HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 – Out With the Old, In With the New2 Setting Goals in the ‘New Normal’ It’s never easy to set sales goals, and it only becomes more complicated during such uncertain times. That said, here are six steps to follow as you set goals that account for the “new normal” in sales: 1. Build Your Forecast From the Top and the Bottom Most organizations “push down” the numbers they want to see from the top without understanding what the sales team thinks is possible from the bottom. When management and sales teams work together to create sales forecast numbers, though, the outcome is much better for everyone involved. Both parties can get a sense of what’s reasonable to expect and…

Read More…

CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 8, 2021 So How Do You Get Rid of Public Speaking Fear? To conquer fear, a simple four-step process can be used. First, Start with an Attitude of Want: You have to want the skill that is being developed. You don’t have to have a lot of confidence in the beginning, but you often do have to have a bit of courage. Courage with success leads to confidence. Second, Break the Activity into Component Parts: Most people try to complete an entire activity flawlessly all at once, but if a mistake is made in the process, fear develops. It’s easier to grow in a step-by-step manner. Third, Master the Component Part: Practice each component until confidence in…

Read More…

HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 – Out With the Old, In With the New1 Every year, it happens the same way. You check your calendar one day and realize that Q3 is nearly over. The year has flown by, and it’s already time to start setting sales goals for next year. The task of regularly reviewing and revising your sales plan is critical. Looking ahead to next year, the routine task of creating sales goals is further complicated by a changing sales environment characterized by digital selling and rapidly changing buyer behaviors. With this in mind, should you set your sales goals to assume you’ll go back to normal? Or should you anticipate having to adjust to the new normal? Laying Out the Framework Under usual circumstances, this is…

Read More…

CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 7, 2021 Places to Practice Delivering Your Presentations Social Clubs Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis, the Jaycees, Lions Clubs, etc. are great places to practice delivering speeches. Most of these organizations a weekly meeting that requires a guest speaker, so there are 52 opportunities every year for a slot. Chambers of Commerce Chambers often have committees where officers lead meetings and give presentations, so run for office. PS, most people avoid positions like this because they don’t want to have to speak in front of their peers. Libraries and City Recreation Centers City offices often have scheduled seminars and workshops that are easy to get a speaking engagement in as long as the topic is marketable to them and…

Read More…

HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 – Do You Need a CRM? New technologies offer the promise of making our business efforts faster, more efficient, and higher quality. One such technology, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, has been around for nearly 30 years and still many businesses have not yet invested. A good question to ask is: “Does your sales team really need to utilize a CRM?” You may have heard many negatives: They can be expensive They are often cumbersome to set up and implement It will be time consuming to train and a steep learning curve to use Salespeople will push back on using a new system It can be confusing to choose from the hundreds that are available These are all reasonable objections. But…

Read More…

CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 Your Telephone Speaking Voice Tips when “Answering” the telephone call 1. Answer the telephone by the third ring – Answer the telephone or make sure your answering machine picks up the telephone by the third or fourth ring. Do not let the telephone ring and ring. Many of us say how we “hate” speaking into these answering machines, but at the same time we also hate not having the option of leaving a message. 2. Make sure your greeting is professional – Make sure your greeting is short but very professional. Write down and practice your greeting several times before you actually record your greeting. Play it back and listen to your own speaking voice. Is your…

Read More…

CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 For a Successful Presentation, Get Your Attitude Together Before You Prepare Your Speech If you’ve explored 100 Top Public Speaking Tips, you know that many of them are not about formal presentations. And while small talk… job interviews… running effective meetings… and writing killer thank you notes are all important aspects of public speaking, the day may come when you deliver a formal, stand-up, “podium” presentation. If and when that happens, you can create a confident, successful presentation by following the steps laid out in this tip, Tip 99 and Tip 100. Successful Public Speaking Begins with a Choice of Attitude From the moment you learn that you’re going to give a presentation, you get to choose between two attitudes. You can focus on the possibility of…

Read More…

CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 How to Introduce Yourself — A Step-by-Step Guide. Start with your name and company (or organization). This one is easy. Just tell your audience your name and the organization that you are representing. If your organization is not a well-known brand name, you might add a short clarifying description. For instance, most people outside of the training industry have never heard of Champion Strategies. Hi, I’m Brandon Hardison with Champion Strategies, an international leadership development company… Still short and sweet, but a little clearer to someone who has never heard of my company. Tell your audience what problem that you can solve for them. This is where all of the pre-work comes into play. In…

Read More…

HARDISON’S TIPS – SEPTEMBER 3, 2021 – Start with a Better Sales Job Description (PT.1) Great sales results start with great salespeople; so, when your organization needs to recruit and hire a top-quality salesperson, it pays to start with a hiring process that includes a strategically targeted salesperson job description. Dangers of Making a Bad Hiring Decision How important is the hiring process? Leadership and Success guru Peter Drucker once noted that “One third [of hiring decisions] are outright failures.” And yet, too many organizations take shortcuts and hope for the best while ignoring the risks of a bad hire: Continual salesperson turnover Constant (and costly) hiring and training Loss of productive selling time during onboarding and training Potential loss of the sales pipeline while…

Read More…