Do Clothes make the Sales person? Dress Code for sales

Do clothes make the sales person? Dress Code for Sales

The red (orange) swimsuit that helped make "Charlie's Angels" actress Farrah Fawcett a 1970s icon became part of the USA's Smithsonian's collection this week 4th Feb 2011


Whether we might see entrepreneur Peter Jones of Dragons' den donate his iconic snazzy socks to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London in their business dress collection – should they have such a thing is just conjecture - but dress code is for sure a regular topic in the business press.

Swiss bank revises 'no garlic code'

was the headline of a recent article in the Business Press.

A Swiss bank, UBS, had revised its dress code after coming under fire for suggesting its employees avoid garlic breath, shun beards and wear skin coloured underwear.

UBS employees did not take kindly to being told to how to their ties and apply their make up.














Yet the importance of dress is an everyday fact 'bigged-up' by dress gurus such as 'TV’s Trish and Susannah , and Channel 4’s Gok Wan

http://www.gokwan.com/


We are all being encouraged to consider the effect of our clothing more seriously and be happier about our bodies.




No dress code can cover all contingencies for sales professionals but we must exert a certain amount of judgment in our choice of clothing to wear to sales meetings.

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly.


Epictetus AD 55 -AD135



Certain days in the sales office ( if you do not work from home like the majority of field sales people nowadays) are declared as 'dress down' days -generally Fridays.

On these days, jeans and other more casual clothing, although never clothing potentially offensive to others, are allowed but

what should visiting sales professionals wear?

In the Buyers Views of Salespeople Survey over the last 13 years we have asked such questions and the slide below shows their responses. If in doubt veer towards the formal side.






If we need smart casual some questions come to mind:

What is appropriate business casual attire for sales people?






What items are not appropriate for salespeople in the office?







Some Companies that sales professionals are likely to visit are taking this issue of corporate dress increasingly seriously.






So here are some views taken from an HR handbook from the USA which might interest readers of this blog. I have also interspersed this abstract with some quotes regarding clothing which might amuse or even provoke!
Does anyone know of a company who specifically stipulates dress for salespeople? Years ago IBM used to have their sales people wear a code of dress that became known as the Big Blue.






Clearly the following directives are gender dependant and will vary from national as well as market sector norms. I leave it to readers to discern this! - My question is -

Should Sales dress Code be as prescriptive?
Please post your comments, views and advice

Slacks, Trousers etc.
Slacks that are similar to Dockers and other makers of cotton or synthetic material pants, wool pants, flannel trousers, and nice looking dress synthetic trousers are acceptable.





Inappropriate slacks or trousers include jeans, sweatpants, exercise pants, Bermuda shorts, short shorts, shorts, bib overalls, leggings, and any spandex or other form-fitting pants such as people wear for biking.

I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans:
the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant.
They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.


Yves Saint Laurent

Skirts, Dresses, and Skirted Suits
Casual dresses and skirts, and skirts that are split at or below the knee are acceptable. Dress and skirt length should be at a length at which you can sit comfortably in public. Short, tight skirts that ride halfway up the thigh are inappropriate for work. Mini-skirts, skirts, sun dresses, beach dresses, and spaghetti-strap dresses are inappropriate for the office.








Shirts, Tops, Blouses, and Jackets
Casual shirts, dress shirts, sweaters, tops, golf-type shirts, and turtlenecks are acceptable attire for work. Most suit jackets or sport jackets are also acceptable attire for the office, if they violate none of the listed guidelines. Inappropriate attire for work includes tank tops; midriff tops; shirts with potentially offensive words, terms, logos, pictures, cartoons, or slogans; halter-tops; tops with bare shoulders; sweatshirts, and t-shirts unless worn under another blouse, shirt, jacket, or dress.






Shoes and Footwear
Conservative athletic or walking shoes, loafers, clogs, sneakers, boots, flats, dress heels, and leather deck-type shoes are acceptable for work. Wearing no stockings is acceptable in warm weather. Flashy athletic shoes, thongs, flip-flops, slippers, and any shoe with an open toe are not acceptable in the office. Closed toe and closed heel shoes are required in the manufacturing operation area.








Jewelry, Makeup, Perfume, and CologneShould be in good taste, with limited visible body piercing. Remember, that some employees are allergic to the chemicals in perfumes and make-up, so wear these substances with restraint.








Hats and Head Covering
Hats are not appropriate in the office. Head Covers that are required for religious purposes or to honour cultural tradition are allowed.






