Have you finished your MBA through an online program? Are you unable to experience any benefits from your degree? Well…..you are not alone. More than 50% of the employers still prefer an MBA candidate with the traditional classroom experience as compared to an online MBA student. Despite of this stereo types of an online MBA candidate, you can still succeed with your degree. You just need to know, how to sell it. With this blog, I am going to provide you with some pointers through which you can get the same benefit out of your online MBA program as compared to any other in-class MBA program.
Capitalize on cultural awareness:
If you are doing an online MBA from a Tier 1 or Tier 2 level school, then chances are…….you must be working in a diverse team with people from different countries. You should use this experience as your strength during your job search. Mention those specific projects on your resume to portray your knowledge of cross cultural understanding. With most of the major companies going global, this experience will definitely work in your advantage, if presented correctly.
I would also recommend you to provide some specific examples on your resume on how you had solved some of the cross cultural conflicts. These kinds of smaller examples can help you bring up this topic during your in-person interviews. And you can then elaborate on that in further details. It goes without saying…..try to connect your experience with the company’s current needs of working with cross cultural teams.
Be the leader of your virtual teams:
If you think of it, all the project teams in an online MBA program are nothing but a virtual team. In your program, you must have worked with different people from different time zones to finish certain projects. And hence, you should also capitalize on your experience in working with remote/virtual teams. Don’t just say…..”I have worked in a virtual team”. Try to be more specific on your resume. Provide examples on how you resolved issues due to time and language barriers during your project. It wouldn’t hurt, if you can talk about those experiences in your in-person interviews, and maybe summarize with lessons learned during your experience.
In today’s world, lot of companies operate in different locations. Thus, most of their meetings, projects and day-to-day activities are virtual. Thus, if you can prove that you have not only worked in that environment, but you have also learned how to improve those communications in that environment; then you would definitely standout from the crowd.
I hope these tips will help to sell your online MBA degree to your future employer. Do you have any other ideas through which you can show the importance of your online MBA degree to your future employer?
Thanks. – Bhavin Gandhi.
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Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Thursday, July 26, 2012
How to sell your online MBA degree to future employers?
Friday, December 10, 2010
3 simple ways to make your business like Apple, Inc.
Recently, I was called upon for a consulting opportunity in one small business. Their major problem was to acquire new customers. Due to recession, they were getting less businesses from their existing customers. And that's why they were very entusiastic in acquiring new customers to survive. This business problem kept me thinking about today's businesses. For first few days, I didn't have any answer. I was asking myself, how can you make a good customer base? how can you create demand? how can you establish a recession proof business? And I looked at my iPhone and realized that there are few companies (Apple), which are creating huge demands for their products even in this economic crisis.
Those days are gone when we used to manufacture a product and hope that someone will buy it. If businesses wants to be successful in the 21st Century then they need to have customer centric business approach. The key to your business future is - how can you create an extraordinary customer experience for people? What can you do to delight your customers, so that they will decided to do business with you again? Well, I am not a business creation expert by any means, but here are three simple ways to create a business like Apple.
Make your employees love your company: Great companies are always built by great employees. The key to an extraordinary customer experience is to make sure that the people in your company, who don’t want to be there go somewhere else. You only want employees who wants to work in your company, instead of people who just wants to cash their paycheck on every week. If you can create an employee base like this then they will focus on doing something that they like, and you can focus on your customers. Wouldn't you want your customers to hear that - your company is a great place to work?
Quality is more than you think: The bookish definition of quality is - your product or service conforms the customer’s standards and requirements. But I would define quality as customer experience and more. We should always deliver a product/service which not only meets customer's standards but exceed them. I am not saying that you should over build your product, but make sure to act as a user of that product when its ready. Ask yourself a question - will you buy your product if you were a customer? If you ask me, Apple had done a really good job of maintaining its quality. And that might be the major reason for creating a loyal customer base.
Make everything work for your customer: I really love to visit Apple retail store. And I am always amazed by seeing the crowd in the store. The key is in their service. They have revolutionized the retail computer industry by providing on-site training classes, amazing customer service, and friendly environment. Their sales people will always help you in integrating your new Apple product with your other products, so they actually work together as one package. What a concept! Customers today are more impatient than ever. Thus, any business that offers to serve its customers faster immediately becomes the preferred supplier, even at a higher price. So, make everything work for your customers, and you can also create a business like Apple.
