You might be aware EffectiveCommunication.com.au (EC) has offices in both Asia Pacific & Americas serving international clients and this week in North America most people's attention is focused on Thanksgiving.

As Americans invest this time to pause, reflect and be thankful for all the good they have, why not do the same wherever you are geographically, wherever you work and whoever you work with!

Here are 10 reasons why you can be thankful for the job you have

1. Can you imagine how you would feel if you didn’t have a job?

2. Regardless of whether or not you like your job, you are getting paid.

3. You have far more impact on the people you come in contact with than you will ever know.

4. The people you work with are an amazing group of people from whom you can learn new things each day. And, if you don't like your colleagues much, you can always learn what NOT to do from their negatives.

5. Count it a privilege to be able to use your talent and skills on a regular basis.

6. Be thankful, as there are far too many people who have no job and no means to make an income.

7. You are serving as a role-model and influence not only to those you provide for, but also to others who you don’t know and may never know.

8. The mental stimulation and physical exercise you get each day regardless of what your job might be is helping keep you engaged and feeling young.

9. You have the ability to dream and have the means to help fulfill your dreams.

10. You have the ability to prepare for the future and be ready for it

Regardless of your employment situation you can always choose to be thankful for what you do have.

All the best this Thanksgiving!

Creating a “knock your socks off” business presentation can seem overwhelming 

Regardless of whether you’re making a formal presentation at a conference or sitting across the table with a client or your boss, there are 3 key things to remember:

Captivate

Motivate

Educate

Many presenters assume their only responsibility is to educate. Educating is just part of the equation. People get bored easily. We also need to captivate our listeners, otherwise attention will drift. After all, they have a lot going on in their personal and business lives, and this affects how well they will listen. Right from the get-go, we have to bring them into our world. With attention, we get retention. So how do we do that?

Captivate

Your introduction should pack a punch. As you set context for the meeting, be sure it sparks interest. 

Strong verbs and descriptive words are just the thing. For example, an opening statement, such as, “We are bleeding customers,” would definitely make heads rise. Personal stories and startling statistics also command attention. If your listeners feel what you say shows value, you will hook them.

Motivate

Another way of starting strong is to be very energetic. Passion is contagious! Move towards your listeners if you are standing. Don’t stay tethered to your laptop. Sustain eye contact. Do big, meaningful gestures and smile. Poker faces make people uncomfortable. The more dynamic you seem, the more engaged they will become.

Educate

It is easy to assume that people will know what they should do as a result of listening to you. They don’t! We have to motivate them to take action. 

Upfront, tell them your position or feeling on the subject, product or service. If they see you as the subject matter expert, your position can be very motivating. Additionally, clearly state what action you want them to consider and the benefits. 

Be sure to stress the benefits; otherwise, they may not connect the dots. If you are clear on your position, any recommended actions and the payoff, you focus your listeners and motivate them to pay attention to what follows.

There is no doubt that we have to educate our listeners. Your listeners need to understand your message from start to finish. In the simplest language possible, explain your ideas. Back up your assertions with proof. Provide examples. Examples are essential when influencing. Be careful of going into unnecessary detail or discussing too many points.  Three main ideas are ideal. Always, always consider the knowledge level and needs of your listeners.

Captivating, motivating and educating are critical elements in any presentation. They need equal consideration. As you review your presentation, evaluate how effectively you have considered these 3 keys. 

Remember, it is a disservice to bore busy people.

All the best with your future presentations!!!

There are three reasons why ideas don't get accepted according to Rick Maurer, author of ‘Why Don't You Want What I Want?’

Reason #1: "I don't get it."
Reason #2: "I don't like it."
Reason #3: "I don't like you."

I Don't Get It

If your audience does not understand your argument, they certainly aren't going to buy it. As you plan out your next presentation, very carefully analyze your audience and how much they know about the topic. Put yourself in their shoes. Then, think about the best way to explain these ideas to them, based on what they know and who they are.

Consider whether there is a logical flow to your argument. If you are explaining a process, are the steps in the right order? If you are explaining the benefits of a program, do you state your points in the order of importance?

One of the biggest reasons people get their ideas rejected is that they overload listeners with information. The more you say, the less people hear. While you want to create the evidence, three key points are plenty.

Too much information frightens people. So does speaking in generalities. When explaining your points, don't use adjectives; use stories or examples. This will not only help to support your case, but also, it will minimize confusion.

Word choice is also critical. Simple, clear language, devoid of jargon, insures that everyone gets the point, not just those with technical expertise. Remember what happened in the O.J. Simpson case. People didn't understand the evidence.

I Don't Like It

When audiences don't like your idea, typically it means you didn't show value. You didn't relate your ideas to their needs. You didn't give them one good reason to buy-in.

