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Do your people WANT to listen to you?

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I’m at a corporate conference about to give my 90-minute, customized, personalized talk. I spent hours preparing it – as I do all my talks – and I’ve spent the last 20 years improving my speaking, presentation, and performance skills.

I’m not just a speaker. I’m a student speaker.

Anyway, before my talk, the two corporate leaders of a multi-billion-dollar company addressed the gathered 200 in the audience. The attendees are eager to hear their words and looking for (hoping for) inspiration and direction.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get either.

The leaders, although smart and capable, are HORRIBLE presenters. I guess they don’t consider the skill important enough to master. Not good. They have a responsibility to be GREAT. Their people are counting on it.

REALITY QUESTION: How’s your leader? How are his or her presentation skills? REALITY QUESTION: How good of a presenter are you?
REALITY QUESTION: Do your people, your audience, and your customer WANT to listen to you? Or do they HAVE to listen to you?
REALITY QUESTION: When you’re giving a talk or making a presentation, how compelling is your message?
REALITY QUESTION: Are you afraid to give a talk? NO – you’re just unprepared. Or not prepared enough to own the talk. NOTE WELL: You can never own the prospect, the customer, or the audience if you don’t own the presentation.

When you give a talk or make a presentation, make certain you understand:

  • What your engagement points are.
  • How you want the audience to walk away feeling.
  • What you want the audience to do tomorrow?

BIG SECRET: Think of it as a performance, not a presentation.
BIGGER SECRET: Never stand behind a podium. Get down off the platform and walk around.
BIGGEST SECRET: Learn to perform by singing Karaoke. (I did.)

If you’re giving a speech (and you should be in order to be perceived as a leader), or making a presentation, there are some strategies and elements you must employ in order to ensure maximum attraction, engagement, connection, and maybe even sale…

1. Use genuine humor. Start with a comment or story that leads to BOTH laughter and learning. Go on YouTube and look at my videos. They will provide answers tohumor and education. At the end of humor is the height of listening.
2. Ask poignant questions. Ask people what they’re hoping for. Make the people you’re addressing THINK. Especially about themselves.
3. Ask intellectual questions. Talk about their experiences and yours. Show wisdom. Ask about subject matter knowledge.
4. Tell a story that relates to you AND them. Real life experiences are both relatable and create incentive to take action. NOTE WELL: Facts and figures are forgotten. Stories are retold.
5. Customization based on their real world. The people you present to only care about themselves and their issues. Focus on that.
6. Incorporate their philosophy, mission, brand, and theme. The more you do, the more respect you will gain.
7. Give 5-10 major points they can walk away with and use immediately. Give ideas they canuse. That’s what preparation is all about.
8. Have simple slides. Make certain your slides are easy to follow, fun, and readable. And there should only be one point per slide.
9. Very little talk about you. Not who you are. Rather, what you do and how you can help them.
9.5 End with emotion. (Maybe even ask for the sale.) Family or other concepts the audience can relate to and identify with.

At the end of your presentation/performance…

  • You want the audience to react and respond. Buy, do better, do new things, applaud, or STAND and applaud. The quality of your talk will be the determining factor.
  • You want the audience (or the prospect or the customer) to remember you and the moment. The only way that happens is if you perform remarkably.
  • You want outcome and buzz as a result of your words, ideas, value, and inspiration. You seek a favorable outcome. So does the person receiving your message. Was it ho-hum, or worth talking about? Was it value driven to a point of taking action, or was it without punch or inspiration?

The ultimate goal is to have impact over time. If you are able to follow-up by getting people to subscribe to your blog or ezine, you can actually document and measure the success of your ideas, product, or service. And that feedback can drive your success if you pay attention to it.

Want a report card? Video your presentation and watch it twice. Once for the pain, and once to take self-improvement notes. The best and toughest presentation skill lesson in the world is the one you give yourself.

Want a path to success? Commit to personal presentation skills improvement. Take a Dale Carnegie course and join Toastmasters. Give talks at your local civic association. Not only are sales leads there, it’s also a relaxed, learning opportunity. Take it.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 67 – An Interview with Jeffrey Gitomer, author of 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling

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StrategyDriven Podcast Special EditionStrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 67 – An Interview with Jeffrey Gitomer, author of 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling explores the actions anyone can take to achieve extraordinary selling success. During our discussion, Jeffrey Gitomer, author of 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling: Proven Actions You Must Take to Make Easier, Faster, Bigger Sales….Now and Forever, shares with us his immediately implementable insights and experiences regarding:

  • StrategyDriven Podcast Special Editionthe importance of personal and customer perception
  • why buying decisions are emotional and then justified logically
  • the importance of social media to the selling process
  • the power of video testimonials and how to get and record them
  • why selling should not be systematized

Additional Information

In addition to the outstanding insights Jeffrey shares in 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling and this special edition podcast are the resources accessible from his website, www.Gitomer.com. The entire collection of Jeffery’s books and webinars are now available at www.GitomerVT.com.   Jeffrey’s book, 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling, can be purchased by clicking here.

