Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Traits of Successful Salespeople

When I worked in the agency world, there were certain individuals who could always be counted on to bring in the big clients.  My boss used to say that these guys had “the magic touch,” but that wasn’t necessarily true.  They actually possessed very concrete traits, including the following: 

Good Listening: Top salespeople don’t go into a client meeting and dominate the conversation.  Instead, they get the customer talking about what pains him and what he needs.  They ask probing questions until they can determine the best way to solve the problem. 

Concise Speech:  People who close deals easily don’t waste the client’s time with a lot of irrelevant information.  They communicate in a manner that’s easy to understand and follow and choose their words carefully depending on the specific situation.   

Persistence:  In most cases, even people will excellent persuasion skills will not be able to make a sale right away.  A huge component of sales effectiveness is being able to stay focused and approach a goal from different directions.    

Internal Motivation:  Although some salespeople thrive based on external quotas and managers hovering over their shoulders, they are not in the majority.  Top salespeople know how and when to begin an initiative and the steps they must take to see it through.   

Confidence: The best salespeople are not deterred by negative customer reactions or temporary setbacks.  They believe in themselves and their abilities, and this natural self-assurance makes it easy for customers to trust them.

10 Industries on the Decline

At nearly every speaking engagement I do, someone asks a question about declining job sectors.  Margaret Steen wrote this excellent article on the topic for Yahoo! Hot Jobs in which I contributed my thoughts:

Is your industry on the decline? The federal government projects that a number of industries will lose jobs from 2008 to 2018.  "You can't sit around and wait for news to come out about what's going to happen to your industry," said Alexandra Levit, author of "New Job, New You." "You have to be proactive about this."

Here's a list of the top 10 industries expected to lose the most jobs by 2018 -- and what to do if you're working in one of them:

1. Department stores: Projected to lose 10.2 percent of the 1.56 million jobs they had in 2008.

2. Semiconductor manufacturing: Projected to lose 33.7 percent of the 432,000 jobs it had in 2008.

3. Motor vehicle parts manufacturing: Projected to lose 18.6 percent of its 544,000 jobs.

4. Postal service: Projected to lose 13 percent of the 748,000 jobs it had in 2008.

5. Printing and related jobs: Projected to lose 16 percent of its 594,000 jobs.

6. Cut-and-sew apparel manufacturing: Projected to lose 57 percent of its 155,000 jobs.

7. Newspaper publishers: Projected to lose 24.8 percent of its 326,000 jobs.

8. Mining support jobs: Projected to lose 23.2 percent of its 328,000 jobs.

9. Gas stations: Projected to lose 8.9 percent of its 843,000 jobs.

10. Wired telecom: Projected to lose 11 percent of its 666,000 jobs.

Semiconductors are one of several manufacturing industries on the declining list. Because so many different types of manufacturing jobs are disappearing, it will not be easy to simply get another manufacturing job. You may need to develop some completely new skills.

Levit suggests beefing up your resume with volunteer work so you can show skills that will be applicable in other industries. For example, helping a volunteer organization deal with its members can show that you have client-service skills.

She also recommends being innovative to keep your job. "You need to be front and center with management, giving them suggestions for how they can remain competitive."

What should you do if your industry is on this list? First, don't panic. The job declines in these industries are projected to take place over a decade. And many jobs -- a majority in most of these industries -- will remain even after 10 years.

Still, it's good to start thinking about Plan B. Build your savings and start researching what other industries might be able to use your skills.

If you're nearing retirement and had been planning to move into a different field, you might want to make the move earlier. And if you have many years of work ahead of you, you should consider seriously whether it's feasible for you to stay in your industry for the long term.

"Start sharpening your transferable skills," Levit said. These include project management, budgeting, and customer service. "You want to be developing a resume that showcases the skills you have in all those areas."

20 Questions for Would-Be Entrepreneurs

If I was an entrepreneur and Guy Kawasaki told me that a book should be required reading in any business school, I’d want to pick up a copy.  So is the case with serial entrepreneur GL Hoffman’s incredibly useful new book: Start Up: 100 Tips to Get Your Business Going.  Here are some of the questions GL answers for us:

1.  Should you jump in and save every sales situation?  Number 59.  This answer makes you a leader.

2.  Do you have to know everything that's happening?  Number 39.

3.  What is the one thing that makes people join  your new company? Number 38.

4.  Is having fun at work over-rated?  Number 6.

5.  Why is firing someone at your startup extra hard?  Number 7.

6.  Why do you have to be an energy-creator?  Number 96.

7.  Why you don't want your people to worry like you are worrying.  Number 82.

8.  Why the "new guy" could be doing more harm than good.  Number 66.

9.  Why you shouldn't trust those who say they can help you raise money.  Number 67

10. What is the biggest sign of a culture that is developing badly?  Number 54.

11. Are your customers always right in a startup?  Number 47.

12.  On the priority list for a startup, where does SALES rank?  Number 30.

13.  What one thing can you do to motivate yourself? Number 23.

14.  How many disciplines must you master before starting your company?  Number 1

15. Why does story telling matter so much in building your business?  Number 2

16. What might just be the most ingredient in an entrepreneur’s personality?  Number 100.

17.  What will cause your people to quit on you?  Number 99.

18.  Can you do back of the envelope math? Why is this important?  Number 91.

19.  Why you should be an Independent.  Number 80

20.  What are the five things that typically cause a sales slump? Number 60

The book’s just $9.95 and in my opinion, well worth the price.  Check it out here.