The acid test to preparing any presentation is to ask yourself "Is there any good reason why they should say no?"Even if you feel a positive reception is a sure thing, don't overlook that timing may be an issue. The sluggish economy or a behind the scenes projection may cause an idea to be rejected today when it might be applauded six months from now.

If there is anyone in the organisation who might champion your ideas, be sure to approach that person ahead of time so they can promote them behind the scenes. An "insider" can also help you to better understand the audience's primary needs and understand where the resistance might come from. Once you know this, you can anticipate objections and be ready to answer them.

I Don't Like You

First, impressions are lasting and are formed within a few minutes. A nervous presenter almost always scores poor marks.

If you believe in what you say, listeners need to see it in your body and hear it in your voice. They need to feel you are looking them in the eye so that they can trust you. It is important to get feedback on your delivery style. Video recording feedback is ideal. Sometimes, people can come across as arrogant, insincere or even unfriendly without even knowing it. It is only after they see themselves on video tape that they realise there are some things they need to change.

Every presenter has a natural style. When presenters capitalise on their natural style, they win people over. When they try to imitate the presenting style of a boss or a colleague, they come across as fake. Be sure that when you present, people feel they are getting the real "you."

Selling your ideas requires a lot more than showing up and plugging in your power point. Doing your homework so that you can understand your audience's needs is critical. So is being a strong presenter and relating to your audience.

If your ideas are rejected, take a good look in the mirror. Analyse where things turned sour so that the next time, you can better inform, influence and persuade people to move forward.

All the best with your future presentations!!!

Gerald is a seasoned leader who manages 16 professionals. He has two team members who are supervisors, so he has some management support.

Like so many teams, 20% of Gerald's people are performance superstars. About 70% of the team meets the expectations of their job. The remaining 10%, however, are problem-children.

Sometimes their performance is sub-standard. Other times their behavior is disruptive. The organisation that Gerald's team is a part of is vibrant and growing, and experiencing rapid change. While the organizational change that is occurring holds many positives, it is not without hiccups along the way. In other words, the workplace in which Gerald leads is fast-paced, complicated, achievement-oriented, and fraught with problems (from time-to-time).

At one point in his career, Gerald used to shrug his shoulders when faced with problems. In fact, one of the first questions he would ask was "Who messed up this time?"

While there was some levity to Gerald's comment, it also set the tone for a witch hunt. It is common for leaders to seek to identify the person or group who caused a problem in the workplace. Often times, a better course of action is to engage in a problem-solving process.

Over the years, Gerald created six rules for solving workplace problems.
 

Everyone messes up once in a while. Sometimes people need a free pass, while other times progressive discipline is required. Do not start a witch hunt when faced with a problem situation.

Remain as calm as possible and seek to find the root cause of the issue.

This really pertains to the first point, however, it deserves to be highlighted. Before Gerald was a leader he had the luxury of jumping to conclusions and engaging in finger-pointing.

Well, a funny thing happened along the way to great leadership. Gerald lost all sorts of "rights." Gerald read a great piece on leadership that Colin Powell wrote a dozen years ago. Powell stated that leaders lose the right to be one of the crowd, and to slam their door, and to choose favorites, etc.

As Gerald experienced the process of losing these rights, he actually elevated his level of self-control. Gerald believes strongly that when a problem sends a workgroup into chaos it is because the leader of the group does not possess sufficient self-control.  

When Gerald was a newer leader and a problem would occur, he would turn into a fact-finding machine and start firing questions: "What," "How," "Why?" While all of Gerald's questions were open-ended in nature, his tone of voice was often accusatory.

As a result, Gerald's questions would be answered with minimal information because people were anxious for the interrogation to end. Over time, Gerald softened his tone of voice in an effort to come across as more conversational. In addition, he began to start his open-ended questions with phrases such as: "Tell me about," "Share with me," and "Help me understand."

Gerald's conversational approach has delivered significantly better results. Not only from a problem-solving standpoint, but also from a long-term rapport standpoint.

Gerald now leaves little wreckage in his wake during the problem-solving process.  

Early in his leadership career, when problems were caused by another area of the company, Gerald would get fired up and embrace a mindset of "Us vs. Them" While this brought short-term satisfaction to Gerald and his team, he learned that this behavior fostered long-term conflict.

Invariably Gerald's team would cause a problem, and other areas of the organisation would be quick to jump on their folly. These days, Gerald seeks to collaborate with other areas of the organisation. In fact, when Gerald's team uncovers a problem caused by another area of the company, they reach out and offer to work with their colleagues to resolve the issue. There is no finger-pointing, rather, there is professional communication and collaborative action.

