By Karen Hughes

It's that time of year again to dust off your dress shoes, pull out the etiquette books, and remind yourself of the simple courtesies of being a guest. Regardless of whether you are attending an office party or neighborhood party or even hosting one, polish up on your etiquette. Not only will it ensure your comfort and success at the party but your guests' success as well.

Invitations
All invitations should include the basics: who, what, when, where, why. It is also nice to list a dress code, but if it is not, a phone call to the host is appropriate.

• R.S.V.P. - It means reply. Please honor the host with a reply as soon as possible.

Arrival
Getting to the party on time is important, but when to arrive?

• Dinner party never arrive more than 10-15 minutes late and never arrive early unless you have been asked to help the host.
• Restaurant date - arrive no later than 5 minutes late.
• Cocktail party - usually a cocktail party is a bit more fluid. Arriving 10 - 15 sometimes 30 minutes late is appropriate.

Attire
Use the following guidelines when deciding your party dress.

• "Holiday Casual" - means business casual with some holiday colors or designs but please watch the skin and glitter, business etiquette still prevails
• "Business Casual" - Men should wear a seasonal sport coat or blazer, pressed slacks or khaki and open-collar shirt or mock turtleneck. Women should wear a skirt, pressed khakis or slacks and nice blouse, sweater and jacket option. (no camisoles or spaghetti straps)
• "Dressy Casual" - Men should wear a seasonal sports coat or blazer and slacks with a dress shirt - tie is not mandatory. Women should wear a knee or appropriate length (not above the knee) dress or skirt and dressy top or dressy coordinated pants outfit.
• "Festive" - This can be a bit more risky. If you are in a business setting, choose your outfit with care and defer to "holiday casual". If you are in a social setting men should wear a seasonal sport coat or blazer, slacks, open collar shirt or mock turtleneck and if desired a festive tie. Women have the option of wearing short cocktail dresses, long dressy skirts and tops or a coordinated dressy pants outfit.

Wine or Cocktails?
At a business event, always remember that you are still being evaluated by your superiors and peers. If you find it difficult to limit your alcohol intake, you may choose to carry a glass of sparkling water. You wouldn't want to find yourself dancing on the table later.

Cell Phones
Give it a rest at the party. Remove all earpieces and electronic attachments prior to arriving and turn your phone to vibrate or off. Never answer your phone during dinner or in conversation with another guest.

Conversation
It's been said that "loose lis sink ships?"

• No off color or dirty jokes
• No politics, sex or religion
• No office gossip

Paying the Bill
If you were invited to attend a dinner out, you are not expected to pay.

Tipping
This is always a touchy subject, especially during the holidays. If you get poor service, it is still proper to tip, simply reduce the amount. Use your common sense when tipping for those who make your life easier (hairdresser, driver, day care worker, postal worker) below are a few guidelines that will help.

• Salon Staff - $10 - $60 each, giving the most to those who do the most
• Teacher - gift, not cash (check policy of school)
• Trash Collector - $10 - $20 each
• Yard and Garden - $20 - $50
• Personal Trainer, Massage Therapist, etc. - cost of one session
• Postal Carrier - Government regulations permit up to $20
• Housekeeper - 1 day's pay

Gifting

• At the office - if your boss gives you a gift simply acknowledge the gift. It is not exected to reciprocate. You may choose to bring in cookies to the office.
• As a dinner guest - if you are invited to dinner at someone's home a hostess gift is always appropriate. If you bring a bottle of wine, do not expect the host to use it that evening unless you have made prior arrangements.
• As weekend guest - it is appropriate to bring a small gift to the host to show your appreciation. A bottle of wine, gift certificate or dinner out is an appropriate gift. Once home, a hand written thank you note of appreciation is also a nice gesture.

Leaving

• Thank the host(s) to acknowledge their generosity and say your good-byes.

Remember as a guest, be a guest and as the host treat everyone as a guest. When in doubt always defer to common courtesy and "the golden rule" and you will eliminate many sticky situations. There you have it, simple easy reminders for your happy holiday parties. Have fun and enjoy the season.

About Karen Hughes: As a seasoned certified image consultant, Karen Hughes follows a simple philosophy: educate, empower, and enrich the lives of her clients. Her philosophy is enmeshed throughout her practice and can be observed in her workshops, clinics, and one-on-one consultations. Her energetic and interactive style makes her a sought-after training resource for organizations and individuals alike. For more information visit www.ImageAssets.net.

