Blog Archives
Have A Laugh Fridays – Everyone Needs A Vacation!
Everyone needs a vacation, even Terry Tate! You just know that you have to watch all 3 minutes.
Have a great weekend!
Have A Laugh Fridays – Incredible Toastmasters Speech!
Think back to those times when you laughed so hard, you had a hard time breathing for a moment, and even cried a little?
I had that experience in the fall of 2012 when I attended the regional Toastmasters Conference in Edmonton, Canada. Andrew Legg blew the audience away and won the humorous speech contest giving us his take on the “Different Stages Of Laughter”.
Please take a moment to share this one with his network, it is a truly remarkable job by a Toastmaster, not a professional comedian!
Have a great weekend!
Have A Laugh Fridays – “Special” Message To Ex-Boss!
Enjoy this awesome 3 minute video to end your week with a good laugh!
“I QUIT” is something that most of us have probably wanted to do to a boss at some point during our careers.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Can’t Miss “Five Star” Presentations!
Presenting in front of colleagues, prospects or customers can be very difficult if not terrifying. But it does not have to be. As a Toastmaster for 18 months now, I am continually looking for ways to improve my presentations.
It is a work in process, and thankfully each time I get up in front of an audience is a step in the right direction.
Here are five things that I focus on each time I present:
- Preparation – I know; sounds crazy but it really does make a difference! Practice ahead of time and make sure audio-visual equipment is working before you start
- Timing and organization – Be respectful of people’s busy schedules and don’t go over time. Always have a question and answer period near the end, but close with your own summary
- Less is more – NEVER put too much information on a PowerPoint slide. Information overload tunes people out!
- What is your value – Smile often, be engaging and limit dead air. These speeches tend to get monotonous and boring. Stand out!
- Information gathering – Have a sign in sheet. This is a great way to confirm contact information and follow-up at a later date
If you want specific information on any aspect of public speaking, stop by http://www.toastmasters.org and check out the library of resources!
Have A Laugh Fridays – “Violent” Sales Meeting
Pretty self-explanatory! Best part is the employee’s explanation right at the end!
Have a great weekend…
It gets hot in the Desert…
Great leadership quote for your Sunday! Thanks Tina….
“Leaders without a plan are just dynamic wanderers” ~ Unknown
10/17/14
Have A Laugh Fridays – Boss or Leader?
Thanks to my good friend Dean Belanger for emailing this to me earlier this week! Love it. Have a fantastic weekend!
Tough Love Lessons – Are You Just the Life of the Party….
Or Do You Actually Bring Something To The “Business Party”?
I am going to have a recurring theme on my blog called “Tough Love Lessons”. I will warn you in advance, they tone of these posts will be “in your face”, and may not apply to you. But there are people out there who need wake up calls in a variety of areas. If you know anyone who this applies to, please share the post with them.
For those of you who are already in the sales profession, or are thinking about a sales career, there are many opportunities to entertain customers and/or prospects. Events like lunches, dinners, golf tournaments, and trade shows are very common.
These are excellent opportunities to get to know people better, but there is also the potential to embarrass yourself! If you have consumed too many refreshments (or whatever else), you are going to look very silly.
Many people have gotten a “pass” at least one time in their careers for foolish behaviour, but if it becomes the rule that you are the “life of the party”, your credibility is thrown right out the window.
During my career, I have often laughed at the comment,
“He’s a great guy (or she’s a great girl)” for one reason……
But there is usually a “BUT” after.
In this scenario, the sales rep is great to socialize with, but they don’t really bring anything to the “business party”. This is a horrible stigma to have during your career. They are fun to be around, but they are not doing their job! OUCH.
Doing your job to the best of your ability is why people should remember you first.
This is not a 9-5, Monday to Friday type career; so if you are thinking about the profession for “free fun”, think again. There is so much more to it than that!
If you get a bad reputation early in your sales career, you are done. I have seen it happen, and don’t think that you would not be blacklisted as a “party-rep” too.
Oh yeah, one last thing….
You never want to be remembered as “that guy” or “that girl”.
This is the person that was a “memorable fool” at a business event, and people talked about them for years later when recalling the stupidity that transpired.
Never be that person who is late for a trade show or training sessions that management has paid good money for you to attend. Drag yourself to the event no matter what, or you may be looking for a new job sooner than later.
I’m out!
Stop, Look and Listen… The Follow Up!
I am still smiling from ear to ear after the great response I received last Thursday from the “Stop, Look and Listen” post! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read it, and a special shout out to those who took the time to comment. In case you missed it, here it is again:
I have been “practicing what I have been preaching” on a couple of items and wanted to give you an update:
I recently reached out to an old colleague that I have not spoken to in many years. Our relationship was a little choppy to say the least for a long time and we happily stayed “out of touch” as our careers continued with different organizations. They were happy to re-connect via social media, and vowed to stay in touch going forward.
I also had a face-to-face meeting with an old friend when he visited my city recently. We had not really hung out for the better part of ten years, and it was awesome to see each other again! We were the best of friends in university and stirred up the occasional bit of trouble, so it was nice to sit down and chat. We picked up right where we had left off which is what I expected to happen!
For the above situations, so much time had passed, I was not even sure why we “broke up” in the first place. It is all water under the bridge now. Time to move on.
A third story has been on my mind a lot since last Thursday. I became quite close with a customer of mine many years ago early in my career. We had a lot in common, and loved to talk about hockey every time I visited his store. If memory serves me correctly, we stayed in touch for a bit after I started a new role, but we finally drifted apart and never communicated again.
As my mind drifted during work last week, I finally decided that it was time to take action and reach out to him again after all these years. Within an hour of making that commitment to contact him, I received a very disturbing email. He had passed away suddenly the night before. I was in absolute shock.
– Is it time to reach out to somebody from your past?
– Is it time to leave the “past in the past” and move forward?
– Is the time to do that TODAY?
Things can change in an instant – unfortunately my third story proves that.
Hope I can motivate all of you to take action!
Sell, Lead, Succeed! 