What do you do if there’s a bomb in the building?

Nothing excites me more than visiting a new country – in this case Argentina….little did I know just how exciting living the life of a leadership keynote speaker could be! Having arrived on Tuesday morning; my first pre programmed thought was to visit the venue in advance of the Opening Leadership keynote on Wednesday morning. This was to prove difficult as we were to learn that a bomb had been found in the Grand Rex theatre in Buenos Aires that day. A police bomb squad subsequently found and disarmed it – it was due to be detonated by mobile phone at 4.30 pm which would have been the start of ex President of Columbia, Alvaro Uribe’s contribution.

Apparently it would have killed anyone within a five foot radius. The story went viral around the world featuring on everything from the Telegraph in the UK to the New York Times. Bad news was big news so to speak! Also on the bill was Manuel Estiartes sharing the story of Pepe Guardiola and Guy Caron, ex creative Director of Cirque de Soleil.

Though the conference due to heightened security was delayed for over an hour the following day; I enjoyed working with a very receptive and warm Latin American audience. Indeed it reaffirmed in me my opinion of the great marketing opportunity in South America on the basis that the culture very much mirrored the Irish experience – people were warm and friendly. Probably an even greater insight I learned from the event was not for a micro second did I ever fear for my safety. One could consider this unusual considering what happened. It was very much a case of feel no fear and do it regardless!!

At the Leadership conference, my focus was on sharing how you could Xceptionalize your business. The following key points were shared: - You are the culture creator – a culture that empowers or disempowers. Start with developing yourself if you want to develop a winning culture. - Leaders need to be able to see clearly before they can solve the challenges of the day. - The secret to build rapport with internal and external customers is in our DNA – Do Need Attention. - A Vision underpinned by values is critical to unleashing your potential. - Smart perseverance is a winning strategy - Ensure that your moments of truth/ touch points with customers are World class. After the conference and my duties as a Leadership keynote speaker dispensed, I took time to wander through Recoleta and the amazing cemetery where you will find the remains of Eva Peron; the must visit Boca and Caminito, San Telmo and much much more in the Home of the Tango. For more information regarding: Motivational Speaker training , Motivational Conference Speaker and Leadership Keynote Speaker please visit: Keynote Speakers

Retail Excellence – do you make the grade?

As a Customer service speaker, I got the opportunity to address Ireland’s top retailers at the Retail Excellence Conference recently –here are some of the thoughts I shared:
The Leader is the culture creator – one that has the ability to empower or disempower internal or external customers – thus real progress starts at the top. In this circumstance “To know thyself is vanity” isn’t accurate ….”To know thyself” is essential! As highlighted in 2007 research highlighted by Stanford Business Advisory Committee; self awareness is the most important attribute a Leader should develop. In the current attention deficit society in which we reside, not forgetting of course the more challenging times; we need to move from the old transaction model of sales to an emotional interchange – make your message memorable or watch it get lost in space.Leaders need to think differently on how to build sustainable long term relationships pondering such questions as “How can I get business for my client?” The old model was clearly “I sell – you pay! Thanks and have a nice day.” The new model is "how do I convert my customer into a friend so they won’t leave my business. I need to go further than providing a good product or service – I need to exceed their expectations." One surefire way of doing this is if I send business their way.

There is no room for lack of engagement or passengers in the new selling organisation. In the retail environment, everyone within eye contact of a client should acknowledge their paymasters in a non invasive way that shows you are there and ready to help if called upon. Regardless of whether you are the busboy or the doorman, everyone should be primed to focus on creating a wow experience for the client. "Wow" of course means making the transaction as painless and as swift as possible also.

We need to be able to deal with a buyer’s best friend – their mobile phone! Leaders need to empower and convert their team into Sales ambassadors who have full knowledge of what’s happening online in terms of product information/reviews etc.

The secret to engagement is in a persons DNA – Do Need Attention. It is ironic how we spend so much money attracting clients to our premises and then underwhelm them with our levels of customer service while there. Seeing that you have invested heavily attracting the client ensure that your culture empowers people to buy! You don’t need to be a Customer service Speaker to remember my opening thoughts! The Culture Creator is the Owner/ Leader.

For more information regarding : Corporate Motivational Speaker and Motivational Business Speaker please visit : http://www.kevinkellyunlimited.com/