Project Manager - what You ought to know

Managing a project is a challenging task. But if you can master these 5 skills, then you're well on your way to project success...
1: Planning
Every Project Manager has to become a great planner. You need to plan your project, the tasks entailed, resources, equipment and materials needed. Create a bullet proof Project Plan at the start of each project and measure progress daily.
You also need to plan your team's tasks for the week and check that those tasks are being completed every day. You job is simple-you feed your team with work from your plan, and you track and measure progress. That's what being a Project Manager is all about.
2. Prioritization
You are the one person on your project who needs to be an expert in prioritization. Every day, your team will struggle to manage priorities because there will always be too much to do. Your job is to give them crystal clear priorities every week, to help them manage their day. It keeps stress levels low and helps them work efficiently.
Without clear priorities, your project will be like a ship without a rudder. Coasting along inefficiently, without a precise direction in mind.
3. Delegation
You can't do everything. You might be capable, but there won't be enough hours in the day. So you need to become a great delegator. If tasks arise that others can do, then delegate them. Your job is to keep the ship on its course, not man the engines.
Delegate even the smallest of items, as they still require attention and focus. Delegate even when you could do something better or faster than your team. The only time not to delegate is when there's no-one to delegate to. Even then, see if you can get budget to hire another person to help you out. Remember-you can't do it all.
4. Leadership
Great Project Managers are great leaders. They set the course, lead the team in the direction required, they motivate team members individually and look after their welfare.
Great leaders know what it is that motivates their people. They put them in roles they enjoy and are naturally talented at. They listen and they genuinely care. To inspire your team to achieve success, you need to become a great leader.
5. Communication
As a team member, you need to know what has to be done, how and by when. That's where the Project Manager's communication skills come into play. You have to constantly communicate the goals, timeframes and set expectations to your team.
Then communicate feedback as progress happens. Tell people directly where they are going right and where they need to improve. Communicate clearly and concisely. Follow up in writing when it's important, so you don't have to remember everything said.
So that's it. If you can plan, prioritize and delegate your work as well as communicate and lead, then you will become a top notch Project Manager.
You need a suite of online tools at your fingertips, to help you manage projects and that's where ProjectManager.com comes in. It helps you plan your tasks, prioritize your work and communicate status.

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Building Business Relationships

No matter what industry you’re in, building business relationships helps you increase sales, develop innovative ideas and discover new ways to grow your company. Here are 10 tips for building business relationships. 

          

1. Join the club. Industry trade associations, niche organizations such as groups for minority or women business owners, groups your key clients belong to and your local chamber of commerce are all great places to make new contacts.         

2. Join the group. Know what you are hoping to achieve from a particular organization. Do you want to meet prospective clients, potential partners, job candidates or suppliers?

Setting goals will help you assess whether an organization is right for you.         

3. Be prepared. In any situation where you’re meeting new people, bring an open mind and a friendly attitude. Also bring business cards and be ready to describe what your business does in simple terms (“We help small businesses save money by preparing their taxes”).

Greet everyone with a smile, eye contact and a handshake.     

4. Mingle. Never spend all your time at an event talking to one person or group. Think of several ways to politely end a conversation and move on. (But first, get contact information from those you’ve been talking to so you can follow up later).         

5. Follow up. When you meet someone you’d like to get to know, follow up. Use social networking tools to link up on LinkedIn, become friends on Facebook or follow each other on Twitter, and you’ll also be exposed to the person’s network of contacts.                   

6. Take it offline. Connecting on social media is a good start, but to truly foster a business relationship, you need to spend time face-to-face. Suggest getting together for coffee or a meal to share more about your businesses and how you might work together.        

7. Keep in touch. Business relationships are like flowers—without nurturing, they wither and die. Make it a point to regularly connect with your key relationships, whether it’s re-tweeting their tweets, mailing a card or meeting for lunch.      

8. Harness technology. Contact management software can help you track information about your contacts so you don’t have to remember birthdays, children’s ages or hobbies. The software does it for you and sets up reminders for actions like emailing or sending birthday cards.

9. Be patient. Business relationships take time to pay off. It may take years of talking and planning with someone before you actually end up working together or seeing any results from one of their ideas, referrals or suggestions.           

10. Aim to give, not just get. Of course, you want to benefit from business relationships—but that’s more likely to happen if you have a generous attitude. Focus on how you can help your contacts, and you’ll find that you get more than you give.      

