What is performance management? It's the antithesis of the old way of thinking, which says that an employee should be able to set goals for the year and greatly improve performance simply based on one all-important, make-or-break annual performance review. By contrast, performance management is an ongoing process involving goal-setting, a dash of career coaching, frequent feedback and constant review of employee performance.

But performance management is also about giving employees the space they need to use their creativity and chart their own course. How do you mix these two seeming contradictions to produce a performance-management system that works for your team?

Key components of performance management

A quick Internet search for "performance management consultants" yields a list of armies of consultants ready to train your staff in performance-management techniques. But many of the most effective performance-management methods are easy to implement immediately:

• Give feedback that's specific — instead of simply saying "good job on that project," specify what was good about it.
• Give feedback that's timely (close to the event) and frequent.
• Focus on behavior rather than personality when giving constructive feedback.
• Be sincere in trying to help correct mistakes and ineffective behaviors.
• Ask permission to give constructive feedback: "I'd like to give you some feedback on how you ran today's meeting — is that OK with you?"
• Ask for your employees' view of situations and give them chances to identify behaviors that they agree to change, ways to improve communication or ideas for increasing output. Then summarize your agreements before ending the discussion and set a date to review employees' progress.

In the world of performance management, constructive feedback is not necessarily negative — and it isn't the opposite of positive feedback. Constructive feedback is a way of helping employees understand how their performance measures up to company expectations so that they can empower themselves and set goals to meet those expectations.

Benefits for you and your organization

All but the most recalcitrant or belligerent employees will benefit from performance management. Managers find performance management exciting because the coaching-based approach works by convincing employees to make behavioral changes without damaging their dignity. The method also improves productivity along the way because it encourages employees to take ownership of projects and use their own creativity and skills more effectively.

On the other side of the manager's desk, employees find that performance management teaches them methods of goal-setting and improved communication skills that serve them well in other areas of life.

Shifting your managerial focus to performance management has great benefits for you, your organization and your employees — and it all starts with a little feedback.

Be prepared!

An excerpt from Jeffrey Gitomer's Little Red Book of Selling

What do you need to know about the prospect's business to engage? I mean if you just walk in the door and say, "Tell me a little bit about your business," how unprepared does that make you look? Answer: TOTALLY UNPREPARED. Prepared is going to their website and printing out several strategic pages, reading them, and making notes so you can ask about what you don't understand, or need elaboration on -- not asking about them from TOTAL IGNORANCE.

NOTE: Just so we understand each other, "Tell me a little about your business, " is the third dumbest thing you can say to or ask a prospect. The second is "Let me tell you a little about my business." The prospect couldn't CARE LESS about you or your business, and probably already knows enough to not want to hear it again. The first most dumbest? I'll tell you later. Let's talk about where to find out information about a prospect and his or her business before your sales call.

1. The Internet. Don't just look up their site. Enter their company name on Google or other search engines like dogpile.com and see what pops up. There may be an article or other important information. Then enter the name of the person you're meeting with. Then enter the name of the CEO. Then tell me why you're not meeting with the CEO. (Just a little jab there.) By the way, if you look up the name of the person you're meeting with and you find nothing, that also tells you something.

2. Their literature. Even though it's we-we, it has the basic "brags" covered and may talk about shifts in emphasis and market coverage. It also tells you what they think of themselves and their products.

3. Their vendors. Usually reluctant talkers, but they can tell you what it's like to do business with them and all about how you are going to be paid. Valuable information to say the least. Vendors are a rarely used resource.

4. Their competition. Oh man, talk about dirt, here it is. Just ask casual questions about how they win business -- it will tell you what it will be like to negotiate with them. By the way, the more their competition hates them, the better they usually are. Competitors hate the people who take business away from them.

5. Their customers. Customers talk. And they are the real word on delivery, organization, quality, and the subtle information that can give you an insightful competitive advantage.

6. People in your network who may know them. A quick e-mail to your inside group asking for information will always net a fact or two and may just be the bonanza you were looking for.

