Work-at-Home Solutions Are Transforming Call Center Operations
At-home agents can be as productive, if not more so, as those in the contact center.
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Like many companies, COLA, a nonprofit firm that offers accreditation, consulting, and education services to clinical labs, was initially apprehensive about positioning its entire contact center staff to work from home, even if it was temporary. Larry Senior, COLA's director of network services, was concerned that the 80 employees who normally worked out of the company's Columbia, MD, headquarters would not be able to do the same work at home as they do in the office during a four-month renovation, but of equal concern was the data security issue.
As is the case with so many at-home agent deployments, recent technology advancements ameliorated his concerns. "There are so many solutions available today that lock down equipment, applications, and data, and even monitor employee navigation during the course of the day," observes Michele Rowan, president of Customer Contact Strategies, a consulting, training, and research firm. "Security is no longer a barrier to entry in the work-at-home [area] for contact centers. It's purely a matter of choosing the strategies and technologies that meet individual business objectives." For COLA, the right technology was Interactive Intelligence's Customer Interaction Center (CIC), an Internet-based communications suite that includes remote support capabilities so that home-based employees can access the same communications applications as their on-site colleagues. CIC, which offers automatic call distribution, unified messaging, voicemail, desktop faxing, conferencing, and more, also lets managers monitor home-based employees with real-time presence dashboards. "Because of the technology," Senior says, "people didn't feel like they missed anything by not being in the office." The company didn't miss anything either. "It didn't matter where the employee was. We were able to monitor everyone. The system could see every employee just as well as if they were sitting side by side in the office," Senior says. To COLA's surprise, key business metrics actually held steady or increased while agents worked from home during the renovations, from October 2013 to February of this year. Sales hit record levels, and customer satisfaction held steady in some areas and improved in others. The company's contact center handles about 7,000 incoming calls per month, and "customers didn't even know the staff was virtual when they called," Senior says. The work-from-home model worked so well that COLA has kept the option for some of its employees, even now that the renovations have been completed. "Being virtual has not taken anything away from the organization," Senior says. A growing trendCOLA is certainly not alone in allowing employees to work from home. Currently in the United States, 26.2 million workers (almost 20 percent) telecommute at least part of the time, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.In the contact center space, roughly 80 percent of U.S. businesses now employ some work-at-home agents, who number about 100,000 nationwide. These agents answer inbound customer calls for companies such as J.Crew, 1-800-Flowers.com, Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, Walgreens, and many others. Forrester Research earlier this year predicted that 34 percent of businesses with contact centers would expand their work-at-home agent pools in 2014. Looking even further ahead, Ovum expects the work-at-home agent pool to reach 160,000 by the end of 2017, growing at a rate of 17.5 percent annually, which analyst Peter Ryan says is approximately twice the rate of growth expected for the brick-and-mortar contact center outsourcing market. "The American workplace is changing. Technology has extended our ability to work from home or remotely during the hours we choose, giving us the opportunity to balance our lives and ultimately be more productive, healthier, and happier," observes Sara Sutton Fell, founder and CEO of FlexJobs, a provider of services to help workers find flexible employment opportunities. But a work-at-home strategy doesn't come without some effort and sacrifice. When moving to a remote working environment, "the channels, methods, and tools we utilize to convey values will change," Rowan says. "Managers need to be thoroughly prepared to effectively lead remote teams, with soft skills, modified business processes, and technologies to support them." Working on the WebFor call centers, the Internet is key to the entire work-at-home model. Employees, first and foremost, can't do anything at home without a strong and reliable broadband Internet connection."Everything is browser-based now, so it can be accessed from anywhere," says Ann Ruckstuhl, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at LiveOps, a provider of cloud-based virtual call center software. "Everything can be provisioned through servers in the cloud." The result, she says, can be "a zero-footprint contact center from end to end." Having contact center systems and software positioned in the cloud "is the way to go if you're going to allow people to work at home," adds Jennifer Waite, product marketing manager at inContact. "The cloud gives you the ability to have technology with you wherever you are. You don't have to set anything up. [The system] just needs to know where to route the work." Research firm MarketsandMarkets expects huge growth in the cloud-based contact center market, predicting growth from $4.15 billion today to $10.9 billion in 2019, representing a compound annual growth rate of 21.3 percent. As the figures