To build a strong and successful marketing team, you need a group of effective marketers who can deliver real results. But with so many marketing channels to manage and so many team members working on different projects, it can be hard to keep track of who is doing what and how well.

Ask these 7 critical questions to each member of the team to make sure they achieve their own goals, contribute to the team's overall mission, and can clearly articulate their motivations for their actions and decisions—in short, succeeding in line with your expectations.

Q1: What are the most important metrics to track this month?

One of the first rules of inbound marketing is that all marketing efforts must be measurable. The concept of closed-loop analytics (full-cycle analytics from the first contact with a potential buyer to purchase and feedback) was created in order to give marketers the ability to link key metrics (for example, leads and customers) to their original sources and deeply analyze the entire process sales. Each member of your team should have a specific, numeric goal that they focus on achieving each month. This will make it much easier for you and your staff to measure monthly progress.

Question 2: What are your priorities this month and how will they help you reach your goal?

It’s not enough to just ask what your employees are currently working on. They should be able to give specific reasons why they have focused their time and effort on the projects they have chosen, and ideally these projects should be the best way to achieve the goal and increase marketing revenue. Directly ask them how working on specific tasks will help them reach the desired indicators. If they can't answer, they may be misallocating their time.

Question 3. What works well or what does not work?

This question will help you evaluate how the employee understands the results of the project or the people they manage, and helps you understand which parts of your marketing mosaic are the strengths and weaknesses of the process. Feel free to ask an employee to explain why something is working (or vice versa, not working) the way it should.

Question 4. What new things did you do this month to get better results? What new initiatives do you plan to implement next month?

Two key qualities of a marketer that you should pay attention to are mobility and originality of thinking. An agile marketing team fails quickly, learns quickly, and changes strategy quickly. This helps your company stay one step ahead of the rest and remain leaders in its field. The same goes for innovation. Your team members should be able to come up with new ways to achieve bigger and better results, instead of doing the same routine month after month.

Question 5. What do you think is the main overall goal of our marketing department right now?

It is very important that the marketing department is focused not only on their own channels and goals. They should at least have an idea of the overall goal of the marketing team, since their own goals should support the achievement of one global one.

One of the best ways to get a strong team is to initiate cross-collaboration. Give your employees the opportunity to make suggestions for improvements or new initiatives in areas that are not usually theirs. Getting new ideas from savvy and capable marketers who aren't thinking about these specific questions hourly and daily can give you fresh perspectives and help your team innovate faster.

Question 6. What do you think the marketing team needs to do differently to rank better and achieve their goals?

This question is likely to reveal several important points to you. First, the answer to it will show how well the employee understands the overall goals and priorities of the team. Secondly, it will allow you to get feedback from the employee, which may help you restructure the team or give it a different direction. Third, in addition to offering a new perspective, the employee's response will open you up to the perspective of someone who is on a different level, someone whose focus is different from yours.

It's important to have feedback from all levels of your team because you most likely don't see everything your employees do day in and day out.

Question 7. What can I do to help you?

In addition to promoting trust and rapport between you and your subordinates, this question will also help you better understand what your employee is having particular trouble with. If he asks you to help with a decision that you think he can make on his own, first find out why it is difficult, and then consider whether this is a red flag. In response to your question, an employee may indicate that they are facing obstacles from the manager or team members, in which case you should intervene and remove these obstacles. Or maybe he has everything under control, and you can breathe easy.

Either way, by asking this very simple question, you can both learn more about your employee (and the team as a whole) and offer them your support.

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You may notice that the questions above will help you evaluate not only the performance of your subordinates, but also your own awareness of what your team members are currently working on. This will help you evaluate your current position and understand what you and your team still need to work on. Either way, these 7 questions will help you at least start a conversation.

Brief information about the speaker:

Blitz survey (need short answers, 2-3 phrases each):

"Detailed" questions

The volume of answers to the questions listed below is unlimited.

Problems and Solutions

Business problems. What are the main problems in your business sector? Why? What problems can be solved with “little bloodshed” and on our own, which ones cannot?

Problem solving. What problems have you been able to solve recently? What have you done as a leader?

Unresolved issues. Are there any issues that haven't been resolved yet? Why?

attitude towards problems. Every leader has to face challenges from time to time. How do you think problems should be dealt with?

Achievements. What business accomplishments are you most proud of? Why? What helped you achieve this?

Staff motivation

Staff motivation. What motivates you more - a cash bonus or the praise of a leader?