7. Their other employees. Occasionally the admin will help, but don't count on it. A better bet is their PR department or their marketing department.

8. The best and least used resource: Their sales department. Salespeople will tell you anything. You can get details you won't believe.

8. 5 Google yourself. Want some pain? Look up your own name. Where are you? What's your Internet position? Suppose they are looking you up. What will they find? If it's nothing, that's a report card on you.

And it's not just Internet preparation. It's other research like finding mutual friends, calling a few vendors, maybe a few customers. Getting VITAL information as it relates to the buying of your product or service. There's one more thing in preparation: Be prepared with an objective or two about what you want to accomplish in the meeting.

Proper preparation takes time, but I assure you it's impressive to the prospect. He or she knows that you have prepared, and is silently impressed. It's an advantage that very few salespeople use. They make the fatal error of getting all their own stuff ready. PowerPoint slides, samples, literature, business cards -- you know, all the same things the competition is doing. Biggest mistake in sales. And almost every salesperson makes it.

And it's not only preparation about the sale -- it's your personal preparation for sales -- your personal training. How ready are you? Get ready baby. Turn off the TV and get ready.

Want a list of places you can gather information about the sales call? Sure you do. Go to www.gitomer.com, register if you are a first-time visitor, and enter the word RESEARCH in the GitBit box.

Click here buy the Little Red Book of Selling V-Book
now from Amazon.com

Qwest recently launched sales of Verizon Wireless Services, including to customers in Business Markets. Verizon Wireless services, however, are not yet available to be sold through QBPP.

In the next few weeks we will be finalizing details of Partner participation that will include a
separate Partner application process – subject to approval by Qwest and Verizon Wireless, background and financial checks, and a separate contract with Qwest if all approvals are obtained. Commissions, if any, on sales of Verizon Wireless are also still being determined by Qwest.

We appreciate the many expressions of interest in this new service and we will keep you posted as we progress.

PHONE+ magazine and the Channel Partners Conference & Expo have selected the 2008-09 members of their joint advisory board. The advisory board is composed of master agents, independent agents, carriers/service providers, VARs, resellers, dealers/interconnects, attorneys, consultants and representatives from several industry associations, including the Agent Alliance, Technology Channel Association, WIBOC and TAG National.

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) August 18, 2008 -- PHONE+ magazine and the Channel Partners Conference & Expo have selected the 2008-09 members of their joint advisory board. The advisory board is composed of master agents, independent agents, carriers/service providers, VARs, resellers, dealers/interconnects, attorneys, consultants and representatives from several industry associations, including the Agent Alliance, Technology Channel Association, WIBOC and TAG National.

The advisory board members are:
Master agents: Adam Edwards, CEO, Telarus; Jay Bradley, president of Telecom Services, Intelisys; and Josh Anderson, CEO, Telephony Partners.
Agents/subagents: William Leutzinger, president, TelecomMedic, and James Lockhart, president, Telecom Management Inc.
Carriers/service providers: Brian Snortheim, director, alternate channel marketing, Time Warner Cable, and Jeff Howe, vice president and general manager - agent channel, PAETEC.
Resellers: Michael McLelan, senior vice president, PowerNet Global, and Sarah Graham Linares, vice president, product development and revenue assurance, TMC
Dealers/interconnects: Ben Stiegler, CEO, Synertel, and David Blau, chief strategy officer, Consolidated Technologies Inc.
VARs: Ben Henkels, principal, Communication Management Partners, and Roger Thomas, CEO, TeleComp
Consultants/attorneys: Ben Bronston, partner, Nowalsky, Bronston & Gothard; Bill Taylor, president, Corporate Ladders; and Neil Ende, Managing Partner, Technology Law Group
Associations: Dale Stein, co-founder, TAG National; Dany Bouchedid, CEO of ColoTraq for TCA; Bill Power, CEO, Agent Alliance; and Mark Landiak, president of Market Dynamics for WIBOC.

