Modern Day Business Women

When the first generation of women entered the workforce in earnest in the 1970s, they succeeded in the only way they could – by imitating men. Authoritarian leadership and tight control was the hallmark of that day’s businessman, and women were not exactly welcomed into the ranks of management. Well ladies, that was yesterday, and today is today!

Forget what your mama or your boss told you, because following the rules can be bad for your career. Today’s CEO/entrepreneur can no longer tap his/her company’s full potential using a “command-and-control” style. The 21st century business woman needs to be able to build a vision based on the awareness of economic transformation, then help her partners and staff fulfill that vision. She must draw on a wide range of skills to get to the top and stay there. Following are 7 Key Characteristics that are essential:

1. Sell the Vision: A leader with a fresh, independent plan for her company’s growth and future has a distinct advantage in luring and keeping great talent and investors. Vision is not some lofty ideal, but an obtainable concept that is easy to understand and will make the company grow to another level.

2. Reinvent the Rules: While women have traditionally been socialized to please others, the 21st century leader knows that good girls rarely post great returns. The strong managers/owners today not only anticipate change, they create entirely new organizations that respond to shifts and search for innovation.

3. Achieve With A Laser Focus: Go where others fear to tread! Being aggressive and ambitious has long been considered male traits, but they are key qualities for new leaders. Today’s business woman has the ability to home in on opportunities that others may simply not see, and then excel in that uncharted territory.

4. Use High-Touch in a High-Tech Era: When a number of leaders are conducting business by e-mail, voice mail, passwords, and PINs, the female entrepreneur succeeds because she guides with a strong, personal, bed-side manner. Today’s business woman is just as technologically savvy as her peers, but her skill with staff and customers is “high-touch” which gives her a critical edge and separation from the “pack”.

5. Challenge or Opportunity? – Women are great at turning a challenge into an opportunity instead of using the “slash-and-burn” approach. They are able to make bold strokes, but they also win the cooperation of others in the organization in making any transformation a success.

6. A Customer Preference Obsession: In this information age which makes it easier to shop around for the best “whatever”, businesses must work harder to give people what they want before their competitors do. There is no substitute for spending time with clients to become expert at their businesses and learn their demands. Female leaders are almost intuitively adept in doing just that, and without the client even suspecting.

7. Courage Under Fire: Show me any career woman or female entrepreneur today that isn’t able to “stand-the-heat” in any tough-call situation. Their decision-making skills are rooted in a high level of confidence, because they’ve had to weather and surpass any and all “corporate” storms they’ve encountered over time.

It takes a certain mind-set and bravado for anyone to start their own business and succeed, but it’s even more difficult for a female entrepreneur. Let’s face it, ladies! We’ve always had to be twice-as-smart and twice-as-confident as any male counterpart in the corporate world. After all, if we can bear and raise the future generation, how can running a successful business scare us?

Commission Sales

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Irrespective of how you say the word it still carries the identical significance to sales people the world over. It is my firm belief that it takes a certain type of individual to be a commission salesperson. That individual must be skillful enough to efficiently convey a message in a variety of different and unique ways while accepting the odds that none among the message versions may result in a sale upon which his/her livelihood depends. This kind of individual understands the odds and is willing to take on the challenge anyway, make the sacrifices that must necessarily be made and be ready to share before he or she is successful.

The individual must also have a clear knowledge that sharing is not selling because selling only happens when the transaction is closed and earnings are assured; for even though selling tend to be described as sharing, the reverse is usually not true – especially commission-based selling - considered by many to be among - the purest types of selling. I shared multiple things with prospects throughout my years in commission sales.

I shared my time, know-how, office, car as well as my opinions, among other things. What I never shared with my customers was the merchandise I was selling to them. Had I shared my products they would have had a reduced value and therefore may have caused me to seek another method to support my family. Clearly, that is not the case.

The point here is distinction between methods and approaches used by proficient sales people (affiliates online/eCommerce market place) who earn a living from commission sales and those utilized at occasional tea party where hobbyists exchange favorite flavors, apparel, fashion, and scents, among other things. This isn't a knock on hobbyists or tea parties, purely an observation of distinctions that exist.

The same distinction exists with online marketing, which encompasses internet marketing, and merchants, as well as the practices utilized to market and sell products online - including article marketing, blog marketing, social marketing and multi-level marketing, among others. So it is essential to comprehend where information sharing ends and selling begins.

The need to understand distinctions became more of a necessity since the FTC presented new rulings in its Guides 'Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising' which took effect on December 1, 2009.

It may be that the most effective action one can take to achieve clarity is to convey a clear and concise message, and in cases where clarity about an advertiser/affiliate relationship is not suitable for the bottom line purposes of the principals involved, the choice to protect the bottom line must be made after much thought and deliberation because Section 255 - Purpose and definitions - of the 'Guides' compels marketing entities to do just that if they are to gain a full understanding of what actions are permissible in the marketplace.