8 Brainstorming Ideas to Inspire Brilliant Pitches

8 Brainstorming Ideas to Inspire Brilliant Pitches

Aug 1, 2022 | Public Speaking

When it comes to producing innovative ideas, it is not easy, it is a job to always be churning them out. When you have sessions with your team, this can be extremely helpful. You are going to learn that some sessions are better than others. 

When you feel like you are not coming away with anything useful sometimes it can feel like you are wasting time. Here are a few tricks to make sure that the sessions are always productive.

Have Your Ideas First

When you have a session you want to make sure that everyone who is in the room is going to feel comfortable sharing all the ideas. What that means is that they need to feel comfortable sharing them and many of them are not going to be impressive. You need to be able to share the ideas and know that you have productivity happening in the groups. 

One of the best things to do is to spend the first 10 minutes doing brainstorming and that will mean that when you are getting started you will be able to toss out the bad ideas. In a recent study, it was found that it takes about four thousand bad ideas to get to one gem. What that means is that there are going to be some throw aways and you are going to be able to have some laughs as well as a team.

“You can feel creative tension when you sense the freedom to be creative, the harmony not via compliance only, but through brainstorming.”
Pearl Zhu

Always Break Down Ideas Together

One of the best things that you can do is to take apart an idea and make sure that you have a theme. What that means is that you can have a perspective that will allow you to have a broader perspective and make sure that you have each person in the room sharing their ideas with each other. After that you can then trade all the papers with the numbers on them and from there you can get innovative ideas.

Pro Tip

Come up with bad ideas first.

Have Word Games as a Team

When it comes to words, they are one of the best ways to ensure that you are moving to latest ideas. You need to get an idea and then put it into some out of the box thinking with the team. One fun thing to do is to take a word and have a word brainstorming session. 

In that time, you allow everyone to think of what that word means and what is associated with it. Then you take that idea and come up with as many similar words as you can to make sure that whatever project you are working on is clear. In addition to this, you can also have a storm on a whiteboard, and you can then take this information and share it with the team after the meeting.

Action Item

Write down ideas no matter how crazy they seem.

Have a Mood Board

This is a wonderful way to ensure that you can spark innovative ideas. When people look at the board, they will get innovative ideas. This is one of the more unconventional ways of learning. 

What this also means is that there are many ways to be able to use the prompts in brainstorming and this one is great for producing new concepts all together. When you are working on a board, you will see that it is a board of images as well as textures that are focused on a particular topic. You will want to use this as a way of branch off the existing topic.

Improv

Games with improv are one of the best ways to ensure that you can have a great environment that allows people to share and to really feel free with one another. When you have a team that engages in these kinds of activities you will be amazed at the amount of creativity that they are able to share and the energy that happens between them.

“Good actors are not thinking ahead. They are listening to what is going on right now.”
Keith Johnstone

Doodle

When you are working with creative insight, you will see that you can increase attention and the span of long- and short-term memory by doodling. There are many sessions out there that are based on reading and taking, but when you are doodling it helps people to get out of the mindset of being stuck in a box and that means that people are going to connect to the information differently.

Change Your Environment

When it comes to making changes in where you are, you will see it is more than just a change of pace. It can be important for the way that your brain is working. When you are in a new place, it makes s new connections. 

Where you are having your sessions could have an impact on the quality of the results you are producing. You want to make sure that you are not using the same regular meeting room if you can. You want to find as many ways as you can to allow people to engage creatively.

Never Have Too Many People

Jeff Bezos has a noticeably clear rule when it come to sessions like this. He never allows there to be more people in a session than can be fed by two pizzas. That also makes sense. 

We have all had a pizza on our own before, but that is 6-20 people. When you are working with a group that is that side you will see that it is more productive. 

It can become exceedingly difficult to have all those people with too many ideas at the same time. When you have a group of ten or fewer you are going to get the best chance to share ideas and not get too off topic.

Take this list of ideas and see which work for you and which would be better for others. You can also use them in tandem and see how you can improve your overall situation as a group. This is meant to inspire creativity and help you be more productive.