I am Woman - Hear Me Roar! - November 2008
By Barbara Giamanco

How many women these days remember the now infamous song by Helen Reddy, an unlikely pioneer in the world of women's empowerment? I certainly remember the fervor and excitement that the songs words generated with women like my Mom who were longing for equality among the sexes at work. Released in its most well-known version in 1972, the song became an enduring anthem for the women's liberation movement. Since those days much has changed and some might argue that much has remained the same. But there is no question that since Reddy penned those immortal words; women's place in the world of business has definitely changed.

For starters, between 1977 and 2002, the number of women owned businesses skyrocketed by 824% says the Center for Women's Business Research. In September 2008 the center released their ninth biennial update on the status of women-owned businesses. The 2008 projections show that there are 10.1 million firms in the U.S. that are 50% or more owned by a woman, providing 13 million jobs and generating nearly $2 trillion in revenues.

Of course there is more work to be done! Women seem to lag behind their male counterparts in everything from access to financial capital to board room representation in major corporations to access to markets. Particularly concerning is the broad incidence of disparity in Federal contracting in every industry noted in the research.

 - Women-owned companies represent 56% of all businesses in educational services, but they receive only 2% of the contract dollars.

 - In health care, women-owned companies represent 58% of the businesses but receive only 7% of the contract dollars.

 - In utilities, women own 14% of the businesses but get only 1% of the contract dollars.

 - Women own 12% of the firms in transportation yet receive less than 1% of the contract collars.

The real rub is that businesses that receive government contracts are more likely to grow consistently over time. Equity isn't the only issue that these contracting disparities highlight. Economic development for women-owned businesses and for our
entire economy suffers when there isn't more parity in the distribution of the buying dollars for products and services.

By the way, private sector supplier diversity isn't much better. Six in ten Fortune 1000 companies spend $1 billion or more with outside supplies. Yet, on average, women business owners receive only 3% of these dollars.

It Takes a Roar!
These research numbers demonstrate that change is definitely needed and the only way it will happen is if women "roar together". In recent years, women's groups have sprung up in organizations of all sizes, out in local communities and across the worldwide web. It's no surprise then that the Center for Women's Business Research's studies show that the women who own the larger, faster growing businesses join more networks and use networks for various purposes. These women recognize the power of being involved with groups that can provide them with different perspectives, professional advice, guidance and mentoring on everything from how to secure capital and hire employees to looking at new ways of securing customers.

Larger, formalized company-wide women's groups have also become popular within organizations that want to provide women with the opportunity to share ideas, grow their skills and brainstorm new approaches to moving their career ahead or getting a new corporate initiative off the ground. As more of these groups form, they offer women the chance to use their collective voice to champion issues.

In 2007, an Atlanta Woman Magazine article notes core issues that women are interested in include “work/life balance, career development and planning for retirement” the article goes on to say that women’s concerns are being heard in a way that they weren't when it was several individual female employees complaining to their individual bosses. Many companies putting women’s groups in place have reported reduced turnover rates, improved business and leadership skills, higher recruitment of talented females and data that shows female employees are happier at work.

Women's groups are not new, but many women are finally beginning to fully understand the potential and power of teaming up with other like-minded women. Building a strong network to support you is especially critical now given the onslaught of negative news about the economy. It’s tempting to want to pull back and don’t you dare do it. Now is the time to invest like never before! Invest in your learning. Invest in your business. Invest in doing whatever you need to do to achieve your goals. Surround yourself with different types of people with diverse experiences that you can learn from, but remember to give back by getting involved. Let’s unleash our power by teaming together!

I am woman – hear me roar!

About the Author: Talent Builders CEO and Chief Talent Officer Barbara Giamanco capped a corporate sales career at Microsoft, where she led and trained sales teams and coached executives, before establishing Talent Builders, Inc. in 2002. Since establishing Talent Builders, Barb has worked with organizations to build high performing executive teams, develop leadership bench strength, improve communication, increase sales, hire the right people the first time, decrease turnover and improve employee retention. She is also the co-founder of the Women’s Mentor Network. For more information call 404-459-4030 or visit: www.talentbuildersinc.com

The Power of Words - October 2008
By Barbara Giamanco

In a world so full of “me first” attitudes, it is no wonder we see so much turmoil and dysfunction in the world around us. The financial fiasco being played out on the national stage is evidence that something is seriously wrong. Day after day, words of disaster come at us from all directions; words that instill fear, panic and negativity. News of foreclosures, more bank failures, bail outs totaling billions of dollars…it is no wonder the confidence level of people in our country is the lowest it has been in 28 years. That has to change and it can if we commit ourselves to changing what “we think about” and “what we say” to ourselves and others!

