Working with A Purpose

For Daizy Gedeon, CEO & Creative Director of GDR Media Group, self-belief is where it all starts. “Without the inner belief that I was “ENOUGH” and up to the challenges of business, life, society and humanity, I would have remained an employee working to help someone else achieve their dream and would never have ventured beyond my comfort zone to establish two businesses,” she says.

The pioneering leader is always pushing the limits and extending because “it is that which I don’t know I don’t know” that continues to motivate her. This mindset lifts her to continue to seek and understand the mission that Daizy believes she was brought to this world to fulfil.

When Daizy joined GDR in 2000 it was a fledgling direct mail business with a turnover of under $100,000, but over the next two decades she expanded it into a multi-million-dollar, multi-media marketing agency. “It is my belief that if we don’t have compassion for others and step into their shoes, then we are unable to truly serve our clients and deliver the service they are seeking,” she explains. “This is true in business and in life and even more so as a filmmaker producing documentaries and stories that serve to deliver the voice of the voiceless to a global audience. If you don’t have empathy, you are unable to reach the souls of the millions that need to be touched for change to happen.” The way Daizy innately inspires and empowers team members starts during the interview process. The first rounds are conducted by her colleagues, and Daizy joins the final round to talk to potential new recruits about company values and the importance of ethics.

The steadfast leader reignites in them what life and other employers may have beaten out of them – that THEIR VOICE MATTERS! “People don’t need much to be inspired and empowered. The most important thing I have discovered any person needs is that YOU BELIEVE IN THEM,” elucidates Daizy. “In both my companies I employ people not to fulfil a task, but to contribute meaningfully, individually to the organisation. They are key members of the team no different to a football team or any sports team. Every position has a role and is critical to the effective operation and success of the whole. When I speak like this and they can feel my authenticity, they are inspired.”

Armed with such a brilliant ideology, Daizy has been taking her companies to new heights. She realised that with each contract GDR won and the more work they brought on, they needed more staff to complete the work, which was eating into their profit margins. She searched for different platforms and systems that could manage their type of workflow but there was nothing suitable out there.

The price was also prohibitive with the cheapest software costing around $120,000 for the first year plus modifications, on top of an annual fee of around $80,000. Instead, she decided to find a developer and build her own system, which GDR affectionately calls BoB (Back of Business). It cost around $110,000 and took two years to build but after implementing it, they were able to improve efficiency by 50% and reduce head count by at least two. “I returned the cost of the system within one year and it is still operational and running our business today. It revolutionised the way we work in a particular stream of our industry and helped us win and manage huge contracts across the entire country, being able to manage hundreds of people at any one time,” she says.

Another big achievement for Daizy has been the recent success she has experienced through Dream Creations International, her film production company, and the making of her new film: ENOUGH! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour. In 2017, after witnessing the growing dysfunction of Lebanese society and disintegration of public institutions and infrastructure as a result of corruption and incompetence, she decided someone needed to expose the truth and give the people a voice.

“I left GDR in the hands of my then-CEO and began work on my documentary. This meant I had to travel back and forth to Lebanon and around the world for the next few years making this film,” says Daizy. “ENOUGH! was released in June 2021 premiering at the Marche du Film at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Movie That Matters Award and has since gone on to win more than 19 international film festival awards and has been invited to more than 31 festivals globally.”

If Daizy’s primary value is self-belief, her penultimate value is honour. “If we can’t look ourselves in the mirror and respect the person staring back at us then we are merely a shadow masquerading on a vanishing stage,” she states.

There is a saying that if you love your job, you never have to work a day in your life. Angela N. Lopez, Vice President for Product & Innovation Strategy at Chase, feels that way about her current role. It is her dream job; throughout her career, she has fine-tuned various skills and honed her strengths in the technology industry, helping customers solve problems. “In my current role as VP for Product & Innovation Strategy , I get the chance to make an impact, while getting a deep sense of purpose, and meaning from my work.”

According to Angela, there aren’t many companies that have the size and scale of Chase. Technologists who join the firm help more than 60 million households and nearly 58 million digitally active customers make the most of their money. Many don’t realize how much innovation happens in Columbus, Ohio, at the firm, and it’s exciting to be a part of that. “I know that every new technology investigated and every conversation about solving problems has a direct effect in our ability to serve our customers, and everything our team touches has a meaning beyond just getting something done. I don’t think my work has ever given me as much satisfaction as it has here at JPMorgan Chase.”

