Archive for August, 2008

Whether you’re speaking at a company event, a social function, a sales pitch, an industry conference or a meeting of media, there are some fundamental rules that you can apply so that you capture the “hearts and minds” of your audience.

Here are the 13 Steps to Perfect Public Speaking which we’ve pulled together by distilling the ‘best practices’ cited in the leading public speaking books and courses into easy-to-use steps.

1. Choose the Right Subject. The right subject is what you know. Only speak on those topics and issues with which you are comfortable.

2. Define Success Measures. Define for yourself how you will know that the presentation was indeed a success. For example, common measures include: the number of questions you are asked after the presentation; the types of questions you are asked; the types of invitations you receive to speak at other events or venues; the kind of people who follow up with you; an increased ease with which you can contact presentation attendees; the amount of press coverage you receive, etc.

3. Anticipate, and Plan for, Challenges. Assume that there will be some obstacle to your presentation’s success - and then plan for it. For example, make back up arrangements, assuming that your slides or your microphone won’t work. Also, be sure to plan for a noisy room and bad lighting. Finally, prepare for the most likely points of contention that your audience could raise.

4. Get Comfortable by Rehearsing. Conduct at least one dry-run before your presentation. But, do it with people who are representative of the target audience. Also, give yourself enough time to modify your presentation based on their honest feedback.

5. Speak to Your Audience. Only use language that your audience will understand. And, don’t rely on them to ask you for clarification. Chances are they won’t and that means that you’ll lose getting your messages across. Furthermore, speak to the values and priorities of the audience.

6. Connect with Your Audience.  Look into the eyes of your audience. Complete a thought before moving your gaze to another set of eyes or to another part of the room.

7. Focus Your Messages. Have no more than three things you want your audience to remember from your presentation. Say these key points at the beginning of the presentation and again at the end.

8. Tell Stories. Audiences are captivated by stories that pull on their emotions. So, use vivid images and descriptive language so that your audience ‘feels’ as well as thinks about your experiences.

9. Monitor the Audience. Whether it is you – or you in conjunction with a colleague somewhere in the room – watch for how the audience is responding to your presentation. One of the easiest techniques is to pose a question to the audience. This technique can also serve to give you time to catch your breath or get re-oriented if you lose your space.

10. Stay After Your Presentation. Devote time to speaking to people after your presentation. This gives ‘wallflowers’ a chance to ask their questions and for you to connect with those people most interested in your topic.

11. Find Enjoyment. Find something about the presentation that excites you. Hopefully it’s the topic, the audience or the experience itself. But, it may be the opportunity to ‘set the record straight’ or to elicit a strong reaction from an audience. Whatever it is, find some reason that you want to be there – otherwise, the audience will sense your lack of passion.

12. Follow-up. Make sure that you – or your colleagues – follow-up after the presentation to answer any questions and/or pursue possible leads.

13. Don’t Be Perfect. Keep in-mind that audiences want you to succeed. So, they are rooting for you – after all, they’ve come to hear what you have to say. But, audiences don’t identify with absolute perfect presenters. Rather, they identify with ‘human’ – i.e. imperfect but passionate presenters. So, feel comfortable knowing that by not being perfect actually helps you be more of a success.

Listen to the BusinessCast podcast #70 – 13 Steps to Perfect Public Speaking.

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Well, we did it – we started tackling some of entrepreneurs’ key ‘numbers’ questions and concerns. Why? Because, every business owner/manager has to contend with numbers…even if it is not their particular strength.

Listen to BusinessCast Podcast #69 – Business Success By the Numbers - to get straight-forward answers to these common numbers-focused questions:

1. Should you buy or lease your car?
2. Should you invest available cash in your mortgage or an RRSP (IRA)?
3. Who should you sell your business to? 

Also, find below some focused resources to help you work through these questions and get you more comfortable dealing with financial issues critical to your business -

A Lease or Buy Your Car Calculator

A Contribute to Your Mortgage or RRSP Calculator

A Book Introducing Finances for Non-Financial Managers

A Video on Finances for Business Leaders (Note: The video providers will prompt you to register before you will be able to view this video.)

