Fripp THE Executive Speech Coach

Successful Marketing Means that You Identify Prospective Clients

Looking for more business?

Marketing/PR expert Gary Purece gave me some advice it can help you!
If you want to learn how to better articulate your message why not tune into my Friday Webinar.
Friday, December 11, 2009
1:00 PM PST
How to Prepare and Present Persuasive Presentations
Business Experts Webinar
Webinar
SAVE 20% at checkout with this DISCOUNT CODE: 47fbeb53

Successful marketing means that you identify prospective clients and position yourself in the market so they choose you over your competition. When I sit down with clients who want to position their marketing, I seek the answers to four basic questions:

 1.Who Is Your Potential Client? Who wants to buy or could be stimulated to want to buy? Who is in a position to buy what you sell? What geographical and financial factors affect this ability?

 A good way to identify future clients is to listen -- really listen -- to those you have now. Their comments, especially negative ones, will help you tailor both your product and your approach to other prospects.

 2.Why Will They Want To Buy? What emotional and physical factors will influence them? I just worked with an east coast psychiatrist who ran a practice with ten other psychiatrists and wanted to position herself. Our conversations quickly disclosed that her community was predominantly upwardly mobile professionals. Many of the women had delayed having children. Due to fertility drugs, a high percentage of families had twins, triplets, or more. We decided to focus her practice on these families, the first practice in the area to do that.

 How did we do this? First, we realized her potential audience was geographical, that is, in her community rather than regional, national or international. These prospects had distinctive demographics. By appealing to a unique aspect, we hit on her core group. She's now hugely successful in her practice.

 3.What Angle Should You Take? How is your product or service unique? Why is it perfect for your target audience? How is it different from everyone else's? How will it fulfill your core group's needs in a way that no one else can?

 This is positioning yourself in the market. (Remember how Avis advertised, "We try harder.") As an example, when other advertising consultants do presentations, they talk about budgets, print versus TV, soft versus hard sell. I position myself by emphasizing that you start by targeting your audience, positioning your product, and creating distinctive selling propositions. Lots of mom-and-pop businesses, confronted by super stores, can't compete or even survive unless they find a unique niche to fill.

 4.How Are You Going To Sell It? We all know people with great ideas, products, and inventions. They spend a fortune developing this product, but it sits there because they have no idea what to do with it. Is there a system in place to put your product in the customers' hands and return their money to you? Or do you need to create one?

 Market to your core group, and position yourself among the competition. That's million-dollar marketing!

Prepare & Present Powerful Persuasive Presentations Webinar Dec 11

	How to Prepare and Present Persuasive Presentations Learn to master presentation delivery skills to grow your business. Presented By Patricia Fripp

	When you have the opportunity to speak in public do you embrace it and excel? Or do you spend more time getting out of the speaking situation than it would take to master the skill? Are you losing sales because your competition more effectively communicates their value? Imagine if every speech you gave was powerful, professional, and persuasive... Patricia Fripp, Hall of Fame speaker and executive speech coach, helps business professionals create and deliver presentations that are on-target for every audience. Through the Fripp Structure, you will save time and add clarity for you and your audience. The professional and financial gains you receive from learning how to prepare and present an effective leadership or sales presentation are unmatched. Take this opportunity to learn from one of the country's most in-demand executive speech coaches. In this webinar, you will learn how to: • Utilize the three critical aspects of every presentation • Solidify your thoughts into a fool-proof structure • Open with impact and close on a high point • Connect emotionally and intellectually with every audience and prospect • Avoid the most common speaking mistakes • Improve listener buy-in for your point of view • Be remembered and repeated for the right reasons All registrants also receive a FREE flash recording of this webinar.		Friday, Dec 11,2009 4:00pm - 5:00pm Eastern Time $99 per connection Save 20% at checkout with this discount code: 47fbeb53

	Entrepreneurs who speak to build their business, Sales Professionals who give presentations to close the sale, Managers and Leaders who need to inspire, inform and train.

