****Please forgive any and all transcription errors as this was transcribed by Otter.ai.****

Meredith Elliott Powell 0:00

I'm Meredith Elliot Powell and you're listening to A Shark’s Perspective.

(Music - shark theme)

Kenneth Kinney 0:20

Welcome back, and thank you for joining A Shark’s Perspective.

Kenneth Kinney 0:23

I am Kenneth Kinney, but friends call me Shark. I'm a keynote speaker, strategist, a shark diver, host of this show, and your Chief Shark Officer.

Kenneth Kinney 0:32

How do you turn uncertainty into being certain leaders are faced with this question every day, and all of us have been faced with it, especially when you think about COVID and the pandemic. But is there a way to make uncertainty work for you when your competitors are standing still? How would you thrive in turn that uncertainty into a competitive advantage?

Kenneth Kinney 0:51

Meredith Elliot Powell is a business keynote speaker and strategist, an NSA Hall of Famer, Vice Chair of the National Speakers Association, a CSP, a master certified business growth strategist, a top 100 sales influencer by LinkedIn, and the author of "Thrive: Strategies to Turn Uncertainty to Competitive Advantage."

Kenneth Kinney 1:11

And on this episode, we'll discuss thriving and uncertainty, a good whiskey story around the time of prohibition, embracing the suck wind to invest more in your business in uncertain times, becoming a modern day selling machine, better sales, messaging, solving their problem and the soap that floats, showing them you care sharks near Carolina shipwrecks, things to do Ashville, SOX and HIPAA, rocking chairs in an airport versus one flight away from anywhere, why God gave us Cracker Barrel, and a lot, lot more.

Kenneth Kinney 1:37

So let's tune in to Meredith Elliot Powell and Kenneth Shark Kinney, on this episode of A Shark’s Perspective.

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Kenneth Kinney 1:47

Meredith, welcome to A Shark’s Perspective. Would you please tell us a little bit about your career and your backstory?

Meredith Elliott Powell 1:52

Yeah. So I am very excited to be here ready to jump into this conversation. So for the last gosh, I guess I started into my own business in about 2009. I have kind of a varied career, I started out in travel and tourism, got into healthcare and then got into financial services. I never really thought those industries had much in common until I figured out I got into every single one when they were going through massive disruption. So that's where I first got my passion for helping organizations and leaders turn disruption uncertainty into into success. Now I get to travel the world as a keynote speaker and executive coach and a business strategist.

Kenneth Kinney 2:34

And soon the president of the National Speakers Association, so congratulations on that. So tell us about your newest book Thrive strategies to turn uncertainty to competitive advantage? What led you to write it?

Meredith Elliott Powell 2:45

Yeah, you know, a couple of years ago, long before we ever heard about COVID. Back in 2018. And 19, I was doing what most people who work with b2b businesses do, I was asking people how business was and back in 2018, and 19. If you can remember, the economy was red hot, and everybody was answering the same businesses good businesses, fantastic. We're having our best year on record. But oh, this uncertainty. And I started to think why does uncertainty always have to be a bad thing? And what would happen in your organization, if you believe that disruption, even when it was challenging, was just the break you needed to take your organization to another level, and that curiosity put me on a mission to find businesses and leaders who had actually propelled their organizations and grown through some of our biggest challenges such as economic depression, World War is bigger things than we've ever faced as business owner. And I wanted to crack the code on the biggest challenge facing business today. And that was uncertainty. So I wrote the book Mirtha methodology.

Kenneth Kinney 3:48

Well, and you've also done some research with the Center for generational kinetics around uncertainty. And I'm curious, you've done this now, a few years. What are you sort of seeing year over year? Are there any major differences with uncertainty other than the obvious with COVID?

Meredith Elliott Powell 4:03

Yes, such a great question. One of the most interesting things that we found with the research when I saw when I wrote the book, I felt like I did the qualitative research, I spoke with the leaders, I got the stories, but I wanted to back it up with quantitative research. And I'll tell you, one of the most fascinating things is that when COVID hit, people were really stalled. They didn't know what to do, but there was a lot of energy and trying to adapt and trying to change and figure it out. Now, people are exhausted by uncertainty and the biggest threat that uncertainty has is people are ignoring it because they're worn out from it. It's the last couple of years have been too much. Ironically, the uncertainty is getting greater it's not pulling down for sure.