Anybody living in Atlanta in the month since Gustav hit the gulf coast has seen evidence of what happens when people get themselves into a place of panic and fear. Gasoline was in short supply here and the result was closed stations and long lines at the pumps of those stations that had gas. We also began to see evidence of what happens to people’s behavior in times of stress. People trying to cut in line, fist fights and angry words at the pump, and a general attitude of I’m going to get mine first.

In Corporate America, we see people suffering from a severe affliction that I like to call the “corporate coma”. People aren’t walking through their work lives with joy and ease or a sense that they are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Instead, a type of malaise has settled over employees in companies everywhere. Today’s economic fears and negativity, encouraged all too frequently by the media, only adds the proliferation of “what’s the use” attitudes. The result is an apathetic, largely checked out workforce who up to go through the motions in order to take home the paycheck.

Those of us working outside those corporate halls are not immune to feeling invisible, unappreciated for our gifts and talents, or feeling just plain beaten down by the constant demands of business and life. The constant barrage of negative information coming at us can erode our confidence, if we let it.

Big change is sorely needed in our world and it starts with each one of us. What’s happening nationally doesn’t have to be our world locally. We have all heard it said that we are what we think about. I’d like to take that a step further and say that we are also what we “talk about”. What we say – the words we use – largely determines our success or failure.

What are you saying right now? Are you complaining about what you don’t have or what you do have? Are you blaming the economy or others for what’s not working in your life right now? If you are that’s an attitude that will get you nowhere and it never will. James Arthur Ray in his book Harmonic Wealth says, “Energy flows where attention goes”. Whether you realize it or not, our words are powerful, energetic forces that have the power to harm or heal. They can either empower or disappoint. They can lift up or drag down. Choose your words carefully. Ask yourself if they help you or harm you. Banish words that keep you and others rooted in mediocrity. Commit to yourself that you will not be one of those people who use “the economy” as an excuse for not accomplishing your goals. Have a positive mental attitude, plan what you want to accomplish, develop your skills, use positive words and stay focused on the action you need to take to achieve the success you desire.

Finally, remember to maintain an “attitude of gratitude”. If you find yourself sinking into feelings of fear and worry, I encourage you to stop for a minute to take stock of all the gifts you have in your life right now, because I’m betting there are plenty of them if you just take a minute to look around. Create a gratitude list and refer to it often. Remaining grateful for what we have is a sure fire way to keep us on a positive track. And remember to say “thank you” to others around you for a job well done, a business connection made or a helping hand offered.

A positive mental attitude backed up by positive and inspiring language is one of the single biggest determinants of success. So shut out the noise. Ignore the negativity. Stay focused on your goals, speak positively to yourself and others and watch your success soar!

About the Author: Talent Builders CEO and Chief Talent Officer Barbara Giamanco capped a corporate sales career at Microsoft, where she led and trained sales teams and coached executives, before establishing Talent Builders, Inc. in 2002. Since establishing Talent Builders, Barb has worked with organizations to build high performing executive teams, develop leadership bench strength, improve communication, increase sales, hire the right people the first time, decrease turnover and improve employee retention. She is also the co-founder of the Women’s Mentor Network. For more information call 404-459-4030 or visit: www.talentbuildersinc.com

Speaking = Selling
There I was, driving home from a speaking engagement and waiting for the traffic report when a voice came over the radio. that made me shudder. Remember the Seinfeld episode where Kramer has seizures whenever he heard Mary Hart's voice come on the TV? That's what I was experiencing. And I have had that sick feeling  every time I've heard her voice in the past. I quickly switched my radio off and waited the appropriate time before turning it back on.
 
Now, why is it that a voice makes me cringe? Are there voices that make you want to cover your ears? Well, that is a question that makes us think about how we are speaking. On the telephone, experts estimate that 93% of your tone and inflection reflect the communication. In person, we assume that number is 38%. Our voices are critical to sales success. They are an integral portion of our first impressions with prospects, customers, employees, and higher ups.
 