"We are excited to have our new advisory board in place to advise us on PHONE+ and the Channel Partners Conference & Expo," said Khali Henderson, editor in chief of PHONE+ magazine. "We had more than 70 qualified applicants apply for board positions and feel that we have selected a board that will add valuable insight to these resources and the channel."

Advisory board duties include providing story ideas and blogging for PHONE+ as well as assisting in planning the Channel Partners Conference & Expo.

About PHONE+
PHONE+ magazine is the country's leading resource for communication distribution channels. For more than two decades, PHONE+ has been the undisputed leader in providing news and analysis to alternate distribution channels serving the communications industry. It is the unrivaled resource for resellers, aggregators, agents, brokers, VARs, systems integrators, interconnects and dealers that provide network-based communications and computing services and associated CPE, applications and professional services.

PHONE+ includes a monthly print publication, a Web resource (http://www.phoneplusmag.com/), a weekly newsletter as well as special issues, such as the Channel Program Guide and an annual buyer's guide.

About the Channel Partners Conference & Expo
Hosted by PHONE+ magazine, the Channel Partners Conference & Expo is the telecom industry's only event exclusively for the channel. The fall event is taking place this week at Boston's World Trade Center. The spring conference is set for March 1-3, 2009, at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. For more information, visit http://www.channelpartnersconference.com/.

###

Telephony Partners is now certified to sell wireless services using Deltacom's new Simpli-Mobile offering.  This service must be sold in conjunction with Deltacom network services.

Simpli-Mobile^SM

Staying connected is crucial in today's real-time business environment. Even when you are outside the office, Deltacom and Simpli-Mobile keep you linked to what is going on in it. If one of your goals is to increase productivity and efficiency, our leading edge devices from Motorola and Sierra Wireless will help you achieve it.

Our plans offer the flexibility of pooled minutes which enable you to share minutes by plan - not by device. Plus, you enjoy the convenience of a single bill and provider who coordinates, evaluates and provides a complete and accountable business solution allowing you to concentrate on your business not your business solutions. Enjoy the power of Simpli-Mobile and realize the freedom of limitless productivity.

• Flexibility of pooled minutes packages ranging from 300 to 25,000 per package
• Opportunity to pair minutes package(s) with mobile phones in the way that best suits your unique business requirements
• Confidence that your mobile phones are high quality, leading edge Motorola products
• Freedom of high speed, secure Internet access on your laptop anywhere within your mobile coverage area using the Sierra Wireless Air Card modem
• Convenience of receiving only one invoice for your entire mobile solution

Click Here for Devices & Features
Click Here for Coverage Map
http://www.deltacom.com/fiberoptic_network.asp

Huntsville, Ala., March 3, 2008 - ITC DeltaCom, Inc. (OTC: ITCD.OB), a leading provider of integrated communications services to customers in the southeastern United States, today announced the launch of Simpli-Mobile, a mobile voice and data product targeted at small and medium sized businesses in its southeastern footprint.

Simpli-Mobile offers nationwide mobile access to voice, email, text and internet connectivity. Customers will be able to select cell phones and PDAs from a leading manufacturer and to utilize Deltacom's hosted exchange services to integrate office-based e-mail, calendar, and contacts programs with Deltacom mobile devices without purchasing expensive network hardware or maintaining in-house technology experts.

"Deltacom is committed to delivering the most innovative solutions in the communications market. Simpli-Mobile delivers the convergence of mobile and business application technology that small business owners require in today's fast paced workplace," said Randy Curran, Deltacom's CEO. He added, "Simpli-Mobile is a simple and powerful solution managed by Deltacom so that our customers can focus on doing what they do best - managing and growing their businesses".

