The “Think Differently” Sales Tip

By Leif Smith

Sales drive revenues and revenues drive companies. Companies, then, are only as good as their sales people. In a society that has become increasingly immune to typical sales pitches, competition for consumer dollars has reached a fever pitch. Consumers are inundated daily with various versions of sales propositions: email, cold calls, fliers and brochures, special offers, Internet banners and offers, you name it. How can you expect to compete in this environment?

One simple but effective method: Fire your sales people. Most sales personnel stink anyway. This action doesn’t reflect their character as people, but rather their ability to increase company revenues. And most sales people (even if they are nice people) do a horrible job at this. Think about it: When was the last time you went shopping, or out to your favourite restaurant, and encountered a terrific sales person? If you have trouble recalling, you’re not alone.

As consumers, we are immune to bad service, as long as the product is adequate. We put up with annoying sales people who are pushy and impersonal because we want the outfit. We rationalize away bad service at our favourite restaurant because the food was good (when the waiter finally got the order correct!). We don’t think twice when we encounter a lazy sales person who really doesn’t enjoy his or her job. It doesn’t have to be like this. If you truly want to improve sales within your company, fire your current sales people, and then hire true sales people. How do you know the difference?

• People that are “true” sales people value relationships first and sales second. They are cordial, pleasant, and well-meaning.
  
  
• People that are “true” sales people seek to satisfy the customer, not their boss. There is a huge difference!
  
  
• People that are “true” sales people are internally motivated rather than motivated by sales rewards or incentives.
  
  
• People that are “true” sales people are easily found in crowds. They are naturally gregarious, and most likely bring out the best in you during your interactions with them.
  

So, what do you do if firing your sales people is not an option? At the very least, improve your current hiring policy. No amount of company training can make up for the fact that an individual is not cut out to be in sales. Another idea: work to reassign those in your sales force whose skills are better utilized elsewhere. My recommendation is to evaluate your current sales staff in regards to their people skills. You’ll find that many of your sales people would be better placed within your company – behind a cubicle.

Leif Smith, Psy.D., President of Personal Best Consulting, LLC, has worked with athletes and coaches from The University of Iowa, The Ohio State University, and the College of Wooster. He specializes in improving performance and production, and has also worked with corporations such as America Online. Subscribe to the free monthly email newsletter, "Personal Bests: Techniques for Living an Extraordinary Life" when visiting his Web site at www.personalbestconsulting.com.

Published in Networking Today, April 2004.

Eight Tips for More Effective Email Communication

By David Friedman

A recent report estimated that over seven trillion emails were sent worldwide last year! Spam messages are jamming in-boxes across the globe and the average office worker now gets between sixty and two hundred messages a day.

While no one denies the obvious productivity gains we’ve realized from the efficiencies of email communication, many people find themselves drowning in all these messages.

Here are eight tips that will make your email communications more effective. 1.

1. Practice being clear and concise with your message.
   
   You’ll save time and your reader will appreciate it.
   
   
   • Consider using bulleted points to clearly express your thoughts.
   • Everyone has a different style of how they intake information.
   • Email communication works best if you clearly outline the points you’re trying to get across in an easy to understand format.
     
     Investing extra time while authoring an email pays big dividends by giving your reader a clear understanding of your message. Remember, if your email is written with the purpose to educate, inform, or persuade, then making sure to get your point across is even more critical.
     
     With the sheer volume of email messages most business people receive, there’s an inverse relationship between the volume of text and successfully making the point. Most people will immediately read and understand a ten sentence email. Send them a ten thousand word document and they’ll likely scan the highlights, save it for later and you risk it not being read fully. People appreciate brevity. Remember, if your objective is to tell the reader what time it is, you don’t need to explain how to build a clock!
     
     
2. Before sending, ALWAYS reread your message and double check for grammar and misused words.
   
   It’s obvious to most of us to use spell check after we’ve composed our message. You should also make it’s standard procedure to reread your entire message before sending. Often times, you’ll notice words that have been left out, grammar that’s incorrect, and worst of all – words witch our spilled write butt knot used inn the write weigh. (Note: this last sentence runs through a spell checker perfectly.) How many times have you caught something too late, making your only option to curse at your spell-checking software?
   
