The Astron Road Show

First up, National Director Michael Maciekowich will present on October 7th to the HR Committee of the Vermont Bankers Association. Mike will present on When the Money Runs Out, addressing compensation concerns surrounding long-service employees. Then, Mike travels to Wisconsin to exhibit at the 23rd annual Wisconsin State SHRM conference from October 14th – 16th. The Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells is hosting this year’s event. If you’re attending, please stop by booth 714 and say hello! Mike would love to meet with you.

Also from October 14th – 16th, National Director Jennifer Loftus will present at the Human Resources Seminar of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). San Diego is the host city for this year’s event. Jennifer will present on Using Total Rewards to Your Strategic Advantage.

Fact or Fiction

FACT!

The Killer Whale or, Orcinus Orca actually belongs to the dolphin family. They also go by the common name of the Blackfish.

Win At Selling Your Value

Does this situation sound familiar? You’ve been working at your company for a couple of years, performing well, getting good feedback, and positive annual reviews. You and your manager have talked about the possibility of you taking on more responsibilities and becoming more integrated into the organization. The first year you heard this, you were excited. The second time around you’re left wondering if this will be the year. You ask yourself why no one seems to see the worth and value you can bring to your position and the organization.

Having these dialogues running around in your head and/or waiting for management to take action won’t get you anywhere. You need to stop the “BMW” (bitching, moaning, and whining) and learn how to sell your value. A lot of you are probably starting to get nervous at this moment because you don’t think you have what it takes to “sell your value.” But, you actually have been doing this for most of your life. It began in your childhood when you tried to “sell” your parents on a type of candy, toy, or present, that you may have wanted, and it continues to this day. Now, put aside any concerns or preconceptions you may have about selling or salespeople. Keeping an open mind will allow you to fully capture the buying/selling process and help you to win at selling your value.

First, what is the definition of a sale? According to Zig Ziglar, a famous sales trainer, a sale is the transference of feeling. What does this mean? It means that if you don’t have a passion for what you do and what you feel about the service you offer, then you will have difficulty helping people to “buy” what you are selling; in this instance, your value and worth.

Buying / Selling Process

By following the steps outlined below, you will be able to develop and maintain relationships with decision makers and other individuals throughout your organization; thus, expanding your network and opportunities for increased responsibilities.

Step 1: Introduction – In this phase, it is important to maintain eye contact and make your audience smile.

Step 2: Gaining Favorable Attention – This is the stage in which you build rapport. Remember, you are paying careful attention and listening for something you can use or say in future meetings or conversations. Focus on your audience and eliminate the use of the words “I”, “me,” or “mine.” This is also the point in the process where you will be asked to describe what you do. This is where you use your “elevator pitch,” a powerful and concise statement of your skills and accomplishments.

Step 3: Discovering Wants and Needs – This is the phase where you dig deeply into the issues facing the organization, management, etc. You need to focus on open-ended questions.

Good questions begin with who, what, where, when, and why. Some tips to help you navigate through this phase are the following:

• Listen 80% of the time and talk 20% of the time.

• Refrain from evaluating or judging the information being shared.

• Be alert to the behavior of your audience. Their verbal as well as non-verbal behavior will guide you through this process.

• Resist the urge to talk about solutions. This comes later on.

Your goals during the Discovering Wants and Needs phase are to:

• reinforce your rapport and credibility;

• aid you in gaining a complete understanding of the situations at hand;

• help your audience tell you how you can help them; and

• stimulate their interest and urgency in working with you.

Step 4: Presenting Benefits and Consequences – Now you can talk about your capabilities and how you can help the organization. You want to make sure that you demonstrate the following points.

• You have a thorough understanding of the situation.

• The objectives you will help them to achieve and your approach to achieving them.

• The measurable outcomes and, if possible, the return on their investment (you).

The key in this phase is to tie back your skills and the benefits to the specific issues detailed in the discovery process. The goal is to help the manager make a positive decision to work with you and thereby expand your current responsibilities and exposure within the organization.

Step 5: Getting Commitment – If you have been navigating the “buying / selling” process correctly at each step, you have gotten verbal and non-verbal permission to proceed to the following step. Getting commitment is a natural progression of the previous step.

Step 6: Follow Up / Execution – It is critical that you understand your role in executing the tasks that need to be addressed and that you do so while creating value throughout the organization. Make sure management understands the results you are delivering. Make yourself indispensible and you thereby create more opportunities for your own personal and professional growth.

Congratulations! You have navigated and survived the “sales” process. Following these steps in the order presented and making sure you have approval, either verbal or non-verbal, before you move to the next step will afford you the opportunity to demonstrate your value as well as grow both professionally and personally.

Stacey M. Jerrold, MBA, SPHR is the founder of Jerrold HR Solutions LLC, a company that focuses on helping clients discover their untapped potential and turn that potential into performance. By "partnering" with her clients to identify their individual needs, Stacey and her team customize processes that enable clients to develop a substantial competitive advantage needed for their future success. Stacey is a Certified Business Coach and is also a member of The Five O’Clock Club Guild of Career Coaches. You can reach Stacey at Stacey@JerroldHRSolutions.com, or visit her website at www.JerroldHRSolutions.com.

Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource organization's meeting? Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee retention issues. For more information, send an e-mail to info@astronsolutions.com.

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Copyright 2009, Astron Solutions, LLC

ISSN Number 1549-0467