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Trust
People tend to do business with those they like and trust. How do you build trust in a business environment? Let your prospects and customers get to know you. Make sure they understand why you started your business, and why you believe in your product or service. You might also get involved in industry or neighborhood organizations where you can meet your prospects and customers in a different environment. They can experience another side of you, and get to know you as a person, not just as a vendor. While you are still selling the benefits of your product or service, you are also selling yourself. Build trust by keeping your word. From follow-up calls to delivering on time, keeping your word can be one of your most powerful sales tools. Of course unexpected things do happen, and sometimes you cannot keep your promises. When this occurs, communicate with your prospect or customer offer your help, and inquire whether the change is workable.
Listen More Than You Talk
The better your product or service fits your customers’ needs, the more sales you will have. When customers know you sincerely care about what they want and need, they will feel secure that they are making the right decision in buying from you. When you listen more than you talk, customers realize you are genuinely interested in them, and that you are trying to understand their specific situation. They feel more comfortable with you, and will soon realize you are on their side. Make active listening a regular practice, and you will find it much easier to create excellent relationships with your customers.
Ask For The Business
Relationship selling does not consist of a simple set of techniques you have to master. It is a way of conducting yourself in the business world that is flexible, cooperative and professional. When selling in a context of building healthy relationships, you are operating as an ethical, considerate and helpful human being. You are also building your communication and other personal development skills. This is not only satisfying, but also quite effective in creating a steady stream of sales for your business.
*Excerpted with permission from “Small Business Success” magazine, Volume 5, produced by Pacific Bell Directory in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Partners for Small Business Excellence.
Employee engagement is a force that drives business outcomes. Research by the Gallup organization shows that engaged employees are more productive, more profitable, more customer focused, safer and more likely to stay with your organization for the long term. Employee engagement is a strategic approach for driving improvement and organizational change. It directly affects customer engagement – which affects your bottom line. The best performing companies know that developing an employee engagement strategy that is linked to the achievement of corporate goals, will help them create long-term, sustainable success in the marketplace.
According to extensive Gallup research, only 29% of the workforce is engaged – the other 71% fall into the disengaged/actively-disengaged group:
- 29% Engaged: Work with passion and connection to the company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward
- 52% Disengaged: Essentially “checked out.” Putting time, but not energy or passion, into their work.
- 19% Actively Disengaged: Not just unhappy – also acting out their unhappiness. Undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.
These findings are based on The Gallup Q12, a survey designed to measure employee engagement. Researchers found that there were 12 key expectations, that when satisfied, form the foundation of strong feelings of engagement:
- I know what is expected of me at work.
- I have the materials and equipment to do my work right.
- At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
- In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
- My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
- There is someone at work who encourages my development.
- At work, my opinions seem to count.
- The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.
- My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
- I have a best friend at work.
- In the last six months, someone at work talked to me about my progress.
- This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
What do you feel the engagement levels are in your organization? What is your percentage of Engaged, Disengaged and Actively Disengaged employees? What is this costing your organization – not just in terms of revenue, but also in creating innovative solutions and attracting/retaining top talent and customers? Can you take your organization where you want it to go with your current engagement percentages?
Working on Gallup’s Q12 elements will help you positively affect employee (as well as customer) engagement in your organization. Start at the top and work your way down the list – working one or two elements at a time and getting it right will be better than trying to work on all of them at once. More engaged employees leads to more engaged customers – and that leads to more engaging profitability!
This article provided by TCT Education Committee member, Norma Dompier, President, RedBike International – Engaging People & Organizations, Norma (at) RedBikeInternational.com. Information from Gallup.com.
Did you know that TCT has a foreign correspondent?! Tom Owens of IKEA has been a long time TCT member and is currently on assignment (with IKEA) in Shanghai. Tom was transferred last year to China, and he has been on assignment there previously. Tom still maintains his membership at TCT and is still a member of the TCT Education Committee!