   
3. Copy back salient points when replying to an earlier message.
   
   Most people receive hundreds of emails every week. When you combine that with face-to-face meetings and phone calls, it’s dangerous to assume your recipient will remember your earlier exchange. Which of these messages has the greater chance for reader confusion?
   
   "Sure, sounds fine... Please proceed."
   
   Or You wrote:
   
   Hi Jody, Are you okay with the proposed colour scheme on the new brochure? I'd like to print it next week.
   
   "Sure, sounds fine... Please proceed."
   
   It’s frustrating when someone sends you an email, with a specific answer but you’re unable to recall the original issue. This problem is largely avoidable by copying a portion of the original message alluding to the context.
   
   
4. Use specific subject line descriptions.
   
   Since many email messages go back and forth several times over the course of many weeks, it’s important to accurately describe what the reader will find inside.
   
   Considering the level of spam and anti-spam software in place today, you can’t afford to risk your message not being delivered because of a generic or poorly worded subject line. A subject line such as, “What do you think” doesn’t tell the recipient much. “Need your suggestions for options re: acct#45619 – Robinson Inc.” is more specific. Remember, a legitimate message coming from your plant in Hong Kong advising you that “they’ve still had no luck increasing the prototype by 3 inches” is unlikely to ever make it past today’s spam filters!
   
   
5. Realize that once your message is sent, THERE’S NO GETTING IT BACK!
   
   Email communication in the workplace has been around about ten years. Before the 90’s, if you composed a letter later deemed too harsh or in poor taste, there were more steps involved before the message was sent. Today, the stakes are much higher. People can literally ruin their career with a single sixty-second lapse in judgment, by sending the wrong message to someone.
   
   Email is also ridiculously easy to edit and forward. Keep in mind that sending a message to one person can eventually be viewed by many other unintended parties. Always double-check the recipient line before sending any email. Horror stories about messages accidentally copied to “ALL” are becoming routine.
   
   As a rule, it’s a good idea to never put anything in writing that a reasonable person would consider to be confidential or dangerous. If your situation dictates you email such information, try to word your message in as factual and balanced a way as possible. As you write, imagine that the person you’re writing about eventually sees your message. Stick to facts, not opinions
   
   
6. Practice the 24-hour rule when you’re upset.
   
   It’s never a good idea to send an email when you’re angry. We’ve all been guilty of this. In the heat of the moment we type up a literary bombast. A message that will reduce the recipient to mush. We even reread it, and we’re actually sort of proud at how powerful the wording is. We imagine the recipient opening and cringing as he/she reads our words. Then we send it.
   
   Only later, after we calm down, we revisit the message and realize that we dramatically overreacted. But it’s too late to do anything now, except apologize and try to mend fences. This is more common than you think.
   
   If you compose an email in anger, wait a predetermined period of time before sending it. If your emotions are legit, then your issue will still be there tomorrow. But in ninety-five percent of the cases, you’ll be glad you waited and toned things down after you’ve gain the perspective that can only come with additional time.
   
   
7. Avoid sh-cuts and abbr. in biz email msgs.
   
   Anyone with a teenager knows you practically need a CIA decoder chart to understand the abbreviations and shortcuts that are popular in email, pagers, text messages, and instant messages. These cutesy short cuts and misspellings are ill advised to use in any corporate context, no matter if your customer is external or internal. Even common shortcuts like LOL (laughing out loud), BRB (be right back), 2 (to) and u r (you are) are simply too casual for most business communication. What’s hip to one sender can be read as flip and disrespectful by another reader. Since a casual message to a coworker could easily be forwarded, it’s best to practice the same high level of professionalism no matter who you're writing to.
   
