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Category: Sales Training

Categories
Growth Sales Training Skills

Prompt Engineering Jobs

prompt engineering jobs and technical side hustles in AI

Exploring Careers in Prompt Engineering: Opportunities in AI and Machine Learning

Introduction

  • Define prompt engineering and its importance in the AI landscape.
  • Briefly mention the growth of AI technologies and the increasing reliance on sophisticated human-AI interactions.

What is Prompt Engineering?

  • Detailed explanation of what prompt engineers do.
  • The significance of prompt design in improving AI outputs.
  • Examples of industries and applications where prompt engineering is crucial.

Skills Required for a Prompt Engineering Job

  • Overview of technical skills such as programming languages (Python, etc.), understanding of machine learning models.
  • Importance of linguistic and cognitive psychology skills.
  • Creativity and problem-solving abilities.

How to Become a Prompt Engineer

  • Educational pathways: Relevant degrees and certifications.
  • Self-learning resources: Online courses, workshops, and seminars.
  • The role of experience: Internships, project work, and other hands-on experiences.

Job Market and Opportunities

  • Current job market trends for prompt engineers.
  • Types of companies hiring prompt engineers (tech giants, startups, AI research labs).
  • Future outlook and potential growth in the field.

Case Studies

  • Success stories of prompt engineers.
  • Impactful projects and innovations contributed by prompt engineers in various sectors (e.g., healthcare, finance, entertainment).

Conclusion

  • Recap of the potential and importance of prompt engineering careers.
  • Encouragement to pursue education and training in this field.

Leverage Your Technical Skills and Creativity: How Prompt Engineering Can Propel Your Day Trading Futures Success and Funded Futures Traders

Introduction

  • Introduction to the concept of using technical and creative skills in prompt engineering as a gateway to successful day trading.
  • Highlight the statistical advantage (4000% more likely to excel) for those with a background in technical fields or creative roles when venturing into day trading.

Understanding the Skills Overlap

  • Detailed explanation of what skills are shared between prompt engineering and day trading futures, such as analytical thinking, pattern recognition, and strategic planning.
  • Discussion on the importance of creativity and imagination in both fields.

Benefits of a Technical or Creative Background in Day Trading

  • How technical skills help in understanding market data, trading algorithms, and advanced trading platforms.
  • The role of creativity in developing unique trading strategies and adapting to volatile markets.

Steps to Transition from Prompt Engineering to Day Trading

  • Educational pathways: Courses and certifications in financial trading for tech-savvy individuals.
  • Practical advice on starting small, such as using simulators or micro-futures contracts for practice.
  • Importance of continuous learning and staying updated with market trends.

Success Stories

  • Case studies of individuals who transitioned from technical roles or creative fields into successful day trading.
  • Insights into their strategies, challenges, and how they leveraged their prior skills in trading.

Tools and Resources for Aspiring Traders

  • Recommended tools and platforms that cater to technically skilled individuals.
  • List of resources for continuous learning and improvement in trading strategies.

Conclusion

  • Recap of the unique advantage that individuals with a background in prompt engineering or similar fields have when entering the world of day trading
  • Encouragement for readers to explore day trading as a viable side hustle or career change.

Side-Hustles for technical and creative people also include Investing, Futures Trading and Prompt Engineering.

APex Trader FUnding Discount Coupon

Categories
Marketing Sales Training Skills

Your Presentation is Boring AF – Here’s why, and what to do about it

Your Presentation is Boring AF – Here’s why, and what to do about it

Assuming you have valuable and important information to share, if your delivery sucks, it will leave your audience bored and disengaged.

The problem is that your promotional presentation is Boring AF (Boring As Formatted), which makes it a painful experience for both the speaker and the listeners.

Being part of a boring presentation is like having CoVid.

                    It will probably give you a head ache.

                    It will  last way longer than you want it to.

                    And, in the end, You will wish it had never happened!

It doesn’t have to be this way.

If your presentation aren’t as engaging as you would like, You are more than likely missing some essential elements.

Crafting a captivating presentation is not rocket science; it’s about mastering a few key elements that can transform your delivery from dull to dynamic.

