Team Archives - Air Marketing

The Importance of Training When Developing High Performance Teams

Posted on 23 August 201929 June 2023 by Doug Roots

When it comes to training, I have often found that the main objection I’m met with is cost and the potential loss of investment – “what happens if we train our staff and they leave?” My response… what happens if we don’t and they stay?”

Yes, training can be expensive and in businesses, people come and go. However, if the training is right, the relevant benefits far outweigh the cost. Training is vital in the workplace as it aids both personal and company growth. Training also makes employees feel valued and invested in, resulting in a happy environment and increased productivity.

Training can benefit company growth in numerous ways:

Best practice: Training expands the knowledge base of all employees within a company. By sharing best practice within the company, all employees understanding of procedures and processes and how to deliver a high standard of quality, can then be replicated daily and maintained throughout the entire team.

Consistency: Best practice goes hand-in-hand with consistency. With constant and relevant training from day one, all employees should receive a solid foundation of knowledge, which can then be built upon. With this foundation, all employees will possess the tools and knowledge to carry out and deliver work of the same outstanding standard and quality.

Motivation: It is important to keep employees motivated as it has a direct effect on productivity. An increase in motivation will directly increase the productivity of employees and their overall performance as well as that of a team. In turn, this will generate more return on investment (ROI) for the client and the company, representing the importance of investing time and resources into training.

Employee satisfaction: Morale is high when productivity and performance throughout the company are strong. This coupled with personal achievements brings employee satisfaction, whereby employees are happy and feel valued, in turn they perform well. It’s a full circle that all stems from and starts with training.

Weak areas: Identifying and addressing weaknesses in a company presents the opportunity to carry out refresher training or upskill sessions to educate and share knowledge. This ensures that everyone is comfortable in what is required from them and the level of performance is once again maintained.

Collaboration: We all know that ‘two heads are better than one’. It makes sense then to share knowledge and experience, both within specific teams as well as between them. Coming together to help one another, as well as bringing different perspectives and opinions can sometimes be beneficial for everyone involved and helps to present various aspects of the company in various ways. This can be a training lead collaboration, whereby everyone can learn and benefit while also feeling like they have a voice.

Reduced employee turnover: When employees receive the relevant and correct amount of training, they should feel more comfortable and confident in the workplace being able to carry out all aspects of their role with ease. Thus, reducing anxiety, unhappiness and a desire to leave the company.

Training doesn’t always need to be delivered in-house. At times it is necessary to seek out external guidance and assistance. External training really helps with:

Access to expertise: When specific training is required, it is always best to go directly to the source and get the experts in, as they will know all the relevant information and the current tips and techniques being utilised and will be able to share best practice.

Fresh look: External trainers may be able to provide valuable insight into inefficiencies within the company and help us to see opportunities for improvement that we could implement smoothly and efficiently. By bringing in an outside view, they can suggest changes that we may have otherwise not been aware of or thought of.

Stretching our comfort zone: External trainers who are new to the business get employees stepping outside of their comfort zones immediately, as someone new is around.

When our comfort zones are stretched, we find it fosters creativity making us more flexible and adaptable to unexpected change. It also motivates us and increases our overall productivity and performance.

So, if you’re considering implementing a training programme for your team, give it a go, you’ll only know once you try – ‘the proof is in the pudding’ so to speak.

Opinion Piece by Nicolette Karides, Learning and Development Coordinator at Air Marketing.

Morning Buzz Meetings – Demotivating or Motivating?

Posted on 29 November 201830 January 2023 by Doug Roots

Motivation can be difficult to achieve in an office environment; hard work can often go unnoticed and the constant pressures of a competitive environment can begin to wear employees down. Research has shown, each day, 10% of employees are absent in call centres due to the lack of appreciation felt in the workplace. This research alone highlights the need, especially in my industry, for touchpoints which allow managers to show their appreciation to their staff, highlight individual achievements and deliver motivational objectives. In this blog post, I will share my experience and tips for achieving the above in one morning meeting.

So, how do you maximise your morning buzz meetings to encourage individuals and create high performing sales teams?

Strategise

43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week, however, employee reviews should be happening more often and take less time.

There’s nothing worse than a long-winded ‘motivational’ meeting that is set to demotivate from the offset. It’s therefore important that you plan and prepare; effective buzz meetings should be concise and last no longer than 15 minutes, be armed with your objectives, focus on team wins and pinpoint your collective areas of learning.

Set the tone

Our physical behaviour influences our mental and emotional approach to the day.