   
8. Don’t Forward Viral Messages.
   
   What’s that you say? You’d only forward important messages on to your coworkers and friends? Not so fast. Unlike obvious computer viruses that involve actual destructive code, many messages are viral in nature, in that they are purposefully crafted so you’ll send them on to friends with the idea that you weren’t positive if this was real but wanted to be sure they saw it just in case! Although not usually harmful, these emails prey on normally smart individual’s desire to inform others.
   
   Every day, intelligent people who would never consider themselves gullible forward on hoax messages about:
   
   
   • Pending Congressional taxes on emails
   • Avoiding waking up in a hotel bathtub of ice – minus your kidneys
   • Easy steps for getting some of Bill Gates/Disney/AOL’s money
   • How to delete viruses from your PC (which are actually legit Windows’ files your system needs)
   • Child abductions at giant retailers
   • A widow from Zimbabwe begging you to look after her $18,000,000 if you’ll just give her your bank account number
     
     
   The list goes on. If you are the recipient of an email message you think is relevant to your friends and family, run it by this test: Copy and paste a few words from the message into google.com along with the word “hoax.” If the returns come back showing articles claiming the message is a fake, save everyone in your address book some time by hitting the delete key. The same rule applies to jokes and pictures, which would be deemed as inappropriate by your employer.*
   
   While there may not be a silver bullet that saves us from an onslaught of never ending messages, common sense practices can make our business email correspondence more effective and productive every working day.

* PS Unlike hoaxes and spam mentioned above, it's good etiquette to forward this article to others in your address book who will find it helpful!

J David Friedman is Vice President of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, a twenty year old provider of products and services which improve the way organizations communicate with their customers. Visit our Web site at www.telephonedoctor.com for more information.

Published in Networking Today, April 2004.

Dealing With “Deadwood” Employees

By Barbara Bartlein

The phone has been ringing and the email box full after recent columns on “desk rage” and “unfair bosses.” Several people have expressed frustration, as they have had to deal with downsizing, increased work demands, and poor performing employees.

“What about the employee who pulls everyone else down?” complains one reader. “How can you motivate the rest of the team when there is ‘deadwood’ in the middle of the office?”

The deadwood employee is the one who routinely does the minimum amount to get by, often blaming others or the “system” when there are problems. They may have “retired on the job,” while waiting for the official end to their work career or simply lost motivation long ago. In a union environment, the employee may feel that he is always “protected” and can manage his workday however he pleases. When confronted, he may manipulate the system by taking additional sick time or extended leaves.

No matter what the individual circumstances are, deadwood affects the momentum of the team. They become an “energy-sucker” bringing everyone else down. Energy suckers can sabotage a whole area sprinkling negativity in their path. Other team members may feel discouraged as they see their own efforts receiving little positive attention while the deadwood gets away with poor performance.

The deadwood employee may spend much of his time spreading rumors, complaints, and gossip to anyone who will listen. It is easy to know if you are exposed to one, because you feel drained after each encounter. Nothing is ever good enough, and life has singled them out for bad news.

In spite of best efforts, sometimes good employees get sucked into the negative swirl and participate in “institutional pathology” that robs the organization of crucial energy. They don’t want to listen but negative news is somehow more interesting than the report of everyday activities that are going well.

Some things you can do to deal with Deadwood:

• Raise the bar. Conduct a series of team meetings to refocus on goals and objectives for your area. Discuss institutional pathology and the expectation that everyone’s attention needs to be focused on customers, internal and external. Be clear that concerns need to be aired appropriately and with a problem-solving attitude.
  
  
• Involve the EAP. There may be other issues that are making it difficult for the employee to focus on the job and day-to-day responsibilities. Remind the employee that this free resource is available and may be helpful. If there are serious performance issues, a mandatory EAP referral should be considered.
  
  
• Collaborate with the union. In many systems, especially public service, employees have additional job security because of union contracts. While the union clearly advocates for the employees, they also recognize that people who attempt to manipulate the system hurt everyone. Talk with the union representative to explore options. Often they are available for meetings with employees and can present positive options.
  
