The Spot Light of Your Message

October 22nd, 2015

Where you focus your message, lets people know how aware you are of other their perspective.

When most people stand up to speak, they speak from their own perspective, and they sell their message in terms of what it means to them. The audience though, only care about themselves. They will only take action in a way that’s going to improve their lives. If you want to be seen as an influential person, you need to structure your message in terms of what is of benefit for your audience. In the world of sales, it’s known as the WIFM – “What’s In It For Me?”

Next time you are speaking, assess your message to see what perspective it comes from.

  • For whom are you framing it?
  • Are you framing it in terms of “what I want to do; what I want to achieve?” (e.g. I’m just calling you to see if you have done….”?)
  • Or, are you framing your message for your audience so it is all about them?

After you have spoken, you will do some dynamic reflection. You will reflect on how you conducted yourself during your encounters with others (e.g. meetings, phone calls, presentations etc).

Was your conversation focused on you, or was it focused on the person you were having a conversation with? This is a powerful technique that, once you get control of and understand, you can apply this technique, and you can structure your message so it fits with your audience’s world very quickly. This is how you will increase your influence.


Why Would They Listen?

October 19th, 2015

Just because you’re the boss, the supplier or the paid consultant, it doesn’t mean your audience will listen to you. You have to give them a reason to listen.

My friend and Thought Leader Matt Church speaks about the three questions all audiences have at the start of any presentation. If you don’t answer these questions, the audience won’t listen.

  1. Why this? Why should I stop what I am focused on and pay attention to what you have to say?
  2. Why now? Why do I have to listen to this today? Can’t you come back next week?
  3. Why you? Why are you the person to be speaking to me about this?

Unfortunately, most people start with question number three; Why you? This is wrong, as most audiences don’t even know why they should be listening to you at all. As a result, they won’t hear the reason you give for being so awesome.

You see this a lot in sales situations where sales reps will tell you how good their company is before telling you why you would want to know that.

If you have any sales reps who call on you and tell you why they are awesome before explaining why you should care, please send me their details. If you have staff who do this, give me a call.

As always, would love your thoughts on this, please leave a comment in the comment section below.


The Spot Light of Your Message

October 15th, 2015

Where you focus your message, you let people know how aware you are of other people’s perspectives.

When most people stand to speak, they speak from their own perspective, and they sell their message in terms of ‘what it means to them’, the person speaking. However, the audience only care about themselves. They will only take action in a way that’s going to improve their lives. If you want to be seen as an influential person, you need to structure your message in terms of what the benefit will be for your audience. In the world of sales, it’s known as the WIFM – what’s in it for me?

Next time you are speaking, assess your message to see what perspective it comes from:

  • For whom are you framing it?
  • Are you framing it in terms of “what I want to do, what I want to achieve?” (e.g. I’m just calling you to see if you have done….”).
  • Or, are you framing your message for your audience so it is all about them.

This is going to require some dynamic reflection. You will reflect on how you conducted yourself during your encounters with others (e.g. meetings, phone calls, presentations etc) after you have finished the conversation.

Ask yourself, was your conversation focused on you or was it focused on the person you were having a conversation with? This is a powerful technique that once you get control of it, and understand, you can apply it and structure your message so it fits your audience’s world very quickly. This will increase your influence.


Depth of Understanding

October 11th, 2015

When speaking to an audience you need to understand them on three levels.

Level 1 – Logistical – Who are they and what do they do?
Level 2 – Motivational – what do they want?
Level 3 – Behavioural – what will they most likely do before, during and after your presentation.

Level 1 determines what you could sell to your audience, but it’s levels 2 & 3 that are important for influencing.

Level 2 tells you why they will listen, and buy from you. It will help you identify their trigger points so you can hone in on them.

Level 3 will guide their actions. What they will do once you’ve spoken to them?