Prizes and bonuses. Do your employees have fixed and variable parts of earnings? Why do your employees receive bonuses and bonuses? How transparent is the accrual system? Does an employee's bonus depend on the performance of his colleagues, other departments, and the company as a whole?

Intangible motivation. Do we need non-material motivation today or is it a relic of the communist past? What methods of non-material motivation are used in your company? How employees treat them (from “I am proud of the title of “best seller” to “it would be better with money!”).

Cost reduction

Reducing costs. What steps have you taken in your company recently? What results have been achieved? What advice would you give to fellow leaders?

Work with clients

Customer loyalty. Do you have loyalty programs in your company? How do you get customers to love your firm? What has been done recently to increase customer loyalty?

Work with complaints. An angry customer who doesn't just turn around and walk away but complain is a valuable source of information for a company. Do you have a negative feedback collection channel? How do you respond to customer complaints? Who handles dissatisfied customers?

Compensation to clients. Give examples of compensation that helped turn an angry customer into a committed customer.

Fraud in business

Dishonest clients. An example from the practice of translation agencies. Under the guise of a “trial translation”, the client tries to get a full-fledged translation of the text from the company for free, promising to pay for a large order in the future. Have you ever experienced deception (attempted deception) from customers? In what situation? How did you do? How do you prevent such deception?

Dishonest employees. Have you ever been scammed by employees (both full-time and freelancers)? In what situation? How did you do? How do you prevent such deception?

Dishonest suppliers/performers. Have you ever been scammed when contacting other companies for goods/services/supplies?

Advice to fellow leaders. Give 3-4 tips (more if possible) on how to recognize deception, how to prevent, how to fight.

Manager experience

Personal efficiency. What helps you do more, lead better, achieve more? What time management techniques do you use? What "leader's rules" do you follow?

Leader mistakes. Have there been situations in your life when you made the wrong decision? Describe one of these situations. Why was the decision wrong? What would you do today, given your experience?

Movie. What movie helped you as a leader? What exactly? He made me think, suggested an idea, helped me find a way to solve a problem, opened my eyes to something…

Humor and more

What is your favorite business joke?
Do you consider yourself a role model? Why?
How do your children feel about your work?
What would you do on the last day of your life?
Do you have a personal recipe for success? Tell us about him?!
Describe how you see your life in 20 years?
What childhood dreams did you bring to life?
What is the most important thing in life for you?
How did you choose your profession?
If you had a million dollars, what would be the first thing you would buy?
Would you like to have a book written about you? And have you lived your life in such a way that it would be interesting to read to a large audience?

Examples of good questions and answers to them

EXAMPLE 1

Fragment of an interview with the director of the office furniture salon

“- How to determine the cost, class of an office table by appearance?
- And the thickness of the countertop. The thicker, the more expensive. 16-18 mm is inexpensive furniture, 22-25 is the middle class, more than 30 is already a luxury. So if you come to any office - casually grab your hand on the table - and immediately feel whether it is a solid company or not.

EXAMPLE 2

Fragment of an interview with the director of the poultry farm

“- And how do you feel about genetic engineering, biostimulants? They write that in the West they achieve fantastic results with their help.

You know, I don't trust it too much. The breeds that we now use are the product of natural, I emphasize, natural selection. And we can get a gain of 52 grams a day without any stimulants there. To do this, simply enough to feed the chickens well. In the West, mainly to reduce the cost of production, antibiotics and various enzymes are actively used. Such a broiler is cheaper. Yes, the quality of the meat is not the same.

You may not believe me, but then, in the early 90s, our skinny blue chickens, which everyone laughed at, were still better in meat quality than American ones. Yes, they were underfed, but we never gave them as much chemistry as in the West. People did not understand that “legs” were supplied to Russia, because no one eats them in the States. It's all about fat and cholesterol. In addition, ten times frozen. We specifically tested such meat: if it was boiled, the broth turned out to be cloudy. And our poultry farms have always been focused on a fresh product. In the early 90s, people were forced to buy bad but cheap meat. Now many have got money, and there is a choice. Therefore, people turned to our fresh and high-quality products.”

EXAMPLE 3

Fragment of an interview with the director of an audit firm

“What advice would you give to your clients?

- Be skeptical of any opinions published in the press. Once, an indignant letter from a reader came to Economics and Life: he did as the expert recommended in one of the issues of the magazine, and then penalties from the tax authorities followed. The reader wanted to recover damages from the newspaper. Sorry, but the publication of an expert's opinion in a newspaper does not automatically entail responsibility for someone's actions. The expert, by the way, from my point of view, was then right.”

EXAMPLE 4

“Where do you get reliable information?