Simpli-Mobile will only be available as a bundle with Deltacom's integrated land line voice, data, and equipment solutions. Customers will receive a consolidated bill for all Deltacom services and have a single point of contact for support. Deltacom's customers already have access to a highly customizable solution in Simpli-Business, an offering that combines the Deltacom network, NEC phone systems, Lexmark printers and Lenovo PC's as an "all in" managed solution for the small business owner. Simpli-Mobile further simplifies the communications needs of small businesses by integrating mobile and office-based communication services.

ABOUT ITC DELTACOM, INC.

ITC DeltaCom, Inc. ("DeltaCom") headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, provides, through its operating subsidiaries, integrated telecommunications and technology services to businesses and consumers in the southeastern United States. DeltaCom has a fiber optic network spanning approximately 14,500 route miles, including more than 11,000 route miles of owned fiber, and offers a comprehensive suite of voice and data communications services, including local, long distance, broadband data communications, Internet connectivity, and customer premise equipment to end-user customers. DeltaCom is one of the largest competitive telecommunications providers in its primary eight-state region.  DeltaCom is a certified competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in Arkansas, Texas, Virginia and all nine AT&T states. For more information about DeltaCom, visit DeltaCom's Web site at http://www.deltacom.com/

Miller Heiman's award-winning Sales Performance Tips (formerly Miller Heiman eTips) have been helping serious sales professionals around the world win business since 1998. Miller Heiman's newest white paper series "Best of Miller Heiman Sales Performance Tips" includes carefully selected tips that address a pressing topic faced by sales professionals.

In this issue, we focus on how you can effectively managing your sales funnel, also known as the sales pipeline. The sales funnel describes the actual conversion of prospects into sales. It is called as such because it includes the conversion ratio at each stage of the sales cycle, which has a funneling effect. Prospects are theoretically fed into the top of the funnel, and converted sales drop out at the bottom.

Part 1: Building A Healthy Funnel

Start by Selecting the Right Opportunities

Prospecting and qualifying occurs at the top of the funnel. By putting the right opportunities at the top of your funnel, you are setting yourself up to pursuing only those that have the best chance of closing.

Truly Understand Your Customer's Needs

Managing a swift funnel also requires a rigorous understanding of your customer's decision-making process. This means that you've got to get inside your prospects' head to understand their underlying needs and interests in the sale.

Part 2: Three Ways to Unclog Your Funnel.

Opportunities in your funnel that aren't going anywhere may keep you from reaching your quota. These three steps work in collaboration to keep your sale moving forward.

Part 1: Building a Healthy Funnel

Start by Selecting the Right Opportunities

Chances are you're already familiar with the concept of a sales pipeline, or "funnel". The funnel is a useful tool for organizing specific sales opportunities by their probability of resulting in a sale.

At any given moment, nearly 35% of prospects you're pursuing could be wasting your time. Without putting the right opportunities into the top of your funnel, you can't possibly hope to achieve win-win outcomes at the bottom.

Before you set out to pursue the opportunities in your universe, spend some time sorting your prospects using your Ideal Customer Profile. This will ensure that you're focusing your efforts on the opportunities that reflect the best probability of closing. The Ideal Customer Profile is a standard used in Miller Heiman's Strategic Selling® workshop to identify your best prospects and separate them from those who you perceive to be liabilities. It requires you to take into account your customer's demographic and psychographic characteristics. Examples of demographic traits are your customer's company size, budget, and the compatibility of your solution with their resources. Psychographic characteristics are the attitudes and values shared by the buying influences within your target account. By pursuing prospects that fit your Ideal Customer Profile you will be able to focus your time, energy, and effort on those opportunities that are most likely to result in a win-win outcome.

Without a disciplined methodology for identifying the right opportunities to pursue, resources are wasted on opportunities that will not likely result in profitable business. When this happens, your funnel could become distorted, being too heavily weighted on the top end, thus restricting a smooth flow of opportunities toward close at the bottom. Sales productivity would then be reduced, resulting in fewer opportunities in the final stages of the funnel.

Take the time to sort out your opportunities using your Ideal Customer Profile. This will help you determine which accounts to add to the top of your funnel. The result is that you'll be pursuing only those opportunities that have the best chance of closing. Isn't that time well spent?