If you are presenting to sell your services, it is important to know what your audience will do, after you have finished speaking to them. Are they likely to give an order number on the spot or will you have to wait a week? If you have to wait a week, how will you stop that blowing out to two weeks, then three, then six…?

Having a strategy in place to understand all three levels will make your job of speaking to sell easier.

As always, would love your thoughts on this. Please leave a comment below in the comment section.


Superannuation: Why Alan Kohler has the story right

October 8th, 2015

Each night on the ABC News, finance reporter Alan Kohler gives a small insight. It might be how a drop in the Yen against the US $ is directly related to increasing the value of the Nikkei.

These small tidbits of information are visual, not readily available to the average viewer and show a level of insight. When we see them, they explain a small piece of the economy. In, and of themselves they are not very useful, they are memorable, and they show his insight. He can see what I can’t. He sees this because he has access to the data and the understanding of how to interpret it.

Most of this information is trivia to the viewers watching at home. They won’t be able to apply it to any meaningful money making venture, but it is an important and a regular part of his 2-minute segment. So why does he include it?

He includes it to position himself as the person who knows. Every time he can show us a small bit of insight, we see him as ‘the man who knows’.

There is one further element that makes these bits of information stand out. We can take them and share it at a BBQ on the weekend, and feel informed. We repeat the information without acknowledging its source, we use it, and we own it as our own. This is Social Object Theory, and it is at the heart of ideas that go viral.

  1. As an expert in superannuation, you want your workplace presentations to have high Social Object value. You want your members to share what it is you present in your workplace presentations, and pass it off as their own. When they do this, three things happen:
  2. It’s proof to your members that your presentations are interesting and memorable. This will make them want to come back to your next presentation and even bring a friend.
  3. It gets them mentally engaging with their super via the memory of your message. (McDonalds repeats their ads to us all the time. This is your version of the happy meal jingle.)

It positions you as the expert who knows. When they take your message and repeat it as their own, they secretly acknowledge you as the source of the message. This builds your credibility in their eyes.

Superannuation is an important part of every Australians life. Making your message more memorable will enable your members to engage mentally with their super and have the retirement they are after.


Currencies That Convert

October 5th, 2015

There are only five currencies that people care about and they are:

  1. Time
  2. Money
  3. Happiness
  4. Health
  5. Legacy

Everything you sell needs to address one of these currencies. Every time you speak, you need to address how your audience will benefit from these currencies. If you cannot address these currencies, you’ll find it difficult to get your message across.

While there is no hierarchy to the currencies, most people default to money as it is the most tangible. This is wrong.

The most powerful one to sell on is time. It is the only currency you cannot get more of.

Would love your thoughts on this, leave a comment below in the comment section.


Superannuation: What members want to know about this weeks bloodbath.

September 30th, 2015

With over $55 Billion wiped from the markets this week, what is the one thing that your members are thinking as they go into workplace presentations regarding Superannuation?

Are your planners equipped to explain what has happened and why it happened? Will they be able to offer insight into the likely knock-on effect of the fall, and what it means for the wider economy?

Or will they continue to run the same presentation they ran on Monday – explaining the returns achieved over the last 12 months, and asking for appointments for financial planning sessions?

If your planners are not focused on discussing, and explaining this week’s news, then you know why your members are not engaged with their super. Members are more engaged with what has happened this week, over what it will mean for three decades down the track.

To have the ability to ditch the standard presentation, and speak on the current movements, your planners need three things:

  1. Insight from your investment team. Not just data, but insight – what will all this mean for today, and my retirement savings.
  2. Ability to explain. Your planners need the ability to ditch the slides, and explain what has happened. If all your planners can do is read slides, they are just a talking brochure. They need to be leaders within their field of expertise.
  3. Reassurance. Showing that your fund understands the machinations of this massive movement. They need to relay how your fund is set up to handle these shocks, and how they are prepared to make even better returns off the back of it.