Kenneth Kinney 4:48

Well, question one here is how did you personally thrive from a productivity and mindset standpoint during COVID and beyond as we get away from it?

Meredith Elliott Powell 4:57

Yeah, you know, it's I probably did what everybody Elstad I mean, as soon as

Kenneth Kinney 5:01

I curled up in the fetal position and cried like a baby,

Meredith Elliott Powell 5:04

pretty much we all did. I mean, you sit in front of your computer, and you watch his every ounce of revenue, every customer completely disappears. But I am lucky enough to have been raised by an incredible mother, who since passed, but my mother used to tell me when I was a kid, as young as six, she would say, to me, the fastest way to get past your own problems is to focus on somebody else's. And she said, if you're down and out about your own life, it's because you're too self involved. And as you can tell, she was very compassionate and empathetic. So um, so I just started there. And I thought, Well, gosh, I'll go back to this advice. These things I've heard from my mother since I was a little kid. And I decided just to put my problems and my fear on the backburner, and I started focusing on my customers, and from my customers, I found my path forward.

Kenneth Kinney 5:51

Well, question to that, then is any tips and examples from the book that you'd like to share about how either you or your, or the brands that you work with, continue to thrive?

Meredith Elliott Powell 6:00

Yeah, so there's a couple of I've got some great, favorite stories in, in the second strategy, which is conditioned yourself for change, this idea that change can be your greatest opportunity, if you see it coming. Even if it's a challenging change. We said a Jim Beam and who doesn't love a good, you know, a good whiskey. But I love this story. Because I think that prohibition is a bigger challenge than any of us have ever changed. When at any moment in time, the very government that you vote for, could decide that what you do for a living, how you take care of your family, how you care for your employees could be illegal. And while all of his competitors ignored the fact that prohibition would become law. In fact, nobody believed it not even Jim Beam, he decided to say what would I do if it did become law? If the world changed in a way that wasn't working for me? What could I do now, in order to be prepared, and he diversified his income stream, he invested in the citrus market, he bought land and Florida, invested in the mining industry. So when prohibition hit every single competitor, he had declared bankruptcy, he had enough income stream coming in that while everybody was cleaning up the past, he could focus on the future for when prohibition would be repealed. And long story short, they were back in business 120 days after the law was repealed, without a close competitor on their heels. All because they didn't we call that we call we use a military term around that strategy called Embrace the suck. And because he embraced the SOC, dealt with his reality, didn't ignore it, and embraced it, he was able to gain a clear competitive advantage.

Kenneth Kinney 7:46

Yeah, I knew this was one of your favorite stories. And if you had sort of, we didn't talk about this before. But if you've not talked about it, I would have wanted you to talk about Jim Payne. I love that story. But people often pull back and uncertain times, we often hear this about how they invest in x, because they see a greater return in something in their competition during tough times, whatever that is marketing, sales, whatever. But from a funding in commitment standpoint, what advice would you give to the reluctant C suite, especially the CFO or the CEO, who has to decide when to put their foot on the gas to do certain things during uncertain times to move their business forward and thrive?

Meredith Elliott Powell 8:20

Yeah, you know, it's interesting that you would ask this question, because in the keynote that I did this morning, I was asked that question, they said, What would be your biggest advice to a team full of executives and I said, whatever activity you're doing, you need to double it. And, and what I mean by that is any interaction you're having with your customers, any interaction you're having with your members, you need to double it, you need to realize that people need you now more than they needed you before. And if you double that activity, you'll continue to grow your organization, which will take the fear out of investing in the company. The only reason we quit investing in the company is we're afraid to spend money. So if you're afraid to spend money, double your activity around finding more revenue. When uncertainty hits, it is not a time to pull back, it is a time to move forward to go in for a couple of reasons. Again, your customers need you more than they've ever needed you I think they need you more in uncertain times. And they needed you in a good economic environment. The other is your competitors are pulling back. So your pathway to grow is clear. It's going to give you the revenue you need to continue to invest in the company if you quit investing in the company, then you are writing the ticket to to putting yourself out of business

Kenneth Kinney 9:44

Completely agree. I always remind people that just because you're uncertain, doesn't mean that their problems go away. Yeah, they don't go together. So I think people forget that sometimes. So you know, I know you speak a lot about sales as well, sales leadership, but what do you think it takes to become a modern selling machine?

