The Jelly Effect E-Book

Andy Bounds

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Seitenzahl: 254

Beschreibung

Like throwing jelly at a wall, poor communication never sticks. Too much information and not enough relevance is a problem that pervades almost all business communication. So what's the answer? More relevance and a lot less jelly. The Jelly Effect teaches you simple, memorable and costless ways to win more attention and more business. Imagine how effective you'd be if you communicated only what was relevant 100 percent of the time. You would be better at talking to others, presenting, networking and selling. You would excel in interviews, meetings and pay-rise discussions. The benefits would be endless. The Jelly Effect will show you how to get the best out of any situation, whether you're speaking to an individual or a group, formally or informally, inside or outside your organisation. By the time you close the final page of this book, you will be armed with practical, proven techniques that will help you be more effective in all your business dealings. "Andy Bounds taught me more about effective presenting than a lady who'd previously taught two US presidents." -Drayton Bird, chairman of Drayton Bird Partnership and world leading authority on direct marketing

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Epigraph

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Who am I to tell you how to communicate?

Chapter 1 - The best way for you to read this book

BRILLIANT BUSINESS BOOKS

Chapter 2 - Why ‘the Jelly Effect’?

Chapter 3 - The AFTERs

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF COMMUNICATION HAS WORKED?

THE AFTERS: THE SECRET INGREDIENT TO JELLY-FREE COMMUNICATION

THE FIVE RULES OF COMMUNICATION

THE BEST TYPE OF ADVICE IS ANNOYINGLY SIMPLE

Chapter 4 - Networking

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT … IT’S JUST LIKE BUYING JEWELLERY

THE TWO BIGGEST PROBLEMS WITH NETWORKING

NETWORKING - IT’S ALL A QUESTION OF FISH AND COFFEE

HOW TO GET THE MOST VALUE OUT OF A NETWORKING EVENT

ENSURING YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT ROOM

SO, WHAT NOW?

Chapter 5 - How to sell more

JELLY SELLING (BAD IDEA)

AFTERS-BASED SELLING (SUPERB IDEA)

MY ABC METHOD: HOW TO USE YOUR AFTERS TO SELL MORE

TWO FURTHER BENEFITS OF THE AFTERS-BASED APPROACH

THE GOLDEN RULE OF SELLING

Chapter 6 - Referrals

FINDING YOUR FIRST LOVE

THE SIMPLEST WAY TO WIN BUSINESS

GETTING THE ‘REFERRAL FOUNDATIONS’ RIGHT

HOW TO GET MORE REFERRALS

Chapter 7 - Presentations

HOW TO AVOID JELLYING YOUR AUDIENCE

LAYOUT OF THIS CHAPTER

Chapter 8 - Avoiding ‘the Green Corridor of Doom’

THE STORY SO FAR …

THE GREEN CORRIDOR OF DOOM

HOW THIS BOOK CAN HELP YOU GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Index

About the author

‘An outstanding business book which I have wasted no time introducing to my new company. It has become essential reading for the team. In my previous role my company sold services to a diverse range of corporate clients and has been doing so for over 100 years, The Jelly Effect changed the way we communicated with our clients. The simplicity of the message coupled with the accessibility of the writing means that there is something in it for everyone.’

Charles Garfit, Director of Asset Management,Santander

‘The concepts in this book helped my company win oneof our largest contracts to date, worth over €150million.I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Andy is themost outstanding teacher of clear, powerful communication and getting the right message across that I have everworked with. He has changed the way our business thinks,helping to make us more successful than at any time inour history. In fact, I was so impressed by him, I nominatedAndy as Britain’s Sales Trainer of the Year, an award hewon in 2009. Buy this book, apply his advice and watchyour results dramatically improve.’

