Five-Minute Life Coach 5, 16

Book review 6

Two kinds of tired 8

IMPAC milestone reached 9

Caged by our labels 10

Influence with ease 13

Image: Gestures 15

Words at work that don’t work 17

Dec. ’04/Jan ’05Edition

VOL. 2ISSUE 6

A MONTHLY DIGEST TO INFORM AND ENLIGHTEN MEETING PLANNERS

The Four Ps ofThe Four Ps ofChampionship Selling Championship Selling Page Page 33

BY MARISSA LAROUCHE-SMART

Your heart is pounding, yourmouth is dry, and your palms aresweaty. The self-confidence that

has gotten you this far in life seems tohave deserted you. You are about to talkin front of a group.

You thought you knew just what youwanted to say, and it sounded fine whenyou rehearsed it in your kitchen, butsomehow it’s not quite the same in frontof a live audience.

Well, if it’s any comfort, you’re notalone. In fact, I read somewhere thatwhen asked what people are the mostscared of, it wasn’t death, illness orpoverty—it was speaking before a group.

Many people never conquer this fearand simply avoid making speeches. Ifyou do, however, have to or want tomake a speech, there are many ways toprepare.

IN THIS ISSUE A daunting task:Being a public speaker

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Need to change your address?Want to receive The Planner?

Next issue: February, 2005

Email us at:info@theplanner.ca

Published by:

2105 rue de la Montagne, suite 100 • Montreal, Quebec • H3G 1Z8Telephone: (514) 849-6841 ext. 333 • Fax: (514) 284-2282

We welcome your comments: info@theplanner.ca

Editor: Leo GervaisProofreader and researcher: Nathalie Caron

Translator: Dominique LamarcheAdministration: Patrick Galvin, Julie Boisvert

Sales: James PaulsonContributors: Mike Auctor, Thomas Chalmers,

Sharon Danley, Peter De Jager, Cathleen Fillmore, Huges Gibeault, Barbara Kelly, Marissa

Larouche-Smart, Jeff Mowatt, Barry Siskind, Harriet Wezena

The Planner is a monthly publication distributed to 10,000 professional meeting planners and growing.

Another 1,000 copies are distributed to individuals working in the service industry.

Poste-publication No. 40934013

Our Mission and GoalOur mission is to inform and enlighten meet-

ing planners. Each edition will have no morethan 30 to 35 per cent advertising (all of whichwill be informative) with the rest of the publi-cation dedicated to articles to help meetingplanners in their day-to-day activities. Our goal is to give out the accumulated profit aseducational grants to planners.

Every Holiday Season, we think of the past year

and the coming one.

So let’s stop and think for a minute:We live in a great country;

We work in a people-oriented industry;We’re relatively healthy;

What could be better? Let’s be thankful!

Best wishes from all of us at The Planner

What would you like to read about?Please e-mail me at:lgervais@theplanner.ca

A time to rejoice

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

2

New contributors: We have two new contributors thismonth: Huges Gibeault is one of Canada’s leading salesand marketing executives. He details the 4 Ps ofChampionship Selling... Jeff Mowatt is an internationalspeaker and corporate trainer. We are very pleased to offerhis “Influence with Ease” column that touches on a varietyof topics related to the biz... Harriet Wezena is aMontreal-based freelancer and she has written her second book review for us...

See you in 2005: Our next issue will be published inFebruary, and we look forward to hearing from you aboutwhat kinds of articles you’d like to see, so please keepthose emails and phone calls coming. The staff at ThePlanner wishes you all a happy holiday season!

Other stuff: If you would like to be a monthly correspon-dent for The Planner providing 150-200 words a month forthe Industry News section, please e-mail us at: info@theplanner.ca.

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

3

The Four Ps of Championship Sales

BY HUGUES GIBEAULT

So you want to be Number 1? This is every salesperson’sdream-and if it isn’t, it should be. The best salespeople areextremely competitive by nature, want to be the best, love

interacting with people and live to achieve outstanding resultswith customers.

Taking yourself to the highest level of performance, howev-er, requires more than just a dream. Here are the four Ps, or keypillars of sales performance-Perspective, Playing catch,Preparation & knowledge, and Presenting-to help you achieveChampionship Sales.

Perspective

Approaching daily tasks and life with a positive, powerfuland unique perspective sets the stage for success. If you believeyou can, or if you believe you can’t-you’re right!

Research on human performance consistently indicates thevalue of a correct mindset to guide behavior. Attitude, attitude,attitude! There are a number of ways the right perspective setsyou up for success.

First, your thoughts affect your behavior and emotion.Thinking of your talents and successes instead of your short-comings and failures will keep a spring in your step and asmile on your face.

Second, perspective means viewpoint or outlook. Thismeans projecting into the future with knowledge of the pres-ent. Your well-managed perspective holds the information youneed to carry you into success-build it!

Third, perspective means being present in the situation at alltimes, and gathering information that shapes it all the time.

And finally, perspective means knowing that others haveone, too, and it is your job to understand theirs and share yours.

Playing Catch

As salespeople we are well groomed in the art of pitching(i.e. talking, presenting) but at the end of the day, selling ismore about catching than pitching. The most successful sales-people are great catchers, they have well honed communica-tion skills, ask great questions, listen intently and with empa-thy in order to truly understand customer needs.

A sale is a relationship game. Playing catch is the mostimportant relationship skill you are ever going to learn; it willhelp you in customer relations, and all your other relation-ships, too.

The time invested to really get to know your customer paysoff in several ways. You build a stronger relationship, one thatfosters loyalty and will help you through any challenges thatmay arise. You discover what the customer really needs, andcan position your products or services to provide solutions.Intentional listening with feedback also increases the likeli-hood that the favor will be returned-your customer is morelikely to listen to you if you play catch with them.

Preparation & Knowledge

Knowing your customer is key to success in sales, and thisrequires continuous preparation and knowledge development.The goal is to understand the customer better than they under-stand themselves. Do this through blueprinting, i.e. develop-ing a strategic understanding of how a customer operates andmakes decisions, understanding who is involved in those deci-sions and what criteria they use to make decisions, and devel-oping a plan of action to influence those decisions to mutualbenefit.

Preparation and knowledge also means minding your cus-tomer’s business, for your sake and theirs, and using this infor-mation to effect favorable customer decisions.

How to achieve the highest level of sales performance

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

The Dale Carnegie Institute is one, another way is througha membership with a Toastmasters Club, and both are in mostmajor cities. There are also companies, such as Tandem Houseof Montreal, who not only help you prepare for a presentation,but also have full practice facilities. You can rehearse yourspeech with teleprompters and video record your delivery sothat you can review and correct your mistakes. TandemHouse’s training in communication skills is said to be the“ABCs of public speech, phone communication and intercul-tural communication.”

