Laura Berman Fortgang - Coach of Coaches

Here's another recommendation for you and, again, it's a very talented and knowledgeable lady from NYC area (I must get over there again soon)......

Some of you may know her, know of her and some of you may not know her at all, for which I say 'you are serious about personal development aren't you?'

I have followed Laura Berman Fortgang for almost 12 years now.  I met her quite a while ago at a seminar she ran in London after the publication of her book Take Yourself to the Top, of which I have a signed copy but hey, I'm a fan.

I think she pioneered the whole idea of coaching and got me interested in the whole coaching scene.  I cannot find anyone coming close to her (not that I have looked) and I always have considered her the best there is in the business and personal coaching field.

She has a common sense approach and a focus on what works for her clients.  Laura is also a best-selling author, sought-after speaker, corporate spokesperson and interfaith minister.

She is the best-selling author of five books now published in 11 languages:

• The Prosperity Plan
• The Little Book on Meaning (Finalist for a Books for a Better Life Award)
• Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction
• Living Your Best Life
• Take Yourself to the Top

When you read a list like that and look at the figures one thing is obvious.  She knows her stuff.

Laura has also been a media perennial for years. Her appearances on Oprah, The CBS Early Show, NBC's Today, Good Morning America, various nationally syndicated and cable outlets as well as a long stint as contributing editor for Redbook Magazine and in other major print and digital media have helped her reach millions of people who want to improve their work and life.

Do yourself, your business and the people around you a big favour and go to:
http://www.laurabermanfortgang.com/index.html

or follow her on Twitter
@LauraBFortgang

Prepare to be amazed and...See You At The Top

Preventing 'Death by Powerpoint'

I have sat through many presentations in my previous life as a Sales Director at companies like Telewest, Cable London and Holiday Ownership Exchange and believe me, I feel your pain when it comes to Slides or Powerpoint presentations.

As soon as you walk into the seminar room and you see the laptop and computer your heart sinks because you KNOW that not only have you got to listen to someone, you have to read the slides and, probably, make notes.

I love French Cinema and I speak a little French so I ignore the subtitles as much as I can but many people hate the idea of reading a movie, they want to watch one. 

It's the same with presentations.  Some people have EVERYTHING they say, EVERY WORD, up on that screen and they not only read the slide out but they POINT AT THE WORDS AS THEY GO ALONG!!!

That is a combination of lack of confidence, bad presentation skills and overkill.  It is such poor preparation that it borders on Preparation H!!

When these presenters look at the audience can't they see the sea of bored people with a glazed look on their faces. (I know, I was one of them).

Steve Jobs had a list of rulles for presentations.

1.   Open with words that are in line with the theme by using a headline.
2.   Make the theme clear and consistant so it sets the direction.
3.   Provide an outline.
4.   Open and close each section with a clear transition.
5.   Sell an experience.
6.   Use powerful words like Extraordinary, amazing, cool, awesome and incredible.
7.   Make numbers and statistics meaningful and then break them down.
8.   Analogies help connect the dots.
9.   Paint a simple picture that doesn't overwhelm.
10. Rehearse it.

In order to create a PowerPoint presentation that is engaging and compelling, use this list as rocket fuel that will fire your presentation to the stars.  It's a list of do's and dont's that has been built over years of experience.  Add what works for you and let me know your own tips.

1. Clip art is funny but don't even think about using crap that a 10 year old could have come up with.  Your credibility will be shot.  Limit the clip art or better still leave it out completely

2. Add an unexpected, personal, FUNNY photograph.
3. The slide is meant to reinforce the point you are making.  NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

4. Don't EVER say, "This one's a little hard to read." SLIDES ARE FREE. Split the slide into two.
5. Don't have your slides spin around or have moving text -It is very annoying!  I have heard salespeople in the audience next to me having side bets on which direction the slide will come in from. 
6. Don't put more than one point on a slide.
7. Count the laughs. At least one for every five slides. (If there's at least one laugh every five slides, you can count on one other thing: money.)
8. Use a white background. The fancy ones are distracting.  They are an embellishment that detracts from your message.
9. Include a logo. I put a bug-size logo in the lower right corner of every slide. I have no idea why, but no one has ever said anything to me. And I figure if it's good enough for MTV, Comedy Central or any of those Cable channels, it's good enough for me.
10. Use the font IMPACT. Set the master screen for 44pt and shadow the type.
11. Emphasize words by blowing them up a few point sizes. Make them a different colour. I use Purple.

12. If you're labouring over one slide that you are trying to "make work," delete it. It was probably a weak point.

13. Use slides that tell a story, rather than relate a fact. Stories are the most powerful part of the sale. Here's the rule: Facts and figures are forgotten, stories are remembered and retold.

14. Are your slides engaging? There are two kinds of slides: engaging and distracting. Review each slide and ask yourself, "How engaging is this slide?" If it's not engaging, then it's distracting, so why the hell are you using it?

