Week 23 Focus – What’s your message?
Focus Question: What are you doing to create a message that is clear, crisp and consistent? What is important to consider?

Description
We have spent the last few weeks exploring different marketing approaches which will have been of interest to virtual professionals and entrepreneurs. For those that are leaders and professionals internal to an organization, a reminder that positioning your message internally, and building a business case, draws on many of the marketing principles we have been talking about.

This week’s focus on “What’s your message?” is important to all virtual professionals and business owners. Being clear with your message, and its delivery is key to business success.

Across the span of a week we are constantly communicating. From formal presentations to meetings with your boss, to connecting with peers, communication happens formally and informally throughout the day.

This week’s focus is what’s your message? We’ll explore it in the light of making a presentation.

It’s often said that you have 7 seconds to make a good first impression. What’s going to capture the attention of others with your message?

Consider the following:

• Distilling your message down to 3 bullet points. Take a look at this week’s quote.
• Starting your presentation/communication with a factoid, photo or graphic to capture their attention.
• Asking a question to get people thinking about how the topic relates to them.

What’s going to make the impression you want? In today’s business context, being heard and being understood is critical.

Activity
Think about an upcoming presentation or message you need to deliver. It could the announcement of a new program or offering. Work through these questions:
What’s your core message? What is it that you really want to say? Distill it down to 3 bullet points. What’s your intent? What do you want others to do as a result of the presentation?
​
Key to creating memorable messages is that it is:

• Memorable – What will make this stand out? Is there a story or image you can share?
• Clear – Review your message. What’s unclear?
• Understood – what are the terms or issues people are looking for? What are people listening for?

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
Using the content planners and brainstorming space found towards the back of the planner can support you with your messaging. Also consider referring to some of the tips in Section 3 (Marketing and Promotion Essentials) as well.

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track

​Jennifer Britton - Potentials Realized
Check out the Weekly Planning Hack Facebook Live each Wednesday or Thursday here. Be sure to like our page to be updated each week!
Author of PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)

Over the last month we’ve been exploring different skills and practices for virtual professionals. This week’s post focuses in on five people virtual team members need in their network. Given the more autonomous role of the virtual and remote employee, five people virtual team members will want to make sure they have strong relationships with, are:

• Their direct line supervisors - Given that matrix relationships may be more common, it’s likely that the virtual or remote employee is reporting to one, two or more leaders. It  may be someone local, someone on the project, and someone geographically.
• Mentors – An internal or external mentor can help navigate the waters of work and industry. Mentors provide valuable insights and stories about their own experience. They may also be a person you can take specific questions to who you cannot ask anyone else.
• Peers – Having a variety of peers to “go to” virtually is also important. Sharing best practices and resources to do your work more effectively is critical in today’s matrix environment. What are you doing to proactively build connection with other peers you work with?
• Connectors – People who can connect them to the necessary resources and people which will help them be successful. This could be a supervisor, a mentor, or it may be someone else…
• A community network – Remote work can be isolating. Having a local community network can be very important in providing support and an anchor.

Relationships in the virtual space do not “grow on their own” and earmarking time to have conversation can be important. It’s when we don’t have the answers that we realize we don’t know who to turn to. If you are new to a team, ask others, “Who else would you recommend I connect with?”. You’ll usually get a range of answers. Then the challenge becomes, when do you fit it in? Schedule a virtual coffee to meet others on a regular basis. All meetings don’t have to happen in your first few weeks!

Best, 
Jennifer

Week 19 Focus – Marketing
Focus Question: What do you want to do to get the word out about your work or business?

Description 
Marketing is often one of the biggest question marks for new (and experienced) business owners. It’s also a significant area for virtual professionals who may be representing an organization in a specific geographic area. In this light, marketing may be referred to as advocacy, positioning or representation.

Taking time to focus regularly on marketing/advocacy communication and related tasks is key.

This aligns with the Daily Steps + Consistent Action = Momentum tagline of the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack books.

What are the daily steps and consistent actions you are currently undertaking around marketing? How is it starting to add up?

For many years as I was starting my own business, I taught marketing studies and other business subjects to post-secondary students. As different as we might think that marketing principles vary, they are quite similar across industries. Likewise, while the vehicles have changed over the years, many of the principles remain the same.
​
In marketing, whether we are selling shoes, an idea, or a service, we talk about the 5 Ps. Each product, service or idea typically is shaped by these five things (all starting with P):
Product/Program -What are you offering? Be specific about what it entails.
Price - Consider what is included in the pricing. What is the market rate? Are you above the market? Below the market? At market pricing?
Place - Where are you offering this? Is this a physical or digital product?
Promotion - What promotional strategies do you want to use?
Refer to the 9 Promotional Vehicles I cover in the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack.
People - Who do you need support from in order to make this happen? What resources do you need?
Take notes around these five areas.
General questions to consider around marketing:

• What do you like to do?
• What will leverage your strengths?
• What can help you?
• Who can help you?
• What can you do consistently?
• What can you automate?
• What will resonate – articles, sources, topic?
• What vehicles will work best?
• What frequency will work best?

