Free App Promotion: Continuing to Celebrate 100 Year of Success!! Starting May 16th!!!

CONTINUING THE CELEBRATION!!! 100th ANNIVERSARY PROMOTION!!!

DALE CARNEGIE TRAINING OFFERING FREE APPS!!

 

All Dale Carnegie Training Apps will be available for download - FREE (offer expires when we turn 101! Oct 22, 2013).

 

Continuing the 100th anniversary celebration, Dale Carnegie Training will be offer all apps for FREE from May 16, 2013 to October 22, 2013. We encourage you to use this time to promote the apps in your instruction rooms, to your clients, and prospects.

 

We will also use this opportunity to launch Dale Carnegie Training's newest app: How to Win Friends & Influence People in the Digital Age.

On May 16, 2013 we will be substituting the normal lead nurturing eNewsletter send with an exclusive offer for the Free Apps! See below for a sample of the email. All Apps will also include ads promoting our employee engagement white papers. Due to the expected rise in download volume we anticipate a increase in leads from the Apps. Watch out for keycode "DaleCarnegieTrainingAPP_FreePromo" all leads with that code originated on one of the apps.

 

In addition to the email, we will be issuing a press release announcing this special promotion on May 16th.

 

 

What You Can Do:

 

Following this announcement email we will be sending another email (next week) with tools you can use to promote this new offer. The tools will be available on sales.dalecarnegie.com>special promotions>free app promo 

• Sell Sheet - Promote Apps in person to Clients, Prospects, and in the Classroom (Promote in Employee Engagement Workshops!)
• Exact Target Template - email your database with the Free Offer (available in Exact Target)
• Press Release Template - Share press release with local media

 

 

 

Dale Carnegie Training Apps:

 

 

Secrets of Success (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/app/secrets-of-success/id353989685?mt=8

 

Secrets of Success (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=iperdesign.secretssuccess#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwiaXBlcmRlc2lnbi5zZWNyZXRzc3VjY2VzcyJd

 

Secrets of Success in the Digital Age (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/secrets-success-digital-age/id633991395?mt=8

 

Personal Leadership (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dale-carnegie-training-personal/id433493981?mt=8&ls=1

 

Team Leadership (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dale-carnegie-training-team/id443176884?mt=8

 

Company Leadership (Apple): https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dale-carnegie-training-company/id486419547?mt=8

 

*Free promotion also includes Arabic, Portuguese, and Spanish available on the App Store!!

Dale Carnegie Training Releases “Secrets To Success” App

HAUPPAUGE, NY (December, 2012) – Dale Carnegie Training®, the international leader in performance-based workforce training and solutions, announces the release of their extremely successful smartphone application “Secrets to Success” (http://www.dalecarnegie.com/app/) for all Android smartphones. Originally released in 2010 in the iTunes App Store, Secrets to Success reached the number one spot within the Business Paid App category in the first week of its release. Now, it will now be available for £0.63 on Google Play’s Android App Store. The launch on the Android platform will give even more users access to Dale Carnegie Training’s invaluable tips and information.


The application outlines basic human relations principles and shares easy-to-follow tips, techniques and daily “confidence boosters” exclusive to Dale Carnegie Training’s world-renowned workshops and courses. Features of the application include the ability to share the app content with social media networks including Facebook and Twitter. In addition, users can now register for a free Dale Carnegie course in any country where the course is offered, and find their local DCT office easily with the touch of a button.

"Releasing the Secrets of Success application for Android devices brings the helpful and effective tips of Dale Carnegie Training to an even broader crowd," remarks Peter Handal, Chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training. “With the job market more competitive than ever, it is advantageous for everyday smartphone users to access Dale Carnegie’s guiding principles while on-the-go.”

Functions available for the downloadable application include:
• The ability to register for a "free" Dale Carnegie Course Session
• Sharing app content via social media networks
• The ability to search easily for a local DCT office
• Valuable tips on team member engagement, leadership development, sales effectiveness, customer service, presentation effectiveness, process improvement and more
• Daily doses of confidence from some of history’s best thought leaders
• Video demos of the secrets to success in action


About Dale Carnegie Training®

Dale Carnegie Training® partners with middle market and large corporations as well as organizations to produce measurable business results by improving the performance of employees with emphasis on leadership, sales, team building and interpersonal relations, customer service, public speaking and presentations and other essential management skills. The courses are available in 30 languages throughout the world; they cover the entire United States and reach over 85 countries. Dale Carnegie Training® includes as its clients 400 of the Fortune 500 companies. Approximately eight million people have experienced Dale Carnegie Training®.