Meredith Elliott Powell 10:02

Yeah, I think that's what a what a great question I think to become a modern selling machine, I think it takes a couple of things. Number one is, I really believe you need to care about people. And the and the reason you need that is you need to realize you're not controlling the buying cycle, the customer is, I can sit here in my hotel room and buy anything I want to anywhere I want to anywhere in the world, I want to. So the only reasons I'm buying from you is because one, I believe you have my best interest at heart, too, I believe you can solve my problem, you understand what my problem is, and giving you my time is a value to me. So as a modern salesperson, you need to realize the product and services secondary. And you need to ask yourself, why should somebody give me their time? And why would they meet with me? And why would they buy from me? What else am I bringing to the table? To do that, and you need to sell from a place of power rather than a place of need, I think we're sales gets disruptive is that we're so worried about closing the deal. I don't think that's what sales is about my job as a sales professional, is to go out and talk to as many people as I can help. Let them know what we can offer how I can solve their problems grow their business, if they buy for me great. If they don't, that's okay, too.

Kenneth Kinney 11:25

Yeah, I agree. I think a lot of it though, the problem is a lot of the sales messages. And they continue to get worse and worse and worse, despite whatever platform or medium we're on all the time. But what do you think and improve the quality of the sales communications during these uncertain times? Because it's one thing to be able to be bold enough to move forward and act to be able to communicate it well as well.

Meredith Elliott Powell 11:47

Yeah, I think the biggest thing that you need to do to improve the sales communication is you need to make sure that you're solving the right problem. And and what I mean by that is that you need to understand the problem your customer is facing in this particular moment. And, and so often we're out there solving a problem that our customer doesn't have, it's not their urgent need. Can I give just give you a quick story? Yeah, of course. It's another it's another story from the book. But it's the story of Procter and Gamble. And Procter and Gamble was started in the 1800s by two men, Mr. Proctor Mr. Gamble, who started the business and the very first product they put on the market was soap. Now I can't think of a product more difficult to differentiate yourself in the marketplace with than soap. But, but they understood that you never ever take a product to market that you don't talk to your target market first. And ask them why they would buy the product. And what they learned is that people loved soap, people were willing to buy soap, but there was a problem with soap. And the problem was that it would sink to the bottom of the bathtub, if you dropped it. And people told Procter and Gamble, they wanted to soap the floats. Procter and Gamble shot air into a bar of soap and Ivory soap was born, a was tagged the soap that floats, their competitors were selling soaps that smelled good soaps that came in different colors and different shapes, all nice features, but they solved the wrong problem. Nobody cared about that. People buy from you, the communication needs to be people buy from you because you understand them, not because they understand you.

Kenneth Kinney 13:29

That's a great story. So whether it's a question of the messaging, leadership or even staffing, how do you think sales leadership should prepare themselves for whatever the next big change is? Because to your point, it's always changing. Yeah, something will come up, there'll be the next instance of COVID or something else, whatever it is, but nobody's going to really, truly be able to plan for change. But what do you think they can do to prepare themselves for that next change?

Meredith Elliott Powell 13:56

Yeah, the best thing that they can do is some of your sales efforts need to be about listening to customers and not trying to sell anything. The most important part of that story from Procter and Gamble is they went out and talk to people. People told them how to sell the product. Procter and Gamble did not sell a product did not sell a soap that didn't sink. They sold a soap that floats exactly what their customers told them. So people will tell you exactly what they want exactly how they want it. And in the exact language, listen to your customers. Shark I didn't come up with uncertainty, because I thought it was a good topic. That's what everybody was saying to me. So I thought, Okay, that's a problem that needs solved. If I can solve that problem, then I've got something of value.

