Last evening I had the privilege and pleasure to be in the audience for the National Speakers Association – Minnesota Chapter meeting. Professional speaker Phillip Van Hooser, CSP, CPAE spoke on building a business and serving clients. He spoke from the heart, and has demonstrated every single principle contained in his presentation.

Phillip Van Hooser, CSP, CPAE

Phil spoke of his basic philosophies that guide his life and his business. He discussed career evolution, re-thinking, re-positioning, and re-tooling a business. And in spite of the fact that he is President of the National Speakers Association, he stated unequivocally, “I am not a speaker; speaking is what I do.” Phillip Van Hooser stands upon faith and family as the bedrock for his business and his life.

I cannot fathom hearing a message more relevant and effective than what I heard last night. Any business or organization will do well to hire Phillip if they want to transform the way they lead their employees and serve their customers. Check out Phil at www.vanhooser.com.

Well done, my friend. You are my hero.

Many firms have a “packaged” proposal system. While proposals are all over the map in terms of structure, most contain huge amounts of information, with numerous charts and graphs, volumes of copy, and endless disclosures. Whether you present financial plans or individual product presentations, proposals generally contain enough information for a doctoral dissertation. It’s all about disclosure and dictated by the compliance department.

Some clients want the bottom line. Other clients look for detail. And after all, isn’t the presentation about the client? How do you build a presentation and presentation strategy that always provides you with the tools you need to deliver whatever information your client needs to make an intelligent buying decision?

Consider making a summary of recommendations for your presentations. Take the detailed analysis and spreadsheets, and put them in an appendix.

If your client channels Jack Webb and wants the facts – just the facts, or if the client is an actuary with graduate degrees in statistical analysis and engineering, you will be prepared to provide the information needed to fulfill your obligations to communicate in a manner best suited to your client and provide appropriate and complete information. Provide the summary, and give the clients as much detail as they need. Your closing ratio will go up because you are adapting your communication techniques to your clients needs.

Good selling!

As a professional speaker, marketing consultant, business coach, and high level-sales trainer, I meet with a wide variety of salespeople and consultative advisors. This week one of my engagements was to the mutual clients of a retirement plan distributor and a third-party retirement plan administrator, or TPA. One of the points that was discussed of the flaw of SBS© or “Selling By Spreadsheet©.

Too many so-called advisors feel they are providing value by selling cheapest as best.  Advising is really telling a client what is the best solution to their problem. Sometimes price comes into play, but if you are selling a service, usually the main selling point is the quality of service, not price. When you sell price your biggest risk is someone else can do it even cheaper, and if you look hard you can always find it cheaper!

A recent commercial by Office Depot says it well. The commercial depicts a barber shop best by a cheaper competitor, and how they address the challenge. When faced with a shop across the street offering $6 haircuts, they counter with a sign that says, “We Fix $6 Haircuts.”

So what’s your story? Build a defining statement that truly demonstrates your value as an advisor, and quit positioning yourself as the cheapest alternative. Position yourself as the best alternative.

Good selling!

To see the Office Depot Commercial, click HERE.

Financial services professionals constantly look for ways to stand out among their competitors. Consider the following idea this Valentine’s Day to reach out to your clients. Some of your best clients are widows and widowers. What do these people not get anymore? Flowers and candy on Valentine’s Day. Make an impact – and do something really nice – this Valentine’s Day. Send something to these clients and show them someone cares. Will you get business or referrals from this? Maybe or maybe not, but do it anyway; it’s the right thing to do.

Good selling!

Last night at the University of Minnesota Men’s Basketball game, Coach Tubby Smith presented senior guard Lawrence Westbrook with a commemorative basketball in honor of Westbrook joining the “1,000 Point Club.” This occurred at center court prior to the game with much applause and many photos. I commented to my wife that, “He will cherish that ball and the photograph for the rest of his life.”

Westbrook earned the ball not for anything he did yesterday, but for what happened over the last three and a half years. The photograph merely captured a moment of glory, which represented many hours of hard work leading up to the resulting achievement and subsequent honor. However, that photo becomes a touchstone for Westbrook that will always remind him of his achievement, and the dedication, choices, and actions that led to this moment in time.