Dale Carnegie’s corporate specialists work with individuals, groups and organizations to design solutions that unleash your employees’ potential, enabling your organization to reach the next level of performance. Dale Carnegie Training® offers public courses, seminars and workshops, as well as in-house customized training, corporate assessments, online learning and one-on-one coaching.

Attitude Control in Tough Service Situations

Companies are facing unprecedented pressure from the financial crisis. As a result, many of their employees may get nervous and start complaining emotionally to their vendors - you! Here are 8 tips you can use to help you and your customer service team control stress and worry in tough situations:


Live in a compartment of the present.

The professional with a commitment to service seals off each interaction with a customer so that negative experiences don't poison future interactions. Don't allow past successes or failures or future anticipated success or difficulties influence your current performance. When it comes to customer service, live in the moment.

Don't fuss about trifles.

A "trifle" is something that is insignificant in comparison to other things in your life. When you focus on trifles, you lose perspective. Keep the bigger picture in mind. Doing so will help you objectively sort out the small stuff from the important issues.

Cooperate with the inevitable.

Realise when your situation is inevitable. If you can learn to recognise situations where you have no control, you can gain some control over the emotional aspects of the situation. By cooperating with the outcome, you are making a conscious choice about how to respond to an inevitable situation.   Decide just how much anxiety a situation is worth and refuse to give it any more of your energy.

Once you make this decision, it is easier to find ways you can improve on the situation or let it go and move on.

Create happiness for others.

This principle appeals to your nobler motives. It is difficult to sustain a negative attitude when you are doing something good or helpful for someone else. Simply put: Doing good for others makes you feel better.

Expect ingratitude.

In your job, you provide many diverse services. When you do so, you probably expect in return some signal of gratitude for your assistance. This expectation is rarely met. If you do receive heartfelt thanks from someone, you should count yourself lucky you are dealing with a grateful person. Most people are simply not accustomed to being grateful, even when you provide them with excellent service. You shouldn't let ingratitude deter you from providing top-quality service.

Put enthusiasm into your work.

Enthusiasm is the positive energy and sustained effort that keeps you driving toward your goals. Making a decision to have a positive outlook can be critical in enjoying your job and working with your internal and external customers.

Do the very best you can.

It can be difficult to deal with criticism, especially if you feel it is undeserved or if it hurts your self-esteem. One way to put criticism in perspective is to ask yourself if you are doing the very best you can with what you know and are able to do. If you are, then you can avoid taking the criticism personally. If there is room for improvement in your performance, you can look at the criticism objectively and take responsibility for improving your performance.

Jack Petchey CBE Honored With The Dale Carnegie Leadership Award

On September 20th 2012, Mr Peter V. Handal, Chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training flew in from the United States of America to present Jack Petchey CBE with the prestigious Dale Carnegie Leadership Award.
The Leadership Award recognises organisations or individuals who have truly demonstrated that the development of their organisation has been achieved through a commitment to the development of people.
In his first years of business Jack Petchey, now aged 87, picked up a copy of the infamous book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. It was a moment that changed his life! He promptly signed up for a Dale Carnegie Course and that decision was one that undoubtedly contributed to him becoming one of London’s most successful entrepreneurs.

Jack’s entrepreneurial ventures have spanned travel, property and investments. He founded companies, such as Petchey Holdings Plc and Petchey Leisure, turning them into multi-million pound empires. But he is perhaps best known by many for his commitment to supporting youth projects, predominantly across his home turf of London and Essex. In the last 12 years he has sought to inspire a generation through The Jack Petchey Foundation, a charitable trust that has invested well over £75 million into raising young people’s aspirations, rewarding their achievements and encouraging them to achieve more in life.

From humble beginnings, Jack was born in 1925 to poor working class parents in Plaistow, East London. Despite leaving school at the age of 14 with no qualifications, he had already begun to demonstrate the entrepreneurial skills that would aid his later success. Following his discharge from the Fleet Air Arm in 1947 he invested his whole life savings (nearly £60) in a car to found a car hire business.

His exposure to Dale Carnegie Training gave him the self-belief and skills to build his business and to go on to found many more!

All his life he has carried a commitment to the basic principles of management learnt through Dale Carnegie. His belief in reward as a powerful motivator for change has been implemented in his staff reward schemes and now been developed even further through the Jack Petchey Award Scheme, operating in over 2000 youth clubs and schools across London and Essex. Another saying from Dale Carnegie was “Don’t criticise, condemn or complain” and to this day Jack carries a small cardboard disc in his pocket as a permanent reminder! His aim has always been to encourage staff to give their best.