The cool thing is that Angela knows her “job” is not finite, meaning her role today can grow into future opportunities in just about any direction she wishes. “When I reflect back to when I first entered the workforce, there were numerous rules and regulations that needed to be followed as a woman including a dress code. But the grit I earned as a single mom, working several jobs, really fueled my ambitions and tenacity to move forward in my personal life and career,” says Angela. “I’ve enjoyed breaking the barriers, especially ones within my family and circumstances.”

“ I never really knew what it felt like to have true equality until joining JPMorgan Chase. Women hold some of the most senior roles at the firm from our Operating Committee to other senior leadership positions across our various lines of business. ”

Angela has found several advocates, mentors, and sponsors along the way in the firm. She is proud to work for a company that embraces diversity and creates the right conditions to have a truly inclusive culture. “I never really knew what it felt like to have true equality until joining JPMorgan Chase. Women hold some of the most senior roles at the firm ranging from Operating Committee members to CEO’s and presidents to numerous senior leadership roles in each of our lines of business.”

She has been guiding and empowering women in her unique way. Angela founded a non-profit getWITit.org in 2016 to empower women in technology to find their voice by sharing their experience, knowledge and getting comfortable telling their stories. “One of the hardest obstacles I encounter in myself and other women, is the need to break past internal beliefs and narratives of “perfection” and “expectations.” I help women draw out their “why” so they feel empowered to speak naturally and confidently about what they know!” Angela adds, “I believe one of the most powerful and overlooked opportunities that exists for women is to build their social capital. I believe firmly that women should use their social and networking skills beyond their family, friends, and community. My advice to all women is to follow your passion and step outside your day job a little and lean in!”

JPMorgan Chase has several internal groups like Women on the Move and TIF (Take it Forward), which Angela regularly volunteers for coaching and mentoring. She manages External Relations for the Columbus Tech Center, where she helps drive awareness for Chase as a leading employer for technologists. “We have some of the best technologists in the country here in Columbus, Ohio and I love telling the world about it!” she adds. “I’m very proud to say that there is a lot of amazing things about JPMorgan Chase. While it’s hard to pick from the multitude of things, I think our commitment to our customers and communities are is what I appreciate the most. We committed $30 Billion to Racial Equity to help close the racial wealth gap among Black, Hispanic and Latino communities. The firm is bringing together its business, philanthropy, policy and data expertise to help close the racial wealth gap and drive inclusive growth.” IEWL

How financial services companies can efficiently leverage new technology

Just as technology has revolutionized the way we communicate, make purchases, and obtain information, it is also transforming the way individuals save, spend, invest, and interact with financial…

Dr. Lynette Scherer is a trauma surgeon who spent the first 15 years of her career at UC Davis Medical Center, a large academic training program where she rose through the rank of Professor of Surgery. During her time in academia, Dr. Scherer served as the Residency Program Director, where she developed her skills at identifying specific traits that made people a good fit for the program. During her many years at UC Davis, Dr. Scherer also served as the Chief of Trauma and Emergency Surgery and it was through these experiences, she developed a keen sense of how to build functional teams.

During this time, she developed a research interest in standardizing care across the Trauma and Emergency service line – which is associated with improved patient outcomes.

As a recognized educator and national trauma expert, Dr. Scherer was invited to Afghanistan by the United States Air Force to evaluate the trauma system’s functioning during the war in Afghanistan.

As she transitioned to the private sector, Dr. Scherer brought her academic experience to the community hospital setting, along with a balance of business sense and clinically sound decision-making that has helped SAMGI flourish and become the “gold standard” in trauma care across a multitude of service lines. As an expert in the American College of Surgeons Trauma Center Verification process, as well as identifying the necessary skills that make surgeons a good fit for SAMGI’s team-based models, the leadership team built by Dr. Scherer has been successfully building SAMGI programs for the last 8 years. However, standardizing patient care is only half of the SAMGI secret sauce; inspiring the company’s surgeons to practice this way is the other half. An excellent communicator with a knack for motivating surgeons, Dr. Scherer can bring the team together in such a way that SAMGI’s standardized practices lead to excellent patient outcomes and reproduces their peer-reviewed and published performance. It is an unyielding commitment to clinical excellence in addition to these many other skills that have allowed Dr. Scherer to lead SAMGI to national success.