The Dale Carnegie Institute’s business training courses aimto build communication, leadership, self-confidence, stressmanagement and human relations skills. Elaine Claivaz, man-aging partner of the Montreal office, said, “An important dis-tinction to make is that we don’t give a public speaking course.Dale Carnegie originally wanted to teach public speaking, butrealized that he needed to teach other skills first. We use pub-lic speaking as a tool to teach other abilities. You need to beable to connect with your audience to get your messagethrough.”

Claivaz suggests taking the Dale Carnegie Course (commu-nication and leadership) if you have never spoken in publicbefore or if you have a strong fear of it. It is a 12-week course,which meets once a week. The High Impact Presentationcourse is a two day seminar which is designed for people whohave experience speaking in public and who wish to perfecttheir presentation skills.

Toastmasters is a non-profit educational corporation thatprovides a platform to polish up or to develop public speakingskills. Toastmasters Clubs are set up like small businesses andeach member has a distinct role to play. Pierre Desrochersjoined his Montreal club 12 years ago to conquer his fear andstress of speaking in public, “Toastmasters was a place to prac-tice once a week. It’s about the art of public speaking, aboutdeveloping your leadership. We need leaders!”

He says that in the meetings, you learn by listening and bywatching others speak, and when you’re ready, you make yourown speeches. The first award to achieve is the CompetentToastmaster (CTM), and the highest award is theDistinguished Toastmaster (DTM).

For further information, consult these websites to find out whichmethod best suits your fears: www.tandemhouse.com, www.toast-masters.org, and www.dalecarnegie.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Toastmasters and Dale Carnegieare two proven ways to improve

4

�Industry TrendsAvoiding the lines

Airports are expected to be increasingly crowded this holi-day travel season. What should you do to avoid the lines’

• Check wait times: Since summer, the TSA has posted secu-rity-line delays at tsa.gov.

•Watch out for the coasts: Checkpoint lines can be longerbecause travelers tend to originate flights there instead oftransferring - meaning more people going through security.

• The downside of discounters: Airports like Dulles andFort Lauderdale, where discounters have added capacity, tendto have more security logjams.

Gift bags the way to go

With $5 billion worth of gift wrap tossed in the trash eachyear, reusable gift bags may be an idea whose time has come.Wrapsacks ($3 to $8 at wrapsacks.com) are hand-dyed cottonbags designed to be recycled: Receive a gift in one, use it togive a gift to someone else. Each comes with a unique ID sewninside. If all recipients enter the bags whereabouts at the Website, you can track its travels. Check www.bizrate.com forsome ideas on pricing on gift bags.

I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of a national emergency,

even if I'm in a cabinet meeting.

Ronald Reagan

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

5�Industry Trends

Presenting

You need to know your customer, but your customer needsto know you as well. Presentations with the appropriate struc-ture, the right processes and a dash of creativity will make thishappen. Going back all the way to Aristotle, presentationmeans using language effectively to please or persuade. Thisincludes demonstrating credibility, using logic and capturingattention.

Good sales presentations require that you do it all! Youwant to get to solutions- and use negotiation only if necessary...but not necessarily use negotiation!

Good presentations require structure-the right methodolo-gy and process to follow. Structure provides the substance ofthe presentation, and with process you have the ability to stayin control of the relationship with the customer.

The next critical factor is creativity. The customer’s attentionis the real currency in a sales presentation, and sometimes youhave to use creative methods to get their attention. Thisinvolves the use of props and other things to capture theirattention and make presentations engaging and meaningful.

Consistently applying the 4Ps of Championship Sales leadsto “transformational” versus transactional selling, making atangible, lasting difference for the customer and his or her busi-ness, leading to sustainable, mutually beneficial relationships.

• • •

Hugues Gibeault is one of Canada’s leading sales and marketingexecutives. He is Executive Vice President and Managing Partner forOptimé International, a leading Fortune 500 training consultancy thatspecializes in developing high performance sales organizations. Youcan contact Hugues through the National Speakers Bureau at 1-800-661-4110 or www.nsb.com.

The 4Ps of Championship Sales, with each critical performance pil-lar built on the foundation of the other below it, starting withPerspective. Consistently applying all 4Ps leads to “transformational”versus transactional selling.

4Ps the keys to top sellingCONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 Standing room only

BY THOMAS CHALMERS

When was the last time you stood ‘for yourself’? Or do youtend to say nothing to keep the peace and then regret your

quiet cowardice?You will always be racked with failure if you never stand up for

what you believe in , and that includes yourself. There’s nothingworse than someone taking a loan of you and you letting them.

It is therefore crucial to establish as set of principles or corevalues to which you hold true, such as Fairness, Equality,Honesty, Integrity: a real life ready reckoner which establisheswho you are and lets other people know where you stand.

Defining your drivers or guiding principles enable you todecide quickly and act consistently. You will know your ownmind and people will respect you for it.

For example, if you value Fairness but someone is beingunfair to you, then you know what you need to do. Think itthrough, find the words and then challenge them. Be assertive.Stand firm to fairness and don’t back down. Tell them how youfeel and leave them in no doubt about where you stand.

You need to be bold, so don’t compromise your principles.

FIVE-MINUTE LIFE COACH

Allergy-free cats?“I’d love to have a cat,” your significant other tells you- “but

I’m really allergic.” No problem, you reply. I just bought one ofthe new allergy-free cats from Allerca Inc (www.allerca.com).The company says it is now taking orders for cats that have beengenetically modified so they don’t produce the irritating sub-stance, which comes out in their saliva and through their skin.Of course, some of the early experiments produced a breed ofcarnivorous super-cat with a taste for human flesh, but now thatthey’ve got the bugs worked out everything should be fine.

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

BY HARRIET WEZENA

It is Monday and you already can’t waitfor Friday to come. Is your work-life

out of balance? Then there is somethinglacking and that’s motivation and mean-ing in whatever you do.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to belike this—you can bring your work to lifeas William John Mills gives us all the nec-essary tools to achieve meaning in ourwork and a work-life balance in his bookBring Your Work to Life: Applying theBest of You to What You Do.”

“Relationships are the fundamentalbuilding blocks of existence,” understand-ing their importance, Mills writes, is key toactivating meaning and motivation inyour work and life. He devotes each of thethree parts of his book, exploring three dif-ferent relationships in this regard, namely:your relationship with Self; your relation-ship with Others; and your relationshipwith the Higher Values.

In your relationship with Self, Williamdiscusses elements such as knowing whoyou are and what you want, understand-ing how you invest your time, takingyour personal values to your workplace,achieving a reasonable work-life balance,taking care of your personal resources ofbody, mind, and spirit and bringing yourconsciousness to everyday events.

The way you choose to spend yourtime is an outward reflection of yourrelationship with Self. William suggeststhat, to understand who you are andwhat you want, it's imperative to analyseyour present use of time in your workand personal life and then compare thiswith how you would ideally like tospend you time. If you neglect one aspectfor the other you will pay the price.

