Success and the Minnesota Twins

Eliminate Boring Technical Talks

We’ve all been there, another talk by the resident techno-geek. It’s going to be confusing, boring and a long afternoon. Does it really have to be this way? Not if the speaker takes the time to follow a few guidelines.

1.      Speak with the audience in mind.  If you have the expertise necessary to give a technical presentation then there is a good chance that you have had quite a bit of experience with the subject. While it is crucial for you to have this experience at your disposal be careful to consider the needs and technical level of the audience. First, get a sense for the detail of information the group needs to hear. Is it important that they know how a watch works or merely how to tell time? Giving the audience more information than they can use wastes time and is a major cause of boredom. Second, be careful not to speak over the heads of the listeners. It is the rare individual who will raise their hand and ask that a term be defined. Instead, most people will smile and nod as if they understand every word you’re saying, no matter how lost they’ve become.

 2.      Use analogies to communicate complex concepts. If you find that it is necessary to introduce a concept that’s difficult to understand then using an analogy is a great way to do it. An analogy allows you to compare a complex issue such as data base management to a simpler, more familiar idea such as a filing cabinet. This gives the audience a familiar frame of reference around which they can position and understand the new concept. Additionally,  the use of analogies will make your talk more colorful, interesting and memorable.

 3.      Personalize your talk with stories. Just like using analogies, adding personal stories will make your presentations more relatable and entertaining.  Using your own experiences to reinforce points you wish to make or to illustrate issues you wish to clarify brings a higher degree of credibility to your presentation. The members of the audience see themselves in your experiences and can relate better to the material being presented.

 4.      Add excitement to your voice. The monotone drone of a poor presenter is always unbearable. When you combine that with dry, technical information you have a better sleep formula than Sominex®. Break up the potential monotony by adding more enthusiasm to your voice. Change the volume level. Adjust the tone and pitch. Vary the speed at which you speak. If you sound interested in your topic your audience will be interested too.

 5.      Simplify your visuals. An endless Excel spreadsheet or a cluttered line graph does not make for clear or interesting visuals. Separate large quantities of material so the audience members can focus on two or three essential points. Pull out significant numbers or develop slides that summarize the critical information. Also make sure that any words (X,Y axis descriptions or column headings) are readable to the whole room. If the information is important, provide handouts that allow the audience to digest the material at their own pace.

Punch It Up!

I love going to the State Fair! Not for the midway, or the shows, or even for the food. I love going to watch the people sell those crazy products. Ever-sharp knives that can cut through a hammer and still make wafer thin tomato slices. Miracle cloths that can soak up a whole cup of spilled coffee and not drip on the way to the sink. Feather dusters that magnetically attract dust and can clean even the highest places. And there is always a two-for-one special for the first five customers. I know that on more than one occasion I’ve purchased a product or two at the fair, not because I needed it but because the seller was so adept at his or her trade that I couldn’t resist myself. And I’m not the only one. After each pitch, customers crowd around reaching for their wallets.

What is it about these pitchmen and their presentations that make them so successful? The products are all right, but you could probably buy them at your local discount store. The price is fine but they are not giving these things away. And it isn’t really convenient to haul this stuff around the fair for the rest of the day. The two attributes that attract us to these presenters and make them so successful are their enthusiasm and conviction. They give their pitch with fervor and excitement. Their delivery is at a high volume and with an even higher pace. They believe unconditionally in the product’s ability to dramatically improve your quality of life. And they have the ability to transfer that belief to their prospects.

Compare their passion to that of the last corporate presentation you watched. Usually it’s about as exciting as watching paint dry. Think about your own presentation. Are you so buttoned-down and professional that you’re boring? You don’t have to get to the level of the state fair pitchman but if you want to carry the day with your idea then you had better put some punch into your style.

A Case for Contract Trainers

Recently I had the pleasure of working with a client that was preparing for a major change in their organization. Along with their internal training team they brought in a group of contract trainers to provide small group facilitation for their entire sales organization during a conference. After weeks of preparation they had developed an excellent program on dealing with change as well as a session on communicating a sensitive message to their client base. On the first day of the conference the change was announced and the sessions went on as planned. During an end-of-the-day discussion, the trainers agreed that the new information had been well received and the sales force was ready and eager to call their customers the next day.

 On the second day we had planned to work with the sales people by conducting role plays for their client calls. As planned the day started out with a general session, but much to our surprise the CEO made an announcement that was much more earth shattering than the one that had been so meticulously planned for. The room buzzed with comments and speculation as the CEO and the head of human resources answered questions for about 15 minutes. Then, to keep on schedule, the sales teams were sent off to their respective training rooms. At this point the repercussions of the announcement really came to the fore. Not only was the material that we had prepared no longer pertinent, but the emotional and mental state of the participants was such that going ahead as planned would be counterproductive.