Keith Holdt, Head, Global Business Development,Swiss Post Document Solutions

‘I have read over 80 books on sales techniques and processes, attended many seminars and training courses, but nothing has had an impact on my actual performance in the way The Jelly Effect has. After reading this book my sales pitch conversion rates increased from “1 in 5” to “4 out of 5”, and these were multi million pound contracts that I was pitching for against bigger companies with much larger marketing budgets. The book is also the reason I have had to take on 8 staff in the last 12 months to cope with all of the work that I have won.’

Marc Ingram, Global Sales and Marketing Director,The Orbis Group

‘The Jelly Effect has the potential to be so impactful; I purchased a copy for everyone in my team! As you read the book, much of the content may seem to be stating the obvious, but interestingly, no matter how obvious it seems, few people use the techniques described routinely. This book has helped transform the way I and my team prepare to engage with each other and with our customers. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to make a more significant & positive impact on those they interact with.’

Alan Kidd, Regional Business Director,GlaxoSmithKline UK Ltd

‘Andy Bounds has a totally unique and inspiring way of communicating. He also has this tremendous ability to help others achieve more when they communicate. Every single person he’s worked with at npower has found his guidance to be immensely valuable, and to have made a real difference. My advice: read this book - it will help you communicate with, and relate to, people better than ever before.’

Heidi Walton, People Development Manager, npower

‘This has become a great confidence builder for the team and an essential reference point to ensure each presentation achieves its objectives for the presenter and also the receiver.’

John Deacon, Learning Manager, Royal Bank of Scotland

‘The Jelly Effect should be mandatory reading for all salespeople and business leaders. It is an outstanding contribution that simply and practically explains what it takes to become more effective in many aspects of commercial life.’

John Allbrook, Former CEO GoIndustry DoveBid plc

‘Andy Bounds is truly exceptional. I had the honour ofjudging him at the British Excellence in Sales and Marketing Awards. Needless to say, Andy won the award, SalesTrainer of the Year, and was in a class of his own. He clearlydemonstrated why he is widely regarded as one of the bestsales experts in Europe. My signed copy of Andy’s book The Jelly Effect takes pride of place in my business library andit is an essential read for anyone who is serious about getting world-class results in sales.’

Rob Popham, Sales Director, Certus Sales Ltd.

‘The Jelly Effect is packed full of really useful and practical tips. Interestingly, as I read the book, I found myself nodding in agreement time and again as Andy’sideasresonated with those of my own - but I could never have expressed them as clearly, effectively and effortlessly as he does! The simple (yet highly effective!) strategies are not only invaluable, but totally relevant for anyone wishing to be an effective communicator - particularly when faced with making client or proposal presentations and trying to win business.’

Laurence Smith, Presentation SkillsProgram Manager, KPMG

‘There is nothing like stating the obvious but to know and not do, is to not know. That’s how the hundreds of delegates have felt when they start using Andy’s communication techniques. Yes, I made them do it but they all came out smiling; like the 15 Account Directors who generated £10 million in additional sales in four months; 60% of a global talent programme, who went on to successfully negotiate promotion; the MD who reduced his presentations from 60 to 6 slides; the warehouse manager who reduced his email box from 3, 000 to 30; all these and many more to come.’

Debbie Harrison, Learning, Leadership and TalentDevelopment Specialist.

‘Andy Bounds taught me more about effective presenting than a lady who’d previously taught two US Presidents.’

Marketing Legend, Drayton Bird

This edition first published 2007 by Capstone Publishing

Revised and reprinted 2010

© Andy Bounds Ltd, 2007

Registered office

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Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-0-85708-046-2 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-85708-106-3 (ePub), ISBN 978-0-85708-072-1 (eBook), ISBN 978-0-85708-105-6 (eMobi)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Set in 10 on 13 pt ITC Garamond BT by Sparks - www.sparkspublishing.com

To my children Megan, Jack and baby Maia. I love you all very much.

Acknowledgements

Welcome to the updated edition of The Jelly Effect: How to make your communication stick.

The most common feedback about Jelly so far has been that the content is simple to read and act on. I’m proud of that: how many business books do you read where you think ‘Ok, this is interesting … but what do I do with this information? What do I change?’