Doing Business In China
Doing business in China even for the old veterans can be a challenge. For the newcomer, the business rules and the incorporation process in the Middle Kingdom can truly be a mystery. The following is a brief introduction for foreign companies to start the process.
In China, it is not possible to incorporate a company to perform a general range of business activities. The incorporation process requires investors to specify a business scope which describes the company’s proposed business activities (such as buying, selling, distributing, providing services, importing, exporting) and the industry sectors in which it will conduct such activities. Once formulated, the proposed business scope is subject to review and approval by the Chinese authorities.
The PRC Foreign Investment Industrial Guidance Catalogue is the most important tool for determining whether activities in a proposed industry sector will be acceptable. The Industry Catalogue classifies industries into three categories: encouraged industries, restricted industries and prohibited industries. For industries such as oil and gas exploration, automobile manufacturing, and cargo shipping, a company cannot be established by a foreigner without a Chinese partner.
The business scope is one of the central points that are reviewed by the Chinese authorities as part of the incorporation process. It must be precise and correspond to the type of business the company will undertake. Establishing a business in China is normally more time-consuming than most foreigners are accustomed to. If anyone needs more detailed information, please contact me.
This article is provided by TCT Education Committee Member, Tom Owens, who in on an international assignment in Shanghai, China with IKEA, tom.owens(at)ikea.com.
It began with the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 which essentially deregulated the American railroad industry and ended most of the economic regulation that had been in place for nearly a century. Among other things, this federal legislation provided the major railroads, or Class Ones, an exit strategy for unprofitable lines which they had been forced to operate. They quickly capitalized on new-found freedoms and began to market unproductive branches to entrepreneurial short line companies, investors, operators and railroaders. The small railroad industry embarked on an unprecedented rebirth which gave rise to a dominating presence of Class II Regional and Class III Short line Railroads who continue to play a vital role in the resurgence of America’s rail renaissance.
America’s short line railroads serve as the primary feeder system for the national rail network and according to the American Short line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA), Short lines pick-up and/or deliver one out of every four railcars moving on the entire national railroad complex. They employ nearly 20,000 people, serve over 13,000 facilities and haul over 14 million carloads per year. Short lines are not only creating American jobs and fueling economic growth in rural and small town America, but they provide vital, high-profile, rail service to the largest Ports in the country and keep critical freight traffic moving safely and efficiently. These “local railroads” are restoring connections to innumerable local communities and small businesses and are gaining strength by providing customized first mile, last mile service that the larger “hook and haul” Class I’s have spun-off to focus on their Transcontinental product.
This customer-centric mentality has fostered increased opportunities for development of niche business and driven improved competition for truckload traffic. The Short line advantage for shippers is that local and regional rail carriers often connect with more than one Class I railroad, which translates into lower costs, more flexible service offerings, greater market reach and ultimately cost-competitive transportation. Again, according to the ASLRRA, there are over 550 Short line and Regional railroads which operate in 49 states and bring efficient and reliable rail service to thousands of communities which may have otherwise lost their connection to the nation’s mainline railroad system.
America’s short line railroads provide discernible fuel savings and environmentally friendly shipping as railroads consume one-third less fuel than trucks per ton mile moved. Railroads reduce congestion by taking millions of truck loads off the highway; are cost efficient and the best choice for the environment – especially when utilizing innovative locomotive technologies which significantly reduce gas/particulate emissions.
In summary, Short line and Regional railroads have ensconced themselves in the transportation industry as leaders in keeping the country’s economic engine running. Short lines have filled a critical gap left by the departure of the large freight railroads. They continue to focus on the importance of the customer and development of those areas connected to the main railroad and network, and ultimately to global markets and beyond.
This article is provided by TCT Education Committee member, Tim Flood, Operations Manager, Tacoma Rail, tim.flood (at) cityoftacoma.org
Whether you’re a company searching for your next great employee or an individual desiring exposure for your resume, the Transportation Club of Tacoma is here to support your networking needs.
