HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 – The Seldom-Used Secret Ingredient for Sales Success I’ve shared before the importance of sales training and sales compensation plans to the overall goal of improving sales performance. But there’s another ingredient that most sales organizations either undervalue or dismiss as essential to sales success. They do so at their peril. Consider the following scenario: Have you ever sat through a meeting that goes something like… Frank (Sales Manager): “Hey, Bill, what can I put you down for this month?” Bill (Salesperson): “I’m in for $180K, $220K best case.” Frank: “Great. Will you close that deal with Acme, Inc.?” Bill: “Sure will. I have a meeting with my guys over there on Tuesday. It’s all good.” Frank: “Great. What about you, Mary?” And so it goes, around the…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 27, 2021 Why Are We Scared of Public Speaking? Communicating your ideas clearly and presenting them openly in a public forum is an essential component of success across several domains of life. Being a good public speaker can help you advance your career, grow your business, and form strong collaborations. It can help you promote ideas and move people to action on issues that affect them directly and society at large. To do any of these things well requires a fair amount of standing in front of an audience and delivering a pitch, an idea, or a body of work. And sometimes the only thing that stands between you and your audience is fear. Glossophobia — a really cool…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 – PT.2 HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF BEFORE ANY PRESENTATION Step #3: Share some type of proof (social proof works best) that you can solve this problem. By the way, if you just do steps #1 and #2, your introduction will be better than most that you will hear. However, if you add Step #3, you will gain more respect (and attention) from your audience. Without adding some type of proof that you can solve this problem, you are just giving your opinion that you are an expert. However, if you can prove it, you are also proving that you are an expert. This is the tricky part. For some reason, most people who get to…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 25, 2021 – PT.1 HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF BEFORE ANY PRESENTATION One of the more challenging parts of any presentation is the very first part. If you are wondering how to introduce yourself before starting your presentation, you are in good company. For most of us, once we get the first few sentences out, our nervousness will diminish pretty significantly. So, this initial self-introduction is really important. If we struggle here, our nervousness will increase. In addition, the old adage, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is very true. In this post, we are going to cover a very simple three-step process that will help you introduce yourself before starting any presentation.…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 – Sales Techniques for Maximum Profit -2 Recognize the Truth and What to Do It can be amazing the lengths to which some customers go. Salespeople stand incredulous as customers tell the manager about promises that never were. They’ll “pretend” to walk away from a deal to get more discounts. Some will overstate credit ratings or understate payoffs on existing vehicles. Padding income is a common ploy to get the best deal they can. Of course, none of this works. But, it happens so often the term “buyers are liars” is the first lesson many salespeople learn. Many customers believe car salespeople are liars, so they feel it’s OK to do the same. So, what’s the best way to…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 24, 2021 Small Talk? It’s Not Hard to Master When You Understand It If you feel awkward when you’re making small talk, or try your best to avoid making it, you’re not alone. Many people find the idea of small talk daunting. But small talk gets easier when you understand what it’s really for, and how simple it is to do. The Secret of Small Talk (Hint: It’s Not about Talking!) The first thing to realize is that small talk is not a conversation. Small talk is what happens when two people are auditioning each other for a conversation, or possibly a deeper connection. Here’s why we need small talk:  Suppose I walked up to you in the grocery store and said, Hi,…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 – Sales Techniques for Maximum Profit -1 Car sales for 2017 are almost twice that of eight years ago, clocking in at over 17 million units. Rebounding from the financial crisis is resulting in higher revenue than pre-crisis years. Maximizing on the surge takes careful attention at every lot. Dealers or managers cannot do so without maximizing their people first. Hiring and retaining top talent is one of the most critical parts of any successful business. But, even great salespeople have a bad day. Or, a bad week. New employees also need help as they must learn from experience. No one comes to work to every day to fail. But, every sales person needs help sometimes. In most cases,…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 Make Small Talk in Business Settings, Using the “Respond and Return” Technique You’ll do more business, and better business, if you make small talk and connect with your clients, colleagues, higher-ups, and prospects — and it’s easy if you embrace a technique that I call respond and return.  Before we look at how, though, let’s clear up a matter of protocol: How Do You Know Whether or Not to Make Small Talk? In business situations, the higher-status person — in other words, the person with the most power — decides whether or not to make small talk in any given situation. Who is this person? Within your company, firm, or organization, anyone whose title outranks yours is higher status. If your organization is flat (not much hierarchy),…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 – What’s Dealership Culture Got to Do with It? – PT. 2 2. Onboard with purpose. Once leadership has committed to providing nothing less than superb customer experiences, start hiring people who are just as passionate about customer’s as you are. New hires don’t have to share all of the same characteristics. But they do need to place a high value on serving your customers. You can even ask a question during interviews to gauge candidates’ customer orientation, like social media platform Hootsuite does. This helps ensure that you hire the right people while also sending a clear message dealership-wide that customers are imperative. Don’t forget to include the customer in your new-hire onboarding. Set expectations on how to greet, listen…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 How To Ask for What You Want Public speaking — and effective communication in general — is always about preparation. So really, the title of this post should be… How To Prepare to Ask for What You Want When You Ask for What You Want, You’re Starting a Negotiation! You’re not asking for a favor. You’re not a supplicant, in a one-down position. Instead, you’re opening a conversation — a negotiation — so that you and the person you’re talking to can find common ground between what they want and what you want. The classic example of this is asking for a raise. In this situation, I want to maximize my income (or other benefits); and My manager wants to save the company money while keeping me…

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