"What a great learning experience! This webinar program is a terrific way to develop our team without breaking the bank." - Small Business Owner
	Don’t miss this powerful learning opportunity!

Consulting Over Fifty--Where Gray Matters & Experience Counts

My smart and entertaining friend Rick Hubbard has started a group in LinkedIn for Consultants Over 50. Rick will interview me on January 4th, 2010 at 10am PST. When you sign in he asks for our elevator pitch. This is what I wrote....

"Fripp builds leaders and transforms sales teams by increasing the clarity, specificity and persuasiveness of the presentations."

Subject: Rick Hubbard invites you to join Consulting Over Fifty--Where Gray Matters & Experience Counts on LinkedIn

Powerful Public Speaking: Personal Connection Edge

Powerful Public Speaking

This was written by my negotiations expert associate David Palmer.

Dozens of factors figure into your audience’s minds, whenever and whatever you’re teaching, communicating or selling. You create a competitive edge when you establish a personal connection.  You must connect emotionally and intellectually with both individuals and members of an audience, so they like you and trust you . . . more than any other training they have received or sales person’s message they have heard. They’re just like you; if you don’t trust the messenger, you don’t trust the message.
How do you get the Personal Connection edge? 

Do the following:
• Focus:  It’s all about them!  If your presentation does not respond to their concerns and you grind on with a prepared presentation that is not focused on their concerns, or you are too technical for the individual or audience, they will decide that you don’t care about them or their problems. Once they get back to work, they won’t make your training applicable to their jobs, or invest in your solution to their problem. Rather, pick up on their concerns, and address them.

• Be Confident & Sincere:  If you appear nervous or unsure, you may seem devious or incompetent.

• Eye Communication:  Look your listeners right in the eyes for a complete thought or sentence as you talk convincingly about your ideas and information.  Your eyes darting about the room is not connection or communication.  Smile.

• Divide & Conquer:  Shake hands with everyone . . . and look them in the eyes as you do it . . . when they enter the room.  Connect with them so you see them as individuals.  You’ll both feel more comfortable and you’ll become more memorable to them.  (People are usually shyer in groups of strangers than one-on-one contacts.)

• Technology:  Use technology to enhance your presentation, not drown it.  It can help keep you on track, but it cannot establish trust.
 
• Keep It Simple & Memorable:  When your listener or audience debriefs after your presentation or sales conversation, you want them to remember what you said more than they learned in other training; or in a selling situation more than another sales presentation.  Therefore, summarize your key talking points into snappy sound bites that are easy to write and remember.  Make them interesting and repeatable.  What are the three to five key points you want them to remember about the information and you?

• Avoid Jargon:  Steer clear of overdoing technical language and industry jargon.  Rehearse your presentation well in advance with your spouse across the dinner table or a team member at work.  If there is anything they don’t understand, you are not focusing on their interests, or you are making it too complicated.  Your goal is to be understood and sound conversational as you do it.

• Tell Great Success Stories:  People learn to resist a sales presentation, or they go to a meeting with a closed mind, but no one can resist a good story.  “Imagine four months from now you go to work and...” Paint your listeners a picture of less frustration, more reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Let the person you are communicating with “see” themselves in a different light.  Use the Situation, Solution, Success formula.  Take a lesson from Hollywood.  Give your stories interesting characters and dialogue, plus a dramatic lesson that your prospects can relate to.

•  Rehearse:  The first thirty seconds and the last thirty seconds of your presentation or sales conversation have the most impact.  Invest your time to create something original and interesting at the beginning and at the end.  Then, commit them to memory.  Do not shortchange your rehearsals.  Three to five rehearsals won’t do it.  Thirty to fifty rehearsals put you ahead of other speakers or sales professionals and give you even more confidence.  Know what you are going to say so well you can forget it!

• Bottom Line:  Everything else being equal, you’re way ahead of any other speaker or sales professional when your audience of one or one thousand relates to you, likes you, and trusts you.  Remember, they must first trust you before they can trust the message.
If you want to learn to be a more effective public speaker check out my speaking school and coaching camp with Darren LaCroix.