Here’s 10 tips to ensure your pitches and presentations leave a lasting impact.

Let me know in the comments below which of the 10 do you or your team struggle the most with?

  1. Know Your Audience: google your audience. Use your research to creating a presentation that resonates with them.
  2. Open Strong: Grab your audience’s attention from the start. For my money, this is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR PRESENTATION!
  3. Tell Stories: Use Storytelling as a way to engage your audience on an emotional level. Stories allow you to illustrate key points and makes them more memorable.
  4. Keep it Interactive: Have you ever felt ignored during someone else’s presentation? Sucks, doesn’t it?  Don’t ignore your audience. Be sure to engage them throughout your presentation to maintain their interest and attention.
  5. Use Visual Aids: Visual aids can enhance your presentation but be careful not to overdo it.  Keep them simple, clear, and relevant..
  6. Inject Passion and Energy: Enthusiasm is contagious. If you seem bored by your own presentation, I can guarantee that your audience will be bored too. Let your  energy and passion show  in your message.
  7. Be yourself: Authenticity creates trust and connection. Let your personality shine through. (*Unless you are authentically VERY BORING. In that case, give me a call and I will share some strategies to help you out. I have discovers that with the right skills, anyone can be interesting and engaging in their own way)
  8. Pace Yourself: Avoid speaking too fast or too slow. Keep it interesting by varying your tone. Also remember that there is power in silence. Use Pauses to emphasize key points
  9. Practice: Preparation is key to delivering a competent and confident presentation. Rehearse your content. The more you practice, the more comfortable and confident you’ll be.
  10. Finish strong: End your presentation with a powerful call to action that encourages further engagement.

 

Remember, being dull is painful for everyone involved.

Your goal should be to ignite curiosity, spark emotion, maintain interest and leave a lasting impact with every presentation you deliver.

 

Which of the 10 do you or your team struggle the most with?

Let me know.

I am happy to help you with this. Lets schedule some time to talk.  www.SpeakWithDennis.com

#Sales, #ProSpeakerAcademy,#InvitationalSelling

Categories
Advice Growth Sales Training

Profit is not a dirty word

Profit is not a Dirty Word
Sales Equals Service

One of the biggest self-limiting beliefs that people have with self-promotion is the thought that “people will think I’m trying to sell them something”.

Let me address that with these simple words…

I should hope so!

If you are Speaker, an Author, or an Entrepreneur and you’ve got a product or service or talent that has value, you deserve to be paid for that value.

In life, money is earned for solving problems.

The more problems you solve, the more money you earn. The bigger the problems to solve the bigger the money you earn.

The more big problems you solve, the more big money you earn.

If you have provided value and service, if you have inspired your audience, and if your audience believes you can help them… then they will invest in you.

They will purchase your product, and consequently, their lives will improve and there will be profit for all.

Profit is a critical part of this process. Profit is the compensation for all the time, effort and study you put into becoming an expert in your field.

Profit is the reward for all the hard work you put into putting the presentation together.

Profit is what enables you to continue changing lives. You can’t continue to help others if you’re too broke to even help yourself.

For me though, profit represents something much more than just dollars and cents. It is an indicator of my effectiveness, and the same will be true for you.

It basically boils down to this…

Sales Equals Service

Here’s Why:

Let’s assume that you have an amazing product or service that solves a specific problem.  Let’s also assume that you are in front of an audience that has the problem your product or service solves.

If no one buys it… no one was helped and their problems will continue.

And it would be your fault!

In most cases, the inability of a presenter to sell a service, product or even an idea, boils down to either

Lack of Self Belief or Lack of Skill.

Many of the aspiring speakers and business owners I have worked with, suffer from the number one killer of success, Lack of Self Belief which manifests as a Lack of Confidence.

Confidence is often the missing element when presenting your product or service. A lack of confidence speaks much louder than any well devised presentation. Your audience will notice its presence, or lack of it, instantly and their decision of whether to buy from you or not will be based upon its presence or lack thereof.

A big part of working with our clients at Pro Speaker Academy is to help them get crystal clear about their value and thereby build confidence.

