January, 2006 Issue
Successfully Meeting and Greeting -
Ten Strategies for Getting Off to a Good Start
Lydia Ramsey
A day in the life of every businessperson is made up of a series of meetings and greetings. When you are making the initial contact with a client or a colleague, you want to get off to a successful start. Here are some tips:
1. Stand up when you meet someone. This allows you to engage the person on an equal level—eye to eye. By remaining seated, you send a message that you don’t think the other person is important enough to warrant the effort it takes to stand. If you find yourself in a position where you can’t stand up—perhaps you are stuck behind a potted plant---offer an apology and an explanation. You might say something like, “Please excuse me for not getting up. I can’t seem to get around the foliage.”
2. Smile. Your facial expression says more than your words. Look as if you are pleased to meet the other person. Put a smile on your face for the person standing before you.
3. Make eye contact. Looking at the people you meet says you are focused and interested in them.
4. Introduce yourself immediately. As soon as you approach people you don’t know or are approached by them, introduce yourself. Don’t stand around as if someone else is in charge of introductions.
5. Include a statement about who you are when necessary. It is not always enough to say, “Hello, I’m Mary Jones.” Give more information. “Hello, I’m Mary Jones. I work for XYZ Corporation.”
6. Offer a firm handshake. Extend your hand as you give your greeting. The person who puts a hand out first comes across as confident and at ease. Make sure that this physical part of your greeting is professional—no bone-crushing grips or wimpy limp-wristed shakes. If you are confused about men and women shaking hands, don’t be. There once was a time when women didn’t shake hands with men. Now everyone in business shakes hands with everyone else.
7. Learn how to make smooth introductions. In business you always introduce less important people to more important people. The way to do this is to say the name of the more important person first, followed by the words “I’d like to introduce...” and then give the other person’s name. Be sure to add something about each person so they will know why they are being introduced and will have some information with which to start a conversation.
8. Know who the more important person is. The client or the business prospect is more important than your boss. Just hope your boss agrees.
9. Pay attention to names when you meet people. It is all too common to be thinking about what you are going to say next and not focus on the other person. If you concentrate and repeat the name as soon as you hear it, you stand a better chance of remembering it later.
10. Wait until someone gives you permission to use his/her first name. Not everyone wants to be addressed informally on the initial encounter. It is better to err on the side of formality than to offend the other person.
Your goal within the first few minutes of meeting other people is to make them feel comfortable and to put them ease so they will want to do business with you. When you are confident of the rules for those critical initial encounters, you will have a solid start for long-term profitable relationships.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lydia Ramsey, a business etiquette expert with over 30 years of experience, is
also the author of the acclaimed business etiquette book “Manners that Sell-
Adding the Polish that Builds Profits.” Lydia is a speaker and trainer who
writes a business etiquette column for several southeastern newspapers. For
more information please visit: www.mannersthatsell.com
FOUR RULES FOR BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
It’s no secret that a successful business is the result of blending good business ideas with quality management. Good business ideas require imagination and creativity. Quality management means strict adherence to four rules that are essential to the success of any business.
Rule #1: Hire the right people and keep them
Any successful business knows how important it is to build an employee team. Hiring the right people is critical and motivating them to assure maximum performance and minimum turnover is just as important.
The key to motivation is compensation. The right blend of salary, performance bonuses, deferred compensation, and in some cases, equity in the business is the best way to develop a loyal and stable employee team.
It’s not unusual for creative and entry level personnel to change jobs frequently. Middle management, finance, and production employees are less likely to job hop. High turnover in this group can indicate that compensation is not adequate, that hiring practices are faulty, that job conditions are frustrating, or that employees aren’t given adequate resources to get the job done.
Rule #2: Maximize cash flow
Even a profitable business can find itself in serious trouble if cash flow isn’t maintained. Prompt billing, careful control of receivables, and good collection practices are the answers to a healthy cash flow.
Other basic strategies to maximize cash flow include cash accumulation for a seasonal business to carry it through the slow season and use of surplus cash for low risk investments that mature when the funds are needed by the company.
Rule #3: Control inventory
Every successful business must know the status of its inventory at all times, whether the inventory consists of material or billable time. With the proper information, inventory levels can be maintained at an optimum level. That means sufficient inventory to fill orders promptly so that sales won’t be lost, but not so large that inventory costs become a drain on profits. Good inventory control should reflect current and near future customer needs, which means that accurate sales forecasting is essential.
When inventory levels are properly controlled, production can be properly scheduled over the year and the work force can be efficiently employed without costly layoffs, rehiring, and disruption of production.
Rule #4: Maintain gross margins
Some companies have high production costs and low selling costs. Others face the opposite situation. To be successful, a business should know how its gross margin (selling prices less direct costs such as labor, material, and production overhead) compare to other companies in its industry. It’s equally important to know whether gross margin is changing over a given period of time.
A monthly analysis of gross margins will provide this information. It will help a business measure its performance within its industry and detect slippage in gross margin over any time period. Only when these problems are identified can a business take action by raising prices, cutting costs, or motivating employees to increase productivity.
'TELL ME ABOUT
YOURSELF'
Job Applicants Make Most Mistakes During the Interview, Survey Finds
MENLO PARK, CA -- Acing the interview is no easy feat, a new survey shows. Nearly one-third (32 percent) of chief financial officers (CFOs) polled believe job applicants make more missteps at this stage of the hiring process than at any other. Twenty-one percent of those polled said the greatest number of errors occur on resumes.
The survey was developed by Robert Half Finance & Accounting, the world’s first and largest specialized financial recruitment service. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from more than 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees.
CFOs were asked, “In which of the following job application areas do you feel candidates make the most mistakes?” Their responses:
|
Interview |
|
32% |
|
Resume |
|
21% |
|
Cover letter |
|
9% |
|
Reference checks |
|
9% |
|
Interview follow-up |
|
7% |
|
Screening call |
|
6% |
|
Other |
|
2% |
|
Don't know/no answer |
|
|
|
|
|
100% |
14%“Not knowing enough about the company or position, displaying a bad attitude or inquiring about compensation prematurely can all leave a negative impression with hiring managers,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Robert Half Finance & Accounting and author of Managing Your Career For Dummies® (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). “For job seekers, the interview represents a time to shine. Thorough preparation -- including researching the employer, rehearsing responses to common questions and understanding appropriate topics to discuss -- is the key to avoiding potential pitfalls.”
According to Messmer, how candidates behave during an interview is often viewed as a barometer of how they will perform if hired. “Accounting professionals must be able to present complex data and concepts to senior executives, clients and colleagues in other departments, many of whom may not have financial backgrounds. By effectively delivering information in a challenging situation such as the job interview, accountants can prove they possess the communication skills required to be successful.”
The resume also is a critical job
search tool, Messmer added. “The most fail-safe method for ensuring all
application materials are error-free is to have a friend or family member review
them before they are submitted.”
Founded in 1948, Robert Half Finance & Accounting, a division
of Robert Half International Inc., has more than 330 locations throughout North
America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and offers online job search
services at www.roberthalf.com.