In addition to in-person social networking opportunities at our luncheons and fundraising events, TCT also has a page on our website listing job opportunities as well as member resumes.
When you sit down with a financial institution, here are some of the things banks are looking for and questions they will ask.
Financial presentation: Be prepared to provide three years of business and personal tax returns as well as a most recent personal financial statement, and up to date balance sheet and income statement
Line of credit: If you are looking for a line of credit, plan on providing accounts receivable, account payable agings, and an inventory listing.
Side note – A lot of customers immediately think of a line of credit when looking to grow or expand. Take a few moments to decide if a line of credit is right for you and what you are going to do with it. A good banker will encourage you to use your line for working capital and short term purchases. They are not designed as a long term tool to buy a piece of equipment, which is what loans are for. This is a common mistake that businesses make and can cause financial issues when it comes to renewal since most lines of credit have a short “resting” period that makes sure you are not “living” on your line of credit.
Cash Flow: Banks get paid from your cash flow, not from collateral (and remember cash flow and profits are not the same thing). You must have a clear and demonstrated source of cash flow repayment from your primary operations to apply for a traditional bank loan. The bottom line is that the financial institution just wants to be paid back.
Collateral: This is required as a secondary source of repayment in the event your primary operation (creating cash flow) fails. If you are weak in collateral, there are government guaranteed programs that may assist in providing a bank sufficient collateral to support your loan request, such as the Small Business Administration, and there is money out there to lend.
Capital: You need to have sufficient equity in your company. The capital level required differs from industry to industry and according to your size. You should know how leveraged you are in relation to your peers and what sufficient capital levels should be.
Character: Banks need to understand you and the story of the business. Has your company been profitable or have fallen on hard times? (…who hasn’t!) What is important for banks to see is what you did during those hard times? Other things banks look for is your 5 year plan and what your credit looks like.
Some say they hear that banks are not lending money. That is true and false. There are some banks that are going through hard times (like all businesses) and are not able to lend. However, the mass majority of institutions do have good capital levels and are able to lend at favorable rates.
This overview is provided by TCT Education Committee member Paul Long, Vice President, AmericanWest Bank (paul.long @ awbank.net).
*Some information was obtained from Puget Sound Business Journal February 2012. Every bank is different in their lending approach; make sure you talk to your banker for more information.
Company Internship Opportunity for Top Performing Students
The Career Pipeline Program, sponsored by Tacoma Community College (TCC) and Goodwill Industries, prepares displaced workers for employment in the Distribution and Transportation fields.
Instruction is provided in Distribution Center Operations, Transportation within the Supply Chain Sector, Logistics Security Initiatives, and in Quality Management Systems. Coursework consists of classroom lectures and instructor-led discussions; case studies; interactive student projects; and warehouse tours. Graduating students test for qualification as Certified Logistics Associates (CLA) and all become OSHA Certified Forklift Operators upon successful completion of coursework.
Some students are selected to participate in unpaid internships with local companies (currently, Carlile Transportation; NW Furniture Bank; Emergency Food Network; Ace Hardware; Keeler’s Medical; Parker Paints; among others). Additional unpaid internships are needed for other top-performing students. Each internship is customized, with instructor input, according to company capabilities and student learning objectives. TCC covers Workers Compensation. The instructor follows up with the company and the intern on a weekly basis. Internships length varies between 3-8 weeks, 4 hours per work day. As a result of past internships, a number of students have acquired additional specialized skills, leading to job placements either with the Intern Company, or elsewhere within the industry.
For additional information on the Career Pipeline Program or if your company is interested in providing internships, please contact:
Gary Olson (TCT Member)Cell: 253.341.1526
Email: gary.olson17 @ gmail.com Mary Kate Richardson (TCT Member)
Project Manager TCC Career Pipeline Project in Warehousing & Logistics
Office: 253.566.5018
Email: mrichardson @ tacomacc.edu