The Prospecting Professor

CEO Humor

Scott McNealy is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Three weeks ago, he relinquished the CEO title to Jonathan Schwartz, his ponytail-wearing colleague. This past week, at JavaOne, the world's largest software developers conference also sponsored by Sun, McNealy gave the keynote speech.

A la Dave Letterman, McNealy listed the Top Ten advantages of NOT being a CEO.

10. “I don’t have to apologize for stuff I say to Wall Street.”

9.  “I’m no longer on the most overpaid CEO list.”

8. “I just say, ‘See Jonathan on that.’”

7. “I read The Hockey News without guilt.”

6. “I shave even less often.”

5. “I don’t have to sign the SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) certification anymore.”

4. “I have someone to blame now.”

3. “I can sell my last business suit.”

2. “Jonathan doesn’t golf, so I guess I gotta do it.”

1. “My new office is VERY close to the men’s room.”

An Empire State Building Elevator Speech

Robert Craven, is a mentor, coach and consultant...based in the UK...and is one of Great Britain's leading marketing specialists. With regard to one's "elevator speech", he says:

"In a world of mediocrity, everything looks more or less the same, so why should they remember you? What makes you different? If there is were a choice between being different or better, then I would choose different every time. People remember different."

Yes! Thank you, Robert!!!

People DO remember different...and different is better, than "better."

I believe that the ultimate goal of a good "elevator speech" is absolutely NOT to tell a stranger everything about you, and your business, in 60 seconds or less. The ultimate goal is to spark a dialogue with this person.

A good "elevator speech" is the ability to describe your personality, achievements, skills, and work experience in 60 seconds or less (Much less, I think.) The tone should be commercial, the sentences short, and it should leave the listener wanting to know more.

If you don't have a good "elevator speech," here are the components to craft one, today:

• Brevity. Albert Einstein said, "Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler." These words are especially apt for "elevator speeches." It takes about 60 seconds to go from the ground floor lobby to the 86th Observatory Floor at the Empire State Building. You should be done with your statement...by the 43rd floor.
• Self-Promotion. Many of us shy away from self-promotion, and stop at telling people what we do...rather than how well we do it. If you can overcome this reticence, you have taken a big first step. I favor beginning an "elevator speech" by saying, "I specialize in..."  Everyone can become a specialist in something...and quickly too. To specialize simply means that you have determined an area of interest and focus on your part. You could become a specialist in something, within 60 minutes of reading these words. (Being a "specialist" is different that becoming an "expert", which will require some experience and study.)
• Crafting a First Draft. Your central message should convey that you are a highly capable individual, and should emphasize where you have added value to your organization or clients, how you've solved problems, and how you've helped others. Although the theme of your message should remain a constant, it should also have specific relevance to the listener. Use different examples. When you talk about your skills, describe HOW you use them, rather than WHAT they are.
• Avoid Boring Detail. Make it snappy and memorable. Remember DIFFERENT, not better.
• Don't Rush...to get your words in. Less is more. Pause when you need to. Don't just talk at your listener...use open questions, and actively listen to the response. Look them in the eye. Smile.
• Rehearse...your pitch. Practice until is sounds natural, and not like you are reading from a script. Solicit feedback from your friends, family, and trusted colleagues. Put it to the test by  "test-driving" it with someone who doesn't t know quite what you do. If they come back with a question, you'll know that you have a winner.

We Might Be the Champions

For those of us in the sales biz, motivational speakers are everywhere. With corporate training budgets well over $66 billion, and the domestic banquet circuit a $500+  million enterprise, it is not hard to understand why motivational speakers are so ubiquitous. And these numbers don't even address the billions spent on "after-action", the books, CDs, workshop tutorials, and other ancillary materials.

As an example, you can hire Tommy Lasorda for your next sales meeting...for $30,000. If your organization is in a selling slump, regardless of whether you are selling stocks or steaks, he will come to pump you up...with adages like:

• "You gotta want it."
• "There are people who make things happen, and there are people who wondered what happened."
• "The thing about losers is, they don't win."

Not to pick on just Mr. Lasorda, the motivational speaking arena is populated with can-do presenters who are brimming with PMA, (Positive Mental Attitude)...e.g. Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, to name a few.

Of course, many of us in the sales profession can benefit from "pep talks" now and then. Sales success is often a function of self-confidence...and instilling confidence, motivation, and self-reliance is the stock-in-trade of many motivational speakers.

However, self-confidence without the underlying know-how, can be counterproductive. Some of the most dangerous people in the world are the highly enthusiastic incompetents...running at full-tilt in the wrong direction.

"Success is a Choice" is the mantra of Rick Pitino, basketball coach and motivational speaker...who you can hire for $30,000-50,000 a shot. However,  in the real world, the choices that we make are made cumulatively over time.

Real accomplishment in sales is not often that glamorous or sexy...but comes from steady, reliable effort over time, the cultivation of productive habits, and the accumulation of skills and experience by constant effort.

Top Public Speaking Mistakes

A few weeks ago, I attended a presentation by Al Gore on  the topic of Global Warming. I attended at the behest of someone else (my wife), and wondering what credibility Al Gore had on the global warming issue.

Well...he slew me. Hands down, it was one of the best presentations that I had ever seen. The visuals were stunning...from the very first image, to the last. He spoke for 75 minutes...with Passion, Conviction, Humor, as well as Complete Control of the topic. I left the auditorium thinking...if this guy would've have spoken like this during the 2000 campaign, he would have walked away with the race!

The ability to express yourself orally, one-on-one or in group presentations, is one of the most important skills for financial advisors. If you cannot communicate your ideas with impact, your words have no credibility...and you do not inspire confidence in your ideas and recommendations.

Public speaking is an acquired skill. All of us, regardless of our innate talents, can become better public speakers with practice. Case in point...me. I used to be horrible. However, through years of practice I have improved my public speaking skills significantly.

In the financial services industry, mediocre and poor public speakers are a dime-a-dozen. This is surprising to me...you'd think that greater attention would be spent on the spoken word. Yet I have seen thousands of presentations by: senior executives, managers, wholesalers, individual advisors...and the bad presentations far outweigh the good ones.

From what I have observed here are the Most Common Public Speaking Mistakes that I have observed:

• Being Boring. Don't settle for "average." Do not risk losing your audience with a boringly straitlaced performance. Your success depends upon being different...not on conformity.
• Too Objective. Take a point of view. The single most important takeaway that your audience members will leave with is your point-of-view. It is your rallying call. If you have a good one, your presentation is more than 50% complete.
• Too Much Info. Do not "data dump" on the audience. The "here's all I know" approach is a guaranteed loser. The fact is the most of us forget the specific content of a presentation within 24 hours. At most, we'll remember 1-3 key points. As a speaker, we need to highlight these points and make sure the audience knows them too.
• Too Many Visuals. PowerPoint, and presentation "bells and whistles" can be a crutch. Visuals can become security blankets.
• Thinking Content Outweighs Delivery. Delivery trumps content almost every time. The Al Gore example is a good one. No one ever questioned his knowledge of the content. It was his wooden delivery that left people cold. Audience members will forget your content quickly, however they will preserve the image of a dynamic speaker who stands in front of a group with charismatic confidence.
• Say Too Much. The goal of your presentation is not to tell the audience everything. The goal is to tell them enough...to want to meet with your directly, one-on-one.