Two Leadership Seminars to Help You Compete and Prosper
I have two seminars coming up in Vancouver in the next 60 days. If you’re a manager, executive or entrepreneur these two sessions are designed with you in mind. Today we need solid relationship development and leadership skills that are honed for today’s hyper-connected stakeholders and team member. These are not old strategies dusted off, they are up-to-date, current and very applicable leadership and communications tools. Here are the program outlines:
Partnering & Stakeholder Engagement Strategies (Nov 5) &
Leading in a Hyper Connected Marketplace (Dec 3)
Click here for registration information (PDF)
Presented by Shane Gibson
President of Knowledge Brokers International (http://www.closingbigger.net).
Hilton Vancouver Metrotown, Burnaby
November 5th & December 3rd, 2009
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Partnering & Stakeholder Engagement Strategies: November 5th, 2009
In order to survive and prosper most major business, government or not-for-profit initiatives necessitate the support
of multiple stakeholders and stakeholder groups. It is about identifying the core needs, goals, fears, and
motivations of every key party and managing that information for strategic and tactical success.
You will learn the key strategies on partnering and stakeholder engagement including:
• The stages of relationship and partnership development
• Key steps in systemizing your relationship and stakeholder development planning (includes sample
planning charts and templates)
• Tips on handling and avoiding roadblocks
• How to map the Power Players in any business or organization
• How to persuade each Power Player
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Leadership 2.0 – Leading in a Hyper Connected Marketplace: December 3rd, 2009
With employees, customers and stakeholders equipped with technology that allows for mass collaboration and
rapid communication we as leaders need to understand how to harness this technology and the crowds we are
connected to.
Today’s workplace is not a homogeneous one. As leaders we have to lead teams that are made up of Baby
Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y. This coupled with diverse cultures and values in the workplace make
leading both exciting and challenging.
Key topics include:
• New rules for engagement in a digitally transparent era.
• Web 2.0 collaboration and learning tools.
• Creating an environment that is productive and engaging for the millennial / Gen Y.
• Tips and approaches for recruiting staff using tools like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.
• Using technology to break down silos and create collaboration within your organization.
• How to apply timeless leadership principles to this new work and business climate
Click here for registration information (PDF)
25 Tips Sobre Medios Sociales
Esta es una colección de Tweets enviados a traves de la cuenta de @shanegibson y @shanegibsones. Son tips sobre medios socials con una longitud máxima de140 caracteres.
Aquí les present mis 25 Tips Sobre Medios Sociales (PDF):
25 Tips sobre Medios Social
Shane Gibson on Social Media for Sales Organizations
Over the past 16 years I have done a lot of speaking on stages in Canada, USA, Southern Africa and South America. In the past 36 months more and more of my speaking, training and writing has been focused on social media and how it integrates (or doesn’t) with sales process and strategy. I have put together a 7 minute video with some excerpts from a recent seminar I did in Santiago Chile for Seminarium (and Bogota next month) on social media for sales organizations. South America has experienced a 103% growth [source www.analytics20.org] in social media from January 2007 to January 2008, this is an exciting market and the people there are eager to learn how to use social media. Here’s the video:
Shane Gibson Speaker Video
What is a Tweetup?
Common Questions About a Tweetup
What is a Tweetup?
A Tweetup is:
- A gathering of people who use Twitter
- It can be a general geographic Tweetup like a Tweetup of people in Vancouver
- It can be a Tweetup for a cause where Twitter friends organize a get together to do something for the community
- It can be topical such as a Tweetup for martial artists, cyclists or people who are in the social media scene
- It’s about the fact that when we get offline and meet in person it cements relationships and builds community
- An Event that Usually lasts from 1 to 3 hours
- It is a great stewardship and community building tool (See Jeremiah Owyang’s Post on Tweetups and coverage of the Vancouver #TweetupHeatup by GillianShaw of The Vancouver Sun)
A Tweetup is not:
- An event where you pull people in from Twitter to pitch or sell them something
- A seminar event
- A tradeshow or multi-day event
- A general community event like a sports event, lecture etc.(it’s called a Tweetup because it’s people on Twitter connecting in real life)
Who Can Organize a Tweetup?
