In my previous post I talked about how important the close of your presentation is.
In this post we will talk about how to create a memorable close that will end your presentation on a high note.
In order to end you presentation / training / speech on a high note you need to consider these key elements:
Summarize: The classic speech structure that I learned at Toastmasters http://www.toastmasters.org/ says that you tell your audience what you are going to talkabout in your introduction, then you tell them in the body of your presentation, and finally you tell them what you just told them in your conclusion.
The reasoning behind this formula is that the repetition will enhance retention, in other words what your audience will remember from your presentation.
Stories: I love stories!!! I believe that stories are like peanut butter for the brain, because stories are memorable (they help the message stick in your audience’s brain), when you attach the main point to the story you will not only remember the story, but the main point as well.
One of my favorite ways to use a story in a speech is to tell a two-part story. Open your presentation with part one of the story, then at a key point, switch into the lesson which is the body of the story, then finish the speech with, as famous radio annoucer Paul Harvey used to say, “the rest of the story”. This is a great way to tie your presentation together.
One other thing about stories is that you want your final story should be uplifting or inspiration (not depressing or with dark tones in it) in order to leave your audience with a good feeling.
Quotes: Quotes are those golden nuggets that can say so much with very few words. Using the right quote at the end of you presentation can leave your audience with a very powerful “ah-ha” moment.
Tip off your ending: The reason you want to tip off your ending is that it will perk up your audience and help them listen closely for your final words of wisdom. Now there are many ways to tip off your ending, the most overused way is to say, “In conclusion”. However if you want to make more of an impact use, “I want to leave you with this final thought.”
Timing: Probably the most important thing that I have learned from not only my years on the platform, but from some of the other experts that I have worked with, (specifically Jim Clemmer http://www.jimclemmer.com/ and Warren Evans http://www.wevans.com/ ) is that your audience will forget everything you have told them if you run late. I believe that when they realize that you have run over the time that you have been alloted and they realize it, magically their brain opens up and all the knowledge you have given them escapes and your audience leaves frustrated. Ending on time is that important.
Here are a couple of tricks that I picked up on how to end on time.
The first trick that I have picked up from another excellent speaker, Donald Cooper http://www.donaldcooper.com/, at a CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers http://www.canadianspeakers.org/) conference a few years ago, is to carry a small digital clock that will be facing you (and away from the audience) and right below the time put a piece of masking tape with the time you need to finish on it. And as Donald says, “When the time on the clock matches the time on the tape… shut up. “
The second trick I learned at Toastmasters (http://www.toastmasters.org/) is to have an alternate close. Arm yourself with at least two different closings. One with a story and one with a quote. This way if you see that you are getting pressed for time, just switch to the quote that makes the same point as the story and finish your presentation on time. And the cool thing is that you audience will never know that you made the switch.
Use these suggestions and not only will your audiences love you for it, but it will make you more memorable and it will even increase your odds of selling them and getting repeat business (whether it is another speech, your products or services). Now that is what I call finishing with a bang!!!
Their was a hush through the crowd as they waited in anticipation. They moment they waited for has finally arrived.
My family has a tradition every Canada Day (July 1st). Our local Rotary Club puts on a big show at Riverside Park (in Guelph, Ontario, Canada) that seems to attract the entire city. They do a fantastic job or organizing many events during the day. Events from pony rides and ring toss, from train rides (on the miniture train that goes around the park) to the midway. They arrange for the food vendors to be there (including Tim Hortons) and even a petting zoo for the kids (of all ages).
But the one thing which is the big draw of the day, the one thing that is the highlight of the day is always the fireworks display. This is usually the last event of the evening (that people stay for anyway) and the thing that people remember the most.
If you want to see part of last years fireworks display click here:
And you know this is the same principle that holds true in your presentation. The most important part, the part that your audience is going to walk away with and remember the most is your finale.
Ending your speech with a big bang will make more of a positive impact on how your audience feels about the experience than if your ending just fizzles out.
In my next post I will outline a few key strategies for ending your speech with a bang that will have them talking about you and your presentation well into the future.
In a previous post I talked about the benefits of having people in your life that can help your career. I called them your pit crew.
Today I will share with you some secrets on how to get people to help you.
1. Take Inventory: You have some people in your pit crew already. Make a list of the different people that may be able to help you. Divide these people into three categories. Core friends, Inner circle and network.
