📈 Get really good at sales with emotional intelligence

If you’re not registered for Playbook 2024, it’s time to 💫 get in the game. 💫We’re talking battle-tested strategies, hands-on workshops, and convos with “think big” business leaders — so don’t get stuck on the sidelines. It’s all going down November 12-14, 2024 at Warehouse 215 in the heart of the Phoenix, AZ tech community. Learn more and get your tickets here!

This week’s must-reads:

• A template to jumpstart documenting an emergency contingency plan.
• And the eight-step process of preparing for when disaster strikes.
• A sneak peek at the features that will supercharge your Trainual account.
• Plus, wanna get good at sales? Use emotional intelligence.

STARTER PACK

Template of the week: Emergency and Disaster Contingency Plan Policy

Let’s be so for real: There are enough movies about the undead out there for us to be a little… worried. Enough so to be prepared for any eventuality — especially a zombie apocalypse that could send us running from those slow-walking crowds.

Okay, we’re kidding (... or are we?). Either way, there’s nothing wrong with a little caution because emergencies do happen. 

👉 And the best way to prepare for emergencies at your business? Set up an Emergency and Disaster Contingency Plan Policy. That way, you and your employees are as prepared as possible for anything that comes down the road (though if zombies are slow-walking your way, you’re on your own).

‍Check out our entire template archive of free and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.

UH-OH SPAGHETTI-O

8 steps for avoiding (or recovering from) business disasters

Things happen.
From quarantines and natural disasters to Rickroll hacks and goat stampedes — emergencies come when we least expect them. And they affect everyone — including you and your business.

So, having some sort of contingency plan in place makes perfect sense. Especially for small and medium-sized businesses, who may not have as many resources to tackle disasters as they occur (40% of SMBs don’t reopen after disasters).

Let’s start planning.
Here are the eight steps you can take to minimize — or avoid — downtime in case of emergency:

1. Write a list of everything that could negatively impact your business operations.
2. Identify all the tools your business needs to function day-to-day.
3. For every issue you listed above, create a disaster recovery plan for how you would respond.
4. Back up your data regularly. Use the cloud, three back-up hard drives, whatever makes you comfortable — just make sure you have a regular schedule for when to do it.
5. Make an emergency communication plan for how you’ll contact employees and customers if something happens.
6. Get Trainual, document an emergency plan (look up 👆), and train your employees on what to do for these just-in-case scenarios.
7. Make agreements with key partners — like service providers, vendors, and office space management companies — about how they’ll help you when disaster strikes.
8. Test and update your plan regularly.

TRAINUAL TIPS & TRICKS

Trainual+: Training paths, multi-language support, and more coming next week!

Tell us if this is you: You want more ways to customize your employee onboarding. You’re looking for something to boost accountability, alignment, and accessibility. Basically, you want to power up your Trainual account — and we can make it happen.

Introducing: Trainual+.

Our brand-new, growing suite of additional features, including:

• Training paths. Prevent information overload during onboarding by customizing the order and cadence training is delivered to new hires.
• Multi-language support. That’s right — you can train in other languages now!
• The Delegation Planner^TM. Determine where employees should (and shouldn’t) spend their time — and delegate responsibilities accordingly.
• Unlimited e-signatures. Collect legally-binding e-signatures from employees, ensuring that they understand and commit to following all policies and processes.
• Custom domains. Get easy account access — plus level up the branding and professionalism of your training — with a custom domain.
• And more coming soon!

Starting at $49/mo. Opt in today and you can start using these features as soon as they drop on Sep. 3!

BOOSTING YOUR EQ STATS

Using emotional intelligence to get really good at sales

How good are we talking?
It’ll take a little practice and time — but these three tactics can upgrade your ability to sell almost anything to almost anyone. More importantly, they’ll help you sell your business’ products and services to your prospective customers. (We don’t need any more pens.)

1. Ask a lot of questions.
Selling means persuading people to buy — and persuasion is offering advice that you hope will inspire people to action.

And to get people to take your advice, you gotta ask a lot of questions — and listen to the answers. The more you ask, the more tailored your advice, and the more people will believe you’re giving advice they’ll want to use.

2. Don’t use assumptive language.
Ever use phrases like “I get it” or “I know how you feel”? It’s time to drop them from your vocabulary — because this assumptive language can cut off your prospective customers and make them believe that you’re pigeonholing their problems.

Go back to tactic #1 — personalize your responses with more questions. 

‍3. Exercise your patience.
The stars will not always align when you’re trying to close a deal. So, rather than push, use silence to your advantage. Psychology studies have shown that people begin to think something is wrong and fill conversational silence at the four-second mark. Let your prospects fill the silence — providing you with more context to help solve their problem.