Todd McCormick

6 Ways to Project A Powerful Nonverbal Presence—Best Practices for Communicating with Customers Online (Part III)

April 17th, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Audio Best Practices, Collaboration, Conferencing, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies, Web Conferencing
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This is Part III of a three-part blog post about effective nonverbal communication during online meetings and video chats. Read Part I and Part II.

While it’s hard to gauge prospects’ true reactions and respond appropriately on the phone or over email, video eliminates the guesswork. When you see someone’s face and hear their voice, less is lost in translation. Successful sales people use this additional information to deliver a more compelling message, overcome objections, and get prospects to say yes—quickly and decisively.

Before each video sales call, take a few minutes to review these 6 principles.

  1. Remind yourself to mirror and match. For instance, if your customer is more reserved, relax your tone of voice and lower your pitch to show you’re on the same wavelength. You’ll know your sales call is going well when they start to mirror your body language in return.
  2. Pay attention to volume, pace, and pitch. You can use your tone as a powerful tool to focus others’ attention on what you want. I recommend nailing this down by practicing your pitch out loud.
  3. Your eyes are your window to the sell. Turn on your webcam for a minute or two, and practice looking directly into the
 
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Cora Rodenbusch

PGi Employees Take “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” to a Whole New Level This Earth Week

April 16th, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Favorite Things, iMeet, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Virtual Meetings
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PGi’s employees take “reduce, reuse, recycle” to a whole new level this year by bringing more green to their work- and home-lives.

From break room composting to commuting on vegetable oil, here are five different practices the PGi team is following to reduce their environmental footprint.

Go Green in the Office:

Compost Break Room Leftovers: Alex from PGi’s EMEA headquarters in Clonakilty, Ireland saw an opportunity to give new life to his coworkers’ old food scraps. Instead of throwing lunch remains in the break room trash, associates will soon be able to dispose of their sandwich crusts,  leftovers and old fruit and vegetables in a special container. Alex plans on taking each week’s organic waste to a neighborhood compost where it can then used to super-charge their community garden.

Ditch the Notepad and Take Electronic Notes: Michael from PGi’s Melbourne office is cutting down on paper this year by bringing his note taking to the cloud. Instead of dragging around his notebook, Michael uses Evernote to keep track of his meetings and stay up to speed on new projects. Aside from saving paper, Evernote allows him to access his notes even away from his computer or an internet connection thanks to the Evernote apps on his phone, iPad and in his iMeet room.

Go Green at Home

Switch to Biodegradable Diapers: Might sound strange, but it’s true! Biodegradable diapers are now on the market and just in time for Allen from PGi’s Chicago office’s new arrival. As opposed to using reusable or just regular diapers, Allen and his wife did their research and decided that biodegradable ones were for them. Allen believes that teaching children how to be kind to the environment starts at a young age.

 
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Todd McCormick

Best Practices for Communicating with Customers Online: Engage with Your Body Language (Part II)

April 10th, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Audio Conferencing, Collaboration, Conferencing, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies, Web Conferencing
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Want to learn more about video? Sign up for our webinar today at 2pm EST with Josiane Feigon—#Vote4Video: The Sales Tool You Can’t Do Without.

Did you know you exchange approximately 800 nonverbal messages during the average 30-minute sales call?

Every salesperson should have at least a rudimentary grasp of how to use body language to support your sale. (If not, check out these body language sales basics, such as eye contact, use of hands, posture, etc.).

The trick with online meetings is that you don’t have the entire body to work with. Your webcam focuses on your head and perhaps your torso. That means making eye contact with your camera, relaxing your shoulders, and bringing your hands into view to emphasize certain points.

Begin with a Smile. There’s nothing revolutionary about this concept, but we often forget to do what we know. By starting online meetings with a smile, you amp up your tone of voice, upgrade your appearance, and communicate confidence. You’re much more likely to forge a quick connection with the other people in your meeting.

