your resume.
Numbers Tell the Story
Use numbers to define your professional accomplishments. Numbers add focus and scope to your work history. Answer questions like these with facts and figures:
Use Keywords
Highlight keywords in the job description and compare them to related keywords in your resume. If there is a 70-80% match, then you should apply for this position. Only about 20% of applicants applying for a specific job are actually qualified for the position. Online tools like Jobscan analyze how well your resume matches the job description.
Keep It Relevant
Employers want to hire people with relevant experience. Keep your resume to 1 or 2 pages by cutting any experience that is over ten years old.
Get Creative—Within Reason
Colored fonts will make your resume stand out from others—but don’t get carried away. Consider at two-color system—black and one other color, like blue. Test these colors on various screens and printers if possible. You want to make sure it’s easy to read. But before investing too much in design, study the company’s website and get a feeling for their culture to determine if a creative resume will work in your favor.
Since retiring from General Electric in 2001, Jack Welch has stayed busy. Welch led the company for forty years, challenging the competition and learning the best ways to run a large company successfully. With Winning, Welch has written the bible of business, examining the answers to the most difficult challenges people run into on the job and in their personal lives. Welch's words speak to people at every level of business, no matter the size of the company or the importance of the role. Welch's optimistic, no excuses, get-it-done mind-set keeps readers engaged. Winning offers deep insights and solutions to the problems that many people in business face today.
Why Cydcor Reviews recommends this book to future leaders:
Welch begins Winning with an introductory section called "Underneath It All," which describes his business philosophy. He explores the importance of values, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity for all. Those interested in the human side of great leaders will find this last section especially appealing. In it, Welch answers the most interesting questions that he's received in the last several years while traveling the globe addressing audiences of executives and business school students. Perhaps the funniest question in this section comes at the very end, posed originally by a businessman in Frankfurt, who queried Welch on whether he thought he'd go to heaven (we won't give away the ending). Welch's down-to-earth writing style that helps you understand these timeless principles in a fresh way. As you're reading, you can almost picture him speaking the words in some business school auditorium or a Fortune 100 management retreat.
Our favorite part:
The bulk of Winning is devoted to real situations that many run into while working in business, and it’s split into three sections. The first section analyzes the company, from leadership to choosing employees who can make change happen. The second section looks outside at the competition, with chapters on different strategies that work. The final section of the book, arguably the most important, is about taking your career to the next level. This includes finding the perfect job and achieving a solid work-life balance.
About The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Hard Things is Ben Horowitz’s guide to things you don’t typically learn in business school. Most of this book is a summary of practical wisdom about handling the hardest problems related to starting a business. It may be exciting to jump into the business world, but it is difficult as well. Horowitz analyzes the different kinds of problems that leaders deal with today, even ones that people tend to not think about. This includes insights on managing, selling, investing, and developing a business. This is an ideal book for veteran entrepreneurs.
Why Cydcor recommends this to future leaders:
Horowitz never glorifies starting a business; he tells it straight that many people fail, and why. Many entrepreneurs or start up business owners will agree. It takes a certain type of person to succeed in this world, and that person must make hard decisions on a daily basis. Horowitz does great at defining what it means to be a CEO and summarizes it well. It requires courage to stand up for your decisions and to be able to sell others on your choices.
Our favorite part:
Although the book doesn’t make any guarantees, it’s still very insightful for anyone interested in seeing behind the scenes of the business world. What you hear on the news or read online is nothing close to the real thing. Someone would find a lot of value in this book if they planned to open a business in the near future. Horowitz is also a hip-hop fan, and he uses lyrics form his favorite songs to prove a few of his points. His playful attitude is a great way to understand difficult decision-making.
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As a leader in outsourced sales, Cydcor knows how to create winning relationships with clients. Building trust is the foundation of a sales relationship. Trust takes time, effort, honesty and hard work for clients to feel comfortable with your delivery. Even in your career, moving up at work takes the ability to build trust and sell yourself to future managers or employers. Here are some tips from the experts at Cydcor for building trust in your professional life.
What are some ways that you build trust in the workplace? Tell Cydcor on Twitter!
Professionalism is a way of behaving in a business or work setting that shows others you are reliable, knowledgeable and authoritative. At Cydcor, we pride ourselves in instilling top standards of professionalism for our team members, especially when they are in the field representing clients. Cydcor team members love to have fun at work but also know that basic professional behavior is a key to success.
Many employers refer to professionalism as “employability skills” or simply technical and verbal skills. According to a survey by York College of Pennsylvania last year, many human resource managers reported that professionalism has decreased significantly in recent years. Researchers cited that casual attitudes and a culture of entitlement are the main reasons why young people are coming off as less professional.
Generational gaps in the workplace may be to blame for the sentiment as well. In the age of the start up, many young people are finding jobs where they can act as though they are spending time with friends instead of entering a professional setting, but that style does not work for every work environment. Regardless of what is considered acceptable, being more polished and professional is always impressive, and it is advantageous to have a professional persona for business situations.
Being consistently on time and delivering expected results is the most important part of being professional. Instilling confidence in employers and clients that you can be relied upon will improve your work performance and increase your good reputation. Being on time and delivering results are values that Cydcor champions for our workplace.
Wardrobe can be a touchy subject, but how you present yourself will say a lot about you to a client or employer. Basic grooming and hygiene is important to appearance, but wearing quality clothes that fit well, are pressed and clean will also show that you take pride in your work.
Improving you vocabulary and grammar is also an excellent way to communicate that you are a skilled professional. You can improve your speech by joining a local Toastmasters group and improve your writing skills with a class or by reading books such as E.B. White’s The Elements of Style.
Would you like to join the Cydcor fleet of sales professionals? Find us at the Cydcor Careerbuilder page for open positions.