HARDISON’S TIPS – NOVEMBER 2, 2021 – Peer Pressure is Just What the Doctor Ordered (PT.1) For parents of an adolescent, peer pressure has a very negative connotation. However, from a sales person’s perspective, peer pressure can be extremely productive. The win/lose nature of sales creates a competitive environment. The ability to measure results and develop objective ranking systems only supports that notion. While striving to be the top performer is motivational, alone it isn’t sufficient to ensure long term sales success. There is another more constructive form of peer pressure created by joining a peer group with other sales people that can have a very positive impact on your development as a sales professional. Participation comes with the challenge of growing with the group.…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 2, 2021 -2 Important Public Speaking Skills for Workplace Success Engaging Presentation Style Presentation style includes vocal tone, body language, facial expression, and timing. The right style can make a talk that could have been boring become exciting and engaging. Assessing the Needs of the Audience Some audiences want a lot of technical detail; others don’t. Some will enjoy humor; others won’t. There are jokes that work in some crowds but not others. To draft a successful talk and to adopt the appropriate presentation style, you need to be able to assess the needs of your audience. Before you begin speaking, think about your audience and what they hope to gain from your presentation. That can help you…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – NOVEMBER 1, 2021 – Want to Sell More? Increase Face Time! It’s never a good sign when you start off a blog by saying, “Maybe I’m old-fashioned”… because that means you are. However, when it comes to increasing sales and selling more, nothing beats old-fashioned hard work. It has been my experience that sales results in a direct selling environment are directly tied to one key performance indicator (KPI): Face Time. That’s it. Want to improve your company’s sales? Then increase the amount of time your salespeople spend in front of your customers listening to their needs and presenting your products/services as a solution. Okay, so this is one of those concepts that is simple to understand but not easy to execute.…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 1, 2021 -1 Important Public Speaking Skills for Workplace Success Candidates with strong public speaking skills are in demand for the many occupations that require the ability to speak to a group. Dynamic and well-prepared speakers are highly valued by employers, and having this skill set can even help land you leadership positions and important roles.  Learn more about public speaking, why it’s important, and how to improve your public speaking skills. What Is Public Speaking? Public speaking is a soft skill that requires excellent communication skills, enthusiasm, and the ability to engage with an audience. Soft skills are interpersonal skills that are less technical and more about how you interact with others. Public speakers make presentations to a…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – OCTOBER 31, 2021 Halloween, Fear, and Public Speaking Halloween is fast approaching and everyone’s abuzz with excitement for the holiday — costumes, haunted houses, and more!  For me, haunted houses and other such Halloween thrills rank on the same level as fear of public speaking.  In fact, did you know that 75% of the world’s population fears speaking in front of an audience?  So, how can we help remedy this large and far-reaching issue? In this post, I will teach you not only how to face your fear, but also how to successfully create and to execute a memorable, strong speech. Facing your fear of public speaking comes down to mindset — plain and simple. In fact, it is scientific.…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – OCTOBER 30, 2021 Speaking Earnestly Public Speaking is one of the greatest fears many people have. And rightfully so!  Often, would-be speakers imagine all manner of disasters befalling them should they speak their mind aloud.  (Besides, who else needs to know if you had too many chocolate chip cookies for lunch, anyway?) Public Speakers have been ridiculed, abused and even killed for expressing contrary views to generally held beliefs. (Be glad you didn’t discover the world was not flat). However, if you want to convey yourself, your company, your products, your services, your art, your ideas, your opinions or your interest in chocolate chip cookies clearly and effectively to many people, it’s more efficient to get in front…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – OCTOBER 29, 2021 – Want Off the Sales Roller Coaster? If you are responsible for bringing business to your company, you are in sales. And if you are in sales, you have almost certainly experienced the sales roller coaster: sales are up for a while (and business is good); and then sales dip (and business dips along with it). Most businesses experience revenue peaks and valleys. But no matter how high the highs might reach, it is always good to keep the dips from dipping too low. To achieve that goal, I suggest you go fishing (that is, prospecting) even in – especially in – the good times. Here’s why: Prospecting is Dead; Long Live Prospecting! In a perfect world, your company would have no…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – OCTOBER 29, 2021- PT.3 Public Speaking Tips That’ll Help You Crush Your Next Presentation 4. Don’t Overload Your Slides If you’re using slides to accompany your presentation, make sure you avoid overloading them with too much text. “Think about how you like to be presented to,” Goodfellow says. “Very few of us like an 80-slide presentation where the person just reads everything to us.” Beyond the simple fact that people will be distracted squinting at that teeny tiny type, you might be tempted to start reading off the slides and you’ll end up sounding a little too much like Ferris Bueller’s economics teacher (i.e. droning on and on and on in a monotone). Instead, Nathan says, use slides primarily as…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – OCTOBER 28, 2021 – The ONE Thing – It’s NOT Multitasking I was always taught that multitasking was not only a good practice, but that it was essential to be successful. As a Vice President of Sales, I became really good at multitasking.  I could literally keep a dozen or so balls in the air, hundreds of projects moving forward with my staff, move from topic 1 to 57 in a heartbeat, and I seldom if ever dropped a ball or missed a date.  Did I do everything perfectly or as well as it could have been done?  No, but I truly believed that simply getting it done mattered more than doing it perfectly.  I was a consummate multitasker – and I…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – OCTOBER 28, 2021- PT.2 Public Speaking Tips That’ll Help You Crush Your Next Presentation During Your Speech Doing all of the prep work should help you feel ready and confident—at least, more than you would otherwise. Here’s how you can keep helping yourself in the moment. 9. Get in the Zone For about 10 minutes before he gets on stage to give a talk, Nathan becomes something of a recluse. He doesn’t talk to anyone, he drinks some water, he crouches down somewhere, he focuses on his breathing, and he repeats this phrase to himself: “Use expression to create possibility.” Now, that’s a very specific set of actions that works for him, but he recommends everyone figure out their…

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