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The 4 Best Responses to I Need a Better Price

The 4 Best Responses to I Need a Better Price

Jul 28, 2022 | Public Speaking

There are many ways to approach negotiation when you are looking to buy something, however, what happens when you are the seller. How are you able to negotiate the price as the seller? Do you find yourself caving?

Or are you able to stand your ground on a regular basis? You should know the best tactics to ensure that you are making the best profit possible on your products. This is everything that you need to know as a seller to ensure that you can offer some of the best responses to buyers who are always looking for a better price.

The Issue at Hand: When a Seller Caves

In the 1970s researchers began looking at the effect that a seller had to deviate from a list price. The thought was that when they were collaborating with sellers who had the higher pricing authority that they would be closing better deals overall. However, there were many commissions that were based on the margins, and it was best for the seller to get the best deal possible with each of the buyers. 

One thing that was very surprising however when looking at all the sellers who had the most authority, they had the lowest profits of all the other sellers who were a part of the study. The high authority sellers were 11% lower in margin and had around 13% few sellers than those who had lower authority in the field and had less ability to negotiate on the pricing. When looking at the issue, it came down to really two things buyer tactics and the seller’s behavior.

“You never achieve success unless you like what you are doing.”
Dale Carnegie

When looking at the long-term patterns, that meant that sellers were caving too often. This caving led to many terrible things for sellers like:

  • 1. Poor deals for sellers.
  • 2. Sellers setting a trend that they would be willing to negotiate on prices.
  • 3. This led to diminished results for the sellers that were not able to meet their targets and were not able to meet their goals.

Bad deals are a lot more about price dropping than you might think.

There are many other things that are wrapped up in the entire story of bad prices such as contingencies, cancellation terms, more products and service requests. Buyers are aware of all the kinds of quotas and other factors as well that sellers are having to reach now.

With all these senses of urgency on the seller, sometimes they are not thinking straight. On thing that is important to be aware of is that when you are anxious, it is going to change the way that you are interacting and the way that you are approaching negotiations.

Pro Tip

Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes.

Your Solution: Be Ready for a Trade

When you are in the middle of negotiations. You need to make sure that you are always ready to get something for what you must give. That means that you need to be ready to make trades. 

There are a few things that you need to remember when you are making a trade. You need to always trade and not cave. 

Many of the best negotiators find fresh solutions when they can find new ways to add value. Here are a few of the best responses out there for you to be able to practice.

  • 1. Always look for decision-makers.
  • 2. Always be confident.
  • 3. Have a single discount.
  • 4. Know when to stop the negotiations.
  • 5. Make sure your value proposition is clear.
  • 6. Always allow the seller to make the first offer.

Action Item

Explain to the customer what minimum price you can offer and add variables and options, like flexible payments, different feature packages or a more affordable model.

When you are collaborating with buyers who are mentioning issues of any kind whether they are related to your process or anything else. Here is what you need to remember.

Always look for decision-makers.

When you are selling a product that allows for any kind of negotiation, you want to make sure that you are speaking to the right person. You need to ensure that you are negotiating with a person who has the influence that you need so that you are not going to be wasting any time or effort. 

You also need to know that you are going to be able to produce something the first time if you are dealing with someone who asks for a lower price. You need to always perform your due diligence and ensure that you are in front of the right people so that you will be able to make sure that you have the right decision before you name a price.

Always be confident.

Make sure that you are always putting yourself in the shoes of your buyer’s that means that you need to think about what they are thinking if you have anxiety. You can see why they are wanting to get a lower price. You will see also that when you are collaborating with prospective buyers, they are watching for all your nonverbal cues as well as your regular ones. 

They are going to be wanting nothing but confident cue from you. You want to be confident and not overconfident. You are going to turn people off if you have the wrong attitude.

“In fact, the confidence of the people is worth more than money.”
Carter G. Woodson

Have a single discount.