“I have always been a mentor and a teacher. So I hope that for both women and men, I have modeled behaviors that create expectations around success. First, one must expect excellence from themselves and their teams,” says Dr. Scherer. “An integral part of that process involves recognizing when you didn’t hit the mark. Rather than ascribing blame for the shortcoming, putting forth a solution to avoid similar outcomes in the future has always served me well.” Dr. Scherer has developed SAMGI into a solidly “grow our own” type of leadership company.

SAMGI is incredibly proud of the staff development that has taken place over the last 8 years. When “the right stuff” is identified, individuals are given the tools, support, and leadership direction to capitalize on their potential from the top down. They have had incredible success stories that include Trauma Medical Directors, Administrative Assistants, Credentialing Specialists, all grown from the ground up in SAMGI. Dr. Scherer is quick to call out when team members are achieving goals and reaching for goals that are a stretch for them, and then taking the extra step of inquiring if they are interested in pursuing a path that would allow them to grow into “the next” role.

“I have found that you don’t have to give up kindness to be an incredibly impactful and powerful leader. In reflection, I think one of the most important leadership qualities I possess is that I care about the people I work with – and they know that,” explains Dr. Scherer. “I find people are naturally motivated to give their best when they are appreciated, which I think as a woman is a natural sentiment.”

It is all about the patients for Dr. Scherer and everyone at SAMGI. Crossing the “50,000 patients served” threshold was a major milestone for them. For the days to come, Dr. Scherer and her team will continue to up their game as they move through this decade, focusing on ongoing refinements in their care, training future leaders, and ensuring their patients receive care from surgeons they would “pick” if they could. “I seek to develop the leadership team at SAMGI to the point where I work myself out of a job! Nothing is more satisfying than seeing your ideas and plans put in to action by others who add their own special twist on the idea.” WL

Jet Management San Marino was born out of years of collecting knowledge, practices, and experience to come in these days and call themselves with pride “We are a small boutique operator.” Lija Wierieszczinskaja, CEO & Accountable Manager, Jet Management San Marino, always had a clear vision about how she wants the people feel like and what kind of environment she wanted. It took time to form an effective team trusting the vision, responding to her ideas then extending the team spirit further to the customers. “Our transformation process was a true journey driven by a natural desire every time to become better through continues learning process,” she says. “I am taking this wonderful opportunity to remind that profits come only with a client; make sure that your client is in the right hands.”

Lija’s customer service philosophy is based on the strong values of ” serving our client with dignity” and ” hearing the client.” It is a history of conscious transformation based on extended awareness of the client’s needs. It started in 2015 as their customers are a focus of the business forming their values – “Our Customer does not make a number, our customer makes priority.” The goals changed from one to another throughout the entire time, but the direction remained certain building always a path to be there.

Considering that business Aviation is a male-dominated industry, Lija had to make her way to be there, which is not about just putting every effort to win in achieving successful numbers. “My way is about making the sustained effort into growing passion of the team for pursuit of true excellence in delivering unique customer service,” she explains. “‘Every’ effort vs ‘sustainable’ effort, the last, sometimes makes a way more complex from the first glance but the one which creates more favorable preconditions for more achievements.”

As a transformational leader, Lija sees everyone as a unique person with their potential. Taking responsibility for their life their performance is an essential key element of a leader. She creates a work environment where people are trusted to make their own conscious decisions, where they learn more about their worth and gain their confidence. It is also important to share glory for every company’s success, letting the team understand the value they add to the company processes.

According to Lija, getting success is a journey, which has no bound time set, “the sooner we take control over it the better off we will be. What to control exactly? I see two important things: to set the goals and remain resourceful to hold the vision along all the way.” She says as leadership affects success, there is also another way around. “Having fulfilment from what we do replenishes our energy resources for our accomplishments. Here this is only a way—do what you love or love what you do.”

“When a leader inspires the team to follow, the leader takes full responsibility for the outcome, no matter it is success or failure in the end. When it comes to admitting ultimate responsibility, I do not see it differently concerning gender. The role assumes it in full,” explains Lija. “Team matters” directly relate to the company success.”

Jet Management San Marino’s vision became complete, it grew naturally through the day-to-day operations, they just put it as a statement: “successful operations are driven by customer service philosophy, the work environment which allow people feel special and valued, encouraging personal motivation, developing mindset and excellent attitude towards performance.” “We are there, having a highly motivated team of professionals striving for excellence in service not in the quantity of the fleet.”