The second most common cause of an inability to sell is caused by a lack of skill. No matter how strong you are in your belief in your product it is equally important to sell with skill.  Selling is a learnable skill. It is also a skill that few people are naturally good at. However, once you realize that there is a simple, duplicable system for generating sales, and you take the time to learn and master that system, you will gain the necessary skill to sell your valuable and needed product.

As a double benefit, when you build your skill, your confidence will also build.

The good news is that both of these factors can be improved with the right coaching and training.

It is important to keep in mind that while profit may be the destination for you, it represents the starting point for those listening to you. If you profit, it is only because you have demonstrated to your audience that you have a product of value. You have shown that you have a solution to their problem and are willing to help them achieve their own goals.

I work with Doctors, Lawyers, Wealth Managers, Coaches, Authors, Speakers and Business Owners that have the passion and are terrific at the presentation.  They’re even good at promoting  their product or service, but stumble at the finish line. “The Sale”

Very often it’s because they’re more worried about what other people will think than the value they have to offer.  This is where it is critical to “Own your Greatness” so to speak.

To be a great speaker/promoter, it essential that you tap into that place of service within you that realizes that you do have something of value to offer. You have something that can solve a problem for others and relieve suffering.

Many of the Professionals we have worked with at Pro Speaker Academy have struggled with this. It is why a key part of our coaching revolves around changing the mindset of our speakers.

You can’t control what others think of you, so, there’s no point in worrying about it!

Any negative thoughts your audience may harbor is usually the result of one or two things.

The first, and most common, is their own self-limiting beliefs, which has nothing to do with you. For most of our members that is a major part of what their product solves for their audience.

The second most common reason for those negative audience thoughts is your delivery of a poorly constructed inauthentic presentation that lacks confidence.

Over the past 12 years of working with clients in all industries and professions, I have come to one conclusion, if  you fix the second problem, the first one usually disappears on its own.

Always remember that  Profit is not a Dirty Word and Sales Equals Service

What’s your best strategy to build up your self-confidence before a promotion?  Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject

Categories
Books Sales Training Skills

An exclusive interview with BOB BURG, world renowned Sales & Entrepreneur Expert/Trainer/Keynote Speaker.

Bob Burg has been successfully showing entrepreneurs, leaders, & sales pros for over 30 yrs, how to build relationships, communicate their value, & accelerate their business growth as one of the top Sales and Entrepreneur trainers in the world.  Though for years he was best known for his sales classic, Endless Referrals, it’s his business parable he co-authored, The Go-Giver, that has created a worldwide movement.  While part of a four-book series, The Go-Giver itself has sold well over a million copies & been translated into 30 languages. It was rated #10 on Inc. Magazine’s list of The Most Motivational Books Ever Written, & was on HubSpot’s 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time.

An advocate, supporter, & defender of the Free Enterprise system, Bob believes that the amount of money one makes is directly proportional to how many people they serve.

Listen to this exclusive interview on the C-Suite Network’s podcast THE MOTIVATION SHOW.   Link to listen:https://c-suitenetwork.com/radio/shows/the-motivation-show/

You will learn:

-Most people just laugh when they hear that the secret to success is giving…Then again, most people are nowhere near as successful as they wish they were.”

-Examples of what a salesperson or entrepreneur can give a prospective client

-Change focus from getting to giving…putting others interests first & adding value to their lives ultimately leads to unexpected returns. Give & You Shall Receive.”

-“Don’t give as a quid pro quo, not as a strategy to get ahead, but because it is, in & of itself, a satisfying & fulfilling way to be.”

-Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.

-How do you turn a Cold Call into a Warm Call?

-How can you have business organically flow to you instead of always trying to push, persuade, cajole, hype or any other artificial way of making a sale?

-How do you deal with the prospect you know is your perfect client, but just won’t give you the time of day.  They don’t return your email, phone calls or texts.

-One golden nugget of advice from a “drive-by mentor” totally shifted Bob’s perspective and played a big role in his success.

-One thing to absolutely AVOID doing when seeking out a mentor.

-What’s the best way to find a mentor?

-Why being a “Go-Giver” is absolutely congruent with — and even honors — human nature.