The conclusion from this handbook warn in draconian manner employees that:-
If clothing fails to meet these standards, as determined by the employee’s supervisor and Human Resources staff, the employee will be asked not to wear the inappropriate item to work again.




If the problem persists, the employee may be sent home to change clothes and will receive a verbal warning for the first offense.




All other policies about personal time use will apply. Progressive disciplinary action will be applied if dress code violations continue.




Disclaimer ( The lawyers obviously had the last word here!):
This sample policy is provided for guidance only. The provided information, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality. Please seek legal assistance, or assistance from State, Federal, or International governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct.

Seldom do people discern Eloquence under a threadbare cloak.


Juvenal late 1st - early 2nd century

I am no expert on commercial sartorial rectitude as both friends and foes will attest;but there are specialists who advise on such skills e.g. "Dress for success" http://www.dressforsuccess.org/affiliate.aspx?pageid=1&sisid=37


and Colour Me Beautiful








http://www.cmbimage.co.uk/ 66 the business centre, 15-17 Ingate place, London, SW8 3NS
tel: +44 (0)20 7627 5211 +44 (0)20 7627 5211 fax: +44 (0)20 7627 5680 email: corporate@cmb.co.uk




Click for free executive summary of the Buyers Views of salespeople research study

Related Links:

Business Dress Code in UK 2012

Formal Corporate Hospitality Wear in UK 2012

Clothes that sell or portray an image

Selling hoisted by its own petard? - The new power of Modern Buying

There is a line given to Hamlet by Shakespeare:

"For tis the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his owne petar".

The phrase is often cited as 'hoist by one's own petar[d]'. A petard was a small engine of war used to blow breaches in gates or walls. The significant feature was that they were full of gunpowder - basically a bomb. The device was used by the military forces of all the major European fighting nations by the 16th century and was highly successful but it could 'backfire'.
Salespeople as with military engineers, should be careful with their instruments of success.

A salutary lesson which might well resonate with a number of Key Account Development Execs, Dealer/Distributor Managers and the like, who follow this blog cropped up in Marketing Week magazine 27th January 2011 in the column by marketing insider the "Secret Marketer" (SM).

Our clandestine hero is currently doing the rounds with his account executives for shared brand planning meetings with the highly influential top four retailers in the UK.

" We share our our brand plan with retailers and they then tell us how much it is going to cost to secure their participation".

SM goes on to describe how such meetings are linked in with the "over rider" structure, whereby brands have to write a further cheque at the end of the year for doing very little more than what they had already promised to do..

SM wrote that certain bonus compliance metrics include such 'challenging' items as the retailer actually selling the products in the sames number of stores as the head office had promised, and affording the brand supplier the privilege of implementing a number of price cut promotions where the supplier fully funds the discount on offer. ( Money for old rope as some might view it)
SM was somewhat miffed to then experience how the retailer in the meeting re-interpreted what he saw ( from a brand supplier's perspective) as success clearly due to identifiable new packaging design which had brought about the entire growth in the category sector in a very well established brand that he represented.

Unabashed the Buyer agreed that her figures were indeed the same as the suppliers and then unashamedly said

" Yes I have to say it has been a good year for this brand. We have grown it for you by a third. (!) You do understand that we need to agree some kind of compensation to reflect the growth we have delivered for you."

To further rub salt into the wound......

When the supplier moved on in their presentation to the introduction of new products the buyer advised that she did not wish to try any of the products, but would list them anyway if the supplier agreed to a further cheque!

Success here it seemed had many parents!

The story also illustrates the part that leadership skills play in selling today.

As the great communist leader of China, Mao Tse Tung ( Zedong) once said

" When a good leader has finished his work, his people will say "We did it ourselves".

So also it appears it is with buyers perhaps - they will seldom credit success with the supplier salesperson

4 Behaviours to avoid when encountering Sales Objections

Objections in selling are akin to a hurdle , barrier or fence that can impede our progress and which we need to overcome. Few sales meetings are concluded without one or more objections being raised at some point during the sales presentation and discussion.

The very best way of dealing with objections is to Pre-empt them. (e.g. “You may be aware that TLG spherical roller Bearings are one of the premium providers of this type of self-aligning product, yet are number one in the market.
Our customers get more value out of the product and I’d like to illustrate where that extra value exists…”)


Addressing upfront the fact that there are certain potential objections and bringing them up yourself, plus providing the answers at the same time will prevent them being raised later on.

