January | 2011 | Dave Stelzl's Blog

Archive for January, 2011

Jan

Mastering the White Board

Categories: Sales Strategy
Tags: chalk drawing, client, cloud, powerpoint, presentation, Prospect, sales, sales training, security, selling, skills, speaker, Stelzl, Technology, the House, training, white board

Photo by Hannah Stelzl

Last week I wrote several posts on Power Point. Here are some thoughts on White boarding: I love the white board. Unlike Power Point, white boards allow for collaborative thinking. I remember one of my sales managers coming back from an appointment with great excitement, recounting how he and a perspective client had been up at the white board together, adding to a diagram, interactively creating the solution to a problem they were having. They went from one-way broadcasting to collaborative brainstorming.

Earlier in my career I came up with a powerful story I now refer to as The House & the Cloud ( the Title of my first book). Every time I was called upon to share my team’s progress with partners or management, I used the House & the Cloud. It became a brand over time. People in other regions who had never met me, began referring to me as The Guy with the House! This is what you want; a personal brand or a signature story. It won’t happen over night, but as you begin thinking about it, using illustrations on your sales calls, and reviewing the results, your story will evolve over time. As it grows, don’t be surprised if people are wanting to meet with you just to hear about your “House”.

Start here. Learn the presentation you meant to give in Power Point, strip out the boring statistics, and recreate the message using a more informal white-boarding style. Look for ways to make your sales story interesting and compelling. There is something powerful about watching someone draw. If you have ever seen a speaker use chalk drawings to illustrate their message, you know what I mean. If not, check YouTube.

Creating knowledge gaps, interrupting ones thinking, and by filling in the blanks in an interactive drawing session, you can magnify the energy in the room, drawing people into your story as you unfold it. This takes preparation, creativity, and practice. But once again, it is not something people are just born with. Anyone can do it. It just takes some upfront planning and practice. Start thinking through your presentation. How can you make it great? How can you create a story that can be told through pictures and colors, in fifteen minutes, using a white board diagram?

Jan

Where PowerPoint Shines

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy
Tags: Cybercrime, David Stelzl, education, formatting, powerpoint, presentation, sales training, selling, slides, speaker, Stelzl, Technology, training

Where does PowerPoint Shine? I use it when speaking to large audiences, educational marketing events, or going through the details of a project plan for a larger group.

In the first case, slides can be used as long as you don’t lean on them. They provide a backdrop to you as a speaker. This is especially effective in educational marketing efforts because people want something in the way of an outline to follow. The problem comes when speakers start reading slides or putting more text on the slide than one might see in a memo.

Try this. Use slides to show pictures. Using the background formatting features, change the background from white to a picture. Give each slide a unique picture that supports the message of that slide. For instance, yesterday in an educational marketing event I used a slide of my two-year old son in front of a computer. The slide was black, only his face was visible, with the light from the screen lighting up his face and keyboard. This dark, secretive looking computer picture with a child at the helm underscores how easy cybercrime has become. Three descriptive words to the left of the image serve to drive home my message.

This type of slide is both memorable and fun to watch. The speaker doesn’t read the slide because it’s obvious. The audience is drawn into the speaker’s story with the image reinforcing the message. This is a good use of PowerPoint.

Jan

Calling on 100 Prospects at One Time!

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy and Sound Bites
Tags: David Stelzl, educational marketing, event, lunch and learn, powerpoint, presentation, sales machine, sales training, solution selling, speaker, Stelzl, Technology

How Did we Call on 100 Prospects at One Time?

With the right presentation you can sell to hundreds of people at one time. Just this morning I met with nearly a hundred CIOs and executives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Most sales calls target one company, and most lunch-and-learns can hardly be considered sales calls. But in this case we are combining the two to create a more efficient sales effort. How does it work?

