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How to Persuade to Succeed

How to Persuade to Succeed

How to Persuade to Succeed

How to Persuade to Succeed

by Karin Singh 29/03/2018

Feel stuck in your career? Learn how can you learn to be more persuasive to achieve your goals.

You might have already realised in your personal, as well as professional life, that having great persuasive skills can be highly beneficial for your employee branding. On the other hand, having poor leadership skills can put you at a real disadvantage.

Some time ago I delivered some speeches in the UK and India on the topic “How much do Soft Skills really matter?” One of the leadership skills that I highlighted was about influential/persuasion skills. I made my audience aware about the fact that the moment you start your job hunt your convincing skills are already being put to the test. Let me explain in more detail from a career guidance counsellor’s perspective:  

You apply for a job, you need to convince the Hiring Manager to invite you to a job interview. Once you get to that stage, you need to convince the recruiter to offer you the job. Once you have the job, you need to convince clients to do business with you, but not just that, also customers need to be convinced to buy from your company to make the business successful. Imagine you are doing such a great job that you feel you deserve a pay raise. Then again, you want to convince your boss that you deserve a pay raise and the convincing game doesn’t end.  

Bear in mind, it’s not just about job hunting, there are many other workplace situations in which you need to show your influential skills at many different stages. If you are looking for improving your leadership skills you might want to learn how to become a master in:

  • Convincing your boss to promote you to a higher position.
  • Convincing your work colleagues of your idea and getting their support to implement it.
  • Convincing your supervisor to give you days off when the company is going through a tough time and it would be more important to be working on those days.
  • Convincing other business partners to do business with you and to build a long-term relationship.
  • Convincing potential employees to work for your company and promote your organisation as a great place to work.
  • Convincing a work colleague to do a job that you were supposed to do.
  • Convincing other team members to choose you as their team leader and make sure that they follow your instructions.

 

So, how can you be more persuasive to achieve your goals and improve your employee branding at the same time? Because let’s not forget, very often it’s all about getting results. And you get those results by influencing and convincing (not manipulating negatively!) others.

It doesn’t mean you need to be the boss or the know-it-all within the company, if you want to succeed in the long term, you need to learn how to be more persuasive in many different situations. Unfortunately, schools don’t really teach you this kind of skill, and also parents might not consider it as a priority to teach it to their young or older children. Thus, it would be essential to improve your leadership skills to be more persuasive and increase your influence:

  • Be confident and articulate in your communication so that people can easily understand you.
  • Have all the relevant data and statistics at hand to back up your claims. This will help you to be perceived as more credible and trustworthy person.
  • Give others an answer to the popular question “What is in it for ME?” Tell others the BENEFITS they can expect from taking certain action. It’s all about that! Why should they listen to you and do what you expect them to do? This is the most important part in persuading others. Let them know the value, the benefit they can get. Put your emphasis always on others by focusing on the YOU, YOU, YOU. When I’m promoting my services, I highlight the benefits to jobseekers that they will get by working with me. For example: YOU will be more confident, YOU will land the job, YOU will increase your reputation, YOU will earn a higher salary, YOU will achieve your goals, YOU will optimize your career, YOU will solve your dilemma and much more.
  • Ask other people about their goals. The moment other people see that you make an effort to find out from where they are coming from, they will take you more seriously. Asking other people about their goals at an early stage in the conversation – and doing this on a regular basis -, helps you to persuade them in a more effective way.
  • When listening to others, let them know that you understood what they were saying. How? By speaking it out loud. This way, they will be more likely to listen to what you have to say. Don’t focus on your own goals, instead, try to understand other people’s goals.
  • Let people know that you are flexible when it comes to changing circumstances and you are open to hearing their perspectives. Even though highly influential people have their own plans and goals, they are not completely fixated to everything playing out in their way.
  • Show first your excitement about others, and then they will feel more excited about you, too.
  • Constantly talking to others and nagging them, might not always work as a convincing tactic. Often this strategy is used to grind others into submission by reiterating their point of view on a constant basis. Is this, really what you want to do? Usually, those who are persuaded in this way, don’t really buy into that idea and don’t show real commitment to it.
  • Don’t abuse your position of power to getting others to do things you want them to do. This is called ‘coercion’ and forces people to do things they feel they must do, but don’t really want to do. The real art of persuasion consists in not making it look like persuasion and being able to get other people to want to do what you want them to do.
  • Observe how other influential people persuade others and see if there is anything you can adapt in your own strategy to be a more persuasive person.
  • Don’t try too hard to persuade others either by talking too much, providing too much information, confusing them or by using aggressive language. It will put people off faster than you can imagine. 

