Thank you Mr. General Evaluator.

Jeff Bezos’ presentation style is an obvious carbon copy of Steve Jobs. But that seems to be the tendency for all tech CEOs.

The script was well written. He delivered it with good voice control and adequate pauses. Excellent visuals, well-timed.

What was very distracting to me was his constant pacing back and forth. I wanted to go up there and nail his shoes to the stage! He could have used the stage better to emphasize his points and make the reveals more impactful.

He looked a bit too much at the prompter. This contributed to a “nervous” vibration to his voice, which came through in some of the gestures which were wooden or just slightly off the timing mark. It also took away some of the presence which is the hallmark of the Jobsian style.

I would have liked the pace of the presentation to be a bit quicker, and a bit more punch in his voice control, hitting the adjectives that convey the coolness and passion around the product.

Jeff obviously practiced A LOT for this very important speech. He is not quite at the level of Steve Jobs, but he has the potential to get there.

Overall, well done. I think Jeff will sell a couple of Kindles with this pitch.

For more information

Toastmasters International: http://www.toastmasters.org

Toastmasters District 61 (Quebec/Eastern Ontario):  http://www.tm61.org

Direct link to Kindle Press Conference on YouTube: http://youtu.be/rm92Tnp953c

Image from Reuters

Selling is a key leadership skill, because it is about influencing someone to willingly take action on what you suggest, in such a way they think it’s of their own choice.

Getting a “YES” to your offer requires you engage in a dialogue with your prospect, with the intent to communicate your values, your intentions and your expectations, while understanding the values, intentions and expectations of the other party.

Here are five questions for you to consider as you propose you strive to reach a mutually profitable agreement:

1. What do I want?

• It is only when I know what I want that I can make a clear offer.
• What is the end result that I want for myself? For my prospect?
• Why is this important to me?
• Am I “selling” or “sharing”: am I offering out of need or out of generosity? Do I need you more than you need me? A offer out of generosity is much more attractive to the other party, than an offer that comes from a place of desperation.
• What do I lose if we don’t reach an agreement?
• What my “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement” (BATNA)?  If you look at it from the simplest standpoint, your BATNA is the choice you can make if you conclude that negotiating is not likely to yield a satisfactory result. You can walk away from a negotiation if your BATNA is better than the likely outcome of that negotiation. BATNAs are dynamic, depending on the status of the discussion (as opposed to a “bottom-line” offer). The key to staying “in control” of a negotiation is to always have a BATNA in the back of your mind. Prepare a series of BATNAs depending on how the discussion evolves.

2. What do you want?

• By listening I can find out what you want and need, then present my offer as a way to meet that need.
• What do you need most?
• Why is your need important to you?
• How does your need fit into what I have to offer?

3. How ready are you to commit to get what you say you want?

• What are you willing to commit to get what you say you want?
• How can I connect what I am offering, in such a way as to meet your greatest need?
• Is it right time, right fit, right place for you to say YES?
• What is the benefit for you to say YES now?

4. What is in the way of you saying yes?

• What reasons are in the way? (don’t have enough time, energy, money)
• Addressing Objections: FEEL, FELT, FOUND

• • I understand how you feel
  • This is how others felt
  • I have found that…

• How can we modify the offer so it meets your greatest need while respecting my needs?

5. What is the action step we can each take, together?

• Build trust through a mutual commitment
• Tangible action step with a timeline (more information, more confirmation, more investigation)
• Follow up, follow up, follow up!

The key to YES is to give the other person time and room to reach their own decision. “No” simply means they haven’t yet made their own alignment with what you have to offer.

Share your offer, then guide them to see the benefit to them… and you will eventually get your YES!

For more information

I was first introduced to the idea of the “BATNA” in the book by Roger Fisher and William Ury,
“Getting To Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In”
http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Yes-Negotiating-Agreement-Without/dp/0140157352/
Wikipedia summary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_to_YES
Kindle Highlights:  https://kindle.amazon.com/work/getting-yes-negotiating-agreement-without/B000AHOAF4

Wikipedia article on “BATNA”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_alternative_to_a_negotiated_agreement

Check out other articles on this blog about sales and selling:

http://blog.davender.com/?s=sales
http://blog.davender.com/?s=selling

Image: Michelle Thompson “(michelle)” on Flickr
Direct link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eyefruit/179553810/
Used under Creative Commons 2.0 licence

Ask five friends to describe, in their words, what you do…you will get back as many different answers. Your “Positioning”, or the set of impressions people have about you, speak so much louder than any marketing campaign or snazzy logo.