N.B. Only do this if you are reasonably sure that the client will think of them - otherwise you are drawing attention to something which might never have presented a problem anyway.

There are two kinds of objection:
• Information seeking ( easy so long as you have the relevant knowledge) and
• Major ( which can seen at first sight to be like an impenetrable castle wall)


It is important for us to clear any smoke screens away to give ourselves the best chance of handling the real objection.

Our natural reaction is often to try to suppress the objection before it gets out of hand which can lead to one or more of the following unhelpful behaviours:

Pouncing: an instant response (sometimes even before the prospect has finished speaking!) is discourteous and creates an emotional barrier - it suggests you have not considered what has been said and that you are not concerned for the client’s point of view.

Being glib: too practised and rapid a reply will be suspect and unconvincing - it suggests you have heard it all before and are just repeating a page in your sales manual.

Arguing: the instant response “yes, but” suggests that you disagree just as much as “...I Don’t agree with you ...”, “... No that’s not right and here’s why...” or anything similar; don’t even suggest that you disagree by shaking your head or raising an eyebrow.

Scoring points: drowning someone in technical detail, or proving that they do not understand or have made a mistake, will simply make them feel foolish and/or angry.

Understanding the concern that underpins the objection is essential if you are going to deal with it effectively; therefore listening and clarifying are vital at this point. Furthermore, any emotion needs to be removed from the situation, as logic alone cannot sway emotion. Thus, establishing a clear understanding of their position first is essential, using silence to gather more information and clarifying by paraphrasing and repeating.


How to address an objection

Listen -

and show that you are listening.


Pause -

to show that you are considering the point.


Clarify -
ensure that you understand, and demonstrate
that you understand, by questioning, summarising, rephrasing or repeating.

Appreciate - by acknowledging the customer’s viewpoint, express empathy, and confirm understanding of the customer’s concerns.

Evaluate - whether the objection is ‘information seeking’ or a misunderstanding, or is it a ‘major objection’ based on valid points?


then either
Explain - if the objection is ‘information seeking’ then provide more information (making sure that you assume the blame for inadequate explanation)

or
Hinge - if it is a valid ‘major objection’ then use a phrase such as “However”, “On the other hand”, “Alternatively”, “Have you considered…”;
or turn the objection into a question

and

Justify - by using Benefits and ‘YOU’ Appeal (or personalised benefit) to neutralise and outweigh the objection and motivate the customer. ( The slide below from the Buyers Views of Salespeople outlines the most popular areas of an offer that prompted Buyers to buy. Thorough questioning will pinpoint the relevant areas to your buyer)
and finally
Commit -
if appropriate, confirm that the customer is in agreement with your answer before moving on (to the close).

(NB: Testimonials - If you have customers who are loyal to your company, then get letters of referral/testimonials from them. It can help you justify the price.)

Click for free executive summary of the Buyers Views of salespeople research study

Next post we will examine some special categories of objections and consider some responses.

" Davos 2011 is not elitist boondoggle - let’s move on from remorsefulness.” Alexandr Orlov speaks at World Economic Forum WEF

I Alexandr Orlov am mixing with other high ups in exclusive club in Switzerland. Rubbings shoulder with likes of pop star Bono and fellow entrepreneur Buffet Warren and Gates Bill but did not see Sugar Alan. Perhaps he not invited!

Hotel snazzy (like Orlov mansion in Meerkovo), built in 1900 in Art Nouveau style as luxury sanatorium. It was setting for Thomas Mann’s novel “The Magic Mountain”. Building converted later into hotel.

As honoured guest at "Exclusive British Business Leaders lunch.” on Friday 28th January. I tuckings into the lightly pink duck was disappointed I would have preferred a dustmite appetiser,then roast scorpion with cranberry and beetle stuffing but hotel cannot cater for meerkat gourmet like me.

(Delivering my speech at Davos - scroll down for textings of my illustrious speech.)

Chancellor George , who was guest of honour, said "we need to move on when it comes to bankings.” (Much cheerings and murmurings from many Bankers present.)

“Banks still have way to go on Project Merlin and I needings get deal on lendings and remuneratings” stressed Chancellor George.

"hear hear" said Boris London Mayor (of the Boris bikings), who was sitting next to me at top table.

Chancellor George wants deal with banks I think, so that he drawings " line in sand”. Chancellor George said” banker bashings must stop"

Like Diamond Bob’s appearance at Treasury Select Committee maybe banks need to move on from period of remorsefulness.

There was much relief sighing around the dining room and burpings from the duck eatings .

