Whatever stage you are at with a valuable business relationship, there is one constant. Your competitors are all vying for that same relationship. One survey by RainToday.com found that over half of clients are open to switching from their current providers. A key component of consultative selling therefore is not to take these relationships for granted.

"Coaching employees" will feature prominently in the job description of most managers but what exactly is coaching and how am I supposed to do it alongside everything else on my ‘to do list’?

In the previous blog we looked at some of the reasons that can influence our assertiveness and dictate whether or not we are assertive, aggressive or submissive in our approach to others. So how exactly can I be assertive without alienating others or putting the values of others ahead of my own?

On the face of it, assertiveness is very straight forward but the reality is that many people often struggle to stand up for themselves, especially in the workplace.

There are many factors that can influence this, often depending on the time of day, who we are with, how important the situation is to us personally and so on.

Consider a scenario in which you wish you had been or could be more assertive and ask yourself which of the following factors apply to you?

Selection interviews are synonymous with the recruitment process but are interviews alone the most effective method of finding the right person as part of your recruitment management process?

Many people are recruited on their ability to perform well in an interview, whereas in fact the actual role they will be performing has little or nothing to do with being interviewed. Statistically, if your recruitment mangement strategy involves interviewing alone, you have no more than a 40% chance of finding the right person, assuming of course that you are using a competency based interview.

Objective Setting forms a key part of the staff performance management process. Many people have come across the SMART objective setting model and can quote what it stands for. For the benefit of doubt, the most commonly used version is: