• My career milestone of having trained over 2000 persons and delivered over 125 programs within the CARICOM region.
• Delivery of our 2016 projects by a team of 13 facilitators.
• Introduction of the 360 Degree Feedback Survey and the Employee Engagement Survey- both surveys are administered online, fully customized and automated.
• Committed support for Amica House (home for displaced girls).

Our Top Picks for 2016: Best in Social Change:      Support Local – This year we noticed an increase in the availability of top quality local products. Whether for the home or for gifts, supporting local encourages the growth of entrepreneurship in T&T. It’s also a great feeling knowing you are changing your neighbour’s life. Best in Learning on Demand:      Udemy is the world’s largest destination for online courses. We took advantage of their ‘Black Friday’ sale to test the quality of the programs and are satisfied learners. You can choose from a wide range of topics, learn at your own pace and access from any of your smart devices. Best #LifeHack:  Life hacks are tips and tools to improve your productivity and efficiency (one of our ‘fav’ topics). The best one this year was simply removing that which is non-goal related. The ability to remove the unnecessary and avoid all non-value add activities is critical to achieving your goals.We will share more on this in the New Year as this is often easier said than done. Best Read:  Not a new read – I got my autographed copy in 2004! This year, we covered communication in various projects: management and leadership development, speech coaching, training new trainers, presentation skills and and getting sales people to hit their targets. It is my #1 ‘go to’ book on communication and should be in every leader’s library. Feel welcome to share your top picks for 2016. As always, we at Trainmar look forward to making a positive difference in your business and life. See you in 2017! Leah de Souza Principal Consultant – Workplace Performance Improvement How to contact me: leah.de.souza@TrainmarConsulting.com M: 868-735-5590 How to stay in contact with me: www.TrainmarConsulting.com Facebook Page & LinkedIn: Leah de Souza  | Twitter: @leahdesouza

Visual Memories: ‘Serious Learning, Serious Fun’   Upcoming Public Workshops IMDG Standard Training Thursday 26th & Friday 27th January 2017 The IMDG Code, 2016 Edition will become authorized for use on January 1st, 2017 for two years and will be mandatory for use January 1st 2018. The program content includes the latest DOT rulemakings applicable to Intermodal transportation. This program is for both first time participants and those requiring updated training. IMDG Codes also available for purchase. Contact us today for complete details on all the above!

  ]]> http://www.trainmarconsulting.com/its-a-wrap/feed/ 0 http://www.trainmarconsulting.com/joel-levitt-2/ http://www.trainmarconsulting.com/joel-levitt-2/#comments Thu, 01 May 2014 13:27:11 +0000 http://trainmar.boldmovestudio.com/?p=644 Joel Levitt is a leading trainer of maintenance professionals. He has trained more than 15,000 maintenance leaders from 3000 organizations in 20+ countries in over 500 sessions. Since 1980 he has been the President of Springfield Resources, a management consulting firm that services clients of all sizes on a wide range of maintenance issues.

He has trained people from virtually every one of the Fortune 500, and from most of the Fortune Global

500. Many have come back and requested consulting or customized maintenance management training for their

in-house staff. Over 15,000 maintenance professionals worldwide have enjoyed the intensive nature of our maintenance training, given in over 500 public workshops in more than 20 countries. 98% of attendees rate the program very good to excellent!

He has 25 years of experience in many facets of maintenance including process control design, source equipment inspector, electrician, field service technician, maritime operations and property management. Prior to that, Levitt worked for a CMMS vendor and as an owner/manager in manufacturing.

He is a frequent speaker at maintenance and engineering conferences and has written 10 popular maintenance management texts. He has also published over 6 dozen articles on the topic. Levitt has served on the safety board of ANSI, Small Business United, National Family Business Council and on the executive committee of the Miquon School. He is a member of AFE and Vice President of the Philadelphia chapter.

Books written:

• TPM Reloaded, (2010 Industrial Press)
• Basics of Fleet Maintenance, (2010 Reliabilityweb Publishing)
• Maintenance Planning, Coordination and Scheduling , (second edition 2010 Industrial Press)
• Lean Maintenance, (2009 Industrial Press)
• Managing Factory Maintenance, (1996 Industrial Press)
• Handbook of Maintenance Management, (2008 Industrial Press)
• Managing Maintenance Shutdowns, Turnarounds and Outages, (2003 Industrial Press)
• Complete Guide to Preventive and Predictive Maintenance, (2011 Industrial Press)
• Engineered Performance Standards, in Facilities Operations Manager Handbook,(1999 McGraw-Hill)
• Seminar texts: Maintenance Management for Buildings and Facilities
• Management Skills for Maintenance Supervisors I, II
• Maintenance Management for Small Rental Buildings.
• “PM to support TPM,” Plant Engineering 6-95
• “Practical application of theories is often lost among buzzwords,” interview Maintenance Solutions Magazine 4-95
• “Zero-based Maintenance Budgeting,” Maintenance Technology Magazine 2-95
• “A dozen ways to cut fleet costs fast,” Asphalt Contractor 11-94
• “Tough questions before computerization,” Maintenance Technology 5-94
• “Twenty steps to world class maintenance,” Maintenance Technology 12-92
• ” New horizons in fleet management,” Fleet Equipment 2-89
• “Hard Choices of trucking software,” Fleet Owner 4-84
• “Small companies act to patch things up rather than split up,” interview Wall Street Journal 5-80