Other interestings points from Chancellor George:
50p tax rate is temporary,
he wants to reduce regulation on business ( very important for comparing meerkats business)
and Budget will be dominated by supply side measures –
the Green Investment Bank, as Clegg Nichols revealed recently, is going to get the go-ahead.

(My bodyguard,Sergei at Davos - Sergie in disguise wearing his contact lenses)

It was now my turnings to speak at Davos !

“My fellow meerkats, theme this year is Shared Norms for the New Reality,
reflectings fact is that we live in world becoming increasingly complex and
interconnected but also experiencings erosion of common values and principles.

Is Davos boondoggle or as we Meerkats say a wastings of time and money? Well
that can only be answered by the actionings of our discussions here. ( Much hand
clapping)

World economy is navigatings uncharted waters in the wake of
global financial crisis. With goal of buildings and sustainings economic growth
in mind.

This Forum is heading its spears to rethink infrastructure development,
reshape responsible capitalism and encourage the free movement of comparable
meerkats and goodies.

Food security and economic crises have highlighted urgent need and potential for developings sustainable food supply such as .

One in six meerkats does not have access to adequate nutrition today. That
makes about a billion meerkats on planet earth today. *

Strengthenings international monetary and financial system is priority in wake of global financial crisis. Our work is focusings on alternative investments, the
development of financial systems, long-term investing, financial governance, as
well as mobile financial services readiness and sustainable lendings

Health for meerkats is one of the World Economic Forum’s key issues due to health's immediate link to our mission of improving the state of world. By engaging leaders, the Forum focuses on three key health-related activities:

advocacy,
dialogue
and actionings through partnership.

World Economic Forum believes economic progress without social development is not sustainables, while social development without economic progress is not feasibles.

Remember our motto fellow meerkats ‘entrepreneurship in the global meerkat interest’. ( Rapturous applaudings and standing ovations - better than my OSCAR movie triumphs for 'Streets of Ambitiousness' and 'The Journey of Courageousness.')

Now for more brainstormings sessions on leak wiki etc. and chaw chaw plenary sessionings.

. I looking forward to final lunch on Sunday 2.00-14.00 at Schatzalp Hotel maybe Hotel can do scarab beetle burger plus cheese accompanied with mushy fleas.

This report above is totally fictitious and unauthorised hacking of blog - please note comparethemarket.com and comparethmeerket.com are trading names of BISL Ltd.

* Regrettably the number in reality is one in six humans does not have adequate access to good nutrition. That is a billion fellow human beings.

That sharp and stark number has pricked by conscience.

Should you wish to make a donation to Oxfam while the good and great talk at Davos in 2011 and future meetings of WEF.
Click for donation site for OXFAM

Learning Technologies Exhibition part 4 Speaking live to your laptop camera and the opportunities of mobile learning to Sales

The short seminar sessions at the Learning Technologies Show 2011 had a great variety of topics . With over half a dozen lecture zones there were plenty of talks to choose from. Walking around the exhibition one realised it was a tough arena to present in.

The seminar seating was open to two sides which were aisles to the exhibition which meant visitors not attending the talk were walking to and fro offering a distraction to audience.
The noise and distractions from the stands beyond the aisles also exacerbated this.

Since many of the speakers were delivering from a lectern usually from notes accompanied by PowerPoint slides the audience needed to concentrate that bit more.

Some of the microphone settings were not set up quite right to carry the speaker’s voice of the melee of the exhibition.

One of the most engaging of the presentations showed how such distractions could be overcome. It was a workshop presentation by Sue Meadows from RADA enterprises http://www.radaenterprises.org/.

Sue’s topic was on speaking live to camera.

With the rise in business use of video web conferencing calls, and Skype calls on video all in selling need to learn skills of speaking to camera. Apart from Sues’ experience as an actress she coaches the newsreaders and reporter on TV Channel 4.

Sue presented from the centre of the stage and did not use the lecterns placed at the sides. The camera shot display covered the entire screen live from where a ‘student’ sat in front of a laptop with camera on.

( Mystified ?I can't quite undrstand the show's building brick logo on th eposters either!)


Then in short enacted scenarios the student delivered to camera in a series of linked cameos. Sue punctuated the student’s delivery and got the audience to observe and give feedback which she then drew out learning points.

She also got us doing breathing exercises, tongue twisters standing up and drew questions out of the audience.