- Visit our website. There we place methodical recommendations, and are ready to answer any questions. In addition, we publish our own branded magazine "A ..." - especially for accountants. There was such a case: a client came to us and asked for help in paying VAT on exports. I open the latest issue of the magazine, showing one of the articles. The client is reading. “This is the answer to my question! How much do I owe you?" - Not at all. Read for health.

EXAMPLE 5

Fragment of an interview with the director of the company-carrier of exhibitions

“- What items are the most difficult to transport? Probably the paintings of old masters ...

— Paradoxically, it is quite easy to transport ancient works. Take, for example, an icon from the 17th century. The author of such a picture exactly followed a certain technology, so the work is “predictable”: it is known exactly what paints were used, what basis, what the picture is afraid of, in general, there is a standard packaging algorithm that you just need to follow. The same can be said about the paintings of academicians of the XIX century. And modern artists often do not follow any technology, their paintings begin to crumble after 5-10 years. The same with sculptures: with a marble bust - everything is clear, but what about a thing made of beer cans, fastened with glue of unknown origin? It is very difficult to carry the works of avant-garde artists. As a rule, they use non-traditional materials, non-traditional forms - that’s why you have to be smart.”

EXAMPLE 6

“One of the services offered by your firm is tax minimization. Could you give a simple example?

- Let firm A buys from firm B goods in the amount of 10 thousand rubles and sells it to firm C for 11 thousand. In this case, the turnover tax on road users for company A will be 1% of 10 thousand, that is, 100 rubles. If firm A concludes a commission agreement with B, that is, it becomes formally an intermediary between A and C, then the tax will be calculated only from the commission, that is, 1% of 1 thousand - 10 rubles. The tax has decreased by 10 times, although in fact nothing has changed”

10 rules for a successful interview

Rule One: Be Prepared. Questions, equipment and attitude should be prepared in advance. Impromptu is the lot of professionals, but even they try not to take risks.
Rule two: confrontation. Choose face-to-face communication. It will reduce the time in preparing the text and will open the Personality before you, and not a soulless set of letters and words. For a full-fledged interview, live communication is a necessity, not a whim. In practice, this rule does not always coincide with the capabilities of the interlocutors (distance, employment, fear).
Rule three: the meeting place cannot be changed. Give the interlocutor the right to choose the meeting place. This is not just an indicator of education. People usually feel best “in their own territory”: their place of work, their favorite cafe, or a park close to home. Then it's easier to talk to them. However, you should ask if extraneous noises or people will interfere with you.
Rule Four: Freedom. Equality. Brotherhood. Communicate on an equal footing regardless of social status, skin color and language affiliation. Some people think that the main thing in an interview is the ability to ask questions. But then there is a risk of turning the conversation into a regular interrogation, which will have a very negative impact on the content.
Rule five: questioner. Ask open-ended questions. They offer extended answers. A large flow of information from the interlocutor is much better than its lack. However, the interview should not be delayed. On average, an hour is enough for a full conversation. There are exceptions in the case when the Personality has carried away so much that there is a desire and time to talk more. The mistake of many novice journalists is to embrace the immensity and fit in one text everything that they managed to talk to a person about. The final material is the quintessence, a squeeze of the most interesting. Let the text be small in volume, but bright from beginning to end.
Rule six: put together the puzzle. Process the information received. Do not take the transcript of the interview as the final text. Assemble your puzzle of facts, figures and quotes. Not all people have eloquence, so their words require serious editing and editing. However, there is a fine line that a journalist has no right to cross: to pass off his thoughts as the thoughts of the interviewee.
rule seventh: all you need is love. Love the hero: find in him something that may be interesting to you and others. Without love for the cause, it is unlikely that a good result will turn out. It is clear that we do not always choose those with whom we have to communicate for an hour. Editorial tasks can be very diverse. However, if you do not find a personal interest in the interlocutor, it is difficult to write a text that will interest someone else.
Rule eight: following the footsteps of the publication. Read the text after publication. As it was said in KVN? Much is revealed upon re-reading. A fresh look helps you evaluate your work more objectively and see the editor's edits. To be honest, lately I have been doing this less and less: there is a lot of work. But it's not right.
Rule nine: good morning, monitoring. Read the press in any of its manifestations: electronic media, newspapers, magazines. Getting to know the modern press will teach you some tricks that you have not yet reached, will allow you to assess your level, and also help you understand how not to write.
Rule ten: from-not-last. Formulate your rules for a successful interview. Of course, the above are common truths, but for some reason not everyone is in a hurry to use them in their work. Therefore, before they come to them, they step on dozens of rakes. We suggest adding to this set of rules as you gain experience. Anyway, everyone has their own…

In 2014, about 36% of Muscovites are counting on career advancement, as well as on interesting tasks from management, and more than 50% of wage growth is expected, a recent study showed. headhunter.

