SELL YOURSELF FIRST

Part 2 of 5

WORKING BACKWARD Series

Wait a minute. This is a series on working backwards and you are telling me what to do first!

Yes and no. The idea of selling yourself first is predicated on the idea of IDEAL OUTCOME. The ideal outcome may be a sale, a partnership… or it may mean a job, a promotion or simply a second meeting. By thinking through what you want, you put a great deal of focus on the elements supporting that end result and allow the information come out in a more natural form.

I once worked with a physician who had created and developed a whoop-de-doo (yes, that’s a medical term) device in his area of expertise. The manufacturing company thought it best to allow the creator to speak directly to other physicians who would utilize this whoop-de-doo device in their surgeries. Oh dear. His presentation was devoid of any personality or enthusiasm. Here was the inventor, for goodness sake, whose credibility seemed questionable both in delivery style and execution as he stumbled through a memorized speech. He showed no excitement or interest in his own invention (he even seemed mildly confused) but spoke coldly on its surgical application and mechanics. You might think a like-minded group of surgeons would appreciate the lack of theatricality but in looking out over the audience I saw yawning, texting, whispering and even, exiting. Yes, some people just left the room, never to return. The delivery was more distracting than the subject matter.

This may seem like an extreme case, but I see this quite often: people so focused on what they want to say, they forget there is a human being on the listening end of the presentation.

Oh, come on. These surgeons are professionals! Surely they could suck it up for an hour or two… see past the delivery... and some could. But in the end, we’re all human. In my professional opinion, which I was paid to give, the IDEAL outcome for this particular event was emotional investment, passion and peaked curiosity. (There would be a reception later for one-on-one time with the inventor.) This was not the time to give a detailed ‘how to’ lesson in a piece of equipment these people had yet to buy. Obviously another, tried and true surgical procedure was already in place with a different device that seemed to work just fine. (How many times are you trying to have others see the logic in your argument, but they are in a mind set that seems to be working just fine, thank you.)

SO! Working backwards, the ideal outcome was to interest these physicians to the point they felt compelled to find out more. We wanted them to see the need in utilizing this gizmo, and they in turn would need to convince their hospitals to make a rather sizable investment... this necessitates an emotional as well as practical investment. I believed the best process was to first peak interest and go for the emotional buy in: introduce actual cases studies where real lives were changed drastically. In a professionally produced video, doctors who had used this device talked about their joy over saving time in the operating room, shorter recovery time and happy outcomes. Thrilled patients told how much better they felt after the procedure and the difference it made in their lives. The Inventor then gave a short talk on what led to his discovery- yes, he was coached on conveying a bit more enthusiasm. But what was most amazing, was how his personality blossomed more naturally as he spoke, not of the equipment itself, but of its evolution and time saving qualities, which in this case, were actually life saving. The onus of creating a snazzy introduction was taken from his nontheatrical shoulders and as a bonus, the video helped him prepare (get in the mood!) as well.

When he spoke, the good doctor sold himself first - his passion, interest, thought process and his own excitement, before even trying to sell the product. The audience could relate to him as a person, his experiences. Their interests were peaked, more devices sold... a win-win.

When analyzing your ideal outcome, ask yourself if an emotional connection with your audience would help. The time for "what" to say will come. But the "how" you make your approach paves the way.

THE IDEAL OUTCOME

Part1 of 5

THE POWER OF WORKING BACKWARDS

After last week’s Resolution blog I was asked to expand a bit on what it means to “work backwards.” It does sound a little confusing and perhaps could stand some expansion. For the sake of clarity- I will speak in terms of presentations, however realize this “presentation” can be a conversation, phone call, sales pitch, or the more formal, stand-up presentation. It refers to any form of oral communication (and sometimes written) where you are the Seller and someone else is the Buyer. The product can be a thought, idea, a tangible product or yourself, but it is important to realize you are selling and someone else is buying. At least you hope so.