Sue focused on three main areas
1. Physical Posture when sitting at the laptop camera and being fully prepared.
2. Body Language – especially the eyes – keep looking at the camera and through the lens
3. Work on your vocal qualities – from breathing through articulation to projection.
Remember your microphone is never off, nor the camera until your laptop is fully disconnected. Forget mute buttons. Sue cited the current scandal of two TV Soccer pundits whose sexist indiscretions supposedly off camera and broadcast has led to them losing being sacked or forced resignation.

(Sue Meadows of RADA Enterprises Ltd. and visitor! )

Another great seminar came from the 37 year old Tom Stone – Product Design Architect from element k.

His talk was on Mobile learning and was particularly of interest to the Sales and marketing community. Based in Rochester , NY , this was Tom’s first visit to London.

The previous week he had attended an exhibition in the USA where he noted that alongside the I Pad there were 30 new tablet devices on show along with Android and blackberry offering. The number of Mobile devices are growing and growing.

Apparently a survey was done in the states asking what would people who have just left the house return to it immediately keys were no.1 followed by the Mobile / Smartphone etc.

Tom’s talk was well structured and clear.

Sales and marketing professionals are a target market for mobile learning because most already use the technology and have a device they use for work.
Tom identified two areas of opportunity for Sales and marketing in mobile learning
The first was “STOLEN MOMENTS” or time fillers e.g. at the Airport, in the Car ( Audio only) Queuing and the second was URGENCY. To help performance support more people are asking for just in time learning access.

One case study that Tom mentioned was for Merrill Lynch( part of Bank of America) whose results from a mobile learning project were impressive. A survey of 170 Merrill executives on a Mobile learning project

99% thought it support their learning well
100% were willing to complete another mobile training project
75% considered the advantages as convenient, better time management, and training with no distractions compared to certain e learning methods.

Tom Stone of element k

Tom’s talk outlined who mobile learning was most suited for, where most mobile learning is used, where it is considered most important and what the main issues of mobile learning in terms of design and compatibilities are with devices plus some great advice on the ‘gotchas’ and ‘ hurdles’ to overcome.

http://www.elementk.com/

A Further report to come on the last day of the exhibition.

Learning Technolgies Show 2011 Part 3 Live Call phone coaching, long run training partnerships and effective e learning

Mandy Stephens, Director of Phone Coach Limited
PhoneCoach have been leaders in the supply of telephone role-play equipment for years.



Using their equipment delegates learn in a realistic and safe learning environment to get instant feedback.


For all the discussion about the challenges of communicating to clients over the telephone, watching videos, reading workbooks plus the artificial and unsatisfactory way of getting delegates to sit back to back and ‘play –ring ring’ - in the end it is the practice doing it that helps. I agree with Mandy. I have used PhoneCoach equipment of the years and delegates learn most by DOING.


Phone coach both hire and sell a comprehensive array of equipment from a 3 way simulator ( Seller, Buyer and Trainer), through cordless versions, to 12 station units.

The newest development from PhoneCoach is the PhoneCoach Live Call anytime.



For sales trainers who have already conventional run role play practice- PhoneCoach now enable the learner to move to the next level. By recording outgoing real calls. Delegates can practice new business development calls , cold calling and other proactive phone call skills.


PhoneCoach provide a number to dial, once you hear the dial tone you ring the number you want, at the end of the call, you can ring off or you can wait for the respondent to ring off and then make further calls if you wish.


You can then play back your recordings any time you like. Web playback is the most popular.

Accessing the PhoneCoach website using a secure login,( user name and password) your calls then can be downloaded to your PC or laptop via a USB memory stick. Recorded calls can be deleted automatically at the end of any period or kept for a longer period and can be remotely archived.


Leading Telephone Sales Trainer Audrey Bryce has written a glowing endorsement on the system. Apart from the accelerated learning benefits and measurable success of training Audrey says

“ This tool will enable companies to quantify their return on investment. "

http://www.phonecoach.com/



Anne England of Ashford Tailored Training


I attended a short presentation by Ashford Training. Anne England described the training partnership that Ashford have had with Pets at home.



There may be nothing new in training, Anne explained the content matters still but the vehicle is different.



http://www.ashfordtraining.co.uk/


Ashford Tailored Training have become the voice of -“Pets at home” covering induction through Customer service to management development. The theme of her talk was “In it for the long run”.


Through the case study were shown how the story had developed & the changes of training materials.

Anne illustrated a simple but engaging way how Ashford helped to training product and technical knowledge of customer service staff at Pets at home where knowledgeable and helpful staff are needed at the customer interface.


