Leadership Communication Skills – Master the Art of Stump Speeches

Whether we are in a challenging economy or not, leaders must possess stellar communication skills. To avoid confusion, chaos and the rumor mill, mastering the art of the stump speech is essential for every leader.

At recent leadership speaking events, I asked the audience about their use of stump speeches in their communication with their employees … too many blank stares – Yikes !!

I explain what a stump speech is — a consistent presentation of the facts with solicitation of support.

Then I explain how powerful stump speeches are as a communication tool — minimized rumors, everyone heard the same thing, everyone knows what’s going on and what’s coming up. It’s beautiful !!

We then all read from my power point slide together … aloud. 

• This is the situation ….
• This is what we are doing ….
• This is what you can expect …
• We all need to stay focused on …
• Can I count on your commitment to  …
• Thank you
• This is what you can expect next …

 See, simple but powerful …

Then I explain what it all means …

• This is the situation …. whatever you want to tell your team – the economy / layoffs / new business
• This is what we are doing …. about whatever you told your team
• This is what you can expect … you or others are doing about whatever you told your team
• We all need to stay focused on … productivity, safety, customer service or whatever is important to your business
• Can I count on your commitment to  … work productive, safe or whatever you asked them to do
• Thank you
• This is what you can expect next … tell them again what to expect

 Simple, but powerful …. try it and let me know the results of the improved communication in your organization.

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Customer Satisfaction

I recently worked with a client who wanted to take their already high level of Customer Service to a higher level. In preparation for the customized workshop, I re-read this great little book – Customer Love by Mac Anderson.

It is slammed full of 24 – great customer service stories that make you smile and appreciate there are other companies out there who are really committed to providing customer satisfaction … and there are so many great ideas and techniques to enhance your customer service and help you understand what it takes to establish a customer service culture.

Excerpt from Customer Love – By Mac Anderson

 The 10 phrases from my friends at Walk the Talk are an illuminating reminder of how uncomplicated it is to make customers feel loved. People don’t care how much you know, (or what you sell, or what type of service you provide) until they know how much you care!

 The 10 most important words:                                                                                            

“I apologize for our mistake. Let me make it right.”
When something goes wrong, most people merely want to be heard and acknowledged. So listen, apologize, then ask what you can do to make it right.                                                                                                                        

 The 9 most important words:

“Thank you for your business. Please come back again.”
Repeat customers cost less than new customers and are often more loyal.

 The 8 most important words:

“I’m not sure, but I will find out.”
It’s ok if you don’t know the answer; it’s not ok to make the customer keep searching for it. That’s your job.

 The 7 most important words:

“What else can I do for you?”
Be prepared to go the extra mile, there is less competition there.

 The 6 most important words:

“What is most convenient for you?”
Your customers will be pleasantly surprised when you ask what’s convenient for them.

 The 5 most important words:

“How may I serve you?”
This question reinforces your role in the relationship. Play that role the best you can.

 The 4 most important words:

“How did we do?”
Feedback is critical! Your customers have a unique perspective and they appreciate being asked.

 The 3 most important words:

“Glad you’re here!”
Customers who feel welcome spend more time, more money and are more likely to return.

 The 2 most important words:

“Thank you.”
Basic manners… but how often do you get thanked when you’re the customer?

 The MOST important word:

“Yes.”
Become a yes person.

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Leadership Essentials in a Challenging Economy

As business owners, leaders and managers we wake up every morning asking ourselves, “Is this the day we begin to see the signs of an economic recovery?”

When really we should be asking ourselves two questions:

1. How do we sell more today?
2. Are we positioned for the recovery should it happen tomorrow?

Waiting to see if the recovery from our recession is just around the corner is not a healthy place to be. If you are waiting, you may be waiting a long time while missing out on great opportunities today to survive this economic downturn.

If you can’t wait for things to get back to normal, like they were prior to the recession, don’t hold your breath because that may never happen.

What we all need to do is a better job of adjusting to this economic reality beyond simply slashing staff and costs.

Sure the markets are smaller and you should make appropriate changes to your cost structure to reflect the new realities. But are you doing the other right things to aggressively defend and grow market share today and in the future?

Or are you working on improving the business you run today so it emerges as where your customers (old and new) prefer to do business?

Tough times will go away, but you need to survive them first and be ready when they do.