  
• Encourage unhappy workers to look for other alternatives. The best termination is one where both parties, the employer and employee, think it is the good idea. Conduct regular coaching with the disenfranchised worker to assist her in every way to be more successful. If that is not effective, they truly may be happier in another work environment.
  

Sign up for Barbara's FREE email newsletter at www.barbbartlein.com.

Barbara Bartlein is the PeoplePro™. She helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953, by email at: barb@barbbartlein.com or visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com.

Published in Networking Today, April 2004.

PubliCity Outside Your City: Outsourcing for More Affordable Publicity Services

By Todd Brabender

We all know that the Internet has taken away geographic boundaries in the business world. The accessibility and expansiveness of the Internet allows the entrepreneur/business owner anywhere in North America to search outside his local yellow pages for the best and most affordable services available. This is especially true when it comes to finding public relations/publicity services for your business. What it boils down to is – the Inter’net can mean a ‘net savings in your publicity budget.

A few months back, I got an email from a California client who discovered that the local part-time freelance publicity specialist he had hired was charging three times the amount I charge and providing half the services I offered. Because of that, the client hired me to work WITH the freelancer in heading up this nationwide campaign launch. The freelancer told me that because of West coast cost of living/overhead, he was forced to charge the higher fees – surprisingly, he was one of the cheapest publicity pros in that area! I have heard stories like this time and time again from clients who hit the ‘net in search of a cheaper alternative to publicity/PR services listed in their local directory.

That fact was drilled home to me even more when I recently took a detailed look at my portfolio of clients. I was surprised to learn that over the last few years more than 40% of my clients for my Midwest-based PR business have come from the West coast, another 25% from the East coast and 10% from Canada. A quick email polling of clients revealed the same story over and over. They simply found it hard to locate professional, affordable publicity/PR services in their area, so they turned to the Internet to find it.

Frankly, for publicity campaigns restricted to your city/region, I recommend going with a local PR specialist/firm. They typically know the local media market best and have solid media contacts there. But for a national or industry/trade specific publicity campaign for your product/business, explore the possibility of hiring an individual or company outside your geographic area – especially if your product has nationwide appeal. One client remarked that he liked how our campaign brought a Midwest feel to his East coast-based business and helped him open up potential new business avenues. Another client said he looked to outsource to a small to mid-sized city PR business because, as he put it, “No matter the size of the office, West coast PR firms seemed very plastic and glitzy, while the East coast firms seemed to be too hectic, almost frantic.” That may indeed be a huge generalization on his part, because I’m certain there are wonderfully professional PR businesses in almost every city.

Be advised – mechanically, most publicity/PR agencies do basically the same thing. Sure each firm/office/freelancer has their strong points. The major difference lies with the respective creativity, ingenuity, and professionalism of the PR individual or staff.

Don’t take this to mean that “cheaper is better” – there is certainly something to be said for the phrase “you get what you pay for.” Just don’t pay three, four, or even ten times as much to get you the same amount of quality. Look for a firm that can give you an entire campaign from start to finish – release/kit, media market research, media contacts, large-scale media distribution, media tracking/clipping – not just a $100 to $500 release distribution.

Take to the ‘net and see what you can find. Above all, ask for references, writing samples, publicity placement history – where they have generated publicity for past clients. Make sure they are technologically advanced enough to get timely, high-quality publicity information to media outlets all over the nation that benefits your business. Look for a PR service with a broad range of media contacts in multiple formats (print, broadcast and Internet) and strong media tracking capabilities. Some PR pros promise to pitch your campaign to hundreds of magazines and newspapers when your strongest media market may be in radio/TV shows and newscasts – or vice versa.

I am not reinventing the publicity/PR wheel here; I am simply saying that when it comes to generating publicity for your business or product, the best match for you may not be in the big glass building in your city’s downtown. Big firms in big cities most often mean big fees and not necessarily big quality.

Bottom line – the Internet is giving entrepreneurs of all types the opportunity to afford publicity – publicity from outside your city.