He contends that, “business is person-al” and affects peoples lives and howyou choose to be at work affects all thoseyou interact with. Compartmentalizingour life into work and personal life hesays, “creates workplaces that are fearful,dispirited and unmotivated.”

This brings us to the second part ofthe book that deals with your relation-ship with others.

The only way to satisfy the need formeaning at work, asserts William, isthrough the “creation of genuine work-place communities” which are character-ized by “compassion.” At the core ofbuilding this community involves caringfor your colleagues, passion for yourwork, and effective communication.Mills counsels that you have to treat allrelationships as if they were long termbecause you just never know and keep inmind it's not what you say, but how yousay it. Live by the “golden rule” and treatyour colleagues the way you would wantthem to treat you.

Finally, Williams discusses your rela-tionship with the Higher Values. These hesays, provide you with a connection to theglobal community and helps you under-stand the web of consciousness that unitesthe world's diversity. You have to consid-er what Higher Values are most importantto you and how best to make your rela-tionship with them more present in yourwork life. For the purposes of the book, hetalks about three values which are: divine,trust and response-ability.

Being responsibleThe Divine he refers to as the “univer-

sal and loving intelligence that is bothwithin you and beyond you the sametime.” However, he points out you canexperience the Divine by counting yourlearnings, meditation, and through thepower of prayer. Trust, he asserts, keepshope alive and that allows you to meetyour life and work demands with energy,confidence, and optimism.

Being responsible he says, empowersyou and the opposite is placing blamewith stripes you of your power giving itto whoever you blame. You need to beresponse-able for your ideas to material-ize otherwise, you will be stuck indreamland with no power to exit intoreality. It's necessary therefore for you toidentify your abilities and work toimprove areas where you're not veryresponse-able.

An inspirational author, Mills resortsto various simple anecdotes as well as 32different thought-provoking exercisesthat will enable you to discover all thesecrets to finding meaning, motivation,and happiness in both your work andpersonal life.

His stimulating style of presentationtotally draws you in until you turn to thelast page smiling because now you knowhow true it is when he says “work is thesandbox of life. It's where grown-ups goto play.”

For more information on the book, goto www.creativebound.com

Book:Bring Your Work To LifeAuthor:William John MillsPublisher:Creative Bound, 2002Price on Chapters.ca:CDN $20.95 (Softcover)On the Web:http://www.creativebound.com/book/book117.htm

BOOK REVIEWBring Your Work to Life by William John Mills

6

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

7

Evenemento holds its own eventEvenemento, an event marketing

company based in Montreal, cele-brated its first two years in busi-

ness at Boutique Harricana onNovember 24. An ice sculpture sittingoutside guided the guests towards theentrance, a hall decorated with miniChristmas trees evoked the winter themeand its many pleasures. The guests sam-pled apple martinis, fresh oysters fromthe Oyster Bar and “après-ski” style horsd’oeuvres. Evenemento President,Marie-Josée Loiselle, had a message: thepower of events as a marketing tool.

Evenemento practices what it preaches,and designed and orchestrated an event todemonstrate what they can do and invitedclients and contacts to experiment with its

services. In a world where it is more andmore difficult to differentiate from thecompetition, where the client’s attention isgrabbed in a thousand different directions,Evenemento’s mission is to help compa-nies and organizations to connect morestrategically with their clients andprospects by designing experiences thataccelerate the sales cycle. An event is notonly a logistic endeavour; it’s really moreabout integrating all the elements to com-municate a specific message. Whetherprospecting for new business, workingmature leads or fostering relationshipswith existing customers, there is a set ofevents appropriate to every industry, atevery stage of the selling cycle, aimed atachieving measurable business objectives.

Boutique Harricana was the site ofEvenemento’s two year anniversaryparty on November 24.

The 90 invitees discov-ered the unique recy-cled fur clothes by thefamous designerMariouche Gagné. Formore info, please visit:www.evenemento.com

We who lived in the concentration camps can remember themen who walked through the huts comforting others, giv-ing away their last piece of bread. They may have been few

in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be takenaway but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one’sattitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.

— Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

One of my all-time favourite songwriter/storytellers wasHarry Chapin. He left this world too soon, a troubadour

and servant, sharing his wisdom in his concerts and raisingmoney and awareness regarding issues of world hunger. Ioften find myself listening to his music, a great companion fora drive in the country. On one of his “greatest hits” recordings,he speaks about his grandfather, the stories he told and thewisdom he imparted. He said, “My grandfather always used tosay, ‘Harry, in this world there are two kinds of tired-good tiredand bad tired.’” The words resonated with me as I rememberedboth the good and bad tired moments of my life. These days, Iam grateful to be mostly “good tired.”

“Bad tired” can follow a day when you are seen as a winnerin the eyes of others, but you know that you won other people’sbattles or lived other people’s days, other people’s agendas andother people’s dreams. You achieved great things but for some-one else’s cause. At the end of the day, you see that there wasvery little of YOU in there. You realize that deep inside yourself,the parts are not connected. When you lay your head down thatnight, you toss and turn; you don’t rest easy. You know your“doings” of the day are disconnected from your being, fromyour core values and from your sense of purpose.

Then there are the days when you are “good tired.” Goodtired can be the result of a day in which you experience lesssuccess, trying but not always satisfied with the outcome. Thekey is that you are working at the things you truly love andenjoy. You don’t need to be hard on yourself because you knowthat you fought your own battles, you chased your owndreams, and you lived your days fully. This path is sometimesmore difficult, but you feel better about yourself because yourchoices are in-line with who you are and what you believe in.At the end of the day when you lay down your head, you rest

easy. You know that what you did that day, what you achieved,was connected to your purpose and values.

If you examine your days at their close, are you good tired orbad tired? Is what you do, what you are trying to achieve, con-nected to who you are-your being, your values, your purpose?

I am sure that all of us experience days when we are bad tiredand others when we are good tired. Bad tired is being exhaust-ed because what we are doing steals our energy and power. Itmay be the work we are doing, it may be the environment we doit in, or it may be the people we are spending time with.Whatever the cause, we become disconnected from our essence.The days end in fatigue and disillusionment; we feel emptyinside. Our sense of achievement is overshadowed as we are notsure that what we did that day had any real meaning for anyone.

Good tired is about having a deep sense of satisfaction. It isabout living a life of meaning and sensing that what we aredoing is of value and valued. We want to know that, in somesmall way, we are making a difference to someone, whether therecipient is miles away or sitting next to us. We want to knowthat what we do does not harm other people or the planet.

All of us have the capacity to serve in a significant way,whether we repair appliances, write computer programs, teachcourses or drive buses. It is simply a choice that we make. If weare feeling bad tired, we need to identify why and understandthat the solution lies within us. It may mean a change in ourplace of work, our career path or how we live. Or it may be asstraightforward as taking the time to find the meaning in whatwe are currently doing, reconnecting with our values and pur-pose and seeing the abundance in our lives.