Maintain an Open Body Position. Open and expressive movements invite collaborative communication. Sit up straight, and avoid leaning too far back in your chair. Hold your arms away from your body to avoid looking defensive. However, if you notice your prospect responds by pulling back, try to be more subtle with your gestures.

Eye Contact = Bulls Eye. As you and your prospect communicate, focus your gaze directly on the camera. Eye contact is a key element for building trust. Even a brief look away could send the message that you’re not listening, and derail your sale.

 
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Cora Rodenbusch

Digital Nomad Tip #31: How To Host A Video Conference From a Taxi

April 9th, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Collaboration, Cora the Digital Nomad, iMeet, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies
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When PGi’s Damian Martina realized a flight delay would put him in Brisbane just minutes before his big presentation, he looked to iMeet®’s mobility suite to keep business moving at the speed of light.

Last month, Australia/New Zealand Sales Director and tech enthusiast Damian Martina scheduled a sales presentation to take place a few hours after he was scheduled to land in Brisbane. Instead of cancelling the meeting due to a last minute flight delay, Damian took iMeet®’s new iPad app for a test drive and showed his prospects what it really means to take your business on the road.

How To Host A Video Conference From a Taxi

As soon as the plane landed, Damian collected his bags and quickly turned his phone into a walking WiFi hotspot by activating his tethering app. After connecting his iPad to his phone’s WiFi signal, he opened up his room in the iMeet iPad app, loaded his presentation and asked the meeting to dial out to him. With the room open and his audio and webcam running, he confidently waited in the taxi line for his guests to arrive.

He even had a few minutes to take questions from an unexpected audience. The curious glances from those around him led to several impromptu demos with onlookers asking, “Are you really on video right now?” and “What’s it called again?”

Once in the taxi, Damian was able to flip through the pages of his presentation, convey points “in person” via the video stream and carry on with the meeting, all at 60km/h.

“My guests couldn’t believe that I was really in a taxi. I had to turn my iPad around so they could see where I was.”

Damian remarks, “Just a few months ago something like this would not have been possible. Today, I find that I can do 90% of my work remotely. Thanks to iMeet, I don’t have to delay business because of my location.”

Just recently I met Damian in person at PGi’s Asia-Pac headquarters in Sydney. I congratulated him on making his meeting come together despite his circumstances – I know how unpredictable life on the road can be! He laughed and said that it wasn’t difficult at all. The app made it easy to start the meeting and pull up his files. And because his guests already had his room name, he didn’t need to dial out to his guests or circulate length dial-in details providing for a stress-free meeting.

As for his video appearance, he said it left quite the impression on his guests.

For more information on iMeet’s mobility suite, watch PGi Founder and CEO, Boland Jones take you through the iPhone and iPad apps in iMeet has gone mobile. Where will you take it?

Want your own iMeet room? Sign up for a 30-day free trial today. For those in Asia Pacific, learn more about the Asia-Pac iMeet pilot program by emailing your interest to APStrategyandMarketing@pgi.com.

Have you needed to run a meeting outside the office? What advice would you give to a novice mobile worker?

 
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Cora Rodenbusch

Digital Nomad Tip #30: The No-Hour Work Week

April 4th, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Cora the Digital Nomad, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Virtual Meetings
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Greetings from St. Kilda beach in Melbourne, Australia. After two weeks telecommuting in Sydney, PGi’s Asia-Pacific headquarters, my husband and I made our way to the Brisbane office and then down to Melbourne for our final Australian stop before Tokyo.

Australia is one of the most stress-free mobile work environments I’ve worked in all year. Setting up my mobile office has been easy with several pay-as-you-go mobile options and WiFi on every street corner. However as most global workers know, working 15+ hours away from your key stakeholders means it’s nearly impossible to work “in-person” as a team. Even the most global-minded workers struggle with just an hour overlap each day, and that’s only if we stay late or start early.

Remote working in your future? Take a look out our newest team member’s account of what it’s like to be managed from half way around the world.