Begin to think of your voice as your instrument. An instrument that must be finely tuned, developed, and practiced in order to successfully play the sound that appeals to the customer. Here are seven tips of how to better "tune" up your instrument so that every call is a success:
 
1. Speak clearly. Avoid dropping the endings off of your words such as "gettin', goin', shoppin', sleepin', etc." Finish the "g's" and you will sound much clearer and professional.
 
2. Instead of using filler words, such as "uh", "um", or "you know",  simply pause in between words or sentences. Gather your thought during the pause and your customer won't be distracted by your inability to quickly find the right word. The pause sends the message that you are thoughtful, which is an advantage.
 
3.  Keep your head up when you talk. If your head is down, looking at a screen, your hands, or the floor, you aren't providing your voice with the best position to project and sound engaging. With your head up, you are stretching out your vocal cords, allowing them to vibrate naturally. This is particularly important if you tend to sound monotone.
 
4. Smile into your words. When you smile, your vocal cords lift up and you sound friendlier, warmer, and more engaging. Try re-recording your outbound voice mail message by standing up, smiling into the phone, and then listen. You'll know when it sounds right.
 
5. Maintain vocal variety when you speak. Use inflection to emphasize certain words or phrases, you may want to get louder, softer, inflect an emotion on particular words. Try this exercise: Say the following words out loud and speak them as you would want your customer to experience the emotion:  "Delicious", "Great", "Reward", "Smooth", "Fine", "Amazing", "Profit". Hear the difference?
 
6. Record yourself and listen to how you sound by reading a story or a white paper out loud. After you have taped yourself, listen to what your voice sounds like. You could record your phone calls for a morning, too. See what you think after those are done.
 
7.  BREATHE. If you are breathing correctly, from your diaphragm, you will find you don't run out of breath at the end of sentences. In the meantime, you are expanding your lungs (great for when you go skiing this winter). When you breathe out, your tummy goes in, when you breathe in, your tummy goes out. See if you are doing this correctly, and start practicing when you can concentrate to improve your breathing, breath, and your voice.
 
Remember, your voice is your instrument. Keep it in tune!

Written by Renee Walkup, Sales Growth Consultant, Keynote Speaker, and Author of "Selling to Anyone Over the Phone", www.salespeak.com, 678-587-9911. Printed with permission.
(c)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved

'Sale' is not a 4-letter word
By Judith M. Guido

When I give talks I jokingly say that landscaping is the oldest profession, and yet there is also a saying that sales is the oldest profession. Regardless of which occupation wins, the two certainly go-in-hand.
Perhaps understanding the true definition of the word "sales" — exchanging one value for another — will help to give it the respect is so rightly deserves. Sales is a critical element that not only fuels your business, but our entire economy. If we think about the value we bring to the customer, and the overall return on investment we generate for them, we can begin to think about sales as a noble profession and of our sales people as business catalysts.

One of the telltale signs of a great sales person is a sense of curiosity — an intellectual and unstoppable curiosity for:

     - Understanding the customers' needs
     - Resolving the customers' problems
     - Identifying opportunities that your company can provide better than the competition.

A great sales person also has the desire to see your company's processes and products applied successfully to the customer's needs. He or she wants the customer to understand the advantages and value you bring to the job, and can clearly articulate and communicate that advantage, in various forms. A professional sales person has the intelligence and commitment to understand and apply both unique and standard solutions to completely satisfy the customer's goals.

What makes salespeople good The desire to exceed expectations when possible (with the understanding that a salesperson is only as good as his or her last sale or service call) is critical to success. Good salespeople also understand that every market offers fierce competition. How you stack up (your strengths and weaknesses) also is important — they want to work for a winner. They understand that sales goes well beyond making sales calls and taking orders, and that having a process for staying in front of customers will make it very difficult for the competition to squeeze in. That's a must-have sales ability.

Great salespeople also have the capability and commitment to follow-through on actions and troubleshoot situations to achieve a goal. This is a great formula for on-going customer relations. Take a good look at your salespeople and see if they have what it takes. Not only are they your business catalyst, they are the lifeblood of your company.

Judy Guido is principal of Guido & Associates, a learning organization that has been helping green companies grow their people and profits for over 17 years. If you have any questions call her at 818-800-0135, write her at judy@guidoassoc.com or visit the Web site at www.guidoassoc.com.

Finally, don’t forget to create a proposal template that you use consistently every time. To save yourself time, include standard information that you want included in every proposal. For example, your company logo, business address, company profile and management information, etc. Your proposal strategy is a core component of winning business, so take the time and learn how to do it well!

