Copyright 2006 Dennis Sommer

Do want to be known as "The Expert" or "The Guru"? Do you want to advance your career and income? If you answered yes to both of these questions then you need to become a Top Performer in your profession. Whether you are now a Manager, Executive, Consultant, Sales or Service Specialist, then Management skills will be one of the keys to your success. Experience and knowledge in your area of specialty may make you an above average performer, but to be a Top Performer start implementing the following 11 Management skills and action items today.

Top performers are successful by being honest, respecting a clients intelligence and focusing all their energies on how to make a difference in a clients life. After reviewing the following Top Performer Management skills and action items, you will know how to be more effective, efficient, and successful.

Strategies for building a strong successful organization.

1. Define both long term and short term measurable goals. Concentrate your efforts on the short term goals. This can be measurable goals either weekly or monthly. The long term goals will come.

2. Fuel your internal motivation by setting clear and concrete goals and objectives. Example, customers to contact, revenue, gross margin, issue response time, etc.

3. Measure everything. Anything with a response that will measure your effectiveness. Develop a scorecard system that tracks your target goal versus what you actually achieved.

4. When your customers perceive your offering or service as being in short supply, they view it as more valuable. Market for 20% more volume that you can manage.

5. Discontinue 50% of your offerings to increase overall sales. To many offerings cause customer confusion and lost sales. Analyze your offerings and discontinue your unprofitable or low margin offerings.

6. Focus promotions on new customers not current customers. Your current customers already know what value you bring to the table.

7. Promote a list of unique features that compliment a competitive solution or show unique value. Your offering will then stand out from the others.

8. Keep it simple and relevant. Eliminate irrelevant information from offering brochures, marketing, and presentations.

9. Empower healthy competition between departments, divisions, and regions. Reward success.

10. Hire competitive people. Competition is healthy and will improve everyones performance.

11. Selling success follows six fundamentals:

Passion (for your company, offering, service, and yourself)
Organization (take notes and have all your information at your fingertips)
Planning (develop and execute a step by step plan for each opportunity)
Persistence (never give up)
People Skills (develop excellent written and verbal communication skills)
Offering Knowledge (know everything about your offerings and the competitors offerings).