Years ago, Gerald read an article entitled ‘The Process of Winning’. It highlighted how Nick Saban, the football coach of Alabama is focused less on winning and more on processes.

Gerald embraced some of the concepts of the article. As a result, after his team experiences and resolves a problem, they examine their process and determine what needs to be enhanced.

Gerald has helped his team become process-focused. Not so that they are robotic in the workplace. Rather, so that they can easily self-examine and continually raise their bar of excellence.  

It has taken Gerald years to refine his problem-solving best practices. In addition, he is committed to having his entire team embrace a logical, cool-headed means to problem-solving. As such, Gerald seeks to lead by example and to share the expectation that his team will be good problem-solvers.

In other words, Gerald strives to make effective problem-solving part of the culture of his organisation. While problem-solving can be part of a strategy, Gerald has come to realise that the culture of an organisation trumps strategy every day.

Bottom Line

When problems occur in the workplace, emotions are easily stirred. The best leaders are able to maintain self-control during times of crisis. They do not go on witch hunts and they seek to be collaborative with other areas of the organisation.

Good leaders also ask great questions. In the process, they come across as conversational as opposed to interrogational.

Lastly, solid leaders nurture the culture of their organisations. They communicate the importance of level-headed problem-solving, and execute problem-solving in a practical way.


All the best with your leadership!

Based on many years of Conference Speaking, Training & Consulting with sales teams, EffectiveCommunication.com.au (EC) has concluded the following list of fifteen (15) factors which reflect what the “best of the best” do to be a successful sales leader:

1. Realize their job is not to be a sales manager, but to be a sales leader.

2. Hold constructive sales meetings salespeople find value in, rather than meetings that are nothing more than information updates.

3. Invest time with their top performers.

4. Leverage their position to generate opportunities and discussions with prospects and clients while working with their salespeople.

5. Don’t let paperwork stand in the way of investing quality time with their people.

6. Coach their people each day or at leas weekly holding them accountable on the skills they’re developing.

7. Provide an environment that allows their salespeople to be motivated every day.

8. Never talk negatively about any of their people or anyone else while in the company of anyone.

9. Help each of their salespeople achieve their professional and personal goals.

10. Be open and accountable to others.

11. Realize their objective is not only to make the numbers, but also to develop their people.

12. Impact everyone with whom they come in contact in a positive manner, regardless of who they are or the position they hold.

13. Know their role is to lead their people and allow their people to lead their prospects and clients.

14. Demonstrate 100% respect to everyone.

15. Develop a team that others want to be a part of, and be the leader who assures a majority (if not all) of the people on the team are recognized and promoted for their performance.


As you can see, these attributes are not out of reach of most sales managers – if they are willing to put effort into becoming a leader!

The question is not asking if you are a trouble-maker or have a disruptive personality. The question asks if your organization has disrupted or is in the midst of disrupting the marketplace in which you operate.

Market disruption is usually accomplished via innovation. In fact, disruptive innovation is a force that creates a new market or so drastically disrupts an existing market that it overhauls the industry or replaces an earlier technology. Like the i-Phone and how it revolutionized the cell phone industry or Craigslist and how it obliterated Classified Ads.

Perhaps you are thinking that your organization simply enjoys operating in your particular industry. In fact, competition is so fierce that there is little time to reinvent your business, let alone an entire industry. On the surface this thinking is pragmatic. However, if you are not engaging in some serious strategic planning at least every two years, you can guarantee that there are certain segments of your business (operations, market opportunity, technology, efficiencies, etc.) that could be improved – and disrupted in the process.

When Steve Jobs and Apple moved to disrupt the cell phone industry, they focused on three areas (just three): Design, functionality, and consumer experience. All three of the areas were under-serving the consumer.

First of all, the customer had become complacent about the design of their phone. There was no sizzle in the design of a cell phone and the consumer no longer cared. Secondly, the functionality of cell phones was ho-hum. There were no energizing bells and whistles. Lastly, the consumer experience bland and frustrating as opposed to awe-inspiring.

By recognizing three simple areas in which to improve, the Apple/Jobs continuum created a game-changing product. Simultaneously, Apple’s achievement sent an industry into a frenzy as competitors struggled to reshape their thinking, reengineer their offerings, and keep pace with a new market leader.    

There is much to learn from the history of market disruption. If you are a savvy leader you may want to ask yourself four questions, as well as ponder four corresponding opportunities:

What areas of my organization are, at best, average?

Opportunity: Examine the policies and procedures or your organization. Knock down walls that are holding back the creativity of your team members. Seek to heighten the level of team member engagement that exists in your organization.

What portions of my industry lack sizzle and appeal?

Opportunity: Look for strategic areas within your marketplace in which to reinvent or innovate. As you drive innovation, make certain that you are quick to market.