I’ve done a number of leadership presentations on this subject lately and am amazed how the leaders in the audience ”wake up” and relize they are not doing the things they need to do to position themselves and the company for the economic recovery.

In the leadership presentation I share 12 things leaders must do now to position for the recovery – check it out here.

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Happy Birthday Grover Cleveland – Great Quotes for Today

On March 18th 1837, Grover Cleveland was born – he was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.  Given that he passed away in 1908, he and I never met … but if we did, I’m sure I would have liked him as a leader.

I say that based on reading a little about him … and I like many of his famous quotes. Here is a sample;

“Sometimes I wake at night in the White House and rub my eyes and wonder if it is not all a dream.”

My guess is if he is watching what’s going on in the White House now … he wouldn’t likely get any sleep.

“The lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people support the Government, Government should not support the people.”

I couldn’t agree more … I wish he was around to do something about it.

“In the scheme of our national government, the presidency is preeminently the people’s office.”

Wow – times sure have changed. The concept is still there but I don’t think the execution is.

“Officeholders are the agents of the people, not their masters.”

I hope what is going on at the White House and on Wall Street doesn’t dampen Mr. Clevelands birthday celebration … as a great American leader he deserves better.

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How to Sell More in a Down Market – Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results – by Randy Goruk

Part 6 of 6

After launching my eBook – How to Sell More in a Down Market – The Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results, and doing a number of related workshops, I’ve realized how difficult it is for many sales professionals to change to the changing environment.

Hopefully these brief excerpts will help inspire and motivate you to want to change because to maximize what opportunity  exists for your products, services and systems … you must embrace change.

Additionally, accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”.

This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements.

1. Accept full accountability for your results
2. Adopt leadership attributes for success
3. Become inspired and motivated
4. Become a personal productivity champion
5. Learn to plan like a leader
6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills

Although a number of leadership elements comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help you improve your sales results.

Successful implementation of the six elements of leadership should help you sell more in a down market , and when the markets return – and they will albeit at a level less than the recent glory years – you will have developed some new habits to contribute to your continued success.

You will also experience leadership thinking, behaving and performing, which will elevate your career if you desire a management or leadership position in your organization.

Good Luck and let me know if I can help you achieve your dreams.

To learn more about How to Sell more in a Down Market, or to read a section – Click Here

To learn more about our Sell More in a Down Market Workshop – contact me directly – randy@randallwade.com

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How to Sell More in a Down Market – Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results – by Randy Goruk

Part 5 of 6

After launching my eBook – How to Sell More in a Down Market – The Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results, and doing a number of related workshops, I’ve realized how difficult it is for many sales professionals to change to the changing environment.

Hopefully these brief excerpts will help inspire and motivate you to want to change because to maximize what opportunity  exists for your products, services and systems … you must embrace change.

Additionally, accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”.

This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements.

1. Accept full accountability for your results
2. Adopt leadership attributes for success
3. Become inspired and motivated
4. Become a personal productivity champion
5. Learn to plan like a leader
6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills

Although a number of leadership elements comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help you improve your sales results.

From the Self Development Section

For some reason, many companies elect to slow down, minimize or entirely eliminate the expense associated with training and developing their people when there is a down market.

Most sales professionals don’t typically set time aside for self development. They’re usually too busy looking after customers or solving problems. You may have an individual development plan, but is it really aggressive enough to help you sell more in a down market?

Although there is this wealth of knowledge available to you online, there is also a wealth of knowledge available to you within your own company.

• Start with product knowledge. When was the last time you went through your company’s manufacturing plant to get a detailed understanding of how the products you are selling are made?

• If there was a product knowledge test today, would you pass? Maybe you passed years ago, but would you pass today?

• Do you have a mentor within your company? You should because there is a wealth of knowledge and experience from which to benefit.

• Ask your boss or mentor to role play a realistic scenario of your choice. Upon completion, review with him/her. Question and ask feedback on your strengths and weaknesses throughout the situation.

• Re-vamp your value proposition statement delivery.

• Create a series of elevator speeches to answer basic questions like:

1. What you do for your company.
2. Why someone should buy from you.

To learn more about How to Sell more in a Down Market, or to read a section – Click Here

To learn more about our Sell More in a Down Market Workshop – contact me directly – randy@randallwade.com

Return to LeadersEdge 360 Home Page

How to Sell More in a Down Market – Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results – by Randy Goruk

Part 4 of 6

After launching my eBook – How to Sell More in a Down Market – The Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results, and doing a number of related workshops, I’ve realized how difficult it is for many sales professionals to change to the changing environment.

