All posts by Nikki L

Objection Handling: 44 Common Sales Objections & How to Respond

By in Sales Tag

by: Mark Burdon High-performing sales professionals aren’t triggered to surrender by a sales objection. Instead, they use objections to craft personalized value propositions to differentiate their company, their offerings — and ultimately close the deal. As a long-time sales and business development professional, I’ve always seen sales objections as guideposts along a buying process: they tell me what a prospect needs to move forward. When overcoming objections in sales, salespeople must be curious, intuitive, and empathetic enough to ask questions that motivate prospects to disclose their objections instead of just ghosting the salesperson and leaving them wondering why. Download Now: Free…

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LLMs are driving referral traffic – but what about engagement?

By in Marketing Tag , ,

by Jason Tabeling From answering complex queries to generating creative content, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others are becoming integral to how users seek and consume information online.  This technology presents a paradox for brands and website owners: the potential for new avenues of traffic generation alongside the growing challenge of zero-click results. The initial excitement surrounding LLMs often focuses on their ability to simplify workflows and provide instant answers. However, for businesses that rely on website traffic for leads, sales, and brand visibility, the implications are far more nuanced. While LLMs can act as powerful referral engines, directing users to…

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Strengthening the Leadership Pipeline: Identifying and Developing Middle Managers for Senior Roles

By in Business Management Tag , ,

By Lin Grensing-Pophal Most organizations are arranged in a pyramid-shaped hierarchy, with large numbers of frontline workers reporting to a smaller group of managers, who in turn report to an even smaller group of directors and VPs, all the way up to a single CEO. Even in organizations that claim to be “flat,” some level of hierarchy is necessary for decision-making and structure. If we invert this pyramid, it resembles a funnel—managers are often promoted from frontline roles, and senior executives are often selected from middle management. Naturally, developing middle managers into senior leaders is a key priority for organizations…

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How to Choose the Right Blog Topics to Engage Your Audience

By in Content Marketing Tag ,

By Lauren Basiura Blogging remains one of the most effective ways to build an online presence, engage an audience, and drive organic traffic to a website. In fact, 83% of internet users, approximately 4.44 billion people, read blog posts. However, with so much content available online, selecting the right topics is crucial to standing out and keeping your audience engaged. Understanding Your Audience The foundation of choosing engaging blog topics starts with understanding your target audience. If you don’t know what your readers care about, your content will likely miss the mark. Identify Your Audience Start by defining your ideal reader.…

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Are You Spying on Employees? The Pros and Cons of Workplace Surveillance

By in Human Resources Tag ,

By Chester Avey There is an argument to be made about how monitoring employees helps them stay productive, keeps operations moving along smoothly, and pinpoints potential areas for growth and improvement. However, implementing surveillance measures is a complex decision, raising important questions about the invasion of privacy and trust in the workplace. Organizations are grappling with this dilemma frequently, which is why it’s important to address both aspects. How can HR professionals strike the right balance between maintaining operational efficiency and team productivity while respecting employees’ right to privacy and confidentiality? Monitoring employees has a stigma around it and can be counterproductive if…

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What Is an SEO Marketing Strategy?

By in Marketing Tag , ,

By Lauren Basiura Your SEO marketing strategy is the key to unlocking your brand’s growth potential. It’s how you rank on search engine results pages (SERPs), drive organic traffic to your website, and ultimately grow conversions and sales. Even though every marketer today has heard of SEO and most know its importance, most brands approach SEO with a variety of separate tactics rather than linking it to your overall marketing strategy. The result is a fragmented SEO effort that doesn’t earn nearly the ROI it could. In this article, we’re going to cover what constitutes a true SEO marketing strategy, how content…

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Reviewing Candidates’ Social Media Accounts—Legit or Not?

By in Human Resources Tag ,

By Shiran Danoch Social media is an inseparable part of our lives, influencing how we connect, communicate, and even conduct business. Recruiters increasingly use social media to source and recruit candidates, and many use it to research candidates to make or support hiring decisions. This practice, however, is controversial as it raises significant practical and ethical considerations. The Public vs. Private Dilemma One of the primary arguments in favor of reviewing candidates’ social media is that the information is publicly available. In an era where individuals share significant aspects of their lives online, it can be argued that anything posted…

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Boost HR Tasks With Generative AI

By in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Human Resources Tag ,

By Lin Grensing-Pophal Jody Hay is director of HR at TA Services where, he says, the company has “embraced Generative AI as a valuable tool to enhance HR functions, including training and development, content creation, and employee engagement analysis.” But he’s quick to add, that doesn’t mean that the human has been removed from human resources. “While we still rely on human oversight and expertise, AI has significantly increased our efficiency and effectiveness in certain key areas.” Hay explains how GenAI is being used in several areas to gain efficiencies. Job Analysis and Course Material Creation “One of the biggest time savers has…

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Microchips Aren’t Just for Pets: Tracking Employees and Wearable Technology

By in Human Resources Tag , , , ,

By Jo Ellen Whitney In a popular television show, a parent is panicking because he can’t find his 17-year-old daughter. His best friend looks at him and says, “Well, just check the chip, didn’t you chip her? Our dog got chipped before we even left the shelter.” While it was a joke clearly designed for laughs, as we’ve seen historically over the last 10 to 15 years, employee tracking has become an increasingly complex issue, whether it involves legislation prohibiting the requirement that employees get embedded microchips to GPS tracking. EEOC’s Position on ‘Wearables’ Eleven states have laws prohibiting employers…

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How AI Will Reshape HR in 2025

By in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Human Resources Tag , ,

By Louise Willoughby, In recent years, the HR world has felt the strong influence of AI, forcing leaders to rethink how technology can enhance their roles and team strategies. Starting in late 2022, with the unveiling of ChatGPT and the explosion of the AI hype cycle, HR leaders have been scrambling to integrate this technology into their operations. In doing so, they’ve been faced with fundamental questions about the field. What, in the end, is HR for? And how exactly can advanced technology help practitioners accomplish their aims more effectively? It has always been clear that AI was never going…

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