Two Kinds of Tired is an excerpt from roadSIGNS: Travel Tips forAuthentic Living (19.95 CAN) by Betty Healey. For more information on the firm’s services, speakers, trainers and bookresources, or to order a copy of roadSIGNS, please call 1-800-287-8610 or e-mail us at: resources@creativebound.com

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

8

The two kinds of tired

The key is that you are working at the things

you truly love and enjoy

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

9

IMPAC hits a membership milestone with 100 members

The Independent Meeting Planners Association of Canada(IMPAC) announced on December 1 it has reached a mem-

bership milestone of 100 meeting planning companies.IMPAC is committed to providing credible, professional

and experienced meeting planning support to the corporate,association, government and not-for-profit sectors.

IMPAC members can seamlessly execute internationalmeetings, public events, weddings, religious assemblies, socialevents, trade shows and symposiums, regardless of sizeand/or complexity. Services provided by IMPAC membersinclude coordination of event logistics, conference registration,staffing, contracting guest speakers, venues, transportationservices and exhibit space, program design, development, andevent promotion and marketing.

Exclusive RFP processClients benefit from the reassurance that they are accessing

experienced meeting planners who are able to manage allaspects of meeting and event marketing. Many members carryindustry designations such as CMP (Certified MeetingProfessional) and CMM (Certified Meeting Manager).Through an exclusive on-line RFP process clients have the benefit of finding the best meeting planner(s) to meet theirneeds by accessing IMPAC members via their website atwww.impaccanada.com

Founded in 1995, IMPAC is the innovation of Joy E. Fox;now a semi-retired meeting entrepreneur based in Vancouver.

When asked what inspired Fox to start this unique group ofprofessionals, Joy said, “I wanted to get together with peoplewho were independent meeting planners like me who wereworking in non-corporate, autonomous environments. Asmeeting planning was a relatively new profession I felt theneed to liaise for support and information.”

IMPAC is now one of Canada’s most influential profession-al meeting planning associations, handling hundreds of meet-ings and events each year. When asked about her vision, Foxexplained, “I saw the need to promote the profession througheducation and support.” Fox is looking forward to the day thatIMPAC becomes a Canada-wide organization.

Many benefits for membersThe benefits for IMPAC members are nurtured through

business alliances, referrals, education and professional pro-grams. Each year there are networking opportunities and edu-cational events, including an annual conference (Quebec,October 20-23, 2005), Golf Tournament (July 21, Lionhead Golf& Country Club & Delta Meadowvale Resort and ConferenceCentre), education sessions, supplier showcases (November)and monthly meetings featuring topical guest speakers.Members are provided with a forum for camaraderie, informa-tion exchange, as well as group insurance plans. The highestprofessional standards are outlined in the member code ofethics. IMPAC is affiliated with the Canadian Meetings &Incentive Travel Symposium, Canadian Special Events &Meetings Expo, and BiZBash TO.

• • •

Full and associate memberships are available for independent meet-ing planners, proprietors of a meeting planning companies or theiremployees. For more information on membership or sourcing the serv-ices of IMPAC members contact Carol Ford, Executive Director at 905-868-8008, 1-866-IMPAC-99, 1-866-467-2299 or email mail to:impac@impaccanada.com

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

Caged by our labels, boxed in

If you’ve done any reading in the area ofCreativity or Innovation then you’vecertainly come across the advice

“Think outside the Box”. Even though it’salmost a cliché, it hasn’t outlived its use-fulness. “Think outside the box” is a bril-

liantly accurate description of the primary goal of the creativeprocess. I wish I’d come up with it.

It isn’t totally perfect though, it contains a neatly hiddenassumption, pointing to the real reason why creativity is some-times so difficult to achieve. The problem is, it focuses ourattention on the “Thinking outside” aspect, rather than on the“box” part. “Thinking differently”, once we can identify howwe’re currently thinking, is not exceedingly difficult. It’s know-ing a) that you’re in a box, and b) becoming aware of theboundaries of that box, that is almost impossible.

Here’s an exercise I use to illustrate this problem in concreteterms. I separate the class into teams of 2-4 people and handthem an unopened deck of playing cards. Their instructions are:

i) They have 10 minutes to build a tower of cards as tall aspossible.

ii) They cannot speak to me during that time.iii) They cannot use any other resources.

iv) The team with the tallest tower from bottom to top,‘wins’ the exercise.

If they’re very digitally skilled, the most they manage is atower two, maybe three cards high.

The reasons they offer for their level of performance is thatthe cards are new and slippery and the surface of the desk isn’ta good place to build a tower of cards.

The real reason for their squat towers, is something they sel-dom mention. More to the point, they’re typically incapable ofmentioning it, because they’re rarely aware of it.

They insist on respecting the label of ‘cards’ arbitrarilyassigned to stiff pieces of printed cardboard. Folding thesecardboard rectangles and/or cutting structural slots into them,would turn ‘slippery cards’ into extremely effective buildingblocks. Towers ten or fifteen cards high are possible when westop seeing the available resources as ‘cards’.

As an experiment, I have on occasion handed out a newdeck of 3x5 index cards... these are immediately bent, twistedand mutilated into shapes more appropriate to building talltowers. We don’t have the same ‘respect’ for the lowly 3x5index card that we do for playing cards.

If you’re saying to yourself “this is an unfair exercise youcan’t/shouldn’t fold, spindle or mutilate new playing cards”then you’re falling into the same restricting box of thought ashave my students. Yes! They are “cards”... but they are alsopieces of stiff cardboard.

The greatest challenge of “Thinking outside the box” isknowing when the box is self imposed.

A simple trick to aid in the identification of these imaginaryboxes is to consciously stop using labels, not forever, but justwhen you need a sharper creative edge.

Whenever you are faced with a problem, one of the firstthings we do is identify our resources. If we can get into thehabit of stripping away all the labels associated with thoseresources then we can better see what we have available to us.e.g. A paper clip is also a piece of wire, a pin, a conductor ofelectricity, a piece of metal...

What labels have placed you in an invisible box? You cannotfollow the advice to “think outside the box”, until you identifythe box in which you’ve caged yourself.

(®) 2004 Peter de Jager. A mutterer of words (speaker) and advisorto those who look at others while they do all the work (ManagementConsultant). To contact him, or for information on his seminars, visitwww.technobility.com

BY PETER DE JAGER

Beware of the young doctor and the old barber.

Benjamin Franklin

10

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

Wanted!Change Management Case Studies

When it comes to Change Management, what works?What fails? What's more difficult? And what do mostof us do when it comes to large change projects?

Enterprise columnist Peter de Jager and The Planner are collaborating on a large survey to answer some ofthese questions. Over the coming months we'regoing to collect somewhere between 20-25,000Change Management case studies from all over theworld. If you'd like to participate in this massivestudy, then visit: http://www.technobility.com/docs/sisyphus.htm

This survey will take 15-45 minutes to completedepending on how much you're willing to contribute.Your personal contact information will not be madeavailable to anyone, for any reason. If you have questions regarding this survey, pleasecontact Peter at: Pdejager@Technobility.com

11

With the Holiday Season at hand, the age-old questionholds even more relevance, “How much is too much?”

or for that matter what if what you planned for is not enough.Below are some general guidelines, all be it not carved instone, are time tested.