Libby has 25 years experience working with companies ranging from hi-tech manufacturing, healthcare and specialty retail to hospitality, public sector and non-profit entities. Highlights of her career include working with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in their effort to obtain the Malcolm Baldridge award for quality as well as working on an international level providing training for the United Nations on Human Resource topics. Libby was also selected as a recipient for the “Best of the Best” award for her work with Jacobson’s Stores, Inc.

Libby writes for numerous business publications and is a featured speaker at programs focusing on Human Resource issues. She is Past President of the HR Florida State Council, the state affiliate of The Society of Human Resource Management and represented the Southeast Region of the United States on the Membership Advisory Committee for SHRM in 2006. She has served on the Organizational Development Special Expertise Panel of SHRM since 2007. Libby is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and has her Master’s Degree in Human Resource Development and Administration from Barry University, where she currently works as an Adjunct Professor.

Libby leads these public programs with TRAINMAR (All programs can be customized):

• Customer Service Excellence
• Effective Employee Communication
• Employee Relations and Motivation
• Human Resource Fundamentals
• Job Description Development
• Key Principals of Employee Handbooks
• New Employee Training
• Performance and Discipline
• Recruiting and Selection Techniques
• Selection Success using Behavioral Interviewing
• Strategic Planning
• Supervisory Skills
• Time Management
• Understanding Diversity

Libby has taught in-house programs with TRAINMAR in Trinidad and Suriname with clients such as:

• Suriname State Oil Company
• British Gas TT
• Canadian High Commission
• Guardian Health Limited
• Methanex Trinidad Limited
• Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago
• The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

Connie, is the President of Exceptional Sales Performance, an international sales training and coaching business. She is a recognized expert in identifying and eliminating Sales Call Reluctance. With Trainmar, she has successfully delivered workshops such as ‘The Pursuit of Profit – Sales Skills’, ‘Dynamic and Effective Public Speaking’ and ‘How to Shift Your Mindset, Manage Your Time and Transform Your Results!”

It is my pleasure to share the article. Read below or via this link:

http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/how-to-make-killer-sales-calls-even-if-you-dread-them.html

Whatever your field or role, everyone is in sales. Either you’re selling to the customer to you’re selling your value internally. This article helps you focus on what you can do today to be a better salesperson.

7 Tips to Make Killer Sales Calls (Even if You Dread Them) BY Minda Zetlin

You can–and should–conquer your fear of pitching total strangers. This process will help you do it.

“Do you have sales-call reluctance?” Connie Kadansky asks me point-blank.
“Um…” I trail off. She’s a sales coach at Sales Call Reluctance with 20 years’ experience. I’m supposed to be interviewing her. But somehow I’ve let slip that I’d rather have my teeth drilled than pitch total strangers over the phone.

If you feel the same way, you might take heart from Kadansky’s tips for making effective sales calls, even if picking up the phone takes you outside your comfort zone. I plan on giving them a try. (If you do, too, let me know how it goes.)

1. Face it, you’re a salesperson. Just like everyone else.
“So many people resist the fact that they are salespeople,” Kadansky says. “They’ve had experience with salespeople who were less than professional.” If you think about it, she says, a salesperson is someone who solves problems for a profit. Look at it that way, and just about everyone you know is in sales.

2. Believe in your own value.
You have value as an individual, and the product or service you’re selling creates great value as well when matched with the right customer. “When people are convinced of their value, they’re unstoppable,” Kadansky says. “If someone on the other end is discourteous or not receptive, it doesn’t faze them.” (If you don’t believe what you’re selling has real value, you should be selling something else.)

3. Set a daily goal to contact new prospects.
“I encourage people to get a number in their head,” Kadansky says. “Every day I’m going to reach out to two people I don’t know. That can be over the phone, by email, or via LinkedIn, she says. “The point is to be proactive with new contacts on a daily basis, which is entirely possible if you make it a priority.”

4. Use a client-focused script.
The script should focus on the client, not on you, Kadansky says. “Many companies similar to yours count on me to… fill in the blank,” she says.