Talent Builders CEO and Chief Talent Officer Barbara Giamanco capped a corporate sales career at Microsoft, where she led and trained sales teams and coached executives, before establishing Talent Builders, Inc. in 2002. She has more than 25 years of experience in selling to enterprise, mid-market and retail accounts and knows what it’s like to walk in the shoes of the sales person. During her career, her accounts have included American Express, Motorola, Best Buy, Circuit City, Anheuser-Busch, Target, Honeywell and the State of Arizona. Barbara is also the co-founder of the Women’s Mentor Network.

For more information on our products and services call 404-459-4030 or visit: www.talentbuildersinc.com

Some of the more common questions are:

• What exactly does a coach do?
• What are the benefits of hiring a coach?
• What qualifies someone as a coach? How do I choose the right person?
• Is there a difference between coaching and consulting?
• How is coaching different from counseling?
• How long will it take before I see results?

Although this is certainly not an exhaustive list, here you will find our answers to these common coaching questions.

What exactly does a coach do?
The broad use of the term “coaching,” can be very confusing to both coaches and to the general public. As a starting point, know that there are two major branches of Professional Coaching: Personal Coaching and Business Coaching with a number of niches in each category. The type of client served and the problems encountered help to distinguish the two categories. 

Personal coaching AKA life coaching is also known by names such as success coaching, vision coaching, dream coaching, life success coaching, personal development coaching and career coaching. Personal coaching focuses on helping individuals accomplish their dreams and grow personally.

Business coaching is most commonly known as executive coaching, corporate coaching, management coaching, small business coaching, sales coaching, and leadership coaching, to mention a few. The focus here is on professional development, leadership skills, company profitability, management training, team building, organizational development, or change management.

The International Coach Federation (ICF) – the closest thing to an industry standards body – defines coaching this way. “Professional Coaching is a professional partnership between a qualified coach and an individual or team that supports the achievement of extraordinary results, based on goals set by the individual or team. Through the process of coaching, individuals focus on the skills and actions needed to successfully produce their personally relevant results”.

The goal of any coach worth their salt is to act as a catalyst to help clients achieve their goals. Coaches may use assessments, as well as listening skills and powerful questions, to help their clients tap their potential. Coaching is a fluid and individualized process that deals with the goals and issues facing the client at any given point in time. Think of the process as “dancing in the moment”, a phrase coined by the founders of the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). Whether a coach is working with a client on personal or business issues, their job is to keep the clients overarching agenda as the central focus, recognizing that real-life situations impact what the client is facing. It is a flexible process of non-judgmental listening, inquiry, feedback and support, which allows the client to grow, learn and achieve results more quickly.

What are the benefits of hiring a coach?
Fresh perspectives on challenges and opportunities, enhanced thinking and decision making skills, increased productivity and interpersonal skills are all benefits that you’ll receive from coaching. In addition, the coaching relationship provides the needed accountability to help you achieve your goals.

A study released by Manchester, Inc. quantifies the business impact of external executive coaching. The study, which included 100 executives, showed that their employers realized improvements in productivity, quality, organizational strength, customer service, and shareholder value. There were fewer customer complaints, and these organizations were more likely to retain executives who had been coached.  In addition, a company's investment in providing coaching to its executives realized an average return on investment (ROI) of almost six times the cost of the coaching.

The recently released 2008 Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey confirms earlier studies on the value of coaching in the business arena. Their report shows that an increasing number of companies are seeing value in hiring coaches, especially for their executives. Early on, many of these efforts were directed at “fixing” a problem or helping an executive to save their career.  These days there’s more of a focus on providing proactive support to develop a leaders skills and many companies are including coaching as a component of programs designed to build leadership bench strength.

What are some typical reasons someone might work with a coach?
According to the International Coach Federation, there are many reasons that an individual or team might choose to work with a coach, here are just a few:

• Something urgent is at stake – a new business goal, opportunity or challenge
• There is a gap in knowledge, skills, confidence, or resources
• Your career has stalled
• The management style of a member of your team is ineffective and causing employee problems
• A team member is extremely successful, and success has started to become problematic
• You haven’t identified your core strengths and how best to leverage them
• There is a need and a desire to better organized and more self-managing
• Your department or company is experiencing high employee turn-over
 
The list could go on and on, but these examples give you some idea of reasons why you might decide to engage the services of a coach.