Think of ways to get your team moving, have a walking meeting, introduce a quick-fire game or play uplifting music to get the blood pumping. Increased blood flow creates a positive mood, resulting in employees being more equipped to handle objections, take on new challenges and meet personal milestones.

Spotlight success

69% of employees say they would work harder if they felt their efforts were better recognised.

This is the perfect opportunity to feature the activity which you want to encourage. Celebrate your teams wins, even if they don’t lead to a direct sale and avoid focusing on losses. Recognising individual and team achievements has become my common practise, as I know this makes the individuals in my team feel more confident and in turn, pushes them to set bigger targets.

Support and encourage

41% of companies that encourage colleagues to support one another experienced a significant increase in customer satisfaction.

If you want to create a great support network and boost team morale, encourage employees to praise fellow team members, this assures no one’s hard work slips past management and brings the team closer together. If your team is feeling positive it will show in their client conversations, resulting in better relationship building, more sales and higher ROI for the company.

Strengthen from learnings

92% of employees agree that negative feedback, if delivered appropriately, is effective at improving performance.

Remember, the key for creating a great buzz meeting is positivity. Take negative feedback from the day before and turn it into takeaways and learnings for the team to overcome together. If a client isn’t happy with an element of your team’s performance, encourage your team to think of tactics that will better engage them and the people they are selling to.

State the day’s focus

90% of business leaders believe that an engagement strategy could positively impact their business, yet only 25% of them have a strategy in place. It’s therefore no surprise that only 40% of employees are well informed of their company’s goals, strategy, and tactics.

It’s time to hit the reset button and introduce a new action plan for the day. Ask each individual team member, “what do you want to achieve today?” I have found that when the whole team acknowledges personal targets, that individual immediately feels more accountability to meet their goal, success is more likely to be achieved and goals are more likely to align to the company’s bigger picture.

At Air Marketing, we have experienced great success from our initiative to focus on our internal company culture. Achieving £18 for every £1 our clients invest, we are performing higher than the industry’s £11 average. I personally believe this success is down to the time we take out of selling to promote appreciation, individual achievements and team objectives. The culture at Air is one that I haven’t experienced anywhere else, our team’s positive and supportive nature is infectious, thanks to our daily buzz meetings we continue to deliver fantastic results for the companies we support.

Opinion Piece by Annie Blundell – Account Director, Air Marketing

England Captain Keryn Seal announces his retirement from International Blind Football

Posted on 17 July 201830 June 2023 by Doug Roots

2 Paralympic Games, 3 World Cups, and 7 European Championships later – Keryn Seal has decided to hang up his boots after a memorable 14-year career representing his country.

After losing his sight in 2002, Keryn discovered Blind Football as a Paralympic Sport in 2005. Within 3 months of attending training camps, Keryn was playing at the European Championships.

Fully integrated in the blind football culture, alongside being England’s Captain for 4 years between 2012 and 2016, Keryn helped Avoy MU Brno, in a player-coach role, to the Central European Blind League title this season. Added to that, he was also part of The West Bromwich Albion blind team that brought home the national league and cup titles this season. Keryn has played in the national blind competitions which are supported by the Football Association for the past 11 seasons. Amassing 7 league titles and 6 national cup winners medals.

Having amassed 4 Silver and 3 Bronze World and European Medals throughout his career, Keryn made history when he became the first Captain to take over the England squad in the professional era. Competing in both the Beijing and London Paralympic Games, Keryn’s finishing his career on 127 international appearances in which he’s represented England and Great Britain.

“Keryn’s influence on English blind football cannot be underestimated, and will last long into the future. Not only was he a passionate and highly-skilled player on the pitch, he also worked hard to find new players and to assist with their development. Keryn played a large role in introducing at least half of the players who have represented England in the last decade, including myself and Dan James.

Keryn has always trained with the same passion he demonstrates on the pitch, and has without doubt driven up the training standards of the England squad as a collective. It is a mark of his professionalism that he feels the time is now right to stop, as he can no longer commit to training with the same volume and intensity as he has in the past. When starting out, Keryn was instrumental in demonstrating the level of commitment required to develop in to a top international player, and led by example both on and off the pitch. Keryn’s 127 caps and excellent injury record are testimony to the work he has put in. While a major international championship has ultimately proven elusive, Keryn should be proud of a collection of silver and bronze medals, as well as the admiration of rival international players” – Robin Williams, Current England Captainn.