Whether you like it or not, it depends on how your relationship with leader, depends entirely on your career . Great rapport with management will make the deadline feel less like a hurricane than like a gentle breeze, and your working day at the office can be surprisingly the most enjoyable time you've ever had. With such a mood, it’s a sin not to fly up the career ladder in the shortest possible time. Plus, good relationships with superiors can even go a long way in reducing stress at work. During the study of the working environment American Psychological Association it turned out that 75% of the surveyed workers consider the most stressful aspect in the work of their immediate superior.

Celia Shatsman in his article he cites 8 key questions to ask your line manager that can help you climb the career ladder.

1. How was your weekend?

When to ask: Monday mornings are usually too hectic, everyone has a million things to do urgently. You need to seize the moment and ask how your manager's weekend went. This will give you the opportunity to start building trust with your boss and talking about more than just work topics. Try asking something specific, such as how his son's soccer game went, or if he liked the concert he was going to go to on Saturday.

The more you know your leader, the better. By understanding how he spends his time when he is not in the office, you will learn what is important to him. This will allow you to build real relationships that go beyond workdays and deadlines. Also, this will give you another advantage: your boss will see you not only as a subordinate, but as a person who has his own life outside the office and other interests. In addition, if you share personal information about yourself and take an interest in the life of a leader, you will show yourself more mature, consciously building relationships with people.

2. What task are you thinking about right now? Can I help you solve it?

When to ask: This is a great question to show that you are no longer new to the team, because you have an idea about the requirements of the job. Also, this question should be asked when your department has a new head. This question will help you identify the priorities of the new leader in the transition period. But, in principle, you can ask this question any time you notice that your boss is too overworked. Even by offering help, you show that you are ready to vigorously tackle the problem. This will greatly increase your credibility.

Why is it important to ask this question: This will show that you are thinking strategically and are not waiting to be told what needs to be done.

3. When you think of the best people who work for you, what do you think makes them stand out from the crowd?

When to ask: This question is not out of the ordinary. Save it for when you really need feedback from your line manager. You can ask it only in a relaxed atmosphere - on the way to the conference, at lunchtime. This question can be a great sign that you want to climb the career ladder, improve your professional skills, which will later help make your job much easier.

Why is it important to ask this question: If you have a good relationship with your boss but are looking for something that can take you to the next level, this is a great way to find out what your boss encourages the most. If you figure this out, you can further model your behavior.

4. I really enjoy working on this project/task. Is it possible to guide me on the further course of this case?

When to ask: Every time you start working on a new project, with a new team, or on a task that takes time to solve and complete. Let your manager know that you want to talk to him about it in advance.

Why is it important to ask this question: When you ask your boss after an important meeting, “Well, how do you think, how did it go?”, he, at best, will say that you did a great job, and thank you for that. The only sure way to make a real, meaningful contribution to the development of a company's project is to know all the details in advance.

5. I really want to do this job well. Do you have any patterns or examples that I could look up to? Or could I discuss this with someone who has recently done this job well?

When to ask: This is the best question you could ask before starting a project.

Why is it important to ask this question: Chances are, your boss already has an idea of what the finished project should look like, and if you don't have a clear understanding of the boss's expectations, then he may be disappointed with the results. You don't have to reinvent the wheel when you get a new assignment. Be resourceful and ask to see examples of completed, well-done work. Being interested in precise instructions for working with your task, you not only save time - yours and your supervisor's, but also prevent dissatisfaction from poorly done work.

6. I would watch the development of this project over the next few months. Could we keep that in mind when he gets sent to work?

When to ask: When you are already free to navigate your current work and are ready for new tasks, the solution of which will not affect the quality of the first ones.

Why is it important to ask this question: Managers encourage those employees who are open to everything new, love to learn, grow and take on new commitments. When it comes time to advance in their careers, these people will be at the forefront, because they not only do their job well, but are always ready to learn new skills and strive to make a significant contribution to the development of the company.

7. What should I start doing, what should I stop doing, and what should I keep doing because I'm good at it?

When to ask: Ideally, of course, your manager will answer these questions during your performance review, but if such reviews don't exist or are too infrequent, feel free to ask first. If you've just received verbal feedback and don't feel that this information is sufficient, send your manager a letter asking for some time for a personal conversation, during which he can answer your specific questions in more detail.