When consumers purchase my products and services are they delighted by what they experience?

Opportunity: Elevate the level of customer experience that your organization provides to the consumer. Compare your organization against some of the best customer experience providers in the world. How do you stack up? What is the difference?

Does my organization’s mission statement, vision statement, and core values properly align with our value proposition and reason for existing?

Opportunity: Engage your team in some offsite strategic planning and revisit your organization’s guiding principles. Reinforce your beliefs while simultaneously opening the door to new, potentially game-changing ideas.

Leaders, be disruptive!!! Reinvent your organization on a regular basis. Examine your mission, vision, and values and make certain they align with your noble purpose. In the process you will lead innovations that will improve your product, enhance the customer experience, and alter the marketplace in your favor.

Do not be shy. Rather, be bold. Think boldly, create fearlessly, and above all, act!!!


All the best with your leadership!

Is your presentation scheduled for mid to late afternoon or even later? If so, you're in the Grave Digger's Shift. 

In fact, any time you present in the afternoon, you run the risk of digging your own grave unless you are interesting and engaging.

People are tired and typically have a lot to do before they end their day. You absolutely cannot present information the same way as you would in the morning when people are fresh and less distracted.

Here are some key things to remember.

Be Animated

Amplify your energy. Speak up. With a louder voice, you pull people into your world.

With a soft voice, you become background music in an elevator.

Do bigger gestures. They help listeners to visualize your point.

Remember to smile. You will seem more approachable and friendly. Nobody wants a "sour puss."

Move toward your listeners if you have the opportunity. The mistake that many speakers make in an afternoon session is to sit down or to stand right next to the podium. That's deadly. When you move, eyes will follow.

Finally, and this is most important, sustain eye contact. You will appear trust worthy and transparent. Also, there is an obligation with eye contact. When you look at people with intention, they respond by smiling or nodding.

Set Some Context

Before you do a deep dive into the details, people need some background on the issue for discussion.

Remember your listeners have been involved in other things all day long. Even if you have sent them an agenda, be sure to tell them as you start the criticality of what you are about to discuss and the impact on them personally.

A boring opening, particularly in the afternoon, is one that starts with "Today, I am going to talk to you about...." A lot of people will shut down at this point because you have indicated that the message is all about you and what you want to accomplish.

State Your "Ask"

Hold your listeners responsible. Right up front, tell them what you want them to consider doing and why it would be beneficial.

By giving listeners an action step, people listen more attentively, especially if they know you ultimately want a decision.

Tell People Something They Didn't Know

Not many of us can stay riveted on information we already know or accept.

If you are giving an update, tell listeners what's different than last month or last quarter. Don't waste time going over data or numbers that are not problematic.

If you are meeting with a new client, tell your client how your company or product differs from others. At that time of day, that is usually their main concern. A boring diatribe of the history of your company or your extensive client base falls on deaf ears.

Be A Storyteller

People are easily distracted and pre-occupied as the day intensifies.

It is critical to make your points stand out. What better way than to tell you listeners a story?

People love stories because they are entertaining and engaging. They evoke empathy. They help listeners to experience the same feelings for themselves.

Add A Dash Of Humor

If used well, humor can boost creativity, initiate conversation and build a trusting relationship according to research by the Hay Group. It can also reduce hostility, deflect criticism, relieve tension and improve morale.

Can you imagine how welcome playful laughter can be when the day has been hectic?

Be Short

William Strunk, the writer, said a sentence should have no unnecessary words for the same reason that a machine should have no unnecessary parts, or a drawing no unnecessary lines.

Don't overwhelm people at the end of the day. Give your listeners enough data or facts so they can make a decision and be done with it. If you have an hour, try to finish in 40 minutes or less.


Presenting an idea or product to an internal or external customer is always a challenge. It is particularly difficult in the afternoon. To insure that you are successful, make the necessary modifications to your delivery and style.


All the best with your meetings!

Is There Ever a Good Time to Sell a Price Increase?

Whenever a salesperson asks EffectiveCommunication.com.au (EC) about the “best” time to implement a price increase, our quick answer is, “Right now!”

Of course, after we say this, the salesperson wants us to back up our response, which is a good opportunity for us to tell them that whenever they present a rate increase, how they do it matters immensely!

When you present a price increase, you must do it with confidence.

Sadly, some salespeople are not even confident about their current pricing, let alone a higher price.  

And to compound the matter, the salesperson thinks if they put off taking a price increase, some how the price increase will get easier “down the road” and the customer will respond with fewer objections.

That’s rarely the case.

Sure, you could wait, but ironically what happens is that you begin believing that you can never present the increase (which isn’t realistic at all)!