Public Speaking: Selling Yourself and Your Ideas to Senior Management

Selling Yourself and Your Ideas to Senior Management:
Polish Up Your Public Speaking Skills in Advance!

It’s no secret…the higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more important your public speaking and communications skills become. And the faster you develop and hone your skills, the faster you’ll climb.

If you have your sights set on increased responsibility and the job title and salary that go with them, you will need to position yourself ahead of the crowd…in advance. At all stages of your career you need to sell yourself, your ideas, your value, and your ability. To position yourself for promotion, learn what it takes to sell yourself and your ideas to senior management.

Perhaps you’re already speaking up in team meetings and getting your ideas across effectively. If so, how do you feel about facing a room full of senior management or at least 5 around a board room table, all staring at you? What is different? Well, for one thing the stakes are higher. All business communications are important, but with senior management as your audience, you are in the hot seat. They are going to accept or reject the recommendations that you, your department, or your team have worked so hard on. Weeks, months, maybe even years of work depend on your few minutes. Who wouldn’t be nervous?

Don’t worry. You are human. This is a perfectly natural way to feel. Remember, they can’t see how you feel, only how you look and act. You want them to focus on and consider your proposals, not your anxiety. And you’ll look cool and collected when you follow these Frippicisms for dealing with senior management.

Seven Fripp Do’s

1. Practice. A report to senior managers is not a conversation; however, it must sound conversational. Once you have your notes, practice by speaking out loud to an associate, or when you are driving to work, or on the treadmill. Make sure you are familiar with what you intend to say. It is not about being perfect. It is about being personable. (Remember, rehearsal is the work; performance is the relaxation.)

2. Open with your conclusions. Don’t make your senior level audience wait to find out why you are there.

3. Describe the benefits if your recommendation is adopted. Make these benefits seem vivid and obtainable.

4.  Describe the costs, but frame them in a positive manner. If possible, show how not following your recommendation will cost even more...

5. List your specific recommendations, and keep it on target. Wandering generalities will lose their interest. You must focus on the bottom line. Report on the deals, not the details.

6. Look everyone in the eye when you talk. You will be more persuasive and believable. (You can’t do this if you are reading!)

7. Be brief. The fewer words you can use to get your message across, the better. Jerry Seinfeld says, “I spend an hour taking an eight-word sentence and making it five.” That’s because he knows it would be funnier. In your case, shorter is more memorable and repeatable.

Three Fripp Don’ts

1.  Don’t try to memorize the whole presentation. Memorize your opening, key points, and conclusion. Practice enough so you can “forget it.” This helps retain your spontaneity.

2. Never, never read your lines—not from a script and not from PowerPoint® slides. Your audience will go to sleep.

3. Don’t wave or hop. Don’t let nervousness (or enthusiasm) make you too animated—but don’t freeze. Don’t distract from your own message with unnecessary movement.

Where to Start

1. What is the topic or subject you are reporting on? Be clear with yourself so you can be clear with your audience.

2. Why is your topic important enough to be on the busy agenda of senior level managers?

3. What questions will your audience be asking? Can you answer them early in your presentation?

Here’s an Example

Present your conclusion: What is your central theme, objective, or the big idea of your report? How can you introduce it in one sentence? Suppose that you’ve been in charge of a high-level, cross-functional team to study whether there is a need for diversity training in your company. You might start by saying, “Our committee has spent three months studying diversity training programs and whether one could benefit our company. Our conclusion is that diversity training would be an exceptionally good investment. Long term we would save money from recruiting, increase employee retention, and improve company morale. The positive PR could well add to our market share with our minority customers.”

Present your recommendations: “We recommend that the company initiate a pilot program, starting next quarter, using the ABC Training Company at an investment of $.... The ABC Company has successfully implemented this program with one of our subsidiaries, as well as many Fortune 100 companies. All 27 members of the cross-functional team agreed with this conclusion. Our team was made up of a real cross-section of the company—two Vice Presidents, the Facilities Manager, eighteen associates, some with PhDs, and six entry-level personnel. The group includes both long-term employees and some new hires. And all 27 members of the team are willing to be part of the evaluation committee to study the results before a decision is made about a complete company rollout.”

