It seems that corporate and association meetings are being canceled right and left lately: the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority reported that 402 conventions and meetings scheduled to be held in the city were canceled from October to mid-March; Orlando has had 114 meetings canceled this year as of late March. That’s just two cities!

The ramifications of canceled meetings are far-reaching, so for our Spring issue of TSG Key Notes, we asked thought leader Keith Ferrazzi for some insights on how meeting organizers could make their programs cancel-proof. Keith’s expertise in the development of business relationships to drive sales, spark innovation, and create team cohesion makes him the perfect candidate to address this subject. Here are some highlights from our conversation:

• The key to cancel-proofing a meeting is to make it so valuable that the cost of canceling the meeting is greater than the cost of holding it.
• What is it that makes meetings so valuable? Face time. Face time is critical to building relationships, and relationships are critical to success.
• Why, then, are meetings being canceled? Event organizers don’t always maximize the total relationship potential of every aspect of their event.
• How can this be improved? Organizers must give event participants a safe structure to start making real connections that will benefit them during the event, and a structure that allows those connections to sustain throughout the year ahead.

You can read the full article in TSG Key Notes here. Not only will you learn more from Keith Ferrazzi about how to make your meeting cancel-proof, but you’ll also be given access to a special web page with helpful video messages from Keith and a free except of his soon-to-be released book, Who’s Got Your Back. The magazine also includes an article about how to maximize the ROI on your speaker bookings, and an excerpt from our most popular blog post about how meeting planners can utilize Twitter to enhance their meeting management efforts. Learn more here.

Posted under Event Management, Motivational Speakers, Planner Tips

Keith Ferrazzi, respected thought leader and author of the bestseller, Never Eat Alone, and the soon-to-be-released Who’s Got Your Back? speaks up about why meetings are critical to business – especially in this economy:

Keith offers further insights into how meeting organizers can make their programs “cancel-proof” in the upcoming issue of our TSG Key Notes mini-magazine. Click here to sign up free and receive a copy as soon as it’s available.

Posted under Event Management, Planner Tips

What are the keys to success for your team and your organization in the year ahead? Among them:

1. Create a positive, engaging workplace.
2. Understand your target market and communicate the appropriate message.
3. Put a well-trained, modern sales force on the ground (or on the phone, web, etc.).

With a mix of new names and familiar faces, below are nine business speakers whose expertise may be just what the doctor (or CEO) ordered to help you in those areas in 2009 (in alphabetical order):

• Jonathan Salem Baskin
  
  How he can help: Author of Branding Only Works on Cattle, Jonathan is out to help you get more out of your brand by fundamentally changing the very conversation about brands and branding. “It’s about shifting it away from the narrow definitions and expertise of marketers,” he says, “and opening it up to functional, organizational, systems, and other areas of expertise across your entire company.” Jonathan wants to help you empower every employee, from the top executive to the outsourced part-timer, to collaborate on inventing a new, more proactive and sustainable model for your brand.

• Bob Burg
  
  How he can help: Through his dynamic “Endless Referrals, Winning Without Intimidation” (based on his book, Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales) and “Go-Giver” (based on his latest bestseller, The Go-Giver) systems, Bob teaches business professionals how to leverage their network of everyday contacts into a never ending stream of new prospects. “No matter how the national economy is doing, you can truly recession-proof your business and take advantage of the power of today’s networking, referrals and positive persuasion to leverage your time and relationship assets and generate a constant stream of new sales!” Bob says.

• Rolfe Carawan How he can help: It is well documented that only 29% of today’s workforce are fully engaged on the job, 55% are partially engaged and 16% are actively disengaged. That means 71% of employees are not giving their best at work. In today’s competitive marketplace, where organizations are trying to do more with less, it is not enough to have only some workers on board. Leaders need all workers on board, in unity – working together, sticking together, and giving their best. Rolfe teaches leaders how to create a committed workforce, raise employee morale, effectively implement change initiatives, and strengthen communication – releasing the power of unity that lies hidden in your organization.