There are all kinds of options for you to think about when you are creating discounts for your products. However, when you are thinking about a way to price things for your customers you want to make sure that you are not using anything that will seem arbitrary. That means that you need to ensure that you have a single discount that you can use, and it will allow you to always earn a profit.

Know when to stop the negotiations.

When you are collaborating with prospective buyers, you will see that there are many people out there that would rather get something for free other than pay for something. However, that will mean that you are not making a profit. 

Considering that you are business that needs to make moneys, you need to now take an offer that is lower than you are asking. You need to ensure that you are aware of every discount that happens, and you are not going to set yourself up not failure by not running a successful business.

Make sure your value proposition is clear.

As a seller, you need to make sure that you can share with your customers because it is that they should be buying from you. Most of all the buyers out there are noticeably short sighted and are not able to see beyond the price. The thing that you need to show them is that they are going to be able to save and you want to make sure that you can show them as well any other add on that are a part of your product.

Pro Tip

Enlighten the customers on the value they’ll get.

Always allow the seller to make the first offer.

When you are talking to a prospect and they want to make the first offer when you are speaking to them, you will know who you are dealing with and any of the issues that they are facing. What that means is that you need to be in a good place when it comes to all the negotiations out there. When you listen to them, you will be able to give them the best solution that they are looking for. 

You are also going to be able to give them a much better deal based on the price that they are looking for. You may also be able to think about a way to help them without having to haggle at all. When you have a price though that the buyer says is too high, what do you do then?

When it comes to someone objecting to the price it is not what you think it is most of the time. It is important to understand what is being said there and how.

Can we do it for less?

When it comes to the buyer who is looking for a discount because they got one in the past, you need to make sure that you tell them the price is firm. Many of them may be looking just to find a cheap solution and may not understand what they are paying for. You need to explain the full value of the product and highlight what they are getting in a way that they cannot ague.

Money is a Problem!

They cannot find a way to pay more than they have in the past, you need to ensure that you are explaining the ROI to the prospect so that they see what is coming with it. When you are sharing the value of what it is that you are implementing, they should be willing to pay more. You also want to take the time to share a case with them of a client who had a remarkably analogous situation so that they can see the value.

I Have Other Options!

When you are in the business world it will become noticeably clear that there are all kinds of competitors out there for everything. A part of that is that it means it is possible for there to be many other bargaining chips for you and for your buyer. 

You want to ensure the buyer that you are in a place where you have priced things as affordably as you can. If you are still not convinced, you want to make sure that you are able to offer the integration of more support or another thing to add value to the product.

Call Me if You Lower the Price.

This may sound like they are bluffing, but it is a way to make sure that you are holding your ground. That is especially important because you are working to always ensure that you have the best solution for the customer and that takes time. Sometimes you must just walk away.

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How to Improve Communication Skills at Work – 12 Steps

How to Improve Communication Skills at Work – 12 Steps

Jul 27, 2022 | Public Speaking

A person can present many talents at their place of work, but without proper communication skills it can be difficult to progress within a company. Improving communication skills at work does not require any special talent or gift. What it does require is the proper mindset and the effort to apply what you have learned to the work environment.

What follows are 12 steps that you can take to bolster your communication skills. Of the 12 steps available, 8 are things that you can employ right now. 

The other 4 will require some outside help to make it work. The steps will cover presentations, written and oral communications, how to manage conflicts, and more. 

Know What You Want to Achieve

It’s one thing to say you want to improve your communication skills, it’s another to know what direction to take. The first step should be research. Find the people that you admire for their communication skills and work to understand how they are so successful.

This can be someone that you work with directly or perhaps someone famous for their communication abilities. In any case, you should make notes of their attributes which includes the following.

– What makes that person stand out in communicating with others?
– How do they start their presentations?
– How do they initiate and maintain eye contact?
– When conflicts arise, how do they handle them?

By seeing what others are doing, you can better understand the areas in which you need to improve.

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.”
Earl Nightingale

Focus Communication Skills to the Moment

Life is about moments, so you should employ the right set of skills and techniques to the situation at hand. This means customizing your communication efforts to the person or audience that is present. The old saying that brevity is the soul of wit applies in most communication situations. 