The book’s success is due to many people’s hard work and talent. A huge thank you to all of them, including all my colleagues at Andy Bounds Limited, all our customers and suppliers, and our friends at Capstone.

I’d also like to thank my wife Emma (for … well, everything), my parents Peter and Geraldine (for being so inspiring) and my three wonderful children: Megan (who teaches me what’s trendy these days), Jack (who teaches me everything there is to know about football) and baby Maia (who teaches me that it is still possible for a human to function on two hours sleep a night).

Andy Bounds, 2010

Who am I to tell you how to communicate?

I have always had poor eyesight.

I’m blind in one eye. My ‘good’ eye has a prescription of -14.5 (hardly anybody’s is less than -10), which means - amongst other things-I can’t see far enough to drive. At school, I always had to sit at the front. I don’t judge distances well. I’m terrible at catching. And the only thing 3D glasses do for me is keep everything 2D, but make it darker.

However, my eyesight has given me a different, new insight into how to communicate in business. Let me explain …

Business communication has to do only one thing. It doesn’t have to entertain, impress or astonish. It just has to work. To achieve what you want it to. A good sales pitch gets the sale. A great motivational speaker motivates. A successful workshop improves performance.

The common denominator with every type of communication is that there is an audience. As you know, put things from their point of view and you have a much better chance of success. But knowing and doing are very different. Don’t believe me? Read the homepage of any company’s website, and see how quickly you get bored. Then, look at your company’s homepage. What will other people think of it?

My eyesight has indirectly helped me show thousands of businesses how to be more effective. Our customers have won over £5 billion after adopting the techniques in this book. Their - and our - successes led to me being voted Britain’s Sales Trainer of the Year. I’ve helped governments, huge corporates, industry leaders, business experts and business owners achieve more when communicating … all, believe it or not, because I’m half-blind.

My sight is a symptom of a hereditary condition called Stickler’s Syndrome. I have it. My daughters Megan and Maia have it. And my mother has it. In fact, Mum is totally blind. She lost her sight when she was eight - about the same age I lost the sight in my left eye.

Her blindness led to me having to do things - and explain things - others never have to. As a child, I would sit on Mum’s knee and ask her ‘what’s the best way to describe this room to you? How can I help you understand it instantly?’ I used to have these conversations with her about every subject imaginable - people, images, landscapes, films … everything.

I had to change the way I described things, how I put them in context, so Mum could easily understand, benefit from and - most importantly - act on what I said. So, for as long as I can remember, I have known something very few other people truly know: that the natural way you speak is not the natural way for somebody else to understand.

Now, you probably don’t tend to come across blind people in business very much. But, let me ask you …

• Have you ever been on a conference call that was, frankly, rubbish?

• Ever sat through a presentation and thought ‘give me the slides … I can read’.

• Ever looked at the chairperson of a tedious meeting and thought ‘I’m losing the will for you to live’?

I bet you have. Everybody has. Because audiences are blind to speakers’ agendas. And, unless you can see - and say - things from their point of view, your communication is unlikely to work. But learn and apply a few simple techniques and everything’s easier. Your communication becomes more effective, more pleasant, shorter … and more successful.

And that’s what this book is all about. You’ll learn how to get better results when speaking to others. You’ll see how to impress people when you first meet them. You’ll discover the easiest, quickest way to sell anything to anyone. You’ll learn how to ask people to recommend you to others. You‘ll discover a simple technique to ensure your presentations work.

You’ll see that - to achieve all this - all you need is a slight change in the emphasis of what you say; a tweaking of the order in which you say it; minor adjustments to standard phrases that you use; and your results will rocket. By the time you finish this book, you will know exactly what to say - and how to say it - to enjoy far greater levels of success.

1

The best way for you to read this book

I’m lazy. That’s why I read lots of business books.

Drayton Bird

I once heard Drayton Bird make a surprising confession.