15. Are your slides asking questions or making statements? Questions will promote conversation and engage. Statements are just that - There is no conversation.

16. How many of the claims that you makE in your sales presentation, by PowerPoint or verbally, are backed up with proof?

17. Incorporate video testimonial clips throughout your slide presentation to back up and prove that your claims are real and transferable-real, transferable, and acceptable to the customer.

By now you're probably totally disheartened about your PowerPoint presentation because I've exposed it for the powerless "point" it is. But take heart. Your competition's slide presentation is equally pathetic.

Here is the secret solution: Convert the time you're wasting by watching television reruns and use it to develop your own PowerPoint presentation that is 100 percent in terms of the customer's needs and desires. Your PowerPoint presentation should engage the prospective customer by asking questions and promoting dialogue, include a little humour to keep the sales presentation alive, and support every fact and claim with testimonials.

And by the way, there's one question that you better make certain appears toward the end of your PowerPoint presentation: a question that asks for the sale.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you to make sure the Powerpoint presentation you are constructing is interesting is this.  When you are done, leave it for two days.  Then look at it again.  If it STILL looks great, use it.  That break will let your mind review it with fresh eyes.

 

*With thanks to Steve Jobs and Jeffrey Gitomer

You-Nique

Do you wonder what makes you different from everyone else? Are you looking for an answer to "What makes me special and unique?" that is more meaningful than just your fingerprints or a spiral of DNA?


Understanding how each of us is unique is an essential part of questioning who we are and why humanity exists. To help you find an answer to this ancient and universal question, we offer a new way of looking at things.

Are you Unique? Do you go your own way? Do you follow your own beliefs?

Being unique can make you start to feel awkward about who you are. If you are not like everybody else ... you can feel like you don't fit ... and don't belong.


And that is a horrible way to feel .. especially when you consider that everyone is unique. Everyone, underneath the things that define a generation or a culture, is truly unique and vastly different ... from the things they love -- to what inspires them or makes them laugh.


Do you remember the scene in The Life of Brian when, having been chased and followed by hundreds of people, Brian addresses the crowd from his bedroom window and there is the classic exchange...

Brian: You are all Individuals!
Lone Voice: I'm not!

Being an individual means you are unique.

Do you have any idea just how unique you are?

What makes you unique?
Is it what you do, or how you do what you do?

If you want to Stand Out, you have to be OutStanding.
It's a simple as that. And Simplicity rules.

Simplicity is harder than you think. We all have the ability to make things difficult. We analyse and go over details again and again when in fact what we should be doing is refining and streamlining.

If you want to be unique you have to strip everything down and discover just what sets you apart from everyone else.

Sustained success comes only when you take what's unique about you and figure out how to make it useful.

Whatever it is that you do to make yourself unique you have to decide whether or not it is something that will generate interest, business and raving fans (repeat customers).

What are your strengths? How do you use those strengths to overcome your competitors, if you consider your competitors?

Remember that there is no one else on this planet like you. No one else can do what you do, in the way you do it. If there were then I can guarantee that they wouldn't do what you do for the same reasons you do it.

The same thing applies to businesses and other types of organizations. But in this case, it is called branding and is known as what makes you stand apart and stand out from the crowd ... in both good and bad ways.


Being unique in business may be just what your company needs ... and should shout about. But just being different isn't what you want to focus on. Instead, you want to be distinctive -- in the things your customers and clients value most. And that is what finding your business niche is all about.

Chasing Your Dream

I watched a dog yesterday.

It was sitting on the side of the road when a car drove past.

The dog was obviously bored and looking for something to do, waiting for something to come along, when along came an Alfa Romeo.

It drove past the dog, the dog looked at the car, then chased it.  It didn't have to chase the car for long as it stopped only a few hundred yards along the lane. 

I watched the dog.  It stopped when the car stopped and then, after giving the car a quick glance, walked back to where it had been sitting, sat down, and carried on staring across the fields.

Chasing that car seemed like a good idea at the time but the dog had overlooked one vital piece of the equation. 

It had no idea what to do with the car when it caught it!
                                               ____________________

What are you like when an opportunity comes your way? 

There you are, minding your own business, or dreaming about running your own business, when....BANG!

No, you haven't been hit by a car.  You have been waiting for something to come along and now you have seen a car appear on the horizon, like an idea or an opportunity.  Then it gets nearer and you start to look at it.  Then you get intrigued by it.  Then you chase your dream.  The car is off down the road and you are chasing it.

But when you catch the car, or the idea, what are you gonna do with it?  Are you going to get in the driving seat and drive it?

Where to?

Dogs chase cars with no idea what they are going to do with them when they catch them.
Conversely, Cats don't chase cars.  They look at the car going by and probably think 'Hmmm, nice car, Alfa Romeo' and carry on relaxing.  They just can't be bothered to seize opportunity.