Categories
Growth Marketing Sales Training

Nature’s Stair Master –  The view is always better at the top, but are you willing to put in the work?

My dog Cody is an avid Hiker and apparently a Business Guru.

So, my pup Cody and I hit the trails early for a hike up Thompson Peak. It was one of those perfect mornings where the desert seems to wake up just to show off a bit.

The first few miles were a breeze, relatively speaking. The terrain had its ups and downs, but nothing too taxing, and the early light made everything look spectacular. It was a peaceful, promising start.

But, as life often has it, the real challenge was waiting for us just up the path.

The last two miles up to the summit were brutal. We’re talking about a relentless 37-degree incline that rose 2,000 feet. Believe me, it felt like nature’s own Stair Master, set on the “this might be a mistake” level.

Let’s just say, it was no joke!

But once Cody and I reached the top, the payoff was undeniable—breathtaking views that made every step (and pant) worth it.

There’s something about reaching the peak that makes you forget the burn in your legs and just soak in the achievement. And it got me thinking about business.

Just like that hike, achieving great results in business—or really any area of life—comes down to being willing to tackle the steep climbs. It’s about perfecting your product or service and mastering the art of letting the world know you exist.

I’ve seen firsthand that many of my clients have incredible offerings, but their biggest hurdle is often just getting the word out there.

A lot of business owners struggle with this; they aren’t naturally the ones to grab a megaphone and tout their own work.

Public speaking, or in broader terms, just getting out there and marketing, doesn’t come easy to everyone.

But here’s the thing—no one is born a great public speaker. Like any skill, it takes practice, persistence, and yes, a fair bit of climbing those proverbial hills.

Are you putting in the effort to climb your business mountain?

What hurdles are you looking to overcome regarding how you market yourself and your business?

Would love to hear your thoughts.  Drop your comments in the chat.

 

#BusinessDevelopment, #ProSpeakerAcademy, #InvitationalSelling

Categories
Growth Sales Training Skills

Chaos to Clarity: Using Clear Communication to Solve Organizational Problems”

Whether you are working with Sales, Leadership, or Organizational issues, clear communication is absolutely key if you’re trying to get to the bottom of problems in a company.

Here’s why Clear Communication is so important:

  1. Pinpoints Problems Accurately: Clear chatting helps you understand exactly what’s going wrong. If things get lost in translation, you might end up solving the wrong problems!
  2. Builds Trust: When you communicate clearly and openly, people trust you more. They’ll feel comfortable sharing their real concerns, and that’s gold for getting to the heart of issues.
  3. Gets Everyone on Board: good communication gets everyone to the table so that every one of the stakeholder’s voices is heard. People see problems differently, and you should want everyone’s perspective.
  4. Helps Sort Priorities: it is quicker to determine which issues need to replaced tomorrow when everyone transparently knows what is going on.
  5. Guides Actions: Once you know what needs fixing, clear communication helps you lay out who needs to do what. Everyone needs to understand their tasks to pull in the same direction.
  6. Smooths Out Changes: People naturally resist change unless they understand why it’s happening. Clear explanations can ease this process, helping everyone move forward together.
  7. Keeps Things Consistent: There’s a lot going on when you’re fixing company problems. Keeping communication clear stops people from getting confused and makes sure everyone stays on track.
  8. Allows for Tweaks and Improvements: Even after you start making changes, you need to keep the lines of communication open. This lets you tweak things as you go, based on real feedback.

Basically, good communication isn’t just about making sure messages are received; it’s about making sure they’re understood. It’s crucial for solving the right problems, in the right order, and in the right way.

How does your company train its employees and sales teams to communicate effectively?

 

Categories
Leadership Marketing Sales Training

Shut Up and Sell More : The Importance of Empathy in Sales

Shut Up and Sell More : The Importance of Empathy in Sales

 

Success in sales is more than simply promoting your product or service.

Among the skills that define successful salespeople, empathy stands out as a critical, yet often overlooked, component.

What is Empathy?

Empathy in sales refers to your ability to put yourself in your customer’s shoes, understand their needs and emotions, and respond appropriately.