For more information on Publicity Campaigns, read Publicity Campaigns: How Many Hours...How Many Months? and Mastering the Media...What to Do When the Media Comes Calling.

Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating publicity & media exposure for innovative products, businesses, experts and inventions. http://www.spreadthenewspr.com todd@spreadthenewspr.com (785) 842-8909

Published in Networking Today, March 2004.

Mastering the Media…What to Do When the Media Comes Calling

By Todd Brabender

As a former TV news reporter/producer and a current PR/publicity professional, I have been on both sides of the media interview game. I like to think I have a good eye for what makes a good interview source, how to conduct an interesting interview, and how to give a compelling interview. There are a few tricks of the trade that can make you come off like a pro – which will make the reporter’s job easier and most likely translate into a better PR/publicity placement for you.

Here are a few basic tips to follow:

* When a publicity campaign generates a media response, try to respond as promptly as possible to that initial contact and subsequent requests. Reporters, editors, and producers are on constant deadline. If they don’t get what they want from you quickly –they WON’T wait – they WILL move on to another source.

• State facts, not fireworks, keeping superlatives to a minimum. Proving your product is indeed the “BEST” is next to impossible. So don’t. Simply state the specific benefits of your product matter of factly. Let the consumer decide which product is best. As long as you have a quality product, something that should be evident by the time you implement a publicity campaign, your product won’t need “BEST EVER” or “NUMBER 1” claims to come out in a positive light.
  
  
• Speak in sentences, not phrases. Articulate your answers in the following manner: Subject – Verb – Object – Reason Ex: “We (subject) are launching (verb) our new product (object) to give consumers a healthy new option in beverages (reason).” This will help you give answers that are straightforward and easily understood. Beginning sentences with phrases, tends to make your answers seem drawn out, disjointed and most times unresponsive. This is not to say you should never begin a sentence with a phrase. Granted, some media savvy interviewees can pull it off with articulation. But until you get to that level – stick to the fundamentals.
  
  
• “Echo-answer” the main questions. If a reporter asks: “What’s so great about your new product?” – try to paraphrase and answer: “The great thing about our product is...” That quote/sound bite is much more likely to be used because that answer can stand on its own without needing a “set-up” sentence in the article/story. A reporter can throw that quote in anywhere and it is a logical, understandable statement about the product.
  
  
• Keep quotes and sound bites concise and articulate. If you must have a “canned response” to a question speak conversationally, not like a robot. A good rule of thumb for answer lengths: Effective TV/radio news broadcast sound bites should be around 4 to10 seconds – something you can speak comfortably in about 3 or 4 normal breaths. Anything longer and it may seem to drone on. That’s why they are called sound bites. Regardless, stick to the S-V-O formula and there’s no real way you can get off track and therefore open you up to awkward follow-up questions.
  
  
• Be a well, not a fountain. By that I mean allow the interviewer to dip in and draw out your responses instead of spewing forth a tirade of unsolicited information. (Don’t worry – most interviewers will “lead” you into discussing the most relevant aspects of your product.) You will seem more genuine and less self-serving if you answer the interviewer’s questions succinctly and professionally. This is especially true in “firefighting” publicity – when your product/business/company is being interviewed in the wake of a problem.
  
  
• Speak to the interviewer, not the medium. Don’t get blinded by the “stage lights.” Whether you are speaking to the editor of a small town weekly newspaper or Oprah, consider the reporter just a single person in your extensive targeted audience. Treat the interview as a one on one conversation with the reporter. That will make you more at ease, allow you to think more clearly and let you be more genuine in your responses.

For more information on Publicity Campaigns, read PubliCity Outside Your City:Outsourcing for More Affordable Publicity Services and Publicity Campaigns: How Many Hours...How Many Months?

Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating publicity & media exposure for innovative products, businesses, experts and inventions. http://www.spreadthenewspr.com todd@spreadthenewspr.com (785) 842-8909

Published in Networking Today, April 2004.