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
Review Section 3 of the PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder. Marketing is important for external professionals to engage with. If you are an internal professional working for an organization, marketing is often referred to as positioning. We may be building a business case for new budget or approval of a new project or program.

Take time to review section 3 of the planner, particularly the different promotional vehicles we can use to get the word out about what we offer.

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Plan, Do and Track here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Plan, Do and Track

​As virtual businesses, solopreneurs and service-based businesses, content and educational marketing may be a significant strategy in marketing, and letting the world know what we have to offer.

As someone who has been a long-term blogger (I published my first blog in 2005 – which is still active today – the Group Coaching Ins and Outs blog), creating content on a regular basis can be an ongoing endeavor. While we may feel like we need to constantly create new content, there are ways to recycle and repurpose our content in creative ways. As we say in marketing, it can take 7-11 times for a message to be heard. We don’t want to send the same message, the same way every time, but rather share the same message in different ways.

Consider this situation. You have spent time developing a presentation on the skill of influence – a key skill for virtual professionals today. You spent a lot of time doing research and pulling it together.

As you delivered the presentation, people really enjoyed it an asked for more. You realize that there are several different ways that you can expand on this content including:

• Taking some of the section headers and creating an article
• Making a one-page tip sheet of the key bullet points
• Creating a reading list of 10 must-read books
• Doing a blog series on each one of the topics more in-depth.

I shared this activity recently in the 19 Productivity and Business Tips. 

Activity
Take a look at all the content you have created. Note it down. This could include blog posts, Instagram stories, Facebook Lives, etc.

As you look at what you have created already, consider:

• What are the things your clients are looking for related to your already created content?
• What are the vehicles they would like that in? (Think blog post, Instagram post, video, e-book, other)?
• What would the 3Rs look like – repurpose, reuse, recycle?

Best,
Jennifer

Questions form the backbone to any great coaching conversation. What is the state of questions being asked in your team?

While asking informational questions can be of great value, in the virtual team context, we may be in multiple conversations where we are using questions to:

• Help people clarify what they know themselves
• Create shared experiences and new shared knowledge
• Support people in coming up with a solution for their context

When we operate in the virtual and remote context it usually means that we aren’t having to advise, but rather coach. This can necessitate a different set of questions or a different way to ask questions rather than a Yes/No approach.

In creating more powerful questions for the virtual space we want to focus on a few things:

1. Make sure our questions are clear- Shorter is usually better. Are you asking one question at a time or more than one?
2. Consider when it’s more appropriate to ask an open-ended question rather than a question that will lead to a yes/no
3. Ensure that we are using language and terms that are more resonant to the person we are speaking with. The diversity on virtual teams can span language, technical skills, professional background, and geography to name a few. What is going to be understood best?

In coaching we usually encourage questions to be:

• Short and concise
• One at a time
• Starting with WHAT, rather than WHY (which may put people on the defense if trust levels are not high)
• Noting when HOW questions may put people into problem solving or how to, early
• Focused on both expanding awareness around issues AND supporting action

Take a look at this short video I created on 20 powerful coaching questions. You may find it useful to incorporate into your own work as well.
 
Best,
Jennifer

​“What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done” – Tom Peters

Tracking is an often-overlooked component of success. A common saying is that what doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done OR what does get measured, does get done.
​
What are the metrics you are tracking in your business?
​
For virtual businesses this might include:

• Sales
• Revenue
• Time spent marketing
• Service delivery time
• Content Creation Time

 
For virtual or remote employees this might include:

• Commute times/travel time
• Time spent on social media (you can now use your iPhone to immediately see your usage on different sites)
• At work
• In meetings

 
What are the things you are aiming to adjust or impact?

Have a great day!
​Jennifer

 (Last week I focused on the first of three coaching skills which can be important to equip all virtual and remote team members with. While these are often considered “coaching skills for leaders” in the virtual and remote environment, building this capacity in our virtual team can enhance productivity, peer support and results.
Last week I explored GOALS. This week let us look at listening.
​
Communication occurs in many channels in the virtual space – from conversations by phone, to texts, to email and IM (Instant Messaging).

Each one has its advantages and disadvantages.

