First, when going into a meeting, turn off your cell phone.  That’s an easy thing and no one should have to be reminded.  Take out your pen, and put your cell phone on vibrate.

Next, if you are in a public place, put your cell phone on vibrate.  The meeting we were having was in a small coffee shop so when the person at the next table received a phone call.  It rang so loud we all jumped.

When you answer the phone, think about the people around you.  I can’t tell you how many conversations I can recount to you from the last week of paying attention that were people just talking loudly on their cell phones.  I’m tempted to start commenting – wouldn’t the person on the phone be surprised?!

Keep conversations short when you are in public.  In you are in line somewhere or at a restaurant, keep it short. It is frustrating when you are holding up the world so you can finish your conversation.  And exactly how is a company suppose to provide you customer service if you are on the phone the whole time?

Be conscious of when you check your phone during a conversation with someone else.  If you know there’s an important call coming in that you have to take, warn the person up front.  If the phone rings and it might be a school or other issue, let the person know you have to check for that reason.  Otherwise, focus on the person in front of you and let the phone go for awhile.

And just to invoke a little common sense, if it would be reasonable for another person to say, “shhhh” to you in that location, don’t take a phone call. The library, a church, a lobby of an office, a movie theater, a quiet restaurant, etc. are all places we would shush you so do it yourself!

The bottom line here is as the face of your company, your behavior speaks volumes about who you are and what your company is about.  If you are rude with your phone, regardless of your intentions, your company will be judged that way.  If you take my call and are in public, I will wonder who can hear what we’re saying and how conscience you are of confidentiality.  If you infringe on my lunch or meeting with your phone, I will assume you are insensitive and don’t care about other people.  Not the right messages, right?

So, what did I learn? At this time of year when you are going to all kinds of events and get togethers, after the initial “hi”, give the other person a context. Ask them a question about the place where you met. Even if they remember you, it will help the conversation and if they don’t, what a giant help you have been! I came back to the office and fired off a quick email to say how nice it was to see him. He’s now much more in my thoughts because he helped me in a situation that could be awkward and I’ll guarantee he didn’t realize he was helping. If you do this on purpose, you can really make a difference for a conversation that might otherwise go nowhere!

How else can you help people out?

Sorry for the short post today, but I’m keeping it simple!

PowerPoint is an incredibly powerful tool – when used well. When used poorly, it is just BORING. In the past, I was taught to put everything on a slide, including our logo and “all rights reserved” at the bottom. Each slide had a header and a footer, and then we would cram as much text as possible into the slide. The idea was, when they took the slides as the handout, they would have all the information. I now know that thinking is completely WRONG.

Instead, your PowerPoint is to enhance your presentation. We all learn in different ways so the slides add a visual backdrop for your presentation. The key here is backdrop. YOU are the focus. YOU provide the content and the information. If you are just going to read to me, knock it off. I read faster than you talk. Send me an email. I’ll get to it – I promise.

One big hurtle I’ve had with the idea of PowerPoint being a backdrop was the handout at the end. I wanted a scenario where I was vital to the experience of the program, but if someone wanted the information as reference or to share with a friend, they could. Enter “Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery” by Garr Reynolds. The obvious answer? Create the handout as a DOCUMENT. Put all your information into a document form with as much detail and information as you like, with headers and other ways to quickly find what they need. Now, you are free to really use PowerPoint for the tool it can be.

Once you’ve written your handout, design your presentation. Slides become large pictures with few words to convey your meaning. There are no titles, logos, or disclaimers because they aren’t necessary anymore. One comment Reynolds makes is, you would never start every conversation with your name, so why start a slide with your logo?

Outline your flow and what information you want to provide. Then create slides that support that mission. You don’t need to put all the information on the slides because it is in the handout so think in terms of what is engaging, what will enhance your presentation and what will keep the audience’s attention.

For more on these concepts, I highly recommend checking out the Presentation Zen blog and book. Hope to see a change in your PowerPoints!

I bring this up because this has happened to me a number of times lately. Either I was the speaker or I was an attendee who got to spend a great deal of time with the speaker because the organizer didn’t show up early. For the one the organizer got there right before it started and the other he arrived on time but then had to get coffee, etc. so we didn’t start on time. So what did they communicate?

