Finns help Canadians learn about Entrepreneurship at Canada 3.0 Conference in Stratford, Ontario

Finns, Antti Vilpponen and Lari Lohikoski, taught me a lot about Entrepreneurship at the 3.0 Conference in Stratford, sponsored by a consortium of High-Tech Companies from the Region, including Open Text.

The photo to the left is of L: Charles Borras and R: Antti Vilpponen who was one of the Finnish presenters talking about case studies of digital incubators in Finland in the Digital Media Research & Commercialization stream of this burst-at-the-seams conference with about 1000 participants by some reports.

The whole conference has been informative, but I learned a few really valuable things from these Finnish Entrepreneurs. These are the points that I took away from their talk:

• you have to focus on the innovation process from beginning of the venture to the end;
• you can organize a regional development company and then have companies and individuals within the group self-select with whom they would like to work based on mutual interest;
• centres of expertise can be used to create joint projects;
• Finland has its own national digital content cluster, much like the one Canada is creating;
• small businesses can band together to create first-line business incubators and services;
• a pool of consultants can be created to support start-ups through their life cycle;
• displaced, but very highly trained workers, should be encouraged by government and the private sector to continue using their skills to create new enterprises;
• smaller countries like Finland necessarily have to look overseas to help the process of innovation;
• innovation alone has no commercial value;
• big companies should be encouraged to set up incubator companies;
• visibility, such as provided by news reports in http://www.arcticstartup.com/, fosters interest in investing in new companies;
• we need to create a culture of innovation;
• start-ups can take matters into their own hands and start their own incubation space if 3 or 4 companies get together;
• large companies need to learn how to use small companies and start-ups in doing their work.

Vilpponen and several partners have established http://www.arcticstartup.com/ which is definitely worth emulating. The organization allows start-ups to band together on-line, increase co-operation, increase visbility for member companies, and raise venture capital. You will also want to check http://www.culminatum.com/ which is owned and operated to foster innovation by a consortium of Helsinki business interests.
I was pleased to invite Antti to join Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs, the largest on-line group of entrepreneurs in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Why is social networking good for you?

I saw this Common Craft video on Bob Guenther's LinkedIn page. I want to thank Bob for posting it and show it here. Social networking empowers a group like the K-W Entrepreneurs in many ways. I would like to hear stories about how social networking has empowered you.

The Basics of Customer Service

It is not uncommon for people to express their concern and frustration for the poor level of customer service that they often receive while out in the world doing business or even over the phone from their workplace, or the comfort of their own home. It’s not unusual to hear complaints or criticism for how they have been mistreated because of what is often refer to as a lack of good old common sense. It is my contention that if common sense were as common in society as we think it should be then there would be little need to remind people of the basics of life constantly. Some people are naturally gifted when it comes to serving the needs of others while other people need some help in this area and I’ll admit that there are some people who are either so thick or indifferent that they should never be placed in a position where they interact with customers or the outside world for that matter. Here is a list of general rules or guidelines that you should follow, that project respect, reflect maturity on your part and show the customer that you appreciation their business:

1. Smile and act with enthusiasm!
2. Always behave in a mature, responsible and professional manner. (This is especially important if you are younger because you will never be treated with dignity and respect if you don’t first treat others this way!)
3. Pay attention (solid eye contact) and listen when the customer is speaking to you.
4. Do not interrupt customers mid sentence.
5. Minimize wait times (putting them on hold), bureaucracy, red tape and passing the buck.
6. Never engage in an argument with a customer, it won’t resolve anything.
7. With in reason, do your best to ensure customer satisfaction.
8. Make the customer’s life easier by making things simpler for them and minimizing inconveniences.
9. Think ahead about how your actions or inactions may impact the customer and the long-term business relationship and then make necessary changes to create the best possible outcome for the customer.
10. Take personal ownership of problems rather than passing the buck or giving the customer the run around, don’t assume it is someone else’s issue or ignore it and hope it will go away.
11. Make suggestions to management regarding potential improvements that can be made in order to improve customer relations.
12. Reduce customer wait times by making certain that serving the needs of the customer is always your num- ber one priority!
13. Speak in a clear, audible tone so that customers can easily understand you when you communicate.
14. Avoid pulling rank on a customer or having a power trip because of a perceived sense of authority.
15. Keep a level head, never allow your emotions to get the best of you, avoid becoming angry or frustrated, always remain calm and cool.
16. When passing a customer call to another individual or department because of an inability to resolve the customer issue, stay on the phone line with the customer while they are being transferred, introduce them to the other party and make sure that they are okay before ending your involvement in the matter.
17. Make any instructions that you provide simple and easy for people to understand.
18. When you make a commitment to get back to a customer with information etc., follow through with your promise.
19. Always ask for acknowledge or acceptance of information or instructions after you explain them to the customer. (eg. “Do you understand?” or “Does that make sense to you?”)
20. Think about how you would prefer to be treated if the roles were reversed and you were the customer.

Anyone who works in customer service is occasionally going to be presented with a irate customer who will never be happy no matter what you do or say. These instances are rare unless you are employed somewhere where negative situations are created because of the very nature of the business or because the company just does a poor job of servicing clients needs on a regular consistent basis. Hiring the most suitable candidates, providing them with some guidelines and boundaries to follow and giving them proper training in the disciplines of effective customer service will significantly increase the odds of better customer interactions and stronger customer relations.

Always apply The Golden Rule - “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Join us for Elite Customer Service on July 14, 2009 for details: http://www.elitetrainingsystems.ca/workshop26.html

Marshall W. Northcott, Canada's Sales Expert

www.marshallnorthcott.com

Toll Free in Canada: 866-896-6603

Building and Using Virtual Teams

Jennifer Janik's comments on Virtual Teams led to me finding this useful video on virtual teams.