In this webinar, you will understand the anatomy of your positioning, and discover a simple process to ignite a powerful word-of-mouth buzz about who you are, what you offer and what kinds of clients you really want.

(Notes, mp3 and other resources below the fold)

For more information

PDF Handout:
http://audio.davender.com/solosuccess/20100415/20100415WordOfMouth.pdf

Audio mp3:

Direct link to audio:
http://audio.davender.com/solosuccess/20100415/20100415_SoloSuccess_WordOfMouth.mp3

Video (under construction)

Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=362753037364

Some thoughts to help you figure out your positioning message and community of interest:

• What Is Your One Big Thing?
  http://blog.davender.com/2009/02/what-is-your-one-big-thing/
• Can A Target Market Be Too Targeted?
  http://blog.davender.com/2010/04/can-a-target-market-be-too-targeted/

You have probably received an email that starts:  ”I came across your website and I would like to propose my services…” or “Please pardon the interruption, but I would like to propose our services…”

What is your first gut reaction when you see this? If you’re like me, probably to hit the “delete” button. And if you’re feeling particularly peeved, you might hit the “Identify as Spam” while you’re at it.

But the temptation to send out these kinds of e-mail is huge. You need to let people know that you exist. And everyone is doing it, right?  So why are you still doing it, even if the return on these kinds of campaigns, whether by e-mail, postal mail, telephone, social media update or ad, or other means, is pitiful?

I agree that it’s important to reach out and let people know what you offer. How you do it, though, is the difference between generating indifference or interest. So what is the difference between a message that captures a prospect’s interest and one that turns them off?  When is spam, spam?  

Whenever you plan on sending a promotional e-mail, make a prospecting call or meet someone at a networking event, keep this golden rule firmly in mind:

Every contact you make must bring something of value to the recipient.

If your communication or your contact does not meet this requirement, then it IS spam in the recipient’s eyes, whether it be an e-mail, phone call or in-person encounter, and especially whether you intended it to be spam or not. Spam, therefore, is in the eye of the beholder.

We are bombarded by pitches that do nothing more than interrupt our train of thought. When you offer something of value, with no strings attached, you quickly break through the noise and get noticed.

The “something of value” doesn’t need to be huge. It can be a simple open question, phrase or tidbit to pique their interest.

In my article “Build Your Credibility By Being A Content Creator“, I talk about five ways to add value:

1. Education: lessons and recommendations that emerge from your experience with your customers (for example, case studies);

2. Demonstration: Describe how to do something related to your specialty (for example, this “how to” article);

3. Opinion: Your comments on situations or the news, always related to your specialty and how you want to be known. Your opinion demonstrates how you interpret situations and propose solutions. Be careful to remain respectful and politically neutral;

4. Recommendation: Provide resources (books, articles, videos, contacts) related to your specialty;

5. Information: Communicating news about your specialty, passing along items from the media demonstrating various aspects of what you do (example: a tax specialist passing along news of changes to the law).

The key is to engage the prospect, ask questions, build rapport and credibility, let them find out who you are while you learn about them. Flirt with your prospect before proposing marriage.

Here is an exercise to turn the next annoying interruption you receive (e-mail, phone call or contact) into a learning moment: take a look at the message, and ask yourself: “If I were in the other person’s shoes, how could I reframe the message to bring something of value in the contact?”

When you ensure that your first contact brings something of value to the person you are contacting, you start building good will – the currency of trust. And if it is done right, you end up being able to pre-assess your prospect to see if he or she is a good fit for you. And that’s an important step to getting More and Better Clients.