For the days to come, She believes that Customer Service is a competence which has to be imprinted in the company processes, throughout every department. The more organization invests in its efficiency the more ways to win customer’s loyalty which is priceless.

Lija will get more into personal coaching on a personal level, as she believes in how much difference happy people can make to business development. “In the first place, the people have to deal with their self-awareness and understand what makes them truly fulfilled/ inspired. Taking the right path results in getting inner balance, conscious decisions, efficient performance, taking challenges with joy and confidence,” she says. “Truly happy people vibrate in such a way that they magnetise the opportunities and become wanted; they have high chances for success in their lives and their careers.” WL

[email protected] / [email protected] / +41(0)79 669 6049

Linkedin contact: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lija-wierieszczinskaja-257a321a8/

There is a certain level of graciousness that every female must carry with her as she navigates her chosen profession, especially a woman in a leadership position. And that graciousness must be skirted by a multi-layer of knowledge, enthusiasm, and confidence about the products and services expected by her clients and what her company can deliver. Claudine Adams possesses a profound knowledge of the products and services that the company can provide and the ability to step back and identify any limitations the company may have. She has identified like-minded partners who can support the mission with quality solutions to help gain the highest possible outcome. She is forward-thinking and is not content with the “status quo.”

Claudine has worked hard to perfect her craft, enhance her knowledge of the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) industry, and build her business. She is confident in her abilities and is comfortable in those settings where women are/were not traditionally welcomed. When presented with a finished product or idea, Claudine is encouraging and supportive of her staff, with her signature “very nice” comment. And when the situation requires a firm redirection, Claudine is not afraid to broach the issue head-on. Not timid or retiring in her approach to staff or other industry professionals, she communicates her position and conviction. She is acutely aware of her competitors and the complicated, competitive nature of government contracting. With any measure of success comes some disappointments. Claudine treats each setback as a learning opportunity, not only for herself, but to teach other women business owners the lessons, she has learned. As a casual observation, Claudine possesses a charisma that warrants attention in any setting.

As the CEO of a woman-owned, minority-owned, disadvantaged business, primarily an engineering and technology company, Claudine promotes the advancement of women and is proud to champion the causes that help women succeed in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Claudine recognized that the challenges women face in the workforce were not static but were multi-dimensional, and her approach to supporting women is also multi-dimensional.

“Successful Woman-Owned Business. Specializes in System Engineering, Network Operations , Global Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance solutions for DOD and others.”

Claudine affords contracting opportunities and mentorship to other small, disadvantaged business (SDB), Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB), and Minority-Owned Businesses (MBE), offering expertise in the areas of Software Engineering, Network Engineering, and Human Resources Consulting and affording women, the opportunity to grow their businesses, providing network and industry related experiences.

Claudine Adams serves as the member Chair of the Northeastern Maryland Technology Council (NMTC). NMTC connects successful technology companies, government, and academic leaders into a collective force to accelerate economic growth, build the STEM Educated Workforce and drive technology and innovation in Maryland. In collaboration with NMTC, Claudine and Bravura donated $5000 scholarships to deserving young ladies graduating from Harford County since 2017, resulting in over $100,000 in scholarship dollars to those who otherwise would not be able to go to college or afford their college of choice.

Claudine’s best advice to others is, “go for your own business despite the risk. Create a plan, and then step out there. You can always go back to working for someone else.”

Bravura was born after Claudine was the President of another small business that she grew from small to large. After “cashing out,” she wanted to start her own thing where she could be free to run things as she saw fit. She wanted to show that a small, woman-owned business could do engineering and services work and do it well. Claudine has a heart for our soldiers, so she worked to maintain force protection services for our troops in Afghanistan. The company name means bravery, and they wanted to support the brave troops overseas.

The most significant achievement for Claudine’s company was being awarded a $539M dollar Army contract to maintain aerostat systems overseas. These systems, located at each forward operating base in Afghanistan and Iraq, were key to assuring the safety of our troops. These systems carried sophisticated detection equipment and were operated 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

“Bravura has made significant improvements to the aerostat technology. These include modernizing the ground control stations to be portable and improving the cyber security posture of the networks utilized by the aerostat. For the days to come, Bravura has plans to expand globally.” IEWL

Shirley Wang is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Plastpro Inc., a manufacturer of award-winning fiberglass doors. Under Shirley’s leadership, Plastpro was named “Most Innovative” and “Top 100 Manufacturer” by Window and Door magazine. In 2005, Plastpro built the world’s first and largest state-of-the-art fully automated 300,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Ashtabula, Ohio. In 2021, Dry Construction awarded Plastpro Inc. with its “Company of the Year” award.