Final Request…

The strength of our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us on iTunes by clicking here. Rating the StrategyDriven Podcast and providing your comments online improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast!

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer, author of 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling: Proven Actions You Must Take to Make Easier, Faster, Bigger Sales… Now and Forever, is one of the most sought-after international and inspirational speakers in the world; having delivered thousands of corporate and public seminars to the largest national and multi-national corporations. His Little Red Book of Selling is the best-selling sales book of all time, appearing on national bestseller lists in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Business Week more than 300 times. Jeffrey is also a StrategyDriven Principal Contributor, sharing invaluable insights with us on sales, business, and leadership every Monday. To read Jeffrey’s complete biography, click here.

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal, and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:52 — 42.6MB)

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What’s the difference? What’s the weakness?

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Question from a fan:

Hi Jeffrey, I just purchased your new book on the 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. As usual, it’s full of amazing content. But as I read it, it generated three compelling questions I hope you can answer. Thanks, Brandon

1. What is the biggest difference between selling today and 10 years ago?
Three things have changed selling (and buying) forever – THE INTERNET, SMARTPHONES, and SOCIAL MEDIA. The Internet sells trillions annually, and it does it 24-7-365. Customers can investigate, shop price, compare prices and values, and buy with one click – anyplace in the world. Social media is the largest one-on-one sales reference on the planet, and like the Internet, it’s keeping business (and salespeople) honest. And it’s making smarter customers. Smartphones have created access. Ultimate and instant access. Apps are the new Internet. And the combination of these three elements has changed the face and manner of doing business – forever.

NOTE WELL: You can only SELL at your place – but customers can BUY anyplace in the world – any time of the day or night.

What has changed is that salespeople HAVE NOT CHANGED. No personal website, no personal brand, no social media interaction, and not taking advantage of smartphone technology.

ADVICE: Get heavily involved with the Internet. Make sure it serves your customers, not just your company. Get heavily involved in social media, and don’t just post – respond to comments, concerns, and praise. Use your smartphone to study your marketplace, transact business, and post on social media. ASK YOURSELF THIS: Is it easier to find and do business with you, or your competition? Got app? If not, invest whatever is needed in people and money to set and maintain a leadership position in all three areas.

2. Why “21.5” unbreakable laws and not more or fewer?
I started with more than 50 laws that I had written and compiled over the years, and after weeks of study and deliberation, I pared it down to 21.5 through combination and elimination. These are THE hard-and-fast laws of selling. They cannot be broken, unless you’re willing to lose sales. These laws form the foundation for your selling success and your personal success. CAUTION: They are NOT rules. They are LAWS. Rules can be bent or broken, but laws remain steadfastly the same. BIGGER CAUTION: Reading the laws once will not make you great – re-reading, studying, and implementing them day-by-day will.

3. What are the biggest mistakes salespeople make today?
I have interacted with hundreds of thousands of salespeople – that’s how my 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling came about.

During my continuing journey, I have seen 3.5 flaws that are common to all weak salespeople. Not necessarily “mistakes,” like asking the wrong questions. Rather, blunders and errors in judgment and thinking that causes failure…
1. Lack of belief in what they sell, who they represent, and in themselves. Lack of belief shows up in your presentation and is evident to the prospect. ADVICE: Visit customers who LOVE your product and have been loyal to you for years. Talk to them about WHY they have belief. It will strengthen yours.
2. Lack of love of what you do. If you have “hate” or have ‘no passion’ for or about what you do, you’ll never give it full effort, and you’ll always be looking for greener pastures. “They don’t pay me enough” will ALWAYS be your mantra. Your attitude will suffer more that your sales. (If that’s possible.) ADVICE: Find a job you love before you’re fired from the one you don’t.
3. Blaming everything and everyone for what goes wrong or what didn’t happen, rather that taking responsibility for what happened, and adding personal responsibility for making things happen.Seems so obvious, yet it’s one of the biggest missing elements of sales (and society). ADVICE: Responsibility starts in the bathroom mirror in the morning. Look, smile, and commit. Next, check your language. Negative talk is usually blame talk. Avoid it. Get a partner to stop you when you start. This is one of the biggest challenges in sales and life. CAUTION: The media is blame-ridden, and the more you expose yourself to it, the more you are likely to play the game yourself. Turn off the negativity. Turn on your life.
3.5 Weak resilience. Rejection occurs 74% more than acceptance. Salespeople, especially those forced to make cold calls, weaken and bow out way too soon.

