Phil Stella A reader recently asked about what you should do if you conclude you’re not the client’s best choice during the fact-gathering process?
The answer may seem obvious, but let’s get down in the weeds to consider options when you realize that you can’t do it as fast or as well or as inexpensively as the prospect wants.
I love using quotes in my writing and presentations – I really do.They can add sizzle, credibility or perspective to the message. However, I’m adamant about including author details.
Few people are so well known that they don’t need any reference, like Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Winston Churchill or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For the rest, we need to answer the question readers or listeners often have – ‘So … who is that person?’
An easy way to make your workplace presentation more interesting is simply to speak louder. Really. That’s all it takes to become a more engaging presenter. Speaking up can significantly impact your audience’s attention, interest in your message … and positive impression of you, the messenger.
Loud is Good
In our culture, we tend to interpret a soft-spoken voice as coming from a person lacking confidence or credibility. Not good reactions for your audience to have about you. Even on a microphone, the soft-spoken voice delivers that weak impression loud and clear. It doesn’t matter if these reactions are valid – remember that Perception is Reality. If you sound weak to the audience – you are.
A key concept for a successful Referral Strategy is the Magnitude of your Gratitude. You have lots of potential people to thank – here are six steps to making the most of your gratitude.
In this example, Bob is your current customer and you’ve just completed the transaction and delivered your service to him.
Take your Elevator Speech to the top floor by converting it into an ‘Escalator Speech’. Assume you’re going down on the escalator as someone passes by you going up on the other one. You only have a few seconds to communicate. So, your Escalator Speech is an even more concise version of your Elevator Speech.
Mine is ‘I empower business leaders to communicate confidently’ Short, simple and likely to generate some questions when the other person turns around and follows me back down.
Listening? What does listening have to do with your job as hard-working and dynamic business leaders or entrepreneurs? Well … a lot, when you get out of your own box and view your role as a workplace communicator and problem-solver for your internal or external customers.
You spend a large part of your day verbally communicating important messages to important people – customers, staff, colleagues, bosses, suppliers, partners, etc. And listening is a critically important part of that verbal communication process. Yet, we tend to be terrible listeners, remembering very little of what we hear.
Time to focus on ‘Marketing R&R’— with every sale or engagement, savvy entrepreneurs ask themselves ‘How can I earn repeat or referral business?’ The answer is easy to understand but hard to do. So, read on for ‘R&R’ Best Practices.
To Ask or Not to Ask?
Two schools of thought here. One says never ask for repeats or referrals. If your customers were pleased enough, they’d do it for you without being asked. To ask for them may even look cheap, weak or annoying. If you concur, good for you. Stop reading now.
(A business reporter recently ask me for my thoughts on the impact of poor workplace writing skills. Here’s a summary of our conversation.)
1) How do poor writing skills hurt businesses?
Poor writing skills can make you and your organization look lazy, sloppy or incompetent. This is especially true with people who place a high priority on precision, accuracy and quality.
Ready for a deep dive into Power Eye Contact? Great, because it can really project confidence, credibility and competence … take a look.
If I could only enhance one presentation delivery skill with my executive coaching clients, it would be to help them maximize the impact of their eye contact. Properly done, it produces several positive results for your audience and for you. Nothing says more about your credibility, power and confidence than what you do – and don’t do – with your eyes. They are the mirror of your soul. Everything else is a ‘B’ priority.
How often does a customer call, text or email you with a question? If you said ‘rarely’, then you’re either very good or very lucky. Stop reading now and go do something fun in stead. If you said ‘often’ or ‘a lot’, then read on … this one’s for you.
How important are customer questions?
Our operational assumption is that effective, efficient and engaging customer communication is essential for any business to survive, let alone thrive. That said, responding to customer questions quickly, clearly and courteously is a critically important aspect of customer communication strategy.