The Masks of MSG

By Cindy Knight

During those stormy days last winter, I researched a food additive that has wormed its way into the food chain and ultimately our lives. Many of you know it as MSG, and have first-hand knowledge that it can stimulate hyperactivity in children.

Are you aware when you are reading the labels of those quick and easy to prepare boxed foods that MSG also masquerades under the following names?

• Omega Protein Refined/Hydrolysed Fish Emulsion
  
• Steam Hydrolysed Feather Meal
• Hydrolysed Proteins
  

It’s also hidden in food ingredients listed as hydrolysed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast extract, soy protein isolate, and many other names. Just because the name MSG doesn’t appear on the label doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.

It’s also present in a product called AziGro WP Plant Metabolic Primer, which is sprayed on some of the vegetables our children eat, into the air, and onto the ground where it gets into the drinking water.

The following vegetables are sprayed with this product. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency has the following crops registered for this product to be used:

• head lettuce
  
• pinto beans
  
• eaf lettuce
  
• grapes
  
• butter
  
• tomatoes
  
• bulb onions
  
• romaine lettuce
  
• potatoes
  
• bell peppers
  
• snap beans
  
• peanuts g
• reen peppers
  
• strawberries
  
• cucumbers
  
• jalapeno peppers
  
• watermelons
  
• navy beans
  
• iceberg lettuce
  

Autism & ADHD is now linked to the addictive food additive – MSG

For the last fifty years, the medical community has been baffled by the increase in cases of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and Autism. These two diseases, unheard of before 1950, have been striking an increasing number of children.

MSG is used in almost every institutional setting in America – from hospitals to school cafeterias to elderly care facilities.

MSG is being added to mass-produced food to increase its palatability. Women are being exposed to a major toxin that can cause irreparable damage to their child even before they discover they are pregnant.

MSG and its related ingredients have been found in increasing amounts in processed and fast foods.

MSG has no nutritional value. Scientific studies show that food laced with MSG cause people to eat more of it and faster than food without it.

MSG and Obesity

Could there be a connection to the MSG added to our food and the fact that 60% of the world’s population is obese? Could this be a contributing factor in the obesity of our children?

BUT, never mind the weight connection – what is it doing to your child’s brain?

John Erb, a development disorder researcher and author of the boo, “The Slow Poisoning of America,” comments that the FDA has no limits on how much MSG can be added to foods, even though as little as two tablespoons of it has been shown to cause epileptic convulsion and death in animals such as dogs.

MSG is a highly reactive amino acid used by scientists in studies to purposely cause death to areas of the brain and is fed to rodents to make a strain of obese and pre-diabetic test subjects. MSG is classified as a neurotoxin. Too much of it introduced into the brain can cause rapid cell death. It is this kind of destruction that John Erb states is the cause of ADHD and Autism.

How does your school respond?

Many schools today are recommending drug intervention for children who suffer from ADD and ADHD. The drug of choice is called Ritalin. If your school has recommended medication, do a Google search and type in “dangers of Ritalin” to familiarize yourself with the effects of this choice.

You also need to know that there are alternatives such as improving the nutritional value of the diet, removing additives, and special learning techniques so that your child who is likely very bright to begin with, can get an education and take his/her place in our society.

Many children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD should be in classes for “gifted” children because of their high level of intelligence.

It helps to know that there are organizations that specialize in designing learning programs for children who don’t learn at the same rate or in the same way as the rest of the class. For information on resources in Ontario, refer to the Attention Deficit Disorder Foundation of Ontario at www.addofoundation.org.

Cindy Knight, RHN, CR. is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Hand & Foot Reflexologist, Reiki Practitioner, Colour Therapist, and Mannatech Glyconutritional Supplement Distributor. Her company, Feel Better Therapies, provides a relaxing environment where every client can prolong their feeling of well-being. Cindy can be contacted at (519) 319-0096 or by email at cmknight@feelbettertherapies.com.

Published in Networking Today, August 2004.

Turned Around Down Under

By Janet Christensen

I recently spent seventeen days in Sydney, Australia, a fascinating city that is a cross between England, Asia, and the new world.