Don't be a dog and chase things for no reason.  Don't be a cat either, and let opportunity go by.

Be someone who has the end in sight.  Know your destination.  Know your direction, plan your route, know why you are taking the journey and then, when an opportunity comes your way, chase it, get in the driving seat and hit the accelerator!

You-Nique

Do you wonder what makes you different from everyone else? Are you looking for an answer to "What makes me special and unique?" that is more meaningful than just your fingerprints or a spiral of DNA?


Understanding how each of us is unique is an essential part of questioning who we are and why humanity exists. To help you find an answer to this ancient and universal question, we offer a new way of looking at things.

Are you Unique?  Do you go your own way?  Do you follow your own beliefs?

Being unique can make you start to feel awkward about who you are. If you are not like everybody else ... you can feel like you don't fit ... and don't belong.


And that is a horrible way to feel .. especially when you consider that everyone is unique. Everyone, underneath the things that define a generation or a culture, is truly unique and vastly different ... from the things they love -- to what inspires them or makes them laugh.


Do you remember the scene in The Life of Brian when, having been chased and followed by hundreds of people, Brian addresses the crowd from his bedroom window and there is the classic exchange...

Brian: You are all Individuals!
Lone Voice: I'm not!

Being an individual means you are unique.

Do you have any idea just how unique you are?

What makes you unique?
Is it what you do, or how you do what you do?

If you want to Stand Out, you have to be OutStanding. 
It's a simple as that. And Simplicity rules.

Simplicity is harder than you think.  We all have the ability to make things difficult.  We analyse and go over details again and again when in fact what we should be doing is refining and streamlining.

If you want to be unique you have to strip everything down and discover just what sets you apart from everyone else.

Sustained success comes only when you take what's unique about you and figure out how to make it useful.

Whatever it is that you do to make yourself unique you have to decide whether or not it is something that will generate interest, business and raving fans (repeat customers).

What are your strengths?  How do you use those strengths to overcome your competitors, if you consider your competitors?

Remember that there is no one else on this planet like you.  No one else can do what you do, in the way you do it.  If there were then I can guarantee that they wouldn't do what you do for the same reasons you do it.

The same thing applies to businesses and other types of organizations. But in this case, it is called branding and is known as what makes you stand apart and stand out from the crowd ... in both good and bad ways.


Being unique in business may be just what your company needs ... and should shout about. But just being different isn't what you want to focus on. Instead, you want to be distinctive -- in the things your customers and clients value most. And that is what finding your business niche is all about.

That way, you begin to build loyalty to what makes you different ... like Classic Coke or Starbucks' coffeehouse experience that harkens back to Lloyds of London and the bankers that backed the shipping trade.


How To Make Your Business Unique


1. Largest Selection
One way that you can make your product or service stand out is to offer the largest selection of products, services or programs.
Example: Home Depot, E-Bay, Staples, Amazon.co.uk

2. Innovative Product
If you have a new product or a service that others don’t offer, you will have something that no one else can offer.
Example: Windows, Viagra, Value Program

3. Multiple Uses
Once you have a product or service to offer, look for other ways that the customer can use the same product or service.
Example: Baby carrier that has carriage base, electric can opener with knife sharpener, Aspirin can be used as pain reliever and heart attack preventative. Cell phone is a camera too.

4. Superior Customer Service
Keep reminding your customer that you are eager to help them by giving extra-ordinary support on your product or service.
Example: Nordstrom's is known for this. Doctors who make house calls, a mobile lawyer's office, a glass company that comes to your workplace to change the glass in your automobile are other examples.

5. Convenient Location
Make it easy for customers to do business with you by providing them access in exactly the place where they will need your product or service.
Example: Bank in the supermarket, ATM in airport, setting up a stand to sell umbrellas on a busy street corner on a rainy day.

6. Expert Consulting
If you have deep knowledge of your product or service, you can be useful in helping your customers before and after the sale is made.
Example: Computer sales person who understands connectivity issues and can help you integrate your equipment with the new computer. Estate Agent who has huge rolodex and provides referral to other vendors that new home owner would need.

7. Price
If you have a product or service with a high price, you offer prestige. If you offer the lowest price, the thrifty customer will be attracted to your product or service.
Example: High Price - Lexus, Canyon Ranch etc. Low price - Target, Wal-Mart

8. Lasting affect
The product or service you offer have a longer lasting affect than any others.
Example - Extra strength Tylenol, Bike lock that cannot be opened, car battery that lasts 5 years, long lasting car tires.

9. Guarantee
Offer a guarantee with your product or service.
Example: Money back if not satisfied. Free conversion back to previous vendor if not satisfied.

10. Packaging
Offer a package that is different from others. (prettier, stronger, environmentally friendly, easier to open, child-proof)
Example: Packaging material that dissolves in water, free gift wrapping for all purchases, child-proof aspirin bottles, juice drinks with straw.