show, the cloud has seen strong demand and growth in the contact center market for the past few years, particularly in the areas of automatic call distribution, interactive voice response (IVR), dialers, agent performance optimization, computer telephony integration software, analytics and reporting, and workforce optimization (WFO), according to the firm's research. Also continuing to gain in popularity is the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) softphone. Though traditionally used with desktop and laptop computers, new capabilities are making it possible for agents to turn their mobile phones into VoIP extensions that can be used anywhere. Lon Baker, chief operating officer at VirtualPBX, a provider of hosted VoIP phone services to small and midsized businesses, says updated softphone technology means that high-quality calls can now be made over 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi networks. He says the softphone is a "breakthrough" technology that is often offered at little to no cost and provides all the functionality of traditional desk phones, including business caller ID. Phone systems like these are on a sharp climb, while sales of premises-based phone systems have been stagnant to declining for the past few years, according to Infonetics Research. That's not expected to change any time soon, particularly as Web Real-Time Communications (WebRTC), an open-source gateway that allows for video and voice communications between multiple computers over the Internet, takes hold. WebRTC has already expanded the possibilities for the work-at-home contact center agent. "In the past, you needed a phone and Internet connection," Ruckstuhl says. "Now, with WebRTC, you can even get rid of the phone. You can take phone, email, chat, and social interactions right from a browser. You don't need hardware or installed software. Everything is very seamless and frictionless," she adds. Agents require little more than a browser and Wi-Fi access, according to Ruckstuhl, who notes that WebRTC transforms a browser into a full-featured agent desktop with a phone. Calls, she explains, are routed directly through the Web browser. Turning to LiveOps' WebRTC Solution, Intuitive Solutions, a managed contact center services provider for pizza franchisees, was able to employ work-at-home agents as needed, eliminating the need to build additional contact centers to handle call spikes. In addition to handling inbound and outbound calls, LiveOps WebRTC offers skills-based multichannel routing, advanced business insight with real-time and historical reporting, and seamless integration with the company's workforce management software. Intuitive Solutions has reported a 50 percent savings in total cost of ownership for its contact center as a result of the WebRTC technology, while also improving agent productivity and workforce utilization. "With WebRTC, you can see what's happening in real time and do something about it," Ruckstuhl maintains. "You do not have to look at it in the rearview mirror, when it's too late." Among the other benefits, WebRTC has yielded better speech quality for call center, analytics, biometrics, and call recording applications, according to Val Matula, senior director and head of emerging technologies at Avaya. But, for all its promise, WebRTC has not taken complete hold of the industry, because some of the bigger names in computing have yet to get on board. So far, Google and Mozilla support the WebRTC platform, but Apple and Microsoft do not. It's just a matter of time before they, too, adopt WebRTC, Matula says, noting that the world is moving "toward working on the Web and communicating right within the [browser]." Another technology development that has further empowered the work-at-home workforce is the online social community, built using products such as Microsoft's Yammer, Salesforce.com's Chatter, Jive, Lithium, and Google Hangouts. Through social communities, remote employees can communicate with their colleagues, engage in two-way virtual meetings, share information, give and receive training, and acknowledge the efforts of their peers. Meeting platforms such as Cisco's WebEx, Citrix's GoToMeeting, and Adobe Connect serve the same purpose. "The use of video is expanding, as it should," Rowan says. "In-person interactions are extremely valuable and can't be duplicated in the work-at-home model, but we can get close with the use of video." Waite says building a sense of community is important because "it's easy to feel isolated when you're working at home. "Sometimes you may need an extra lifeline," she says. "It makes [at-home agents] feel more bonded to the company...that they have a team of people around them as a resource." Webcams can help provide home agents with face-to-face contact with their supervisors, coaches, and colleagues, and give supervisors a sneak peek into the agent's work environment. As a backup, some companies are also requiring work-at-home agents to have a dedicated cell phone with email and instant messaging access so they can maintain constant contact during local power outages or Internet service interruptions. WFO provides visibilityWhile managing agents away from the office can be a challenge, there are a number of management tools that can function just as effectively in the virtual environment as in the brick-and-mortar environment. Workforce optimization solutions are chief among them."You want to let [agents] manage their own schedules...but you need to be able to see the status of the people where you're routing the work," Waite says. "[WFO] allows you to have total insight and oversight." WFO solutions today can bring together quality monitoring, call recording, workforce