For more information

This post was inspired by listening to an archived episode of  ”The Age Of Persuasion” available on the CBC Radio site: http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion/2009/02/season_3_episode_breaking_the.html

I heartily recommend listening to the whole series, Saturdays 10am on CBC Radio One, on Sirius and on the web at
http://www.cbc.ca/ageofpersuasion

The writer and presenter of the series, Toronto copywriter Terry O’Reilly, keeps an interesting blog http://www.terryoreilly.ca/ and Twitter stream http://twitter.com/AgeOfPersuasion

I wrote two essays on the topic of “interruption marketing”:

• Solicitors Will Be Shot On Sight
  http://blog.davender.com/2009/02/solicitors-will-be-shot-on-sight-darn-tootin/
• What Gives Me The Right To Interrupt?
  http://blog.davender.com/2006/01/what-gives-me-the-right-to-interrupt/
  and the updated version on my Facebook Fan Page
  http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=171013738267

Here is the post that discusses how to add value through “content creation”
http://blog.davender.com/2009/07/build-your-credibility-by-becoming-a-content-creator/

Here is a post where I directly address someone who “cold-called” me:
http://blog.davender.com/2009/07/a-candid-letter-to-a-marketing-consultant-who-wants-me-to-hire-her/

And the Monty Python sketch that gave rise to calling Spam, Spam:

Direct link on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_eYSuPKP3Y

Do you sometimes feel that you are drowning in data? For us solopreneurs, staying in touch with what’s happening is essential. However, since the volume of data is increasing exponentially, how do you make sense of all…while keeping your perspective and your sanity?

In this FREE webinar, you will understand why learning to surf the data tsunami is important to your business success. I will share with you the tools and techniques that I use (many of them free!) to stay plugged into the hottest ideas in my field, and how I share them with my network in order to attract more and better clients. And after this session, you will be able to do this also!

(Connection details and more resources after the fold:)   

=====================

This interactive session will take place by webinar (accessible by PC, Mac or Linux).
You can also participate by phone.
No registration is required, simply connect using the instructions below.

Thursday 25 March 2010
Event 2PM-3PM EASTERN

Session requirements: PC, Mac or Linux with speakers (audio and visual)
or telephone (audio only)

FREE WEBINAR LINK (using Adobe Connect Pro – works on Mac, PC, Linux)

http://connectpro16008135.na5.acrobat.com/ss20100325/

If you want to connect by phone for the audio, and watch the video through the webinar link, dial

Conference Number(s): (712) 432-0800
Participant Code: 556643#

Questions? Comments? Contact me via Facebook mail, or e-mail at coach@davender.com, or by phone at 418-948-1553

Looking forward to having you join me on this fun and interactive workshop!

For more information

The Facebook page for this event is:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=100515779988424

A key idea we will be discussing is Clay Shirky‘s quote: “The problem is not ‘information overload’, it’s ‘filter failure’ ”

(original link is from http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/31/clay-shirky-on-infor.html )

Clay Shirky’s site: http://www.shirky.com

And an article by Robert Scoble talks about the importance of being an “information curator”:
http://scobleizer.com/2010/02/22/coming-soon-the-disruptive-molecular-age-of-information/
This idea is very important for solos: being an expert is not about your degrees or certifications, but how you bring order to the information tsunami in your field = becoming the trusted “info curator”.

Photo source:
http://www.ficklefeline.ca/2009/07/drinking-from-fire-hose.html

I’ve just attended the Gamechangers Roundtable call today on “Creating a Game-Changing Culture” with Jonathan Fields, Chris Guillebeau, Pam Slim and Reese Spykerman, moderated by Elizabeth Marshall.

The core of the discussion was about Branding, what it means and how to create a brand that expresses your own personality and quirkiness… because that is what will attract the right people to you.