There are many more mistakes made by salespeople – too many to list here for sure – BUT many sales shortcomings can be reduced or eliminated completely, simply by taking responsibility and purchasing the 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling – and putting the laws into action.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Leadership actions that are not an option for leaders.

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“Where’s the action? Where’s the game?” is a line in the song “Oldest Established” from the immortal Broadway show (and my personal favorite) Guys and Dolls.

For the uninformed, the show is about a craps game and a leader named Nathan Detroit. The movie version stars Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando and won all kinds of awards.

The plot is about gambling, winning, attracting, and making it happen no matter what. It’s just a great show and movie with great music and a happy ending.

The theme is one of looking to the leader to make things happen. And it’s the same in your business – just without the craps game and the songs. BUT not without gambling. All business is a gamble and all businesses look to their leaders to ‘make it happen.’

Here are the actions I have observed about leadership that are mandatory for leadership success. They’re internal actions that build trust, earn respect, and create a team of inspired people – inspired to be productive and do their best…

  • Great leaders are value providers, not order givers. At the TOP of every employee’s list of job wants (besides more money) is to be appreciated and valued. When appreciation for a job well done is conveyed, positive environment thrives.
  • Great leaders tell the truth. Truth creates trust and confidence and a reliance on the consistency of message. All other leadership characteristics and outcomes fade if there is a lack of truth. (Same in life.)
  • Great leaders are in control and earn respect. Quick to decide and not afraid to make or admit mistakes, great leaders are respected because they take action and respected because they are vulnerable.
  • Great leaders focus on OUTCOME to ensure completed tasks. Don’t focus on task or project completion. Rather, think what will happen AFTER the project is completed. Outcome, not task. Outcome, not results.
  • Great leaders are responsible by example and expect the same from their people. Everyone ‘looks’ to and at leaders. Watches their every move. If the leader is slack, lacks work ethic, or is slow to decide, they have given tacit permission to their team to be and do the same. The best leaders are first in, last out, and work their ass off in the middle.
  • Great leaders value and display tolerance and temperance. First in themselves – then from others. I’m not a fan of leaders who rant. Lots of successful ones do rant, but there are rules to follow if you’re one of them.
    RULE 1 – Praise in public.
    RULE 2 – Reprimand in private.
    RULE 2.5 – Record yourself doing both praise and reprimand. See how you sound to others by listening to yourself. You may not like it.
  • Great leaders are excellent communicators that are listened to intently, and are clearly understood. The one characteristic that gets more productivity and generates more achievement and positive outcome is clear communication. Leaders have a responsibility and a challenge to be excellent at it.
  • Great leaders train WITH their people, continuously. If training is to have a lasting value, it must have leadership support AND participation. Leaders must train to be better leaders. Start by rating yourself 1-10 on the qualities I have listed here. Anything less that a 7 (out of 10) requires immediate attention.
  • Great leaders are wide open to new ideas and innovation. “That’s the way we’ve always done it” is a recipe for failure. Leaders are readers, constantly searching for new ways to be better.
  • Great leaders are tech-savvy. Leaders need to be tweeters, and need to lead the way by communicating value and ideas through social media. A leader’s example can create an avalanche of great service, goodwill, loyal customers, increased sales, and better reputation – or not.
  • Great leaders concentrate on and think BEST. It always takes extra effort to be or strive to be ‘best,’ that’s why so many people fail. Failure occurs when people (leaders or not) fail to do their best and be their best – daily.
  • Great leaders remain committed. The best leaders never waver. They’re loyal, steadfast examples of what and who others aspire to be and be like. They’re not just mission driven; they’re also ‘personal mission’ driven. They are respected and followed because of their commitment.
  • Great leaders encourage. They build pride with a ‘you can do it’ philosophy and communication style. They encourage their people to succeed, and do so with a helpful, positive attitude. A coach and a teacher, not a manager or a boss. Big difference, both in results and morale.

