Distinguishing Touches

I was recently asked by a young sales professional for some advice regarding her handling the move into management at one of her company’s satellite stores. My advice to her was to remember that her first day on the job would be her most important day on the job. Remember that first impressions count. Whether…

Even if you’re an experienced sales manager, it’s likely you may find it difficult to advise other people about areas in which improvement is needed. Praising a good performance is easy; everyone likes to receive a compliment. Both parties are smiling and, for the moment at least, life is good. But what do you do…

For a country boy from Chatsworth. GA, that is a big word.   Heck, that is a big word no matter where you are from! After spending the week at one of the largest flooring shows in the world, I can tell you that the only thing bigger than the word itself, may be the challenge…

The #MeToo movement brought the issue of sexual harassment to the forefront. While claims of sexual harassment in the workplace are not new, the focus on this issue increases employers’ potential risk for complaints and related liabilities. In response, many states have enacted new laws meant to combat workplace harassment. Several states have imposed a…

One of the common mistakes that managers make is assuming that their staff members know more than they actually do. Never presume since “we covered that during orientation” or “it’s in the employee handbook” that any given message was fully understood and absorbed by your personnel. The tendency is to barrage new staff with information…

In the 1990’s, my firm was among several dealers asked to monitor all installation related interactions that our firms had with customers. We not only tracked installations, but all correspondence that we had with our customers which may have lead to them being disappointed with the service experience that they received. There were both single…