 I was assigned a training room with another contract trainer, one of the trainers from the host company and about 60 participants. As you can imagine it took some time to get the group organized and settled down. Their desire to discuss what had just happened was intense, so the other contract trainer and I decided to postpone the planned material and revert back to the “change” program we had presented the day before. We covered the material in light of the new announcement and allowed the participants to voice their concerns and opinions. Only after we had worked through these perspectives were the participants able to move forward and make use of case studies that had been prepared. Overall we were very happy with the results we had been able to achieve.

 Interestingly enough, the internal trainer that was assigned to our room was himself emotionally unable to help us with the group. Apparently he too was trying to cope with the announcement and consider the repercussions on his own career. After talking to the rest of the training team in a debrief session we found the results in the other rooms to be much the same. In general, the contract trainers were less distracted and more able at getting their sales teams to move through their emotions and focus on communicating effectively with their customers. The internal facilitators however, seemed to be dealing with their own issues and were not as prepared for assisting the groups. In some cases they felt the same frustrations and concerns of the employees that they were trying to help. So if you find that your organization is in a situation where your own instructors may have a high level of emotional involvement in the proceedings, contract facilitators will be able to separate themselves from the issues and better assist your staff.

Facilitating Effective Meetings

We live in a busy world with many factors vying for our precious time. When we ask a group of people to give us their time, it is crucial that we conduct the meeting effectively. Following are some tips to help you do that:

Agenda – Developing an agenda will benefit you and the team in a number of ways. First it will force you to really think about the meeting and its desired outcomes. Once you know what you wish to accomplish you can decide if a meeting is even necessary or if a couple of phone call/e-mails will accomplish the same results. Second it will cause you to organize the topics in a logical order. Third it will communicate to the attendees that you are prepared and that they can expect a well run meeting. Fourth it will allow the attendees to thoughtfully prepare how they will participate. These will all increase the likelihood that your meeting will be successful.

Attendees – Thoughtfully consider who you want to invite to the meeting and how they can contribute. Use your organization’s collaborative tools to make sure that everyone can attend and that you will have an appropriate room or location. Send each of them the agenda and let them know why you have invited them and how you think they might best contribute. Inviting people who don’t have a stake in the meeting or who have nothing to contribute wastes their time and could cause complications to arise during the meeting.

Alliances – Talk to some of the key attendees about their opinions and ideas prior to the meeting. Attempt to achieve some synergy with them and make sure that their ideas will be properly considered. Also meet with those that might be hostile to your position and discover their arguments. Even if you aren’t able to modify their position, at least you will know how to defend your position.

Action – Once the meeting has started (on time!) stick to the agenda and keep it moving forward at a brisk pace. Allow everyone to voice their state their point of view and call on those that you know can contribute on particular topics. Attempt to resolve differences but be willing to move forward with a majority if you can’t get consensus. Unless the information gap is huge, don’t send the topic back for more research (many good ideas die at this point). You have brought together the best available information and opinion at the meeting, be willing to make a decision right away.

Assignments – As a recap of the meeting, go around the room and have each participant commit to any task they have taken on and when they will have it finished. If there are items that still need to be accomplished, ask for volunteers, take them on your self or assign them to the proper person. This activity might cause some anxiety for the attendees but is necessary for the meeting to be effective.

If these suggestions are radically different from the way meetings are conducted in your organization then it is no wonder that they aren’t productive. But if you are willing to go against the tide of convention, you will accomplish more than your peers and do it in a shorter period of time.

Biggest Meeting Killers

“I hate meetings!” This is probably the most common response we get when we mention the subject of meetings to the participants in our classes. Studies have shown that people really do dread being called to a meeting and quite often the way the meetings have been run are a big part of the reason. Here are some of the major reasons that meetings are considered to be so worthless.

 Late Start – All too often we get to a meeting on time, only to find that it doesn’t start for 10 or 20 minutes. The usual excuse is that we’re waiting for everyone to arrive, what isn’t being considered is the viewpoint of those who arrived on time. They are wondering why they arrived on time and trying to determine just how late they can be to the next meeting. Getting in the habit of starting on time will benefit everyone, showing respect for those who arrive on time and encouraging those that often arrive late. By the way, the main reason people arrive late for meetings is because meetings usually start late!

 Poor Preparation – Let us consider the preparation of the person calling the meeting. Have they examined other ways to accomplish the work of the meeting, such as, the use of e-mail, memos, or a conference call? Has an agenda been created and distributed in a timely manner so that all attendees will have a clear vision of the meeting and how they might contribute? Have they pared the list of participants down to just the crucial people, those that have something to contribute? Next to consider is how the meeting attendees have prepared themselves. Have they looked over the agenda and formulated their opinions on the topics to be discussed? Did they do research on any topic that they might not have understood completely? Where available, did they collect and bring evidence to support their opinions and ideas?

 Too Long – The reasons that cause a meeting to drag on are numerous, here are some of the most common. 1. The facilitator doesn’t have the authority, ability or knowledge to effectively run the meeting. This allows the conversations to get off-track and expands the agenda. 2. The meeting was scheduled for an extended time slot. As in other areas of our life a meeting will fill the time allotted. While the agenda gets completed many of the attendees still feel some frustration as the meeting continues until it’s ending time. This is especially true for off-site meetings.