What qualifies someone as a coach?
Determining whether or not someone is qualified as a coach is a thorny subject. Anyone can decide to start calling themselves a coach and many do even though they have no relevant experience or training. For those with coaching training, it is further complicated by the fact that there is no conclusive evidence to support that any one approach to coaching is better than another. A quick search of the Internet will result in a listing of hundreds of organizations offering coaching training and certification programs at various price points. So what’s a potential client to do?

First, before hiring a coach, do your homework. A good place to begin is by educating yourself about coaching. In practically every major city there is an ICF Chapter you can turn too. In Atlanta, you can visit the Georgia Coach Association to not only learn about coaching, but search the online directory to find a great coach. Visit them at www.gacoaches.com

Next, take the time to think about what your objectives are for working with a coach. Are you looking to transition careers, earn that next promotion, thinking about starting a business, having trouble managing your team or do you just feel stuck? Once you’ve thought about why you’d like to work with a coach, interview at least three coaches before you make your decision. Be sure to ask them about their experience, qualifications, skills, and ask for at least two references. Finally, don’t under estimate the importance of feeling a connection between you and the coach. Without it, the coaching relationship is doomed to fail.

When considering a coach’s experience, be sure that the experience is relevant to what you need. Seems pretty obvious, but you might be surprised to discover how many people call themselves business coaches; yet, they have little or no business experience at all. Let’s say you want to hire a coach to help you grow your business and increases sales. Wouldn’t you want to know that the person you’re hiring actually has a proven track record of owning and running a success business? I certainly think it’s a good idea!

When it comes to evaluating the training of a potential coach, it is important that you look for individuals who’ve been trained in programs accredited by the International Coach Federation. With a mission to preserve the integrity of coaching around the globe, ICF fosters the development of the coaching profession with programs to maintain and upgrade the standards of the profession. They are the defacto standards body for the coaching industry. If you’d like a listing of current organizations approved by ICF, please visit www.coachfederation.com

Is there a difference between coaching and consulting?
You bet there is! The primary objective of a consultant is to achieve organizational results through the application of specific expertise. They may or may not also be responsible with transferring knowledge or a skill set to their client, but they are paid to solve problems.

A professional coach's primary goal is to tap into the client's own vision, wisdom and directed action in service of the client's self-identified agenda. The coach is not paid to offer solutions. The general assumption is that individuals or teams are capable of generating their own solutions, with the coach supplying supportive, discovery-based approaches and frameworks.

Isn’t coaching just another form of counseling?
Absolutely not! Coaching is a profession that supports personal and professional growth and development based on individual-initiated change in pursuit of specific actionable outcomes. These outcomes are linked to personal or professional success. Coaching is forward moving and future focused.

Therapy, on the other hand, deals with healing pain, dysfunction and conflict either as an individual or as part of a relationship between two or more people. Resolving difficulties arising from the past that hamper someone’s emotional functioning in the present, improving overall psychological functioning, and dealing with present life and work circumstances in more emotionally healthy ways define traditional therapy.

Coaching does not focus on healing past emotional wounds that may hinder future success. While feelings and emotions may be a natural outcome of coaching, the primary focus is on creating actionable strategies for achieving specific goals in one's work or personal life. The emphasis in a coaching relationship is on action, accountability and follows through.

How long does a coach work with individual or team?
The length of a coaching partnership varies depending on the individuals or team’s needs and preferences. For certain types of focused coaching, 3 to 6 months of coaching may work. For other types of coaching, people may find it beneficial to work with a coach for a longer period. Factors that may impact the length of time include: the types of goals, the ways individuals or teams like to work, the frequency of coaching meetings, and financial resources available to support coaching.

Finally, there is no doubt that coaching can move you forward in service of your personal and professional goals. The key to your success is getting clear about what you want to accomplish, do your homework and choose the coach that’s right for you!

*****************************************************************
Talent Builders CEO and Chief Talent Officer Barbara Giamanco capped a corporate sales career at Microsoft, where she led and trained sales teams and coached executives, before establishing Talent Builders, Inc. in 2002. She has more than 25 years of experience in selling to enterprise, mid-market and retail accounts and knows what it’s like to walk in the shoes of the sales person. During her career, her accounts have included American Express, Motorola, Best Buy, Circuit City, Anheuser-Busch, Target, Honeywell and the State of Arizona. Barbara is also the co-founder of the Women’s Mentor Network.

For more information on our products and services call Barbara Giamanco, Chief Talent Officer – Talent Builders, Inc. at 404-459-4030 or visit: www.talentbuildersinc.com