HARDISON’S TIPS – NOVEMBER 19, 2021 – Stop Circling the Top of the Sales Funnel and Make That Sale You’ve probably seen those giant funnel-like water slides at waterparks. You know the ones: you climb forty-two flights of stairs so you can swirl and plummet while hunkered down in a giant rubber donut with family, friends and terrified strangers. At first you go back and forth, again and again – the suspense building as you slowly – but inevitably – inch closer to the chute that will propel you to unseen thrills in the tube below. But what if you just kept circling the top of the funnel? What if you never made any real progress toward your destination? Welcome to the salesperson’s nightmare: forever…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 19, 2021 -1 WHY STORYTELLING IN BUSINESS MATTERS The Value of Storytelling Research has shown that messages delivered through a story can be as much as 22 times more memorable than facts alone. That’s because wrapping facts and figures in a story makes the listener hear your message in a more meaningful way. When you use storytelling in your business presentations, you tap into the natural way humans communicate. We’re inclined to act on messages that appeal to our emotions: fear, anger, sadness, frustration, and joy. Delivering statistics on their own doesn’t elicit any emotional responses. Tying those statistics to something that matters to your listener does. The fact that storytelling has been around since humans first…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – NOVEMBER 18, 2021 – How Silence Can Help You Sell More Salespeople are human. In other words, we make mistakes and often do things that prevent us from actually closing the deal. Perhaps the single most common mistake a salesperson makes when nurturing a sale toward the close is… talking too much. Surprising as it might seem, saying too much and filling every lull in the conversation can be detrimental to information sharing and deal-making. It stands to reason, then, that the opposite is also true: silence can be one of the most effective sales techniques in the salesperson’s arsenal. The key, of course, is knowing when and how to use silence in the sales process. Why Silence is a Powerful Sales Tool…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 18, 2021-2 THINGS NOT TO DO DURING A VERTUAL MEETING 1.   Low-quality equipment There is quite possibly nothing worse than not being able to hear someone when they are sharing important information. Is that happening to you when it’s your turn to speak? Most video conferencing tools use your laptop of desktop’s default microphone to pick up your voice—a tiny hole in your screen that might not be anywhere near your mouth. Modern technology has made it easier for devices to pick up our voices, but if Zoom is becoming a big part of your work life, you may want to invest in a professional microphone. There are small, inexpensive versions that you can use as a…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – NOVEMBER 17, 2021 – Planning to Coast through the End of the Year? I’ll admit that it’s tempting: the holidays are coming and your thoughts turn to turkey and dressing, tinsel and mistletoe, and kicking back for a fresh start after January 1st. Indeed, many of your sales competitors will take a breather. But while they coast, you might be able to boast of closing deals they ignored. Here’s why the end of the year can be a great time to beat your competition and win sales: Less Active Competition Means Less Noise Regardless of the number of days off your prospects or customers have planned during the last month or two of the year, they will still be on the job more so…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 17, 2021-1 THINGS NOT TO DO DURING A VERTUAL MEETING By now, most of us are used to carrying on with socializing, going to school, or going to work via video conferencing software. Whether you use Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, or other programs, you probably know a thing or two about how to have a successful virtual meeting. But are your virtual meetings effective? Here are 5 things you didn’t know you’ve been doing wrong on while meeting in a remote video platform. You have a busy or distracting background When speaking to someone in person, it can be annoying to watch your listener gazing around at things behind you or next to you. On Zoom, direct eye…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – NOVEMBER 16, 2021 – Communication Mistakes that Can Keep You from Getting That Meeting You have a lead for a great prospect. Maybe you were introduced at an industry function and had a brief, but promising discussion. Perhaps you were invited to follow up the next week. Great start! You’re in, right? Not so fast. The truth is that you still need to get your foot firmly in the door if you are to really start the sales cycle and move toward closing a deal. Unfortunately, at this stage, any communications misstep can kill your chances of setting up a meaningful introductory meeting. Let me repeat that: Any misstep. With that in mind, here are 12 unfortunately common ways your opening lines might take you…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 16, 2021 -3 Make a Good First Impression Over Zoom Use the mute feature. With so many people now working from home, it’s become commonplace to have unexpected interruptions, like kids or pets running into the room. And even though anyone with a family understands how difficult it is to work from home, you still don’t want to have your meeting ruined by noisy distractions in your environment. That’s why it’s important to learn how to mute your meeting so unwanted noises are kept out. First and foremost, plan to sit in a space where there will be little or no noise during your call. When another person on the call is speaking, engage the mute feature so…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – NOVEMBER 15, 2021 – Why You Might Have to Let Your Top Salesperson Go It seems like a crazy notion: Fire your top sales performer? Really?! Why on Earth would you cut loose the one person who brings the most revenue to help your company survive? But the fact is that your strongest salesperson might also be your organization’s weakest link. Here’s how that can happen and what you can do about it: A Problem Child and Prima Donna What does the salesperson in question look like? Well, a lot like a “problem child” who’s also a prima donna. Consider the characteristics: Rule Breaker The problem child salesperson doesn’t like to follow the rules. In fact, he may not like the fact…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – NOVEMBER 15, 2021 -2 Make a Good First Impression Over Zoom Choose an appropriate background. When you’re meeting a client or colleague in a conference room or over coffee, you don’t pay much attention to what’s happening on the wall behind you. But when you’re meeting with someone over Zoom, this is an important detail you can’t overlook when you’re trying to make a good first impression. Choose a space that isn’t too busy or cluttered; a solid background with natural light is ideal. If you don’t have anywhere that’s suitable, you can use one of Zoom’s standard backgrounds to disguise your location. You can even search for free Zoom backgrounds online and upload an image to your Zoom…

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