As a general rule, Women consume more wine then spiritsand the focus has shifted from quantity to quality of beveragebeing served. You can expect to have consumed three glassesof wine during a two-hour reception, with consumption beingreduced if passed. For a cash bar lasting one hour before anevent, 1.5 drinks on average will be consumed. An open barlasting the same time, consumption will be on average 2.5,increasing to 3.5 for a hour and a half.

Some other general guidelines are, never allow attendees tomix their own drinks, and never allow bar staff to free pour.Serve high protein foods, and have coffee available at least onehalf hour before the end of the reception. Do not announcelast call, and always have a plan of action for those who haveconsumed too much alcohol.

Whatever you plan for during your reception, be it enter-tainment or scheduled speeches, consumption will bereduced. Please use the above guidelines to help you manageyour specific event, knowing that every situation is slightlydifferent. And remember no matter what the season, no mat-ter what the reason, don’t drink and drive.

The ABCs of alcohol budgeting controls concepts

— Upcoming Events —

JAN 5-8 2005The Special Event 2005 Conference Trade ShowMiami, Fla. http://specialeventsshow.primediabusiness.com

JAN 7-10 2005Association for Convention Operations Management(ACOM), 17th Annual Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii.www.acomonline.com

JANUARY 9-12 2005Professional Convention management Association(PCMA), 2005 PCMA Annual Meeting Honolulu, Hawaii. www.pcma.org

JANUARY 25-28 2005Religious Conference Management Association (RCMA)St. Louis, Missouri. www.rcmaweb.org

JANUARY 23-25 2005Professional Education Conference North America 2005(PECNA) San Diego, California. www.2005pecna.mpiweb.org

DATEBOOK

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22

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44

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DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

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12

FIVE FOR 2005Five trends to watch for next year

“Where do we see things going?” is a question which weare often asked at The Planner.

Now, we don’t have a crystal ball but here are a few sure bets:We will all have more and more to do and we won’t have moretime to do it in, so let’s start with what we do at The Planner.

Communicate, Communications, CommunicatingWe see a few trends within this trend: First, we believe more

and more Planners will equip themselves with BlackBerrysfrom RIM (www.blackberry.com). Once you’ve tried one andsee an increase of about 20 percent in your productivity, you toowill be sold. You won’t work any harder, you will just put thosetwo- and three-minute holes to better use. Second, everyonewants everything now and the BlackBerry allows you to handleit now. Which leads me to the next point in this trend: Writtencommunications. It has always been important to know how towrite in our industry, but never more so than in the comingyears. We feel that planners should focus on creative writing tobe able to sell themselves, their ideas, and to generally commu-nicate with suppliers in a clear concise fashion. If you barelyhave time to do things once, imagine when they have to beredone—often a consequence of inadequate communications.

Hotels to offer more flexibilityHotels will start offering more flexible 24 hour Check-in/

Check-out times. All it takes is for a few to start and others willhave to follow, and it has started at the Faena Hotel in BuenosAires to The Peninsula in Beverly Hills to some of the RafflesHotels and Resort (Singapore, Beverly Hills, Hamburg andMontreux Switzerland). This flexible check-in/check-out meansthat if a guest checks in at 8 p.m. he has until 8 p.m. the follow-ing day to checkout, giving him a choice of arrival and departuretimes. It’s a concept whose time has come and it will take a whileto be universally accepted, but we see that starting this year.

The other trend we see for the hospitality industry will be restaurants becoming more and more of an option for planners

wanting to organize small- to medium-size events. They areusually less restrictive than hotels and have no rental fees, takereservations for periods greater than three months, and havecomparable fare that is trendier and more up-to-date.Restaurants are now offering private banquet rooms from CaféFerreira and La Queue de Cheval in Montreal, to Biff and theAcademy of Spherical Arts in Toronto, to name a few.

Audio-VisualThe next trend we see is also in the communications-related

industry. What we predict is more to set the mood and that willcome from LEDs (light-emitting diodes). As lights can create amood and these lights have the ability to literally produce thou-sands of colours at the touch of a button, you will see them atmore shows. Forward thinking companies such as VisionAudio-Visuel (www.vision-av.com) in Quebec City are alreadydoing great things with them.

Video ConferencingAnother trend will be the continued growth of videoconfer-

encing. Most videoconferencing centers in Montreal andToronto have seen huge growth in the last few months and predict it will double in the next year.

LifeStyleLast, but not least, more and more planners will combine

work with pleasure through self-help courses from flowerarranging to Spanish courses, from cooking and wine tasting toTai Chi and kickboxing. Planners will use their spare time togrow spiritually, mentally, and physically. ProfessionalAssociations and accreditation will also increase – there may besmall drops in larger associations but there will also be anincrease in smaller, more focused associations such as IMPAC(please see article on page 9).

Only time will tell if our five for five was on target but youcan bet we won’t be far from the mark. If you have thoughtsyou would like to share with us on these or other subjects,please drop us a line at: info@theplanner.ca.

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

INFLUENCE WITH EASE

Quick - name two words which,

when frequently used by waiters and

waitresses, increases tips by 12%. (Hint:

it’s not please or thank you).

Give up? The answer is, ‘for you.’

So, rather than saying to a customer,

“Would you like some more coffee?”, the

savvy waiter would say, “I brought more

coffee over for you.” The patron thinks,

“Gosh, you did that for me, how

thoughtful!” and tips accordingly - on

average 12% more.

That’s what I call easy money.

If you answered correctly - ignore the rest of

this article. If on the other hand you’d like

more phrases and tips that increase your

perceived value, then read on.

It’s OK to be in a bad mood I don’t buy-in to the

conventional ‘wisdom’ that an employee

must bubble with enthusiasm to provide

great service and high value. In the real

world of upset customers, long hours, and

stress, an employee’s enthusiasm will

occasionally wear thin. We all have bad

days. So, front line employees need to be

trained on how to convey a positive, helpful

attitude even when they’re not having a

zippity-do-dah day.

Here are several situations along

with phrases that convey a powerful positive

impression - no matter how stressed you

may be.

A customer asks for something and you

don’t know if it’s in stock.

Without training: “I don’t know if they’re

in. I’ll have to check.”

With training: “I don’t know if they’re in,

but I’ll be happy to check for you.”

The trained employee conveys a better

attitude. The irony is that she didn’t work any

harder than the untrained worker - they both

checked inventory. But the trained employee

gets a lot more credit because she used better

phrasing. What’s more - she didn’t have to

feel happy or enthusiastic to get the extra

credit. She just used wording that made a

better impression.

A boss, co-worker or customers asks you

to do something.

