From Artificial to Authentic
 
We’re in a race—a veritable sprint toward AI, the gold rush of 2024 and beyond. Everyone is racing to reach this magical place. But if the finish line is a distant, magical destination, let’s be clear on what we’re running from. The word “artificial”—imitation, scam, bogus, fake—stands in stark contrast to what is genuine, natural, honest, and heartfelt. How do we take the best AI has to offer and combine it with the four traits necessary to catapult your revenue growth in an ever-changing market?

Shari doesn’t just offer solutions; she provides a proven framework, a roadmap to sustainable top-line growth in the evolving AI landscape. Her advice transcends mere sales strategy; it encompasses the art of cultivating an adaptive company culture that thrives in the face of technological changes. Her guidance forces companies to more clearly distinguish the knowledge that is useful information from the humanistic knowledge that leaves people wiser and transformed.

AI promises to provide fantastic tools for outsourcing mental work. At the same time, AI will force us humans to double down on those talents and skills that only humans possess. These four keys to bridging the AI Gap include:

• Creativity
• Curiosity
• Cognitive Thinking
• Crafting Compelling Narratives

Key Takeaways:

• Differentiate Your Messaging: Leverage AI to craft compelling messaging and presentations that deeply resonate with stakeholder needs, helping you stand out and rise above the competition.
• Deepen Human Connections: Identify impersonal communication channels leveraging a precise set of design principles throughout the buyer’s journey, pinpointing where a human touch is essential to forge deeper, more meaningful connections.
• Uncover Customer Needs: Master the use of tailored prompts to  gather compelling initial insights quickly, and then harness human curiosity to ask more personalized questions to create richer sales conversations.
• Make a Powerful ROI Case with the Buyer: Utilize AI-generated insights to boost your credibility, grab stakeholder interest, and powerfully convey both the rewards of action and the risks of inaction
• Compelling Narratives: Transform facts, data, and figures into powerful stories that drive engagement to build credibility and lower buyer resistance. 
• The most important benefit of  A.I. is that it shows us what it can’t do, and so reveals who we are and what makes us uniquely human.

For years, companies believed that a great product, solid facts, and testimonials sufficed to drive customer purchasing decisions. However, in today’s world of “fake news,” where fiction often trumps facts, stories prove 22 times more effective in winning the hearts and minds of consumers. Stories transcend the limitations of mere facts and figures, forging deep emotional connections that resonate with audiences on a human level. They simplify complex ideas, making them accessible and memorable, while also engaging and maintaining attention in ways that data alone cannot.

While telling stories is the most effective way to connect and communicate, we often set aside the very communication method we learned, loved, and perfected as children. Even if we have the best product in the marketplace, we will lose to an inferior product if our competitor’s offer is communicated more clearly and emotionally through story.

In this engaging keynote, Shari Levitin, a social media powerhouse with over 180 million views in the last two years, reveals how to harness the power of storytelling to elevate impact and influence. Leveraging her theater background and multimillion-dollar sales training empire, Shari unveils a proven five-step “storyselling” formula designed to boost brand awareness, build trust, address objections, and captivate today’s discerning consumers.

Key Takeaways:

• Harness the Power of StorySelling: Discover 5 science-based reasons why StorySelling is essential for sellers and leaders.
• Build Emotional Connection and Urgency: Create “driveway moments” with stories that release oxytocin and cortisol, forging strong connections and urgency.
• Boost Confidence and Reduce Skepticism: Tailor stories to different stakeholders, addressing their unique concerns to overcome fears that lead to a no decision. 
• Connect the Dots: Weave context into your content, making it relevant and engaging so customers see your unique value.
• Accelerate Sales with Precision: Build a versatile story bank and master the timing of using the right stories to alleviate customer fears and make more sales in less time. 

Rehumanize the Sales Process is not just another sales training session. It’s a comprehensive approach that acknowledges the evolving landscape of sales and addresses the need for a balanced integration of technology and human interaction. By choosing this keynote, you are investing in a transformative experience that will empower your sales team to build stronger, more meaningful connections with customers, ultimately driving sales and fostering long-term relationships.

One of the biggest challenges facing sales reps and leaders is the failure to effectively connect, share and listen to our customers.  The first generation of smartphone users has experienced a decline in empathy by 40 percent.  Attention span has decreased from thirty to eight seconds. Salespeople must create an interest span to combat a lower attention span.  The tendency for young people to flee from meaningful conversation results in a loss of rapport and connection. Young reps prefer texting over conversing and emoji’s over debate. This makes objection handling more difficult than ever before.

Our challenge today isn’t accessing information, it’s filtering it. And it’s the same for our customers. There’s so much information it’s become devalued. Alexa has information. Research shows as technology and AI increase empathy decreases, and the very skill needed to build trust with our customers.

Participants will learn to:

• Balance empathy and competency to build trust with today’s more skeptical consumers.
• Complete the “Buyer’s Matrix” to thoroughly understand buyer motivations.
• Craft messages that significantly boost engagement.
• Differentiate between superficial and profound inquiry levels to optimize product demonstrations.
• Utilize connective questions to uncover varied buying criteria from different stakeholders.
• Employ free AI and digital tools for research, follow-up, and client acquisition.
• Master a five-question framework to explore customer needs, foster agreement, and access the core emotional reasons behind purchases.
• Practice deep listening to understand what is said, unsaid, and implied, enhancing client relationships and sales effectiveness.