Now, with a focus on the work of the Foundation, his heart’s desire is to enable young people to access the ‘power’ of positive thinking, to believe in themselves, to learn how to capture their dreams and turn them into reality by setting goals, learning new skills and sheer dogged determination! With this in mind he is currently exploring some new training programmes to be delivered to young people through schools.

It is only the second time that this Award has been approved and awarded by the Board of Directors of Dale Carnegie Training to a businessman in London, “and there is none more deserving than Jack!” says Clive Thompson, of Dale Carnegie, London.

The Dale Carnegie Leadership Award, established in 1985, was given to The Ford Motor Company that same year and in subsequent years to such well known organisations as Coca-Cola, Adidas, Boeing, Four Seasons Hotel, Daimler-Chrysler and SAS Scandinavian Airlines.

Jack Petchey joins a long chain of the world’s greatest businessmen and through his Foundation it is hoped his legacy will be to continue to inspire a generation. Jack said: “I feel really proud to accept this award, Dale Carnegie was such an inspiration for me; I just hope that future generations of young people will be able to see that they can achieve – if they really believe they can, they can!”

London 2012 What an Inspiration

Wow what an eventful 2 weeks! Who would have thought that Team GB would have finished 3rd in the tables? Can you remember where you were on ‘Super Saturday’? I remember shouting at the television with the family as Jessica Ennis, sprinted to the finishing line as she won gold in the Heptathlon, then a few minutes later cheering as the lovely Greg Rutherford took home gold in the long jump, and then moments later, jumping for joy as Mo Farah won the countries first gold in the 10,000 meters in over 100 years.

1 week on and I still get goose bumps thinking about some of these events.


You could write & reminisce for hours over the wonderful achievements that Team GB have achieved, not just in winning medals, but the way the whole country united together and what an inspiration every athlete has been. There are not many people who would get a fractured jaw as a result of getting wacked with a hockey stick, and will be back on the pitch 3 days later like Kate Walsh, then successfully achieve bronze in the tournament.

Working and living in London, I have experienced the other side of the Olympics as well, and the atmosphere around the city has been electric. Just walking around, every street was filled with red, blue & white in all different forms, from flags, to buildings and clothing. Every bar and pub would have an event showing, and you would hear silence as the athletes were about to start their journey to the finish line. That silence would last for spilt of a second, as it was shortly followed by cheering and shouting.

The Olympics has changed the country and lifted our spirits in these difficult times. Children and adults of all ages have been inspired & motivated to take up a sport, or to hold their own family version of the Olympics, and it does make you proud to be British, and is an experience that we will relive forever.

Well done Team GB on everything that you have achieved!

High turnover?


Is your organizational performance not of a high standard?

Talented staff, but not sure how to inspire them?

The charted institute for personnel & development recently stated in their publication ‘Becoming an employee of choice’ that ‘70% of people leave their employer and not their job.’ When employees feel inspired and engaged by their manager they will contribute more, take fewer sick days and focus more on satisfying customers.

Engaged employees make a difference to your organizations performance both today and in the future. With our free seminar you can learn to deliver creative and powerful messages to those individuals who can help your organization the most. Develop inspiring ideas to engage your talent staff and engage those individuals in your business who can make a difference.

The Engaging Talent Seminar on Thursday 2nd August, 8:45am - 10:45am plans to be thee FREE seminar event of the year.

Join today, to guarantee your seat for the most engaging event you have been too. For more information please don’t hesitate to contact us on 02073794323

Employment means winning the hearts as well as the minds of employees.

Trains run on tracks for a reason

Trains run on tracks for a reason

Take the most reliable train on the UK network, the Parry People Mover, and put it on a Tarmac road. What happens? Well this great piece of simple technology will end up going all over the place, ruin the tarmac, have lots of disgruntled passengers, and become less reliable every minute it runs. In fact in a very short space of time it will be put out of service as it is of no use to anyone.

Such my friends it what we expose ourselves to each any every day. No, this is nothing to do with the train or tube you get to travel on to work each day. What it is to do with is the guidance system we operate within, in order to deliver the results we need for our organisation. It is the tracks the train runs on that makes it efficient and gives it direction. The ease with which it slides over the track makes each journey enjoyable.

So, to our business then. What are your tracks? Is it the strategy, the business plan, project plans, personal developments and career plans? Maybe it's the appraisal process, the performance systems or the CRM. Is it the relationship we have with our boss or our colleagues, our clients and suppliers?