Although working alongside my APAC colleagues has been invaluable, I have missed out on my US team’s last-minute meetings and impromptu announcements, which is why for the next two weeks, I’ve decided to shift to US hours. Working through the night might turn me into one of those adorable nocturnal Koalas, but making the shift isn’t as unreasonable as it sounds.

For me, conventional work hours are not as important as flexibility in location. And I believe this shift isn’t much of a tradeoff for me or PGi.

Kayaking the Milford Sound in New Zealand

Recently, I read Fast Company’s controversial article, “The No-Hour Workweek: Reinventing Employee Expectations For The Modern Economy.”  Don’t let the title fool you. The article is not a how-to guide for achieving a zero hour work week. In fact, it’s just the opposite. John Stein, CEO and Founder of Betterment gives us a look at his recent startup and a peek inside the future of the workplace, where office hours and location limitations are lifted and the focus is shifted to what’s most important to the business and the employees.

John shares, “In designing a working environment that would bring out the best qualities in our team, we had to come up with a model to satisfy the demands of a startup while balancing the needs of individuals.”

In exchange for unpredictable or additional hours, John offered associates flexible work hours, team R&R, the opportunity to define quarterly goals and low- or no-cost benefits that motivate more just a paycheck can.

In order to ease the demand on his team, John’s new model rejected the outdated, time-consuming corporate standards of yesteryear and focused on a new way of business where employees are given the freedom to meet team objectives on their terms, whether it’s at night or on the weekends, in-person or virtual, in between parent teacher conferences or in the office.

One of my favorite studies to come out this year is from TeamViewer, which found that employees would be willing to give up their smartphones, shopping and showers (strangely enough) and even make sacrifices that would affect their compensation and benefits packages in order to have flexible working hours and locations.

 
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Todd McCormick

Best Practices for Communicating with Customers Online (Part 1)

April 3rd, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Collaboration, Conferencing, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies, Web Conferencing
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Want to learn more about video? Sign up for our webinar on 4/10 with Josiane Feigon—#Vote4Video: The Sales Tool You Can’t Do Without.

It’s highly likely that your prospects don’t have time for long, face-to-face sales pitches. That leaves salespeople with email and the telephone.

Of course, the people you’re trying to reach receive 200+ emails a day. Of those, perhaps a handful are relevant and wanted. According to InsideView, over 90% of C-level execs never respond to email blasts or cold calls.

When you limit communication to email and telephone, you miss out on one of the most important aspects of closing the sale: nonverbal communication. With a phone call, you lose body language but retain vocal cues; with email, you have even less to work with.

Many sales professionals are correcting this problem by finding new ways to leverage nonverbal communication during online meetings and video chats.

At least 55% of communication is nonverbal—93% if you include tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. During online meetings, you can use nonverbal cues to reinforce your message. Some experts say these meetings can be even more powerful than in-person meetings because you can use technology to focus in on the most important source of nonverbal communication: facial expression.

Here’s the first of three major areas where you can harness power of nonverbal communication in an online meeting:

Mirror and Match

Researchers at Boston University Medical School studied people in conversations. As conversations progressed and rapport was established, the participants began to coordinate movements such as blinking, hand motions, and head nods. They even began to match one another in voice pitch and rhythm.

Mirroring and matching is the process of entering your prospect’s world and matching your mind with theirs during conversation. This sends the nonverbal message that you’re in tune with their state of mind, and helps establish rapport.

Watch BNet’s Carol Kinsey Goman discuss effective mirroring:

 
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Todd McCormick

10 Immediate Benefits of Video for Sales Teams

March 27th, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Conferencing, iMeet, Meeting Tips, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies, Web Conferencing
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Want to learn more about video? Sign up for our webinar on 4/10 with Josiane Feigon—#Vote4Video: The Sales Tool You Can’t Do Without.

How do sellers benefit from incorporating video into their sales calls and sales management processes? Here are 10 quick gains sales teams can see as soon as they turn on a webcam:

  1. Reduce the costs

    2. associated with travel for field reps. Using video, outside reps can leverage their in-person selling skills – such as nonverbal communication – without the time and expense of travel.