Without training (any of the following):

“OK, I’ll try, I’ll do my best, uh-huh, sure”

With training: “No problem.”

“OK” or “sure” are adequate responses. But

who wants to be perceived as ‘adequate’? On

the other hand, imagine asking someone to do

a series of difficult, inconvenient, unpleasant

tasks, and they respond instead with, “No

problem.” That conveys the impression of a

positive, confident person. Again, we don’t

have to actually feel excited or want to do the

task, but using the right phrasing creates that

perception.

A customer asks about a delivery date.

Without training: “We might be able to get it

to you by Wednesday.”

With training: “We’ll deliver it by Friday.”

The guideline is, underpromise and

overdeliver. In this situation, if the delivery

is made on Thursday, the untrained employee

looks incompetent while the trained person

looks like a hero. Keep in mind that it’s not

just your organization’s reputation that’s at

stake - it’s also your personal reputation. So

make promises sparingly, and then keep them

- no matter what it costs you.

You’re addressing a customer

Without training: Says, “sir, miss, or ma’me”

frequently.

With training: avoids using sir or ma’me and

instead uses person’s name.

While you can never be too polite with a

customer, you can be too formal. When I

ask participants at my seminars how they feel

when a front line employee addresses them as

“sir” or “ma’me” the overwhelming response

is, ‘old’. Not a good feeling. What’s more, it

creates a barrier between the customer and

employee. The customer may be starting to

think of the employee as a friend - which we

want. But the moment the employee uses

“sir” or “ma’me” the customer is reminded

that they’re not friends, but business

associates. Most of us are much more loyal to

friends than we are to businesses. Of course

there are exceptions where you may choose

to be more formal; such as when you’re

dealing with certain senior citizens or

someone from a conservative cultural

background (anyone from England).

You want to be believed

Without training: (Prefaces the statement

with any of these phrases): “The truth is...

believe me..., honest..., true story..., I really

mean this...”

With training: Omits all these statements and

just makes the statement of fact.

Prefacing a statement with a

phrase that essentially says we’re about to tell

the truth, implies that everything we’ve said

up till that point has been a lie! These

statements hurt rather than help our

credibility. So trained employees just don’t

use them - especially when having a sales

conversation.

The competitive edge competitive edge Having a technological advantage over the

competition is almost impossible to sustain

in today’s marketplace. Customers can

almost always get a similar product to yours

somewhere else. The easiest way to

differentiate you and your organization is by

providing value added service. That doesn’t

mean everyone has to work harder. It does

mean you need to speak the language of

professionals. That’s when using the right

phrase really pays.

Jeff Mowatt, CSP is an international

speaker and corporate trainer. His

focus is, “The Art of Client Service…

Influence with Ease.”™ For tips, self-

study kits, and information about booking

Jeff visit www.jeffmowatt.com or call

1-800-jmowatt (566-9288)..

“While you can never be

too polite with a customer,

you can be too formal.”

Phrases that Pay Simple Statements that Increase your Perceived Value

By Jeff Mowatt

13

Over the past few months, I havereceived several questions fromexhibitors that also might be on

the mind of some of my readers. Here arefive that I think will be helpful to you. Soplease, keep the questions coming...

Question 1If I don’t expect to sell anything at a show and can’t measure my

return on investment, how do I know if I am doing it right?

AnswerVery few exhibitors actually sell something from their

booth. Most either gather leads for future follow-up or strive toachieve a soft objective such as brand awareness, image, orpresence. Some exhibitors think that because their objectivesfall into this latter “soft” category they are not measurable. Infact they are. They can be measured in post-show activitiessuch as increased hits to your website, phone calls or follow-upsurveys. What these activities indicate is whether the people towhom they were intended to entice are receiving the messages.

Before every show, astute exhibitors set measurable objec-tives and then ask themselves the question, “How will I knowwhen I have achieved them?”

Setting benchmarks for success is a step in the right direc-tion to ensure you are achieving the goals you set in yourexhibit program.

Question 2How many people do I need to staff a booth properly?

AnswerThe rule of thumb is that every booth person needs 50

square feet of unoccupied space. This is enough space to carryout a semi-private conversations with one or two show visi-tors. In a 10 X 10 booth you will need two booth people. Onceyour exhibit grows the number of booth staff does not growproportionally. The operative word in the rule is “unoccupied.”The more space, the greater the tendency to also include inan-imate objects such as furniture, displays and products.Therefore in a 10 X 20 booth you would optimally need threestaffers.

Question 3Are trade shows losing their relevance as a marketing tool?

AnswerIn an age when people are relying more on technology, it’s a

rare situation when we get to meet business people face to face.Trade shows have been called the “last vestige of face to faceselling.” At a well chosen show, business people have anopportunity to meet more targeted people in a shorter periodof time that with any other marketing tool-that’s relevance.

Question 4How much should I budget for each show?

AnswerAnother rule of thumb is to ballpark your exhibit cost by

multiplying your space rental by a factor of three. Therefore$2,500 in space rental equates to an exhibit budget of $7,500.Keep in mind that this is ballpark and each exhibit situation isdifferent.

Question 5What is the biggest mistake exhibitors make?

AnswerOne of the biggest mistakes is not developing a follow-up

plan in advance of the show. Studies have shows that nearlyeighty percent of show leads are not followed up properly.Further studies have shown that many exhibitors with non-sales objectives fail to test their results against their initialgoals. Without some sort of post-show activities planned forimmediate implementation, your exhibit investment is des-tined to become an exercise in good intention with no realresults.

• • •

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

14

Questions, questions, questions...BY BARRY SISKIND

Ed. Note: This is the fourth part in the serieson Image.

What we say with our body lan-guage and facial expressionbrings believability to what we

say with words. The silent language of the body and face are the outward

extensions of a convincing image or presentation. The bodyand face always broadcast the sender’s feelings or thoughts nomatter what they are thinking.

As Tom Flores, a former NFLcoach says, “A total commitment isparamount to reaching the ulti-mate in performance.” Excellencerequires the complete involvementof these components.

Whether for the podium, board-room, camera, interview, or one-on-one interaction, keeping anopen, yet directed and flexiblebody stance and engaged facialexpression while utilizing effectiveemotional states, a skilled voice,and an appropriate image areessential to making a positive andlasting impression.

A flexible body and face canexude any expression, make defin-itive connection, be totallyinvolved and-most importantly-bebelieved.

Here are four “Power Tools”utilized by great speakers and per-formers that will rev up your pre-sentations and bring harmony to your message whatever it is:

Intention/Motivation — What is your purpose or desiredoutcome? Are you looking to entertain, motivate, persuade,activate, or give information? Is your delivery system comedic,dramatic or narrative? Is your audience 10 or 10,000, on stageor a camera close up? Always know why you are doing or say-ing something from moment to moment.

Body & Facial Language — The silent language that givesyour message believability. It’s the outward expression of yourinner thoughts and an important source of information aboutyour emotions. Your thoughts wash over your face, then yourbody, and then your voice is expressed through this veil. Whenit doesn’t match it’s a mixed message. When congruent thereis a feeling of harmony.