Well, it's all of these and for most of us it is truly ALL of these. If just one goes wrong we are inefficient. When more that one goes wrong we become frustrated, annoyed, perhaps angry and stressed. What about if we workforce an organisation without these 'tracks' to guide and smooth our progress? The answer is as unthinkable as it is unfortunate.

Knowing how to develop these tracks and build our business around sound principles that create efficient organisations takes knowledge, skill and a positive attitude that they will deliver the results.

For evidence that they will, give us a call and we'll show you how.

Top Tips For Communicating In The Digital Age

Mark Fitzmaurice of Dale Carnegie, shares his top tips for communicating on social media platforms, in the Bdaily Business Network.

There’s no doubt that technology and social media has transformed the way we communicate, both in a work and home environment. For all the advantages however, there are various pitfalls that have the potential to damage your reputation and do you and your business more harm than good.

To mark its 100-year anniversary, learning and development organisation Dale Carnegie has updated and re-released its classic ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’, originally written in the 1930’s, to identify with the scenarios facing businesspeople in an age of increasing technology.

Many of the key principles Dale Carnegie set out all those years ago still apply today and have been adapted to suit the modern age. They include:

1. Take your criticism offline. Little good comes from public humiliation, whether it’s by Tweet or blog post. The rise of anonymous message boards and online comments seems to incubate negativity, but engaging in that kind of back-and-forth does little good.
2. Commit to self-improvement instead. Instead of telling other people what they could do better, save the harshest criticism for yourself.
3. Focus on other people’s interests, not your own. This might be a hard one to follow but social media users must resist the temptation to talk about themselves. Instead, ask about others, comment and inquire about their own updates, and focus on what interests them, not you.
4. Engage with others. Social media, after all, is all about interaction, and people use those platforms with the hope of hearing directly from their favourite author, celebrity, or company. Companies like Zappos take advantage of this fact and use social media to build their brands.
5. Smile. Recent research that analysed Facebook profiles found that people who frown in photos tend to be on the outskirts of social networks instead of in the centre of them. In other words, smiling gets you more friends (and influence).
6. Spread positivity. On that same note, if you can make other people smile, you’ll also grow your own popularity. Tweeting positive thoughts is far more effective than tweeting negative ones. In fact, skip negative Tweets and posts altogether.
7. Don’t argue. Has anyone ever won a back-and-forth over Twitter? Or by leaving snarky comments on an online article? Even if the answer is “yes”, the potential damage to your reputation by such an exchange makes public arguments bad ideas.
8. Engage and be responsive. One of the best way to build your network either personally or in business is to engage with others and be responsive to other people’s needs.
9. Be a good listener. Even on line, listen to what people are saying, look for the message behind the message, sometimes people will say things on line that they won’t say out loud, we just need to listen in a different way
10. Make other people feel valued and important. In any that you can, on line or off line if you make people feel valued and important they will be loyal to you and give you much more in return


For more information on how Dale Carnegie can help you in the digital age, contact us, or purcahse the How To Win Friends and Influence People In The Digital Age which is available in all good retailers.


Stephanie Fletcher

To continue reading this article visit
http://bdaily.co.uk/news/technology/10-05-2012/1336492916-top-tips-for-communicating-in-the-digital-age/

The value of Teamwork

There has been a new addition to my household recently. One which has bought uncontained joy into the hearts of my family and myself. It was a long and hard struggle to get their but the delivery eventually took place on Friday 11th May at 12:16pm. Comments from friends have poured in telling how beautiful the pictures I’ve taken are. I’ve wanted one for such a long time and to finally get one for so cheap I am over the moon. I never thought I’d see the day…. but today I can say, with a beaming smile across my face that I have my very own exercise bike.

I’m sure many of you have found yourself in the position I currently face. You’ve purchased an item and it has arrived in bits for you to assemble. You take out the parts and place them in random order on the floor. Taking out the instructions, you attempt to familiarise your self with pages of diagrams, complimented by very little written instruction, as though the pictures accompanied by a frenzy of arrows should be sufficient for you to know how to assemble your newly purchased wonder. Suddenly, my exercise bike wasn’t as glamorous as when first arrived.

It did however get me thinking. Like me, you may have heard numerous quotations about teamwork like;

‘Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.'


‘A unit is only as strong as its weakest link.'

'Teamwork is essential - it allows you to blame someone else.'

Okay maybe scrap the last one but my point is we’ve all at one time been lectured on the importance of teamwork. Putting together my bike however, it was reinforced to me that we all have a part to play in the team / organisation we work for and if we do not work to our fullest capacity, the collective will never be as successful as it could be. Take my bike as an example. If I had no handlebars then I’d have nothing to grip, if I had no pedals then I could not generate any movement and if I had no saddle…well a trip to A+E would be on the horizon.