What is working backwards? When planning a presentation, it means start the process by giving thought to intended outcome first. This gives you a more fully realized idea of your Intention as Communicator: an Intention you can sink your teeth into. And you are not to think of just any outcome- but super duper, ideal, fantastic: a win-win. “Planning” can mean anything from writing a script which may be loaded into a TelePrompTer (this is not a typo but the official spelling of the device used by most television news anchors) to jotting down notes or making bullet points. You might start the thought process by answering these two questions:

AT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION, IDEALLY,

1. How would I like my audience to FEEL?

2. What would I like them to DO?

FEEL. Do I want to leave them merely interested or excited and enthused? Do I want to relay information or do I want them to feel informed, educated, and enlightened? Perhaps I want them to laugh, feel amused and entertained. Maybe this presentation has a more somber feel. (Regardless of the specific feeling, you want your audience to feel CONNECTED to you and your material, and possibly, the feeling leads them to ACTION.)

DO. Is this a call to action? The action can be something as simple as reading a book, making a call, selling a product, or buying a product. Do you want to start, enhance or end a relationship? Start a revolution? Do you want them to change something in their appearance or behavior? Does this relationship mean dinner or another meeting? In the long run, you want your audience to care enough to act and typically, this requires an emotional response.

So, you see these two outcomes are interconnected.

Of course you want to make them feel like buying what you’re selling and surely, this means DOING something, but perhaps this presentation is just the first step: an introduction, tease or taste, and the time to close the deal will come later. Sometimes the best thing to hope for is a second meeting!

I ask you to think beyond a sale to what it takes to make not just one sale, but many sales for years to come. What increases the chances of long term sales? The first things that pop to mind are trust and healthy relationship. Trust is the foundation of any successful relationship. Trust takes time. I may try something once, but for me to do so again and again, my expectations must be fulfilled. The trust is nurtured by the individual.

So NOW, what do you believe is the feeling behind the call to action?

I believe that your audience buys YOU before they buy anything you may sell. Let’s talk about it again next week. Please feel free to send your questions or comments to me at greta@c3nyc.com

YOU SAY YOU WANT A RESOLUTION

If you are part of the 68% who make New Year’s resolutions, chances are you may NOT be in the 8% who experience great success with those resolutions. For awhile, it’s WOW! But as the month passes that daily 5:00AM workout is kicking your butt, and not in a good way. The truth is MOST New Year’s resolutions have been greatly rethought and altered by February 1 and by June, they have all but disappeared.

I was intrigued to read that the word “resolution” comes from the Latin word “resolutionem” meaning “the process of reducing things to simpler forms or breaking into parts.” This is a similar process to how I approach presentations and public speaking.

I often encourage people to break down a speech into components, but I’m not referring to sectioning off the script. In fact, I find that most people are well versed in their perspective fields so that content, or script, is saved for later in the process. (Sort of like deciding what your actual resolution will be AFTER examining the goal.) Instead, we start with Purpose and Intention; both of which are influenced by Outcome. So, let’s work backwards, and examine desired outcome: dream big! What is your ideal outcome? What do you really want? In presentations we answer the questions: how do you want your audience to feel? What action do you hope they take?

The Purpose of a presentation may be to introduce a new product to your sales team, but you’re really hoping to stimulate enthusiasm, excitement and interest, which ideally results in higher sales, larger commissions, product awareness and job satisfaction. Whoa! All of that from an informational meeting? Yes, if one’s Intention is clear from the beginning. By looking past the purpose (introduce new product) to desired outcome (enthusiastic comprehension and acceptance) the speaker’s intention is more focused on peaking the team’s interest, generating excitement and building their confidence and knowledge base of the product. Now, the speaker has the inspiration for building a presentation and developing a forward thinking plan to get you to the objective.

Many New Year’s Resolutions can be stretched beyond the idea that “I’m going to start waking up at 5:00 AM and get to the gym!” Sounds great, but with thought, the desired outcome might include spending more time as a family, so that a twice a week early workout is complimented by softball and swimming with the kids.

Whether it’s a resolution, or a presentation, start small, keep it simple and see if your success rate improves. Begin with a desired outcome, (within reason) explore your intention for the audience, (include yourself!) and see if you can be one of the 8% who finds success in their yearly resolutions.