‘I’m lazy,’ he said. ‘That’s why I read lots of business books.’

This sounded very strange to me. ‘Why would someone lazy bother reading books?’ I asked him.

His reply made perfect sense, though.

‘Most people waste half their lives guessing what will work. They try, fail, and squander time and money for years making it up as they go along. Why guess when you can know from someone who’s done it all before?

‘I can spend a day reading a book, do exactly what it tells me, and get it right first time. That’s why I’m lazy. I’d rather do one day’s good work than twenty years of bad.’

BRILLIANT BUSINESS BOOKS

This made a lot of sense to me, though I’m not too sure I’d like to call myself lazy. I like time-efficient better.

But it’s not only time-efficiency I look for when I read business books. I want them to have the following attributes:

1. Most important: give me tips that are all:

• new (that I haven’t heard before);

• simple (so they are painless for me to implement);

• relevant (so I can apply them to my business);

• accessible (so I can understand them and put them to work easily); and

• effective (i.e. they work).

2. The book must help me to be time-efficient when reading it. This could mean teaching me lots of things in a short space of time, or being clearly signposted so I can easily find the things that matter most to me.

Are you like me? Do you want this book to do those things for you? I hope so. Because I have written the book assuming you do. And here’s how …

Attribute 1 - New, simple, relevant, accessible and effective tips

Every tip, hint or technique in this book has been carefully selected to be:

• New - either my unique way of looking at things, or presenting in a new way the results of years of study into what persuades and stays in the memory.

• Simple - one of my clients once said I give ‘annoyingly simple advice’. In his words: ‘I could have thought of every single thing you said, but never have. Nor has anybody else I’ve ever met.’ Everything in this book is easy for you to incorporate into your standard way of working, and is fast-acting.

• Relevant - unless yours is a strange kind of business I’ve never come across, everything in this book should apply to what you need to sell or persuade others about.

• Accessible - throughout the book, you’ll find lots of simple exercises so you can apply what I have said to your own business, to make sure this book becomes a practical guide, rather than a theoretical manual.

• Effective - everything you read in this book works. It has been tested by the thousands of businesses I have worked with, so I know what happens when people implement the advice you’re about to get.

Attribute 2 - Time-efficient

This book is easy to read time-efficiently.

If you like to read cover to cover, this book takes you on a journey. I start by showing you how to have far greater impact and get better results when you speak to strangers (at networking events) … building up to how to present to groups, again with greater impact, and better results.

However, if you have a more targeted, selective approach to reading - would rather zero in on what matters to you - I’ve ensured each section is totally self-contained, making complete sense on its own. That way, for example, if you only want to know how to be better at networking, simply read Section 4.

But, however you read this book, to make sure you get the best out of it, there are two sections you must read …

Getting going …

If you’re planning to dip in and out of relevant sections, turn to the Contents on page ix and see where you want to go first. To remind you, all the sections are self-contained, so you can read them in any order.

However, the two sections you simply must read for this book to get you the best results are:

• Section 2:Why ‘the Jelly Effect?’ - This section explains the single biggest problem in business communications (as well as shedding light on the title of this book).

• Section 3:The AFTERs - Of everything that I have ever taught any business person anywhere, the thing that has had the biggest impact on their success is the ‘AFTERs’, which is a process I’ve developed to make communication more powerful. Because AFTERs are so fundamental to business communication and all the subsequent sections keep referring to them, the book won’t make sense unless you read this section.

These sections won’t take long to read, but give you an instant appreciation of what you need to do to get better results every time you speak to others.

2

Why ‘the Jelly Effect’?

How many times have you been excruciatingly bored when listening to a presentation?

How many times have you been itching to get away from someone at a networking event, as they drone on and on?

How many times have you been aggressively sold-to and thought, ‘I’d rather be somewhere else … anywhere else. Just not here.’

I’ll bet it’s hundreds of times. It certainly is with me. And with every person I’ve ever asked these questions to.