What happens by waiting is that you just end up losing additional and typically much needed revenue.

As for when to present an increase, we believe you can do it when any of the following conditions occur:

 1.  A competitor has gone up in price.

 2.  You’ve incurred an increase in your costs.

 3.  Your customers have just raised their prices.

 4.  Other key players in the industry are increasing their prices.

These four reasons are “market factors,” and a sales force needs to be aware of them and how they impact pricing and revenue.

However, just because you can present a price increase when one or more of the above variables appears doesn’t mean you always should.  It merely means the marketplace is giving you permission to do so.

The additional factors you need to consider are what we call “value factors.”

The questions below will help you identify the real reasons why you would want to increase your prices. These are all focused upon your customer’s desired outcomes and how what you offer meets those outcomes.

1.     Has your client experienced added value from using your products and/or services in the past year?

2.     Is your client going to be experiencing added value from what you provide them in the year to come?

3.     Are there improvements in service or performance you can document that your client would see value in?

4.     Will you be able to increase your strategic importance to your client in the year to come?

5.     Can you show your client how what you provide them will give them a competitive advantage or minimize their risk in the year to come?

These are the real reasons why you can present a price increase.  When you are able to demonstrate added value to your client, it is easier to present an increase in price.

Yes, there could very well be other strategic or even tactical reasons why you would not want to present the price increase, even though you could take it.  You will be able to discern these reasons only after assessing your overall business plan.

Price increases are a part of the selling industry, as every consumer knows, whether that consumer is in a B2C environment or B2B environment.

EC's perspective is you should diligently and routinely review your pricing structure to determine when a price increase is wise.  If more companies followed this approach, we believe they would take more price increases (and they would be justified in doing so).

Being proactive not only guards your bottom-line, but also provides you some protection should there be unavoidable price increases on the production or operation side of what you offer.

The more confident and comfortable you become in your pricing – including your price increases – the less likely you will be to devote precious energy to worrying about your pricing.  That energy is better spent when you show how what you offer meets your clients' needs and desired benefits.

The pricing structure that is best for your company will always be closely tied to the value you bring your client. 

All the best with your sales!

Most of the time when people are brought together for face-to-face meetings, the purpose is for persuasion - either to accept an idea, buy a product or approve a decision.

Often, these meetings are not successful because the presenter misunderstands the need for audience involvement in the persuasive process!

Great presenters, on the other hand, know that to motivate an audience to action, listeners must voice their concerns and actively participate in dialogue. Although great presenters make audience involvement look effortless, they actively seek participation through relevance, problem solving, emotional appeals, fun or spontaneous activities.

RELEVANCE

Listeners automatically become involved if the topic is dear to their hearts. For example, if you are talking to cardiologists about a medical imaging machine that can offer 260 slices of the heart versus six, physicians will have many questions because they need to determine if this particular device can help them better serve their cardiac patients.

However, many presenters, due to time constraints and their own work load, fail to uncover their listeners' particular issues. Instead, they talk about the topic generically, unaware that it minimises discussion and delays decisions.

PROBLEM SOLVING

Smart presenters know that prescription without diagnosis is a recipe for disaster so when talking, for example, about a production issue or customer complaint, they ask their audience a lot of questions. Some may be rhetorical questions or "yes" or "no" questions, while some may be open ended questions.

Listeners, not only willingly voice their opinions, but also they are impressed the speaker cares enough to ask. When the speaker does finally define a particular solution, the audience feels that it is the logical choice, particularly since it seems to take their views into account.

EMOTIONAL APPEALS

People are moved by their heads but also by their hearts!

The old adage is true that people buy on emotion and justify with facts. For example, a young woman who began a presentation to launch her company's non-invasive diabetes monitoring device mesmerised her audience by holding up a stapler and asking her listeners to staple their thumbs. Listeners became intrigued as she talked about how the current process of monitoring insulin levels feels like stapling one's thumb three and four times a day. They were riveted by the time she introduced her company's new, non-invasive pulse-ox product that could be worn like a wrist watch.

The emotional elements of her presentation greatly enhanced the woman's credibility so that after her presentation, listeners were ready to place orders.

FUN & SPONTANEOUS ACTIVITIES

Most audiences attend meeting after meeting and assume that the meeting will be tedious or even boring. When a presenter makes an event fun because of a demonstration or by doing something usual, the audience becomes motivated.

When Steve Jobs introduced his company's new Iphone in January, 2007, he made a point of holding up all of the many electronic gadgets the Iphone could eliminate, so many of them that some fell to the ground.

On a screen, he showed all of the great things the Iphone could do, whether it was checking one's stocks, emailing a friend, receiving a call or downloading music. The applause from the audience was thunderous. The sales force left the meeting ready to tackle any and all competition.