Research shows that a significant portion of our understanding comes from tone, which is lost when we lean into digital channels of communication – text, email and IM. This can lead to a lot of misunderstandings, misinterpretations and lack of clarity.

Our listening can be heavily influenced by a number of factors:

• Distractions (what we have on our plate, not reading things fully)
• Our relationship with the sender (what do we know about their context, their intent, their focus and priorities)
• Our understanding of the topic
• Thinking about what we want to say, rather than listening for what is really being said

When we are able to meet for voice conversations, we may hear the tone, if we are listening for it. Adding on visual cues – like streaming for a meeting instead of just using the phone – can add additional layers on to the conversation. Being able to share our screen and work together real-time can also help us understand the full context.

What are the things that are helping and hindering your virtual conversations?
Are distractions getting in the way? How are you using all the tools you have available?  What are you doing to increase your understanding of other’s context and priorities?

There are many more tools and ideas available for virtual teams in these various resources from me:

• Part 3 of my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations, focuses on virtual team development, meetings and communication. 
• Check out the posts related to Coaching Skills and Virtual and Remote Teams over at the Teams365 blog.

Let me know how I can support your virtual team development. From virtual retreat facilitation, to offering virtual team coaching services, we specialize in virtual team support.  

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

In a virtual team it is critical to build capacity given that people are working more autonomously. Time spent equipping team members with the tools to influence, be proactive and also communicate is key.
​
This week I wanted to zoom into three skills related to coaching that may be valuable to your virtual or remote team. These skills are:

1. Goals
2. Listening
3. Questioning

I often am amazed at how many organizations have not invested time, or resources, into helping team members work around goals. While there are many frameworks including:

• SMART Goals
• CLEAR Goals – see John Whitmore’s Coaching for Performance writing
• WOOP Goals

I usually encourage organizations to consider what’s going to work best for you. A majority of clients I work with are aware of SMART Goals, which we morph into SMART – E Goals, E meaning Exciting. If our goals are not exciting or motivating, it’s unlikely that we will get them done.

As a quick refresher – SMART goals are goals that are:

It’s likely that your virtual and remote team may not get the support they need. As I often write “Out of sight should not equal out of mind”.
​
In a virtual and remote team, it can be very useful to provide peer support across the team. This might include things such as:

Mentoring pairs – If there are certain skills people want to develop, is there a way to create mentoring pairs across the team?

Peer partners - A valuable activity can be assigning peer partners across the team on an annual basis. Whether formal, or informal, having a partner people can meet with and ask questions to, can be valuable in sharing learning.

Job shadowing – Another interesting, and valuable, experience can be job shadowing virtually, where a more junior person is paired with a more senior team member. They may shadow meetings virtually and learn more about the behind the scenes work experience by co-working virtually. Consider how you might create a “take me to work day”.

Formal coffee break/meal sharing time – We learn a lot from each other informally. What are the informal pauses you can create for the team? This might involve coffee breaks where people can drop in for a chat once a week or every few weeks, or a lunch time potluck.

Co-working experiences - Where people bring projects they are working on and work together real time on a virtual platform like zoom, checking in at the top of each hour and working for several hour bursts. A session held like this once a month or more frequently can be incredibly valuable in terms of “getting things done” and also supporting learning across the team.

What are the different ways you can build in more virtual connection time across the team? This is critical for building your team culture.

Wishing you the best,
​Jennifer

The PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner is geared to virtual and remote team members. As I wrote in last week’s post, this month’s focus is going to be in the overlooked area of virtual and remote teams.

Spending time more intentionally on on-boarding virtual team members can go a far way. Today’s post reaches back to a post from the Teams365 blog in 2018 – Questions New Virtual Team Members May Have.

Here’s what I wrote,
“While this list is no means comprehensive, some questions new virtual team members may have, and areas you will want to cover (in an orientation or on-boarding program) are:

Team Issues:

• What is the culture of the team? Remember, how are things done around here.
• What are the team priorities?
• Who is on the team? What are their strengths?
• What could you reach out to them for?
• What else should the new team member know about the team and its focus?

 
The new team members’ role

• What are the roles and responsibilities of the new team member’s role?
• What key priorities and deadlines are there?
• Who will they need to reach out to?
• What feedback loops are there?
• What is expected in terms of performance?

 
Relationship between the team leader and new team member:

• What are your expectations of me as a team member? Team leader?
• How do you like to be communicated with?
• What are the issues I should surface directly to you? When?
• What are the things I should keep in mind in terms of reporting? Connecting with others on the team?
• What issues should I call about? Email about? Use the web about?

 
Who should I reach out to around:

• How to do things?
• Technical IT issues

What other issues are important to note?

Best,
Jennifer