Career Tips Guides

With the economy on the brink of collapse and the employment situation in this country in an unstable condition many people are looking to better their lives with an additional means of income or another career altogether.

Many people have gotten into a rut in their jobs in that this is all they have ever done and to think about changing is a scary thought. When faced with company downsizing and corporate mergers many are forced to take the leap and find another way to make a living. For many of these people a multi level marketing opportunity is just what the doctor ordered.

There is low start up cost and the potential for success is hard to pass up. The fact that people who are already successful are willing to work to help you to become successful also makes this an interesting proposition.

When you consider the fact that you don’t have to go back to school or move to another location in the country to get started also makes it worth a try.

There are many ways to choose a multi level marketing opportunity. Some offer great products that are usually better than what you can buy in the store. Others offer services in many different industries. I personally look for companies that have products or services that I would want to use for the rest of my life whether or not there was any money involved.

Many people get into these companies solely to get rich quick and that is not a good reason to start. In the first place if you get rich it will seldom come quickly. There is a lot of work involved because after all this is a business.

One has to work diligently and spend time assisting personally sponsored and other downline people to help them to become successful to see the riches that come later. It goes back to the principle of farming. The farmer has to plant many acres of whatever crop he plans to harvest. After planting comes cultivation which takes months and then he has to wait for growth. Many months later if he has done his part in planting and cultivating he can celebrate in a great harvest.

If the farmer decides to skip any one of the steps in the process he knows he will not have a successful harvest. Multi level marketing opportunities are no different from farming. There are certain things that if you do them you will be more successful and if you don’t do them you very likely will fail. Companies have training programs and methods of presenting their product that have proven to be successful.

The problem that many people make is in trying to build their business in a way that is not in line with what the company has laid out. This very seldom works.
Just like in marriage or relationship one needs to commit to it to make it really work well. Because there is little start up cost, sometimes it is difficult to see the potential in the business. I know franchise owners who don’t make nearly the money that people who have built successful multi level marketing opportunities make. And the time freedom is just a very nice plus.

Tips and Guides: Lee Hooker is a Multi Level Marketing seasoned veteran. His website is a complete training camp for new and experienced multi level pros to gain new knowledge. 3 Get your training here You can visit his site at: http://www.mlm-boot-camp.com http://www.stemcelldelight.com

Many people work with abusive and intimidating colleagues. The situation is especially difficult when they are in positions of seniority. Speaking up carries the risk that you will damage your career. Keeping quiet carries the risk that you will damage your health!

Most of us start out by putting up with abusive behaviour. Confronting it is too difficult and the stakes are too high. As time goes on we become stressed; we are permanently exhausted; we dread going to work. Eventually we ask for a transfer or leave the company. Less often we explode with pent up frustration and anger.

While confronting abusive people is always difficult, it is possible to set up a conversation where you can safely speak about how you feel and then ask that you talk through the problem.

Consider a situation where one of the executives in your organisation is constantly finding fault with your work and criticizing you in front of others. You do not understand where this is coming from and you find it hard not to be defensive. You decide to talk to him. You know it will be a difficult conversation because he is touchy and likely to blow up at the least provocation.

Keep in mind that you are having the conversation to clear the air and put your relationship onto a better footing. You might even find the person is surprised by your reaction and had no idea he was coming over as intimidating. Also remember that in some way you might be part of the problem!

First decide exactly what you are going to confront. You have to choose between talking about the pattern of the behaviour, or describing just one example. In this case, it would be safer to choose one instance and hope that he will pick up on your feelings about his behaviour as a whole.

A safe question that would get you started could be: Can I talk to you about something that is concerning me. This opening draws his attention to the conversation and sets a serious tone, without going into the content of the issue.

Then be very clear and specific about the behaviour that is upsetting you. If you choose one example of behaviour, speak up soon after it occurs, when you both have a clear memory of what was said. Keep it short. A long list of what he said or did will start to sound like an accusation and risk your getting an explosive reaction.