What Do I Tell Them About My Layoff?

One of the most common job seeker dilemmas I hear about these days is how to position a layoff with prospective employers.

My advice – pure and simple – is to mention it directly.  Since the subject of how you left your last job will inevitably come up in the context of discussing your recent work experience, I don’t think you can really hide the true story without coming across as insincere or even dishonest.

Nor should you.  Consider how many people have been laid off nationwide in the last eighteen months.  It’s a lot – and there could be any number of reasons for your termination, including a company bankruptcy or merger or a widespread plan to cut expenditures.  Many of these situations have little or nothing to do with job performance, and there’s nothing you could have done to prevent or circumvent the outcome.  There’s not an employer out there that hasn’t been negatively impacted by the poor economy, so it’s unlikely that your interviewer will hold a layoff against you.

Here’s the key, though.  When discussing your layoff in the interview, you must be careful of your tone.  Communicating that you feel sorry for yourself or that you’re experiencing a crisis of confidence will portray you in a bad light even if the layoff itself doesn’t.  If you sound certain that it worked out for the best and that you’ll land on your feet, prospective employers will be certain too.

30/20 Vision: Your Social Responsibility

Join me and my wonderful co-hosts, Christine Hassler (author of The 20-Something Manifesto) and Lindsey Pollak (author of Getting from College to Career), for our next 30/20 Vision podcast tomorrow (February 15) 5:00pm EST.

Our topic this month is incorporating social responsibility into your life and using volunteering to further your personal and professional goals.  

Click here to join us live or download the episode anytime.

Why Office Popularity Matters

In high school, didn’t a part of you always wonder how the cool kids did it? Popularity remained an enigmatic aspect of human existence that ceased to be relevant once we threw our caps in the air…right?

There are scores of research studies on popularity in schools, and most have indicated that popular children are viewed as better students and make and maintain friendships more easily. In 2009, however, organizational psychologists Timothy Judge and B.A. Scott at the University of Florida demonstrated that popularity plays a significant role on success in the workplace. They defined popularity as being “accepted by one’s peers” and conceptualized it as a function of both an employee’s personality and the situational position within his group.

As a result of studying two samples of employee populations, professors Judge and Scott reported that co-workers reliably agreed about who was popular on their team – and who wasn’t. Co-workers also felt that an employee’s popularity was associated with receiving more favorable treatment at work. Why? Judge and Scott suggest that popular employees are rewarding to interact with for both emotional and instrumental reasons. In addition to being “fun to be with,” popular individuals are thought to increase co-worker status by association and make it easier to get things done.

Meg Cabot just wrote a book for teens called How to Be Popular, but rest assured, I’m not going to make you read it. Instead, here are some painless tips for increasing your popularity on the office social circuit.

• Be interested in other people: Human beings love to talk about themselves and be listened to. By taking the time to learn about what a co-worker deems important and inquiring about those things, you’ll make her happy and encourage her to like you.
• Shift attention away from yourself: Don’t chat on endlessly about what you and your boyfriend or girlfriend did over the weekend, and if a co-worker broaches a particular topic, don’t immediately turn the discussion to your own experiences. Instead of trying to be admired, be admiring.
• Eradicate self-consciousness: People who lack confidence make others feel nervous and awkward. When conversing with co-workers, try to be natural and relaxed, without worrying about how you’re being perceived.
• Organize team building activities: You don’t have to be your department’s cheerleader, but it’s nice to occasionally take charge of getting the group together for drinks or another fun activity after work or during the holidays. Most people like to be social, and the individual who takes responsibility for being the organizer usually gets popularity points.
• Help whenever you can: Always be generous with your knowledge, expertise, and time without expecting anything in return. People like those who they can count on in times of stress and who are willing to pitch in without making a big production out of it.

 

Practice Good Karma at Work

According to the Buddhist tradition, karma is the total effect of a person's actions during successive phases of existence.  It assumes that your conduct in this lifetime will influence events and relationships in future lifetimes. 

Whether or not you believe in reincarnation, practicing good karma at work can only help you, for most people see the consequences of their behavior play out in this life.  How do you do it?  The main strategy is to consciously manage your work relationships, which are similar to family relationships in that while we don’t necessarily choose them, we have to make them work as best we can.

I’ve recently had the opportunity to work with the brilliant Stephen Covey. In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey introduces the concept of the emotional bank account. When the reserve of trust in an account is high because we’ve continually demonstrated goodwill, communication is instant, easy, and effective. On the other hand, if we continually show another person disrespect, the trust account diminishes, and the slightest provocation can turn into a relationship incident.