Did I just define your leader? Did I just define how you are inspired to be and do your best every day? I hope so, but I doubt it.

The challenge for you, whether you’re a leader or a team member, is to study these qualities, and talk about them openly. One of the tragedies of leadership is that the (overrated) 360-degree feedback process, usually only goes 180 degrees.

Great leaders don’t just lead by example – they set the standard. What kind of standard are you setting?

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Leadership words that need to be banned. Forever.

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Pabulum leadership words really bug me – but not as bad as they may bug you if they’re uttered by your leader.

Leaders are known by their words, deeds, actions, values, principles, and by the people they attract both on their team and in the world, but…

  • It’s their words that set the tone for the environment.
  • It’s their words that start the internal chatter.
  • It’s their words that start their internal reputation.

…THEN it’s the actions that follow. All are studied and judged by the team.

OBVIOUS OBSERVATION: Great leaders attract great people. So why is there so much leadership mediocrity? Must be their words (and the way they’re spoken)!

I read a lot of stuff about leaders and leadership. Below are a bunch of leadership ‘words‘ (in no particular order) that sound good, but mean virtually nothing. You’ve heard them, and groaned about them.

I’m defining several of the words I have an issue with (cannot stand), in italics, then explaining why I have the issue, challenging the status-quo, and suggesting better words, replacement words, substitute words, in ALL CAPS, and explaining my reasons.

  • Embrace means you’re ok with it, but not necessarily a participant – not good. I don’t want leaders to ’embrace change.’ I want a leader that takes ACTION. ACTION is a better word, because it means something’s happening.
  • Accountable means they fess up if (and after) something goes wrong, and results are measured. RESPONSIBLE is a better option. Be responsible for yourself and to yourself. Be responsible for your words and deeds. Be responsible for your attitude. Be responsible and take responsibility for your achievements.
  • Effective – to me, effective means mediocre. Sort of carries a ‘so-what’ feeling to it. I really don’t want an effective heart surgeon. I want the BEST. He’s an effective salesman? Or he’s the BEST salesman? Which would you rather have?
  • Diversity – I really don’t know what this means in business. It’s a word spoken by many, understood by few. I guess it refers to hiring and doing business with all types of people and businesses. Sad that the world has to come to this. It seems forced. When leaders preach diversity, they have to make a special effort, rather than a natural effort. I prefer the word INCLUSIVE. It tells a deeper tale of involvement, and is a positive word that needs no defining. It’s also singular. I’m inclusive. “I’m diverse” or “I’m all about diversity” sounds contrived.
  • Focus – this is a word that means the leader is ‘honed in on’ something, and that’s what he or she is paying major attention to. I would rather know from my leader what his or her INTENTION is, and what the intention is to do something about what you’re focused on. Just because you’re focused on something doesn’t mean you intend to do something about it.
  • Understand – you’re kidding me, right? This is a totally weak and passive word. Bob understands or Bob is understanding. So what? Is Bob doing anything about it? That’s leadership. I want someone that knows what to do, and does it. I want an EXPERT. When I have an issue, do I want to bring it to someone who understands – or do I want to bring it to an expert?
  • Paradigm – This is a two-decade old word that has lost its way. Sometimes it’s accompanied by the word ‘shift’ and means there’s a new way. Or to add to this corporate speak dialog, the word ‘change’ is added as well. Change is arguably the most negative word in business besides bankrupt. A better word is OPPORTUNITY. When change occurs or there’s a paradigm shift, doesn’t it make a whole lot more sense to look for the opportunity? I agree.
  • Results – Bob is results-oriented. Bob focuses on results. Not good. Bob needs to lead his people, and convey his intensions. A better word is OUTCOME. OUTCOME takes both people and task into consideration AND stresses what happens after completion.
  • At the end of the day is a summary of expectations and predictions – usually stated in the negative. When someone says this I can assure you they’re just searching for words. At the end of the day has no alternative – the phrase should just be eliminated – forever.

REALITY: Think about all these words in a group. As a leader, which group would you like to have attributed to you?

GROUP ONE: Embrace, accountable, effective, diversity, focus, understand, paradigm, results, at the end of the day.
GROUP TWO: ACTION, RESPONSIBLE, BEST, INCLUSIVE, INTENTION, EXPERT, OPPORTUNITY, OUTCOME.

Group TWO will consist of proactive, powerful, respected, followed leaders. Group ONE will consist of reactive, weak, disrespected leaders that will lose their best people – to the leaders of group two. Embrace that paradigm.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].