On a recent business trip to Savannah, Georgia spring fever was spreading throughout the city in epidemic proportions.  The distributor that I met with said that anything above 60 degrees gave him a bad case of it!

March is a flurry of activity and events for Savannah and nearby Tybee Island.  There is the 3^rd annual Mardi Gras Tybee, an international boat show, a garden festival, music festival and Savannah homes & gardens tour to name just a few.  According to my distributor though, the piece de resistance is the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.  Savannah is known for hosting the second largest parade in the world.  But be warned, if you don’t already have reservations you are probably out of luck!

Other signs of spring included sprucing up homes & landscaping. As I drove about the city, ladders and paint cans were a common sight.  It was good to see businesses put to work.  Maybe it was just a symptom of spring fever or the hustle of activity preparing for the tourist season but there was definitely a feeling of optimism in the air.

So in honor of the season and full of optimism myself, I leave you with this Irish blessing:

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

It has come to my attention that I am a terrible “speaker”.  Sure, I can talk all day with family and friends ad nauseam but with a business presentation I have trouble.  When giving my product demonstration to prospective customers and architects I get nervous, my heart rate elevates and my mind goes blank.  I do manage to force some words out, but boy do I include a lot of filler words like “ah”, “um”, “like” and “you know”.

They say to overcome a problem, first you must recognize it (check), then you must do something about it.  My proactive step was joining my local toastmasters group. And what do you know, at the end of my first meeting I was asked to stand up and share my thoughts of the meeting with the group.  There it was again, heart attack like symptoms.

Many leaders say the ability to communicate well verbally is one of the most important tools in your arsenal. Customers have confidence in people who express themselves clearly and are comfortable communicating.

The Toastmasters program offers a practical guide to becoming a better speaker.  In toastmasters you learn by studying the guide, practicing and helping one another. You learn by doing and by watching fellow club members.

After just a few meetings, I cannot say enough good things about Toastmasters.  Do you know that one of the roles at a typical toastmasters meeting is an “ah” counter.  Yikes!

As I stated above, the first step in overcoming a problem is awareness and you become acutely aware of every time you say “ah”.   The downside is you also notice every time anyone uses a filler.  It becomes quite annoying, but is successful in making you a better speaker.

I highly recommend Toastmasters for everyone!

Wednesday I had a jobsite meeting with an architect that I initially made contact with through Reed Construction Data’s, Reed Connect.   I was searching for projects that would be perfect for a customer that I was “courting”.

The meeting went great and I left with plans for two projects and a promise of a third.  There is still work to do to secure the projects but now I have the chance to develop a true partnership with my customer.

With RCD’s help I was able to offer more business for my customer, instead of asking for more business from him.

From the book “ Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg & John David Mann –  One of the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success  “THE LAW OF VALUE – Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”