Describe what’s in it for them: Address the needs of senior management, as well as the company. Answer the questions they will be asking, and show them how your recommendation can make them look good. For example, senior management is usually charged with increasing sales and reducing costs. What if this program means saving money by lowering employee turnover, yet has a relatively modest cost?

“Why is this program a good idea, just when we are cutting unnecessary spending? One of our company’s key initiatives is to recruit and retain 20% more of the best available talent than we did in the last fiscal year. If this training had been in place last year, not only would morale have been higher, but our 23% minority associates would have rated their employee satisfaction survey higher. As you remember, for the last three years our minority associates traditionally rate their satisfaction 3% lower than the other population. This training could have helped increase satisfaction and retention. We would lower the cost of recruiting and training new associates.

“How does this investment compare to other investments we have already made? As a comparison, the initial cost of the pilot for all three offices is 2% of what we spend on maintenance agreements for our copier machines in our headquarters building.”

Conclusion: “On behalf of the 27-member committee, thank you for this opportunity. The friendships we have formed and our increased company knowledge is invaluable to us all. The entire team is committed to this project. We are asking for your okay to start the pilot program.”

You’ll make a strong impression and increase your chances of acceptance when you can be short, clear, and concise. You have to be able to network effectively and train and encourage others. You are probably actively involved in your APA chapter. This is a good venue to add value and build your leadership skills.

Be prepared and practice. It’s okay to be nervous, but nobody sees how you feel, just how you look and act.

Learn the best public speaking skills at my Patricia Fripp speaking school with Darren LaCroix.

Toyah Willcox shows us how we CAN look over 50

One of the most talented amazing women I know is my sister-in-law Toyah Willcox.
She has enjoyed a successful career as a singer, actress, TV presenter, voice for cartoons, and still singing up a storm in her new band The Humans. Feast your eyes and get inspired.

Robert Fripp joins Keynote Speaker Patricia Fripp at NSA

My brother, legendary guitarist, Robert Fripp will be speaking with me at American Payroll's Pay Heroes convention May 2010 in Washington DC. Our presentation will be "How to Be a Hero for More Than One Day." Brother played guitar on David Bowie's song Heroes. Many consider Robert as brilliant a public speaker as he is a guitarist. As a proud sister I agree.

Enjoy this video clip of us speaking together before the National Speakers Association.

For more information on engaging Robert Fripp to speak before your group visit:
http://RobertFrippSpeaks.com

Executive Speech Coach comments on public speaking & President Carter

My East Coast Fripp Associate Sims Wyeth always proves you can say something worth knowing in a few words.

In 1976, President Carter got elected on the grounds that we needed a government as good as the people. In 1979, he told us we had a “crisis of spirit,” implying he needed the people to be as good as the government. He never recovered.
 
“Talking Down” happens when you utter a single word that implies a lack, a flaw, or a failing in your listeners.
 
Your audience may have lacks and flaws, but appealing to their deepest aspirations works better than a finger-wagging, flaw-finding sermon.
 
Sims Wyeth
By the way...just finished my Patricia Fripp Speaking and Presentation Skills School. It went really well.

Alan Weiss and Patricia Fripp "The Odd Couple" set a date!

Dates for The Odd Couple Marketing and Strategy seminar are set for June 12-13, 2010.
This is the popular seminar I deliver with Alan Weiss. He is the author of 32 books and a real consultants consultant.

Is Collaboration for You (Should You or Shouldn't You?)
An Article for Professional Speakers and Consultants on the Origins of The Odd Couple® Seminar and the Value of Collaboration
by Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Would you go into partnership on the spur of the moment with someone you barely knew? I did. And it was one of the best business decisions I ever made.