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How Big Are You Thinking

How Big Are You Thinking?
I strongly believe that most people-including sales people-don't think big enough. They succumb to small thinking and don't believe they can achieve big, audacious goals. Yet, thinking big is one of the keys to success. The other day I had a conversation with my business partner and we both agreed that we could achieve more and elevate the business to a new level. Will it be easy? Of course not. But anything worth achieving is worth working for. I'm not sure who originally stated that but I firmly believe that we owe it to ourselves to set big, challenging goals. Goals that scare you. Goals that make you sweat and cause you to wake up in the middle of the night and ask yourself, "Can I really do this?" If you settle for average, mediocre results you will never discover what you can actually achieve. When you set your sights on achieving great things, the universe opens up and creates opportunities that will help you get there. Stop settling for second-best or average results. Set big goals. Make a pact with yourself that you will do something that you didn't think was possible. Even if you only get half or two-thirds of way, you will still achieve more than the average person. And let's face it...you aren't average...are you?

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How To Manage Your Tasks

Manage your tasks by taking these 5 simple steps...

Step 1: Consolidate
You probably have tasks written down on your desk, in your calendar, in documents and email and maybe even on your mobile phone. The first step is to consolidate all of these tasks into one simple list.

Make sure your task list is easily accessible because if it's not, then you'll end up with a splattering of tasks around your office within no time. So you can share it with others and access it from anywhere, anytime.

Step 2: Prioritize
With all of your tasks in one place, prioritize them by moving the most important tasks to the top and the least important to the bottom. In this way, you can work from top to bottom in your list knowing that you are always working on the right thing at the right time.

Make sure you prioritize your tasks based on the right criteria. Don't always put the easiest ones at the top. The “highest priority” tasks should be the ones that either deliver the most value, are critical to the project or must be done before others can commence their work.

Step 3: Schedule
With a clear view of all of your tasks and their priorities, you now need to estimate how much time it's likely going to take to complete each task on the list. So write down the effort needed for each and try and make it as realistic as possible.

Then create a schedule so that you know which tasks you are going to work on and when. Having a schedule is great because it allows you and your team to forecast the workload ahead.

Step 4: Update
At the start of every day, update your schedule by marking the tasks you've completed and re-forecasting the tasks you still have ahead. Only then will you know if you're on track.

If your schedule gets out of date, it will quickly become useless. However by keeping it up-to-date, it will become a powerful tool as it will give you and your team a roadmap ahead.

Step 5: Communicate:
Your team will want to know what you are working on and when it's likely to be completed. So share your schedule with them, helping them to keep informed along the way.

By creating a task schedule and updating it daily, you'll become much more efficient with your time.

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Regulator issues 21 new power licenses

Regulator issues 21 new power licenses

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How to Build Trust

• Hire and promote people, who are capable of forming positive, trusting interpersonal relationships with people who report to them, to supervisory positions. The supervisor's relationship with reporting employees is the fundamental building block of trust.


• Develop the skills of all employees, and especially those of current supervisors and people desiring promotion, in interpersonal relationship building and effective interpersonal skills.


• Keep staff members truthfully informed. Provide as much information as you can comfortably divulge as soon as possible in any situation.


• Expect supervisors to act with integrity and keep commitments. If you cannot keep a commitment, explain what is happening in the situation without delay. Current behavior and actions are perceived by employees as the basis for predicting future behavior. Supervisors who act as if they are worthy of trust will more likely be followed with fewer complaints.


• Confront hard issues in a timely fashion. If an employee has excessive absences or spends work time wandering around, it is important to confront the employee about these issues. Other employees will watch and trust you more.


• Protect the interest of all employees in a work group. Do not talk about absent employees, nor allow others to place blame, call names, or point fingers. Employees learn to trust when they know that their names are not being taken in vain.


• Display competence in supervisory and other work tasks. Know what you are talking about, and if you don’t know — admit it. Nothing builds trust more effectively than a manager saying that he doesn't know and will find out so that everyone is informed. The worst reaction occurs when a manager pretends to know and offers faulty information. Employees forgive a lack of knowledge - they never forgive a liar.


• Listen with respect and full attention. Exhibit empathy and sensitivity to the needs of staff members. Trust goes out of a belief that you understand and relate.
• Take thoughtful risks to improve service and products for the customer. When you demonstrate that risk-taking is promoted, you demonstrate that employees may do the same - especially if there are no consequences when a thoughtfully considered risk goes awry.