Truly Understand Your Customer's Needs

Managing a swift funnel also requires a rigorous understanding of your customer's decision-making process. This means that you've got to get inside your prospects' head to understand their underlying needs and interests in the sale - what makes them say "yes". Conceptual Selling® explains that the Customer's Concept is what your customer seeks to fix, accomplish, or avoid in the sale. In order to achieve a true win-win outcome, you'll need to make sure you can create a fit between your solution and your Customer's Concept.

Effective funnel management is a reflection of your ability to consistently identify the right opportunities, and to understand the true needs of your prospects. As a result, you will be able to keep your funnel moving and win more business while creating value where it's needed most.

Part 2: Three Ways to Unclog Your Funnel

Opportunities in your funnel that aren't going anywhere may keep you from reaching your quota this year. Here are three things you can do today to keep those sales opportunities moving forward.

1. Use Your Plan for Finding, Winning, and Keeping Business

Getting back to the basics of your sales plan will create a healthier funnel. It doesn't matter if you're prospecting new opportunities or developing new business with an existing customer, you have to have a strategy for managing the opportunity at every level of the funnel.

Having the right plan is like having a blueprint for managing the complexities of a sale. You have to map out the right people, and sell to each of their different interests and motivations. This plan will help you manage change and remove surprises that are common in complex sales so you can keep the sale moving forward.

2. Make Great Sales Calls

To make year-end quota you have to be making great sales calls now! That means making each and every call you make count. Each call should be centered on the customer's underlying needs so you can gain incremental commitment. Before the call, have a plan for how it contributes to moving your sale forward in your funnel. Otherwise, you're just wasting time.

3. Access Key Decision Makers and Win Their Approval

In today's selling environment, decisions have been elevated. You've got to connect with higher-level executives to win the deal. Not only do you need to access these key decision makers, but you've got to make an impact once you get in front of them. Differentiate yourself and connect with how they make decisions, so you can win their approval.

These three steps work in collaboration to keep your sale moving forward, from generating new prospects, to closing the deal. Use them together and you will put yourself in a much better position to reach your quota this year!

Today's workforce looks and acts much differently than any in the past. Millennials, a term used to describe people born between 1981 and 1999, have completed their education and want to join the ranks of corporate America. Also known as Generation Y or the Internet Generation, Millennials comprise the largest group since the Baby Boomers.

Qualities of Millennials

What makes this group of eager young workers unique?

• Technology savvy. Millennials integrate technology into nearly every aspect of their daily lives. Their savvy far outpaces previous generations, especially when it comes to virtual communication.
• Flexibility. Given the ever-changing and fast-paced world in which they grew up, it comes as little surprise that Millennials thrive in diverse positions that require multi-tasking.
• Success-driven and responsible. Many experts believe the personality traits of young workers reflect the environment in which they were brought up – doting parents who motivated and encouraged them, a fast-paced and dynamic world, and the ability to interact with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
• The perfect employee candidate? Between a talent for developing relationships, a can-do attitude and the ability to easily learn new skills and technologies, Millennials may well represent the ideal employee.

Managing Millennials

As this new group enters the workforce, managers must educate themselves about their new employees and adjust their strategies and techniques to make the most of performance, productivity, satisfaction and loyalty. To reap the benefits of Millennials' positive qualities, consider the following tips:

• Allow for socializing. Social relationships stand as one of the strengths and needs of Millennials. For this reason, managers may need to consider chit-chat somewhat of a necessity, as long as it doesn't affect productivity.
• Challenge Millennials. As a generation that listens to the iPod, text messages, and converses with friends, sometimes all at once, Millennials need continual challenge to hold their interest.
• Create teamwork opportunities. Millennials look for a collaborative, team environment and appreciate employers who encourage this work culture.
• Allow for creativity and autonomy. Unless given an allowance for innovative thinking, Millennials will grow bored. Freedom to work in an open-minded environment increases their satisfaction and efficiency.
• Make them prove themselves. Unlike the generation before, Millennials don't fear taking on greater responsibility. Encourage them to work for their kudos.
• Motivate without the money. Millennials prefer time off, positive encouragement, employee perks and a team they enjoy rather than a bigger paycheck.