Sydney is a coastal city and the water has a huge influence on lifestyles as well as the way the city has developed. The transit system includes buses, rail, and ferries. Traffic funnels across bridges, through tunnels, and around round-abouts. The round-abouts reflect the British influence in Australia. A round-about is a place where three or more streets meet, and rather than having stop signs or traffic lights, the drivers navigate around the circle to the street that they want to take with cars to the right having the right-of-way. Add to this the paradigm shift of driving on the left side of the road and it becomes a great source of entertainment and confusion for us Canadians.

I have always thought that I have a very good sense of direction – at least until Sydney. I spent my seventeen days there completely disoriented to the lay of the land. Because Sydney has grown around an estuary, the streets are not built on a grid pattern. I just could not grasp how it all fit together when I was on the ground.

On the first day of taking the bus, my colleague and I twice stood on the wrong side of the road for the bus we needed to take. We must have looked like deer caught in headlights the first time because the bus driver asked where we were going and politely told us “other side of the road.” After that, we learned to ask. Add to this the confusion of sometimes having to take a bus into town to connect with the bus to take me out of town to my destination. The interesting thing is the only time I really got lost was when I took a taxi and the driver obviously did not understand Canadian, eh, because he dropped me at Twelve Frenchman's Street instead of Twelve Francis Street. I even tipped him generously, before knowing the reality of the situation. I stopped at a petrol (gas) station and the attendant gave me a map book to look at. I actually found my way – only a fifteen minute walk in the rain.

My travels in and around Sydney reinforced a few things for me:

Ask for help – It is okay not to know all the answers and someone else likely knows. Not only that, they will be pleased to help.

It is good to stretch outside of my comfort zone. Since I was feeling intimidated by not knowing my way around, it would have been easy to take taxis everywhere. Not only would that have cost me a lot of money, I would have missed out on a lot of interesting things. Most of all, I would have missed out on a learning opportunity; by the end of my stay I had become much more proficient and comfortable taking transit and getting around. I felt a great sense of accomplishment.

I didn't have to know it all to get where I needed to go; I just needed to know the piece necessary to get me to my destination. I realize that sometimes I can be stuck where I am because I don't have all of the answers or information (the big picture), even when I know what I need to get me to the next stage of my journey. In this age of information overload, it is easy to keep preparing and think that we have to have all the answers, instead of just doing it. Take action.

Enjoy the ride along the way. If I had been driving, I would have been so preoccupied with navigating and driving on the other side of the road I would have missed everything along the way. Whether I was a passenger on a bus, ferry, or in a car, I could sit back and enjoy the sights, sounds, and character of Sydney.

Be willing to laugh at myself. Standing on the wrong side of the road for the bus gave us many opportunities to share the story and laugh. Instead of judging myself as stupid, I saw the humour in the situation. In any new situation or circumstance, there is the opportunity for confusion, mistakes, and humour. Lighten up instead of beating yourself up.

The irony in being turned around and disoriented in Sydney, is that I was there training to be a Passion Map facilitator. I successfully learned to guide people in connecting with their passions and creating a path forward with their Passion Map. I successfully got to where I needed to be in Sydney, even when I wasn't quite sure where I was all of the time. Wherever I find myself, life is a wonderful, interesting journey with many pleasures and opportunities along the way.

What is a Passion Map? Why do you need one? How do you get one? Ask me.

Janet Christensen’s passion is to empower people to live their full potential. Through her company, Unlimiting Potential, she provides personal coaching, experiential workshops, inspirational speaking, and is a Reiki practitioner. To contact Janet, phone: (519) 434-5397 fax: (519) 434-8344 or email info@janetchristensen.com www.janetchristensen.com

Published in Networking Today, April 2004.

16 Tips to Help You Prepare for Any Client Meeting

By Andrew Sobel

A client meeting doesn't start when you walk in the door and say good morning to your client. Rather, it should begin a day or two earlier, as you mentally prepare and reflect on how to make that meeting a success for both of you.