BTW, if you have a ‘numbers’ question, let us know. We’ll address it in an upcoming show.

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Every business entrepreneur needs to deal with numbers…and needs to deal with numbers effectively. But, the truth is that entrepreneurs often prefer to spend their time tackling the ’big picture’ stuff – i.e. building business alliances, creating new innovations, visioning and inspiring other entrepreneurs. So, number-focused decisions are often delayed, ignored or under emphasized. But, of course, they never go away.

That’s why, in the BusinessCast Podcast, episode Business Success By the Numbers, Robert and I touch upon entrepreneurs’ three most commonly asked ‘numbers’ questions. These questions apply to all businesses regardless of size, age, industry, service/product offering or stage of growth. All entrepreneurs ask the following:

1) Do I buy or lease a car?

2) Do I invest any available cash in my (home) mortgage or in an RRSP (IRA)?

3) Who do I sell my business to? (FYI, we’ll be delving much deeper into this issue in an upcoming BusinessCast Podcast.)

BusinessCast Podcast, Business Success By the Numbers will be posted later this weekend. BTW, if you have a ‘numbers’ question, let us know. We’ll address it in an upcoming show.

Remember: Subscribe to the BusinessCast Podcast at iTunes

Robert and I speak frequently about the best ways to attract and retain customers. In fact, the subject is so topical now and so often written about that a new(ish) term is being used — “lead nurturing”. The good people at Marketing Sherpa, who we sourced yesterday about a recent email study, have conducted some research about best practices for effectively nurturing leads. Here are their key findings:

1) Use several media to establish and maintain relationships with leads. While this finding isn’t anything new, it confirms that, if you want to have a meaningful impact, you need to use different channels and methods. Email, telemarketing and direct mail are the media that the study highlights.

2) Respond to leads generated online quickly…in fact, very quickly. While many organizations contact online leads within 24 hours, it turns that to ‘establish contact’ you need to follow up within minutes!

While the study focused on “calling” leads, unfortunately, it did not cover other ways of following up. One way that many entrepreneurs are using is email confirmation/follow up that is triggered immediately upon receiving a request. This method serves as a quick, personalized and cost-effective form of contact that isn’t as intrusive as phone calls can be.

3) Assess the quality of your leads. Surprisingly, the study found that few organizations actually evaluate or rate their leads. Of course, this provides a great opportunity for you, the entrepreneur. Specifically, if your competitors aren’t applying this type of discipline, here’s your chance to leapfrog ahead of them.

Robert and I will be devoting future podcasts to the different stages of lead nurturing. In the mean time, check out the Business Cast Podcast archives for a several shows devoted to attracting and retaining new leads and customers.

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Email. Regardless of the business you’re in, it is a critical means of communicating – and, it remains one of the most consistently effective marketing tools around — if done properly.

Marketing Sherpa, a research house that delves into many common marketing tools, recently conducted a study about SPAM and email. And, as an entrepreneur, you need to apply one of the study’s key lessons if you want to get the most ‘bang’ out of your email marketing buck:

Recipients of your email will define your message negatively as SPAM based on the content of the email – more so than on the fact that you are sending it.

That means: You cannot assume that your email will be automatically welcomed, opened, valued or acted upon just because it came from you. As a result, you have to work extra hard at making sure that every email you send achieves a consistently high level of quality. For most entrepreneurs, that means making sure that the email is personalized, has targeted content and that it arrives when the content matters most to the recipients.

Quick Reminderr: In the next few weeks, we’re going to have Matthew Vernhout (email guru from www.EmailKarma.net) back in the BusinessCast bagel shop to walk through what’s involved in building an effective email marketing campaign from the ground up!

So, if you’re planning an email marketing campaign, looking to hone your existing campaign or if you’ve been looking for an excuse to launch your first campaign, send us your questions. We’ll answer them in this very hands-on practical session. Also, make sure you also listen to the BusinessCast Podcast #57 – Email Marketing for Entrepreneurs when we first interviewed Matthew.

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