But, what about the other way around … when it’s you who’s presenting, who’s networking, who’s selling?

Do you ever bore people to death? Do you drone on when you should shut up? Do you sell in a way that comes over as too aggressive?

Have you ever felt that sickening feeling when presenting: ‘Oh no, I’m losing the audience … they look so bored … they’re looking round the room … they’re fidgeting … and I’ve still got 10 minutes to go … I’ll speed up and get it over’?

When networking, have you ever seen the person you’re speaking to constantly glance over your shoulder to find someone else to talk to?

Or, when selling, have you ever known that your potential customer is just not interested? In fact, they have totally switched off …

Again, I bet you have. Everybody has.

But why is this? Why doesn’t business communication work? Why can’t people keep their audiences listening to them?

Because of one simple reason:

BUSINESS PEOPLE SAY TOO MUCH IRRELEVANT STUFF

• all the time

• every day

• to every type of person.

Think about it. It’s true. Do any of these (totally irrelevant to you) things sound familiar?

• presentations that begin with the presenting company’s year of formation, number of offices and staffing levels;

• networking conversations that include a lengthy description of the other person’s company, their product range, infrastructure and history; or

• sales pitches that give a full, excruciatingly detailed description of how the product works (much of which you just don’t need or even want to know).

Totally, utterly irrelevant to you. But you hear them all the time.

And, hand on heart, you probably do it too.

When you speak like this, it’s very much like filling a bucket with jelly, and flinging it at the other person, hoping some of it will stick.

Some will, sure. But most won’t. And it’s doubly inefficient. It wastes your effort, money, resources and that priceless commodity … time. And that of the people you talk to.

But there’s an even bigger problem with ‘jellying’ someone. When you’re on the receiving end, when it’s you all this jelly is being flung at, you feel like you’re on the receiving end of a big wet, useless barrage. A needless barrage. You feel like a target, not a person.

It puts you off doing what they want … from buying into them and their ideas.

And flipping it round, when it’s you ‘jellying’ someone else, they don’t always do what you want either. Or buy into you. Or your ideas.

But imagine how much more you could achieve if you could overcome all this. Imagine if you knew how to say only the stuff that was 100% relevant to your audience.

Can you see how much more impact you would have?

Saying the right things in the right way - with no jelly - would help you get better results than ever before.

You’d be better at talking to others, at presenting, at networking, at selling. You would excel in interviews, meetings, pay-rise discussions …

The benefits to you would be endless. You would have better business relationships, better personal relationships. Your business would grow much faster. You would make more money. You’d feel less frustrated by inefficient communication than you do now. Your communications would be quicker, more dynamic. You’d feel a real buzz of success, experience less of the dreaded feeling ‘there’s one that got away’. The list goes on and on …

Because, when you think about it, to succeed you only need to answer ‘yes’ to two questions:

1. Are you good at your job?

2. Given that you are good at your job, do you get the results somebody as good as you should get?

Now I assume that, if you answered those two questions honestly, you’ll have answered ‘yes’ and ‘no’. If this is the case - and 100% of people I have asked these two questions do answer in this way - there’s only really one skill you need to turn your answers into ‘yes, yes’ …

For you to achieve the results someone with your abilities should get …

… the only skill you need to master is …

… the ability to persuade others how good you are.

You simply need to convince others of your skills, your ability to help them … then watch your business grow.

And that’s what you’ll learn from this book. I’ll show you how to master ‘the only skill you need’: how to communicate persuasively, so that your communications work - every time.

By the time you have finished this book, you will know how to say only relevant stuff to others, so that you never ‘jelly’ anyone again.

You’ll learn what I have learned from speaking to my blind Mother, where it’s essential that I communicate with her in such a way that she understands everything in seconds.

Because she doesn’t have time for irrelevant jelly.

Nor do the people you talk to.

3

The AFTERs

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF COMMUNICATION HAS WORKED?

