Meagan Kerlin

It’s more evident than ever that we’re living in an unpredictable world. Things can change from one day to the next, making it difficult to make decisions that will propel you forward. How can you feel certain about the decisions you’re making in an uncertain world?

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know exactly how your decisions will play out. There is no guarantee your choices will turn out like you hoped, but there are things you can do to make sure your decisions are as successful as reasonably possible. One of these may include refraining from thinking about decisions from a black-and-white perspective. There is likely no perfect choice, and there may not even be a right or wrong choice.

Instead of thinking of making decisions in this way, consider your choices from the perspective of where you want to go. Decide based on what is most likely to move you in the right direction. You don’t have to strive for perfect choices, just try and make smart ones. If you are a little afraid because of poor decisions in the past, allow that to make you smarter and stronger. You’re just trying to go the right way – not achieve a fictional level of perfection.

It may feel more difficult than ever to make decisions right now, especially ones that could have a long-term impact. The world has changed significantly this year, and everything may feel harder or even impossible. If you are faced with tough decisions in a time of such uncertainty, know that you aren’t alone. No one knows what the next month will look like, yet alone the next year.

There is so much you cannot control, but you do have the ability to make choices based on the information you have and the direction you want to go. Let go of your desire for certainty and perfect choices, and know that if you do make a choice that doesn’t work out, you can pick up the pieces, learn from it and try again.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

One of the most important aspects of succeeding in sales is to make positive connections with customers. Typically, making a connection takes more than one point of contact, which means a follow-up email could be crucial to making the sale. You’ve talked to your prospect once, and you may think the ball is in his or her court, but in reality, it’s really in yours. What you do next could make the difference between closing the sale or losing it completely.

It’s crucial to master the art of the follow-up email. This is one of the most effective ways to make another contact with your client or customer, so it’s important to do it well. In addition to fostering the connection made with a client, it also establishes a sense of trust. It’s important to do this personally, refraining from using a form letter. Touch on things you spoke about the first time, and avoid using pushy or aggressive language.

This provides you the opportunity to continue to the conversation you started the first time. A well-drafted follow-up email can be the first step in establishing loyalty between your company and the client. As you converse, you can learn more about how you can meet the needs of your prospect, what he or she is looking for, and how you can improve.

In most cases, a prospective customer or client will not follow up without prompting. It is your job to make the sale, not your prospect’s responsibility. If you want to close, you have to perfect the art of the follow-up email. You can start practicing by reaching out to those you haven’t contacted in awhile or those you haven’t reached out to a second time. Your follow-up email may be the small effort that creates a loyal customer-company relationship that lasts for years.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

It’s normal to feel scared from time to time. Various fears or an overall sense of anxiety may keep you from moving forward with chasing your next career goal or pursing a dream. You may not even know what it is specifically that you are afraid of – you just know that something is holding you back. It’s important to face your fears, but first you have to name your fears if you ever want to overcome them.

Many people would say they are afraid to fail, but this may be an overgeneralization. Maybe you are afraid to fail, but your real fear may lie in a fear of letting yourself down or perhaps your family, friends or business mentor. You might think you’re afraid of losing money, but self-evaluation may prove that what you’re actually afraid of is having to ask for help.

When considering how you can overcome your fears, you have to dig deep. Ask yourself the hard questions that will get you to the root of what you fear. If you don’t know what you are actually afraid of, you’ll never be able to overcome it. Naming fears brings awareness to the problem, allowing you to be intentional about working through them. Practicing awareness is often the first step toward moving past whatever it is that’s holding you back.

After naming your fears, you will be aware of the times when you’re acting and reacting because of those deeply rooted fears. This awareness allows you to put in place specific practices that help you move past those fears. Practice and intention are keys to moving forward.

Operating out of a place of fear is no way to live your life. If you’ve allowed fear to have too much of a stronghold over your life, now is a great time to start figuring out what those fears really are and fighting to overcome them.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

Do you need to be more productive? Do you need your team to be more productive? If so, you may think the answer is working harder, implementing new systems or trying new time management tricks. While these things can be helpful, you may need to take a closer look at your interactions within your workplace. Better communication and improved interactions can have an immeasurable effect on the productivity of every member of the team.

One aspect of this is creating a healthy work environment. A work environment affects how efficiently things run and how well employees communicate with one another. It can even affect how employees think, how they work together and whether they feel comfortable expressing their concerns. Creating a healthy environment is about more than just the physical space – it involves intangible things as well.

To increase productivity, improve your interactions when providing and receiving feedback. This doesn’t mean that you will never have to give or hear negative feedback or constructive criticism, but it means you will do this in ways that allow for conversation, growth and improvement. It also means you leave room for questions and concerns. These types of conversations are more productive when they’re two-sided.