Kenneth Kinney 14:45

Agreed. So how do you go yourself preparing for the next big change? Because 2020 was eye opening to all of us. Where are you starting to plan for how you transition? God forbid something crazy happens again in the world.

Meredith Elliott Powell 14:58

Yeah, you know, I it's fun. any, you know, every time you do a keynote, or you do a program, a couple of people come in early, most people come in by the skin of their teeth before, before it starts. Most people come in early. But whether it's talking to people in a keynote room, interviewing people, before a presentation, talking to you, right now, I am always listening for where I hear the themes, and the common threads of what people are talking about, and what people are interested in. I tell you, I'm so focused right now on something that is so far out of my comfort zone. I'm not sure I'm, I can do anything about the challenge. But I hear supply chain over and over and over again. And I think I got to wrap my head around. Supply chain is the biggest challenge facing people today. So I'm just always really listening. And believing that my customers will guide me, I don't want people to buy me, I want people to buy the fact that I have something of value that will grow their business and grow their organization.

Kenneth Kinney 16:09

So I know you're six hours away from the beach, but I love to shipwreck dive in the Carolina coast have a lot of shipwrecks from you know, the pirate days and from all the days when they're bringing everything over, it's a great place to find a lot of the especially sand tiger shark population. Is this of all my guests. Do you have a favorite kind of shark and why?

Meredith Elliott Powell 16:28

You know, I'm I the only reason that I would say as a sand shark is my husband and I fished quite a bit. We've actually while I don't make it to the North Carolina coast, we've got a place down in Charleston, South Carolina, because it's four hours from our house. And we've got this little great place on the beach and we go down there at night, we'll just you know throw the throw the rods out there now and then and catch a little sandy and and and throw it up, throw it back in. So nothing I like better than a little fight with the sand shark and then letting that sand shark go free.

Kenneth Kinney 17:00

Yeah, a lot of the sand tiger sharks that are in that area, they keep coming back to the shipwrecks and the news always calls a sand tiger shark, a tiger shark and they're much smaller,

Meredith Elliott Powell 17:10

much smaller. They're smaller. Yeah, they're very, they're they're that big.

Kenneth Kinney 17:15

They're not known for biting anybody but they've got ugly looking teeth.

Meredith Elliott Powell 17:20

They do that and they put up a nice little fight when you've got on the when you've got them on the rod, which makes it which makes kind of for fun evening, there's nothing better than sitting down there before the sunsets late in the evening when everybody's left the beach. And you know, you got a little cocktail and you're just out there and they'll always bite.

Kenneth Kinney 17:39

Well, Meredith, that's a special time the show? Are you ready for the five most interesting and important questions that you're going to be asked today? I am all right. Friends are coming to visit you in Asheville, North Carolina, where you live to enjoy the community and the culture. Are you taking them to the Biltmore or to the river Arts District? Oh,

Meredith Elliott Powell 18:00

definitely to the river arts district. And the reason is, is because it's kind of funky. It's off the beaten path. And I figured they figured the Biltmore out on their own.

Kenneth Kinney 18:09

Well, I remember the first time I talked to you, and we're talking about it, you were like, oh, there's so much more to Asheville. And everybody always, everybody always says that, but they know it because of the Biltmore. Alright, so I won't ask you, which is your favorite industry. But which one taught you the most about selling healthcare clients, or financial service clients?

Meredith Elliott Powell 18:27

Oh, yeah. Health care all day long. And the reason was selling to doctors was intimidating to me. And then I'm old enough that you weren't allowed to sell, sell health selling health care still had a a black mark on it. People said that it wasn't it wasn't right to sell health care. And that was when I really learned that I worked for highly educated, successful doctors that were really high quality and I wanted people to have a choice. And it taught me how to sell in a way that I didn't care if you didn't choose my doctor, but I wanted you to know the difference. So you had the information and make the right choice. Hands down health care.

Kenneth Kinney 19:08

Yes, but Sarbanes Oxley was much easier to communicate than HIPAA. So that's true. That's true. All right. Number three bourbon or whiskey?

Meredith Elliott Powell 19:17

I'm more of a bourbon girl.

Kenneth Kinney 19:19

Okay.