She adapted a session on animal nutrition to one for the audience at the exhibition – Human Nutrition. We were lent a squeaky pet toy to use for voting for our choice on a multiple choice questionnaire projected on PowerPoint slides.


Testing them out as when Stephen Fry asks the contestants on TV’s ‘QI’ programme to test their buzzer, the audience at the show were involved and engaged.

This was impressive as the seminar theatre was open to the corridors of the exhibition on two sides with attendant distractions of people walking by.



It is also a somewhat less expensive option to electronic voting used at other sessions and the conference!


Ashford measured their training with the client and achieved an impressive 89% knowledge retention score, improved sales and Net Promotion Scores ( NPS)

Raf Verheyden Managing Director of McVirtus


There were a host of e-learning purveyors at the show this year.

Indeed the First floor was dedicated to one which caught my eye was McVirtus.
I asked Raf who is from Belgium what makes effective e- learning.


McVirtus’ approach is for very high quality visual input underpinned by Cognitive Load Theory so that learning is embedded and sticks with better retention.. With clients like Siemens and BASF their solutions sell.


Along with visually rich content, e-learning sessions Raf suggested that they should be no longer than 20 minutes. McVirtus' e –learning Sales training suite comprises of six modules which are to be covered in two weeks.


Their projects are supported by follow up emails, reminders and control statistics for monitoring and measuring.

This is important since a major criticism of on line learning approaches is the issue that often candidates don’t complete their courses.

Effective Online training is achieved through better comprehension, greater user adoption and superior retention.


McVirtus offer on line course in Sales, Procurement, leadership and soft skills.
http://www.mcvirtus.com/


They blog at www.SIPM.com/WINS

The Learning Technologies Show 2011 continues tomorrow 27th January Further reports will be posted on Better use of presentation on Camera with RADA and Mobile learning the Element K way.

Learning Technologies 2011 Show (2nd Post), A Tribal approach, A Red Herring and “Charisma can be taught” - the giftie gie us ?

Last night was Burns night and like many I thought on the life of the poet and man and enjoyed my 'neaps and tatties' accompanying a delicious McSweens haggis ( other brands are available but McSween are best in my view).

I am not sure I would describe my Burns supper as traditional as I used 'modern technology' in the form of microwave oven to cook it!

One of Burns' famous observations of human nature is most pertinent to learning even if to him the concept of the Learning and Development show 2011 at London's Olympia might have amazed the bard.

O would some Power the gift to give us
To
see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion:
What airs
in dress and gait would leave us,
And even devotion!

Nowadays the poem might be read off an I Pad or Knidle, or some smart phone device. The point is though that we still want to learn more about human nature. For those involved in professional selling even more so.

The array of psychometric studies into behaviour and new devices to lean from abound at this year's show as do learning and Development professional.

The first person I bumped into was Bob Hughes Business development Manager from Tribal.( actually Bob called out to me first !)

http://www.tribalgroup.com/

Tribal specialise in work based training but with a fresh and modern approach. They end to end mange the process for their clients.
Bob current activities involve designing in house training but matched to provide candidates with an NVQ qualification. By matching and support the accreditation of existing staff programmes to an apprenticeship
One delighted client is McDonalds who since stating the programme in 2006 found crew tenure has increased from 18months to 2 ½ years. Staff turnover is at an all-time low and the number of people proud to work at McDonalds has risen to a record high.

NEXT -The red herring that I mentioned in the heading is the great “ Poisson Rouge”. Senior associate Tuvia Melamid told me of three of their winning activity for clients

PopularThemes for this year include:-
The X Factor

Cheese tasting

Wine Tasting

I saw a great event that Poisson Rouge did for a Global engineering client of mine which was a treasure hunt team working event in Amsterdam.

The delegates loved the experience and learnt better team working along the way ( literally)
http://www.poisonrouge.co.uk/

The next stand that caught my eye was People changer ,Steve Thomson, of Unlimited Potential .Steve Thomson, People Changer at Unlimited Potential


As a specialist in Presentation Skills Steve comes from a career as someone who has presented to large audiences and then into training. Clearly this gives him an advantage over trainers who put on presentation courses. He says it is critical with marketers and salespeople that their presentation skills are top score. The right mental attitude along with gravitas is vital to get the message across. Intriguingly Steve believes you can learn to be charismatic. http://www.unlimitedpotential.co.uk/

Learning to see ourselves as others see us as Burns put it in the original

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

Needless to say my spell check has gon mental with the above!