management, analytics, performance management, e-learning, coaching, and other capabilities and blend them with reporting capabilities that can alert supervisors about call volume, average handle time, and other factors so they can ensure that service levels do not slide when agents are not in the office. Supervisors will also need quality monitoring scorecards that are updated at least daily to show how each team member is performing against the relevant key performance indicators. Call recording becomes even more important because training is not as easy to organize with teams of agents scattered across many locations. But with the right recording software, supervisors can find examples of best-practice interactions and share them with agents regardless of their locations. Some organizations also use presence technology that automatically signals supervisors whenever agents log on, log off, go on break, take a call, and more. Of course, it is much easier to monitor employee behavior when the company provides the agent with the computer needed for the work. Furthermore, with company-provided equipment, a business can better control which software is installed and what the employee can do with it, Waite says. "If [a computer is] employee-owned, the company does not have as much of an ability to lock out what the employee does with it." But regardless of who owns the equipment, the company can run regular scans "to see what the employee does during her work hours," she adds. Appropriate workspacesThough some organizations permit the home-based agent's workspace to be in a shared area, ideally, a home-based agent should have a dedicated workspace that can be closed off from the rest of the home to minimize distractions and security lapses.Working with London-based vPod Solutions, Xerox can help in that regard. The two companies have been testing the vPod Cube prefabricated enclosure concept since mid-2012, and were hoping to have 50 vPods in production by now. The vPod Cube, which is comparable in size to a closet, uses telephony and videoconferencing services from Cisco Systems. Other features include louvered double doors; integrated LED ceiling lighting; power and data sockets; docks for laptops, tablets, and phones; desk lamp; cup holder; vase; wastepaper bin; pen tray; air purifier; and ergonomic, adjustable-height work desk. The vPod is insulated to be soundproof and can even be equipped with sensors that actively monitor and make sure the doors are shut tight when the agent is handling calls that could involve sensitive customer information. A few vPods have been tested at Xerox call centers. R.G. Conlee, senior vice president and chief innovation officer of Xerox Service, said in a statement that Xerox has already received a lot of input that it will use to improve the interiors. On a much smaller scale, LiveOps, Twilio, and Google have partnered to offer a contact center in a box that sells for $90 per month per agent. When businesses subscribe to the service, a fully equipped box arrives at agents' doors, and they can have a contact center up and running in a matter of minutes. The package includes either an Acer C270 Chromebook or Asus Chromebox computer, a Plantronics headset, 7,500 Twilio VoIP minutes per month, and a Chrome management console and support plan from Google. LiveOps pairs the package with its LiveOps Engage and LiveOps Voice Advantage for Salesforce products for call centers. In addition to voice, LiveOps enables its customers to mix and match five other channels, including chat, email, text message, Facebook, and Twitter. With Twilio CX for Chromebooks and LiveOps contact center applications, agents can provide service on all six channels starting at $280 per month or $3,360 per year. Licensing fees for similar on-premises products would cost about $12,000 per year, per agent, according to Ruckstuhl. For all the technology available—and there certainly is plenty of it today—experts are quick to point out that technology alone does not guarantee the success of a work-at-home program. "You need to trust the people you have working for you," Waite says. "You need to have people who are mature enough to handle that type of work environment." News Editor Leonard Klie can be reached at lklie@infotoday.com. |
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Kerja dari rumah, mengubah pola operasi Call Center
Saturday, November 1, 2014
6 Tip untuk Sales
6 Great Tips Sales People Can Implement Today
Oct 30 2014
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As someone who develops business in sales automation for Velocify, we often discuss the importance of automating the sales process so sales people can focus on selling. Here are 6 tips that you can execute today or use in your next sales meeting to help your team increase conversion.
- If you need the lowest price to sell something, you're not a sales person: Great sales people are able to discuss benefits, identify pain points and provide solutions to problems. If you sell by price, you'll die by price.
- Build Rapport: Sales People can sound robotic, ask a series of qualifying questions and quote a price hoping they'll be the chosen vendor. While the prospect is talking, we're thinking about our next statement or answer instead of truly listening. People often think of rapport as being a good talker when in fact it means being a great listener. People love to talk about themselves so let them. I'm not saying you should let people babble so you lose control of the conversation, but the more you listen, the more you'll learn about how to serve them and ultimately increase conversion. You have 2 ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak.