5. Leave irresistible messages.
Learn to leave a really effective voice-mail message, and you’ll get return calls more often than you might think. “You know what your business driver is,” Kadansky says. “Try to have a metric in your value proposition, such as your clients increase their Web traffic by 25 percent.” And make sure to actually ask the prospect to call you back. “Often people don’t get a call back because they don’t ask,” she says.

6. Listen to yourself.
If the voice-mail system offers you the chance to review your message, do it, Kadansky advises. That will give you the chance to hear not only what you said but how you sound. “When people are on the phone, only 27 percent of communication is in their words, and 73 percent is in their tone,” Kadansky says.

7. Follow up.
No response? Keep trying. Kadansky says she’ll try to contact someone about three times in a week, then leave it for two to three weeks and then try again. And she’ll continue trying at intervals after that. She makes sure to leave a message intended to inspire action, she says. “Does everybody respond? No. However, many people do.”

MINDA ZETLIN is a business technology writer and speaker, co-author of “The Geek Gap,” and president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
@MindaZetlin

1. Employees don’t know what they are or what they mean.
2. Employees don’t understand how to align the values to their every day work.
3. Employees don’t see management living the values.

However, most organizations have spent a significant amount of time and effort formulating their core values. These statements are posted on the company website, printed in the annual report, and attached to the walls of the meeting rooms; but what do they mean? 

Most employees know they exist, but can’t articulate them. Core values are another example of political correctness; platitudes that no one pays attention to and that have little meaning in the work lives of employees.

The intent of corporate core values is to guide the behavior and decisions at every level in the organization. Core values express how employees are supposed to treat each other as they work towards accomplishing the company’s goals.  They are the employees’ standards of behavior, which left unstated, places a higher priority in achieving results than how each person is treated in the process.

Here are some ways to live your company values every day:

• Managers must set the expectation that the core values are “how we do business” and then lead by example.
• Managers must hold employees accountable in demonstrating the core values in their day-to-day work.
• Employees must be recognized for meeting targets AND living the core values. If so, the company will be a great place to work and it will achieve extraordinary results.

Focus on living your company’s core values this week.

We all want to improve our skills to be more effective in our jobs. However, even though we may have the best of intentions, changing our habits is a difficult challenge.

A habit is an unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition. Understanding and applying the process for creating a new habit is essential to making change stick.

If you truly wish to improve your skills after training, follow this five-step process:

1. Clarify your motivation to change. Determine the benefit to you and your team from improving your skills. Will you have more time for higher value activities or experience less stress? Will you be more productive and engaged? You need a reason to use your new skills.
2. Focus on one habit at a time. Determine which aspect of your style that you need to change the most to accomplish your goals. We all have a tendency to tackle too many priorities at the same time. Take small steps and work on one skill until it becomes second nature.
3. Identify the triggers. The most common trigger is when you are required to make a decision. For example, you have a task to be accomplished. Stop and ask yourself, “Am I the only person on my team who could accomplish this task?” Take a moment and reflect on whether you can delegate instead of doing it yourself.
4. Commit to your new habit for one month. Habits require repetition. You may feel uncomfortable when you begin to use your new skills. You may also lack confidence that your new behaviors will work. Promise yourself that you will try and continue to repeat the process. The results will speak for themselves.
5. Ask others for feedback. In the interests of partnership and transparency, ask other for their feedback on your new skills or style. Review your own progress as well. Are you accomplishing the results that you were anticipating by changing your style?

Focus on creating new habits this week!

However, do you realize that others judge you based on your writing?

Everyday, we compose numerous emails, text messages, letters, reports, and proposals. Each piece of correspondence either enhances or erodes our professional credibility as communicators. How many times have you been left wondering about what a colleague actually meant in either their extended ramblings or abbreviated text message language? Misinterpretations often lead to wasted time and unnecessary conflict.

To some, the fundamentals of grammar, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure may seem like outdated concepts. However, clear and concise business writing ensures that the reader interprets your message without misunderstanding and you are perceived as an effective communicator.

Here are some tips to help you write better this week:

• Write using the active voice instead of the passive voice. The active voice creates accountability and makes the sentence strong and direct, e.g., “I sent a notice about the new date,” versus, “A notice was sent about the new date.”
• Convert nouns into verbs to simplify your meaning and to use fewer words, e.g., “The manager made a suggestionfor improvement,” versus, “The manager suggested an improvement.”
• Ensure that your word selection matches the intended meaning and context of your sentence. Take care using commonly misused words, such as: affect/effect, imply/infer, principal/principle, their/there/they’re, and to/two/too.
• Use simple words versus complicated words to ensure your correspondence is easy to read, e.g., instead of “initiate,” “subsequently,” and “disseminate,” use “start,” “next,” and “send.”

Focus on writing your way to improved credibility this week!