Consider this question:

“Will you cherish the photograph of what you did today for the rest of your life?””

The things we do are a reflection of what we think about. So what did you think about today, and what did you do about it? Some additional questions are in order:

• “Did I work for the best interest of my clients?”
• “Did I treat them with respect, while seeking to help them make good decisions?”
• “Did I treat my colleagues and staff with respect and did I help them serve our clients while bettering themselves?”
• “Did I tell my story to new relationships to allow them the benefit of my services?”
• “Did I do these things without sacrificing my integrity or my family values?

Make certain that the photograph this day of your life includes you with a smile upon your face, for you did the things you needed to do today to serve those who depend upon you.

To Lawrence Westbrook: Never forget that night, not because of the destination, but because of the journey that led you there. The lessons you learned will help you continue to achieve, no matter what dreams and goals you pursue.

To You: What do YOU choose to do TODAY?

Good selling!

Financial advisors commonly look for and attempt to offer the “best performing” investment products, in spite of the fact that one of the basic tenets of the industry is “Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.” An investment wholesaler (a true master of the profession) at a tier-one mutual fund recently shared an interesting thought:

“Advisors don’t really want the ‘best’ fund; they just want a really good fund that they really understand.”

Your job as an advisor is to match the proper financial strategies, products, and services with clients based upon the client’s financial situation and objectives. A part of this process involves selling. Three critical steps in the process include telling the client:

• The Benefits of a Particular Strategy
• How It Works
• Where it fits

In order to explain these aspects of a recommendation, advisors need to truly understand what they recommend. When selling, you need to give the 30,000-foot view to the client and be prepared to answer questions – any questions.  Don’t try to amaze people with your knowledge, but rather provide them with enough information they need to make an intelligent, comfortable buying decision.

Ethical and regulatory guidelines demand that you know your client. Suitability remains a cornerstone issue in the industry. Make sure you truly know the products and services you recommend as well as you know the clients whom you serve.

Budgets are tight and getting tighter. Every facet of the meeting planner’s day involves facing an onslaught of details preparing for an event. Selecting sites that fit the bill, building menus, choosing premium items, and coordinating agendas with the input of multiple constituencies and coordinating an endless flood of details are just a few of your challenges. Selecting outside speakers from the oratory multitudes present unique challenges. In about one-third of a second, googling “Professional Speaker” offers almost 9.8 million choices, and you don’t have time to listen to all of their demos, so you pick one and hope for the best.

The location and property are perfect. Catering over-delivers on their service promise. The schedules work, collateral materials exceed expectations, and everyone loves the room gifts. Then it happens – your speaker bombs! Consider the following six ways to effectively use the web to help you find qualified speakers that meet your needs.

Search Terms: Be as specific as possible using search terms, but keep it simple. Include terms that identify exactly what you want, including the type of presentation, (keynote, training, motivational, breakout, etc.), location, and industry. Be descriptive.

Speaker Websites: When looking at speaker or bureau websites, look for testimonials, experience, and demo videos. If finding content is difficult, then you might question the speaker’s ability to communicate from the platform. If the speaker blogs, you also see the type of content they deliver.

LinkedIn: This social media site offers a huge amount in a standardized form. General information about the speaker, as well as testimonials, links, and group affiliations all provide insight into a speaker. Testimonials become easier to expand and verify. You can even do market research that provides information from other meeting planners, as well as groups devoted to meeting planners. Networking with other meeting planners develops a massive amount of intellectual experience capital.

Facebook: Another social media networking service, Facebook is traditionally thought of as a “personal” site. However, more businesses are building a presence on Facebook. “Fan Pages” give you an idea of others who may have used the speaker’s services – or a sampling of their friends and family. This site also offers the potential to see professional speakers away from their businesses.

Twitter: Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as “tweets.” Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length – just enough – and it is free. Twitter is searchable, and offers a glimpse into the world of value creation of speakers. Tweets often include links to other resources that may be helpful in your search.