Would you consider these four outcomes to be successes?

• You attend a networking event, talk to lots of strangers, and come home with 26 people’s business cards.

• You meet a potential customer over coffee at Starbucks. They’re wowed by what you do, and praise your sales skills.

• One of your clients loves you to bits and says they’d recommend you to anyone.

• You make a presentation to 50 people. Although nervous beforehand, it goes well. They seem to like it, and laugh at all the right places …

You’ve no doubt experienced similar scenarios. After all, networking, selling, seeking referrals and presenting are four of the most common ‘communication situations’ around.

So, if it was you who had 26 strangers’ business cards, praise from a potential customer, an offer of referrals and a happy audience, would you think you’d done well? That your communications had worked?

At first glance, the four outcomes seem impressive. But, the only true barometer of whether communication is effective or not is what happens AFTER, and whether these AFTERs are enough for you.

So, 26 business cards is great, but does it grow your business? No. You’ve just turned strangers into non-strangers. Better AFTERs would be turning these non-strangers into contacts with whom you have a productive relationship.

Similarly, wowing a potential customer is a good start. But the only AFTER you want from a sales meeting … is a sale.

An existing customer offering to refer you? It’s only good if - AFTER your chat with her - she actually does help you get sales meetings with her contacts.

And a presentation that seemed to go well? Well, presentations are only effective if they achieve what you wanted them to AFTERwards - winning the sale, the Board accepting your proposal, and so on.

So, communication is successful only if you get what you want AFTERWARDS, as Fig. 3.1 shows.

In other words, your ultimate AFTER with these four situations is the right-hand column: to grow your business.

And that’s what this book does - help you grow your business by communicating in the best way, whether you’re networking, selling, seeking referrals or making presentations.

THE AFTERS: THE SECRET INGREDIENT TO JELLY-FREE COMMUNICATION

When you look at Fig. 3.1, an important fact jumps out. As the author, column 2 is most interesting to me: after all, it’s my expertise. I’ve structured this book around it: there’s a main section for each of column 2’s four areas.

Figure 3.1 Successful communication.

But, to you - my audience - you’re focussed on something utterly different . You’re ultimately interested in column 4. You want this book to help you grow your business.

And this difference is an example of the principal reason why verbal communication often doesn’t work well. Because the speaker and their audience have different focuses. Whereas the speaker focuses on their expertise, audiences don’t care what you say - they only care what they are left with AFTER you’ve said it.

Audiences don’t care what you say.

They only care what they are left with AFTER you’ve said it.

So delegates on an Excel course are interested in the time they’ll save AFTER the course, not Excel itself.

You’re focussed on the car you’ll able to afford AFTER securing your car loan, not the loan.

But hardly anybody focuses on the audience’s AFTERs when they speak. Excel trainers understandably think their delegates only want to learn Excel. They don’t.

Car-loan arrangers think the loan’s all-important. It’s not.

When I tell people about the audience’s AFTERs being so critical, they often reply, ‘Why doesn’t anyone focus on them then?’ You might well be thinking the same. The best answer I have is simply that most people assume that traditional communication is the ‘right way to do it’. Because that’s what everybody does. But that doesn’t make it right.

So, since audiences are only interested in their AFTERs, the sequence in which you present your ideas is critical to ensuring audiences engage, buy-in and, ultimately, act on what you say.

But, of course, it’s not simply ‘think of their AFTERs, and you will be fine’ (though it’s an excellent start, and is something you must do). There are five other rules which underpin the communication process, rules I’ve been developing all my life …

THE FIVE RULES OF COMMUNICATION

As you read in the preface, the rules governing how to communicate with blind people are totally transferable to business, because business people don’t see things from your point of view.

This isn’t just a hunch of mine. It’s tested and proven. I know it’s true because I’ve honed the techniques in this book for many years, in many different situations, with thousands of people, all over the world.

Now, given that speaking to business people and blind people is so similar, techniques that work with the latter will also work well with the former.