Make your emails, speeches, and presentations short and to the point. Focus on one or two points at a time. And allow for feedback and interaction. That is how great communicators work.

Pro Tip

Whether you want to be in business, information technology or any other field, good communication skills will help you succeed.

Create Opportunities to Communicate to Others

If practice makes perfect, then the more opportunities you must communicate with others, the more you will improve your communication skills. So, ask your boss about allowing you to present something at the next meeting.

It can be a simple update on the work you are doing, but the more opportunities you have to speak in front others, the better you will improve your communication skills. And this in turn will open bigger opportunities.

Know the Audience

Great communicators calibrate their communication to the situation at hand. This starts by understanding the objective of the meeting or situation that you are in. The objective should be the focal point of your communication. 

For example, if a meeting is about solving a single issue, then do not bring up other issues. Know the objective and know your audience. Fit the style of communication you will use to the event. 

There is a big difference between making a speech in front of a large group and talking to a co-worker. And remember that communication is a two-way street. Know when to speak and know when to listen and respond to what others are saying.

Action Item

Use specific language, avoid spewing out too many acronyms.

Initiate the Interaction

In situations where others are presenting and opening the floor for questions, ask one. It may be a small, even rather insignificant questions, but it’s the place to start. By staying silent all the time, you are missing out on the opportunities to bolster your communication skills.

Just start with one question. Voice a small opinion. Keep it brief, but you will notice that what seems to be quite trying at first will become second nature in future meetings. Just be sure you are to the point and not rambling when you speak.

“Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.”
LL Cool J

Listen

As fundamental as speaking and writing, listening is crucial to being a good communicator. To become a great listener, you must focus on the important details of what others are saying, incorporate that into your response, and then present your views based on what they have said.

It’s a simple thing, but listening is vital to connecting to your audience. By being focused on what others are saying, you can greatly improve your communication skills.

Tell a Story

It may seem like a timewaster at first, but if you can employ a concise story that applies to the situation, you can really make your points come across with far greater clarity. The story can be something you saw at work, something you heard on the news, or from any source. What’s important is that the story needs to tie directly into the point that you are making.

Admittedly, this is the most difficult aspect of communication. Telling stories is more than simply relating facts. You are weaving together a tale that must be visualized by those who are listening. But if you master this, then you can greatly improve your efforts at communication.

Give Credit

Letting people know how much they are appreciated is one of the best methods to boost morale, increase productivity, and create a closer rapport between you and your audience. Point out when someone has contributed positively to the group or organization. It can be a small thing, but it will have a big impact when you do it properly.

Pro Tip

Always use accurate words to express context.

Additional Steps

You now know the basics. What you need to do is get the proper feedback to help identify areas that can be improved. You can do that with the following.

  • Get feedback from your manager and team
  • Hire a professional coach to assess your communication efforts
  • Attend a live public speaking class or session
  • Practice what you have learned outside of work

All these tips seem simple enough and you do not have to use all of them. But you should get some feedback on what you are doing. Otherwise, it can be easy to overlook an area of weakness that needs improvement.

Put the steps together and you will develop the ability to bolster your communication skills. This will speed the progress of reaching your career goals.

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10 Keys to Speak Confidently to Leadership

10 Keys to Speak Confidently to Leadership

Jul 26, 2022 | Public Speaking

Although speaking in public is one of the most common fears that people face, speaking to your boss or to the leadership of your company is arguably even more common. It does make sense that speaking to those who hold your career in their hands can be a nerve-wracking experience. But it does not always have to be that way.

As with speaking to anyone in authority, it takes the right set of skills and practice to create a more comfortable situation. This in turn will help get your message across while lowering the tension that you are probably feeling.

What follows are 10 keys to speak confidently to leadership. You can employ any or all these keys in your communication efforts for maximum effect.

Get to the Point

In other words, start your remarks with what will benefit the company. This means putting the benefits right up front in your remarks. Structure the presentation as the goal being achieved and then explain how it will happen. 