You can keep your work relationships productive and your work karma positive by making routine deposits to your emotional bank accounts.  For example: 

·         Praise superior work and show gratitude when someone does their job well

·         Take a sincere interest in the other person and what’s meaningful to him

·         Attend to the little things, such as returning a message or acknowledging his birthday

·         Deliver on anything and everything you promise

·         Remember the names and goings-on of the important people in his life

·         Admit and remedy mistakes without placing blame

While not all colleagues will be equally receptive to your overtures (perhaps they have their own karmic issues to work out), 90 percent of the time your efforts will be duly noted and appreciated, and you will be rewarded with greater success.

 

6 Ways Working Parents Can Spend More Time Parenting

Here are some tips I recently shared on Lifehacker and ABC News:

Choose webinars over in person training: Webinar technology allows for one-way communication from an individual speaker to an audience, and it can include polling and electronic Q&A. You can now avoid two days trekking through airports on both ends of a conference, which is a major win if you're a working parent.  Services like Cisco’s WebEx don't require any special software or hardware. All you have to do is launch your Web browser from your home office and you can attend or deliver real-time training, seminars and presentations.

Rearrange your schedule to start late and stay late:  You’d be surprised, but most managers don’t necessarily care when you do your work, as long as it gets done.  You might ask for an arrangement in which you can start later, so that you can see your kids off to daycare or school, and then resuming from your home office after they’ve gone to bed.  Since my son was born, I’ve gotten my best work done at 8PM, after he’s down for the night.

Combine business travel with vacation:  Most working parents view business travel as yet another responsibility that takes away precious time from the family.  At the same time, work duties often keep us from taking a week or more to jet set off to a fun vacation setting with the kids in tow.  The next time you have to fly somewhere for your job, stop and think.  Even if it’s not the perfect getaway spot, is there enough to do that your spouse and kids could join you there for a long weekend? 

Ask for the gift of household help:  My relatives are always asking us what they can gift us for birthdays and holidays, and I’m usually at a loss.  After all, my son can only play with so many toys, and anything he needs we have probably already purchased.  So they end up sending checks, which go into the bank account ceremoniously.  The next time someone asks you about a gift, suggest a housekeeping gift certificate so instead of spending hours at home cleaning and organizing, you can devote them to quality time with your family.

Empower other employees with valuable responsibilities:  It’s difficult to transition from being a team of one to a team of several, especially if you’re a new manager.  But even though you might think you can do a task better yourself, if you don’t want your family time to suffer you must get into the habit of delegating assignments.  To do this effectively, Plan a task to delegate based on your employee’s knowledge, skills, and willingness, clearly state the expectations and requirements of the project, and explain why the task is important and what you hope your employee will get out of it.  Then, follow up to monitor progress, even if it means checking in by phone while at the park or the museum.

Involve your children in your work:  Despite your best efforts, you may find that your work time cuts into your family time more than you would like – and you may need to get creative to ensure that children in particular don’t feel neglected.  One manufacturing employee I know brings her kids to the office and lets them create artwork for the break room, while a business owner I met last year has his kids and their friends participate in focus groups and brainstorming sessions for new products.  The more you involve them directly, the less they will feel like your work is taking you away from them.

How I Stay Happy

In the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Gretchen Rubin, the writer of the Happiness Project blog and the bestselling book The Happiness Project, a little better.  Gretchen was kind enough to feature an interview with me on happiness, a topic I really enjoy but haven’t had the chance to discuss much on Water Cooler Wisdom.  I thought you might be interested in some of my thoughts.

Gretchen: What’s a simple activity that consistently makes you happier? 

Alexandra: Going out to a good restaurant or a beautiful natural spot with friends. Even if I’m feeling down and don’t feel like leaving the house, the act of getting ready and forcing myself to be social inevitably perks me up.

Gretchen: What’s something you know now about happiness that you didn’t know when you were 18 years old?

Alexandra: I know now that happiness is internal, not external. I used to believe that if I did X, Y, and Z, then I would be happy. But I’ve realized that you can have an objectively outstanding life (someone to love, something to do, etc.) and still be miserable. It’s not what you do but what you think/how you feel about what you do that’s the important variable.

Gretchen: Is there anything you find yourself doing repeatedly that gets in the way of your happiness? 

Alexandra: Yes. I often point out things in my life that could be better, or irrationally compare myself to other people. I hold myself to an extremely high standard and leave very little cushion room for when the ups and downs of life just happen.

Gretchen: Is there anything that you see people around you doing or saying that adds a lot to their happiness, or detracts a lot from their happiness? 

Alexandra: People around me seem to spend a great deal of time complaining without actually doing anything about an unpleasant situation. They also worry about things they can’t control or aren’t likely to happen. And I think that people don’t appreciate what they have, including their own success. Once one goal is met, they immediately move on to the next one without taking the time to celebrate the achievement.

Gretchen: Do you work on being happier? If so, how? 

Alexandra: I absolutely work at it. I am a person who is prone to seeing the glass half empty, and I know this, so when I sense that my mood is getting low, I write down all of the things of consequence – positive and negative – that happened during a given week. Inevitably I’ll see that the list of positive things is much longer than the list of negative things, and it forces me to recognize that things are much better than I sometimes perceive them to be.