To give you a sense of what was discussed, here are the notes I tweeted during the call (bottom of the list = start of the call):

• RT @startupcoach: The #gamechangers calls are really great. If you have an hour to spare, don’t miss them. Better yet, make the time ;-)
• Thank you for this brilliant #gamechangers call on Branding: @lizmarshall @pamslim @reese @sarahrobinson @chrisguillebeau @jonathanfields
• Branding: Stop trying to build a following and start meaningful conversations with people! #gamechangers @chrisguillebeau @jonathanfields
• RT @ACCompanyC: Liz Marshall is SO good at this! Great choice! #gamechangers [DITTO!]
• Branding: Figure out what your unique energy is and bring it to what you do. Much more powerful than fluff or flash @reese #gamechangers
• [Funny-on another tweetdk column I see "how to get over 100000 subscribers" just as we're talking about quantity vs quality] #gamechangers
• Be yourself instead of gaming the system may cost you in traffic – but the quality will be much higher @chrisguillebeau #gamechangers
• [Personal comment: I agree - most ppl try to sell "why you need me". I love & hire ppl who share life! ] #gamechangers
• People feel a level of desperation with what they’re doing.Brand yourself: do what feeds your passion&share your adventures! #gamechangers
• RT @LizMarshall “my game changed when I stopped lookng at the competition.stop looking around you&start looking within” @reese #gamechangers
• RT @GoodInkInc: So help me, @pamslim just used a Cat’s in the Cradle analogy. Yes, the song. [This was a great example !] #gamechangers
• Branding Design: Don’t let your visual signature be just a “decoration”. Make it mean something – personal – quirky @reese #gamechangers
• Brands that might mean a lot for you probably don’t resonate with them. Use language that resonates with them #gamechangers @pamslim
• “Why Do I Do This Every Single Day?” [Great question to continually ask ourselves to keep on track...] #gamechangers @jonathanfields
• Branding: What do I care about? Who do I want to serve? Dig deep to find the remarkable stuff #gamechangers
• Branding is not always strategic – it is a trial-and-error process #gamechangers @chrisguillebeau
• RT @kymleeisawesome: Noticing a #gamechangers theme: making strong/personal/emotional connections [agree!]
• Your brand is shaped by the kinds of clients you work with #gamechangers
• Branding is NOT something you can go out and “dictate” to the world – it’s a living 2-way street #gamechangers
• Livetweeting the #gamechangers call with @pamslim @lizmarshall @reese @chrisguillebeau @jonathanfields @sarahrobinson
• Remarkable brand: More than a great name – it has to be a message that goes straight for the gut #gamechangers
• Remarkable brand = speaking in your own voice #gamechangers with @pamslim
• Remarkable brand = being “astonishingly better” than what’s out there. #gamechangers
• For the next hour I’m live-tweeting the #Gamechangers call on Creating a Game-Changing Brand. Join us now! http://bit.ly/bMJqEj

I highly recommend these calls to all solopreneurs and entrepreneurs. There are still four more calls to go, and you can purchase the recordings of the first three calls.

For more information

Website with information, free sign-up link, and order the mp3 recordings:

http://www.gamechangersroundtable.com

Check out what others Tweeted during the call (and on the other Gamechanger calls) at
http://search.twitter.com and search on the hash-tag #gamechangers

Is your business project running off the rails, or turning into a “Death March”: a daily slog with no hope of any outcome?

If your project or your business is heading towards disaster, what can you do to get it back on track? In this discussion, Coach Davender Gupta will show you a simple process to take control of the situation and steer it back onto the path to progress.

Join Sharon Sayler as she interviews me about a simple five-step process to get you back on track, during her BlogTalkRadio podcast “Beyond Lip Service” this Tuesday at 1pm East / 10 am Pacific at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/BeyondLipService

Air Date: Tuesday Feb 2 2010, 1pm East/10am Pacific
Direct Link: http://bit.ly/9TzGvt

For more information:

Ustream.tv recording: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/4398483

No, no – it’s not what you think! This is a real question, and an important one to consider!

Cory Doctorow (blog), in his novel “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom“, imagines a world where money is obsolete, replaced by a personal reputation-based currency called the “Whuffie“.

Tara Hunt translates this idea into real life in her book “The Whuffie Factor“: we are already entering an age where our “relationship capital” is just as important (or maybe more important?) than our financial capital. The more people respect you, trust you, and like you, the more they want to interact with you.