 

So, what makes a successful influencer with developed leadership skills? This is a person who is confident, who knows that they are going to succeed, who has a high level of emotional intelligence, is reliable, takes responsibility, is genuine, knows their subject and knows how to build rapport with very different types of people. From career counselling for experienced professionals you will learn that the moment you start looking at things the same way as others do, you will have it easy to persuade others the right way. Thus, learn to understand how your audience thinks, and you will have the edge.

Karin Schroeck-Singh’s passion lies in creating, translating and promoting content of high-quality in multiple languages (English, German, Italian). She holds an MBA from the University of Leicester (UK) and is the author of several ebooks. She gained more that 20 years of international work experience in various industries in Italy, the UK and India. Helping businesses to optimise their online presence is her priority, no client or project is too big or too small for her.

Stop worrying. Start outsourcing! www.hirekarin.com

Karin Schroeck-Singh

www.hirekarin.com

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4 Tips to Negotiate a Salary Increase (That Actually Work!)

4 Tips to Negotiate a Salary Increase (That Actually Work!)

4 Tips to Negotiate a Salary Increase (That Actually Work!)

4 Tips to Negotiate a Salary Increase (That Actually Work!)

by Talentese Team 22/03/2018

Salary negotiation is more of an art than a skill. Although many career professionals consider it a necessary skill, it should be approached as an art to be mastered. The art of negotiating a higher salary is rarely as easy as it sounds. You cannot just walk up to your boss or supervisor and demand a higher raise. Not only is it impolite, but it also shows your dissatisfaction with work. There are very few people who are good at negotiating higher salaries and pay raises. More often than not, most professionals are unaware of what they deserve and how to speak about it.

You do not want to come across as gauche or greedy while you negotiate a salary increase. The worst part is that most professionals end up settling for what is the standard norm and end up missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long term of their career. A correct salary start and steady pay increase are as important as planning which companies you would wish to work for. A good career guidance counselor will be able to help you understand, according to your skill sets, education, and experience, how you should peg your salary and its yearly increments.

Let us help you with a few tips and tricks to negotiate a salary increase.

 

#1 – Select the correct time:

Timing is King! Figure out when your company has salary negotiations for employees or if you work for a startup, then when the increments are. Before you start off on directly approaching your boss, you must take an appointment first. Be sure to mention the reason for the meeting and how long you would like it to be. You can get help on how to set appointments and correct wording by receiving career counseling for experienced professionals from a reputed career guidance counselor.

Ensure that your request for a meeting does not coincide with any other important meetings or reviews that you know might be equally important. Most supervisors are busy in the first half of the day with some free time towards the second half. Avoid requesting meetings on Monday morning as they are usually hectic and Fridays since most people want to leave office and start their weekend early.

 

#2 – Research your value:

You should first get an idea of what you should be asking for. The correct way to do this is to speak to a career guidance counselor who is well versed in your field of work and your skill sets. You can also speak to people in the same field, sector, or company so that you are better prepared with multiple options when you negotiate your salary increase. While you’re doing this, only speak to people you trust and are comfortable approaching the topic of finances with. You do not want to give people the wrong impression about your personal branding and company loyalty.

Ask around for what percentage of increase people get annually and what the ideal increase for you would be. When speaking to your boss, always peg your salary increase slightly higher than the norm so that you can negotiate and settle at a figure that seems adequate to you.  If you would like a thorough appraisal done of your current job before you speak to your supervisor or boss, seek career counseling for experienced professionals to check for your salary and pay grade.

 

#3 – Have a precise figure ready:

Whether you’re interviewing for a new job or are asking for a salary raise in your current one, it is absolutely essential that you have a precise figure in your mind. The hiring manager or your supervisor will already have a precise figure in mind and will try to negotiate you towards it. When you ask for a raise or increment, it becomes easier to find common ground if you are both aware.

Conventional career guidance counselors will advise you to keep silent till you are given a figure by your boss or hiring manager. We advise you to speak first. The first figure that is set for negotiations becomes a marker for the future talk to revolve around. If the figure you set is higher than the manager, it would be difficult for you to seek your asking figure. In order to speak better and groom yourself towards this meeting, set an appointment for career counseling for experienced professionals so that you receive adequate training and guidance before you sit with your manager.

 

#4 – Fit your request with the company growth:

Most managers or hiring managers will be aware of the results that you can deliver. Base your asking figure for your salary increase around future progress based on your past achievements. This is especially crucial for people negotiating salaries for new jobs. Always show (in figures, percentages, and statistics) what growth you can bring to the company in terms of relatable goals, revenue figures, and any problems that you can solve successfully.

