My blog will be available at www.paulparish.co.uk all existing content has moved to the new site.  This blog will eventually be shut down There will be no new content here..  Please visit us at www.paulparish.co.uk the new blog is there and loads  more interesting and useful tips,tools, seminars and workshops  available…

One of the biggest fears when networking is what to say. This often leads people who are new to networking to fall in to the trap of thinking that a sales pitch is required. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Imagine going to a networking event and being blasted with 40 or 50 sales pitches, you wouldn’t want to go back. So…..how can you make an ENGAGING conversation that gains the listeners attention and interest.

The elevator pitch was created for this very purpose. It has meaning, structure and purpose. If used correctly it will open doors to some very useful and valuable conversations. Here are simple ways for you to create a compelling and meaningful elevator pitch. Or ‘30 second personal commercial’.

The perfect commercial will have these essential elements.

1          Brief. It must be no longer then 30 seconds……45 at an absolute most.

2          Clear. The language used must be clear and easy to understand. Don’t forget you are trying to get their interest them not show off or educate    them.

3          Strong. By using strong or powerful language you will grab their attention. So words like advanced, authority, key, leading, preferred, predominant, progressive, specialists will work very well.

4          Memorable. If you language is one dimensional then you will lose the listeners’ attention quickly. If, however you use descriptive, visual and imaginative language you will make your commercial far more memorable.

5          Do. The easiest way to explain what you do is to describe how you have helped a client recently. So having a stock of positive client stories is useful. You can talk about how they had a problem and you we able to help them solve it.

6          Different. Within the story you can explain that as you a different you could reach the clients desired outcome in a more effective, efficient, meaningful, long lasting, or even cost effective way.

7          Hook. You commercial must end with a hook to get the listener interested so a powerful [open] question about their situation should be used.

So that is the first bit now, crafting the sentences and paragraphs…..Write all your ideas down. Don’t self-edit and write at the same time. There are now wrong ideas so write all the different ways you’d like to explain your product or service. Be it funny, serious, conservative or just weird and memorable.

Now write down what you would like your elevator pitch to achieve. Look at your lists and now edit out the elements that you feel either get in the way of this aim or don’t help it to be achieved.

You should be looking at a rough list of things to say. Re-read the list above a using those 7 elements you should be able to craft the text you have into a meaningful 30 second pitch. When you have your first draft you should record it. You should record yourself speaking all the stuff you have. Take a rest for a while and return to it when you have a fresh set of eyes and ears. You will now be much better equipped to spot the great bits, and the not so great bits. You can edit this in to a powerful pitch. Same process, record this and see how this sounds. You should be seeing a really powerful pitch developing. Practice it until it effortlessly just flows. That’s it……..next time you meet that perfect investor in your business, or wonderful strategic business partner or potential big client, you can use this pitch to gain their attention and get them curious to know much much more about your company.

Would you like to effortlessly get more referrals and better referrals from your existing clients?

Would you like to get over that uncomfortable feeling when you ask “so…..who do you know?’

Would you like to ring up referrals who are actually expecting your call?.

Well then this post is for you……….

I am often surprised by the number of businesses I work with who feel that if they are not spending money on

marketing they are not doing it properly. I am also asked by companies about inexpensive methods of marketing that they should use. This is usually after they have tried the ‘expensive’ methods advertising, sponsorship etc and found these methods not to work as well as expected. When we discuss ways to get more customers they talk about word-of-mouth and referrals and then unfortunately don’t appear to do anything about them.

Some businesses generate all their clients from referrals. So what is it they are doing that others are not?

Having a system for getting good quality referrals is essential for all businesses. It will provide a stream of prospects that are easier to approach, easier to sell to and most of all easier to get more referrals from. The level of trust that a referral will have for you is greatly increased as there is an implied level of trust transferred from the referrer. People will give you referrals for 3 reasons:

1 They want to help you
2 They want to help the person they are referring
3 They want to help themselves

To gain more and better quality referrals you need to encourage these motives and make yourself more referable.

Detailed below five ways to improve referral gathering techniques

1 Ask for them

It is the most obvious reason for sales people not to get referrals. They don’t want to ask, just in case the client says no, or is offended. Sometimes it is just a technique issue and sales people just need to ask in the correct and most appropriate manner.