Hiring Virtual Teams?

I really appreciated Jennifer Janik's commentary on the first meeting of the Executive of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs:

"I really appreciated the opportunity to meet with fellow entrepreneurs from the KW region to share ideas on how we can join together to form a virtual organization of complementary skills. With the shifts in business, it's important to adapt to the market and be able to provide a complete suite of services on-demand and as needed to organizations in the region.


My hypothesis is that as we form our virtual organization alliance, companies around the region will come to know us as the "one-stop shopping" resource of allied forces that get jobs done well.

I also hope to become familiar with the resources that are available around the region to be able to help direct customers to the services that they need. In general I think this benefits the larger organizations and their people by providing flexible resources when there are spikes in their work loads."

Photo: Jennifer Janik is on the far right at the first meeting of the Executive of the Kitchener-Waterloo-Entrepreneurs.

Expert Advice for Rookie Consultative Sales Professionals

Here is some professional advice for those who are new to or considering entering into sales. My top ten suggestions for laying a strong foundation and guaranteeing future success as a consultative sales representative:

1. Gain a clear understanding of what has the ability to or what does make you vulnerable in your profession and then protect yourself against it. For example. an individual who is just getting started into real estate sales who has financial challenges (a short supply or exhausted reserve funds) and is in desperate need of making a sale to produce income, will automatically become more vulnerable with the passing of time because the longer it takes for them to earn a commission, the less likely it is that they will survive in sales.
2. Success will never track you down. you will have to go on the hunt for it! Be an action oriented person. Don’t procrastinate, begin immediately to engage in and make a daily habit of the basic fundamental activities of your sales profession that produce results.
3. Identify and face your fears. It’s not uncommon for people to have fears but what makes people uncommon is facing those fears. Once you recognize what it is that is the greatest fear you face you need to do everything you can to overcome that fear and it all starts by facing it!
4. Become an expert in your field, hunger for the knowledge, anything that is going to make you better at what you do, whether it be industry, product or service related, anything to do with the business, become a student and sponge up everything that you can.
5. Gain an understanding of which selling skills you will require in order to experience success in the field of sales that you have chosen. Seek this knowledge from anyone who is a top performer in your field or those who are recognized experts in your profession like the speakers, trainers and authors who have a proven track record. Say yes to any training that is made available to you. Ask for training if there is none available through your company and if it isn't something your employer will support, then invest in it yourself to get yourself up to speed faster.
6. Associate with the right people. There will be more negative individuals who are experiencing mediocre results in your profession and these are the worst people for you to share your time with. Although it may be more comfortable to spend time with these people because they will never push you to be your best, they will also be the people who will attempt to pull you down to their level. Seek out the high performing top achievers in your industry, profession, company or organization and work your way into their circles. These are the people who can teach you what you need to know through association, mentoring or coaching or simply through conversation to help you achieve your goals.
7. Set a variety of different personal and professional written goals as you begin your journey and then strive to achieve those goals by remaining consistent and persistent in your activities.
8. Change your mindset! Work on your growing and evolving your thinking and attitude everyday. Develop healthy beliefs and attitudes about your profession, people, life, events and success. Fill your mind with good thoughts and quality information. Read something out of a positive, motivating, uplifting book everyday. Listen to audio programs while you are driving to give yourself the motivation, inspiration information and education that you need to be on top of your game.
9. Strive for balance in everything that you do and everything that you are. When you are just getting started it is common that your life will become out of balance as you are learning, adjusting and growing into your new role. What once was normal will no longer be normal as a new degree of normal evolves. Your eventual goal should be balance. Professionals who master the principles of balance experience greater success in their personal and professional life and enjoy greater rewards with less effort, pain and regret. Learn to balance your schedule, your emotions and the qualities and traits that make you who you are so that you may develop into a newer better version yourself.
10. Build a reputation for being an honest, credible individual who has character, integrity, can be counted on and is performance driven. It is your reputation that will carry you farther than anything else. It will help you keep the customers you have, win new business from the competition and also open doors of opportunity for future advancement.

Marshall W. Northcott, Canada’s Sales Expert

http://www.marshallnorthcott.com/

Canada Wide Toll Free: 866-896-6603

Report from maiden meeting of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group

Yesterday I attended the maiden meeting of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entpreneurs Executive at the Board Room in TechTown in the Technology Park next to the University of Waterloo at 2 PM.

Attending were myself, Daniel Ogilvie, Harp Arora, Ashwani Nandrajog and his friend Kapur, Jose Sandoval, and Jennifer Janik.

It was a very lively meeting and each person agreed to report on his or her experience of the meeting in order to generate more discussion from the over 160 members of the group.

The following is what I took away from the meeting personally:

-The group will continue to grow on-line if members are getting what they need from the group. There was a reason why each group member joined and if that reason is satisfied, then the group will grow; it is meeting real needs.

-an overarching goal is for group members to expand their businesses, increase sales, and meet their business requirements.

-a survey of the group's members should be done in order to look for clusters of need and experience in order to give group members what they need

-a common vision workshop would help to confirm the findings of the survey

-K-W Entrepreneurs may be the first group of K-W Entrepreneurs online

-there is interest in establishing cross-functional teams amongst members that can work together on getting contracts and fulfilling them.

The bottom line was that the group should be used by members to get the things that they need for their businesses. If the group does this, then it will continue to grow.

I invite you to submit your ideas as to where the group should go and what it should do. Guest blogger status is available to those who ask for it.

Photo was taken by Executive Member Harp Arora.