  2. Spark more engaging interactions between inside reps and customers. We’ve all heard the phrase “death by PowerPoint.” When you’re on a faceless conference call or hiding behind a PowerPoint, you missing out on fully connecting with your customers. Getting face-to-face adds dimension to the online sales call.
  3. Maximize sales and marketing investments in inbound leads and nurturing campaigns. The cost-per-lead for inbound leads is substantially less than outbound leads. More companies are investing in areas like social media to supplement or enhance their marketing efforts, and building out their inside sales forces. With video, you allow inside sales reps to retain the human component of selling.
 
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Cora Rodenbusch

Digital Nomad Tip #29: Top 5 Ways to Mix Business (Trips) with Pleasure

March 26th, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Cora the Digital Nomad, iMeet, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Virtual Meetings
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Greetings from the Great Barrier Reef! This week I find myself in one of the Seven Wonders of the World, a destination I’ve always dreamed of visiting.

No, you’re not mistaken. PGi doesn’t have an office in the reef or at Bronte beach pictured below, but visiting local attractions like these is one of the many benefits of traveling while working. While a business traveler’s weekdays can be grueling days spent in the city, nights and weekends are a great time to get outside the office and tour.

Weekend Trip to Sydney's Bronte Beach

Over the past year, I’ve traveled to almost all of PGi’s 30+ global offices and while my situation is unique I find that what I’ve learned could apply to any business traveler.

Top 5 Ways to Mix Business (Trips) with Pleasure:

1. Book a Hotel Like a Tourist:

Most companies allow their associates to choose their accommodation. When booking your lodging, look for unique establishments that cater to your vacation style.

I look for discounted resorts or boutique bed & breakfasts, followed by vacation rentals and independent hotels.  Aside from extra character, I find that local establishments offer amenities that large hotels don’t such as free laundry facilities, bicycles to borrow, full kitchens and a nice place to sit outside and enjoy my morning coffee. Even with perks like these, local lodging can cost far less than hotels frequented by business professionals. A few of my favorite booking sites are AirBnB.com, Booking.com (look for their “Flash Deals”), Hotels.com and HomeAway.com.

Not everyone cares for a boutique hotel on their “workation.” When my husband was traveling up to three weeks a month he asked his company’s travel department if he could book a house boat on the river for his next trip. For someone like my husband who isn’t fond of hotels, having the opportunity to experience the city like a local made for a happier, more productive worker.

Even if you’re restricted to a list of approved hotels, look for lodging that provides special amenities such as complimentary shuttles to major tourist spots, outdoor walking trails or scenic views.

Make sure your “outside the box,” vacation-style lodging offers free, unlimited WiFi. For those offering “internet access” or “free WiFi” call ahead to make sure you can use your device and access isn’t limited to a certain amount of time.

2. Stay the Weekend:

Some companies allow their traveling professionals to push their return flight back a few days so that they can stay the weekend. If this is an option for you, consider adding a few days to the end of your trip and enjoy being a tourist in a new city. For as little as the cost of your hotel, you could have a weekend vacation.

You might be able to negotiate a discounted weekend rate on your room based your current booking.

3. Plan a Scenic Commute:

You might have found the resort of your dreams, but if it’s too far away from the office you’ll be miserable getting to work. Find a location that is close to the office but gives you the chance to take a short ferry or walk through an urban green space like a park or community garden.

Just last week we were in Sydney and I had the great fortune of walking through the city’s legendary Royal Botanical Gardens on the way to work. Nothing makes a business trip more memorable than experiencing the city’s natural beauty.

4. Dine Like a Food Blogger:

Just because you’re on business doesn’t mean you need to eat at the airport or company cafeteria. If you have time, get out of the business park and visit one of the city’s top restaurants or coffee shops.

Like many business travelers, time is of the essence so I prefer to use TripAdvisor‘s “Near Me Now” feature to see what’s in walking distance. I can also specify my price range to stay within my per diem.

