About Lora Altin Ozbilir

In this article , I would like to analyze the characteristics of today’s business environment. With globalization and constant technological changes, we see a huge difference in today’s businesses comparing to the ones in the past. Customers and their preferences have undeniably changed, the level of competition has changed, and expectations are definitely much higher. As a result, organizations have become increasingly aware that they need to build a collaborative environment in the workplace.
How could we really make a collaboration work when there are so many different opinions, styles, characters and cultures in one workplace? I think there are several methods and keys to building that bond between co-workers.

Positivity is the foundation of collaborative work. We need to do our part in creating a positive environment. Everything starts with being optimistic. I’m no professional motivational speaker, but I am well aware of the power of that “glass half full” state of mind.
We must also take into account that good judgment is just a simple result of acknowledging that everyone has an opinion. Therefore we need to listen to each other and value the other person’s point of view. You have no idea how important it is to be able to always think before you speak and listen, and not make assumptions. There is always going to be someone that knows something different in a group, that may be a key factor in opening new doors for ideas and brainstorming. If you do not agree with someone, that’s ok too. Ever heard the term “agree to disagree,” I’m sure most of us have and trust me, we must often be willing to turn to this to respect each other and maintain the positive work environment. [Read more...]

In our industry, every day we receive several leads from a variety of sources. As sales people, do you think we should consider all leads as “quality leads“? Wouldn’t it be better if we first set the criterias that qualify a ”good prospect” in our industry? Just like you should read the nutrition label before adding food products to your shopping cart, you should read up on a company before qualifying it as a prospect.

Here are some of the important prospect criterias for the Logistics Industry: [Read more...]

I have been involved with sales for many years. Back home in Turkey, right after college I ended up working for an International trade agent in Istanbul, a prestigious distributor of textile machineries. I used to sell a large range of dying, weaving and finishing machineries to well known apparel and textile manufacturers. Although there was a high demand for these products from Italy, Germany and France, the idea of having to call people that you have never spoken to was a BIG deal. After this kind of sales adventure with a “tangible product ” I actually discovered the real challenge of cold sales when I switched to selling a “service”. Sales within the industry of international freight forwarding was not only about selling quality service but also how strong you stand against hundreds of competitors out there. After spending a good amount of years doing cold sales and making cold calls I realized that most sales people have an anxiety of cold calling because they are just not prepared to hear a ” NO ” or “NOT INTERESTED“.

Now that I’m much more experienced I can honestly say that I do prefer “warm calls” over “cold calls”. But as a sales person it is your job to take the necessary steps to turn the heat up in those cold calls. [Read more...]