To assist in this, salespeople should learn to ‘plant’ the right seeds early in their presentation, so when they ask for the referral the client is not surprised. This should be included in the introduction to highlight that if you are getting referrals you are a reputable and trustworthy business. Timing is all important here. Most importantly whenever a customer compliments your product or service is an excellent time to ask for referrals.

However some businesses suit the approach of asking just after the close but others a longer approach will be needed when your client has experienced the quality of your product or service, but for every customer always make it a habit to ask.

2 Reward the referrer

Changing the win-lose of a normal referral gathering exercise into a win-win can be achieve by offering an incentive such as discounts of further purchases or even high street vouchers in exchange for referrals. Remember potential lifetime value of your customers this is one of the cheapest forms of acquisition. Some customers will become ‘centres of influence’ start to refer on a regular basis. Ensure that they have the tools to refer you such as your business card and your latest marketing material.

Every time a referral is received you must thank the customer referring you. How about some printed thank-you cards to accompany the incentive or details of the discount you offered.

3 Provide a detailed description of your desired referral

When faced with sales people who ask for referrals by saying “who do you know?” or “any small business will do” customers tend to clam up and say “we will think about it”. We have to help them.

Let’s imagine I asked you to think of a film star that I’m thinking of. Everyone reading this would be thinking of a different star. So let’s narrow it down; I want you to think of an actor who is known for not being very tall. Still not there yet, how about an actor who is a scientologist or who was in Top Gun and Mission Impossible, now you all should be thinking about Tom Cruise.

If you can help you customers to think about your target market the referrals will be of a better quality and more useful.

Describing your preferred target market is always helpful. In my days in financial services I specialised in helping business in the creative professions. If I was talking to a photographer it was easy for them to pass me onto other photographers and also to pass me onto their suppliers and creative contacts.

4 Have a process

Through no fault of their own, sales people often leave their referral gathering to chance. A process will mean that you always ask for them and there for will get more business because you will get more.

What about strategic alliances that you can build up. If you refer business to other businesses they will in turn refer business to you.

Having pre-printed referral gathering paper work always inspires customers, or a frequent refer reward program.

Do you want your refer to talk first to the referral. If you do than this process should be worked out seamlessly. When you are in a customers office, or they are in yours you can ask them to ring the referral there and than. This will enable you to speak to the referral and subsequently make an appointment to see them.

5 Become more referable: by being more REMARKABLE..

One of the most used words in marketing these days is remarkable. It is all about being talked about. Being remarkable is about being the business that people talk about by name and not just ‘those guys who fix our computers’ or ‘supply us with stationery’. What is it you do that makes you truly stand out? It is not being remarkable to you it is remarkable for your customer. It could be level of service or quality of sales presentation or understanding the customers’ requirements the best.

How about sending a customer a bowl of fresh fruit to thank them for a referral or customer service questionnaire filled in by all the staff who come in contact with your business.

To fully benefit from the strategies detailed above there is one more thing to do.

Delegates often ask me in seminars and workshops how they can become more confident, and if you just look around the self-help section of any good book shop you will find many books about having more, getting more or becoming more confident so lots of people must want it. Just put confidence into Google [other search engines are available] and that brings up 116,000,000 results.  I often ask how it would feel to be more confident. In almost every case I am met with an answer such as…….well I wouldn’t be nervous, I wouldn’t be self conscious or shy or I would not get sweaty palms or feel sick when walking into a roomful  of strangers or when doing a presentation..  Each answer is telling me what they don’t want, not what they do want. I then ask ‘what is confidence’ and most people struggle to define it.

Confidence: Is when you are sure of your own abilities and don’t determine this using other peoples’ opinions.

 Confidence comes, not from always being right, but from not fearing to be wrong. 

Peter T. McIntyre

So, confidence is not something you can have, it is just the way you think. That must make it easier to create within oneself.

 1:         Do a chart of all your successes

We have all heard this before and probably roll our eyes saying ‘I’ve had no  success’ well, everyone is good at something. What about that fantastic meal you cooked your partner or that wonderful holiday you planned or the room   you successfully decorated and matched up all the furnishings and accessories.    Give yourself permission to take pride in your own work and successes; don’t    give in to inferiority and stop being victim of it any more. Stop listening to negative voices in your head pulling you down.