The actual details of how to obtain the goal is secondary, but important support of the main benefit. Put the outcome first when you are making a presentation to your leadership. 

The details of how it happens will support the results and provide more information. Just remember not to linger too much on the details. Your focus should be on what needs to be done, not all the nuances of how it should be accomplished.

Pro Tip

Be Good at Your Job. Think of it from your boss’s point of view.

Speak Confidently and at a Moderate Pace

One of the biggest issues that nervous speakers face is going too quickly. You lose credibility the more you rush through your words. Instead, uses pauses at the right points in your presentation. 

This will highlight important points you want to make. Plus, it provides time to calm down and gather your thoughts to present the next point. 

Also, try to avoid using filler words such as “um”, “you know”, and the like. That will help gain credibility as well.

“Your voice will enter corners your eyes will never see, so speak up.”
Ibrahim Mustapha

Understand the Audience

The more you know about the people who are there, the better you can hone your presentation. This means using language that best relates to the leadership, so you can make your points the most effective.

This means that the amount of jargon you use, which are words associated with specific knowledge, should be calibrated to the audience. When in doubt, make the words more general and relatable.

Action Item

Choose Your small-talk topics wisely.

Body Language Matters

What you say can be greatly affected by how you appear. Even in today’s virtual world where all people can see is your face, you still must display a strong body language on the screen. You can do this by having the camera at eye level, sitting up straight, and keeping your hands out of sight. 

Hand gestures are okay if they help make your point in a meaningful manner. Just remember not to slouch, lean too far back, or look like you want to be anywhere but where you are at.

Create a Story

Telling a story that backs up your point is one of the most effective means of communication. Relate an example that puts your remarks into focus, so the audience understands what you are trying to get across. For example, instead of talking about issues in a general way, use a story that illustrates what the issues are doing in the workplace. 

Cite a specific interaction with a customer instead of just saying something is a problem. By doing that, it will hammer home the point right away and back up your argument to leadership.

“Simple and to the point is always the best way to get your point across.”
Guy Kawasaki

Be Positive

It’s true that fear is a good motivator but being positive is much more effective. When presenting issues that are facing the company, you should craft the presentation as if this is an opportunity and not a dire warning.

Even if the problems you are addressing are dire, by shaping the presentation as a positive, you can provide direction that inspires the leadership. This will help get your points across better and even motivate action to take place.

Be Kind

It can be easy to devolve into rudeness or not being mindful of your audience. By taking the approach of being kind, you not only improve the presentation, but you also instill confidence as well. Rudeness or being curt only raises suspicions that you are not confident in what you are saying.

By taking the kind approach, you bolster the confidence behind the words. You create the impression that what you are saying is not only real, but that it can withstand criticism.

Watch the Uptalk

Uptalk is when your voice goes up an octave or the tone is pitched higher which makes your sentences sound like questions. Uptalk can eat away at the authority you have built up in your presentation. Instead, work to bring the tone down at the end of your sentences.

Getting rid of uptalk is not easy, but if you practice your presentation as if you were politely giving your dog commands, that can certainly put you in the right place. Just try not to tell your audience to “sit”.

Pro Tip

Understand the Expectations and Learn the Details

Keep It Concise

You can get to the point quickly, but you can also stay there too long. Be concise with your presentation so that it gets across everything you want in the shortest amount of time. You should speak at a moderate pace and not rush through your words. 

But less is more when making your presentation. Being concise means you can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. You can leave time for questions at the end.

Interact When Necessary

For the most part, you should present your material in a compact, concise manner to get your points across. But you should also be prepared for questions. Interaction is a vital part of communication. It is generally best to have such interactions at the end so that your entire presentation can be made in a timely fashion.

However, you may incorporate short questions to your audience that helps you make a better connection. For example, questions such as “how many of you have experienced issues with …?” can invoke a quick response that helps broaden out the impact of your presentation.