- Anyone with a Twitter account
- You don’t have to be a social media guru or expert, it’s about community.
- Usually one person will announce a Tweetup but many are involved in the organization and promotion, it’s a community focused event.
I have a big event happening already. Can I promote it as a Tweetup?
No. People who come to a Tweetup expect to connect with those who use Twitter as a networking and community tool. This would be misleading if a large portion of the people were not in fact on Twitter, people go to meet their online connections offline.
You can however create a special Tweetup within a larger event. For instance at a race, or something like Dragon Boat Festival you could have a “Tweetup Tent” for a 3 hour period during the main event where Twitter folk meet and mingle. If you’re doing a fundraiser at a pub or lounge, have the Tweetup for a couple hours before the main event, then let people know they can hang around later if they want to network with the rest of the community.
Who made these rules anyway?
Twitter, social media and etiquette attached to it are evolving constantly, this however is accepted practice right now. These answers are a summary of how the concept of a Tweetup is being used within the social media community. The majority of people attending or promoting Tweetups follow these loose guidelines. You can break these rules (or bend them) just realize that you may get a fair bit of negative push-back or even lose good Twitter connections.
If you’re in Vancouver join Vancouver Tweetup
Social Media Marketing Colombia Interview
I’m doing a keynote seminar on Implementing and Integrating Social Media in Bogota Colombia for a marketing congress on September 28th. As a professional speaker this is one of my favorite parts of the job, getting to share my ideas and passions with people from all over the world. The seminar company’s Colombian office sent me these questions that they will be using as part of their marketing package for the event. I thought I would share them with my readers. Here it is:
Questionnaire for Colombia Newsletter
Shane Gibson Social Media Speaker
Q: How are Social Media turning traditional marketing habits around?
A: In the past we could dominate the marketplace with advertising, direct mail, and other forms of traditional media marketing. Today consumers are much more powerful marketers than companies are, with their ability to publish information to the web, they outnumber us. Their conversations about our brand, company, products and services are now “branding” us. They can blog about our company, they can share their opinion on our product on Orkut or Twitter, and they can post a Youtube video praising or condemning us.
Marketers now have to not just broadcast, they have to listen to what conversations are going on out there, and then they have to connect and interact with the marketplace in order to direct the conversations about their brand.
Today the customer owns our brand.
Update August 31 2009 (Watch a 7 minute speaker video addressing this question):
Q: Do you think these tools will replace well-known Marketing complex software such as CRM, for example? Why?
A: These tools are changing the way sales professionals and marketers interact with the marketplace. In the past we would build a database of customers in our CRM and proactively drive the sales process through constant contact. Social Listening tools that allow you to track conversations about your company or what your target market is doing are allowing marketers to pinpoint customers at the very moment they have a challenge or need for what we sell. There is also a new breed of CRM tools called Social CRM (SCRM) software that is just beginning to be available in the marketplace.
SCRM will allow you to pull in all the information about a contact, based upon permission from them (they tell you what data you will get), and your sales process will become driven by the daily activities and events in the lives of the customer. SCRM will make your database come alive with by the minute updates on what your best clients and prospects are posting on social networks and publishing in social media.
Q: What are the main benefits of including Social Media in Marketing and Sales strategies?
A: Social media success is built through a series of genuine interactions with the marketplace. The key is to create valuable content, resources, build community and connect in personalized ways with your market. Unlike traditional marketing and advertising most of the best social media tools are free. They need a time investment, and you have to train your staff to use them, but after that you can generate results with a significantly lower on-going investment financially. Also if used right, you can turn almost any staff member in your company into part of your marketing and customer service team, all they need is a Smartphone or a computer with web access. Social media expands your customer service and marketing capabilities.
Q: (Any real life examples as to how much money companies can save you can mention?)
A: My co-author Stephen Jagger (Sociable! Book Site) runs a company called Ubertor which has several thousand clients. His clients are real estate agents who use his real estate software to drive their websites. Steve was originally a client of mine. He had 10 sales people, and over a dozen other staff including computer programmers, management and support staff and a very large office. In order to service these clients he also needed a lot of telecommunications tools and phone lines.