- Attitude: Sales people sometimes fail or hear "no" more often than they succeed so having a great attitude is imperative. People want to do business with charismatic professionals so when you're not fired-up; fake it till you make it.
- Ask for the Sale: According to Zig Ziglar, Tom Hopkins and many great sales trainers, the biggest reason sales aren't closed is because it was never asked for. Make it a habit to ask for the sale on every call. The word no means the prospect needs more information. If you've built rapport, you can verify pain points, discuss the benefits of your solution and ask for the sale again. A closed mouth doesn't get fed, ask for the sale!
- Believe: If you believe you're not going to hit your sales quota, you're right. If you believe the prospect you're speaking to isn't going to buy; you're right. Sure you'll win deals in spite of yourself from time to time, but a solid personal and organizational belief system is invaluable. Whether you believe you can or can't, you're right!
Sometimes as sales professionals we forget about the basic principles that got us to where we are today. If you've been struggling or need a boost in your sales metrics (who doesn't?) go back to basics and make it happen.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
11 hal dari sales berkualitas tinggi
Ever wondered what makes certain salespeople very successful? What are the qualities that they all share in common?
Since the beginning of my sales career, I was very intrigued by this question and devoted many hours to studying the top salespeople in my field to get an answer.
After a decade of first hand sales experience, education, interviews and observation, I believe to have identified 11 characteristics that the majority of the best salespeople all seem to share in common.
11) Top Salespeople know their WHY & that’s how they stay motivated.
The best salespeople exude never ending positive energy and stay highly motivated even when faced with tough obstacles and hardships. Top salespeople overcome adversity by staying laser focused on their goal and on their WHY! When they have a good enough WHY they will always find the HOW! Your WHY can be family, legacy or a childhood dream.
10) Top Salespeople are Goal Setters
Do you know your goal by heart? Do you have it written down? If your goal is not written down and posted somewhere where you can see it every day then it’s not really a goal just a wish. Click here if you want to learn more about how to optimize your goal setting. The top sales executives know what they are aiming for and have that image of themselves accomplishing their goal so sharp and crisp that it’s considered a Blu-ray compared to the average person’s VHS. Embrace the challenge and set goals that push you beyond your comfort zone. Average salespeople people set bare minimum goals while the top salespeople set STRETCH goals (it’s the reach of the stretch that makes them grow).
9) Top Salespeople are Persistent
Dr. Martin Luther King was a top producer, his work and life generated value that is still being appreciated today. His great accomplishments did not come easily and MLK heard a lot of NOs. Dr. King had to be very persuasive and persistent to get the results he was aiming for. MLK knew his value proposition and was confident that the solution he was presenting would create a better future for all. His persistence and dedication persuaded an entire country. You cannot beat a man that refuses to give up! He wasn’t pushy or self serving instead he was persistent and was looking out for everyone’s best interests and benefit.
8) Top Salespeople are Driven
This boils down to “How bad do you want it?” (if you haven’t seen ET the Hip Hop Preacher STOP right now and just watch this. Understanding ET’s message will be more valuable than anything else I’ve got to say here) are you willing to give up sleep? To put in the hard & long work hours? To do whatever it takes to reach your goal? Fully committing to success and to your goals is what drive is all about. The quote below is one of my favorite quotes from ET The Hip Hop Preacher which I keep framed on my wall at the office.
7) Top Salespeople Save & Invest
Prospects and potential partners smell desperation a mile away...I call it commission breath. Never get caught in the position where you just “MUST” close the deal. A top salesperson is never afraid to walk away from the negotiation table. Savvy salespeople value their time and want to invest in the opportunities that can yield the highest return for the lowest investment, let me be clear: It's always about the ROI.
The best salespeople make it a priority to invest in themselves through books, seminars, networking and trainings.
The First 40 hours of work per week are for survival. Everything after that is for success. - Jim Rohn
Top salespeople seek to help and invest in others because they know that in doing so they will receive a greater return than just increased profits.
6) Top Salespeople are Knowledgable
The best salespeople seek to become knowledgeable in the following areas:
- Their product/service
- Their industry
- Their competition
- Their prospect
- Their partners
A sales rep will transform into an expert consultant when they are knowledgeable in these 5 areas and use the acquired knowledge to share an unbiased recommended solution that is perfectly tailored for the benefit of all parties.