Keep teamwork at the forefront of your mind. Ensure that not only are you seeking your teams help but make sure you’re available to help others. Encourage those around you and praise them for their achievements. Be accountable to one another and ensure that unity is at the forefront of everything you do but above all else…above all else…if you know anyone who’s constructed an exercise bike before, get them in touch with Dale Carnegie London as that saddle won’t attach itself.

Power of Presentations

Last week Wednesday I had the enjoyable experience of being part of a judging panel for the Jack Petchy Foundation, Speak Out competition.

This competition provides a platform for young children between the ages of 14 - 16 from previously disadvantaged areas to talk for 3 minutes about a topic which they are passionate about.

I was involved in the Hackney regional final, where the winner of this event stood the chance of presenting in front of 900 guests at the main gala event on the 2nd July.

At the event there were 15 youths who took to the stage with enthusiasm and passion, whereby each took the opportunity to persuade us with their personal ideas. I was extremely impressed with the level of the presenters, conscious that many of these youths mostly likely never had a platform to present to such a large audience.

We had to mark the presenters in three areas namely, content, deliver and structure.
The overall winner was a young lady who talked about gang wars and how youths are killing each other over the simplicity of a entering their territory which is defined by the post code they live in. When she arrived at the stage she went straight into the incident of when she was personally involved in a turf war scuffle, using excellent body language and vocal verity she allowed the audience to get a glimpse of what it's like to be right in the middle of a extremely hostile and dangerous time a place. At the end of the 3 minutes she left us with a defining question of is it really worth dying over a postcode?

But the evenings success was not just one talented young lady but each and every one of the presenters, because it showed me how important it is to empower our youth. The evening also taught me how getting on stage really develops a person's self confidence. I'm sure everyone of those participants are looking to the future with more confidence that they will be able to secure employment and go on to become leaders of the future.

Therefore I encourage you after reading this blog to see where you can get involved to empower the youths of the future.

Mark de Stadler

Cold Calling Test

This True/False test will help clarify some common myths and misperceptions about cold calling. We've based the "correct" responses on research found in books written specifically on cold calling and on our own experience as a global sales training provider.

Keep in mind that some of these questions could have different correct responses in special cases. So be sure to answer from a general sales perspective rather than from the perspective of a unique selling situation.

1. The only goal for any business-to-business cold call should be to schedule an appointment.

TRUE: Salespeople often make the mistake of selling their solutions when cold calling. This is a big mistake.. Sell only one thing at a time. If the person is willing to talk now, focus on getting the appointment.

2. Cold calling will generally generate results that are just as good as referrals.

FALSE: Referrals tend to have higher closing ratios for appointments.

3. It is not a high priority to qualify prospects when cold calling. The key is to set up as many appointments as possible.

FALSE: Save time for you and your prospects by ensuring you have qualified leads before taking the time to make and attend an appointment with a prospect.

4. You should leave a message for the buyer when you get voicemail instead of the actual person.

TRUE: Never miss an opportunity to leave a positive impression about you and your company. Also, remember that many people use caller ID. They may be wondering why you called and then failed to leave a message.

5. Most salespeople stop cold calling a prospect after four tries.

TRUE: Unfortunately, most salespeople give up after only four tries.

6. After you've made a certain number of cold calls, it becomes less important to keep records of your results.

FALSE: Most salespeople hate paperwork and keeping records, but it is the only way to find out what is working. And just because something works (or doesn't) this year, that doesn't mean it won't change next year...or next week.

7. Always make friends with the gatekeeper.

FALSE: Good relationships with gatekeepers can be a salesperson's best asset. These individuals can give you a positive look into the customer's organisation. So you should always be friendly with the gatekeeper, but you don't need to necessarily befriend the gatekeeper. These individuals may feel that your interest is an intrusion and suspect that you are trying to manipulate them, or they just may never have contact with any decision-makers in the company. Be cautious about feeling that you are making great progress when you could be wasting your time and theirs.

8. If a prospect doesn't want to talk to you, it's probably personal.

FALSE: You have no idea what is going on in a person's world when you cold call. Remember not to take anything personally.

9. Less information is better when leaving a voicemail.

TRUE: Thirty seconds is about as long as you can hold someone's attention with a voice mail.

10. Experienced salespeople don't do prospecting anymore and develop all their business from current clients and referrals.

FALSE: Over time, we all lose customers because they go out of business, relocate, change their business, and for a host of other reasons. Experienced salespeople plan for this loss of clientele and continue to look for new prospects.