When a Chief Financial Officer of a small consulting company wanted to show the need for a new CRM system to an audience resistant to change, he used a large ball of string. After asking everyone to stand up, he proceeded to toss the string to the first person involved in a particular process; then he asked that individual to toss it to the next person involved until all of the seven people who had to touch a process were identified and wrapped in string.

Finally, he introduced the new CRM system by cutting all the strings, with the exception of just one person's. The buy-in was instantaneous and unanimous. Had he lectured, instead of demonstrating, the non-technical audience would have been resistant.

While getting involvement takes effort, it results in better understanding which ultimately leads to an acceptance of your ideas.

Josh Gordon in his book, Presentations That Change Minds, says "that the role of a presenter should not be that of a gatekeeper through which content flows, but rather that of a lightening rod to a dynamic communication process."

 

All the best with your meetings!

An all-time favorite baseball player is Babe Ruth

Everybody with a slight interest in baseball remembers the Babe as an incredible hitter. He hit 714 home runs in an era when 300 career homers was outstanding.

Babe was not a one-dimensional player, either. He was an incredible pitcher who won 94 major league games (94-46 lifetime – not bad!). It was his slugging, however, that made him a legend.

So how do legends think? What actions lead to their success?

“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way,” Babe would say. His philosophy was simple: “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” He was also well known for taking pitchers on and not backing away from intimidating hurlers. The majority of his career he wore Yankee pinstripes, but during off hours he was known to be quite dapper. He could afford to look dapper, he negotiated the best paying contract in baseball.

There are lessons for successful leaders in the words, actions, and achievements of Babe Ruth. Let’s take a look at five qualities to consider:

1. Do not be afraid to make mistakes

If you are not making errors you are probably not leading aggressively enough. Leaders cannot afford to make a lot of mistakes, but each mistake you experience helps you learn and brings you closer to breakthroughs that will make positive differences.

2. Take people on 

When you or your team is faced with a situation when you are being wronged, speak up and do not accept a raw deal. Babe Ruth faced down fastballs. Leaders get to face down adversarial personalities. When the timing is right, get gutsy, and be able to do so in a strategic manner and on a moment’s notice. Can this trait be learned? The answer is “yes.” Keep in mind though, it takes a lot of work to come across as a sharp person who is gaining clarity on a situation, as opposed to a combative jerk.

3. Possess diverse talent

Just as Babe could pitch and hit, you have to wield a variety of styles as you effectively lead your people. As you leaden array of different personalities you will also be faced with challenging leadership situations. Do not be one-dimensional and just a home run hitter. Engage in leadership development initiatives that expand your leadership capabilities and assist you in operating effectively in complex situations.

4. Negotiate

In 1927 Babe Ruth’s contract was more than 10 times greater than other top players. In fact, his compensation exceeded that of the president of the United States! When asked about the latter fact, Babe quickly replied, “I had a better year than the President.” In short, Babe was able to sell himself. Likewise, effective leaders are able to sell their ideas, their vision, and their team’s accomplishments. In the process, they negotiate terms and conditions that are favourable to their organisation. If you are uncomfortable with negotiating, get comfortable! It is a necessary and admirable skill.

5. Be polished

Babe was a dapper guy with a persona that created followership. Let your sound leadership capabilities create followership for you. In addition, enhance your leadership image by dressing professionally, staying fit, and being well-groomed. Your attire and style should match your organization’s culture. Also, nice shoes coupled with excellent table manners always help image and success.

Bottom Line

Babe Ruth was affectionately known, was a baseball legend. He possessed talent, grit, vision, and spirit. He was undaunted when faced with failure. He was confident in his abilities to achieve goals. He won, and he won big.

As you lead your team, remember the good qualities of Babe. Lead with confidence. Do not fear striking out – just do not do it too much. Take responsibility for the success of your team, and applaud them when they soar. Look professional, and boldly lead in tough situations. The next thing you know you will be hitting the long ball. There it goes, over the wall. Now round the bases and give your team a tip of your cap.


All the best with your leadership!

One-on-one meetings can often be intense. Obviously, it is important to showcase your best self as a person who is confident and committed to his or her ideas.

Your body language says it all. To deliver your message and wow, consider the following suggestions:

Lean In

When you are sitting across the table, remember your posture. It can easily look too relaxed. If you have something important to share, be sure to lean in. When required put your feet under the table and your hands on the table. This will force your body forward. This will trigger the perception that what you are about to say is definitely significant. Also, this posture demonstrates that you are paying close attention to the conversation.

Sustain Eye Contact

People assess honesty and credibility through eye contact.

Normally, eye contact in a one-on-one meeting is not a problem. However, it can be compromised by note taking and reading from slides.