This skill enables you to better connect with your customers by demonstrating to them that you understand their concerns and providing solutions that truly meet their needs.

Why is Empathy Important in Sales?

Builds Trust and Credibility

Trust is key to any sales relationship. When customers feel understood, they are more likely to trust your  recommendations.

Research has shown that a customers’ trust increases significantly when they believe a salesperson has their best interests at heart.  Increased trust also influences their buying decisions.

 Enhances Customer Loyalty

Empathy leads to stronger customer relationships, which can translate into increased loyalty.

By addressing customer concerns effectively, you encourage repeat business and referrals.

Improving Communication

Empathetic salespeople are great at listening and responding to their customers’ needs . Improved communication not only helps in tailoring the sales approach but also helps in avoiding misunderstandings and conflicts.

Conflict Resolution

In sales, not every interaction goes smoothly. When issues arise, empathy makes it easier to handle objections and resolve conflicts more effectively.

Tips for Cultivating Empathy in Sales

 

Be an Active Listener

Active listening involves fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively hearing the message of the speaker. Salespeople can practice this by asking open-ended questions, summarizing what the customer says, and confirming understanding before proceeding.

Develop Your Emotional Intelligence

Developing emotional intelligence (EI) can enhance your ability to empathize with others. EI involves self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills — all of which are beneficial in a sales context.

Customer Feedback

Use customer feedback to provide valuable insights into their experiences and expectations, which can enhance empathetic interactions with future clients and customers.

Training and Role-Playing

Many organizations I work with, include role playing in their training programs. Role-playing exercises can help you and your team practice empathy by putting yourselves in the customer’s shoes.

Bottom Line:

Shut up and Sell More!

Empathy is more than just a “nice-to-have” quality when it comes to sales.  It is a critical tool that can lead to deeper customer relationships, increased satisfaction, and improved sales performance.

Prioritizing empathy in the sales process not only enhances your ability to understand and meet the needs of your customers but also sets you apart from your competitors.

Categories
Marketing Sales Training Skills

Passion vs. Polish: The Key to Success for Speakers, Entrepreneurs, and Sales Professionals

When it comes to speaking, entrepreneurship, and sales, there’s an ongoing debate:

Is it better to be Polished or Passionate?

While some argue for the importance of refined delivery, I firmly believe that passion wins the day.

Let me explain why.

Passion is the fuel that ignites connections and drives action. It’s the intangible quality that captures attention and inspires others to listen, engage, and ultimately, buy into what you’re offering.

Think about it.

Would you rather listen to someone who delivers a flawless presentation with little enthusiasm or someone whose rough edges are smoothed by their genuine excitement and dedication?

Time and time again, passion wins out. That’s why, in the realm of sales, the most successful professionals don’t just rely on polished pitches, they infuse their presentations with genuine passion.

So, how do you find that passion within yourself?

Here are three tips to help you uncover your true calling:

  1. Identify Your Natural Skills and Talents: Take stock of what you’re good at. What comes effortlessly to you? Your innate abilities are often a clue to where your passions lie.
  2. Explore Joyful Activities and Experiences: Pay attention to the activities and experiences that bring you joy and fulfillment. These moments can offer valuable insights into what truly matters to you. work to clude these in your presentations.
  3. Follow Your Heart, Not Your Wallet: Imagine a world where money is no object. What would you love to do? Pursue your passions with fervor, knowing that when you align with what truly drives you, success will follow.

It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind of making a living, but don’t forget about the importance of making a life worth living.

Allow your passion to shine through in everything you do, whether it’s speaking to an audience, pitching a product, or building your business. Your authenticity will resonate with others, fostering deeper connections and ultimately leading to greater success and sales.

While polish certainly has its place, it’s passion that sets speakers, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals apart. Embrace them, cultivate them, and let them guide you on the path to success.

It’s your passion that will invite others to buy from you.

After all, when you speak from the heart, others can’t help but listen.

My passion is helping business owners get better as sharing the products and services with the world using Invitational Selling™ as a strategy.

I’d love to hear what you’re passionate about and help you get even better at sharing what you do and boosting your sales. You can E-mail me directly at Dennis@DennisCummins.com or let’s schedule some time to talk at www.SpeakwithDennis.com.