Tara suggests five principles to increase your Whuffie:  

1. Stop talking, start listening:  As she says, “turn the bullhorn around”.  We have been conditioned by the thousands of marketing messages we absorb each day to think that the only way to communicate is by pitching. But one more pitch just gets lost in the din. Instead, start listening. Draw people into conversation. Find out what makes them tick, what they are worried, or dreaming about. This opens the way to building a connection.

2. Become part of the community you serve: You need to get “down and dirty”, to connect and to get involved with your community, your tribe. The interaction has to go beyond the commercial, and become personal. (This is where Tim Sanders‘ “Likeability Factor” comes into play)

3. Create amazing experiences: People already have too much stuff. What they now want, more than ever, is great experiences that build personal relationships.

4. Embrace the chaos: As Tara says, “people are not predictable”. Start with a vision of what you want to create, and then allow it to evolve and transform through the conversation and the community. You may find that you end up with something even greater than you could ever imagine!

5. Find your higher purpose: I especially love this point – it’s about putting purpose first, then the profit is generated out of how people appreciate who you express your purpose. Another way of looking at this, is as the “Givers Gain” principle.

It is tempting to look at your Facebook friend and Twitter follower counts as a measure of your Whuffie, but in reality it goes way beyond that: your Whuffie is the quality of the interaction with your network. What are you doing to be “nice, networked and notable”? What do you give? How do you inspire them (and how do they inspire you?) How do you engage them?

As you seek to get more and better clients, consider this question: What are you doing right now to help people create an experience of life that enables them to express their full potential? I believe that the more you focus on answering this question, the greater your Whuffie, and the more you will attract people who value who you are and what you offer, and therefore who are ready to commit to you.

For more information:

Must Read: Tara Hunt, “The Whuffie Factor”  Amazon.com link (no affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/Whuffie-Factor-Social-Networks-Business/dp/0307409503

Cory Doctorow, “Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom” Amazon.com link (no affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/Down-Magic-Kingdom-Cory-Doctorow/dp/076530953X (Disclaimer – I have not read the novel, and I’m sure there is a lot more to the story than the one-sentence summary above, but it’s this specific concept that I want to expand on.)

Tara “missrogue” Hunt on the Web http://www.horsepigcow.com/ and on Twitter http://twitter.com/missrogue

And yes, these two people are Canadians! 

I had a great interview this morning with Denis-François Gravel, an authority on how to use presentation technologies to improve your ability to communicate.

In preparing for this conversation, recorded for my French-language podcast “Radio Passion au Profit“, we had a whole list of topics. But we ended up going deep into one issue: Does PowerPoint kill or enhance our ability to communicate?

The biggest idea that I learned from Denis-François is that most people (including me) misunderstand the role of presentations technologies like PowerPoint, Keynote, and Impress: we try to make the presentation stand alone, and the presenter becomes a technician, instead of the other way around like it should be.

It turns out that the brain can learn well by paying attention to the spoken word alone, or the written word alone, but learning efficiency drops way off when trying to communicate using both channels at once.  I’ve seen this happen when I put up a wordy slide and all the eyes go to the screen instead of staying on me.

Denis-François recommends that the slides should use colourful pictures or clear graphics that complement the message delivered by the speaker. Let the audience focus on the speaker.

I’ve been trying this (without realizing it) in my last couple of speeches, using very simple illustrations or short messages on my slides. I find it looks more professional and I get fewer people squinting at the screen as I speak.  Plus it has the added benefits of making sure that I communicate my point clearly…and that the audience pays attention because -there-are-no-notes!

Takeaway: If your handout says it all, then why would the audience waste their time listening to you?

For more information:

Denis-Francois Gravel and his primarily English-language blog full of great examples and ideas about presentation techniques:  http://www.PRESENTability.com

Denis-Francois Gravel on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PRESENTability

Photo: Catherine-Eve Gadoury (Quebec City arts and media columnist) at the Quebec City PechaKucha (photo Denis-Francois Gravel)

Read Denis-Francois’s article on the event (great tips!) http://presentability.com/2009/12/04/7-speaking-lessons-from-pecha-kucha-quebec/

My interview with Denis-Francois Gravel on Radio Passion au Profit (French) and on YouTube (links coming soon)