Hello readers! If you have been reading our blogs, thank you! It's been great reflecting back to our first blog and realizing how much we've learned. One of the co-op coordinators from the University of Windsor, Nour Hachem Fawaz, came into the office and completed the work term assessment. It was an opportunity to discuss our learning progress, accomplishments and goals during our co-op work term. We also had the opportunity to learn how Tri-County Copiers' website works and functions using a software program called Bloomtools.
My meeting with Nour went very well. We discussed the basics of the job: cold-calling, writing the weekly blog, learning about Xerox as a company and as a product and service provider, using a CRM inputting tool, and trying to get sales going! She was excited to hear about the progress I've made since starting here. When we were talking about cold-calling she mentioned she was involved in sales during her University career. She mentioned how making cold-calls is a great learning tool in becoming a people person -- someone who can easily talk to strangers and carry a conversation that feels comfortable and familiar. It isn't a skill that is taught in school but I can definitely understand how it will be beneficial for the rest of my working and educational career. Being able to speak to a complete stranger helps achieve a higher sense of confidence. It doesn't matter what job field you are interested in going into. People-skills help resolve conflicts in the workplace and create an enjoyable environment to be in. Jobs where people are unhappy lead to miscommunication. Your workplace, in most cases, can also be your social life. It's important to work effectively with others and maintain positive relationships with coworkers.
I met with my co-op coordinator this week and discussed how I've progressed since starting this placement. We talked about the skills that I have improved, such as my communication skills. One way that I improved my communication skills is through telemarketing. The experience of calling different businesses helped me adjust my tone of voice on the phone, and sound more professional when speaking to other people. We also talked about how this co-op experience is unique because I've had the opportunity to learn about the different aspects of a business work environment. The position that we are in is sales, however, we have had projects that relate to marketing and data management.The experience from this co-op placement will help me a great deal when deciding the concentration for my business degree.
This week we were given the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of the Tri-County Copiers website. The website is designed to provide visitors information about the agency, a catalogue of our current products and solutions, and contact information for any questions.
The task that we were assigned was to update our current product offerings to include the new devices from our latest product launch. This included new VersaLink and AltaLink devices, with descriptions about their key features. We used a program called The Web Console to edit our website, which is run by Bloomtools Windsor. The tools on the website are easy to use and pretty straight-forward. The information we posted in regards to the product line were taken from the official Xerox website. An image for each product was also uploaded because people like to know what they're getting. If you also visit the Xerox website, they have specifications on devices, detailing all the elements of the product. In today's day and age, staying relevant in the online world is a major factor for your business. People rely on the web to answer their questions and make life a little bit easier.A major part of our co-op experience has been making cold-calls and delivering the surveys to businesses. This short online "Jeopardy" like game discussed challenges in the workplace in regards to documents. The businesses that completed the survey were entered into the chance to win an iPad. It has been a few months since the contest was launched, which means that the winner will be announced very soon. Stay tuned and good-luck!
Thanks for reading our blog!
Michel & Santeena
| Tags:University of Windsor Co-Op |