 

 

 

Dennis Cummins

Pro Speaker Academy

Categories
Sales Training Strategy

Mastering the Availability Heuristic: Baz Porter’s Insights for Savvy Business Strategies

Hey there, fellow business enthusiasts! Baz Porter here, the founder of RAMS and your guide to leveraging the fascinating world of behavioral economics to take your business strategies to the next level. Today, we’re diving into the Availability Heuristic, a cognitive bias that can be a game-changer when applied strategically. So, please grab a coffee and explore how this principle can revolutionize your pricing, marketing, risk management approach, and more!

Setting the Stage for Premium Pricing First, let’s talk about pricing. As a business leader, you know that setting the right price can make or break your success. The Availability Heuristic comes into play here by influencing how consumers perceive the value of your product or service. By starting with a premium price point, you anchor that value in their minds, making it more readily available when they consider future purchases. It’s like making a stellar first impression – it sets the tone for everything that follows!

Marketing Magic: Repetition is Key. Now, let’s move on to marketing. Have you ever found yourself humming a jingle from an ad you’ve heard a million times? That’s the Availability Heuristic at work! By frequently exposing your target audience to your product or brand, you increase the likelihood that they’ll remember you when it’s time to purchase. It’s not just about being top-of-mind; it’s about being unforgettable. So, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and make your presence known!

Risk Management: Anticipating Human Behavior As a leader, managing risk is critical to your job. Understanding how people make decisions under uncertainty is key to developing effective risk management strategies. The Availability Heuristic helps you anticipate how stakeholders might respond to different risks based on their experiences and the outcomes they remember most vividly. By tailoring your approach to align with these natural biases, you can create risk management plans that resonate with your team and increase buy-in.

Emergency Response: The Power of Experience In emergencies, every second counts. That’s why training that leverages the Availability Heuristic is so powerful. By simulating various emergency scenarios, responders build a rich repository of experiences they can draw upon when faced with real-world situations. This allows them to recognize patterns quickly and make split-second decisions that can save lives. It’s a testament to the power of experience and the importance of making that experience readily available when it matters most.

Operational Efficiency: Focus on What Matters Running a successful business means identifying and managing the constraints that limit your overall performance. The Availability Heuristic helps you focus on the most pressing issues by making those limiting factors more cognitively accessible. You can optimize your operations and achieve your goals more efficiently by directing your resources and attention to where they can have the most significant impact. It’s about working smarter, not harder!

Complex Decisions Made Simple We’ve all been there – faced with a complex decision that feels overwhelming. That’s where visual mapping comes in. You make vital information readily available and easily digestible by visually laying out your choices, potential outcomes, and their impacts. This harnesses the Availability Heuristic to simplify decision-making and ensure that the most relevant factors are top-of-mind when making the call.

The Human-Centric Approach to Business At RAMS, we believe in behavioral economics’s power to transform businesses. By understanding and leveraging principles like the Availability Heuristic, Loss Aversion, and Risk Evaluation, you can develop strategies that align with the natural tendencies of human behavior. This human-centric approach makes your plan more effective and fosters more profound connections with your customers and stakeholders.

So, there you have it – a crash course in applying the Availability Heuristic to your business strategies. As you can see, this cognitive bias is a powerful tool when used strategically. By making critical information more readily available and aligning your approach with human behavior, you can optimize your operations, make better decisions, and ultimately achieve tremendous success.

Remember, at the end of the day, business is about people. By understanding how people think and what drives their actions, you can create strategies that resonate on a deeper level and drive meaningful results. So, go forth and apply these insights to your own business – and don’t forget to have a little fun along the way!

Keep learning, keep growing, and keep making a difference.

 I am thrilled to invite you to join me for the exclusive “Millionaire Mindset Revolution” Boot Camp. This transformative 60-minute webinar is designed to equip you with proven tools and strategies to unlock your full potential and achieve extraordinary success in your business.