Core Friends: These are your best friends. The people that you can be completely open and honest with and trust that they will still stick with you. They have seen your flaws and still like you anyway. You can tell them anything and not feel that it will go any further.
Inner Circle: These are friends that you can moderately relax with. They usually know about a part of your life, but they may not know the whole story. They only know what you are willing to show them. You enjoy each others company.
Network: These are people that you know and they know you. You enjoy each other when you are together, but you only know one part of each others life. You may know them in a certain situation , such as work.
When you are looking for help, you want to look first at your core friends, then your Inner Circle and then your network. The reason you do it in this order is because the closer they are to you, the more you trust them, and trust that they want to help you.
2. Exploration: Ask, “Who has the skills and talents that would help me the most?”, “Who has done what I want to do before?” and “Who would benefit from helping me achieve my vision?” (What’s in it for them?)
3. Approach: Then approach the people that you believe can help you and ask how you can help them.
“The key to networking success is not to ask what your network can do for you, but instead ask what you can do for your network.” - Richard Elmes
If you add value to them in their journey, then they will in-turn want to help you in yours. This is called the law of reciprocity. I have personally used this approach many times in order to connect with some fantastic (and helpful) people.
So, now that you know my secret way of building my pitcrew, the question is what are you going to do with it? Are you going to say to yourself, “That was interesting” and then forget it or are you going to grab some paper and start with step 1, Taking an inventory.
After reading this send me an email at richard@richardelmes.com and let me know how this strategy has help you in your career.
One thing that I discovered about all the successful people that I have met is that they didn’t achieve great things alone.
My mom likes watching NASCAR racing on TV. Her favourite driver is Jeff Gordon. http://www.jeffgordon.com
Jeff (or Jeffy as she calls him) has proven to be one of the all stars on the Stock Car Circuit. But even if Jeff Gordon was at the top of his game and his car was the fastest on the track during the race, he may still not win. Because when Jeff pulls into the pits to fill up with fuel and change tires, if one of his pit crew forgets to put on a tire, he is going nowhere.
Life is like that as well. It is a team sport and you need other people to help you if you are going to succeed.
These people are part of your pit crew and they can provide you with many things including:
Information / Advice: Others may have information that could be critical to your success. They have experiences that may help you avoid many hardships. Listening to them is a good start and it can help you avoid many mistakes in the future.
Encouragement / Emotional Support: There will be days when you need a pick-me-up. Some timely encouragement or words of wisdom can get you through the rough times.This is when you need a cheerleader in your pit crew. Someone who believes in you and believes in what you are trying to accomplish.
Accountability: Having someone hold you accountable for your actions, making sure you do what you say you are going to do will bring amazing results. Because now you are not only letting yourself down, but your accountability partner as well. And you will find that sometimes it is less painful to just do what you promised to do, rather than trying to explain to your partner whay you didn’t do it.
These are the three things that I bring to the table for my coaching clients. But you don’t have to hire a personal success coach in order to move forward. Perhaps family or friends can fill this role. Sometimes different roles will be filled by different people. Either way the results will be a synergy that will allow you to stay focued on your dream and ge there faster than you could ever on your own.
“You can reach greater heights as a team, than you can individually.” -Richard Elmes
Imagine you are hired as a new salesperson and on your first day after a brief orientation, your Sales Manager gives you a little pep talk that goes something like this:
“The customers are out there… all you need to do is go out and find them.”
Then after he loads you up with product literature and business cards, he finishes his pep talk with,
“Go get ‘em tiger.”
Sounds silly doesn’t it.
Unfortunately, many companies orientation program for new sales reps is not much different.
Sure they may spend a little time on product knowledge training. And maybe a little on how to write up and enter an order into the company’s computer system. But for many companies a formal sales training program designed to help their sales professionals succeed is not existant.
Or worse, it is so old and boring that nobody uses it.
The number one concern organizations have when investing in sales training is the cost. They think that developing a new program or revamping an existing one is going to be expensive.
What they don’t consider is the cost of having an untrained salesperson in the field.
The high cost of the negative marketing: The negative impression that the customer has of not only the sales representative, but your company. Untrained sales person tends to make a lot of mistakes and often a fool of themself, because they don’t know what they are doing or talking about.