In an age in which talent will become the top competitive advantage, now's the time to understand Millennials and allow these flexible employees to climb your company's corporate ladder.

The U.S. health care industry, including hospitals, doctors, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, represents a $55 billion opportunity for telecom service providers over the next five years, according to a report from Insights Research. Helping to drive spending are trends such as an aging population and a dwindling talent pool, which will force the health care industry to look for more efficient ways to provide care, said Robert Rosenberg, Insight Research president. - Telephony Online

To boost your knowledge in this vertical, we're hosting a webinar to discuss healthcare trends like electronic medical record management, ongoing HIPPA requirements and automated administrative operations. We'll also review strategies for uncovering your customer's specific needs and identifying best-fit Qwest solutions.

Best of all, you'll hear success stories about current Qwest healthcare customers, plus insights from a fellow Qwest Business Partner who specializes in the healthcare industry.

And-we're giving away gift cards! Attend this live webinar and you'll be eligible to win a $100 gift card!

Date: Monday, June 16
Time: 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT
Register for this important webinar on the following link:
https://qwestconferencing.qwest.com/confmgr/event_register.jsp?eventId=68328&invitationId=1074786.

Join us to get an in-depth look at the healthcare industry.

Due to regulatory changes Qwest will be raising intralata and intrastate switched rates in Florida July 6, 2008. Qwest is providing a 30-day notice of the increase to affected customers.

Customer notification / rate increase timeline:

• Letters to customers impacted by this rate increase will be mailed May 29 through June 2
• Impacted customers may begin to see the letters starting
  June 3
• The rate increase will take place on July 6

Overview: Collectively hosted by Qwest Communications, Nortel, and Microsoft, three powerhouse leaders in the Unified Communications space, this TechRepublic Webcast explores the drivers, challenges, and solutions for enterprises considering Unified Communications.

Many companies today have far too many communication vehicles of far too many types and in far too many places. By exploring Unified communications organizations can bridge the gap between data and telephony and gain new value from their communications infrastructure.

Speakers include:

• Qwest: Thuy Ha, Director of Product Management, VoIP
• Nortel: Carter Kersh, Director of Unified Communications Marketing
• Microsoft:Tim Fant, Business Development Manager, Communications Sector

Unified Communications (UC) is an important business productivity trend integrating separate communications vehicles, media, devices and applications for a more cohesive user experience.  This webinar explores options, trends and solutions for business customers.

EMPLOYEE IMPACT:  Use this opportunity as a door opener or an additional touch point to engage prospects and existing customers for a discussion on unified communication efficiencies.

CUSTOMER IMPACT:  Another reason to do business with you and Qwest!  Offering co-branded education opportunities with other industry heavyweights like Microsoft and Nortel shows Qwest's willingness to partner with prospects and customers to offer a wider range of integrated business solutions.  A fantastic up-sell opportunity for existing customers.

TIMING/NEXT STEPS:  Friday, May 2^nd at 12:00 p.m. MST.  Please click the following link to register yourself, partners, and customers REGISTER NOW!.

I would like to share some good news about a new promo that I believe should help you close more sales with PAETEC.  We are running a Internet promotion where you can offer:

2yr 1.5Mb Internet T for $425

3yr 1.5Mb Internet T for $395

As with most good things in this world, there are a few exceptions worth mentioning :)

1. The local loop for the promo is included but must not exceed $200.  This means that we cannot offer this promo to areas that are "off-net" (same places we cannot do local dial tone basically).  I will be happy to help you qualify if you just send me the NPA/NXX. 

2. Router is not included, we can provide a rental at $60 per month MRC.