Steve and his business partner Mike over a period of time began to replace telephone customer service with Web based Live Chat service and Twitter. He then decided to use Meetup.com to hold events with guest speakers on social media and technology use for his target market instead of sending sales people out top real-estate offices (he no longer needs salespeople). The next step was to close the office and have staff work virtually. They moved their phone system to Google Voice, which is free and use Gtalk and a tool called Yammer to communicate all day with each other. Steve’s blog and his Youtube videos are used to communicate to his clients, and post solutions to problems and information on the software updates and functionality.
The result? Significant business growth with a significant decrease in business costs. Steve is saving thousands of dollars per month in business costs, far fewer staff and has actually improved his customer experience.
Q: What are the main obstacles firms face when implementing Social Media in their Marketing and Sales strategies?
A: One of the obstacles is techno-phobia or as I call it Social Media Phobia. A lot of people don’t feel confident in experimenting or trying to use these new tools. They’re also worried about negative comments or someone using their blog or FaceBook to attack their brand. The reality is this technology is new, and we are all learning. Now is the best time to experiment and get good at social media, while your competitors are still watching on the sidelines. In addition to this, the only way we can insulate our company and brand from negative comments or competitor behavior online is to get involved in social media. Build a community of raving fans around your brand. You need to get social to win.
Related Posts:
Social Media Seminars
Developing a Social Media Policy and Guidelines
Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson on Social Media Etiquette
Sociable! — How to Profit from Social Media
Tuesday August 11th 2009 1:00 PM EASTERN
How Social Media is Turning Sales and Marketing Upside-down
It’s not who you know but who knows you in today’s hyper-connected marketplace. The consumer now owns your brand, and in order to profit from this new dynamic, we need a solid strategy and set of principles to engage the marketplace.
Understanding the role social media and social networking play in this new dynamic, is paramount to our future success as sales professionals, marketers, and corporations. In this fast paced webinar Shane Gibson and Stephen Jagger will share with you:
- The new rules of engagement in sales and marketing
- How anyone can become a global brand in their niche using social media
- How to effectively and profitably implement social media in your business
- The Role of Social Media in the Sales Process
- The top global social media and networking tools and trends for 2009 and beyond
About Shane Gibson
Shane Gibson is a professional speaker and author of “Closing Bigger the Field Guide to Closing Bigger Deals.” He is also co-author of Sociable! A new book written with Stephen Jagger on profiting from, social media to be released in Summer 2009. As a sales performance and marketing specialist he has addressed several thousand people over the past 15 years on stages in Canada, USA, South Africa and South America.
His client’s include organizations such as Builddirect.com, Ford, The Certified Management Accountants, and numerous Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade across Canada.
Shane has been cited as a subject matter expert on the topic of sales, social media and marketing in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, BC Business Magazine, and the Canadian Professional Sales Association’s “Contact Magazine.”
About Stephen Jagger
Stephen Jagger is an entrepreneur that has been starting businesses since high school. He is currently involved in 2 companies. Combustion Labs Media Inc, which operates as Ubertor.com, is a real estate software company that provides websites and online marketing tools to thousands of real estate agents across North America. His other business, Reachd.com is a training company that focuses on marketing professionals and businesses that are interested in learning more about search engine optimization, blogging, online video, Google Adwords and social media.
Stephen has been covered in many major publications including The Vancouver Sun, The Wall Street Journal, The Ottawa Citizen, The Vancouver Courier, The Calgary Herald plus many more. He has spoken at many different events including British Columbia Institute of Technology, The Vancouver Board of Trade, The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and Inman News Connect 2007 in San Francisco where he was on a panel of 4 with a representative from Google, Yahoo and the Yellow Pages and 2009 in New York on a panel discussing blogging. He is very active in the community as a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade Communication Committee, the Vancouver College Alumni Association, a volunteer with Kids Help Phone, the founding member of the largest real estate agent meetup in North America and a mentor for the Leaders of Tomorrow program.