11. Experienced professionals use scripts when prospecting on the phone.

TRUE: Scripts help us make sure we are using the words with the maximum impact on prospects. Professionals practice them enough so that they don't sound like scripts.

12. Cold calling doesn't have to be a constant activity. Once your business gets going, you should be able to eliminate it.

FALSE: The majority of your business should eventually come from existing clients and referrals, but if you stop cold calling, you are missing potentially valuable business opportunities


Corina Balaneanu

One in four managers 'don't know how bad they are'

It has been reported in todays Telegraph, that millions of managers fail to realise “how bad they are at managing”, which is undermining company efforts to boost productivity and growth.

One in four of the UK’s line managers – almost 2m people – have an inflated opinion of their ability to lead teams, the study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has claimed.

Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD, said: “Management capability continues to be an Achilles heel for UK plc, despite mounting evidence that these are ‘skills for growth’.

“Too many employees are promoted into people management roles because they have good technical skills, then receive inadequate training and have little idea of how their behaviour impacts on others.”

If you are 1 in 4 managers who spends more time dealing with stressed staff, absence or conflict, rather than providing high-quality feedback to their teams, or if you have been promoted to management, and do not want to become a "bad manager", then come to our free Inspirational Leadership seminar, or contact us for further information on our Leadership Training for Managers, where we can ensure that you become more than a "good leader", but a "great" inspiration.

Stephanie Fletcher

To read more on this article visit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/9241249/One-in-four-managers-dont-know-how-bad-they-are.html

What's your motivation?

I don’t know about you but I love setting myself little goals to complete (or not so little if you include a house renovation). Sometimes it’s about saving money for that holiday, losing weight to get into THAT dress or collecting £xxx from our customers per month.

But sometimes we may falter along the way and find that we don’t want to refuse that big piece of chocolate cake at the restaurant, or simply that we have lost our motivation.

So here are some tips to keep on going if you are finding it tough:

Once you’ve set yourself a deadline make a conscious effort to review your progress a third of the way through or sooner if possible. Look at how it’s going and if there is anything you are struggling with.

Look at what isn’t working and why?

Are there any patterns to why it isn’t working?

Make a small change to what you are doing to get yourself back on track. For instance if you aren’t saving up for that holiday as quickly as you would like is there anything else you can cut back on to save money? If your customers are not paying as quickly as they promised, can you get the sales team involved in talking to the client?

Don’t give up! If you want to get into THAT dress, go look at it, imagine yourself in it. If you want to go on holiday, imagine yourself lying on that sunlounger or taking in the city’s delights. And if you have a project at work that isn’t going as smoothly as you would like, talk to your boss and explain your situation. Ask for help and assistance to get back on track. Discuss the deadline and see if it’s realistic.

Once you made some changes, set yourself another review date, preferably half way through, to see if the changes you have made are working. And when you have reached that goal, don’t forget to reward yourself, even if it’s a cup of tea with a slice of cake.

Helen Mills

How to Win Clients and Influence Referrals

(MoneyWatch) What's the difference between a customer and a client? A customer might be there for a transaction, but a client is there for a special relationship. The term dates back to ancient Rome when citizens would attach themselves to an aristocratic patron for protection and clout. Patrons took care of their clients and they were rewarded for it.

This column is for all of you out there who make your living selling to clients and want to attract more of them. To attract new clients, the best approach is to prove your expertise by giving away valuable information through writing and speaking. Actually, that isn't technically true. You should sell the information if you want to win clients and influence referrals. Here's how.

1. Follow Dale's lead. Unfortunately, many sales and marketing people who learn this truth find the idea of writing and speaking too daunting and even mysterious. Most feel this is only for a select few, but that is a miscalculated view. First comes the problem, then comes research, and finally presentation. Dale Carnegie is the role model to emulate. He wrote the original self-improvement book and was the first superstar of the self-help genre.

2. Do your homework. Carnegie wrote that he had searched for years to discover a practical, working handbook on human relations. He started by reading every scholarly book and magazine article he could find to ascertain how the great men and women of all ages had dealt with people. Then he interviewed scores of successful people to discover the techniques they used in human relations.

3. Speak up. From all that material, he prepared a short talk. He called it "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and it soon became a 90-minute lecture. Then the teacher learned from the students. Carnegie asked attendees to share their stories of how the principles helped them. First, he put the rules down on a postcard, which grew into a leaflet, then a series of booklets, each one expanding in size and scope. After 15 years of experiment and research came the book by the same title in 1937 as that original short talk. Of course, it has been a best seller ever since (if you haven't read it, you really should). The first edition had a print run of a mere 5,000, but the last time I checked it had sold more than 15 million copies.

