HARDISON’S TIPS – JUNE 29, 2021 – How To Sell More Vehicles With Videos (PT.2) 2. “Thanks for Stopping By” Video’s A little bit of gratitude goes a long way. Many sales consultants have discovered this. That’s why their team members send thank you videos to customers after they stop by the dealership. It goes something like this… When you thank the customer for coming into the dealership and test driving a vehicle (while showcasing the same vehicle in the background of the video). And he lets the client know another vehicle is on the way for a test drive. People aren’t only numbers to them,because they are taking the time to follow up on each specific interaction, and express genuine appreciation for the business opportunity.…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – JUNE 29, 2021 Tips for Mastering the Art of Public Speaking (PT.2) 2. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. Nothing becomes muscle memory unless you practice relentlessly. If you have a big speech coming up, make time every day to practice. Prepare your goals and the content well ahead of time. This can be done while driving, exercising, in the car, on a plane…anywhere. 3. Practice with distractions. Once I know the content, I like to add a little bit of distraction to test how well prepared I really am. Turn on the TV or rehearse while pushing your child in the swing. Anything that adds a little more challenge. 4. Find a style that works for you. Different events will…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – JUNE 28, 2021 – How To Sell More Vehicles With Videos (PT.1) For over a third of car buyers, the shopping journey ends after visiting only one dealership. That’s all it takes. So, how do you make sure it’s yours they visit? You need to leverage automotive video email across your team. And in a hyper-competitive industry full of loud voices, you need to be louder. Ad campaigns and billboards can only get you so far. Your sales team needs to get face to face to stand out. But time is money in the automotive industry. To reach your customers “in person” in a fast and scalable way, videos are the way to go. How To Sell More Cars With Automotive Videos Getting your team to use…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – JUNE 28, 2021 Tips for Mastering the Art of Public Speaking One Saturday morning in December 2012, I received an email out of the blue from the president of one of the biggest American History think tanks. He mentioned he had just read one of my articles (one of the first ones I had written for this column) and was fascinated by the correlations I made between the African – American culture and of the many U.S. high-performance teams in the business world. He ended the email by inviting me to do a series of keynote presentations and workshops during the company’s global leadership meetings the following month in Houston, Texas. Terrified, I accepted. I’m an entrepreneur, for crying…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – JUNE 27, 2021 How to Create a Great First Impression They say you can’t judge a book by it’s cover but how many of us judge people by the way they talk, or even by the way they answer the telephone? We form opinions about people the first time we see or hear them. We even form opinions about people we have never met! People’s “perception” about us DOES matter. As a professional speaker who provides workshops, keynotes and consultations on presentation skills and public speaking, I know that we are all judged by people through “What we say”, and “How we say it”. We are also judged by “How we Dress”, “How we walk” and even “How…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOPS – JUNE 26, 2021 How to Gesture Effectively Gestures are reflections of every speaker’s individual personality. What’s right for one speaker may not be right for another; however, the following six rules apply to anyone who seeks to become a dynamic effective speaker. 1. Respond naturally to what you think, feel, and see. – It’s natural for you to gesture, and it’s unnatural for you not to. If you inhibit your impulse to gesture, you will probably become tense. 2. Create the condition for gesturing, not the gesture – When you speak, you should be totally involved in communicating-not thinking about your hands. Your gestures should be motivated by the content of your presentation. 3. Suit the action to the word…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – JUNE 25, 2021-COVID Crucible for Crisis Leadership As we stretch into our fifth month of COVID disruption, ask yourself how you feel about your company’s leadership. Do they have your confidence? Your loyalty? This pandemic has been make-or-break for many and the challenges reveal their true mettle. Whether you’re looking for a new job or debating jumping ship, look for these key crisis leadership traits.   Strong communication. Prioritizing communication is more important than ever – whether your company is still working from home, furloughed or operating on a hybrid model, constant contact is key! In this ever-changing environment, leadership should be checking in with all in-person and remote employees on a weekly basis, at minimum. We’ve heard of leaders hosting group calls, sending out update emails and posting video status…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUBLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – JUNE 25, 2021 A eulogy is a speech given at a funeral or memorial service praising the deceased. For some, giving a eulogy may be too painful, especially if the death was unexpected or the deceased is very young. In such cases, a family friend can give the eulogy instead of a family member, or the clergy can do so. Even if the clergy delivers the eulogy, he or she will ask you questions about the deceased prior to the funeral in order to offer a few reflections during the ceremony. While a eulogy is not mandatory, it can be the most important part of the service. Many attendees may not know the deceased well, or may have…

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HARDISON’S TIPS – JUNE So You Had a Bad Interview, Now What? Everyone bombs an interview eventually – some more spectacularly than others. How you respond to a bad interview can set you up for future success or lead you to continue making the same mistakes. So take a breath, dust yourself off and take these next steps: Ask yourself what happened.Lay it all out. Consider whether this experience was a just a fluke or a pattern you keep repeating. You need to be honest here – if you lie to protect your ego now, you will never let yourself see the problems you need to address. Compare what worked and what didn’t.Take what happened in your interview and break it into two lists: What Went Right and What Went…

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CHAMPION STRATEGIES – PUPLIC SPEAKING WORKSHOP – JUNE 24, 2021 Religious Speech Given on Homeschool Graduation This religious speech was written by a visitor to this site, Katie. She gave this speech as she graduated from homeschooling. It’s beautifully written and very well organized. As you read it, see how she sets out her points and elaborates on the main points of her religious speech, and also how she concludes by summarizing everything she has said. Finally, she delivers an appropriate quote, making her words even more powerful and memorable. Use this religious speech for inspiration to craft your own compelling speech for graduation. And huge thanks to Katie for sharing it with us. If you would like to share your own graduation speech or religious speech…

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