2:         Learn to have positive outlook

 Easier said then done. However let that colossus of power and capability that we all have loose on the task. If you not sure what I’m talking about it is your unconscious mind. Ask yourself better questions your will give you better answers.

                        Why will I become more confident to day?

                        Why am I so fortunate today?

                        What is it about me that I love the most?

                        What is it about me that other people like the most?

3:         Dress well and Work out & Posture.

Nobody is more conscious of how you look then you. So if you feel under or overdressed then you will always be more self-conscious. Always spend as much as you can realistically afford on good clothes for business or interviews. A simple rule of ‘spending twice as much, and buying half as much’ will service you well. Cheap clothes don’t last and show their age and look shabby far quicker that better quality garments. Always ensure that clothes clean and smell fresh and wear styles that compliment you and don’t just slavishly follow fashion.

Working out and having pride in your physical fitness. Just the elements of controlling it can give you a sense of confidence. However being fitter will give you more energy during the day and enable you to tackle tasks with greater commitment. Another benefit of becoming fitter is that it should improve your posture. So you are not wasting energy slouching you are not giving off big clues to your lack of self confidence. Stand up tall and look people in the eye.

4:         Act as If.

You may well have heard of ‘fake it till you make it’ thinking. Well I would prefer you ‘act as if’. Open your mind up to the possibility of how would I be if I were confident? How would that feel? What decisions would be easy to make? What can I do to test this new found confidence? Volunteer for something you wouldn’t normally do. Organise an event or even just get up at a karaoke. Focus on your achievements and not your limitations. And remember; in most cases the worst that can happen is only in a NPO [negative perceived outcome] give yourself a compelling realistic vision of how well you can perform, and of how fantastic it feels to succeed.

5:         Get Started NOW!!

 Sometimes people speak of gaining more confidence as a long term big project   and that puts them off. Well it needn’t be, and you have to start sometime. Just like loosing weight you have to start sometime. So here is your challenge. What could you do in the next 24 hours to ensure that you feel 1% more confident? When you haveachieve it, how would you notice you were more confident, and how would anybody else notice this? How would that feel? Decide on an action,  it could be making a big decision or just talking to a stranger or looking people straight in the eye when talking and listening or speaking up in a meeting, or even just going to a salsa class YOU decide. Then the next day you need another new additional action. In 100 days you will have totally blitzed those nerves andyou will have become a more relaxed more able and confident you. So………………what are you waiting for?

            If you know of someone who would benefit from this blog please send them a link or just use Facebook or Twitter buttons below. More info at          www.paulparish.co.uk

While watching the Cube last night [26th September 2010]

[http://www.itv.com/itvplayer] on ITV there was a wonderful example of visualisation at work. The contestant Mark Porter was a darts playing JCB driver. He had played several games and was actually doing very well. He had a won £10,000 and was playing for £20,000. The game was called Shatter and he had to throw a small ball through a diamond-shaped hole about 12 feet away.  Just before he attempted it he described his sweaty hands, how scared he was, how daunting the task was, he talked of fear and how it was looking harder and harder. He was shaking. In that frame of mind he was beaten.

Then Philip Scofield said “just imagine you are playing darts” Mark then said to himself. “treble 20- Bull” several times this then helped to focus his aim. He then said “We’re in The Birches and we are having it!!!” several times, this elicited a feeling of succeeding and winning…… he then took the shot. He made it look so easy. It was to me a wonderful example of what we say to ourselves in the crucial moments, in those decision-making moments. Because as soon as Mark had anchored himself winning previously he became unconsciously competent. How useful would this be to our next presentation or our next sales pitch if we could anchor the physiology of success.

please re-tweet if you know someone this may help.

I don’t normally recommend businesses, but this site is cool.

What is the biggest thief of your time when in the office? Most people would probably say something like chatting on the phone, water cooler conversations or just unproductive admin. Well, how much time do you spend on your computer that is non productive, Facebook, Linkedin or even Ebay?

Now you can find exactly how much time is wasted on the internet. http://rescuetime.com is a simple site, just sign up, the basic level is free and it will even send you alerts when you spend too much time on non productive stuff.

