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Most people would agree that leadership skills are a crucial factor to getting any business into orbit, but a recent survey by learndirect business reveals training is an alien concept to many.
A cosmically staggering 51% of managers and employees working in small to medium-sized businesses have NEVER had any leadership training.
The reasons undoubtedly include financial cost and time constraints – quite often small organisations can’t afford to be without staff while they attend training sessions.
That said, modern methods such as ‘e-learning’, training online or by DVD, can reduce staff absence and gives employees the flexibility to learn at their own pace. And because learning can be done in bite-sized chunks, it can fit better around the working day.
learndirect business offers a series of training courses on DVD, entitled ‘The Apprentice’ and introduced by Nick Hewer, one of Sir Alan Sugar’s senior aides. Here are a few tips from the DVDs on negotiation, selling, pitching and presenting for business owners and managers:
• Margin is king. Be extremely organised where finance is concerned. Knowing your markets and competitors thoroughly will help you to avoid over- or under-pricing your products. If your product or service is selling well, take the additional profit. If it’s not, be prepared to drop the price.
• Be a good communicator. If you’re making a sales pitch, negotiating or selling, it’s vital to convey information quickly and effectively. Make sure all parties know and understand what’s going to happen, when, why, who is responsible for making it happen and the expected outcome. Make sure you know what you are trying to achieve before you start.
• Be honest, straightforward and show integrity. Speak to business associates with respect and where possible, don’t backtrack on deals. Be honest with your own appraisal of a project and look at how you could improve.
• Be flexible. This is the key to survival in business because the market is constantly changing. Always have a contingency plan for when things go wrong, learn from others and try to keep an open mind.
• Make sure you plan. Planning is all about having a goal, and then organising people and resources to reach it. A good business leader should be able to break the obstacles down into smaller pieces and tackle them one step at a time.
• Demonstrate strong leadership. Some people are born to lead and others are better suited to supporting and project delivery roles, but it’s also true that some people can grow into a leadership role. Make sure you lead by example – if you aren’t well organised, how can you expect your staff to be?
• Be a good people manager. Success is often the result of team effort. Communicate your vision then listen to your team – including suppliers, wholesalers and retailers – as your success ultimately depends on them.
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