If you need to push for better productivity for yourself or your team members, make it a point to celebrate and incentivize good work. When you give people something to work for, they will be more intentional about how they use their time. Make it a point to notice when someone does something well, and acknowledge when someone has met a goal or is doing great work. Productivity may increase when people know their efforts are noticed and appreciated.

Increasing productivity may have less to do with time management and more to do with how you interact with your team. Think about your interactions and communication and decide whether improvements in these areas could actually make everyone on your team more productive.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

When someone is talking to you, do you stop what you’re doing and listen? Do you continue to multitask, or do you allow your mind to wander? If you aren’t giving the conversation your full attention, you aren’t truly listening. Active listening is a skill that is important in both your personal life and your professional life. It’s worthwhile for everyone to brush up on their active listening skills.

Active listening is listening to someone without multitasking. It is as simple as giving another person your complete attention and focusing on what he or she has to say. This seems fairly straightforward, but few people actually do it. It requires effort to listen like this, but it’s worth it. Good listening skills are crucial to being a good communicator and leader.

Listening well is especially critical for those in leadership positions. Leading well is much more than just telling people what to do and making important decisions. It also involves creating strong interpersonal relationships with others on the team. It’s impossible to develop rapport and cultivate mutual respect with those who don’t actively listen.

When a leader listens well, he or she will be, by default, more understanding. The best teams are those created with a sense of true concern. When team members can speak openly and feel confident their voices will be truly heard and understood, the team itself is stronger for it. Active listening is a beneficial leadership skill in any type of professional setting and in any type of leadership position.

An old adage points out that since people have two ears and one mouth, they should listen twice as much as they speak. This is good advice, but you may want to take it one step further. Instead of listening more than you speak, strive to make sure you are listening well.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

If you are an employer, you understand the importance of maintaining good relationships with the people who work with and for you. You don’t want people just to do what you say since having mutual respect is crucial for a positive work environment. As the employer, you do have the right to command a certain amount of respect, but it’s also normal to want others to like you.

There are certain habits you may have that could actually be causing your employees to dislike you, and you may not even realize it. It’s healthy to self-evaluate on occasion in order to make sure your habits are helping create a healthy culture in your workplace and a positive place to work. Some of the things that can make employees dislike you include:

• Not providing enough information – Equip your employees to succeed. Make sure that you’ve provided sufficient information, and be available for support and questions.
• Reacting defensively – It’s important not to respond defensively when getting feedback or criticism. These are opportunities for growth and positive change as well as opportunities to set an example for employees.
• Expecting employees to read your mind – Your employees aren’t mind readers, and expecting them to magically know what you want isn’t realistic or fair. Communication is key.

As an employer, there is a certain amount of pressure to walk the line between being friends with your employees and being impersonal and standoffish. It’s okay to want your employees to like you, but that starts with making sure it’s not your own negative habits that are causing friction.

Having a positive relationship with your employees is important, and this starts with you. It can be beneficial to ask yourself what you may be doing to cause others to dislike you. A little self-evaluation and improvement is not only good for you, but it’s also good for those who work with you.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC

There will be times in your life and career when you feel stuck. It’s like writers block in a sense, as you know you have work to do, but you aren’t sure how to move forward. Creative thinking is often a smart way to get “unstuck” and to find new ideas that can propel you toward your next goal or benchmark. Even if you are not naturally a creative individual, there are ways you can boost your creativity and use it as a powerful tool.

One thing that many people overlook is the power of playtime. You may think you don’t have time to really play, enjoy a hobby or simply get outside for a little while, but there are ways to make anything a game. You can boost your creativity in ways that may surprise you. For example, turn it into a competition with yourself to see how many tasks you can complete within a certain amount of time.

Make time to enjoy simple things like a walk or a game of catch in your backyard. Adding an element of fun to even the most mundane, everyday tasks can help you break out of a funk. Another thing that may help you is to give yourself permission to problem solve creatively. You may be stuck because you’re trying to think of solutions that fit into a certain mold. There are times when you need to toss the mold out the window and see what happens.

Give yourself the time and mental space to brainstorm. Sometimes a simple break from your routine can help you come up with effective and beneficial strategies, and sometimes you just need time to think through your options in peace and quiet. It may surprise you how effective a simple brainstorming session can get you out of your funk and help you think creatively.

Creative thinking may not come easily to you, but it’s a powerful tool you want in your arsenal. If you feel stuck, consider what steps you may need to take to break through the fog, boost your creativity and keep moving forward.

By Meagan Kerlin for Vertu Marketing LLC