Sales Effectiveness

How Steve Jobs is a great presenter

Steve Jobs is widely acknowledged as one of the best presenters. In his annual Mac World presentations he inspired the Apple corporation and the industry with the next step according to Apple.

Have a look at his Macworld presentations on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmoDqPyofok&feature=PlayList&p=F8886490FF4659E3&index=0 ) and look for the following  ten reasons he is such a great presenter.

1.  Authentic Style

He looks comfortable and relaxed and appears to be genuine. People who know Steve Jobs say “that is who he is”. His comfortable style makes the audience feel relaxed.   He uses a conversational style that sounds very natural even though he rehearses more than most presenters.

2. Easy universal beginnings

When Steve Jobs opened Macworld 2008 he said “Welcome to Macworld 2008.  We’ve got some great stuff for you.” This is a very humble and easy way to begin. When you consider how complex and innovative his topic is, to use the phrase “great stuff” connects him with his audience and reinforces the key message that this is “for you”. Notice he doesn’t say “the reason I’m here is to show you new products.”

3. Clear Takeout.

Very early in the presentation Steve Jobs makes a simple and grand claim.  “Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone”.

4. Set the agenda.

He follows the Presentation Format by saying “So I’ve got four things I’d like to talk about with you today.  So let’s get started.” This gives us the elements or structure he is following.

5. Relevant transitions.

Because he is talking for a long time to a large group of people who are live and watching on large screens on adjacent rooms he knows that transitions help keep the audience on track. So he says “So that’s time capsule.  A perfect companion to Leopard, and that’s the first thing I wanted to share with you this morning.”

6. Persuasive support.

Jobs uses the full range os support from stories and gestures to PowerPoint and figures Most presenters use too few or too many figures. Jobs uses figures sparingly but when he does he makes it relevant. Listen for when Jobs says “We have sold 4 million iPhones to date.  If you divide 4 million by 200 days, that’s 20,000 iPhones every day on average.”

7. Variety in visual interaction

He uses multiple visual aids video clips, demonstrations, PowerPoint, grand gestures and movement; he even uses guests and rock bands to get his point across.

When he reverts to PowerPoint he uses just a picture, of just a picture with a few words in  large font.  He wants the audience to listen to him tell the story rather than just read the slides.  One example was a slide with only a green call phone button image on it. He uses the slides to help him tell a story and not tell it for him.

8. Taking risks.

Steve Jobs also demonstrates new software live, his willingness to learn how to do this in front of a world-wide audience gives us more confidence in the ease of use aspects of the product and more confidence in him.

9. Key words.

Key words set the tone for the presentation when they are delivered congruently, that is, with passion and energy that suits the word. Listen to Steve Jobs use words like “extraordinary, amazing, cool, incredible, unbelievable and amazing and awesome.”

10. Memorable Moments.

When he makes a demonstration he asks – what is the best way to show this? When he introduced Mac Book Air he opened a manila envelope, took out the laptop and said “This is the new Mac Book Air. You can get a feel for how thin it is.” This created a memorable moment in the presentation by aligning a key message and a brilliant way of communicating it to his audience.

How Obama makes a speech

Barack Obama is a great speech maker because he uses so many techniques so well. Attached you will find a detailed analysis of his acceptance speeach of November 2008 and references to the techniques he is us. Download PA Analysis Obama Acceptance Speech

Nine great books on change

Change is a crucial element in the art of influence, here are nine of the best books I've read in the change area, my favourite is still #9, Kotter, who still makes the most sense and lays out a practical road map.

1. Blair, G and  Meadows, S. (1996) A real Life Guide to Organisational Change, USA, Gower Publishing Limited.

2.Brecht, G. (1997), Sorting out Change, Australia, Prentice Hall

3. Carnall, C. (1995), Managing Change in Organisations, UK, Prentice Hal

4. Duck, J.D. (2001), The Change Monster, New York, USA, Crown Publishing

5. Heller, R. (1998), Managing Change, London, Dorling Kindersley Ltd

6. Hultman, K. (1998), Making Change Irresistible: Overcoming Resistance to Change in Your Organisation, USA, Davies-Black Publishing

7. Johnson, S. (2000), Who Moved my Cheese?, New York, USA, G.P. Putnam's Sons

8. Kelley, T. with Littman, J. (2001), The Art of Innovation, USA, Doubleday Broadway

9. Kotter, J.P. (1996), Leading Change, USA, Harvard Business School Press

The importance of customer dissatisfaction surveys

Why do some dissatisfied consumers fail to complain? This is crucial because as many as two thirds of dissatisfied customers don't complain. The propensity to complain is linked to assertiveness which is a broader area that includes requesting help and information and resisting attempts at compliance. Central to the propensity to complain is a weighting that compares the cost of complaining with the benefits. The higher the Seeking Redress Propensity (SRP) the higher the likelihood of complaining. The study found that the emotion of anger is the main driver of complaining and resignation is the main driver of non complaining behavior. It seems most dissatisfied customers feel that complaining is pointless. A useful strategy to improve customer service is to encourage customers to complain or at least tell you what they are unhappy with. In some ways a 'customer dissatisfaction survey' is more valuable than a 'customer satisfaction survey.'