First, lunch and learns are generally done by inviting existing IT-level clients. This is a great way to express appreciation to your clients while providing technology updates with the hopes of discovering new projects within the group. In my experience, most of these efforts produce immeasurable success and rarely lead to anything you wouldn’t have found just be staying in contact with your customer base; still, not a bad thing to do for your best customers.

Educational marketing is different. It targets a group of buyers using educational presentation material relevant to the executive audience; people who can buy. It’s like casting a wide net to capture a large group of potential buyers. We market the event much like you would a wedding, including professional looking invitations with an RSVP. It’s “invite only” in order to limit lower level attendance, and generally done over a meal to encourage a networking sort of event. Creating a place for executives to network within their circle makes this type of event work.

The keynote I gave this morning was designed using the marketing concepts I teach and continue to talk and blog about; mainly, knowledge gaps, commitments, interruptions in thinking, and other, to create an Aha! moment. I want my audience sitting their asking themselves, “Are we addressing these issues?” If the issues I bring up are urgent and credible, I can move my audience to the point of believing, it would be foolish not to at least check! Educational content that leads to urgency – followed by an investigation. This process is then used as the discovery aspect of the sales process, which then creates opportunity for remediation or other project efforts. In the case of liability issues, these sales lead to recurring revenue or annuity. In many cases we will motivate seventy-five percent of our audience to move to an assessment, and many of my clients experience up to ninety percent of these moving to projects and managed services.

This is the power of presentation. Every sales person should be capable of delivering this type of program, or perhaps putting this type of event together with an outside speaker and following up. The results far out perform traditional selling efforts.

Jan

Thoughts on Power Point

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy
Tags: 3com, edcuational marketing, IT, network, network operating system, NOS, novell, power point, presentation, sales, selling, slides, speaker, Stelzl, Technology, training

Illustrated by David Stelzl

When do you use Power Point? As far as sales calls go, I am not a Power Point Fan. While PowerPoint is a powerful tool when used incorrectly it can put an audience to sleep, kill discussion, and alienate your audience. On the positive side it gives a sales person the ability to display diagrams and process, as well as photographs of products with bright colorful images and flare. As a speaker, I can communicate to a larger audience where dialogue is not expected, and imaged help people track through the points I am making.

That said, once the lights dim, the propensity to slip off into dreamland grows with each slide unless I can hold the audience’s attention. On the other hand, slide shows have a tendency to distance the smaller audience and come off as canned (such as in a board room) – one size fits all. I remember an incident years ago while working as an IT manager in a large bank. The local sales rep of a prominent networking company called on me. His objective was to convince me to move from my current network operating system to his. We had met before, but he was persistent and charged with breaking into this lucrative account. As an IT person I was only an influencer, so his tact should have been to educate me on more technical things, helping me expand my own expertise. When he arrived I even coached him on my need – to know more about network operating systems. Instead he pulled out his projector. I pleaded with him to put it away, hoping to use our meeting time to address particular questions. While I wasn’t about to change operating systems, education would have been the key to my heart. Instead, he proceeded with his own agenda. He promised all of my questions would be addressed in his slide show.

Thirty minutes later I was out of time. None of my questions had been answered because his slides addressed things outside of my core interests. It was a total waste of time, except to be used as an example of what not to do. He left that afternoon, having had his last sales call with my department.

Jan

Leadership Training in Action

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 3 Comments

Categories: Real Life
Tags: Dave stelzl, entrepreneurs, Jefferson National Forrest, leadership, Massy Gap, Mount Rogers, Stelzl, team building, training

Leadership and survival skills…how does one learn how to navigate through difficulty and face life threatening conditions? Here’s one way…

We started out Friday in 19°F weather under a blue sky:

Bethany, David, and I planned to cover about 15 miles over 3 days, however we didn’t plan on needing snow shoes based on past experiences at Mount Rogers Recreational Area.