I hope my article was helpful, and I am eager to hear your feedback. Thanks. – Bhavin Gandhi
Those days are gone when we used to manufacture a product and hope that someone will buy it. If businesses wants to be successful in the 21st Century then they need to have customer centric business approach. The key to your business future is - how can you create an extraordinary customer experience for people? What can you do to delight your customers, so that they will decided to do business with you again? Well, I am not a business creation expert by any means, but here are three simple ways to create a business like Apple.
Make your employees love your company: Great companies are always built by great employees. The key to an extraordinary customer experience is to make sure that the people in your company, who don’t want to be there go somewhere else. You only want employees who wants to work in your company, instead of people who just wants to cash their paycheck on every week. If you can create an employee base like this then they will focus on doing something that they like, and you can focus on your customers. Wouldn't you want your customers to hear that - your company is a great place to work?
Quality is more than you think: The bookish definition of quality is - your product or service conforms the customer’s standards and requirements. But I would define quality as customer experience and more. We should always deliver a product/service which not only meets customer's standards but exceed them. I am not saying that you should over build your product, but make sure to act as a user of that product when its ready. Ask yourself a question - will you buy your product if you were a customer? If you ask me, Apple had done a really good job of maintaining its quality. And that might be the major reason for creating a loyal customer base.
Make everything work for your customer: I really love to visit Apple retail store. And I am always amazed by seeing the crowd in the store. The key is in their service. They have revolutionized the retail computer industry by providing on-site training classes, amazing customer service, and friendly environment. Their sales people will always help you in integrating your new Apple product with your other products, so they actually work together as one package. What a concept! Customers today are more impatient than ever. Thus, any business that offers to serve its customers faster immediately becomes the preferred supplier, even at a higher price. So, make everything work for your customers, and you can also create a business like Apple.I hope my article was helpful, and I am eager to hear your feedback. Thanks. – Bhavin Gandhi
Saturday, October 30, 2010
3 simple rules for selling more to your existing customers
Yesterday, one of my ex-client called me up, and asked my advice on - How to get more business? If I didn't have a good idea about their business then I would have advised them on few market expansion strategies. But I knew that he already has few major players of the industry as his clients, and he can get more business from them. And that's where I got an idea for my new blog post.
If you own a business with already established accounts, then increasing sales from the existing customers would be the best bet. Although this type of account management strategy sounds simple to plan, it is tough to execute. Here are three simple rules that might work well for all type of businesses.
Rule 1: Be honest about deliverable of your product or services. Your job as a relationship manager is to ensure that you give the customer accurate status. Obviously, you don’t want to announce problems using mass emails. However, if a major delivery is at jeopardy, the best way to handle it is to be upfront with the customer and present a problem resolution plan. Repeated honesty in disclosing problems and sincerity in trying to resolve them will help you to earn customer’s loyalty. These loyal customers will pave the way for the next deal.
Rule 2: Don't harass your customer. Relationship managers should focus on delivery rather than upfront sales. If delivery is done right, your customers will become the salespeople for you. It is best to slowly build the relationship and then talk sales, not vice-versa.
Rule 3: Relate with your customers on a personal level. I do independent management consulting, so I don’t have any account manager to handle my accounts. I, myself, have to work as a relationship manager for my customers. I try to invite my local customers to the bar and lunch quite regularly. If you got to know individuals personally outside their professional role, you are going to get more business from the same customers.
I hope my article was helpful, and I am eager to hear your feedback. Thanks. – Bhavin Gandhi
If you own a business with already established accounts, then increasing sales from the existing customers would be the best bet. Although this type of account management strategy sounds simple to plan, it is tough to execute. Here are three simple rules that might work well for all type of businesses.
Rule 1: Be honest about deliverable of your product or services. Your job as a relationship manager is to ensure that you give the customer accurate status. Obviously, you don’t want to announce problems using mass emails. However, if a major delivery is at jeopardy, the best way to handle it is to be upfront with the customer and present a problem resolution plan. Repeated honesty in disclosing problems and sincerity in trying to resolve them will help you to earn customer’s loyalty. These loyal customers will pave the way for the next deal.Rule 2: Don't harass your customer. Relationship managers should focus on delivery rather than upfront sales. If delivery is done right, your customers will become the salespeople for you. It is best to slowly build the relationship and then talk sales, not vice-versa.
Rule 3: Relate with your customers on a personal level. I do independent management consulting, so I don’t have any account manager to handle my accounts. I, myself, have to work as a relationship manager for my customers. I try to invite my local customers to the bar and lunch quite regularly. If you got to know individuals personally outside their professional role, you are going to get more business from the same customers.I hope my article was helpful, and I am eager to hear your feedback. Thanks. – Bhavin Gandhi
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