Hopefully these brief excerpts will help inspire and motivate you to want to change because to maximize what opportunity  exists for your products, services and systems … you must embrace change.

Additionally, accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”.

This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements.

1. Accept full accountability for your results
2. Adopt leadership attributes for success
3. Become inspired and motivated
4. Become a personal productivity champion
5. Learn to plan like a leader
6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills

Although a number of leadership elements comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help you improve your sales results.

From the Plan Like a Leader Section

Leaders spend a large portion of their time creating plans, implementing plans, measuring/monitoring plan performance and adjusting their plans.

In this section, we will cover the element of planning your business—your sales responsibility.
The components of a sales responsibility plan I recommend include:

• A mission statement,
• A SWOT analysis,
• A set of objectives that help you achieve your mission,
• Tactics or action plans to achieve your goals.

To develop a mission statement, here are the steps I typically recommend you process through:

Step 1: Brain Storming – Either sit down with a blank piece of paper, a white board, sticky notes or a flip chart paper, and start writing your values; your attributes; what you do; what you want to do; where you are; your strengths; what your customers like about you;, your company’s products, services and systems; and any other relevant issues specific and unique to you or your sales responsibility.

Step 2: Identify – Begin to identify key words that are actionable and unique, and separate those from the others. Group the others into obvious categories such as “products,” “services” etc.

Step 3: Form – Using the actionable and unique words, with one eye on the other word groups, begin to form a collection of different brief mission statements.

Step 4: Decide and Finalize – Using the process of elimination, select your favorite and tweak it if necessary; your mission statement is now finished.

As mentioned before, this is a process. It doesn’t and shouldn’t happen in an hour. It also helps to involve others to ensure you benefit from different perspectives.

To demonstrate my point—with over 30 year’s experience, I relied on a mentor coach to help me finalize the mission statement for my business. She asked me a few questions that triggered a spark of inspiration and BOOM, a direction was set.

To learn more about How to Sell more in a Down Market, or to read a section – Click Here

To learn more about our Sell More in a Down Market Workshop – contact me directly – randy@randallwade.com

Return to LeadersEdge 360 Home Page

How to Sell More in a Down Market – Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results – by Randy Goruk

Part 3 of 6

After launching my eBook – How to Sell More in a Down Market – The Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results, and doing a number of related workshops, I’ve realized how difficult it is for many sales professionals to change to the changing environment.

Hopefully these brief excerpts will help inspire and motivate you to want to change because to maximize what opportunity  exists for your products, services and systems … you must embrace change.

Additionally, accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”.

This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements.

1. Accept full accountability for your results
2. Adopt leadership attributes for success
3. Become inspired and motivated
4. Become a personal productivity champion
5. Learn to plan like a leader
6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills

Although a number of leadership elements comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help you improve your sales results.

From the Get and Stay Motivated Section

Self motivation is an important ingredient to the successful sales professional regardless of the current market place. When the market is down, it is even more critical to create a self-motivating environment.

If you still are having a difficult time finding passion in the down market, here are a few suggestions for you to consider:

• Stop listening to the depressing news on talk radio and the 24-hour television news channels.
• Create a list of things that make you happy, and keep a copy with you wherever you go.
• Keep a photo of something that makes you smile near your side.
• Before you get in your car in the morning, walk around the yard and smell the roses.
• Find a mentor—someone you can talk to who will keep you on a positive track.
• Don’t hang around people who aren’t fun and exciting to be around. Find upbeat, positive, forward-looking people with whom to surround yourself.
• Find your favorite motivational quotes, write them on index cards, and keep them with you to read anytime you feel a need.
• Turn on some music, and dance like no one is watching!
• Phone someone you haven’t talked to for a long time, and make them smile. I guarantee you’ll feel good about it too.
• Write down what you’re thankful for.
• Make one more sales call; don’t give up; think positive!
• Get some exercise to clear the mind and rejuvenate.