Now retiring from International Football, Keryn’s focus is on his family and continuing with his career within Air Marketing Group in Exeter. Having joined Air Marketing in March 2017, Keryn has received continued support from Air allowing him to manage his time supporting both his sports and sales career. An extremely valued member of #TeamAir; much like within his football career Keryn progressed up the ladder quickly. As an Account Manager he continues to prove his track record when growing business for large client accounts – showing strong management skills that nurture and motivate people.

‘’Keryn never fails to impress me, having worked with him since his early days with Air; his commitment, enthusiasm and desire to succeed is admirable. Keryn’s motivation, passion and competitiveness is unique and his ability to motivate and lead a team is exceptional. Not only is he highly skilled at what he does on a daily basis, he has a calm, collective and thorough mentor when it comes to training junior members of the team. With a wicked sense of humour, a hunger to be the best and a naturally gifted skillet, Keryn is an asset to our organisation and it excites me to think where he could be in the next few years’’ – Marco Alfano-Rogers, Account Director, Air Marketing Group.

“Keryn has been a great addition to the Air Team. He is competitive by nature, which makes him a great fit for our sales environment. We’re proud to have a double Paralympian and an England Captain in our ranks” – Owen Richards, Managing Director, Air Marketing Group.

Heading into extra time

With more time on his hands, having previously given talks around sport and business’s relationship with team sport, Keryn hopes to continue being a familiar voice within the community that shaped him. So, if you are looking for someone to inspire, motivate and talk around a wide subject with plenty of experience, give Keryn a shout.

To find out more about Air Marketing Group and the opportunities that are available through working with them, get in touch on 0345 241 3038.

What qualities make the ‘perfect’ telemarketer

Posted on 16 July 2018 by Doug Roots

Selecting the right telemarketer for your campaign is vital, get this wrong and you’ll see potential leads deteriorate, your business reputation plummet and you’ll miss the full potential of ROI.

At Air Marketing Group, we know that quality telemarketers are worth their weight in gold. They can draw from their experience and personal qualities to ensure your campaign gets results.

However, what qualities make these people so vital to your campaign?

It’s obvious, a telemarketer can’t sell if they’re unable to absorb the fundamentals of your product or service

The ‘perfect’ telemarketer will be adaptable, working across a variety of client accounts and multiple sectors, drawing experience and implementing it to different campaigns. A great telemarketer will be self-managed and fast progressing when becoming familiar with your campaign. They will have the ability to research and retain important campaign information, building a strong rapport between your business and your prospects. Taking the time to fully plan the strategy behind your telemarketing campaign will ensure that your campaign team are working towards the same goal, communicating the same message and focusing on meeting your KPI’s.

It’s time to kill the urban myth ‘a great telemarketer sells due to their ability to talk a lot’

A successful telemarketer listens and, more importantly hears and understands. It’s easy to get lost in that ‘parrot fashion script’ telling a prospect what you think they want to hear. However, the key is to engage in a two-way conversation. The ‘perfect’ telemarketer will listen, hear the prospects needs, situation and pain points, then focus on this information to lead the conversation. They will have the ability to think on their feet and change their delivery of a script to recommend the right solution for the prospect.

Telemarketers are tactful

In the telemarketing game you must be able to make smart decisions, getting tactful in order to get past the gatekeepers. Asking the right questions is something that can be learnt but being respectful and asking permission to ask those personal questions when engaging with prospects is a quality that a great telemarketer will already possess. Being progressive, ambitious and a good communicator across any level of person are key qualities of the ‘perfect’ telemarketer.

Mind over matter

Telemarketers hear a lot of no’s. If they’re right for the position they will have a high level of resilience, understanding rejection isn’t personal, and continuing to possess a courteous nature even when their proposition is turned down. The ‘perfect’ telemarketer has a positive mental attitude that every business strives to harbour.

Benefit from telemarketing

If your business is looking to work with positive, resilient and experienced telemarketing professionals get in touch and find out how we can turn your prospects into clients. Contact us on 0345 241 3038 or send us an email with your project details to contact@air-marketing.co.uk.

Do you think you could be the ‘perfect’ telemarketer? Why not become part of #TeamAir and show us what you are made of? We are always looking for talented telemarketers to deliver for our clients. Share your CV with us at contact@air-marketing.co.uk

Tag: Team

The Importance of Training When Developing High Performance Teams

Morning Buzz Meetings – Demotivating or Motivating?

England Captain Keryn Seal announces his retirement from International Blind Football

What qualities make the ‘perfect’ telemarketer

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