Too often we are preoccupied with a key message we're trying to deliver, a point of view we want to convince our client of, or an agenda that we're determined to get through at any cost. Such rigidity and lack of forethought can be disastrous. One client I know got a meeting, after waiting for months, with the CEO of a large Fortune-500 company. The senior executives representing this client were so focused on their own agenda that they missed valuable cues in the first five minutes of the meeting. They had failed to thoroughly research the CEO's agenda and history of public statements about the company's strategy. As a result, twenty-five minutes into a one-hour meeting, the CEO got up, told my client that the meeting was over, wished them luck, and left the room!

Here are some suggestions for avoiding such an ignominious demise in any of your own client meetings:

1. Have you spent as much time thinking about what your client is going to say as you have thinking about what you are going to say? Have you considered the different ways your client may react to your message?
   
   
2. Have you put yourself in your client's shoes? What business or personal pressures is he/she feeling right now? How is his/her relationship with superiors, colleagues, and subordinates?
   
   
3. Have you made a list of what you don't know about this client but would like to know? If it's a first meeting, have you found out everything you can about the individuals you'll be meeting with? Can you use this meeting as an occasion to become more knowledgeable about your client?
   
   
4. Are you structuring the meeting to create a real dialogue with your client? This could mean having no written materials whatsoever – or if you do, making sure you engage your client as you walk through the presentation, testing for understanding, agreement/disagreement, and corollary issues.
   
5. For this client, what are the rational, political, and emotional implications of the issue at hand? Of your message?
   
   
6. Your meeting has two objectives: to make progress against your client's business issue or need, and to develop/improve the relationship. How will you further both agendas?
   
   
7. Are you focused on activities or inputs – on reports, hours billed, analytical formulas, deliverables, and so on – or are you constantly keeping the client's objectives and the value he/she seeks at the forefront of your discussions?
   
   
8. Do you fully understand the perspectives of the various constituencies that surround your client; e.g., senior management, subordinates, customers, capital markets, as well as different functions and organizational units?
   
   
9. Will you present yourself and your views in a way that reinforces your standing as a deep generalist – someone with outstanding expertise but also possessing a broad, top-management perspective and an understanding of the entire business "ecosystem" that surrounds your client?
   
   
10. In your meeting, will you exhibit a mindset of "independent wealth"; i.e., you are totally focused on your client's agenda, you demonstrate a love for your work, and you treat your client as an equal?
    
    
11. If you are going to meet your client with other team members, have you:
    
    a) Established clear roles for everyone during the meeting?
    
    b) Identified a colleague who will focus singularly on observing the meeting's interactions and taking detailed notes?
    
    c) Thought through whether the mix of individuals you are bringing to the meeting makes sense and will provide a diversity of styles and approaches?
    
    
12. Are you keeping in mind the behaviors that make us comfortable with any individual: praise, positive association, similarity, familiarity, openness, and rapport?
    
    
13. Are you prepared to exercise a "doubting mind" – are you ready to question both your client's assumptions and your own assumptions to reserve judgment about outcomes until you see the whole picture?
    
    
14. Do you have an agenda and game plan for the meeting, and have you discussed this with your client ahead of time? Are you prepared to calmly abandon this agenda if your client wants to take the meeting in a different direction?
    
    
15. Have you met or spoken with at least some of the clients who will be at the meeting, and socialized the information or conclusions that you'll be discussing in order to get their reactions and comments ahead of time?
    
    
16. Whether this is the tenth or hundredth meeting with this client, are you prepared to treat him/her like a brand new client? Are you bringing the same freshness, enthusiasm, and new ideas that you brought to the first or second meeting, when you were wooing this client?
    

Andrew Sobel is the leading authority on client relationships and the skills and strategies required to earn enduring client and customer loyalty. He is coauthor of Clients for Life: How Great Professionals Development Breakthrough Relationships (Simon & Schuster). He can be reached at (505) 982-0211 or by e-mail at andrew@andrewsobel.com www.andrewsobel.com

Published in Networking Today, April 2004.