• Keith Ferrazzi
  
  How he can help: The author of the bestseller, Never Eat Alone, offers the real secret to our unlimited career and personal success: develop an inner circle of deep trusted friends and advisors who care enough to help us unleash our fullest potential. In 2009, Keith Ferrazzi helps us move beyond Never Eat Alone with a new book (and supporting keynote), WHO’S GOT YOUR BACK, due in May. Ferrazzi focuses on the necessity of forming even deeper bonds with a few key people who can help guide us in our day-to-day actions and our long-term goals. As Ferrazzi says, “Once I lined up an ironclad team of deeply trusted advisors, success came quickly. I was able to overcome the things that were holding me back. I tripled my earnings at my company. Even better, every day I wake up knowing that caring, trustworthy people are watching out for me. Don’t wait for these guardian angels to magically appear in your life. It’s up to each of us to create these relationships. And I can show you how.” BONUS: Keith can also help you demonstrate to your clients that you’ve got their back!

• Jill Konrath
  
  How she can help: “Selling in today’s economy is tough,” says Jill Konrath, in an obvious understatement. “And, it’s likely going to get a lot tougher in the upcoming months. That’s not news that we want to hear, but it is the reality we face so it makes sense to address it head on. Tough times call for different sales approaches, new offerings and stronger business cases. It’s not enough to just make more calls or have more meetings. We have to be better than we’ve ever been – in every aspect.” Jill, author of the acclaimed book, Selling to Big Companies, specializes in delivering highly interactive, content-packed workshops and keynotes focused on helping salespeople crack into corporate accounts, speed up their sales cycle, generate increased demand for their offering, and win big contracts.

• Andrew May
  
  How he can help: Do you spend half your day responding to email? Do you have Road Runner Syndrome, racing from crisis to crisis? Do you suffer from Constant Partial Attention? Do you get sick on weekends and on holidays? Are you too busy to take proper time out to relax and recover? The rapid speed and intensity of modern business demands a new way of approaching performance. Armed with the iPhones, Blackberries and productivity gadgets, we are cramming more and more into our already jam packed schedules. Rather than running at a fast pace and then taking time out to recover – a vital strategy used by high performing teams in the sporting world – every working day now requires the stamina of a Grand Final. Based on proven research, Andrew’s presentations and tailored conference programs deliver key strategies to give your team the power to really Switch On when they need to… and the ability to recharge and Switch Off when they can!

• Harry Paul
  
  How he can help: Harry Paul’s first book, FISH!, is one of the best selling business titles of all time. Harry has been in the training, motivation and people development business for almost 25 years, working with some of the top business consultants including Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson along the way. With a new book and a new program – both titled “Instant Turnaround” – in 2009, Harry shows managers at any level what they can do to start an immediate, dramatic increase in productivity and profitability by transforming their workplace into a welcoming, rewarding space full of dedicated, energized and enthusiastic colleagues. By tapping into the discretionary effort of their employees, managers and leaders will begin looking at measuring success in decades, not quarters.

• Neil Rackham
  
  How he can help: The results of Neil Rackham’s study of professional selling – the largest ever, including more than 35,000 sales calls in over 20 countries, at a cost of $40 million in today’s dollars – revolutionized the way we think about the complex, consultative sale more than 20 years ago. Today, with a market more complicated and challenging than ever, Professor Rackham’s insights are invaluable. Having spent decades observing the world’s best sales forces, he understands like few others what these top sales forces are doing differently from more than half of the world’s sales professionals who are failing today – and it’s getting worse. Taking a scientific look at successful selling, Neil Rackham’s presentations go beyond motivation to help your managers build and equip a sales force with the tools they need to outperform your competition.
  

• Lewis Schiff
  
  How he can help: Lewis Schiff’s latest book, The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing America, charts the rise of America’s growing affluent middle-class through original research and analysis. What does this mean for you and your business? Lewis makes “success” come alive as he presents the results of thousands of interviews with “success stories.” For those aspiring to join the ranks of these Middle-Class Millionaires, Lewis connects the dots between the affluent and the middle-class. He talks about financial choices in a way that respects the basic ideals of the middle-class but leverages the best practices of the moneyed class. Lewis can teach people how to be successful and he can get them excited about the process. For those engaged in luxury and other sales and marketing-driven businesses, this is essential to close the deal. Lewis prides himself on helping the person behind the counter “connect” with his or her best client, turning the experience into one that’s about relating and less about selling.

It’s no secret that event budgets are being scrutinized more than ever before, and speakers must deliver more relevance and value than ever before – there is no room for fluff or hype. This list of nine speakers – available through TSG speakers bureau – represents just a few of the candidates you can call on with confidence to help you, your team and your organization succeed in 2009. Do you have other favorites to add to the list? Please comment.