Professional Associations: The National Speakers Association (www.nsaspeaker.org) and their numerous state chapters (for example, the Minnesota Chapter’s site is www.nsa-mn.org) offer directories of professional speakers that provide a buffet of talent from which to choose.  The fact that speakers hold membership in a professional organization does not mean they are a great speaker or will meet your needs, but it does mean they have met membership criteria and subscribe to a code of conduct that provides some accountability. The ability to find and search speakers in one place makes associations an invaluable resource.

The web becomes a valuable tool to help your make finding a professional speaker easier, and with better results.

Let’s make this short and sweet:

• What is one activity/project/behavior you want to START doing in 2010?
• What is one activity/project/behavior you want to STOP doing in 2010?
• What is one activity/project/behavior you want to KEEP doing in 2010?

If you list and follow through on these three items, you are ahead of most people.

Good selling!

Mayo Clinic is the largest integrated, not-for-profit group medical practice in the world. More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers and 46,000 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has sites in Rochester, Minn., Jacksonville, Fla., and Scottsdale/Phoenix, Ariz. Collectively, the three locations treat more than half a million people each year.  In 2008, Mayo treated over 338,000 patients in 1.5 million outpatient visits. So how does one of the world’s preeminent medical groups get their patients?

In a presentation given by Lee Aass, Communications Manager at Mayo Clinic and social media guru, he shares some interesting data concerning patient acquisition.  Most people assume Mayo’s patients result exclusively from physician referrals, but 84% of Mayo’s patients are influenced to choose Mayo as a medical services provider as a result of  word-of-mouth advertising!

Sources of Information Influencing Preference for Mayo Clinic

Word of Mouth                  84%
Stories in the media          57%
MD Recommendation         44%
Advertising                       27%
Internet/Websites             26%
Mailings to Home              18%

The implications are huge for provider of professional services. Word-of mouth advertising offers a powerful, cost-effective means of attracting business. With social media tools like Facebook and LinkedIn, word-of-mouth offers tremendous potential. Consider these questions:

• What are your clients saying about you?
• How can you manage word-of-mouth messaging for your business?
• Can Word-of Mouth be a part of your business development strategy?

Like any marketing, you must be strategic when crafting your word-of-mouth marketing. Consider these five steps to grow your business:

1. People love to share memorable experiences – good and bad.  How do you create a memorable experience for your clients? Make a list of what you do for people that makes you memorable. If you wonder what your clients think, send them an email asking them why they choose to work with you.
2. Craft a defining statement of 25 words or less that is benefit-focused, conversational and repeatable. A defining statement is not an “Elevator Speech.” Elevator speeches are too long in today’s world. You don’t have 30 seconds to get people’s attention – they make a decision about whether or not to listen in six to eight seconds. If you lose them, good luck regaining their attention.  Use the defining statement with clients – frequently.
3. Train your team to use the defining statement in client conversations. This includes phone greetings, service calls, and routine client interaction.
4. Incorporate this defining statement into all of your collateral sales and marketing materials.
5. Utilize social media tools to help spread the word about you and your business. Many resources exist that make word-of-mouth advertising easy. Consider outsourcing your social media marketing to a team member or social media service vendor.

Make it easy for your clients to tell others about your services. It certainly works for Mayo Clinic!

Good selling!

Your opportunity to build a professional services business depends on you and your sweat equity – as well upon upon the efforts of many others. At this time of year remember the American men and women who allow you to enjoy the blessings of  freedom and opportunity to grow your own business.

Our soldiers need your support. Their sacrifices are huge and many. The strain is showing. In one month earlier this year, more soldiers in Iraq were victims of suicide than were killed by al-Qaeda. These brave men and women (and their families) need our support. My youngest brother died in a non-combat accident in 1984 while serving his second tour of duty in the U.S. Navy, and I will never forget the phone call, the pain, and the grief endured by my family.

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.

This takes just 10 seconds and it’s a wonderful way to say thank you. Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you’s.