Ensure that your boss or hiring manager know that you are able to deliver more in combination with the growth chart of the company and will be able to put in more effort to achieve it. When negotiating for a salary increase, keep it strictly professional. Do not bring in your personal reasons like kids’ education, mortgages, loans, or medical reasons. Also, remember not to show a comparison of what others are getting paid for your position or company.

by Talentese Team 22/03/2018

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How to Rave Your Best Fit Future Job

How to Rave Your Best Fit Future Job

How to Rave Your Best Fit Future Job – Guiding Questions

by Iris Clermont 09/03/2018

To strengthen your clarity about your big future job picture.

To sharpen your magnifier view for your future job expectations.

To focus on the impact you intend to add to the industry.

with the overall benefit to find your best job fit fast and easy.

 

Part 1: High level helicopter perspective over your future job:

What attracts you thinking about your future job and thinking about the currently existing market situation?

What plays a key role for you when thinking about your future job from a helicopter or from a distant and relaxing mountain view?

 

Part 2: Closer magnifiers look to your values and strengths:

What are your TOP 3 values (reliability, honesty, security, freedom, efficiency… please find an example value list from the following link http://corevalueslist.com, which need to be met for your future job?

What are your TOP 3 strengths (maximizer, achiever, activator, innovator, futuristic…, example link: Gallup 34 strengths http://www.strengthstest.com/strengths-finder-themes)?

 

Part 3: Closer magnifier look to your best job fit:

What kind of company (small, middle, large size, startup…) attracts you most?

What industries (car, chemistry, telecom, health, travel…, example list of industries link: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/industries/) interest you most?

What kind of job (line manager, project manager, freelancer, consultant CEO, Account, finance, research, product, human resources, marketing…) fits best to your values, strengths, experiences and skills?

How do you describe an optimal team you want to be part of?

What is the concrete impact you want to add for the company, for your future clients and shareholders with your experiences, skills, values and strengths?

 

Part 4: Completion and Way Forward questions:

What are now, after looking at your job expectations from different perspectives, your TOP 3 best job fits?

What are the open questions regarding your future the best fit job?

Who or what can help you to find responses for your open questions?

What are your next 3 concrete steps towards your future career?   

 

Please feel free to use the online anonymous questionnaire open till 31. March 2017:

https://www.einfacheumfrage.de/RespWeb/Qn.aspx?EID=2237879

The outcome will be anonymously shared in one of the next articles.

 

Congratulations for your time that you invested for your future career.  I wish you great success with your best fit future job. You are more than welcome to contact me: info@aiccoaching.com and send me your insights, comments and questions.

For your consideration: You can create an impact with your decisions and actions, with your ideas, your strategy thoughts and targets.

Creating an impact is your everyday’s own choice.

 

by Iris Clermont 09/03/2018

Iris Clermont University graduated in mathematics and international professional Certified Coach with 25 years of Coaching and Consulting Projects in 20 countries for 30 international companies and author of Team Magic ISBN-10: 1905823959. You will find numerous references from her webpage: http://www.aic-coaching.com/about-me/references.html

Iris Clermont

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8 Things That All Great Leaders Have in Common

8 Things That All Great Leaders Have in Common

8 Things That All Great Leaders Have in Common

8 Things That All Great Leaders Have in Common

by Karin Singh 06/03/2018

If you think of a great leader, who is the first you are thinking of? The CEO of a business, a politician, a sportsman, an inventor, your own boss? What are the 8 things that all great leaders have in common and what makes you a good manager? Find out here:

# 1 – Leaders have a positive attitude at all times,

no matter whether their team is going through a happy or tough period. Leaders are fully aware that in order to be successful, they need to have happy, motivated and satisfied employees in their team. The leader is the role model who sets the tone and mood in their respective field.

 

# 2 – They take responsibility.

If mistakes happen, they take personal responsibility for it. They don’t come up with excuses, instead they personally take the blame and think about how to sort out the problem. This really shows the leader’s integrity and trustworthiness.

 

# 3 – They know how to cope with failure.

Let’s remind ourselves that nobody is perfect. Mistakes and failure does occur to everyone sooner or later. The important thing to remember is: to learn from it and to not repeat the same mistake in the future, to stay calm in the situation and to decide what to do next. Leaders don’t share their fears and worries with other team members, because they know that it would have a very negative impact on them. Being a leader also means to lead when things go wrong, doing it the right way is the art!

 

# 4 – They invest in their employees.

Developing the skills of other team members brings many benefits: their jobs will be carried out easier, it will increase morale, they develop skills which might be beneficial to the company, they feel appreciated and make a difference to the company’s success.

 

# 5 – The ability to delegate

is another thing that all leaders have in common. One person can’t do it alone. Leaders know when the time for delegation has arrived, and to whom they need to delegate specific tasks. You as a leader show them that you trust them, you are confident in their abilities and that affects team morale, productivity and profits. Let’s not forget that it will also lower every leader’s level of stress!