Through sustained eye contact, you can also read the other person's reaction to your ideas. A word of caution- eye contact can be intimidating if it is too long. When you finish a couple of sentences, look aside for a moment. Then resume eye contact.

Use Meaningful Gestures

Gestures help your listener to see your passion, your commitment to your position or recommendation.

Do not overlook using your hands since they create a picture for your listener. When sitting, gestures will be smaller. They will typically come from the elbow versus the shoulders.

Some gestures, such as pointing or the back of your hand should be avoided. Your listener will notice if you play with your ring, your hair or your glasses. Make sure to gesture with an open hand and definitely not with a fist.

Be Expressive

Your face should match your words. Avoid being too intense. Smile freely. It will put your listener at ease and demonstrate your confidence. Also, don't forget that when you smile, your listener will typically smile back. It will relax both of you.

Sound Friendly. Be Enthusiastic

When we are nervous or unprepared, we have a lot of "filler" words or "ums and ahs." We also speak quickly, and this often results in a voice being monotone.

Make sure your sentences come to a definite end. Be careful of over-connecting with "and," "but" or "so." If you smile, your voice will sound warmer and you will be perceived as friendlier.

Pause Between Your Points

Allow your listener time to digest your ideas to pose a question. Remember, the more you pause, the more the other person gets and the more you can think about what you want to say next.


One-on-ones are an opportunity for you to shine. If you do a good job, you wow. You impress. If you do a poor or mediocre job, you leave your listener wondering if you are the right person!

Body language will be noticed. Make sure you look, sound and act confident and convicted.
 

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All the best with your meetings!

This applies whether it is Business to Business or Business to Consumer

Developing effective relationships with people can go a long way to achieving better sales results both short and long term!

Below are 11 simple tips you can apply right now to help you build better relationships with your prospects and clients.

As you read the list, you’ll see not only does it apply in sales situations, but also in every situation you encounter (professional or personal).

This list was shared with a sales audience recently and a person immediately stated how they realised the list would work with their spouse too.

1. Show respect of the other person when they’re talking.

2. Follow-through on what you say you will do.

3. Compliment the ideas and recommendations shared by
the other person.

4. Share with the other person information about yourself - Be transparent

5. Help the other person achieve their goals and objectives.

6. Be open and honest.

7. Start each conversation by referencing something from
a previous meeting or relevant situation

8. Allow the other person to hold you accountable.

9. Accept responsibility.

10. Never share with another person something shared in confidence with you.

11. Your body language must match what you’re saying.


Typically when people review the above list, they notice one or two tips they do well and one or two they should work on. What about you?

Use the list as a reminder of what it takes to develop quality business relationships.

In so doing, you’ll quickly realize the people you do have quality relationships with have most likely demonstrated the same 11 characteristics to you also.


All the best with your sales!

Last week the University of Texas at Austin invited a US Special Forces 36 year Navy Seal named William McRaven to give a commencement address.

Whilst Admiral McRaven's presentation was aimed at equipping and empowering the next generation of leaders, the ten (10) principles he shared can easily be used by you & your team in business.

To view this impressive and beneficial online video presentation, you are welcome to click on this link.


All the best with your leadership!

Typically audiences politely listen when someone is presenting, yet it is not always the case that audiences hear!

We all know that a presenter needs to be heard, whether whilst giving an update on a project, advising a client on an investment opportunity or explaining the functionality of a new product etc. Yet so often, business professionals are not heard. They do not connect with their listeners. They bury their points by over-talking an issue or by going into too much detail.

If you really want your audiences to get your message(s) follow these simple tips:

Speak Louder

Louder voices are taking more seriously.

A louder voice automatically signals "This is important. Please listen." On the other hand, when a presenter has a soft voice, listeners may assume the person is insecure, nervous and lacks confidence in his or her beliefs.

Additionally, if listeners strain to hear you, they will eventually tune out or look at their phones. They may also try to take advantage of someone who has a soft voice.

Speak Slowly

If something is important, it can't be misunderstood.

Speaking slowly insures that people will have time to process the message and stay with you.

If you speak quickly, people can't sort and understand your ideas fast enough; they can't ask their questions. Inevitably, they will miss some points, especially if this is new information.

Additionally, when you speak quickly, there is a chance accents will not be understood or articulation will be sloppy. The lips, teeth and tongue can't get into the right position to say the words clearly.

Intensify Eye Contact

People judge honesty or credibility by the strength of your eye contact.

Look at your listeners, one at a time, with sustained eye contact. Show them you have nothing to hide and that you want and expect them to take your ideas seriously. A fleeting glance will not establish the connection you need to win them over.

Move Closer

If you have the opportunity to move towards your listeners, do it.