Over several miles of strenuous hiking through deep snow drifts and snow covered trail blazes, our orienteering skills were tested giving me an opportunity to teach my children how to triangulate using topo maps and a liquid filled compass (yes, we actually still use a compass – which I find is a lost art). David, my 15 year old son was leading, and keeping an eye on our time and progress. Knowing the sun would be setting at 5:30 gave us a very limited amount of daylight to reach a safe campsite. At one point David realized we would probably not make it and recommended an alternative route, which we all agreed would be best.

By 4:30 we had made it to our alternative campsite and set up as the sun was setting. We ate freeze dried chicken teriyaki which David graciously prepared while Bethany and I set up camp. By 5:30 the sun was setting and we ate overlooking the lights of Sparta NC in the distance. Our campsite is at an elevation of close to 6000 feet – treeless, and reminiscent of the Sierras.

Our night was bitter cold, reaching down into the single digit temperatures…high winds and some snow!

On day two we opted for a day hike to Mt. Rogers…our first big challenge was to find water nearby our new campsite. We were able to locate what appeared to be a creek about half a mile down the trail. We set out, bottles and filter in hand, to locate this creek. When we finally did come to what seemed to be a creek – it was covered in snow and no water seemed to be flowing. David followed the creek down to a small iced-covered puddle and was able to break through to a shallow water collecting point. We dug it out to create a small reservoir, let the water settle and began pumping. Unfortunately the extreme temperatures caused our water filter to freeze up immediately. The next idea was to fill our bottles from the source and boil the water. This added some extra fiber to the water, but I’m sure we’ll live.

From there we set out on our day hike, climbing over ridges, rocks, drifts, and crossing windy balds. The views were amazing.

Wooded sections near Rhododendron Gap

Climbing over snow drifts and rock outcroppings

and returning to our base camp for dinner. Here is a shot of the sunset – the start of a very cold night!

The next morning was bitter cold – here is a shot of my ice covered headlamp hanging inside the tent!

Once packed, we set out on the AT heading for the Massy Gap parking area and headed home. We all agreed to do it again, next time with snow shoes!

Jan

I’m Not a Speaker or an Actor…

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy
Tags: actor, fees, keynote, message, power point, presentation, sales, sales person, speaker, Stelzl, story

The most frequent comment I get when talking about the need to memorize or practice sales calls is, “I’m not an actor”. In fact I received a Tweet reply this morning stating, “Sales people who talk like robots irritate customers”. Both statements are true, however these comments miss the mark.

The most irritating sales call experience is ill preparedness. When the sales person shows up without doing their homework, and stuttering through the first several minutes of their meeting they are seen as wasting everyone’s time. They are also competing with those currently providing the services; those who already know the needs of the customer. Only in the wake of a previous provider’s failure will this strategy work. Even “open ended” questions such as, “What keeps you up at night” are irritating to executives who have heard these “lines” meeting after meeting. Executives need input from people who bring experience, understanding, and can communicate effectively.

I would argue that great speakers never sound like robots or they would not be able to command such exorbitant fees. Actors who we recognize as “Stars” take on the personality of their character so effectively that we forget who they really are for the duration of the picture. And sales people who speak with confidence and illustrations that are inculcated into their process will deliver truth in a way that seems natural and spontaneous. On the other hand, sales people who have simply memorized sound bites from their data sheets are bound to lose along with those who have failed to prepare.

Jan

How Do The Professionals Do It?

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy and Value Proposition
Tags: close ratio, CSP, NSA, presentation, professional speaking, quota, sales, sales cycle, sales presentation, selling, solution selling, speaker, Stelzl, Technology

How do Professional Speakers Improve?

Yesterday I compared professional speaking to selling…here is what the professionals focus on:

o Stories. This topic deserves more later, but in short, stories are central to any great presentation. Recall your favorite conferences and I bet the speaker had great stories. And they were likely personal stories. Practice them, write them out, record them, listen to them, tighten them up, and make them perfect.

o The Alpha. The alpha is the opening – the point in the meeting when your listeners either tune in or check out. Memorize it, rehearse it, know it, and speak it. Every sales call is different, but contrary to popular opinion, your opening can be memorized and modified slightly to meet the need. Assume you have about six seconds to grab their attention.

o Sound Bites. Sound bites bring credibility, create interest, and build your case. Don’t over do it, but be armed with well-rehearsed sound bites from credible sources; sources your target audience will recognize and believe.

o The Close. Next steps are the key to moving the sales cycle forward. Make sure you know where you are going and you have a compelling process to move your client forward. Seth Godin, Author of Permission Marketing, writes about steps of permission that are gained along the way. What is the next step needed in the permission chain.