In both cases someone sitting near me said, “I’ll have to remember this the next time I’m rushing to get here”. Great. Now at the next meeting of this group someone else isn’t going to show up on time. In one meeting someone took the initiative to make sure everyone was introduced and had a short discussion on why they were there. When the organizer sat down, she was already behind and everyone looked to the guy who had introduced them to run the meeting. Loss of respect was NOT what she was going for at that meeting!

So what should have happened? If you are in charge, get there early. That isn’t a big deal, just schedule the meeting 30 minutes earlier in your calendar. Next, have a plan for what happens when people get there. Will they sign in, will they be introduced to someone, etc. Finally, be sure you own the meeting and run it. Clearly people came when you called, so they already have a reason to listen. Be sure to make it worth their while so they will come back the next time.

Imagine for a moment what he has to accomplish.  His immediate customers are his residents and they have to be comfortable, safe, taken care of and be able to live their lives the way they choose. But then, you also have to figure in his service to their families because as we age more and more people are involved in our care. In addition, you have the community and the Masons who all have opinions on what he’s doing and how. He has to answer the cold, financial questions about caring for our older population as well as manage the real caring that goes on. And THEN he has to dream of the future and set the strategic vision for the organization.

So other than a huge respect and admiration for Jay, what’s the point Kath?  Well, in your business, how much is your culture on purpose and how much has happened by accident?  By nature Jay is an engaging and thoughtful person. It is part of why he has the job he does. But you have characteristics that are why you have your job as well.  Do you remember what they are?  Do you review customer interactions in the context of how your culture is being communicated?  Not to belabor the point, but for instance. If Jay asked one of his residents to help another, they would do so because that is the culture he has built among his customers.  If you called a client and asked them to help another client, would they agree?  Are you enough of a part of their organization that you could do that?

Or think about this. Each time you pick up the phone, what are you thinking?  ”I don’t have time for this call” or “What does the caller ID tell me?” or “Cool! Who could this be?”.  You know there are people out there that say, “cool! I have YOU on the phone”.  Do you give that feeling to your customers?  Or do they hear, the caller ID told me it is you – what do you want?

Culture has to be deliberate and it carries through to more than just your internal team especially if you are a small business.  Your customers should be able to describe your culture and have it match your strategic goals. Just like Jay’s.

Now take that a step further. Now you know what they say. Happy with that? Happy telling people at a meeting, “we do XYZ and our clients tell us we are the only company they’ve brought in that actually understands what they needed.” You certainly sound more credible and people like knowing others agree. But what do you really want them to say? That’s your next strategic direction. Set up the self-fulfilling prophecy. If you decide you want your client to go to an event, talk to someone and say X, you will provide X.

So how are YOU different?

A friend of mine sent an email to someone and said something sarcastic. It is difficult to be sarcastic in email but in her head, it was hilarious.  When it was received, the person took it at face value – in their head they weren’t being sarcastic. And the ensuing conversation was all kinds of trouble for no reason.  In fact, when I was shown the email I immediately pointed out the first person was being sarcastic and suddenly the receiver felt very foolish.  Her reason was she was busy and stressed at work when she read it, so she read it from her point of view – in her voice.

So what’s the point?  Well, when you read an email from someone you know, read it in their voice if you can.  It will help interpret things so much better.  If you don’t know the person, assume formality. There’s nothing worse than thinking someone is joking when they aren’t.  Awkward!   And when writing an email, keep in mind the person receiving it won’t start in your voice – they start in theirs.  So even if they know you well, they may not think about that right off.  Since I’ve had my revelation I have sent a couple emails with instructions at the top to read it as if I was saying it.  The feedback has been hilarious – people said the emails got much funnier because I am funny. I’m not even there!

What other tips do you have in our digital media world to help people avoid this kind of problem?

Headed out last week to a meeting with a new sales rep. There are 6 traffic lights between my house and the coffee shop on the square. At light number two I won a guy behind me who tailgated the whole way and made me extremely uncomfortable. I was confident we would be meeting over insurance information any minute.  Looking in my review mirror, I had a clear shot of what he looked like.  Clearly a total jerk.  We each went different ways at the square and I didn’t think anything about it.

As you’ve already guessed, he was my new sales rep.  And of course he couldn’t see me and has no idea he’s an aggressive driver, so he walked in quite confident that I would love him. And here I already had all these negative emotions about him. I dutifully took his information and to make sure my judgment wasn’t unfair, shared it with my client and she agreed this wasn’t a product for us. But, who knows how things would have  gone if we’d started out in a different place?