• If you are a supervisor or a team member, set high expectations and act as if you believe staff members are capable of living up to them.
The Human Resources professional has a special role in promoting trust. So do line managers. You coach managers and supervisors about all of the appropriate roles described above in building trust relationships.
You also influence the power differentials within the organization by developing and publishing supportive, protective, honorable policies. You are influential in building appropriate social norms among people who are doing different jobs in your organization.
Engage in trust building and team building activities only when there is a sincere desire in your organization to create a trusting, empowering, team-oriented work environment. Engaging in these activities for any but honorable reasons is a travesty and a sham. People will know the difference, or they will find out, and then, they will never trust you.
Build a Trust Relationship Over Time
Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. Marsha Sinetar, the author, said, “Trust is not a matter of technique, but of character; we are trusted because of our way of being, not because of our polished exteriors or our expertly crafted communications.”
So fundamentally, trust, and here is the secret I promised in the title of this article, is the cornerstone, the foundation, for everything you'd like your organization to be now and for everything you'd like it to become in the future. Lay this groundwork well.
Trust is telling the truth, even when it is difficult, and being truthful, authentic, and trustworthy in your dealings with customers and staff. Can profoundly-rewarding, mission-serving, life- and work-enhancing actions get any simpler than this? Not likely.

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The Real Secret to Closing More Deals

                              The best ways to improve deal closing percentage

You can’t close an unqualified prospect. For many salespeople this advice falls on deaf ears. Instead, they live by the motto that any prospect is a good prospect. Unfortunately this way of thinking hampers their success and holds them back from the big commission checks they deserve.

Don't Waste Time

I hear the same sad stories again and again. Deals lost and time wasted on prospects who were not the decision makers, who were already under long-term contracts, who were just shopping for price to keep their current vendor honest, or who were not in the buying window. Each working day salespeople across the globe are surprised to find out that after investing blood, sweat, and tears, and of course promises to the boss, the account they have been working on won’t close. And to make things worse, many of these salespeople were completely blind to all of the signs that were blinking like neon lights saying – “this prospect is not qualified, move on!”

The Sales Guy’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Qualifying Prospects

Over my twenty year career in sales, one of the common attributes I have found in top producers is that when asked why they have such high closing rates they almost all say, “because I only call on prospects who are going to buy.” In other words, they only spend their time with qualified prospects. You see, these top performers clearly understand the value of time for Sales Professionals. Time is the great equalizer. Every Sales Pro is given the exact same 24 hours each day – no more and no less. The difference between the top performers and everyone else is how they use that time. Top performers know that the real secret to improving their closing percentage is the self-discipline to fully qualify every prospect before investing valuable time and emotion. In doing so they work less, earn more, and they close more deals.

#1: Uncover the Decision Maker

I cannot over emphasize how important this first step is. There may be multiple people in every account who will influence the deal, act as coaches, or even have the authority to say no. All of these people are important and should not be ignored. However, there is only one person who has the authority to write the check. You must uncover who this person is. Don’t be afraid to ask direct questions. Do whatever it takes to cut through the smoke screens created by influencers to keep you from the decision maker. Far too many deals have been lost because the salesperson was talking to the wrong person. Here are some qualifying questions to ask:

“How did you make the decision to buy this product or service last time?”

“What is your buying process for this kind of service?”

“How does your organization make decisions?”

“Who is ultimately responsible for this decision? Are there others who need to be involved?”

And after asking these questions, if you are unable to get answers you are comfortable with, walk away.

#2: Know The Buying Window

Many salespeople work on accounts that never close. They provide samples, do demos, give proposals, jump through hoops, and get their hopes up but the deal never seems to get done. The reason is, because the timing was wrong. Perhaps the prospect was under contract and unable to change even if they wanted to. Maybe there was no real urgent need. Maybe the budget had already been exhausted. Whatever the cause, the buying window was not open.

 

For every prospect there is a buying window during which there is high probability that they will make a decision to buy a particular product or service. Part of qualifying is uncovering this window of opportunity because working on the account at any other time is a ticket to certain failure. It may take a number of questions to uncover the buying window, including questions on budget, urgency, buying process, contractual obligations, inventory positions, and business climate. As a Sales Professional you must take the time up front to understand clearly if the buying window is open. If it is not, make a note of when it will be open and move on to another prospect.

#3: Understand The Competitive Environment

Top Sales Professionals have learned to uncover who they are competing with so that they know how to position themselves to win. To get this information they may go to multiple sources when asking questions. The bottom line though is that they develop a solid understanding of:

o    The number of bids/ quotes their prospect is considering

o    Which competitors have the best relationships or reputations with the buyer

o    Long-term embedded incumbents who will be hard to leverage out

o    Alternative solutions and potential landmines that could take their product out of play

By gathering the answers to these questions and others, top performers are able to analyze the probability of closing each prospective customer. And top performers have developed the discipline to walk away from low probability deals because they know that they can’t close an unqualified prospect.

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