Meredith Elliott Powell 19:19

Yeah.

Kenneth Kinney 19:20

All right. Number four. You're in between more or less but which would you choose for the best experience considering you're a busy speaker and out on the road a lot? Charlotte Douglas International Airport or Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport?

Meredith Elliott Powell 19:36

I'm a Delta girl. Atlanta all day long

Kenneth Kinney 19:40

agree but you know those rocking chairs that Charlotte are are kind of fun if you get some time

Meredith Elliott Powell 19:44

They are. Asheville's got the got the rocking chairs as well, but from Atlanta, I can get anywhere in the world in one flight pretty much.

Kenneth Kinney 19:51

That's true. All right, number five. And the most important question that you're going to be asked today is biscuits or cornbread.

Meredith Elliott Powell 19:58

Oh my God, that's really hard. I'm gonna say corn bread cuz I have a little sugar problem and there's a little more sugar in corn bread than there is fair. That was not only the most important, but that's the hardest because I would eat both.

Kenneth Kinney 20:12

Yeah, I agree. That's why God gave us Cracker Barrel. So in these uncertain times, so where did where can people find out more about you get a copy of the book, see keynote, keep up with your thought leadership and more.

Meredith Elliott Powell 20:25

Yeah, so I am a big believer, build your network, change your life. If you reach out and connect with me, I will definitely connect with you. You can go to my website valuespeaker.com just the words valuespeaker.com. If you go there, you can get a free copy of the research report and a free chapter of the book. If you don't reach me on my website. I probably live on LinkedIn more than anywhere else. So reach out and connect with me there.

Kenneth Kinney 20:51

Meredith, thank you so much for being with us today on A Shark’s Perspective.

Meredith Elliott Powell 20:54

Thank you Shark. It was fantastic.

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Kenneth Kinney 21:00

So there was my conversation with Meredith Elliott Powell, a business keynote speaker and strategist in the NSA Hall of Famer, Vice Chair of the National Speakers Association, a CSP, a master certified business growth strategist, a top 100 sales influencer by LinkedIn, and the author of Thrive strategies to turn uncertainty to competitive advantage. Let's take a look at three key takeaways from a conversation with her.

Kenneth Kinney 21:23

First, in order to thrive, condition yourself for change. The Jim Beam whiskey story is a great one he listened competitors ignored prohibition, he asked what would have happened if it did become law, he diversified in several other industries and had enough income to focus on the future. They were back in business and 120 days when other states shut down. As she said, they embrace the suck. No one has a crystal ball on what's next. But whatever it is, take advantage of that uncertainty when your competitors don't.

Kenneth Kinney 21:53

Second, whenever times are tough, double down on your customers, your audience, your fans, etc. It takes the fear out of investing in the company, when it's for them and about them. Double your activity around finding more revenue. And don't pull back, be prudent. But don't retreat when your competitors pull back. And they're not in the market. That doesn't mean you shouldn't also remember that even when times are tough, the problems of your customers do not go away just because you have pulled back. So move forward and find them.

Kenneth Kinney 22:22

Third, my favorite part was the advice on becoming a modern day selling machine. And she reiterated something I often talk about and that is you really need to care about people. She says that people buy because when they believe you have their best interests at heart, too. They believe you can solve their problem and understand what the problem is. And three because they believe giving you their time as a value to them. And that's so very true. You can improve the sales communication as well, by showing them you care and helping them solve their problems not yours. One stages she and I both side a favorite story about Ivory soap. Mr. Proctor and Mr. Gamble, listen to their buying audience. And last but not least, Meredith said and I'll quote people buy from you because you understand them not because they understand you. Amen to that. So focus your messaging that way.

Kenneth Kinney 23:07

Got a question, send me an email to Kenneth at a shark's perspective.com.

Kenneth Kinney 23:11

Thank you again for the privilege of your time, and I'm so thankful to everyone who listens.

Kenneth Kinney 23:15

Please consider writing a review and letting me know your thoughts on the show.

Kenneth Kinney 23:18

One thing that is certain I'll be back here soon with another great show. Be curious, be fearless and dive deeper, my friends. And please join us on the next episode of A Shark’s Perspective.

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