The high cost of turnover: Salespeople will only struggle so long, getting rejected over and over again, before they will seek out easier challenges. Turnover costs can range anywhere from 30-150% of an employees annual compensation.
The high cost of loss sales: The difference between winning and losing in business (especially sales) can be extreemly small, but the compensation is significant. An untrained sales person will lose out to the trained professional more often than not. This can be the difference between sales growth or sales decline. Between having a positive cash flow or going into debt. Between having a to expand, or laying off employees.
Effective sales training can be help your organization bridge that gap by:
Improving Credibility with your customer base: Customers love to work with professionals who are trying to help them succeed, not amateurs who are looking at them as a car payment.
Reducing Turnover of staff: Long-term employees have the opportunity to build a relationship and get to know what they need. This is attractive to customers who like to buy from people they trust.
Trust = Credibility and Credibility = Sales
Improving Sales: Increasing the credibility of your sales professionals (and your company) will open the door for more opportunities, which will lead to more sales , which will lead to more revenue.
Just think of difference it would make to a new sales professional, when they enter the field confident that they know what they are doing, what they are talking about and how they can help their customers.
Armed with this knowledge and skills skill you will be motivated and prepared for success.
Then you really will be able to; “Go get’em tiger.”
Note: If this opening story hit a little too close to home or you want to explore how you can arm your Sales Professionals for success, email me at richard@richardelmes.com and together we can explore how improve your team’s sales performance.
Have you ever had a situation where you met with your customer, you built rapport, you determined their needs and they seemed to be excited in your solution, but you still didn’t get the sale?
If so, you are not alone.
Many sales professionals have come across the same situation, only to walk away scratching their heads.
Selling big-ticket items or services into large organizations can be extremely tricky.
According to Warren Evans, http://www.wevans.com/ Futurist and Service Excellence guru, “The Buyer is Dead”. He says this because in today’s complex world of selling it is rare that you only have one buyer. In fact, there are usually many buyers that can influence the sale.
The different types of buyers are commonly know as the Economic Buyer, the User Buyer, the Technical Buyer, the Gatekeeper and the Coach.
Think of it as as guy trying to not only win the hand of marriage of his sweetheart, but also winning the right to be part of her family.
Here is who the players are in making this complex sale:
The User Buyer: In business, this is the person who is actually going to use the products or services you are offering. (In smaller sales the user buyer is usually the economic buyer as well.) In dating this person would be your sweetheart. She has the power to say, “Yes”, pending Mom’s approval. She also has the power to kill the deal and say “No” as any time.
The Technical Buyer: In business, the Technical Buyer is the resident expert, who may get his/her nose bent out of shape and feel threatened. In dating this person would be the Dad. He has some technical knowledge of the services you may be providing and he would be looking to make sure that you have a legitimate, viable solution. Dad has the power to say, “No”, and may be able to influence the Economic Buyer’s decision, but the Technical Buyer doesn’t usually have the authority to say “Yes”.
The Economic Buyer: In business, this is the person who signs the cheques. The person who needs to sign off on the deal and the person who ultimately makes the decision. In dating this would be the Mom. She hold the purse strings in the family. She has the power to say “Yes” and influence her daughters decision. But she also has the power to say, “No”. (note to all of the men who believe that Dad should be the Economic Buyer, just remember that according to Eve Popcorn http://www.faithpopcorn.com/ in her book “Evolution”, over 80% of all buying decisions are made by women. And I am reminded of a t-shirt I once say that read in big letters, “I am the head of the household” and in small print it said, “And I have my wife’s permission to say so”)
Gatekeepers: In business this is usually the receptionist or Executive Assistant. Their job is maximize the the other buyers time. To learn more about working with gatekeepers visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEWiyx3-CP4&feature=user to view my video. In dating, this could be the big brother or sister of your sweetheart. They can’t say, “Yes”, but they have the power to say, “No” by keeping you away from meeting the other buyers who have the power to say, “Yes.”
The Coach: In business, this could be anyone who has inside knowledge of that organization and its players. In dating this could be a friend of the family or even a family member that is on your side. This person is extreemly valuable because they can help you navigate the tricky waters and help you avoid any mines that lie beneath the surface that if tripped, will blow the deal right out of the water. The coach is the person who can tell you that big brother is a Van Halen fan and if you talk to him about that band, you will get on his good side. They can also tell you that Dad is a big baseball fan and if you talk about his favourite team, you can get on his good side. Or that Mom grows prize winning roses and if you make a fuss over how beautiful they are, she will like you more.
