What's New?

Selling the Experience

The ALLIANCE Academy recently participated in ABCN's Eighth Annual Worldview Forum in Spain. The theme for the meeting was "Optimism and Optimization." Attendees were provided with the knowledge and tools they need to beat out the competition and thrive — not just survive — even in this downward economy. The conference included Members and prospective Members from over 20 different countries, who, along with the ABCN team, shared incredible information and new and interesting ideas. One difference we noticed from other meetings is that Members are repositioning their value proposition to truly differentiate their solution from other competitors. Instead of selling an office, they are selling passion, success, productivity, networking and global presence. This shift has made an immediate and positive impact to their bottom line. We challenge you to rethink your sales approach and start focusing on the true outcome of partnering with your center – success!

Masters of the Academy

The global reach of the Academy is constantly expanding. Ellen Rafflenbeul-Heuson, Master Trainer in Germany, has been busy working with the Sirius Facilities team to improve all aspects of center performance. Sirius was in need of customized center training to improve the performance of the call center operation so anyone who speaks with a prospect could deliver their value proposition and secure a viewing. Ellen trained and coached the sales team in consultative selling to increase their conversion rate. She also worked with the management team, focusing on their leadership and team building skills. The Academy would like to thank Ellen for the professional delivery and development of the custom material, and thank Sirius for partnering with the Academy.

Training that Works

Customizing Your Content

We all know that the right training of your team is critical to the success of your business. But with so many different methods and styles of learning, how can you most effectively empower your employees with the knowledge and training they need?

You can adjust your center's learning management system to suit the learning styles of your team members. Focus on a few main guidelines to save time, money, and increase effectiveness of your training program.

Develop training guides that employ a range of medias and tools – Adobe files, Dreamweaver, Flash, media files, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and so on. Use your existing content and transform the media of delivery, and your information will appeal to a wider audience of learners.

Manage your system by archiving the training content, providing supporting Q&A, managing workflow, handling access privileges, reporting results and experiences, and collaborating with your colleagues to maintain your learning system.

Maintain your content and various training tools so that it's easy to find what you're looking for, in the medium you want. You'll be able to update and access your content more efficiently.

Deliver information, training and coaching using multiple formats. This may include online learning, instructor guides in hard copy, mobile messages, assessments, and even in different languages.

For a full discussion on how you can create a complete center training resource to improve team member performance, contact us today.

Case Study

Video Virtually Sells the Office

LiveClip Inc. was a featured presenter at ABCN's WorldView Forum last month. The experts from this leading digital video production and online video solution company shared a great deal of information, much of which was new to us. Among the knowledge they shared at the Forum, a few points really stood out to us:

People are visually oriented, so by nature, consumers are drawn to video. Online videos are so effective because they allow people to engage with a website in a way that other marketing mediums are not able to.

According to reports by Forrester Research, 64% of consumers watched online video as of last summer. That's roughly 117 million people who have chosen to view an advertisement or marketing message. Viewers watched an average of 56 minutes of online video per month. That number is projected to increase to 90 minutes per month this year.

We all know how popular Google is, and right up behind Google, as the second most popular search engine in the world, is YouTube. Google, who owns YouTube, continues to make video a higher priority in its own results. According to recent reports, YouTube accounts for more than 97% of all videos viewed online. With a YouTube channel in your company's name, you'll increase traffic to your site as your site appears in Google results. You'll increase viewership, especially if you practice active uploading which will result in higher video ranking.

Why should you get on the online video trend? This highly effective marketing method will increase awareness for your company, product and offerings. An online video is a new way to reach new clients; you will drive more traffic to your website and improve your conversion rate. LiveClip Inc. reports that their videos have increased conversions by an average of 100%. In their experience, page views, impressions, community, time spent on the site, and new visitors have all had dramatic increases. Their clients also enjoy maximum exposure at a minimal cost, plus brand improvements. To learn more, visit http://www.liveclip.com/ or call them at +1 (877) VIDEO-13.

Focus On...

Building Your Personal Credibility

In a business like ours, relationships are often the key to success. Building personal credibility is an inherent part of building your business relationships and making people want to do business with you.

Personal credibility is what we do and the way we do it that causes people to trust, respect, and believe in us. The things we do on a daily basis and the way we interact with others comprise our personal credibility. Build up your credibility, and people will trust you and regard your opinion. You will be able to persuade and lead others. Fail to improve your credibility, and you will be disregarded and become irrelevant.

Focus on personal credibility in all aspects of your business. During your hiring process, hone in on honesty and accuracy. Ask specific questions that will allow candidates to highlight their credibility. You may want to ask an interviewee about a time they made a promise to a client but then realized they wouldn't be able to fulfill their commitment – how did she/he handle the situation?

Define for your team the ways to build personal credibility. Offer guidelines for actions that would break personal credibility, such as always showing up late, missing or breaking appointments, making too many excuses, and so on.

Evaluate and reward managers for personal credibility. Create a process for subordinates and clients to give managers feedback about how they demonstrate personal credibility. Use that feedback to help you determine promotions and pay increases.

Remember that building personal credibility within your team must start with you. Practice and teach the actions and qualities that build personal credibility and constantly remind your team that it is a priority. Make it a part of your everyday routine and it will become company culture.

Insider Tips

Get Creative – Get Noticed

Marketing your business is more critical now than ever before. These days there are so many marketing mediums that it can be hard to choose which ones to focus on and use. On top of that, everyone knows how important it is to market themselves, and it's becoming more and more challenging to differentiate from the competition.

One of the newer marketing methods that is gaining popularity is the podcast. Podcasts offer an easy way to communicate through audio and video, allowing listeners and viewers to absorb and retain information more effectively. Podcasts offer greater flexibility since listeners can choose when and where they will hear your message. This means they'll be more receptive to your message and more likely to take action if they are interested.

The Academy recommends releasing client testimonials via podcast as an effective way to market your center and services. Create a more personal connection by reaching out to clients and prospects through this audio (and, if you wish, visual) method, and you'll be able to convey your enthusiasm and sincerity about your offerings.

To maximize this marketing tool, post several different testimonials that highlight your different products and services – full-time offices, virtual offices, meeting rooms, and so on. Try using a video to get your message across, which will make it stand out more than if you sent just an email.

For more Insider Tips, visit the Academy site to access the Training Bytes section.