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7 Awful First Sentences That Are Killing Your Outreach Emails

7 Awful First Sentences That Are Killing Your Outreach Emails

Jul 15, 2022 | Book Writing

Anytime you are introducing yourself to a new person, or you are at a function it is going to be a little bit nerve-wracking. But you never stroll up to a group of people and make an introduction without having a noticeably clear plan of what you are going to say to the group. That is especially important because you are going to make an impression in a tenth of a second or less, and that can make or break a relationship.

Although you may always be very diligent about introducing yourself face to face, if you are creating a marketing email, you may not be as diligent. You need to look at many of the messages that you have sent out and realize that you may have made some common mistakes. 

Here are seven of the worst reach-out techniques that cause people to delete your emails. Here is what you can do now to increase your readability as well as your sales.

“Set an example for others to do better.”
Debasish Mridha

“My name is…”

Names are one of the things that people do not remember. So, when you lead with this, you are going to lose the attention of the reader within the first second. If your reader is trying to find a way to reach out to you, they will be able to find your contact information in your email signature. 

You can really clean it up by ensuring that your name is in the second sentence of your email and then you will be off to the races. You want to get to the point of your email as quickly as you can and respect the time of your reader.

Pro Tip

Always follow up on your pitch.

“I work for…”

When you lead with who you are working for it is even more boring than your name. It is a clue right away to the reader that you are looking to sell them something and that is a big issue. In addition to that, you will see that as you continue to right, the company that you are working with is something that will be naturally revealed because it will help you to show you are an expert in the field and also what your connection is to the person you are reaching out to!

"Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will."
Zig Ziglar

“Did you know?”

This is another way to put your prospect to sleep. Many reps will begin with sharing statistic or a rhetorical question. The thing is that they will not get the attention of the potential customer, they are going to run for the hills as they are trying to avoid a sales pitch that might feel like it is coming off an infomercial. 

You need to ensure that you are going to share a fact or a figure that is going to entice the reader and ensure that you are appealing to their position in the market. Have facts that are innovative and that are market and niche specific to share with the audience and you will get the attention of the reader.

Action Item

Use your email subject to sum up. You're probably wondering how to summarize a complicated pitch in one line.

“Congrats on…”

When there is a trigger event, that usually seems that you have a reason to reach out to that contact. However, it shows that you are going to have a lazy sale and you are creating a form letter to the reader.

“I’ve been thinking.”

This is something you would want to share with family and friends and not with your business prospects. The reason for this is that when you come out this way you come out as if you are self-interested. The key to implementing this approach is to invert the technique. 

You would want to share the news of their acquisition of a new asset or a major business announcement to show that you are interested in their needs and solution sell. You should never begin an email by talking about yourself, you should always be drafting an email about your prospect to ensure that you have the right perspective.

“It's easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top.”
Henry Ward Beecher

“I hope you are doing well…”

The reach out seems like a warm sentiment. However, when you are reaching out to a new prospect for the first time, one thing that is clear is that you cannot be bland. When you are bland, this will be the kiss of death. 

You will lose the prospect in your first sentence. You want to dive into your message right away and ensure that you catch their attention. 

Take a risk in your message and write something that will catch their attention like, “I am concerned about your company’s implementation of X since they acquired Y, “then share a similar story if you have one from your sales history. This is a fantastic way to get the attention of the prospect and to establish yourself as an expert.

“Did you find what you were looking for?”

Sometimes there are reach outs that happen when there was a lead that came from a piece of content that was downloaded or a video that was watched or a page that was visited. One thing that is important to be aware of is that this is a fun time to reach out to the buyer. In that moment, they are ready to be talked to by sales. 

However, at the same time, asking them if they found what they are looking for is very vague. You need to ensure that you know what the pain point is that you would be able to solve for the customer. Here are some suggestions:

“Do you have all the pricing information you need?”
“Can I answer any questions for you about the product?”

Take your time and wordsmith your emails to your prospects. Look at some of the best reach outs that you have gotten as well in sales and see what sets apart solution selling from someone sending you a form email. 

Form emails feel cold and get deleted as quickly as they show up in someone’s inbox. Tailor your message to the person you are reaching out to and you will drive new profits with happy clients.

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