March 5th, 2011
I was just doing a quick review of recent and pending activity. I have been busy. I was a featured speaker at the Self Storage Association’s Executive Ski Workshop, where I spoke on the power of branding and how local branding is more important than ever.
I did three sessions for the first Virtual Self StoragExpo with the good people at StorSuccess and Bitsonthewire. I talked about training sales people, specific sales tactics and trends in the industry.
I lead a webinar for my friends at the Mini Storage Messenger on how people still like to deal with people…if they like how those people treat them.
I am getting ready to do two sessions for the great folks at Inside Self Storage for their March world expo trade show. The one session is about conflict in the workplace…how to handle things when you don’t like the people you work with, your customers are rude, and your boss is a jerk. Not that I have first hand experience with any of these scenarios, but I can give a good talk even on things I don’t know personally. ( wink) The other session is a panel on new technologies that I will moderate. We will talk about all kinds of new tools from automated delinquent notices to the new self storage kiosk in a pocket. I hope the attendees will have lots of questions and stories to share about what they are using, what they have tried and what they hope to test soon.
I am doing lots of business speaker activities for the storage industry while helping the crew at PhoneSmart get ready for its busy season. I really like what we are seeing from consumer demand. I really like how well our crew has developed in the last few years and all of our new tools, tactics and processes.
And my favorite business speaking event is not far off. The PhoneSmart Hawaii Un-Conference is coming up June. You don not want to miss that.
Tags: business speaker, inside self storage, mini storage messenger, self storage association, training sales people
Posted in Management, business speaker, keynote speaker, marketing, public speaker | Comments Off
May 15th, 2010
A business speaker needs to write books to get the information that people could use out to people. I am working on a new title about sales culture.
I could have picked many titles for this book. I could have chosen a challenging title like: “So you think your company’s sales culture is good?” I could have picked a brusque attention getter like “Hey, your company’s sales culture sucks!” I could have picked something a little more academic sounding such as “Stimulating a 2 percent improvement in bottom line corporate profits through the institution of sales culture enhancements”. I could have picked a title that boasted: “I quintupled the revenue of my company by creating a sales culture…and so could you!”
Any one of these might express my feelings about the value of a good sales culture and about my opinion of most companies’ current sales and customer service practice.
But why did I choose the title I did?
Tags: books, bottom line, business speaker, revenue, sales culture
Posted in Management, business speaker, marketing, personal growth, sales | Comments Off
January 5th, 2010
The Best Business Speaker Will Deliver the Goods!
Large companies typically hold annual or semi-annual conferences where board members huddle over financial and sales data, stockholders listen for optimistic news or voice their opinions, and senior managers and personnel gather to strategize and socialize. Somewhere in the mix, the event will feature sessions in which a business speaker addresses the gathered masses. The purpose of these occasions is to create enthusiasm for the company and its direction, inspire those gathered to renew their commitment to achieving goals, and leave conferees with a sense of mission going forward. An effective speaker will demonstrate a combination of expertise in the company’s industry, a ready wit, and a passionate delivery that will cause listeners to be attentive and fully engaged. Smaller companies that do not hold national or regional conferences, but still want to expose their workforce to a knowledgeable and motivating business speaker, may host an in-house meeting where top producers are rewarded with an excellent meal and an entertaining message.
In either situation, the best choices will have both the resume and the personality to produce a memorable impact on the audience. A fitting resume would include notable success in their area of business, and the more prominent, the better. Jack Welch from GE, and before him, Lee Iacocca from Chrysler turned their past business successes into very lucrative careers after retiring from the leadership of these companies. And retired president Bill Clinton commands the highest fees on the planet for giving speeches. Personality is also important, because the individual should be engaging, warm, passionate, and perhaps humorous, too. The last thing an organizer of a business function wants is a boring speaker, regardless of their business credentials.
Larger corporations might have the budget to choose a business speaker from one of the leading speaker bureaus boasting a bevy of world-class communicators. The best speakers receive fees in excess of $50,000! For half that, they can still hire a well-known speaker that will deliver a great address that meets the organizational purposes for the event. Small companies without large budgets should look within their industry for leaders with proven track records in business, and verifiable positive experience as a public speaker. Organizers looking for a quality communicator should contact colleagues and leaders in their field to seek recommendations, and whenever possible, should attend an event at which the prospective communicator is speaking.
Tags: achieveing goals, business speaker, sales data, stockholders
Posted in Management, Travel, business speaker, marketing, people, personal growth | Comments Off
December 23rd, 2009
There are some places in the world that shut down for business during holiday celebrations. We don’t do that in the US. Sometimes I think it would be great if we could stop doing business for a few weeks and concentrate on recreation, family and non-work activities. It is just a dream, I know. But this time of year we can usually slow down for at least a few days . I know I appreciate it. By January 5th we will be hard at it again, trying to make a difference and a profit.
This is a good time for a business speaker to stop talking about business for a few days. I will be talking business with verve in a few weeks. Enjoy some down time.
Tags: business speaker, holidays, world views
Posted in Management, business speaker, marketing, people, personal growth | Comments Off
October 5th, 2009
I am a business speaker. By that I mean: I speak business. Yes, business is a dialect of sorts. There are words, phrases and sayings that have a special meaning to business people. It is not different than any other pursuit. It has its own set of expectations, connotations and entendre. If you are a business person and are already a business speaker, this is no news to you, all thought you may forget sometimes how specific the dialect can be and end up stressing people out at cook-outs and cocktail parties.
If you are not a business speaker, you should study our jargon. Read business magazines and business books. You may be uncomfortabloe at first, but you will soon begin to have an appreciation for the scope of our dialect. Don’t be afraid to try it. You may also learn a lot about the world you live in by understanding how business speakers talk about it.
Tags: business speaker
Posted in Management, Uncategorized, marketing, personal growth | Comments Off