Do not stay behind a podium or tethered to your laptop. When you move towards your listeners to deliver key points, they see that you are trying to connect with them. They become more attentive.

Allow For Space

Do not over-talk or go into too many details

Decisions are made easier when your ideas are simply expressed. Short, pithy sentences with strong adjectives or adverbs are just the thing to gain and hold people's attention. They make your points stand out.

Show Value

To be won over, listeners have to see value

What's in it for them?

If you can answer that question with clear benefits, it is likely your message will be heard. Anytime you can support your message with numbers or statistics, rather than generalisations, people take notice.

Being heard is not automatic. It takes paying attention to what you say and how you say it. Utilising these tips will help you to be taken more seriously and eliminate the risk of people wondering what they should do.

All the best with your presentations!

Why do many leaders set goals too low???

The easy answer is because there’s no sense in setting goals that are impossible to achieve.

If that’s the case, then why don’t leaders set tomorrow’s goals as merely waking up and getting out of bed?

What are your goals and are they truly going to stretching you? 

If a person sets goals which they know can easily be achieved, then that person might need to change the word “goal” to “milestone.”

Goals are designed to stretch you.

Goals are designed to get you to achieve results you did not think were possible.

Look at your goals. Are they more like milestones or are they truly goals that are going to stretch you in ways you did not think possible?

The reason for addressing this topic today is because amongst the thousands of business people we serve at EffectiveCommunication.com.au (EC), we meet many people who having worked with them we ask, “Are their goals really going to push and stretch them?”

Now, we know that setting outlandish goals just for the sake of setting them is a waste of time.  We are also aware that goals seen as unachievable can demotivate more than motivate.

What we are talking about are goals with a mindset that truly redefine who you are and what you want to be in your life and career.

What is your BIG goal + additional goals you need to look at and possibly reset?

Here are the 5 questions you need to ask yourself to help set goals that will push and stretch you to where you need to be and that you are truly capable of::

1. What are the outcomes that will occur from achieving my goals?

2. Who are the people I need to leverage to help me achieve my goals?

3. What are the habits / activities I either need to stop doing, do more of, or start doing to help me achieve my goals?

4. What do I need to change about my mindset?

5. Who can help hold me accountable and provide support, motivation, and coaching along the way? 


Think about your goals and ask yourself the 5 questions above to quickly determine if you need to redefine.


All the best with your leadership!

Having trained thousands of sales people during the past twelve years across Asia Pacific & the Americas, it is clear to us at EffectiveCommunication.com.au (EC) that it is typically simple disciplines that when applied can improve client relationships and ultimately sales results from strength to strength. And the best part is, anyone can do them.

Here are just six (6) disciplines to support your future sales efforts:

1.  Never end today until tomorrow is planned

Don’t allow yourself to start the day still trying to figure out who you need to call and what you need to do.
If you do wait until the morning, you’ll waste valuable time that could have been spent selling. 

The key is before the current day ends, always plan the next day specifically with who you’re going to call and what you are going to do.

2.  Don’t sell to non-motivated buyers

This sounds basic, but far too much time is spent (wasted) dealing with prospects who have little intention to buy.  With each call you make to a prospect, you must find a reason to connect with the person again. If not, move them to your marketing list.

3.  “5 After 5” - Optimizing Mondays & Fridays

Just because it’s Friday afternoon, don’t think there aren’t sales to be made. Same can be said for Mondays.

Regardless of what you might think, there are always opportunities to be selling, and that is why top performers love to do “5 after 5.” 

This means making 5 more sales calls after 5pm.

You never know who might need your call, company, products and services at that time!

4.  Ensure purpose with every call

There is no such thing as a “fact-finding” call or an “introductory” call.  

Every call deserves purpose.

Great salespeople never miss the opportunity to express their purpose with every prospect / client contact, if for no other reason than to gain agreement about a reason to move forward.

5.  Listen more & talk less

Selling faster does not mean talking faster. In fact, it usually means just the opposite. It means talking less to allow the prospect / client to talk more.

There’s no way we will ever know what the prospect / client is looking for unless they’re given the opportunity to talk.

The key is to make sure when you are talking you’re not preaching, but rather asking great questions.

6.  Believing in yourself & what you sell

How can we ever expect a prospect / client to believe what we’re saying if we don’t believe in ourselves?

What this means with regard to selling faster is simple: It means great salespeople don’t experience slumps and periods of low productivity; rather, they’re always focused on making it happen.  They believe in themselves and their products and services including the investment value.

These six (6) disciplines to ‘Sell More in Less Time’ are not rocket science, which is why anyone can apply them.

Now ask yourself, “What’s holding me back from speeding up my sales?”



All the best with your future sales!