So the point is, you are the face of your company no matter if you are working or not.  If I freak out on a sales person somewhere, the woman behind me may be my prospect meeting Monday. Or if I drive badly and cut someone off, he may be my appointment tomorrow.

You are the face of your business anytime I can see you.  And if you have a sticker, decal or car wrap, then you better remember you have CHOSEN to be the face of your business even when I can’t see your face!

So, for this woman, we all did a little digging. Why do you want to be friends with clients on Facebook?  In her case, her relationship is infrequent. They come in, buy her product, and may not be back for years. But when they come back, she wants them to remember her. So if she can stay in front of them on social media, that is a benefit to her.  I was recently asked by a vendor of this type to be friends on Facebook and I turned her down.  I instead offered to connect on LinkedIn which is actually better for me because I update it and visit it more often.  She was quite put out that I wouldn’t share with her my personal life. In fact, she made me feel bad. Not bad enough to friend her, but bad enough to not recommend her to people looking for services! But I digress.

In the first case, since there is a reason to stay in front of people, we recommended she offer multiple contact points. Offer people the option of connecting on Facebook or LinkedIn or both.  Then we stressed she make it clear there are no hard feelings regardless – she just wants to keep in touch.  I even went so far as to tell her to put in the message how to reject her friend request if they don’t want it so they know she means what she said.  I believe she will actually get more acceptance if she’s up front and honest about it.

Another woman in the group said she has the opposite problem. Clients who know her well in the office want to be friends and she doesn’t want to mix the two relationships.  The problem is her relationships at the office are often very involved in her client’s personal lives so when she doesn’t accept their request, it becomes more of an issue.  I suggested as the Office Manager she make it an office policy that clients shouldn’t be friends on Facebook (she only has two employees who have all expressed concerns over the same issue).  If it were “company policy”, then clients would completely understand it wasn’t her fault when she declined.  We also recommended she offer LinkedIn as an alternative so they do feel there is a connection.

So what do you think? Yea or Nay on the business associates who aren’t friends being friends on Facebook?

Red Duck Pictures put together the video for basically no money.  The actors and the production crew were all volunteers.  I would bet there is at least 120 hours of work in this little 5 minute video.  Each scene was filmed from multiple angles with multiple takes and reactions. There were definitely times where those of us on set would laugh and ruin the take but no one got angry. All of these people brought their a game, their patience, their expertise, and their belief that people should stop smoking together to make this happen.

So please watch the video, comment, like it, share it, whatever you like to do with videos. And while you laugh, just know how much time it took to make this little video!

So what?  Well, if your marketing to a group of “nobodies”, you have an opportunity to really make them feel special.  It isn’t that no one is buying books anymore, it is just that I’m unique in that I don’t have an eReader so I want a regular book.  The bookstores can appeal to me and bring me in – make me feel special.  In their eyes, I’m “better” than the non-book-buying person so they can say so.  They track every one of my purchases through my frequent shopper account so USE THAT INFORMATION.

There are many industries selling to “nobodies”.  Make them a niche, give them special privileges including perks for bringing along non-nobodies and see what happens.  If you can turn your nobodies into somebodies in your business, they will stay with you for life.  After all, no one wants to be a nobody!

For instance, I got to spend a couple hours with Patti Boyert over at Boyert’s Garden Center.  I just have to say – WOW.  I am not a gardener, much to my mother’s chagrin. It isn’t that I can’t grow things, I just don’t know because I don’t want to. I don’t care about it!  So talking to Patti, who loves it, is fascinating for me  because she truly does. And she knows EVERYTHING.

We were walking through the greenhouses talking about plants.  On the scale of subjects, plants for me ranks just slightly above football. But there I was, diligently taking notes. Until she started explaining how to select plants for your yard.  She suggested I get down closer to plant level and look across the greenhouse to see what jumped out at me.  What a cool idea! I saw things I didn’t see just looking around and suddenly wanted to know what they were and where they would work in my yard. She talked about how to take care of the plants and why she doesn’t carry certain varieties. Interestingly enough, she doesn’t carry one type of daisy-looking flower that my husband bought elsewhere last year because they get “heat stressed” and die. Sure enough last year they made it to June and then died. I was disgusted that we had plants for no reason and here it wasn’t me, it was the plant!  If I had talked to Patti, I would have known what to buy instead and had plants all season.