4. Be the expert. During those 15 years of research, Dale Carnegie became the go-to guy for human relations. Thousands attended his training each year and he prospered. This also resulted in many consulting contracts. He is long gone, but his training company has continued to this day.
5. Make them pay. Those who sell high end services can fill a pipeline with qualified prospects in as little as 30 days by offering advice to prospects on how to overcome their most pressing problems. But don't do it for free. Charge for your seminars and the information will be valued more by your potential clients. The burden is also on you to research great information.

This strategy also helps those people who know, like and trust you enough to refer business to you. You can make these people a special deal: if they know someone who would value what you have to say, then your referral source can offer comp admission to your events on a space-available basis. Look what this does. You make the referral source feel special because they can hook people up. The prospects who attend still value the information more because there is a charge for it, and they feel even better because they didn't have to pay.

Happy Selling

Stephanie Fletcher

This article was written by Tom Searcy, and you can read more at http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505183_162-57415800-10391735/how-to-win-clients-and-influence-referrals/

Public speaking nightmare

You’re preparing to give a presentation to a group of your peers. As the time draws closer you notice your heart is beating twice as fast and your palms are getting sweaty. Your mind is plagued by thoughts of how this is going to go wrong. You tell yourself that your colleagues don’t even care what you're about to say, they’ll be bored of you after the first 30 seconds and all be playing with their phones by the time you reach your conclusion.

A polite round of applause welcomes you to the front of the room. You feel a small bead of sweat trickle down from your brow and you stutter in your first sentence. A polite cough echoes around the eerily silent room. The computer has frozen and isn’t moving onto the next slide. Make a joke about it? Pretend like you don’t need the power point you worked so hard on? People shuffle in their seats, growing impatient as the temperamental soul that is technology brings your whole presentation to a halt.

Panic overwhelms you. You’ve lost sight of where you were and frantically look through your notes that now seem like a language unknown. You start to rush your words, desperate for the ordeal to be over. You care no longer whether your presentation makes sense or conveys the point you intended. You conclude your message half heartedly and the same polite applause accompanies you back to your chair. You sink back, wishing you would fall straight through the chair, the floor and into a place where presentations were not a part of your job.

Any of that sound familiar?

Dale Carnegie work with thousands of individuals who have felt the same worries, anxieties and doubt over their public speaking as you do and seek to develop those skills to ensure they no longer need panic when in front of a crowd. We can work with you to make sure you engage your audience, use positive tone and body language and provide you with confidence that once you’ve finished your presentation, you can sit down knowing the message you wanted to put across, has been received.

We will be running a complimentary preview to one of our Presentations development programmes (High Impact Presentations) on Thursday 10th May. For more information give us a call on 0207 379 4323.

Brett Mills

Stand by your Principles

At the heart of everything we do as an organisation is Dale Carnegie’s thirty human relations principles. These principles have been with the organisation for many years and the Dale Carnegie itself is celebrating its Centenary in October of this year.

Below is a list of the first 9 principles which covers the foundations of becoming a friendlier person.

Don't criticize, condemn, or complain.
Give honest and sincere appreciation.
Arouse in the other person an eager want.
Become genuinely interested in other people.
Smile.
Remember that a person's name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.

At first glance you may think to yourself that these prinicples are common knowledge. This is true, however they are not common practice.

Look at the list and again and really ask yourself:

How many of these principles am I actually applying?
How often do I apply them?
Which ones do I find really challenging and why?

If these priniciples and questions resonate with you I would encourage you to attend the opening session of our Skills for Success course on the 8th May for free.

You can register for this event by getting in touch with any of our consultants on 0207 379 4323

Amar Garcha

The Natural Networker

It has been said and demonstrated for many years that in life and the context of opportunity ‘It’s not what you know but who you know’ and yet on many occasions, I myself have often thought ‘but I don’t really know anyone in that area/field/sector’ etc.

In the past this perception has stopped me and others I know from exploring the art of networking to open new doors or source fresh opportunities. When asked their perception of networking success, people have described many varying versions of a common misconception.

Images such as powerful ‘movers and shakers’ at private members-only clubs tend to come to mind. Smokey bar’s filled with Public School ‘bods’ is another common view, albeit exaggerated somewhat. Conversely people have described quite fruitless events filled with empty conversations and prospectors operating only on their own agenda. Shame really as it can be such a powerful skill for you and others when conducted in a genuine way.