Active Listening & Observing — The heart of successfulinteraction in any situation. We listen through the filter of our

eyes and see through the filter of our ears in response to sur-rounding stimuli. Often, the most powerful moments are inobserving the presenter listening and feeling sensations withinthemselves before they transmit them through their visual cues.

Performance Tools — Making the most of improvisation,props, equipment, and memory techniques coupled withdirecting nerves, adequate preparation, and utilizing yourphysical tool box of the body, face, and brain are essential com-ponents in delivering great performances in any arena.

7 Ways to Get Your Body and Face Fit • Animate your expressions by reading to children or the

elderly with “character” in your thought, face body and voiceto bring life to your words and expand the imaginations of

your listeners. • Tai Chi, callanetics, Pilates,

ballet, or any form of dance bringsawareness and flexibility to thebody.

• Make use of video cameras -film yourself from all angles doinga presentation, introducing some-one, having a mock conversation,or response to one.

• Practice excellent posture andsincere smiles everywhere andeveryday.

• Take an improvisation or act-ing class - its always great to utilizethe stimuli from others and expandyour full range of emotional states.

• Play act with your family andfriends whenever possible. Thedinner table with everyone takingon a “character” and a bit of sup-porting wardrobe or hat goes along way to unleashing everyone’salter egos and having one pile offun in the process.

• Watch TV commercials with the sound off and then withyour eyes closed to increase the acuity of all the senses.

Decisive thought, suitable gestures, sincere facial expressionand eye contact, active listening, effective voice, and a harmo-nious exterior are still the most effective forms of communica-tion and masterful presentation.

Act Your Way Out of that Wet Paper Bag is a comprehensivemanual loaded with proven techniques to improve performance in any situation in any arena. Buy one for yourselfand a colleague. Best of all, mention The Planner and receive a20 percent discount (see website below, personal section).

© 2003, Sharon Danley. Reprinted with kind permission fromthe author. Sharon is an educator, designer and consultant with30 years experience in perspective, image, performance andvoice mastery. Visit her at www.presentation-management.comor e-mail her at: info@presentation-management.com

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

15

Gestures can increase believabilityBY SHARON DANLEY

Did I make the right gesture? Whatif I didn’t? I used to be decisive butI’m not so sure anymore...

Calgary

Art Central, a "grand" arts complex inthe heart of downtown Calgary, openedits doors on November 5th. Art Centraloffers 37,000 square feet of studio andgallery space around a 3-story skylightedatrium. The complex takes up an entire,totally renovated, 75-year old buildingthat was originally the Arts & MediaClub. It also houses a bistro-restaurantand a cafe, and is a short block from thepopular 8th Avenue pedestrian "mall".Art Central is the brainchild and initia-tive of David Neill and his companyEnCorp, the man and company behindseveral similar restorations acrossCanada. Among his many restorationprojects are the old cork manufacturingplant in Lindsay, Ontario, now a multipletenancy industrial complex, and the artsyLe Centre du Design in Montreal. ArtCentral is a great addition to Calgary'svibrant arts scene, and a very interestingnew venue for special events!

An appointment and an award ofnote: Joe Fardell, President & CEO of

Tourism Calgary was recently electedVice-Chair of Tourism IndustryAssociation of Canada (TIAC). And,Sheraton Suites Calgary Eau Claire wasrecently awarded the Dodd Media Sales'Business of the Year Award -Single Unit'for having made "significant contribu-tions to excellence in the tourism indus-try through the positive energy of itsstaff, commitment to high standards ofservice, and vision for the future".

Goes to show, as Peter Mansbridgesuggested as he was hosting the CBCNational News from Calgary onDecember 8, that Calgary is no longerCowtown (although most Calgarians rel-ish the moniker), it's hot, it's hopping!

Halifax

Yes, President Bush was here for 2.5hours on Dec. 1, and did a presentation atour famed Pier 21 Historic Site for a selectaudience of about 300. He was served adecadent lunch by RCR catering (sorry,don't have the menu) and enjoyed meetingsome of Halifax's most prominent citizens...

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

16

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Canadian Industry News

Listen... Do you want to knowa secret?BY THOMAS CHALMERS

Cast your mind back: When was thelast time someone really listened to youand how did that make you feel?Satisfied? Delighted? Euphoric?

You might not have to think too farback for this one: When was the lasttime someone didn’t listen to you? Howdid that make you feel? Annoyed?Frustrated? Exasperated?

Have you ever been semi-engaged ina conversation with someone who isconstantly looking over your shoulderfor the next best person to talk to?

When you listen to someone by giv-ing them your undivided attention,without butting in or going one better,you impart the silent, priceless gift, ofbeing heard. Good listeners zoom in ontheir subject to the extent that everyoneand everything else is excluded.Consider the converse: when a camerafocuses on the background, the fore-ground subject becomes blurred.

Listening demands concentration.And when you really listen you oftenhear what’s not being said. Tone of voiceoften speaks louder than words.

Let the other person know that you‚relistening by paraphrasing what they aresaying. Maintain eye contact. Lean for-ward. Tilt your head. Nod in agreement.Mirror their facial expressions.

Everybody needs somebody to listento them some time.

Website: www.idealife.co.uk

FIVE-MINUTELIFE COACH

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DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

17

Words at work that don’t work...BY BARBARA KELLY

If you can tailor your speech and writing for maximumimpact in your work life, you can make dramatic increases inyour effectiveness. Are they colourful words, or profanity?

Some people may hear, as very offensive language, expres-sions that others consider merely colourful and not profanity.It’s accepted that profanity and ethnic stereotyping have noplace in the workplace and in polite social conversation.Differing opinions on the appropriateness of certain expres-sions and images can seriously hamper relationships.

This trouble often arises where the people form a diverse mixof age groups, cultural backgrounds, and lifestyles. As diversi-ty is very common in today’s workplaces, it’s important to fol-low the time-honoured advice to check, and think, before youspeak. It’s much easier to put a brake on our train of speechthan to apologize repeatedly for having offended people.

Expressions Past Their “Best Before” Date

We keep hearing overworked words or phrases that irritateus because they are so stale.

Think of the phrase, “weapons of mass destruction” (orWMD), which has been in constant use since the lead-up to thecurrent situation in Iraq. Stale expressions work against us inour speech and writing. People “turn off” when they hear orread them, and stop paying attention to the message.

A poll that Kelbar Consulting and Development took last

year revealed other wordy workhorses that should be turnedout to pasture. “To the next level”, as in “I’m taking my busi-ness to the next level”, is one. “Awesome” is another.“Dysfunctional”. (It seems that every problem is caused by“dysfunctional something-or-someone”, one respondent wrote.)

“Basically”, used as a preface to a statement, and “not rock-et science” are two more stale expressions. Fortunately, the useof the adjectives, “big fat”, applied to almost any noun after themovie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” played in movie theatres,has dried up like last week’s pita bread.