To learn more about How to Sell more in a Down Market, or to read a section – Click Here

To learn more about our Sell More in a Down Market Workshop – contact me directly – randy@randallwade.com

Return to LeadersEdge 360 Home Page

How to Sell More in a Down Market – Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results – by Randy Goruk

Part 2 of 6

After launching my eBook – How to Sell More in a Down Market – The Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results, and doing a number of related workshops, I’ve realized how difficult it is for many sales professionals to change to the changing environment.

Hopefully these brief excerpts will help inspire and motivate you to want to change because to maximize what opportunity  exists for your products, services and systems … you must embrace change.

Additionally, accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”.

This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements.

1. Accept full accountability for your results
2. Adopt leadership attributes for success
3. Become inspired and motivated
4. Become a personal productivity champion
5. Learn to plan like a leader
6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills

Although a number of leadership elements comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help you improve your sales results.

From the Becoming a Personal Productivity Champion Chapter

As a sales professional, how is your time management, or as I like to refer to time management, how is your personal productivity?

It is essential for leaders of organizations to master the art of personal productivity. Yes, just like selling, personal productivity is an art form. A CEO who leads a worldwide organization cannot afford to waste a single minute when trying to profitably grow their business.

There are as many different ways to be personally productive as there are CEO’s. However, I think few leaders will argue with these five “big picture” items as the solution to being productive in their responsibilities.

1. Plan – you have to plan your business and your time. Without planning factors such as where you are going, how you’re getting there, when you’re getting there, who is helping you get there, what you need to get there and why you want to get there, you will likely fall short of your goals in both good and bad markets.

2. Evaluate your progress – you have to take the time to evaluate how you are doing and make adjustments to your plan if necessary. This prevents you from wasting time on tasks that aren’t working in both good and bad markets.

3. Organize – leaders need to be personally organized, so they can organize their team to execute the plan. You know without organization you will be less effective in getting results in both good and bad markets.

4. Prioritize – leaders have a great number of things to do and decisions to make. Without properly prioritizing, they can waste their resources focusing on the wrong areas in both good and bad markets.

5. Schedule – leaders schedule their day, week, month and year. Their daily schedule is set like television programming; you know what’s on at what time and the only way that will change is if there is an earth-shattering development that needs to be communicated.

To learn more about How to Sell more in a Down Market, or to read a section – Click Here

To learn more about our Sell More in a Down Market Workshop – contact me directly – randy@randallwade.com

Return to Leaders Edge 360 Home Page

How to Sell More in a Down Market – Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results – by Randy Goruk

Part 1 of 6

After launching my eBook – How to Sell More in a Down Market – The Leadership Secrets to Dynamite Sales Results, and doing a number of related workshops, I’ve realized how difficult it is for many sales professionals to change to the changing environment.

Hopefully these brief excerpts will help inspire and motivate you to want to change because to maximize what opportunity  exists for your products, services and systems … you must embrace change.

Additionally, accepting the basic premise of How to Sell More in a Down Market is vital for success in selling more in a down market. The premise is for you to “take a leadership approach to your sales responsibilities”.

This leadership approach is straightforward and practical. It has six elements.

1. Accept full accountability for your results
2. Adopt leadership attributes for success
3. Become inspired and motivated
4. Become a personal productivity champion
5. Learn to plan like a leader
6. Take responsibility in further developing your leadership and sales professional skills

Although a number of leadership elements comprise an exceptional leader, How to Sell More in a Down Market focuses on each of the elements of leadership mentioned above to help you improve your sales results.

From the Accepting Accountability Section

Sales volumes are at record lows; you’ve never sold so little, and your commission checks have never been so small. You need to sell more, and you need to make more money … and you need it now!

Is it possible that:

• Previous good markets turned you into an order taker, and you forgot how to sell?
• You’ve worked your trap line for years, and it’s finally dried up?
• You’ve convinced yourself that there is no business to get?
• You just aren’t trying anything new to get new business?
• Your selling skills are a little rusty?
• You are talking too much and not listening for opportunities?
• You just don’t know what to do about it?

If you are not selling as much as you’d like or if you’re not making as much as you’d like, don’t blame it on the markets, competition or others. It’s time to forget the excuses and begin to accept accountability for any shortfall in sales volume or your paycheck.

Leaders are always accountable for results. If you are going to manage your sales responsibility as if it is your own business, you need to accept full accountability for the results.

To learn more about How to Sell more in a Down Market, or to read a section – Click Here

To learn more about our Sell More in a Down Market Workshop – contact me directly – randy@randallwade.com

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