She is customer-focused and a great listener. She listens to the customer about what they want. Being customer-centric, Shirley designs doors based on customer wants, whether that means accommodating a specification that fits their needs or coming up with a style the customer indicates they want. “We are innovative and quality focused. We stand out because we built the most innovative and automated fiberglass door plant in the world, which allows for precision manufacturing, which guarantees we will deliver the best quality to our customers,” says Shirley.

When Shirley joined the board at UCLA, it was only 23 percent women, but after she finished being the chair of the board, the board comprised over 50 percent women. People also say that seeing Shirley in these leadership roles, both philanthropically and business-wise, inspires them to pursue similarly ambitious goals. Many women turn to Shirley for advice in business because she can put herself in their shoes and see things from the perspective of multiple stakeholders to understand where they are coming from and offer up solutions that work.

She has a no-nonsense approach that allows people to feel empowered and accountable. She sees people as individuals and considers their personal strengths and weaknesses in pushing them to be the best they can be.

Shirley is the daughter of a single mother and went through college on a Pell grant. While at UCLA, she was a salesperson for advertising at the school newspaper, and cold-calling helped her pay for college. This paved the way for her future roles in advertising, banking, and ultimately selling doors. Success is a process, and she believes that at its best, you’re always finding it – discovering new things, new ways, and innovations that lead into tomorrow. Shirley’s motto is to keep pushing yourself and others to be the best they can be. “Too many women have imposter syndrome. They don’t think they’re talented enough, experienced enough, or ready. I think women need to just get over that – fake it until you make it.”

For Shirley, the company’s biggest achievement has been its automated factory. “Everyone was outsourcing while we built a state of the art, fully automated 250,000 square foot facility in Ohio that allowed us to have full control over the quality and delivery of our products.”

In addition to Shirley’s professional efforts, she is a strong supporter of charitable and community activities. Through Plastpro, Shirley supports Habitat for Humanity and has provided fiberglass doors to construct over 100 homes. The company has also donated three technology labs to the public schools of Ashtabula County, Ohio. Plastpro also established the Plastpro Family Education Endowment Fund at Glenbeigh Hospital, providing educational opportunities to families impacted by addiction.

Through the Walter and Shirley Wang Foundation, Shirley and her husband, Walter, were the first and major sponsors of the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary Becoming American: The Chinese Experience by Bill Moyers. This documentary on Chinese-American history examines immigration, citizenship and what it means to be American.

Shirley and her husband were the initial sponsors for the China AIDS documentary The Blood of Yingzhou District, which won the 2007 Academy Award for short documentary. They also supported The Warriors of Qiugang, which was nominated for the 2010 Academy Award in the same category and resulted in the Chinese government’s committing $30 million to clean up the toxic waste around the waterway where the film is set.

The Wangs are also lead supporters of anti-smoking and AIDS prevention initiatives in China, reaching over 500 million people. In 2006, the Wangs received the China AIDS Initiative’s first award for their seed support. Recently, Shirley became a member of the Committee of 100 in support of US-China relations and the full participation of Chinese Americans in American society. WL

AI: 5 Things Every CEO Should Know

Machine learning, AI, cognitive computing, natural language understanding, image recognition, pattern matching, autonomous devices – these are just a few of 2017’s loosely defined catchall phrases…

Denisse C. Lamas was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She grew up in Barrio Nuevo, Bayamon, where the neighbors were part of every family.

Going to college was a big deal for Denisse’s family, considering that one of her grandmothers only completed first grade. “She might have lacked formal education, but she taught us the importance of love, wisdom, and kindness toward others. My other grandmother worked for over 30 years as a janitor in a hospital. From her, I learned that you should never be ashamed of the work you do.”

Denisse went to “El Colegio” to study engineering just like her sister but quickly realized that engineering was her sister’s calling, not hers. A couple of years later, she moved to Orlando, right next to Mickey Mouse, the place where dreams come true. She majored in social work at the University of Central Florida and completed her bachelor’s and master’s degree, alongside obtaining her clinical license for social work in 2006.

