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Four Ways to Keep Your Head Up in Tough Times

This recession has been hard on almost everyone. The US economic recovery is taking far longer than even the experts predicted.

So your sales targets were raised this year because people thought things were going to get better. Your numbers may be up, but they aren't where they need to be. Your employees are demoralized, and some of your best folks feel like failures and are close to giving up.

What can you do?
Life in the Slow Lanephoto © 2009 Nancy | more info (via: Wylio)


Here's a few ways to help everyone (yourself included) feel some hope for the future.

1) Celebrate the small victories. Was this week better than this week last year? Did you renegotiate a contract to lower costs? Did your team implement some new service offerings that are raising your customer satisfaction scores? Recognize every improvement publicly and thank all those who participated.

2) Create rewards and incentives. Big bonuses are a thing of the past at most companies. If you want to reward your employees but can't spend any cash, consider that free days off, flexible hours, and handwritten, personal thank-you notes all work wonders to boost morale.

3) Keep working on career pathing. It's true that most employers aren't providing promotions right now. But that doesn't mean you stop mentoring your team and stop helping them grow. Wherever possible, make sure your team is learning new skills, staying up to date on industry trends and technology, and that they are exposed to important vendors, customers, and your own company executives. Your employees won't give up on you if you haven't given up on them.

4) The two words you can say to your staff that mean the most are "Thank You." Be sincere and specific, and encourage your team to thank each other as well.

Marketing morale need a boost? I can help.

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