Each one of these buyers are important and you need to sell to all of them. Neglect one and they can kill the deal. Recognizing and selling to all of them will help you get the complex deal done, whether you are putting together a multi-million dollar deal, or winning a hand in marriage.
I heard a great quote the other day from Poker legend Doyle Bronsen.
“We don’t stop playing because we get old. We get old because we stop playing.”
I defintately agree with this philosophy, because in business we tend to take our jobs and ourselves too seriously.
People say that they need to act “Corporate”.
Now just what does that mean?
Does it mean that we need to extract any ability to laugh and have fun during work hours?
If so, this would explain why so many people are trucking off to work every day in a daze. Zombies doing the same thing day in, day out. Leaving their personalities at home. Doesn’t that sound exciting… not.
Now I for one do take my craft and my business very seriously. But I tend to take myself very lightly.
I also believe that in my role as a leader and sales trainer, that I need to model this behaviour, so others will feel O.K. to laugh at themselves.
“I truly believe that a day without laughter is a tragedy.”
So lighten up and have more fun at work. Laugh and watch your productivity go up. Because laughter releases energy and energy improves productivity, reduces absenteeism, reduces employee turnover and according to Mr. Bronsen helps you live longer.
And in my book these are all good reasons to lighten up and play.
In a previous post, I described a situation where an angry customer came storming into my store.
I also talked about how many salespeople fail to follow-up on their orders because they are afraid to confront challenges if their customer’s expectations were not met.
In this post we are going to talk about how to calm down an angry customer:
In order to understand how to calm your customer down, you first need to know that your customer has two sides to their brain.
An emotional side and a logical side.
The emotional side is the part that is dealing with the frustration that they feel when their expectations are not met.
“Frustration happens when there is a gap between expectations and reality.” - David Ralph
The logical side is where the solution to the problem is going to be found.
When your customer confronts you with a challenge, they generally have the mindset they have to fight to get the problem rectified (This is usually based on past experiences). And so their brains are being dominated by the emotional side of their brain and they, in fact, are not thinking logically.
The key is to creating a solution is to first calm down that emotional side and then get them thinking logically.
The worst thing you can do is to tell them to calm down. This will only escalate their anger (and usually their voice).
Instead follow this process:
Step 1: Remove barriers - Come out from around the counter, square your body to theirs and look them directly in the eye (if you are in a face-to-face encounter). This will send the signal to your customer that you are not going to hide behind the counter or any barrier.
Step 2: Ask them how you can help them - This postions you as a someone who is going to work with them instead of against them. This also gives them permission to tell you their story. (Which you were going to hear regardless)
Step 3: Let them tell their story - Let them vent, purge, talk it out.
Step 4: Actively listen to their story - Don’t interupt, don’t try to justify, don’t try to solve … just listen.
Listen to what they are telling you.
Listen to how they are telling it to you.
Listen to what they are not telling you.
Not only will the customer tell you what the cause of their frustration is, but when you listen to them they will feel validated. Like they matter to you. This has a calming effect on them.
You may want to add a few listening words like, “ah-ha”, “yes” or ”umm”, to show you are listening.
Or you may ask, “Tell me more” or “Then what happened” to dig deeper.
Step 5: Feedback your understanding - Paraphrase (not parrot) what you understood from their story. This will validate to them that you were indeed listening. It also allows them to make corrections, if what you heard is not what they meant.
Then say something like, “Boy, that must be frustrating for you.”
When you acknowledge in words what they are feeling, you leave them with the “finally someone understands what I am going through” feeling.
When their emotional feelings are acknowledged, it allows the logical (problem solving) side of their brain to kick in and they are now ready to listen.
Step 6: Negotiate a solution - Ask your customer, “What would it take to make this right?” By asking this question, you will be amazed how reasonable (most) people are. Often they will ask for much less than you may be willing to give and still walk away happy.
And that is really the key to solving customers challenges. Keeping customers happy.
Studies show that 95% of customers that have their complaint resolves quickly and effectively will return and buy again.
This makes sense, because they realize that things happen and they now know that you will be there for them in good times (when they buy) as well as challenging times (when something goes wrong).
In a future post I will share how proactively seeking out these challenges can help increase your sales (and profit).