Why is it important to ask this question: Perhaps there are many things that you do well, and the boss likes the results of doing such work. But there are probably other tasks that you are doing poorly, or not at all. Not all leaders in such cases will offer you to stop doing it. A question posed in this way will make him tell you that, for example, the ten hours that you spend on cold calls per week will not lead you to good results, that you better do things differently.

If your manager avoids answering these questions, says that you are already doing a great job and you do not need to change anything, but you are sure that there are many opportunities for self-improvement, be persistent. Try saying this: “I am very pleased that you appreciate me this way, and yet I would like to climb the career ladder and therefore I want to test myself. What else can I do to make sure I get a raise next year?”

8. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts and questions as I sort through all the information I've received. Could we schedule their discussion for the near future?

When to ask: At the end of any conversation in which your manager gives you valuable, even if not entirely positive, feedback.

Why is it important to ask this question: It's hard to think on your feet and ask constructive questions when you're feeling overwhelmed. By asking for a few days to collect your thoughts, you will have time to carefully consider what your manager has said and the options that could move you forward. “The last thing you want is to lose control of yourself and speak out all that boiled over,” says Jody Glickman, author of Becoming Great at Work: What to Say, How to Say: Career Secrets. feedback from your supervisor is not to make you proud of yourself, but to make you a great employee.”

According to the site www.fastcompany.com

Photo:pixabay.com

Any dynamically developing business that brings a good income requires maximum return from its owner, a systematic search for new ideas and solutions, as well as continuous improvement of their knowledge and skills. Business with China is no exception, and when we “build” it, we not only learn how to work with foreign partners, but also learn how best to negotiate with them, learn how to ask the supplier the right questions, we are interested in his approaches to doing business, and so on. This is quite normal and you should not be afraid of it, because as they say: it is better to be smart and not be shy to look like a fool from time to time than to be a fool, but always be clever.

The prospect of development of any business in China largely depends on how competently questions are asked to the manufacturer at the stage of searching and selecting an assortment list of products. The ability to correctly pose the question gives more chances to get an exhaustive answer and immediately clarify the situation in many areas. In addition, it is inappropriate to ask manufacturers in China in vague phrases, for example: “I want to buy tables from you. What can you offer me?" If you ask a similar question, you will most likely remain unanswered, because the Chinese can offer you so much that you can easily get lost in these proposals.

So how do you look for answers from Chinese manufacturers and immediately get a complete comprehensive answer from them? Let's do it together learn how to ask the supplier the right questions from the underworld.

First of all, it is worth clarifying some points that need to be given priority attention when looking for the right manufacturer in this country. These nuances can be divided into several groups, depending on the subject of the information being updated. These are questions of the price of goods, terms of payment, the timing of production (order fulfillment) and the volume of the minimum lot.

To find out the price, first of all, be sure to determine for yourself what currency you will work with, so that later you can find out from the supplier whether he is able to accept such a payment. Secondly, consider all delivery options: when, where and how much you plan to import finished products. This moment directly affects the price of the goods that the manufacturer will indicate to you, because there is an EXW, FOB, CIF, CIP, C&F (Incotrems) price and so on. All these cost indicators refer to foreign trade terminology and differ from each other in terms of the manufacturer's obligations to deliver its goods to the customer. The third point is the unit of measure for your product: pieces, meters, kilograms or liters. Here it is worth remembering that some products in China, for example, fabric, are not measured in meters, as is customary in our country, but are weighed in kilograms.

Next moment. Payment terms play a very important role, so try not to miss anything important so that later it doesn’t turn out: “And I thought ....”. Here it is worth proceeding from your capabilities and legislative features of interstate transfers. Despite the fact that Russia is a member of the WTO and adheres to generally accepted norms and standards for conducting foreign trade activities, this field can have its own subtleties, so the issue of payment terms should not be the last one on your list.

Now, what concerns the timing of production. It's one thing if you simply order finished products in China, and quite another when you need Chinese goods for the further production chain of your enterprise. In the second case, the time frame is much more important than in the first, because its violation can lead to the disruption of your entire production process as a whole. When clarifying information on production times, it is very important to find out how long it will take to produce product samples (if you need them), how long it takes to manufacture a certain volume of products and how much of the product you need the company can produce for you as a whole (whether it has enough resources, raw materials, etc.). Here you should definitely ask when the manufacturer starts to fulfill the order: when the contract is signed or when the prepayment is received. Do not forget to clarify whether the delivery time is included in the order fulfillment time - this will allow you to rationally organize and plan your activities.