Leading Executive Conversations-Perspectives, Messages & Mardi Gras

Leading Executive Conversations is one of our new Open Enrollment workshops for 2012.  Previously, we offered this as a custom workshop, but now the Open Enrollment format gives individuals the opportunity to experience the workshop and managers a chance to evaluate it.

We’re kicking off the year Mardi Gras style with a trip to New Orleans to teach a workshop on Leading Executive Conversations for a large sales training conference.  It’s a hot topic as sales reps and account executives desire to take their conversations to a higher level in client organizations.   But leading an executive conversation isn’t just for sales.  Anyone making a presentation or giving an update about a topic needs a strategy to connect with executives who have little time and short attention spans. 

Not all C-level executives are created the same.  They have different perspectives.  From CEO to COO and CMO to CFO, their perspectives will influence the content of the conversation. 

CEOs:  Externally focused, Interest in Industry, Knowledge Focus, Interest in Impact
COOs:  Revenue / Costs, Internal Impact, Implementation
CMOs:  Customer Engagement, Leads/Cross-Selling, Trends/Innovative Ideas
CFOs:  Budget Focus, Measurements, Analysis

To frame up your conversation, you must understand the perspective.    

But, will perspective alone cause a C-level executive to be actively engaged in a conversation?  From workshop participants and client conversations, our experience tells us you need more.  You’ve got to have a great message.  Getting a message succinct enough to have it resonate with the C-Level executive is critical!

A much-uttered phrase in our office is, “You’ve got to sweat the message.”  Creating a sense of urgency or timeliness with your message sets up the conversation to present a solution or an opportunity to the executive and ultimately takes the conversation to a discussion about strategy which is exactly where a C-level executive wants to be!

Working on your messaging in 2012?  Want to take your client conversations to a higher level?  We’re here to help!  Beignets and Café au Laits not required…