Almost every time I speak, I record it. Sometimes I have video; other times I just have audio. Watching and listening to yourself will give you a whole new perspective. Is your presentation style high-impact, emotionally charged, exciting,… enthusiastic? Is it credible and do you deliver concrete concepts that allow the listener to visualize the issues and proposed solutions? If not, head back to the lab to rebuild. Don’t expect this to be easy. It’s like golf, every move matters, and lots of practice is required. It also pays to take a lesson from someone who knows. But just imagine doubling your effectiveness and cutting your sales cycle in half. If there is one area that deserves some investment, it’s your message and delivery.

Jan

Great Speakers Make Great Sales Reps

By Dave Stelzl's Blog Leave a Comment

Categories: Sales Strategy
Tags: association, coaching, conference, education, keynote, mentor, motivational, national sales meeting, NSA, partner meeting, presentation, sales, speaker, speaker bureau, Stelzl, Technology, trainer, training, Video

Taking yesterday’s movie star concepts a step further, let me share another analogy that is near and dear to my own profession. As an active member of the National Speakers Association, I meet quarterly with some very successful speakers; people I consider to be at the top of the speaker industry. Our topics vary as much as our style. Some are humorists without any concrete message, another is a professional storyteller delivering tales of the south, many speak to sales audiences as I do, and others have a religious, motivational, or health angle. But the one thing we all have in common is that we make our living speaking to audiences, sharing our experiences, and hoping to motivate people to change or providing encouragement in an area our audiences need expertise of help.

So what makes a speaker great? I’m sure you’ve been to seminars, national sales meetings, or trade shows and have heard great speakers. You’ve also probably heard people who don’t have the gift of speaking. What’s the difference? Well, I have come to believe that it’s not just in the DNA. There’s a success formula.

When I first began my speaking career I needed a demo tape. I was talking with some of the veterans of our NSA chapter and the president asked, “How many times have you given your primary keynote?” I had given it ten times at most, although I had spoken to various audiences over my career. He then encouraged me to wait. “Wait until you have given this talk at least one hundred times.” A hundred times; I couldn’t image waiting that long. I needed it now. But he assured me I would be sorry.

Months later, a former World Champion Toastmaster humorist came to address our group. He talked about how he had entered the speaking industry and then he played video clips of himself from his early days of speaking. His first clip was from a comedy club about twenty years ago. It was awful. In fact, it was so bad, I was embarrassed for him as I watched it, and felt very uncomfortable sitting there with him in the room. I don’t think I have ever seen such a bad comedian. Nothing was funny, and it turns out, his friends had put him up to this. But that day, he determined to master the art of speaking! Our guest continued through the morning, playing samples from fifteen years ago, ten years, five, two, and now. It was amazing to see the transformation and to hear how, through coaching, practice, and self-recording, he had studied to improve his program. He had become an expert, and he had achieved the number on position.

Well, despite the advice I received from our chapter president, I went ahead and had my demo tape made. I was happy with it at the time, but a few years and several hundred speeches later, I was embarrassed to watch my own tape. I now see what our chapter president meant. It takes practice, and with practice and the right input, the talk becomes great. It’s not just DNA – it’s work.

Like the movie star, the speakers you really like, have practiced. They’ve given the talk you just heard, hundreds of times. The speakers you don’t like are probably not professional speakers, they probably did not have any coaching, and they probably speak infrequently. Most of all, they have probably never had to sit through their own presentation. Their lack of practice shows.