At the base of this, is your planners ability to share their message without a powerpoint slide deck. If they cannot, they will never be relevant to the member and what is engaging them today. This entrenches member disengagement and their connection to your fund and their Super.

I show financial planners how to get an extra 2-10 financial planning appointments per week to generate an additional $5,000 to $15,000 per month in fees.


Origins of Fear

September 28th, 2015

Public speaking is a fear of many people. They let nervousness take control of their mind and body, and their message is lost. Knowing what is causing the fear is key to addressing it.

The three areas that cause nervousness are:

  • Self – the pressure we put on ourselves to perform
  • Situation – what is riding on the presentation
  • Someone else – the pressure your colleagues put on you to perform

Managing your nervousness is about managing different areas:

  • For the self, it’s about managing the physiology and psychology.
  • For the situation, it’s about managing expectations of yourself and others.
  • For the someone else, it’s about managing the relationship.

Identifying what is causing your nervousness is key to providing the right solution to the problem.

As always, I would love your thoughts on this, leave a comment below in the comments section.


Inflection Points – Presentation Skills

September 21st, 2015

Many good leaders weaken their message by the way they deliver it. They write a strong sentence which they deliver a tentative message. The biggest culprit in this is the inflection they place at the end of the sentence. Do they finish their sentence with their voice going up, down or no change at all?


Inflection Points

  • An upward inflection is tentative – it’s asking a question.
  • No inflection is a statement – just giving information.
  • A downward inflection is a command – telling someone what to do.

If you constantly have an upward inflection, it will tell your audience you are not sure of your message. If you use a downward inflection too often you can be seen as bossy.

A powerful combination is to ask a question with a downward inflection. This gives the politeness of asking a question with the subtle command of ‘just do it.’

As always, I would love your thoughts on this, leave a comment in the comment section below.


Superannuation: Bored Members Don’t Book

September 21st, 2015

Superannuation is one of the greatest assets anyone can have. Yet it is sold in the most boring of ways.

A highly qualified and skilled planner stands at the front of the room and reads slides to the audience. They talk of great returns and retirement lifestyle while the audience nods off. The presentation has valuable content that is hidden by an inability to engage and inspire.

In the most part, this is caused by planners having to stick to a rigid format to present. They are provided with a slide deck from the Member Services Department that Marketing has approved. The font is the right colour and size, and looks good on the corporate PowerPoint template. The legal disclaimer is comprehensive and prominent. The ensuing slides explain in detail, the average of history, so that members can walk out informed, and who will be excited to book a financial planning appointment. Unfortunately, this rarely happens.

Member disengagement with superannuation is stubbornly high. It shows no sign of abating. While the workplace presentation will always be an important part of member engagement, it needs a make-over so it is more relevant to the member.

Better Presentation Skills All Round

Having good presentation skills is not only about being nerve-free when standing at the front of the room. It is also about engaging the audience with relevant material delivered in an appealing manner that motivates the member to become involved. Only when this happens, will members be drawn to the message that your fund sells.

Being more engaging starts with these three steps:

Ditch 80% of the slides. The planner is the source of the information – not the slides. When members spend their time reading the slides the planner becomes superfluous. This detracts from their positioning as a leader within their field. If the planner is an expert in their field, why do they need to read their message?

Tell stories. Humans are hardwired for stories – every culture, religion and society is based around stories. There is a reason for this. Tap into this hardwiring and people will become engaged.

Explain today. The return that you present, is a single digit representation of the last 12 months. It’s the average of history. More-over it does not represent what could happen in the future. To become relevant to the member, explain what is happening today. Explaining why the Chinese market lost 10% in 2 days is far more relevant and exciting to TODAY than the average of the last 12 months. This engages members.

When members are engaged in your message, they are more likely to book planning appointments. They will value the insight you offer and the skills you bring. When they value this it will be easier to engage them in their superannuation.

Bored members don’t book. Engaged members do.

Would love your thoughts on this, please leave a comment in the comment section below.

Cheers

Darren


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