5) Top Salespeople have a Positive Attitude
You can’t win them all and you will face challenges, very tough and difficult challenges that at times might seem insurmountable and completely impossible. The only thing that can get you through these low valleys is when you make the decision to always look and FOCUS on the positive side of every situation you encounter. Live life exuding positivity and positive things will happen. Don’t ask me to explain how it works, you just have to try it yourself. Commit to 21 days of generating and exuding unwavering positive energy and watch what happens to your life.
4) Top Salespeople have Confidence
Would you buy a Mercedes Benz from a car salesperson that drove a Lexus? If you are not confident enough in your product/service to buy it yourself then you should NOT BE selling it. Total confidence and belief in your offering is the single most important persuasive argument you could ever make. If your confidence wavers so will the affirmative decision of the client.
3) Top Salespeople are Organized
If you can’t stay on top of and control your commitments and meetings, you’ll never be a top producer.
Rules to Success: #1 Show up, #2 Make sure it's at the right place
Time is the most precious resource for top saleseople. Top producers have to be organized to maximize their ROI. Sales pros are efficient and accomplish more with less! What you gain by being organized is time, money and less headaches. Just do it or get someone that you trust to help you stay organized. Organize your accounts, relationships, commitments, finances and watch your ROI grow.
2) Top Salespeople Have Excellent Communication Skills
Do you know what the most important communication skill is (hint: it’s not speaking or writing), the best salespeople know that having top notch LISTENING skills is what helps them be able to add more value to the conversation. Top producingsalespeople also know that there are several forms of communications that they have to master if they want to reach their goal.
1)Top Producers Work Hard & They Work SMART.
I learned work ethic from my step dad. He worked very hard (and long) to keep a roof over our heads and food in our bellies but working hard is not enough, you need to work smart too if you want to maximize your success.
Hard work beats talent but hard work AND talent beat everybody else.
One of my favorite Aesop Fables is the one about the tortoise and the hare. We all know that the tortoise won the race….but what if you were a hare that had the tortoise mentality, heart and work ethic.
Who would win the race then?
Find out what you are a “hare” at doing and then apply the “tortoise” mentality.
Liked this article? Check out more of my posts at jeffzelaya.com/blog, triblio.com/blog or send me a LinkedIn inviteand let's connect!
Monday, September 29, 2014
Rencanakan Sales Anda..
“Plan Your Work, Work Your Plan” – Setting Sales Goals and Targets
We have devoted several posts recently to the importance of sales planning, including: The Complete 2012 B2B Sales Planning Outline… And It’s Only 359 Words and Proof That Sales Planning Increases Win Rates. Sales planning itself is such an important component of the sales process that we are hosting a webinar with CSO Insights on this topic this week (join if you can).
If you consider that the B2B sales plan sets the course for everything that goes into a successful sales year, the initial section of the sales plan, “Goals and Targets,” establishes the course for the actual written plan. Let’s take a closer look at this critical section and consider the required outcome of each key point.
The 5-Step B2B Sales Planning Handbook
Step 1: Sales Goals and Targets
- Setting your annual sales goals and revenue targets
- Prioritize challenges that could keep you from hitting your targets and create a defensive strategy for each
- Define changes and investments that must be made to achieve success
1. Setting Sales Goals and Revenue Targets
Although goals and targets are often used synonymously, they are in fact quite different. Compare their definitions*
Goals: Destinations or where we want the business to be and feel, for example:
- Relationships
- Reputation
- Image
- Sustainability
- Culture
Targets: Specific results we want the business to achieve, progress markers to attaining goals; for example:
- Revenue
- Profit
- Market share
- Recognition
An example of how Goals and Targets work together in this opening section of your sales plan could look like this.
Goal: Establish two new relationships per quarter in the US Financial and Accounting Outsourcing practice. The targeted annual contract value of each new relationship is $2 million.
2. Prioritizing Challenges and Creating Defensive Strategies
Consider your last couple sales years and think about those things that kept you from achieving all your sales targets. Be as specific as possible while keeping it functionally focused – not personal. For example: Need more qualified output from marketing’s lead generation programs (instead of actually naming the VP of Marketing as the problem).
Here’s a simple but effective template for listing out challenges, their impact and priority, and assigning responsibility to minimizing them.