Date: 05/30/2024

Time: 12 PM EST | 10 AM MST | 9AM PST

Duration: 60 minutes of intensive training

During this action-packed session, you will discover:

  • The key characteristics of a millionaire mindset and how to cultivate them
  • Proven strategies for overcoming limiting beliefs and embracing a growth mindset
  • Daily habits and routines of successful millionaire entrepreneurs
  • The power of positive self-talk and visualization in achieving your goals
  • Essential components of a winning business strategy and how to develop one

As a seasoned professional with a proven track record in transforming businesses, I am committed to providing you the tools, insights, and hands-on guidance you need to revolutionize your mindset and achieve the success you’ve always dreamed of.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what attendees from leading companies have to say:

“The Millionaire Mindset Revolution Boot Camp was a game-changer for me. Baz’s insights and practical strategies helped me break through the limiting beliefs holding me back. Since attending, I’ve implemented the tools and techniques I learned, and my team at Marriott International has seen a 30% increase in productivity and guest satisfaction.” Michael Thompson, Director of Operations, Marriott International

“I’ve attended numerous business seminars and workshops, but none have had the profound impact that Baz Porter’s Millionaire Mindset Revolution Boot Camp had on me. I left feeling inspired, empowered, and ready to take on any challenge.”
Sarah Adams, Marketing Manager, Philips

This exclusive boot camp is limited to a select number of attendees to ensure a personalized, action-packed experience. Secure your spot now before it’s too late!

Click Here to save your seat at this Free 60 Minute Training.

Categories
Best Practices Sales Training Skills

Is Remote Training Putting Your Company Data at Risk?

 

By Evan Hackel

Data security has come a long way since December 2005, right? That was the month when somebody popped open a car trunk and stole a laptop that contained the records of 230,000 Ameriprise Financial customers.  Suddenly, data security became a big concern, executives heard the word “firewall” for the first time, and companies scrambled to protect themselves.

But how much has computer security really improved? You have to wonder. Only a few years ago, the records of 74,000 current and former Coca-Cola employees were compromised when laptops were stolen from company headquarters in Atlanta.

That’s really bad. But the most pressing question is, how secure is your company data? And because we are a training company, we need to ask . . .

Are your training platforms exposing your company to attacks from hackers?

It’s a troubling question, especially if you deliver training to employees in multiple locations:

  • Your trainees are logging onto Wi-Fi in Starbucks and other public places across the country. Does that expose you to risk?
  • You’ve got a powerful new distributed system that lets employees do their training on their smartphones. But is that safe? What if one of your trainees loses a phone? Does that put your company data at risk?
  • You maintain stringent security in company headquarters, but what’s going on in your regional offices? Can you be sure that laptops and workstations are secure? Remember the hard lesson that Coke learned when company laptops were lifted in Atlanta.

Proactive Steps to Take

It’s reassuring to know there are ways to make sure remote laptops, tablets and phones do not give hackers access to your company data. Here are some defenses to keep in mind:

  • Remember, the cloud can be a great defense. When your training materials reside in the cloud – in effect, on servers that are maintained by your training company, not by you in house – it is virtually impossible for hackers to use them as entry-points to get into your company’s servers or company records. And if your training modules are organized in separate “silos” so that trainees can access only one training area at a time, you have even more security.
  • Be sure that trainees are using two-step encrypted passwords to log into your system. “Two-step” means that each trainee must enter two individual credentials to start training – such as a username and a strong password that passes muster. “Encrypted” means that the username and password are “scrambled” so they cannot easily be copied over Wi-Fi or by remote hackers. Also, let trainees know that they are required to log off as soon as they complete different training units. That prevents phone thieves from stealing phones and having easy access to your training materials.
  • Make sure robust security protocols are being followed in all company locations. You know your company and its structure better than we do, so you know the obstacles you might be facing in this area.  To make sure that protocols are followed, you might have to deliver regular security training to divisional or regional supervisors. You might also need to have your training director take on the role of security officer by making sure that company security directives are being followed.

Prevention Is Better than Fixing a Breach

One certain thing is that it is much better to take preemptive steps to protect your security than it is to repair the damage after a breach has taken place. When selecting a training development company for distributed training, the best course is to choose one with the expertise to build security defense into your plans from day one.