5. Bring Your Friends or Family Along:

I remember joining my dad on his business trip to Washington D.C. when I was in elementary school.  Some of our family’s best vacations occurred after his meetings were over and we could spend our time touring as a family. If you can’t bring the family along this time, consider kissing the little ones good night via video. The same technology you used earlier in the day to close that big deal can be used to have a special moment with your family.

I use iMeet® to stay connected with my friends and  family while traveling.  iMeet is simple. I don’t have any dial-in codes or URLs for me or my friends to remember, ensuring technology doesn’t get in the way of our time together. I also don’t have to keep track of long distance fees or worry about being at my computer for the call. With the iMeet Mobility Suite, I can be at dinner or en route to my next office and still see them face-to-face.

Although I’m on my global journey with business at the forefront of my mind, I’ve enjoyed thinking outside the box when it comes to my nights and weekends. I imagine that my generation of workers will continue to value flexibility in location over traditional incentives, making it more important than ever to find a balance between business (trips) and pleasure.

What would make your next business trip more enjoyable? What kind of lodging makes you a more satisfied, productive worker?

 
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Todd McCormick

What nonverbal messages do you send during virtual meetings?

March 20th, 2012 by Todd McCormick Posted in Audio Conferencing, Conferencing, iMeet, PGi, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Virtual Sales Strategies, Web Conferencing
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I’ve said before that up to 93% of communication is nonverbal. But did you know that you exchange approximately 800 nonverbal messages during the average 30-minute sales call? (Source: The Art of Nonverbal Selling, Gerhard Gschwandtner)

On a sales call, your nonverbal communication will always say more than your words. What nonverbal messages are you sending to clients and prospects?

 
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Cora Rodenbusch

Digital Nomad Tip #28: Don’t Let a Few Miles Keep Your Team From a Big Opportunity

March 19th, 2012 by Cora Rodenbusch Posted in Collaboration, Conferencing, Cora the Digital Nomad, iMeet, PGi, Telecommuting, Tips and Tricks, Video Conferencing, Virtual Meetings, Web Conferencing
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G’day mate and greetings from down under in beautiful Sydney, Australia! After taking a week off in the Hobbit capital of the world, South Island, New Zealand, we made our way to Sydney and have been enjoying some of the best weather the city has to offer.

In the short time we’ve been here, my colleagues have taken me to Sydney’s most iconic landmarks as well as a few lesser known sites, such as the local pub and this stunning art installation in a small alleyway just a few feet from the office.

Aside from the temptation of Sydney’s nightlife, working here couldn’t be easier. The connectivity is the best we’ve experienced in Asia-Pac and much like Hong Kong, the city runs 24/7 making it easy for digital nomads like myself to find places to work (and coffee to drink) at all hours.

Just recently I put my Digital Nomad skills to the test and joined Evernote’s Andrew Sinkov and Green Strategist Lewis Perkins in PGi’s SXSW panel, Up in the Air: On the Move with the Working Nomad via iMeet®. I was honored to (virtually) sit alongside two of the industry’s top thought leaders to discuss what it looks like to work on the go.

Over the past few years, I have attended SXSW in person thanks to PGi’s prime real estate, centered in the heart of  downtown. But this year was special in that I was able to show the power and financial value of video conferencing by joining via iMeet®. No plane tickets, no travel time, no hotels, just me in my office here in Sydney, far removed from an 18+ hour flight and a $3,500+ transportation bill.

I started to realize that video conferencing was no longer a nice-to-have for my business, but a must-have. From budgets to time management, environmental awareness and taking advantage of overseas’ opportunities, video fills a void that exists in the workplace today.

Go Virtual to Cut Costs: PGi recently brought USA Today’s rising cost of travel stats to life with a powerful visual  – Ditch the Rising Gas Prices – Get a Room [INFOGRAPHIC]. I chimed in to say that driving my car wasn’t the only mode of transportation that was becoming cost prohibitive. I think I set an iMeet® record when I was in Zurich, Switzerland paying $17 just to go a few miles on the bus!

 
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