Another thing she recommended was bringing in pictures of your yard. Then she and her staff will make recommendations on what to get within your budget. So I don’t have to figure it out?  Because look -when I say I don’t do this, I’m not kidding. When it says “shade”, I’m the one asking my husband does that mean under the deck or could it handle it if there is a little sun?  Turns out, talking to Patti, it means it can handle morning sun but not the hot afternoon kind. And it doesn’t matter any way because I can show her my yard and she’ll tell me what will work where. No guessing, no worrying, nothing!

She then showed me an area where she had planters all lined up full of plants. She said people bring their planters from the previous year back in and she fills them. Drop them off in March, pick them up in May and you are out the door with a beautiful pot or hanging basket! So that means other people don’t have this weird collection of pots and planters underneath their decks! Genius.

This all comes back to passion because Patti was able and willing to talk about plants and growing them for as long as I was willing to listen.  She had ideas and ways to get someone not interested at all excited about the day when the rain stops and I can plant some things.  And, she gave me a list of what I need and the supplies so I don’t have to worry I’m missing something or don’t know what to do. And she never made me feel stupid when I had to ask what “dead heading” means since to me that’s something to do with a band. It was important to her to share her love of what she does with me and made me get excited too. Now that’s following a dream.  Thank you to Patti and Boyert’s for all the information and I’ll be back soon!

The most difficult situation is when you are walking into a room of total strangers.  If I don’t know of anyone attending the meeting, I contact the organizer and find out who will be there.  Then, I will contact a couple people and agree to meet up at the event.  This helps so much because when you walk in you have a purpose.  It also means when someone says hello, you can tell them you are looking for someone. If they know the person they will help you find them.  If they don’t, you now have a discussion topic.

I never carry a bag into a networking meeting because it just gets in the way.  I have my business cards in a hard-sided case in one pocket, a sharpie marker (mini) in the other front pocket, my cell phone and keys in another pocket.  That way I can easily pull out my card for someone, I put their cards in the other pocket so they don’t get mixed up, and I can write notes on any type of card with my sharpie.  I can also schedule a follow up meeting right there on the fly.

When I meet someone, I always write a note on the back of their business card.  It may just be “LinkedIn” or “sells widgets” but it is something so I have a hook to put in my follow up email.  And it helps me remember the person after the meeting.

I generally have a goal of a number of people to meet, connect with or specific people I want to meet. Having a goal keeps you focused on what’s going on and keeps your moving.

Try not to stay in one conversation too long unless it is with a good prospect.  Moving around will help you meet your goals, meet new people and be seen at the event.  Some people just need to see your face several times and then they will approach you!

Finally, I try hard to introduce at least three people in each meeting.  Sometimes that is just the person I am speaking with to someone I know walking by.  Other times I will meet two new people, and then offer to introduce them to each other.  We all go to networking events to meet people so being the person who is introducing others can be a huge relief to those not as good at networking.  If you can offer a reason to introduce them, even better!

What are your best networking tips?

Now, Blizzard, the makers of the game, noticed this too.  Many players liked the pets and collected bunches of them.  So they put in more pets, tasks where the rewards were pets, and give you more pets if you reach certain numbers of pets.  This upgrade came with a bunch of other stuff as well but they recognized something that happened organically and built on it.  Now, you often see people in towns with the rare, unusual or the holiday pets.  It is just fun.  From Blizzard’s perspective, it also gives a person a reason to keep playing – they need to get that next pet or the next level or whatever.  It is one more way to keep the player interested and engaged in a way he or she likes.  We don’t have to do these things – they are in no way mandatory – but come with a prize we want.

Okay, so how does that relate to business? First and foremost, notice what your customers are doing.  If you sell a product, how do they use the product?  Is there anything about it you should know like does everything have a spare in the office or home or do they buy it as needed?  If you sell a service, is there a pattern to use or can you graph it to see if there is a cycle, etc?  Or, do some people always go with the addons or do they just stick to the basic service?  Now, how can you capitalize on the answers?  What can you offer that is building on those real life situations but add more value and keep the customer coming back? It is all in how you motivate people to do things.

Chris Brogan talked about a clothing brand his son wears that have tags that are stickers. And they are cool stickers too.  For anyone with young children, a sticker is a great extra on anything, especially something as boring as clothing.  That child will always go for the clothes that come with stickers over the ones that don’t. And if the sticker gets put on a lunchbox, backpack or other item seen by other children, it is now a marketing tool.

So what can you do? What extras can you add?  How can you help people feel motivated to stay with your product or service?   Frankly, adults like stickers too!