Your session on Social Media was relevant, practical with ready to use concepts. At the end of the day it’s about the bottom line. I appreciated your real world proven approach to social media marketing
- Dr. Denis Cauvier, Best Selling author of “The ABC’s of Making Money”
Each webinar is just $59.50 FREE to VIP members (take theVIP Tour)
Social Media and Internet Marketing Training August 2009
Social Media Training Events This Month:
Reachd training founded by Stephen Jagger (co-author of Sociable!) is putting on several great courses on everything from online video, to social media, search engine marketing training. Use the discount code CLOSINGBIGGER when you register.
Training in Wichita Kansas
- August 13th – “Market Like a Sniper with Adwords”
Learn to use Google Adwords to promote your business and test your marketing strategy
More details about the
Adwords Class in Wichita - August 17th – “1 Hour Web Marketing Intro”
If you are not marketing your business online but would like to start, this 1 hour fast paced session will give you a great overview of some of the resources available for online marketing
More Details about the Web Marketing Intro in Wichita - August 20th – “Build a Website Google Loves”
3 hour introduction to the in’s and out’s of search engine optimization. Most web activity originates with some sort of search, you need to ensure that your website shows when your visitors are searching
More Details about the SEO Class in Wichita - August 27th – “Broadcast Your Message with Online Video”
There is no better way to build relationships with your web visitors then through online video. In this 3 hour course each participant receives a FREE Flip Video Camera.
More Details about the Online Video Training Class
Training in Vancouver BC
- August 6th – “Market Like a Sniper with Adwords”
Learn to use Google Adwords to promote your business and test your marketing strategy
More details about the Adwords Class in Vancouver
- August 11th – “Explode Your Growth with a Blog”
Blogging is the cornerstone of Social Media and a great tool to use to help fill your website with relevant content
More Details about the Vancouver Blogging Course
- August 18th – “Build a Website Google Loves”
3 hour introduction to the in’s and out’s of search engine optimization. Most web activity originates with some sort of search, you need to ensure that your website shows when your visitors are searching
More Details about the Vancouver SEO Course
- August 25th – “Broadcast Your Message with Online Video”
There is no better way to build relationships with your web visitors then through online video. In this 3 hour course each participant receives a FREE Flip Video Camera.
More Details about the Online Video Training Class - August 27th – “Social Media Guided Tour”
Learn to use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to build your brand and grow your business
More Details about the Vancouver Social Media Training
28 Ways to Improve Your Sales Results
I had a number of people (close to 300) complete the 28 Days to Better Selling Program I put on in May and June. Many of you were asking when I was going to do it again? My next one will be in the fall but it will be marketing focused. With that said, you can do the 28 Days to Better Selling Program at your own pace by following the links below.
Here’s how 28 Days to Better Selling Works:
1) A daily task that you can easily implement to improve your sales and business
2) A succinct daily lesson to help you make the improvement
By the end of the 28 days you will have looked at 28 ways to fine tune and improve your sales process and business. The daily lessons will be in written, video or audio format and will take less than 10 minutes each to review.
Day 2 Targeting the Right Referral Sources
Day 3 Prospecting in Person
Day 4 Networking Strategy
Day 5 LinkedIn Prospecting
Day 6 Investigative Prospecting
Day 7 Lead Nurturing
Day 8 Don’t Be A Boring Salesperson
Day 9 Listening in Sales
Day 10 Needs Analysis in Sales Part 1
Day 11 Needs Analysis In Sales Part 2
Day 12 Twitter for Sales Part 1
Day 13 Twitter for Sales Part 2
Day 14 Keeping Commitments
Day 15 Selling Benefits and Results
Day 16 Preemptive Objection Handling
Day 17 Sell the Price Different Not The Total Cost
Day 18 Vital Signs
Day 19 Preparing For a Sales Call
Day 20 Team Selling
Day 21 Just Thinking About You
Day 22 Team Players Make Efficient Sellers
Day 23 Day of Rest, Chill Out and Reflect 
Day 24 Influencing Top Level Decision Makers
Day 25 Key Skills and Strengths for Selling Intangibles
Day 26 Reducing Anxiety and Worry
Day 27 15 Ways to Close A Sale
Day 28 Operationalizing Your Sales Process
Want to Close Bigger Deals? Buy the Book:
Video – Social Media Etiquette
Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson
Social Media Speaker Shane Gibson on Social Media Etiquette
The Power of Grattitude
The Manager’s Thought for the Day
It is not uncommon for salespeople and/or sales managers to get caught in the throes of everyday problems and miss seeing the trees because of the forest.