 Little is Accomplished – With a late start and poor preparation by the leader and it’s no wonder that not much is accomplished during the meeting. When we develop a reputation for holding meetings that fail to get much done we shouldn't be surprised when people avoid attending. Your most energetic and enthusiastic staff members become quite frustrated when forced into meetings that don’t get much, if anything done.

 Do whatever you can to avoid these meeting killers and your staff will be more willing to participate.

Selling Isn’t Telling

Cheryl asked me to come in and talk to one of her client service staff. It seems that David’s productivity had fallen off, and despite her guidance and encouragement there was no improvement. It’s true that times had been difficult in their industry but David’s numbers were significantly worse that his peers. Anyway, Cheryl thought that perhaps a different viewpoint and counselor might make a difference and she wanted to give him every chance to turn it around.

David and I met soon after and our initial conversation went well. David seemed excited to have someone help him improve his selling process. He was so excited in fact that he brought a tape recorder to fully document our conversation. During our review of his sales process I asked him what kind of questions he was using with his customers and prospects. Initially he looked at me blankly, then proceeded to mumble a few basic questions but I could tell his heart wasn’t in it. Knowing we had found a glaring flaw in his process I pressed him further on the issue of using questions as a key to discovering the needs of the prospect. It turned out that David felt strongly that his greatest responsibility was to tell his customer about his product and allow them to decide what they could use. “How do you know what tell him about if you don’t know his needs first?” I asked. “I tell them about everything we have so they are aware of our full offering!” David replied.

 David had fallen into the Telling Trap, one of the most non-productive of all selling snares. Instead of asking well designed questions that would allow him to discover what the client truly needs and values, David had decided to skip this step in the process and just spew out everything he knows. This with hopes that the customer would stop him sometime during his discourse, saying, “That’s it! That’s the thing I’ve wanted my whole life! I don’t care what the cost, I must have it now!” Unfortunately, customers almost never do that. More often they listen quietly, wait for the sales person to finish, thank him or her and assure them that they will thoughtfully consider the product or service. Finally they will escort them to the door and promptly forget the whole interview. Opportunity lost.

 So how should a sales professional use questions during an appointment? Here are some suggestions:

 Prepare – Before going to the interview take the time to write down questions that will help you to learn more about the client and their needs. Types of questions include:

·      Fact Based – How many? How often? How do you do it now?

·      Diagnosing – What problems exist with the way you are doing it now?

·      Solution Oriented – How would you like to see things handled in the future?

It is important to write these questions out and take them to the interview with you. The prospect will appreciate your level of preparedness and the questions will get used.

 Follow the Prospect/Lead the Prospect – As the prospect answers your questions the conversation will go in interesting and important directions. Let it go there, but also be prepared to interject questions that will move it in a way that you need it to go. The point is, be flexible! Don’t force the conversation into your preconceived box and don’t ask your prepared questions if they no longer make sense based on the current direction.

 Listen – If the prospect is willing to talk – let them! Nod, take notes and listen closely for opportunities and areas where they are unhappy with the current state of affairs. Avoid interrupting the client because they seem to be moving away from your main purpose, it will appear rude and you won’t learn anything if you are doing the talking.

 Using effective questions will help you build a friendly relationship with the prospect while getting you the information needed to present the best solution to them. Remember, selling isn’t telling, selling is asking and listening.

Who Cares?

After looking at innumerable sales presentations I am convinced that they are developed by marketing departments who are trained to sell to the broad audience but don’t understand the effect it will have on the specific buyer. My first reaction as I look at the vast array of self-congratulatory slides is, “Who cares?” And if that thought can’t be answered in a positive way for the prospective client, then the slide should be altered or removed.

For example, many organizations are justifiably proud or their national or international presence and they will usually show a map that demonstrates this. If the prospect has a need for this kind of coverage then the slide is useful. However, all too often we see a prospect that does business statewide being shown a slide that exhibits a national reach. We think this brings up some uncomfortable questions in the mind of the prospect. Questions such as: How much more am I paying to support this nationwide structure? Or, Will a small company like mine get lost in this big organization? And we all know that a confused buyer hesitates when it is time to make a decision.

 Another area of concern is showing slides that discuss features and benefits in which the client has shown no interest. Say, for example, that your product has features A, B, C, D, E, and F. During your discussions with the client they have shown that A, C and D are of crucial importance to their buying decision. Your experience has shown you that feature F will be important to them in the future and is a real differentiator from your competition. We suggest that you only show them features A, C, D and F. Don’t waste their time and add confusion by showing all 6 features!

 A third area where presentations are plagued with too much information is the client list or logo page. We feel that unless this list is well vetted it can leave the wrong impression. Client lists that include competitors or organizations that are dissimilar in size or process can also give a prospect the feeling that your customer experiences are too different from them. Again causing confusion in their mind

 So look critically at every slide that you are going to show to a prospect and determine if it expresses a point of view that is in concert with their concerns. If not, get rid of it. Most presentations are too long anyway. Narrow your presentation down to only the information that is important to the audience. You will maintain their interest and minimize confusion.