 

# 6 – They know how to communicate.

Communication in all its different forms (in writing, over the phone, face to face, non-verbally, online) needs to be effective. Misunderstandings in communication can easily occur, if not clarified on time. It is therefore of paramount importance to know: what to say, when to say and how to say it. Effective communication has the benefit that things will get done quicker and better and mistakes, waste of time and money can be avoided.  

 

# 7 – They are highly confident.

Being confident without being arrogant is crucial. If things go wrong, a team needs someone who remains poised and confident. If you show your nervousness, indecisiveness and start panicking, what do you think will other people’s reaction be?

 

# 8 – They show their commitment.

Leaders stick to what they promise and they lead by example. They don’t expect things from others, which they would not be prepared to do themselves. They are fully aware that it would mean a loss of respect, trust, credibility and confidence from others.

 

Do you have these 8 things that all great leaders have? If not, then think about the next steps you need to take in order to become one, if that is your goal for 2018! All the best!

Karin Schroeck-Singh’s passion lies in creating, translating and promoting content of high-quality in multiple languages (English, German, Italian). She holds an MBA from the University of Leicester (UK) and is the author of several ebooks. She gained more that 20 years of international work experience in various industries in Italy, the UK and India. Helping businesses to optimise their online presence is her priority, no client or project is too big or too small for her.

Stop worrying. Start outsourcing! www.hirekarin.com

Karin Schroeck-Singh

www.hirekarin.com

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How to Successfully Develop Your Career?

How to Successfully Develop Your Career?

How to Successfully Develop Your Career?

How to Successfully Develop Your Career?

How many times you’ve wondered what to do in order to progress in your career and reach your career objective? However, the time goes by and… you keep doing the same things.

Or, how many times you’ve wondered how to change your job and work on something that you really “love”, but you don’t know how to get there because you are “scared to dead”. However, the time goes by and… you keep doing the same things.

And how many times you’ve imagined a different professional live to the one that you have currently? However, every Monday at 7:30 am the alarm rings, the time goes by and… you keep doing the same things.

You need a coach, and a good one. Why not?

A good coach, on top of having a great coaching experience and being ICF Certified (International Coach Federation, the most prestigious organization in the world regulating the coaching services. https://www.coachfederation.org ), it will help you in a way that by YOURSELF:

 

#1 – You will clarify your own objectives and solve the mental chaos that most probably you’re having right now and that makes you feel lost.

 

#2 – You will discover your “I don’t know” and transform them in “I know, and besides: I know how to do it”. Between us, this is one of the big tests to know whether you’re working with a great coach or not.

 

#3 – You will determine what is really important for you so you will be able to focus on this in the way that you really want and works for you.

 

#4 – You will identify your “blind spots”. A good coach will guide you to find out those aspects that you don’t know about yourself in a way that they will be evident for you and you will take maximum benefit from them. You’ll discover how to go beyond those things that you’ve never imagined but, most probably, are blocking you to reach your goals.

 

#5 – You will focus on your development and evolution from the positive side in order to invest your time in an efficient and fruitful way. Be careful! You’ll be always working from the present towards the future. The past it’s past and it’s not possible to change it. So, why investigate it?

 

#6 – You will recognize and make an intelligent use of your competitive advantages, winning an extra speed in comparison with what you would do by yourself.

 

#7 – You will win new ways to develop and expand your abilities and leadership competencies. You will increase your productivity and develop your own techniques to solve the most difficult professional situations that you can imagine, learning by yourself how to handle them easily.

 

#8 – You will increase the commitment with yourself and with your personal goals. Being able to identify and track milestones will help you to have consciousness of your evolution and your own development. Remember that a good coach will show you always the ROI of your actions. If not, most probably you’re in front of a “conversation of consciousness” and this is not coaching.

 

#9 – You will feel better, more positive and with more self-confidence. A good coach will put in evidence how you are aligning your actions with your personal values and objectives and if this is what you really want.

 

#10 – You will simply reach, finally! those things that seemed to be impossible before.

 

Choosing a great coach will change your life. Why not?

But how? Choosing us!

Welcome to Halo, the company that I founded from an innovative and different perspective to reach finally a new way of doing business. That business that everyone talks about in the 21st century but just a few put in practice, because people normally keep doing the same things…

Do you dare to try?

 

 

Mónica Albuja is PCC Coach by ICF and member of the Competences Committee for ICF Spain. She also has a Senior degree as Ontological coach. Also specialized in executive team coaching and team mentoring y Master Practitioner NLP. She is Halo´s CEO (www.halo.com.es) the company she founded to increase high potential&talent development through talent branding, executive coaching, experience training and motivation empowerment.

Mónica Albuja

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