“In Florida, I had to work two or three jobs while going to school. I struggled with English, which made it harder to find a more stable job. After graduation, I continued to work two to three different jobs. This taught me to spend my time wisely, it also gave me an opportunity to practice my English and get out of college debt,” she elucidates in an article in Orlando Business Journal.

While working for different agencies, Denisse’s curiosity grew to understand better the reasoning as to why certain paperwork was filled out and used. During this time, she witnessed how cultural incompetency can damage a relationship between two people, especially as a therapist with her clients. “I remember discussing my concerns with one of my supervisors, who quickly dismissed them. I was told I could receive a warning for insubordination. Ironically enough, she was Hispanic. At that moment, I realized how quickly we can become afraid to speak up or share our concerns — due to a fear of being misunderstood, not following what the policies state (even if those are unfair, unpractical, and everyone thinks they are ineffective) or even the fear of losing our jobs.”

In 2012, Denisse decided to follow her dream and created Hispanic Family Counseling, Inc. in July of that year. Today, Denisse provides counseling services to a diverse population of clients and families and serves as the Executive Director for the agency.

For the past few years, Denisse has been an active advocate for suicide prevention. She served as the President of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – Central Florida Chapter – from 2014 until early 2019. Currently, she serves as the member of the National Board and the Leadership Council Diversity Workgroup Chair. Also, she is the founder of the AFSP Puerto Rico Chapter. Additionally, Denisse is a former adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida. Denisse is also registered to supervise Clinical Social Work Interns and regularly supervises employees while working towards licensure.

She inspires women by leading by example. “I am a board member for the Women’s Entrepreneur Center at Seminole State College. I have spoken at connections for urban professionals for the females’ entrepreneurs elevating their communities. I have mentored other females’ entrepreneur on their process,” she says. “My strong advice is to treat everyone with respect and work hard to achieve desired goals.”

Winning the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando’s 2017 Don Quijote Awards, the 2018’s Prospera Success Stories Business in Central Florida, the Partners In Advancing International Education by the Council on Social Work Education and Commission on Global Social Work Education in 2018, and most recently winning one of 50 GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch 2021 are all the achievements Denisse is proud of, and there are more to come.

Denisse wants to become a one-stop-shop for mental health services in the days to come. She and her team are working on developing other departments at the agency. “Personally, I am working in obtaining my doctoral degree. For the company, I hope we can continue to grow and impact our community as we have had thus far, without losing our goal of treating everyone with care and respect.” WL

Jason Sayen,Director of Business Development,
LK & Associate

In a world that is transparent, globally connected and where information is available at our fingertips, education has become a more important part of the sales process than ever before across all industries.Customers and clients now come armed with information after reading reviews, talking with friends and doing research online. Sales people these days feel like they are in defensive mode which makes it more difficult to sell the customer the right solution. Stop…take a deep breath and lets rewind.

Sales…circa the world wide web

I transitioned from an electronics installer into retail sales back in 1998 and before I even set foot on the sales floor, the company I worked for (Classic Stereo and Video) put me through PARA training. PARA, Professional Audio Video Retailers Association, was the industry’s first management association for independent audio retailers that provided training and business resources. PARA focused on the building blocks of retail sales like qualifying, the art of the demo and feature/benefit relationships. You see, up until the internet exploded with information, customers used to come to us to learn about the products and services we sold. We were the gate keepers of information.

So to clearly illustrate how simple the process was, customers would come to us for information. We would educate them on the products and services based on their needs (qualifying and feature benefit), blow them away with a demo (art of the demo) and close the sale. It was pretty basic blocking and tackling without many distractions other than battling over price against your competitor or something they found in a catalog…all of which were pretty easy to overcome.

Educating Ourselves
While going through PARA training, I learned how important it was to educate myself on my competition and the products I sold and didn’t sell. We would take trips to our competitors to act as a customer and study how they sold to us. Everything from how they qualified us (or didn’t), gave us a demo and how quickly they recognized that we were in their store. I also spent time learning about the products I didn’t sell. Since the internet wasn’t loaded with information at the time and their were no dealer portals back then, this meant reading past and current trade magazines that had product reviews and write ups. Subscribing to Crutchfield was a necessity as it was considered “the bible” loaded with all kinds of product information.