How to build enlightened hospitality

You can learn a lot about rapport from the hospitality business because it's often the way the business makes you feel that will bring you back. Danny Meyer launched the groundbreaking Union Square Café in New York twenty five years ago, now he is CEO of one of the world's largest restaurant organisations. His business philosophy revolves around enlightened hospitality, as Danny puts it:

"Hospitability is the foundation of my business philosophy. Virtually nothing else is as important as how one is made to feel in any business transaction. Hospitality exists when you believe the other person is on your side. The converse is just as true. Hospitality is present when something happens for you. It is absent when something happens to you. Those two simple propositions – for and to – express it all."

For enlightened hospitality to work it must be expressed to each of five key stakeholders - to each other, then to guests, community, suppliers and investors. He makes no excuses for his staff first approach because the only way he can ensure superior customer service is to ensure they are served by happy staff.

Meyer also draws a useful distinction between service and hospitality. Service is the technical delivery of the product; this is necessary but not enough. Hospitality for Meyer is "how the delivery of that product makes the recipient feel" and is more like a dialogue that involves listening and responding. To reach the top requires excellence in service and hospitality.

Have you ever wondered why a technically perfect restaurant leaves you feeling cold? Meyer uses analogy of a light bulb that gives off both heat and light. Imagine if every business was a light bulb with the primary goal of attracting as many moths as possible. In Meyer's world 49 per cent of the attraction is the light and 51 per cent of the bulb's attraction is the warmth.

To find out more about Danny Meyer and his Union Square Hospitality Group visit http://www.ushgnyc.com/ or read his excellent book Setting the Table, (Harper, New York 2008).

How to find out more about coaching

Two  years ago I started a weblog for people I coach, its full of useful resources and ideas to maximise your performance. Why not have a look at the weblog by visiting http://peteranthony.typepad.com/coaching/

Negotiating Myth #3 Always make the first offer

One great myth of negotiating is to never make an offer until they have made an offer first. This false theory suggests that you give away too much if you make the first offer. In practice the opposite is true. You are better off making the first offer in a negotiation for three reasons:

1. It acts as an anchor around which the rest of the negotiation revolves.
2. It's much easier to be bargained down than to bargain the other side up.
3. When you are making concessions you can always ask the other person for a concession too.

So next time you are negotiating be sure to make the first offers.

Negotiation Myth #2

Where there is a single issue negotiation such as at a market where you might haggle over the price of a carving, there is a fixed pie. A fixed pie means there is no chance of exploring ways of both getting more – there are only so many slices of the pie to divide. In most commercial negotiations there are three characteristics which make the pie elastic in size and desirability:

1. More than one issue
2. Each party values each issue differently
3. Interests may be complementary

An outcome can be reached by both people which is better for both than if they assumed there was a fixed pie. Many negotiators don't reach these types of agreement because they assume their interests are conflicting. The assumption of conflicting interests may also lead to devaluing concessions made by the other party since we think that "If they are conceding it to us then it can't be too valuable to them".

So make your first approach one where you attempt to work with the other person to expand your outcomes and the number of alternative ways of getting them. You will then both end up better off.

Download the Metta Negotiation Planner

Effective Strategy is key to successful negotiating, since most good deals are won in planning as much as in execution. Strategy means we must arrive at a series of potential bundles of outcomes that leave us better off than not reaching agreement. You can download the Metta approach to planning negotiations below:

Download SalesNegotiationPlanner.pdf

Negotiation Myth #1

Be careful what you start. Situations worthwhile entering may not be worthwhile pursuing. Continuing a course of action beyond what is rational is common in negotiation – the initial goal may remain despite new information that changes the value of the outcome. Be aware of persistence and consistency in this regard. We must recognise that time; money and effort already expended are sunk costs that cannot be recovered. The reference for whether a bargain is of value is whether it is of present value. When looking at options consider:

Present (costs + benefits) + Future (costs + benefits)

So why do we stay committed to a sometimes irrational course of action?

• To justify prior decisions and offers
• Perception often filters in what confirms the decision and filters out what goes against it.
• Consistency is valued – we like to act consistent with our prior actions because we assume that if we did it before it must be a good idea.

Sometimes winners quit because to keep negotiating will give them a deal that leaves them worse off than no deal at all.