CHAMPION STRATEGIES – Public Speaking Workshop – May 15th Public Speaking Tips: Do’s And Don’t It’s said that some 10 percent of people love public speaking. They’re excited at the thought of presenting their ideas in front of a crowd, and get a buzz from the whole experience. Then, there’s the majority of us … who are hesitant (experiencing everything from a few butterflies to a full-blown panic) about talking in front of groups. (Glossophobia, which stems from the word gloss, is known as “a fear of public speaking.”) Even a mild discomfort can derail the best speaker, so it’s worth knowing how to prepare ahead of time and minimize the stress. One way to calm the nerves before a declamation, oration, or that toast at your sister’s wedding, is…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – MAY 14, 2021 – PHONE SALES SKILLS (PART FIVE) 3. Sort Your Calling List Every Morning When you think of phone sales tips, sorting your call list should be one of the first things you do to start your day. While there is nothing wrong with doing blitz-style calling (in fact, I encourage this to be hyper-focused for a matter of time on subsets of prospects), I would encourage you to take time in the morning over coffee or your breakfast to go through and sort your calling list. As an SDR (Sales Development Representative, this was always the first thing I did after arriving at my desk, powering up my computer, and looking at email. The most effective technique for me was to…

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Champion Strategies – Public Speaking workshop – May 14, 2021 PREPARUNG YOUR STUDENT FOR A SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION We’ve all seen it.  Leaning back on the board, rocking from side to side, or avoiding eye contact with the audience are all common occurrences when students give oral presentations.  Like any other skill, successfully presenting in front of the class is something that can be taught and learned.  If students are repeatedly exposed to public speaking opportunities, it is likely that they will become more comfortable with the process, which will ultimately lead to an overall improvement in presentation skills.  Speaking in front of the class isn’t easy, but there are definitely measures we can take to prepare our students for continued success. Stage Fright If you’re human,…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – MAY 13, 2021 – PHONE SALES SKILLS (PART FOUR) 2. Research, Research, Research! Similar to calling at the same time, a big phone sales mistake I see too often is calling without the proper research. (Actually, this applies to cold calling and emailing.) When you fail to research your prospect, you are likely going to be pushed off for one of two reasons. First, without research into who your target is and what they do, you can’t deliver value. Not doing proper research into the prospect communicates that you don’t care about them — you only care about what you can get from them. Even the smallest efforts are appreciated. Let’s say you reach out to a prospect and lead with a recent achievement — say, an…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – MAY 13, 2021 Public Speaking Tips Getting an Audience to Listen View an invitation to speak as an opportunity, not a summons that appeals to you about as much as an IRS audit. Compose a statement of purpose as a starting point to your writing. Your purpose can be to entertain, inform, inspire, advocate, motivate, educate, persuade, and yes, even to SELL! Audiences are primed to listen at the beginning so craft an opener that will establish rapport, set the tone, enforce your authority to speak on the topic, and arouse interest. Write your speech as a conversation, not a lecture! Use plenty of pronouns: you, I, us, we. Engage your audience; be interactive. Choose gut vs. brain…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – MAY 12, 2021 – PHONE SALES SKILLS (PART THREE) Step 3: Tone In phone sales, you have to be mindful of your tone. This is a soft sales skill that’s vital to your success. When teaching coaching callers how to sell over the phone, this lesson almost always elicits the same response: “Oh, so you want me to sound fake?!” My reply? “No, not to sound fake, but to sound genuine and upbeat.” When you’re selling over the phone, people will immediately sniff out when you are being “salesy.” Don’t be that person. Be yourself, and people on the other end will genuinely appreciate it. Tonality plays such a key role in selling over the phone because your voice is your biggest asset. The…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – MAY 11, 2021 – PHONE SALES SKILLS (PART TWO) Confidence Builder #1: Belief This was something I struggled with early on because I was so green to the world of selling. I would find myself stuttering, losing my place in the script, looking around for cheat sheets, etc. Belief came in the form of countless training sessions I attended. We would often be randomly pulled off the phone for quick training sessions, and each session gave me more confidence and belief in the skills I had learned. This allowed me to fully grasp that I was capable of a career in sales. Confidence Builder #2: Action Once I learned the skills that led to success, I make sure I took those same actions over…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – MAY 11, 2021 Speaking – From FREE to FEE Corporations typically hire trainers and workshop leaders. They generally do not hire keynote speakers for “in house” programs. They are looking for people who can provide some type of training for their staff. Associations generally hire keynote speakers, lunch time speakers and after dinner speakers for one of their regular meetings or special annual meetings. Some associations will also offer some special training seminars to their membership in conjunction with their event. The speaker who can provide both a keynote and training session will often be hired because they can meet the needs of the client for both speaking situations. For example, in October of this year I will…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – MAY 10, 2021 – PHONE SALES SKILLS (PART ONE) Phone sales is about mastering two things: Your mindset, or your approach, to the day-to-day drudgery of phone sales The specific, tactical things you do every day to have better conversations and close more sales Both of them are essential, and both require active, intentional effort to improve upon. Today, I’m going to share my approach to staying upbeat and productive in the face of rejection, as well as 5 tips to ensure phone sales success. Let’s get started. How to Sell Over the Phone The process for selling over the phone is easy: pick up the phone, dial a number, and go through your script. When the call is done, do it again.…

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