On Wednesday, September 21, 2005 I checked my voicemail and found a call marked "urgent" by the sender. Allison Sikes was calling from a large, regional bank in the Southeastern United States and asked for a return call. Little did I know that call would turn into a $40,000 training contract for March through June 2006 and an ongoing relationship worth $10,000 a year.

Three things got me that contract. The first has nothing to do with NSA or NSA/NW. The second two do.

You have to be qualified.

My 25 years in the business of speaking and training, my depth of experience in tax returns, and my fundamental understanding of lending qualified me to do the training. But we all know qualified people who are not getting the big contracts.

NSA and NSA/NW focus on marketing and sales in addition to presentation skills.

Along with presentation skills, technology and business issues, marketing and sales are a strong focus of any programming year at the chapter and at national conventions and workshops as well. I cannot even tell you how many times I have been in on a conversation or program that talked about the fundamentals of finding prospects and then turning them into customers.

Being qualified does not mean you get noticed.

Here is what Allison Sikes told me in a phone conversation on November 23^rd about how she found me. She opened MSN Search and typed "Tax Return Training". My website www.LindaKeithCPA.com up, along with several other good prospects. That happened because of what I have learned at NSA and NSA/NW about being found on the internet. I am a good presenter, but that does not get me found.

I have benefited from technology sessions with Tom Antion, Jocelyn "Toolie" Garner, Randy Gage, Corbin Ball and Mike Foster. Specifically, the keywords she typed brought me up because of Corbin Ball's session on "Websites: How to get found, read and bookmarked on the Internet." And it was the second time I attended his session that I followed up on the keyword recommendations.

But I've heard that before.

I had seen Corbin do his program at national. And as is often the case, I was not ready to act on everything I learned that day. When we scheduled Corbin to present the same program at our chapter, I must admit I considered not attending. I had seen that session before. Thank goodness I attended anyway. It was the action I took after the second session that brought Allison Sikes to me.

Being qualified does not mean you get the job.

Here is what Allison told me about why she chose me over the other training options:

"I chose you because I was so impressed with your marketing effort. You delivered on all your promises. You have a strong work ethic. Your staff person, Kimberly, is very good and can speak well for you in your absence. You are just like me."

Every trait that impressed Allison has been reinforced at NSA and NSA/NW. And that last comment ~ "You are just like me." ~ demonstrates my ability to match the tone and preferences of my prospect, something I learned at NSA/NW. It happens that Allison and I do have a natural similarity in how we operate. It is also true that I picked up on Allison’s preference for quick, detailed information and delivered just what she preferred.

Once you have the job, you are always closing the "next" sale.

There has been a real emphasis in NSA and NSA/NW of late on getting beyond the one-off speaking or training engagement. Even after I was hired for the pilot, I needed to close the sale on the entire contract and then continued training. I used things I have learned at NSA and NSA/NW in talking with the senior lenders who helped me really focus in the pilot on their needs.

• I listened a lot.
• I fed back what I thought I was hearing and listened to see if I got it right.
• I started using the terminology they use, in our phone conversations and in the program.
• I paid attention to and used the tone and pace they were using. This is a compliment to our customers that we respect their preference for brief or conversational, formal or informal.
• I used all the tips I have learned about how to connect, both to the people on the phone and to the people in the audience.
• I did an incredibly good presentation for them.

NSA and NSA/NW continue to help me find prospects and help prospects find me. And once found, help us to create business relationships for mutual benefit. No other professional association is more instrumental in my business success.

Linda Gabbert Keith, CPA, CSP
www.LindaKeithCPA.com
Show Me the Money! Tools for Lenders(tm)

NSA Northwest
PO Box 5755
Bellevue, WA 98006-0255
Phone/Fax: 425-458-5771
info@nsanorthwest.org

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