In most cases there is much more support and help around us than we can see. If most of us could really appreciate what we do have, and be grateful, most of the time we would never have a motivation problem.
There is power in gratitude. For example; Have you ever been forced into giving a kiss and a hug to a relative or a friend of a friend you couldn’t stand? It’s not an inspiring experience. As a matter of fact, it can be downright de-motivating. But if you have ever been asked to hug and kiss someone you secretly admired, I bet you found it to be a very pleasant experience. What’s the difference between the two?
Having to embrace someone you can’t stand, can be de-motivating; embracing someone you admire is motivating.
The same rule applies to situations. Most of us spend time living for tomorrow; living for when we will get that raise, that job, that relationship, or that home. In other words, that’s when we will be happy. We don’t like where we are now, so let us dream about tomorrow. What this means is we are not living in the now. It also means we often set our objectives or goals from a time, place, or state of mind that we do not like, which means we don’t embrace it. Therefore it is de-motivating.
What if you could appreciate the moment and embrace it? It would be inspiring, just like embracing that person you admired.
Gratitude is a powerful motivation. To embrace or appreciate the moment you are in, gives you a deep settled strength, and alleviates anxiety. With this strength you are able to tap into your intuition and be directed into paths that are more meaningful and in tune with who you are. This makes it much easier for you to become enthusiastic and move forward and feel good about the present as well as where you want to go. Having gratitude for where you are now can get you started.
Think about the situation you are in right now that frustrates or even immobilizes you. Now come up with a list of some really positive things that you have going for you right at this moment. Think of things you may be grateful for. A few examples could be good health, living in the country you are in, experience in your field, great relationship with your wife, husband or significant other, certain belongings, past experiences, just to name a few.
Once you finish the list, go back through and mentally say “thank you” to all the circumstances and people you could thank for each one of these. For example; in reference to your health, mentally thank someone who showed you how to eat properly, or who got you involved in some form of physical exercise. Maybe a previous employer believed in balanced living and not just work, work, work. Be sure to thank that person mentally. Thank your government for the facilities that are available and your creator for being so kind to you. As Plato once said; “Happiness is not being in a good state, but rather knowing you are in a good state.”
Once you have completed this exercise, you will have experienced the power of appreciation. You will feel much better about the moment. To see the positive in your present circumstances and to feel gratitude about the moment will get you started and keep you going.
Unfortunately, our egos work very hard at stopping us from experiencing gratitude. Very few of us can openly display gratitude on a daily basis to all those people and situations around us. It is much easier to fill our minds and bodies with self-importance, dissatisfaction, criticism, and victim-style thinking, than it is to put these feeling aside and say thank you. Monitor yourself and see how often you resist or justify not having gratitude. Being aware of your anti-gratitude stance alone, can start you on the road to being more grateful and more productive.
As the manager you may want to share this process with your people. Gratitude is one of the greatest internal motivators of all.
(An excerpt from our “Complete Sales Action System”)
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Some of My Favorite Vancouver Twitter and Blogging Friends
Being online and making connections is fun. We all love to see out Twitter, blog, and video following increase. For me though, it’s events like this Tweetup that was organized by Capones that make it all real for me. Meeting people you are connected to online seems to slow things down temporarily and really help build trust and intimacy.
[flickr album=72157617574688707 num=20 size=Thumbnail]
To Donate the the Vancouver Food Bank Click here or the image below. Every bit helps!
Blogathon 2009 for Vancouver Food Bank
Speaking and Training
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