Of course, we'd met and knew each other by reputation. Alan Weiss (PhD, CSP, CMC, CPAE) is a high-priced corporate consultant, trainer, and speaker who had been president of his local NSA chapter. At the time, I was primarily a keynote speaker, one of the original founders of the NSA Northern California chapter and National President in 1984. Alan and I are opposites in many ways. He is a self-proclaimed introvert, happily married to his high school sweetheart, Maria. His life is well balanced, and he charges top dollar so he doesn't have to travel more than necessary. I, on the other hand, am an acknowledged extrovert with a very different business policy. I always charge slightly less than I could so I am booked solid. Being single, I can stay on the road much of the year and not feel guilty

It all started with some emails in 1996. I wrote Alan, regretting that I couldn't attend a seminar he was doing in my hometown of San Francisco because I would be speaking for the Denver NSA chapter that day. "Hey, Fripp," he shot back, "You certainly seem to speak to a lot of NSA chapters." I acknowledged that I loved speaking about speaking. "We should do a seminar together," he replied. On the spot, we arranged to meet and discuss it.

Finding a Topic and a Format

We quickly realized that we have very different approaches to the same issues. Rather than abandon the idea of working together, our differences became the core of our joint presentations. From the participants' perspective, it is often more instructive to learn when opposite, or at least different, views are taken by the instructors. My favorite topic of discussions is how to improve platform performance. Alan often starts the session with this comment, "We will not discuss platform skills—except to mock them." (Our fundamental dissimilarities follow through in the seminars. My side of the stage is filled with binders, notes, and samples that have been diligently prepared over many months. Alan arrives with notes scribbled on a cocktail napkin that he jotted down over drinks the evening before.)

Because we would be appealing to an audience who already knew us, we started out exaggerating our differences for entertainment value. My pal, copywriting genius David Garfinkel, helped us write the promotional copy. He said, "People love watching other people fight, especially when you know there is a great affection and respect underneath. This is what comedy acts and sitcoms are built on." Our promotional brochures read "Come and hear them agree and disagree on the topics that matter most to you."

Once our approach was set, we needed a catchy title. We settled on "The Odd Couple®" because of our differences; not only in our personalities, but also life styles, business model, and education. You can imagine our amazement when we found we could trademark the name for a seminar format.

Getting an Audience

It was fairly easy to fill seats at the seminar—which, to our surprise, turned out to be the first of a long series. One of my specialties is helping other presenters develop dynamite presentations. Alan writes books showing speakers and consultants how to charge by value, and he always has a large audience waiting for his next offering. It helped that we each had a high profile among other speakers.

At the first few events, we attracted an audience who already knew us by reputation, along with some people from our individual communities. However, soon we began drawing attendees from as far away as Europe. They came for the content even though some were not familiar with the speakers. Over the years, we have continued filling seats by mentioning the seminar during presentations in front of audiences who would be interested and mentioning them in our own email newsletters. Initially, we printed a brochure, but we no longer need to do that. Our Internet marketing attracts at least half the new attendees, people who never heard of us before. As we always change the content slightly we have many attendees who are repeats.

Dividing up the Work—and the Profits

You must tuck your ego away. Mutual respect is essential. Alan and I take turns leading the presentations. Alternately, one will start and then the other contributes additions and different points of view. There should be a separation of tasks and accountabilities based on individual strengths. Alan handles the legal and financial issues; I take care of the website marketing and organizing the associates who help out. We take turns finding the location and negotiating with the hotels. In our case, Alan manages the collective money, but we handle our own merchandise individually. Absolute trust is mandatory.

Who Should You Partner With?

If you are considering collaborating on a seminar, your first step is to decide on the best partner. It should be someone who compliments your style and expertise, but how? Should it be someone who contrasts sharply with your approach, creating dramatic tension? Or someone who doubles your emphasis and can finish your sentences—like the "Two Fat Ladies" on the cooking show?

Alan and I enjoy both. Although there are big differences in our style, personalities, and opinions on some issues, there are obvious compatibilities. We're each willing to try something new, no matter what the outcome. My point of view for every situation is: Will it be fun? Will it be educational? Will it be profitable? Two out of three are usually good enough. Alan usually wants all three!