Posted under Event Management, Leadership Development, Motivational Speakers, Organizational Excellence, Planner Tips, Sales Management, Speaker Recommendations

Following is part two of our “In the Spotlight” interview with best-selling author (Never Eat Alone) and popular keynote speaker Keith Ferrazzi. We closed part one with an unanswered question for Keith about the relevance of relationships in the midst of a slow economy, so we’ll pick up there…

TSG: The economy is a little slower right now, and a lot of attention is focused on the bottom line – cutting costs, increasing sales, etc. It may not seem like the ideal time to talk about relationships, but you say it’s the perfect time to talk about relationships… why is that?

Ferrazzi: A downturn in the market calls for a new sales approach – one that maximizes the value-add of genuine, lasting client relationships. For many salespeople, this is an entirely new skillset, and it’s the one that will keep them making sales and finding new leads when everyone else is sitting around twiddling their thumbs and worrying.

I have a new talk centered all around “Relationship Selling in a Soft Market” and the learning objectives include:

• Going beyond just a sale by finding unique ways to be generous and helpful to the people you work with
• Being a connector – introduce your clients and buyers to the people you know that they want to know
• Turning current clients into ambassadors who will generate new business
• Maximizing market share by forging rich, personal relationship with clients
• Using existing networks to find new clients and warm up cold calls with instant intimacy

TSG: Speaking of speaking, I know you’ve been doing a lot of that since your book came out a couple of years ago. What types of audiences do you feel you can help the most?

Ferrazzi: I’ve been coaching clients and speaking all over the world to corporations and other associations, changing the way people think about work, the workplace, and success.

The audiences that seem to most need and “get” my message are often sales and client-facing groups that see the immediate positive impact of what I teach in their relationships with their clients. Their ability to see how relationships matter in their professional lives ultimately helps them apply their personal values in the workplace.

TSG: One of your keynote presentations is titled “Breaking Down Silos” – and it’s described as fostering a spirit of cooperation and making it easier to achieve customer satisfaction and corporate goals at the same time. That’s a magical formula! What are some of the practices you advocate in that presentation?

Ferrazzi: “Breaking Down Silos” increases participants’ ability to lead teams and collaborate together in today’s ever-changing, matrix-driven world.

Deeper internal relationships bust silos, because people adopt a greater level of transparency while simultaneously holding each other accountable for measurable results. Busting silos means the entire firm works together to satisfy customers – and unsurprisingly, that means greater success and clearer, more meaningful external messaging.

TSG: In addition to speaking, what else have you been up to since Never Eat Alone?

Ferrazzi: I’ve been working on my next book.

TSG: Can you give us a sneak peek? Title? Content?

Ferrazzi: Who’s Got Your Back? – which teaches readers how to build the ironclad, high-trust peer-to-peer support networks that can vault both individuals and companies from mediocrity to major success. It’s out in May 2009.

TSG: Can’t wait! You can write about how to achieve major success, because obviously you’ve done it – youngest partner at Deloitte, youngest Fortune 500 CMO, CEO of several successful companies, best-selling author… What keeps you going? What are you aiming for now?

Ferrazzi: I am driven by a desire to help people. I always have been, and I hope I always will be. That drive surely comes from an upbringing of scarcity. I had incredible parents who fought hard to give me the ingredients for success despite the fact that we were poor. As for my next professional goal, I’m hoping my new book will allow me to touch even more people than Never Eat Alone.

TSG: Sounds great. Thank you very much, Keith. This has been an enlightening interview and we appreciate you taking the time to answer some of our questions. While we’re waiting on your next book, can you recommend any books that you might be reading right now?

Ferrazzi: Right now on my nightstand are How to Make People Like You in 90 Seconds and Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

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We hope you’ve enjoyed this two-part “In the Spotlight” session with Keith Ferrazzi. If you would like more information about Keith, check out his profile on The Speakers Group’s site at http://www.thespeakersgroup.com/Keith_Ferrazzi, or contact us with any questions. Thanks for reading!

Posted under In the Spotlight, Leadership Development, Motivational Speakers, Organizational Excellence

Welcome to the first installment of The Speakers Group’s new interview series titled “In the Spotlight.” We’ll be featuring Q&A sessions with a variety of in-demand business speakers and gurus, along with some up-and-coming thought leaders with equally valuable expertise and content.

To kick things we off, we have Keith Ferrazzi, author of the bestseller, Never Eat Alone, in the spotlight. Keith is renowned authority on building relationships, and he shared some great insights with us in our interview. Following is part one of two.