Recently while visiting a totally brand new shiny massive shopping centre I found myself struggling to find the shop I wanted. So I immediately looked for a map. Needless to say, there where plenty. Illuminated, alphabetically listed, and listed by type of shop, listed by different themed sections of the centre, you couldn’t fail to find where you wanted to get to. Presented with all this information you would have thought that finding the shop I wanted would be a cinch.

However there was one piece of information missing. I didn’t spot it a first. I found the shop I wanted, I was looking for a new camera, I even looked at other shops to visit.

I started to work my route back to where I was and then it struck me………. The ‘you are here’ arrow was missing. I didn’t know where I was. I knew where I wanted to get to, that was clear. I was stuck, because without the ‘you are here’ arrow, I could not work out my first steps or which direction to travel.

Found whilst coaching

Often, when coaching with a client I hear where they would like to get to or have, successful business, car, house and happiness. However, the first action is often lost because they have no clear picture of where they are now. What skills and recourses they already have.

Another thing we need to do when starting an action plan is take responsibility for where we are now. Clearly define why we are here. Our current attitudes and beliefs have got us here. We must ask why we have those beliefs. It is here that we will find the greatest source of hidden energy when they begin to change.

The next barrier to ultimate motivation and activity is, how comfortable is here? How agitated about here are you? When you look at the goals you want to you should ask yourself, ‘how much do I REALLY want them?’ Turning this agitated state into activity is the first step to getting somewhere. So next time you see someone with the car, house, business or lifestyle that you want don’t say “I’d really like that” how about saying

“How would it feel to have that?” and

 “Am I prepared to do what it will take to get that?”

The answers to these questions will give your unconscious mind a focus. Your next step MUST be an ACTION.

As Tony Robbins says

“Never leave the scene of an intention without taking action”

Deciding to ‘want’ a better life is easy. Deciding where you ARE now, and what you are need to do, and are willing to do, to get from where you are now to where you want to be, that is the challenging bit.

To make the most of this blog clearly define:

What it is you really want to change about your current situation?

What would you like that aspect of your life to be like?

How would that feel?

What must you do today as the first step of this goal plan.

Your energy flows towards what you focus on.

So, the answer to making more sales is not to learn 256 new closing techniques, but to do a BETTER presentation. How about the next time you are with a brand new prospect consciously listening out for INFORMATION, EMOTION & MOTIVES that way your presentation will truly mean something to them.

The benefit of modern training is it assists in changing attitudes. It teaches sales people to learn skills not just tricks and tips it enables salespoeple to live the learning.

A recent survey shows that 68% of customers leave a current supplier because they felt undervalued. Most businesses focus almost all of their sales and marketing time, energy and budget bringing in new customers and seem to neglect their existing ones. Most mobile phone companies will give a better deal to a brand new customer then an existing one. This on the face of things is crazy.

The existing customer has cost next to nothing to sell to. The unfortunate consequence of this is it teaches customers to have little or no loyalty. A simple calculation of the potential Lifetime Value of a customer should reassure you that a policy to ensure your customers stick to you like glue is going to pay dividends in the long run. So how do you do it?…I hear you say. First and foremost it is to have a culture within your company of building relationships with customers. Moving away from a straight forward transactional sales model will build loyalty.

Have a look at what you provide for your customers, apart from the products and services you actually SELL to them. Have a look at your website. Does it scream SELL SELL SELL or does it say ‘come inside look around’ ‘so, how can I help you?’ A great example of this is the site for Taylor Guitars. They have grown their site and have the obligatory Flickr, myspace and youtube links. However if you want to learn more about their guitars you can even view videos of the trees being cut down to make the guitar body. http://www.taylorguitars.com/guitars/features/woods/Videos/video.aspx?file=Spruce_1_High.wmx

This will not make customers buy more, but it will start to build loyalty.

The next and most simple way to show your customers that you value them is to communicate more with them.  Creating a newsletter to provide a brief portal into your world and business if written in an interesting fashion will help to build customer loyalty.

There are lots of decisions that need to be made such as layout, frequency, mix of information and actual marketing content. With the internet this can be very inexpensive and will assist in building a bigger loyal customer base.

Customer loyalty programs are not just for the big boys How about having some form of loyalty to get customers to feel compelled to come back AND also introduce you to their friends.

Find out more ways to build customer loyalty at www.paulparish.co.uk