It’s wise to check our speech and writing for words andphrases that no longer have colour and impact, and to findstronger substitutes.

Weak Words Work Against Us

Using weak words can keep women, in particular, frombeing seen as strong and powerful. Using low-power words isa trap that women often fall into, because of the way that theyare socialized.

Few men would say that they “dream” of a promotion or abig sales coup. They would describe these successes as “goals“or “objectives”. Men are not likely to describe a presentation orevent as “delightful”, or to say, as a woman recently said to meabout my presentation, that it was “enjoyable”.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

18

Men would provide an assessment:that it was a “well-thought out” presen-tation, or that it “covered all the bases”.

Carrying over “party chatter” words,such as “fascinating”, instead of “com-pelling” or “kept my interest”; “thrilled”,instead of “very pleased”; and “I wouldlove to”, instead of “I would welcome” intoworkplace conversation works againstwomen being seen as strong and capable.

Using the word “hope” in connectionwith a goal, as in “I hope to becomeExecutive Director”, suggests that fate —not the speaker—is the decision-maker.Using the word “plan” instead signalsstrength and purpose.

“Appreciate”, as in “I appreciate yourtaking the time to meet with me”, isanother expression of weakness, as is thetrite expression “Thank you for yourtime”. Both suggest that the speaker isnot only thankful, but also may not bedeserving of the opportunity. Instead,the use of an evaluation, such as “This

was a very helpful meeting”, is astronger response.

Verbal Discipline

Developing discipline over our choiceand use of words adds positive energy toself-talk and to conversation. If neutraland positive words are used, instead ofwords that label people or events in aderogatory manner, we (and the others)would be happier.

Referring, mentally or verbally, to oth-ers with a negative nickname (Oh, no!

It’s “Mrs. Cranky” again!) sets up anatmosphere of negativity that pollutesinteractions.

Re-framing our perceptions of people inneutral, rather than negative, terms easesthe situation. There’s a more positive atti-tude conveyed by “This person is detail-conscious” than “This person is going tomake me dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’”.

It’s hard to discipline ourselves toavoid the negative and judgmental, espe-cially when many people around us maybe cynical, critical, and crabby. Working,one day at a time, to avoid saying nega-tive or judgmental things about anotherperson or about ourselves can build apowerful habit. We will like others andourselves more, and the positive energywill usually come back to bless us!

Consultant, writer, trainer and speakerBarbara Kelly, PPP (“Pretty PositivePerson”), is the owner of Kelbar Consultingand Development, a firm that helps attract andkeep clients, staff and volunteers. She freelyadmits to ongoing word choice challenges!

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

Developing discipline over your choice of words adds positive energy

Using the word

“plan” signals strength

and purpose

Ed. note: Part 1 in a series of related articles.

It’s hard to believe that the advent ofdatabase marketing was less thantwo decades ago. Today, meeting

planners can develop a sophisticatedmarketing strategy that allows them to

profile and pursue their ideal repeat or prospective client.The possibilities are now infinite—and that’s part of the

problem. While database marketing has opened up anentirely new way of doing business, it presents, of course,a whole new set of challenges.

You might feel virtuous collecting lots of data but unlessyou have a solid return-on-investment based strategybehind it, you’re better off with pen and paper! Make apoint in the New Year to create a workable completely customized plan that will give you more effective returns.The results can be quite dramatic.

Susan Sweeney, CSP, author of Internet Marketing for yourTourism Business and 101 Ways to Promote Your Websitesays: “Clearly defined objectives are key to determining yourdatabase marketing strategy. If the objectives are broad-basedbrand awareness, you should take one approach, but if theobjective is to strategically market to a specific group of cus-tomers, the approach would be quite different.”

The difference is that a brand-based awareness cam-paign would aim for greater name recognition withoutnecessarily direct returns whereas marketing to specificcustomers would aim for a direct measurable responsefrom them.

“Marrying VIP customer-relations management withdataming systems is the way to go,” says Brian Griner,PhD, Vice President of Customer Relations Managementand Data Mining Systems with the Angus Reid Group inNew York. “This represents a new way of thinking aboutbuilding up relationships with customers on an individualbasis and most meeting planners could be doing a lot morein this area.”

In other words, if you have a database of 2,000 prospec-tive clients, break it down into the top 100 repeat orprospective clients and set up a separate campaign to keepin touch with these “VIP” customers. They’ll be the oneswho get the Christmas cards, the personal invitations andso on. That way, you’re making the most valuable use ofyour time and will get the best return on your investment.

User-friendly software will help you make the mosteffective use of your database. You may only want to analyze your database once every two or three months andneed to be able to do that easily without a steep learningcurve every single time.

ACT software a very useful toolDon McKenzie, technology consultant, recommends

ACT software. “It’s affordable and it’s certainly adequate.ACT really gives you the basics. The problem is most peo-ple only use about 10 percent of it and just use it as aphone book. To really get the most out of it, you should beusing the software for sending out batch mailings, newslet-ters and other follow-ups to a targeted segment of theirdatabase. There’s also a function where you can shareinformation on your VIP client with others in the office soyou’re not both chasing the same client.”

Finding out all the different uses for your database soft-ware is important and so is keeping it clean. With every-thing changing at the speed of light today, information canget corrupted and outdated really quickly.

Keep databases lean and meanCleaning up databases is a specialty for Doreen Ashton-

Wagner and her company, Greenfield Services. “By con-servative estimates, 20 to 30 percent of any business-to-business database becomes obsolete every 12 months dueto staff turnover, promotions, building moves and ongoingeconomic activity such as mergers, acquisitions and bank-ruptcies. This applies to “traditional’ contact informationsuch as name, title, company, phone and address. Whenyou factor in fax numbers and email addresses, the“spoilage rate” of data in some industries can be as high as50 percent annually!”

Set aside a certain amount of time to stay on top of yourdatabase rather than leaving it to the ‘techy’ person in yourfirm. It’s important to know what’s happening and whatyour software is capable of doing. Make sure everyone inthe firm has at least a fundamental knowledge of how touse the software.

A solid day spent doing nothing but brainstorming withothers or with yourself on how to best make use of thepowerful technology you have at your fingertips willresult in a huge payoff and put you ahead of the competi-tion.

And yet technology will never replace the human touch.Ultimately it will be one-to-one communication and atten-tion to detail that will win customers over.

Database marketing will only work when meeting plan-ners follow up with great personal customer service.Electronic mail can easily be deleted - but meeting plan-ners who do the little extras for their clients will berewarded by repeat business. You can’t transmit thewarmth of a smile over the internet.

• • •

Cathleen Fillmore owns and operates Speakers Gold, the proactivespeakers bureau. , 416-532-9886. 1-888-242-0224.

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

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Making the most of your databaseBY CATHLEEN FILLMORE

DEC. ’04 – JAN. ’05

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