So you are in sales. You give the same information over and over, but are you giving the same talk, and have you critiqued it, been coached on it, and put time into making the material great before going live? Or do you just wing it when you get on stage. Who do you want to be? The movie star? The great speaker? Of the guy that encourages you to spend the meeting reading your email?

Jan

The Movie-Star Experience

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 3 Comments

Categories: Sales Strategy
Tags: consultative selling, power point, PPT, practice, presentation, proposal, sales, selling, solution selling, Stelzl, success, training, white board

Growing up, I thought like many young boys, that being a movie star meant they actually experienced what we see in movies. In case you still think that, it’s far from true. On my recent trip to Australia, I had another opportunity to watch a motion picture in the making. If you’ve never done this, it’s incredibly boring. The same simple scenes are shot over and over. I was on my way to the harbor area when I stopped to watch a scene depicting two businessmen greeting each other in front of an office building. An entire crew of extras sat on the sidewalks waiting for the producer’s call to action. Once called, the “stars” would walk toward each other and shake hands while dozens of extras crossed the brick patio in a seemly-unarranged pattern. But everything was choreographed, and it had to be perfect. I stood there well over forty-five minutes as they executed the same steps over and over. It all looked the same to me, but somehow it just wasn’t right. After moving on, I returned to that same area over an hour later and guess what? You’ve got it…they were still working on the same scene. I didn’t bother hanging around this time.

The director knew what he was looking for, and when the film hits the theatres it must be perfect. They only have one shot at profitability. Presentations are similar; you often get just one shot at the top players. If it’s not great, you won’t see a profit either. So why are so many presentations thrown together at the last minute, or prepared in a vacuum by a marketing department that has no selling experience? Busy slides are delivered to the sales team, and then brought to stage without any real critic or practice. This is not the way to reach predictable success.

Jan

10 Ways to Kill a Sales Presentation

By Dave Stelzl's Blog 1 Comment

Categories: Value Proposition
Tags: death by power point, great power point, keynote, learning to speak, made to stick, Marketing, microsoft, power point, presentation skills, sales, selling, solution selling, speaker, speakers school, Technology, training

At the end of yesterday’s Making Money with Security Online class I mentioned the upcoming “Principles of an Effective Value Proposition” online program scheduled in April. There is nothing worse than sitting through a terrible presentation or being stuck in boring meeting for several hours. So why would we subject our prospects to this kind of torture? To get us started, here are ten things that will absolutely kill a Power Point presentation…

1. Opening with an agenda slide – your first task is to grab the audience’s attention; the agenda slide is a sure way to lose everyone.

2. Using the standard bullet point format in Power Point – this makes for boring slides with too many words.

3. Showing slide after slide of meaningless numbers, statistics, financials, with values that are too big to comprehend. The human brain needs a comparison when dealing with large numbers – a point of reference. A slide or 2 is okay, but don’t go overboard on statistics and sound bites.

4. Talking about “Self”. Especially true when presenting to new prospects – no one cares about your company before there is a reason to do business.

5. Bad colors and no graphics. Most people are visual. They want to see pictures – this is why people watch movies rather than listen to stories on the radio. If you want your information to be memorable, use grabbing graphics! The best way to do this is by changing the slide background to an image.

6. Reading your slides – no! Look at the audience. This requires that you know your material.

7. Too many words on the slide. If your audience can’t read the whole slide in a few seconds (5 or 6 words) you’ve lost them. They will either listen to you or read the slide…most will read the slide and ignore you.

8. No climax. A presentation must build. If it’s flat people will lose interest quickly.

9. Obvious. Most sales presentations look exactly the same. They discuss company background, offerings, features, a few client names, etc. This is predictable, boring, and obvious.

10. When he presenter is not a speaker. This is the final presentation killer. If you’re going to stand up in front of a crowd, you had better be good. This is not a genetic trait. It’s simply a matter of learning the skill and practicing until you’re great at it.