My company also invested heavily in our store displays, let us take home products for demo and had incentives for employees to purchase products at a discount so that we could experience them ourselves. Virtually every product we sold was set up in our showroom for someone to experience. This was all part of the education process.

Our manufacturer sales reps visited the store frequently. The managers made them accountable to spend time with all of the sales people, to educate them on the products, answer questions and give us tips on how to demonstrate the products to customers. They were a great resource and provided a value during their visit. The good ones would even educate us on the product category in general, not just about the product they sold.

Educating our customers
Reading online reviews, talking to friends and searching the web for information is not an education or experience…it’s RESEARCH. Customers now come to use armed with research and it’s our job to educate them on their research in order to properly recommend the products and services we have to offer. This is called qualifying which has been lost in today’s world of information overload. Sales people find themselves too busy to learn about other products and figure that they will just log onto a portal when they need the information. Too many times customers come to us with a list of what they want and because we don’t want to lose the sale, we say yes to everything and figure out how to make it work. This leads to a bad experience, is bad for the industry and starts a damaging sales cycle that is tough to get out of.

Qualifying is simply the process of assessing the customers needs to determine the correct solution. If you ask enough questions, you will eventually get to the true answer of what the customer wants. Educating yourself is a key component in the qualifying process. Asking questions narrows down the customers needs but understanding how all of these products work separately and together is key. Even if you don’t sell these products, you need to understand how they work and don’t work together to better educate the customer. You can’t just tell the customer that the product isn’t good because the 100 reviews that they read online tell him otherwise.

IOT products and brand names like SONOS and Nest have done an incredible job at creating more awareness of our product category. So much that customers come asking for this product by name which is great. But in some cases, this is not what the customer actually needs.

When I worked for Savant and gave demonstrations at our training facility, almost every customer would ask about SONOS and Nest. My first response was not to talk about our streaming music solution or climate solution but rather ask them a few questions.

“Do you have SONOS/Nest in your house now?” “Does the project require wireless music or are we able to run wire?” “Do you like the brushed aluminum object on the wall or would you rather not see it at all?” “Are you looking for streaming music or SONOS?”

Usually the last question would finally get me the answer I was looking for which was “We want streaming music!” Now, had the customer answered me differently and said that they currently have SONOS and or in their new project they need music to be wireless, I would then discuss the options of Sonos integration. Also since I had both SONOS and Nest in my house, I could speak to the pros and cons of the product and the experience, which is key when handling objections. Telling a customer that the product they are requesting is bad or won’t work is not handling an objection…it’s giving your opinion.

I could go on and use other examples like Alexa, Ring and others however the point is that you have to ask key questions to find out why they are asking for this product. Price can be a major factor as well which is why they are requesting these brands. Through qualifying, you may also realize that this isn’t the customer for you which saves you money in the long run. Maybe they know exactly why they want it but most of the time it’s just because the brand has done a great job at getting in front of the customer and the good news is that because of that, now the customer is in front of us.

The Big Opportunity
Because of the great job that brands have done marketing their products, we have a bigger opportunity to more customers than ever before. Customer don’t just buy products, they buy experiences. In the case of home automation, it’s an experience that they wake up to every morning. Gathering information online will not help them understand the experience and even a series of questions through qualifying won’t help them understand the experience. Educate yourself so that you can explain exactly how that experience will be. Set the correct expectations up front for success at the end. I believe this is why CEDIA wanted to change the term “integrator” to “technologist”. Customers need help making sense of all of the technology which means you have to become an expert on what’s available.

Even if you don’t sell Nest, Sonos, Alexa or Ring, have the products set up at your home or office to try them out. They are all very inexpensive however the education experience you will get will pay for the cost over and over. Education doesn’t just stop with product knowledge either. Hold your reps accountable for training your team. Invite them to your weekly meetings even if it’s just for a half hour. Discuss up front what you want them to talk about so that there is value added to the meeting.

Although PARA is no longer around, there are new resources at our disposal to help sharpen our skills in selling and installation. Maverick Integration created Maverick Technical Institute which offers classroom and hands-on career training for low voltage technicians. The school has gotten some amazing reviews and I consistently get calls from dealers asking for good technicians. For the sales people that are looking to hone their presentation skills, the CEDIA Outreach Instructor Program is a great way to get in with architects, designers and other skilled trades to sell our services. These resources are very inexpensive and provide a tremendous value. CEDIA is also bringing back it’s regional events which will also be a great resource for the industry.