How Do You Choose a Topic?

You and your partner should each add something to your subject that is more than your individual contributions could be—different areas of expertise, different experiences, or different approaches to solving the same problems. One and one should add up to four. One partner might provide background and the other practical how-to's. Or each could offer perspectives from different geographical areas, generations, departments, or industries. Maybe one has an encyclopedic ability to provide facts and figures while the other is skilled at humor and eliciting audience responses. Choose someone to balance your skills on the platform as you would in marriage.

Partnership Guidelines

Are you ready to consider teaming up? Here is our best advice.

• Find a partner where you can combine communities.

• Carefully consider their ethics, organization, and reputation.

• Delegate the chores to the person who is best equipped to handle them.

• Have a collaboration that feeds your other services or offerings.

• Constantly improve or change your presentation so you build repeat attendees.

• Be prepared (at first) to work harder selling seats than delivering the seminar.

• Build your own database so it is easy you can keep in touch with potential attendees.

• Use technology to promote without spending a fortune.

• Do it more for fun and education than $$$. (However, financial rewards may come!)

How We Have Changed as a Result

Alan's method of asking questions to establish the value of your service from the client's point of view has taught me how to be more profitable. I no longer waste time with people who can't say yes, and I am more willing to go meet with prospects whenever possible. Alan lives the lifestyle of the Rich and Famous. As a result of his influence, I now take more vacations, have bought a vacation home, am hired to work with smaller audiences more as a consultant, coach and trainer, and—yes—I'm more profitable.

My biggest surprise over the years is that we have grown more alike. I think we may even be friends. Can you imagine my thrill to be invited to the highlight of the social season in Rhode Island, the wedding of Alan and Maria's daughter? His relations were all coming over, asking, "Are you the one? The other half of The Odd Couple?"

Simma Lieberman's Ten Tips to Utilize Employee Genius

One of my good friends and associates is  Simma Lieberman known as "The Inclusionist." Simma creates workplaces where people love to do their best work and customers love to do business Simma Lieberman Associates. We can all benefit from her advice. Enjoy...

Simma's Ten Tips to Utilize Employee Genius

If you want to recruit, retain and leverage the skills and talents of brilliant employees, you need to provide a workplace where people love to come to work.  Employers that treat their employees like recalcitrant children, micromanage and demonstrate their distrust of them will not only lose good people to their competition but will eventually end up miserable, broke and obsolete. If your employees enjoy what they do and feel part of a workplace community, they will be more enthusiastic, creative and empowered to be more successful.

Don't wait until your best people leave before you assess your strengths, and challenges and realize you need to make some attitude and cultural changes. 

Here are some ways you can start now:

   1. Review your mission, vision and values. There is a strong probability that you have become complacent due to the economic turmoil and have reduced  your line of sight.
   2. Renew your passion for your business and what  you do, and allow others to see it. Passion can be contagious and you want everyone else in your organization to feel it. Recognize when your employees are passionate about what they do.
   3. Take an interest in your employees beyond their title and function. Talk to them about their lives after work and find new ways to connect and develop relationships with them.
   4. Give employees opportunities to contribute and use their talents in new ways and other areas of work. Be on the look-out for hidden genius or unseen skills.
   5. Lay-out problems and challenges and ask for solutions. Acknowledge and reward ideas that solve those problems and/or move your organization forward.
   6. Create programs and processes to discover high potential employees at all levels of your organization who may not have been visible or did not fit your standard profile.
   7. Encourage risk taking and reward people who take failures and turn them into successes. Resist the temptation to micromanage. The need to micromanage is a result of your insecurity, not their incompetence.
   8. Develop systems of accountability at all levels and use those systems continuously. Ask your employees what they need in order to be more successful.
   9. If you find yourself getting cynical or impatient, take a break. Go to a movie, read a book, or take a walk.
  10. List what you appreciate about your overall business, and customers and specific employees.