You might say: This morning when you gave me feedback on my project report you did so at my desk in front of the team. When you raised your voice, I noticed others looking over at us.

When you have described the behaviour that you find upsetting, describe how you feel about it. Choose your words carefully and use them tentatively. You could say: Maybe you do not intend this but sometimes I feel like you think I am incompetent.

Then invite the person to talk to you. You could use a very open question such as: How do you see it? Or you could be even less confrontational and say: Is there something I do that is creating the situation between us?

Listen very carefully to their reply. You may find it difficult to acknowledge that their view of the situation differs widely from yours and you may feel defensive if you are told that your own behaviour is at fault.

There are always two sides to a story. You will only get to the bottom of a problem when you have heard both of them. Then you can decide what can be done to resolve the situation.

Tips and Guides: Maureen Collins has a B.Sc. degree in Psychology from Edinburgh University and over 25 years of consulting experience. She specialises in communication in the workplace. In Straight Talk, she trains people how to handle difficult conversations, on difficult topics, with difficult people. Get free Straight Talk Tips. http://www.straight-talk.co.za

Every manager likes to think of themselves as being capable of handling whatever their working day has to throw at them and in most cases it’s true, they can.

It goes with the territory; the ability to cope with new situations and deal with pressure whatever form that pressure takes. But is the capability of handling a difficult situation enough? Shouldn’t managers excel in everything they do, including difficult situations?

Management training offers a chance to improve already existing skills and highlight problems and create a path to acquiring new skills and eradicating weaknesses. Sometimes the difference between good and great can be a small detail or a quiet word, something we would not have immediately thought of unless it was pointed out to us.

There are seven areas that any good manager should be familiar with to ensure that they are performing to the best of their ability. They can be thought of as the seven tools that you use to get the job done!

Communication Skills - Communication is the cornerstone of everything that a manager does. Without good communication one of two things inevitably happens; either nothing happens or things go wrong. Without good communication skills no manager will last very long in any job. I would even go so far as to say that ‘good’ is not good enough; excellent is preferable.

Management training offers the opportunity to understand exactly what communication involves and how to put it into practice.

Presentation Skills - Being nervous in front of a crowd is understandable but in a presentation situation, even if an audience can empathize, nervousness only ever communicates a negative impression.

Management training can teach a person how to channel nervous energy and turn it into a positive. It also aims to help understand body language and how apparently minor details and gestures can have a huge impact on how you present yourself and your ideas.

Time Management - ‘There aren’t enough hours in the day’ just shouldn’t be in a manager’s vocabulary. If it is you are not performing well. There could be a plethora of reasons, and some may be out of your hands. There may be ineffective systems in place that are making your job harder than it should be.

Management training helps you to identify such issues and make whatever changes are necessary. Eliminating problems, wherever they are, frees up time and enables you to concentrate on the job in hand.

Delegation - A large part of managing involves delegating tasks, often on a daily basis. Pairing tasks with the right people is a skill and if you are under the impression that it is nothing more than lining people up and handing out responsibilities at random then you are not making the most of your team or getting the best out of them.

Management training can help you understand the importance of good delegation and how it leads to trust and empowerment amongst member of a team.

Team Building - Management training encourages the process of team building by demonstrating its importance in effective performance and achieving goals and targets. Understanding that every team is unique in both personnel and direction is a huge step towards building a successful team.

Leadership Skills - Every manager needs to be a leader to a greater or lesser degree. Without leadership skills and, more importantly, without displaying those leadership skills you will be an ineffectual manager. Leadership involves and certain type of behavior and, in most cases, an ability to motivate and inspire.

Project Planning - This seventh step on the ladder to becoming a great manager is the place where all the other steps converge. Management training establishes the importance of using all the previous skills and constantly updating and adapting them according to whatever the situation dictates.

Tips and Guides: Dominic Donaldson is an expert in the management training industry. Find out more about management training and how it can help you.