“At Lydig Construction, we needed to train our employees in presentation skills to become more effective in short list interviews. We were looking for someone who could teach us specific skills in how to reach the selection committee members in innovative ways that moved them beyond the technical data they were used to seeing and hearing.
Ms. Silverman’s style was engaging and interactive. She welcomed questions and encouraged participants to step outside of their comfort zones to think and behave in new and sometimes different ways.
Lori not only gave us specific tools and techniques to use regarding stories, but also helped us analyze our entire prospecting and sales process. She helped us realize that we needed to be engaging our business partners much sooner in the process, and that a very powerful technique in building relationships with our business partners is through the use of stories.
Thank you, Lori, for moving us beyond the day-to-day data that the construction industry sees and hears every day! We are on our way to not only building Lydig’s story database, but also to effectively sharing stories in our short list interviews and in interactions with our clients.”
– Libby Kuehl, Director of Education and Training, Lydig Construction, Inc.
Every industry, organization, business unit, department, project, and employee needs to move people to take action. If you or your organization have any of the following needs, contact Lori.
Creating a Unique Selling Proposition and Generating Leads
How well does your company’s brand and associated marketing collateral and plans get the results you intended? Do your customers, clients or members clearly know what your brand stands for? How sticky are the hits you get to all your social media outlets? Do they result in leads?
“My organization has had the opportunity to work with Ms. Silverman through customized workshops to assist our members with communicating about, and advocating for, the contribution of laboratory testing to public health. As an instructor, she approached workshop design through thoughtful questioning of key participants to assure that the training was crafted to meet the specific needs of the audience. Based on this knowledge, webinars were developed and conducted to assure that workshop objectives and outcomes were met. As a coach, Lori has also provided individual assistance to support students in the development and effective communication of these stories in a variety of media. She has a gift in getting to the heart of a story with speed, sometimes defying intuitive logic; because often the real story lies in the smaller steps of the journey rather than its conclusion. She is extremely successful in getting people excited about material by asking the ‘right’ questions that, when using our own devices, would be uninteresting and un-notable to the general public.”
– Pandora Ray, MA, MPH, Director of National Center for Public Health Laboratory Leadership. Association of Public Health Laboratories
Increasing Sales
Need to shorten the amount of time it takes to get prospects to commit? Need to increase your hit rate? Does your sales staff know how to evoke stories so they can identify unspoken needs? Do you know how to incorporate story throughout all phases of the sales cycle to strengthen relationships? How effective are your success stories and sales materials?
Obtaining Funding, Donations, or Investments
How successful are your lobbying efforts, whether they’re to executives inside your organization or to those who can help you get external funding? Do you know how to get them to support your efforts for the long haul? What’s the best way to communicate to shorten the amount of time it takes to secure an investment?
“‘Be sure to tell a story!’ I can’t recall how many times in my career I have heard those words when preparing a presentation for the public or for a legislative audience. It seems like such simple and logical advice, yet in practice it can go very wrong. It wasn’t until I had one of my first sessions with Lori that I realized just how wrong ‘telling a story’ can go. I’ll never forget hearing her voice say to me ‘You didn’t tell the right story! It was a good story and a compelling story, but it was not about you and the lab.’ Talk about an a-ha moment! For years, I had been telling other people’s stories. The advice should be, ‘Be sure to tell YOUR story!’ During this last year with Lori’s help, I have been able to tell MY story to our department leadership and they have finally seen how hard working our staff scientists are and they truly understand how the work that we do is of vital importance to public health. The positive attention we have received as a result of telling the right story has been fantastic. Lori is a gem of person and a gal who really knows her stuff. I am so glad I attended one of her workshops as I feel I have gained a mentor as well as a friend.”
– Robyn M Atkinson-Dunn, PhD HCLD/PHLD, Director, Utah Public Health Laboratory
Solidifying Employee and Leader Engagement
Need to find a way to lessen turnover? Having difficulties aligning staff and leader behavior to the organization’s culture? What about getting them to comprehend the vision and strategic priorities? Do people work effectively in team settings?
Accelerating Project Work
How effective is your business case? Do program and project members follow set expectations? Do they clearly know what needs to be done and why? What’s their level of commitment to the program or project’s outcome? Are you meeting deadlines and sticking to timelines and budgets?
Getting Change to Stick
Is everyone able to clearly articulate the vision for the change? How do you effectively motivate them to embrace the change? What’s their commitment to bringing the change to fruition? How do you highlight behaviors that align with the change? Do leaders know how and what to communicate throughout the change process?
“Future stories in business provide a one-of-a-kind mechanism capable of transcending the typical constraints of management. In my organization, stories have taken us from abstract, hard-to-understand concepts to concrete goals. Since a story describes tangible results, stakeholders and employees are able to see themselves in the story. Visualizing their place, employees are now able to develop a rich passion for delivering the results necessary to realize the outcome of the story.”
– Nick R., government IT leader
For More Information
Check out www.partnersforprogress.com for additional consulting expertise and a full list of consulting reviews. Contact Lori by phone or email to arrange a complimentary 30 minute phone call to discuss your needs.