3. Defining Changes and Investments Needed to Achieve Success
You are likely in the same boat as most sales leaders heading into a new year: You’re getting a quota increase. In the old days we might grumble a little, play around with territories and headcount then tell the CEO we need another seven incremental sales reps to meet the new number. Your best expectation would have been for one or two of the seven to make quota. The others become permanent “C” players or simply fail miserably.
More Effective Approaches to Investing in Sales Success
Yes, headcount is still a critical success factor for a sales team expected to make its number. However, studies of best-in-class sales teams clearly demonstrate many other vital approaches to improving effectiveness and revenue that simply make your existing A, B and even C performers better. (Fire the D’s, but that’s already in your plan, right?).
Here are five areas of your sales model that will benefit big time from focus and investment. They are proven to create permanent increases in both win-rates and quota attainment for B2B sales teams.
- Establishing a formalized sales process, including targeted account planning
- Sales manager effectiveness training and industry-specific rep training
- Lead segmentation and a marketing automation system
- Sales leaders dashboard
- Sales intelligence, prospect profiling and industry monitoring
There you have an example of Setting Sales Goals and Targets, the first section in creating your new sales plan. You can clearly see why getting this area down on paper establishes the foundation for everything else in your plan
Saturday, September 27, 2014
6 cara buat impresi pertama menarik
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Either consciously or unconsciously, we make judgments about the professionalism, character and competence of others based on first impressions.
Just as you evaluate potential business partners, employees and personal acquaintances on your first-time encounter with them, others will judge you and your business by how you conduct yourself.
The best way to make a positive first impression, especially in business, is to embrace uncommon common sense. Many entrepreneurs overlook the importance of poise and professionalism. A few common courtesies will help you make a positive impression when you meet someone for the first time.
Use these six tips to guarantee you’ll make a great first, and lasting, impression — no matter the circumstance.
1. Prepare ahead of time. Preparation reduces anxiety and will help you show more authority. If you do your homework, you’ll have an enormous advantage over your competition. Before an important meeting, learn everything you can about your potential client and his or her unique approach to business. Familiarize yourself with the industry in which you’ll be working and brush up on current events. Visit the company website to learn more about the company’s history, staff and recent news releases. When you take the time to prepare, you’ll appear interesting and knowledgeable — two qualities that help make a good impression.
2. Find out who will attend the meeting. To go above and beyond, reach out to the meeting organizer to learn which stakeholders will be in attendance. Memorize each person’s name so you’ll be able to address everyone directly throughout the meeting. Log onto LinkedIn and learn more about each person and their background, as well as hobbies and interests. If you find you have something in common, use it as a way to break the ice with a little small talk before you move on to business.
3. Arrive a few minutes early. It’s important to be punctual, but when you arrive on time you send the clear message that you’re responsible, capable and respectful of others’ time. Those few extra minutes will give you the opportunity to go to the restroom, check your appearance and gain your composure before you walk into an important meeting. Always schedule extra time on your calendar to account for travel, traffic delays, inclement weather and finding a parking spot.
4. Suit up for success. A professional appearance will enhance your personal brand. The more “put together” you appear, the more likely you will leave a positive impression. You don’t have to purchase expensive designer suits to look your best. Instead, invest in timeless classic pieces to create the foundation of your wardrobe. Always dress for your client’s comfort, not yours. If you’re meeting with a group of bankers, a dark suit is most appropriate. Some occasions, however, call for a more creative approach. It’s okay to show more of your personal style if you work in an artistic career or when you meet with a group of designers. Be sure your wardrobe consists of clothes that fit and flatter your body shape.
5. Give a firm handshake. In most cultures, a solid handshake carries a lot of weight. Your handshake should be warm, friendly and sincere. If it is too firm or too weak, you may convey a negative impression. If you’re seated when you’re introduced to someone, stand before you shake his or her hand — it shows respect for yourself and the person you’re meeting. Remember to keep it short and sweet; many people will become uneasy if a handshake lasts for more than a few seconds. Finally, be sure to smile and make eye contact as you shake hands.
6. Listen effectively. Attentive listening builds trust. Throughout your meeting, ask pertinent questions. When someone else speaks, make eye contact and show you’re fully engaged in what he is saying. Always allow others time to fully express themselves. If you interrupt or attempt to finish someone’s sentence, he may assume you’re in a hurry or feel you don’t respect his opinion. Effective listening skills will help you establish rapport with new clients and business partners.