Yet what I have come to find is that venue or event is irrelevant to some extent, as networking can become second nature once you decide to truly listen, engage and take a genuine interest in other people. Seems easy? Well it does become so once you have practiced just connecting people’s needs, wishes, desires and expectations with what others have to offer in whichever way. There doesn’t always have to be a fee either.

What does this mean in practice? Each person you feel you know will have at some point discussed a need or want that they have, be that a work requirement, a personal wish or something that has emerged as a need from a change in circumstance.

For some of us, after practice, we simply engage our Network-thought-process and let our neurons do the work, after all connecting things in this way is a favourite activity of the brain already.

The ‘6 degrees of separation’ soon becomes very apparent. You will quickly find that somewhere along the chain of your family, friends, acquaintances and/or contacts lies a direct route to somebody who could influence a beneficial outcome to that requirement, need, want or desire.

I guess the first step is to put more effort into listening and questioning to understand people’s needs, want etc. That way you are more likely to match a contact much more effectively.

Happy connecting,

Angelina Foden

To trust or not to trust that is the BIG question ?

"Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“If I can’t trust you, then I can’t work with you – end of story.”- Leadership Blogger Dan McCarthy

“Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work.”- Leadership Guru Warren Bennis

So are you a trustworthy leader? Have a look at the list below of 20 postive traits of a trustworthy leader . Sure, everybody may do a few of these now and then. However, if there’s a consistent pattern of multiple behaviors, then I’d say there’s a serious case for you to be seen as a trustworhy leader.

So the BIG question is, how many of these 20 traits do you think your team members would associate with you and what are you gonna do in the next week to use more of them ?

1. You do what you said you were going to do.
2. You under promise and over deliver.
3. You’re predictable and consistent.
4. You always have no hidden agenda.
5. You rarely agree just to avoid conflict.
6. You make time in your diary to have 1 on 1 monthly catch up sessions with team members
7. 99% of the time you finish anything you start.
8. You have a reputation that says you can be trusted.
9. You’re always willing to take a stand.
10. You always have time to listen to others.
11. You are interested in what’s important to others.
12. You shun gossip about other people.
13. You make decisions but explain how and why you came to that decision.
14. You rarely change your plans or mind but if you do, you explain why.
15. You come across as compassionate and empathetic to others .
16. You admit your mistakes or acknowledge your weaknesses.
17. You represent other’s views.
18. You always strive to achieve your objectives.
19. You rarely sugarcoat the truth.
20. You never see others as a threat when they are successful .

Please reply if you have anything to add to the list?

Mark de Stadler

Dale Carnegie Consultant

New Carnegie Success Story

With over 5000 installations throughout the world, Fabric Architecture has been specialising in the design, engineering, manufacture and installation of tensile fabric structures since 1984. They are experienced in both custom design-and-build structures as well as offering a range of pre-designed and pre-engineered Signature Structures. Their main operations are based in the UK and the United States with an office in Abu Dhabi.

“Fabric Architecture is poised for major growth and our partnership with Dale Carnegie will ensure our people have the best skills to deliver the results we need.”

- Debra Drew, Managing Director, Fabric Architecture

Challenge
In order to further grow business Fabric Architecture realised that they needed to change the structure of the organisation.

Solution
Dale Carnegie Training provided a customised solution focusing on leadership, sales and communication.

Results
The sub-contractor work force grew by 70% and the company achieved a 26% sales growth over the previous year. Also, by changing the approach to being customer centric, closing rates on proposals rose by 23%.

Corina Balaneanu

Techniques for Effective Cold Calling

Pre-Approach
The pre-approach gives you the knowledge and power to have informed discussions with prospects. Analyzing prospect data will help you tailor your approach. But don’t let the pre-approach slow you down and become a barrier to making the sale. Sometimes picking up the phone or dropping in on prospect is the best course of action.

Six "must knows" before picking up the phone
1. Key information about the industry, company, and people
2. Specific key issues and needs they are facing
3. Evidence of your past results with similar customers
4. Common ground or contacts
5. Specific call objectives
6. An appropriate call opening

Whether you’re making an appearance or using the telephone, the sales process doesn’t change. But using the phone presents a different set of challenges that you need to be aware of and prepare for. Some of these challenges are:

• It’s easy for customers to avoid you.
• Many people see incoming phone calls as an interruption.
• Attention spans on the phone are dramatically shorter than in face-to-face meetings.
• You can’t see customer reactions.
• Body language, a major communication tool in face-to-face meetings, is eliminated.
• It’s easy for a customer to do something else while talking to you.
• Technology can make getting to the right person challenging.
Develop your cold calling skills and grow your customer base with Dale Carnegie Training's Live Online Training Program.