We fall within the category of SMEs (small to medium sized enterprises). How can we work strategically, analyze customer and consumer behavior, and have smart marketing plans when we have very limited resources due to our size?

There are two elements attached to results: knowledge and application. If it’s knowledge you seek and you can’t afford interesting interactive workshops, then welcome to the Age of Information. With help from the Internet you can find plenty of resources that will educate you about different management topics. The challenge in this step is to know where the right resources are. Publishing words online doesn’t make them automatically reliable. If you want to evaluate the seriousness of a certain magazine article look for reviews about the writer you’re interested in on sources other than the magazine. Is s/he trying to indirectly sell you something? Do they have the expertise in the area they’re writing about? What makes them such experts? Remember, doing something for a long time doesn’t always lead to ‘expertise’.

If you have the knowledge but lack the experience on how to apply it or if you can’t afford to hire the right talents full time to help you implement it, then think of project base hiring even if the talent is not in your market and can only work online from United Someplace, as long as you can agree on deliverables and deadlines, it can work. Other options are to work with consultants who are suitable for the kind of service you’re after and cater to companies of your size. If your business is too big for them they might not be able to deliver. If it’s too small, you might not receive the right level of attention. Most of all, keep your plans short, clear in their focus, easy to understand and shared with everyone responsible for a part of them. Complicated documents and presentations are not impressive, they’re disruptive…and that’s just my two cents.read what others have read

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When I give presentations or speeches to my staff I can see that they’re forcing themselves to listen or pretend to be engaged. How can I make my speeches more memorable and interesting?

There are many ways to engage your audience. You remind me of a restaurant manager who gave the same speech about increasing sales and improving customer service to his staff everyday. He always ended his speech with “Remember, the customer is always right”. He never listened to his staff. He never asked them for any feedback. He never changed his technique. Do you know which restaurant I’m talking about? Well, I can’t remember. They shut down. Communicating with staff or any kind of public speaking whether to motivate or to inform depends on key ingredients. Start by telling stories. You can see how the restaurant story can get your attention. Stories engage us and make the point more memorable.

When was the last time you used any props? Imagine coming to the meeting with a ‘fake’ sword, shield or a shotgun (again, ‘fake’) and looking at your sales team and say, “Make no mistake, we are at war. Our competition wants to kill us, but we have something new for them! Here’s the plan…” Not only your employees won’t forget this day, they will be fired up for weeks. Using an analogy can make the message sink deeper. Analogies are like great jokes from a comedy movie; they make you laugh so much that you don’t forget them.

Interacting with your team by sharing the problem and have them carry the discussion while you facilitate the meeting can lead to more engagement. You can also try changing the meeting place. If you’re addressing a warehousing problem, go to the warehouse and let them see how bad it is. One more thing, restate your main point at the end of your speech with a strong short liner for maximum impact…and that’s just my two cents.read what others have read

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