TSG: For starters, let me ask about the title of your book, Never Eat Alone. Having read the book, I know exactly where the title comes from, but has anyone ever mistaken you for a nutritionist or a health guru because of it? It kind of sounds like it could hold the key to losing 20 pounds.

Ferrazzi: People more often mistake the book for a book on dating than anything else…

TSG: And I’m guessing that it’s also mistakenly labeled a book on networking, a word that you’ve said you hate. You’re quick to point out that you’re not a networking expert. Tell us about your aversion to the word networking, and about the true emphasis of your work.

Ferrazzi: Networking often has a negative connotation to it. People think it’s disingenuous and tactical, all about “what can you do for me?” What I talk about is approaching people in the spirit of “What can I do for you?” It’s relationship building, interacting with personal and professional contacts alike on a much deeper level than most people are accustomed to. That’s the kind of relationship that delivers the greatest success. That’s core of what I practice and teach in Never Eat Alone.

TSG: Talking about relationships might sound a little “soft” or touchy-feely for some in the business world, but you have a keynote presentation titled “Relationships for Revenue Growth.” Where do relationships and revenue growth intersect?

Ferrazzi: With increasing commoditization of products coupled with costs pressures, the depth of the relationship with the customer is one of the only differentiators that gets you through the door and keeps you there these days when you’re in a client-facing role.

It’s the power of relationships that can help you grow your company’s success – whether by connecting with new markets, developing new products, or increasing productivity. Having great products isn’t enough anymore on its own. You also need the ability to bring unique value to the relationships you have with your clients, beyond the business transaction.

TSG: We’ve talked about relationships… Let’s go one step further to intimacy – something you talk a lot about. What do you say to someone who has a more standoffish nature and may be afraid of crossing the line of inappropriateness in business relationships?

Ferrazzi: I fundamentally believe business relationships should also be personal ones. The most powerful relationships – the ones that create results – are ones where you are able to have a personal connection or bridge with the individual. Otherwise you’re just conducting transactions, like a machine. There’s no trust there. One of the core principles to a great relationship is intimacy. When someone’s standoffish it usually means they’ve had experiences in their past that’s made them distrustful. So be patient, set the example by opening up a little, draw them out slowly – and when you do win them over, you’ll have a friend for life.

TSG: You have something you call a Relationship Action Plan. What is that?

Ferrazzi: A Relationship Action Plan is a tactical and strategic guide to empower a person to take control of their careers through mutually beneficial relationships. It involves identifying and building relationships with people who can help achieve career and life goals, building and broadcasting unique personal brands to stand out in the crowded marketplace, lining up friends to help, approaching and engaging mentors, and finally, creating a dynamic personal board of advisors.

TSG: And if a professional adopts your relationship management strategies, what are the potential benefits he or she might expect?

Ferrazzi: Faster progress toward goals, a bar for success that is constantly raised higher and higher, increased employee loyalty, productivity and retention, growth in the client base, growth in revenue, faster course correction thanks to rich mutual support – I could go on and on. And on another level, the reward is overall greater life happiness. Being yourself and having in-depth relationships in your professional life means work is a lot more fun. And that happiness circles directly back to success – when work is fun, you and everyone you work with is going to be a lot more committed. It’s infectious.

TSG: What if an entire organization promotes your relationship management strategies throughout all of their teams or at least their leaders – what kind of results might they expect?

Ferrazzi: All the benefits above, multiplied exponentially.

TSG: Another system you teach is Executive Relationship Management. Can you explain that a bit?

Ferrazzi: ERM guides senior executives in developing an actionable plan to increase the stature and success of their firm by strengthening relationships with its most important constituencies – customers, prospects, partners, influencers, and employees. Clients find answers to questions such as: Where do I find the time for outreach? Who to start with? How can I make a meaningful connection?

TSG: The economy is a little slower right now, and a lot of attention is focused on the bottom line – cutting costs, increasing sales, etc. It may not seem like the ideal time to talk about relationships, but you say it’s the perfect time to talk about relationships… why is that?

To be continued…

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Cliffhanger! Check back one week from today, on Tuesday, August 5, for part two of our interview with Keith Ferrazzi. We’ll learn more about relationships, and we’ll also ask Keith about what keeps him pressing on, what he’s reading, what we can expect from him in the future, and more.

More information about Keith Ferrazzi is available from The Speakers Group.

Posted under In the Spotlight, Leadership Development, Motivational Speakers, Organizational Excellence, Speaker News