ERA STEP 2023 – Session Details

Session titles and descriptions for STEP 2023 are listed below in alphabetical order, by title.

View the full STEP 2023 schedule.

View an A-Z list of the STEP 2023 speakers and their bios.

13 Golden Rules of Writing Emails that Get Attention — presented by Charlene DeCesare

There’s good news for sellers who send prospecting emails. Eighty percent of buyers prefer to be contacted by sellers via email, and 77 percent have responded favorably to such an email in the last year. The bad news is that the same buyers receive a high volume of emails. Unsurprisingly, writing an effective prospecting email is a must-learn skill. In this session, you will learn how to use emails in a coordinated attraction campaign employing the 13 Golden Rules that help get your emails through the clutter.

In this session you will learn to:

• Use research to customize your emails to the intended buyer
• Craft the best emails that stand out in a buyer’s inbox
• Improve email response rates and secure more meetings
• Avoid the most common mistakes that destine your emails to be immediately deleted

21st Century Prospecting — Presented by Daniel Litts

The selling environment has changed how sellers’ prospect and interact with buyers across multiple platforms. We’ll explore prospecting strategies to fill your pipeline, leverage technology, set better appointments, and build a cookbook outlining your prospecting actions. Participants will receive the Prospecting Activities Tool.

Anatomy of a Lousy Pitch: The 10 Worst Presentation Habits & How to Avoid Them —presented by Tim Wackel

Whether you are speaking to an audience of one or one thousand, it’s crucial that you engage your listeners. As the presentation coach for some of today’s fastest growing companies, Tim Wackel knows exactly what it takes to deliver messages that get results. This program reveals the 10 worst (and most common) presentation habits and gives participants specific ideas on how to conquer them.

Anatomy of a Lousy Pitch helps sales professionals learn how to:

• Avoid the #1 mistake most presenters still make
• Grab their listener’s attention in the first two minutes
• Organize their ideas in a clear, concise and compelling approach
• Avoid the fatal trap most presenters fall into on “the big day”
• Eliminate death by PowerPoint
• Leverage the two most important (and overlooked) elements of successful presentations
• Ask the critical question that will win your audience’s approval

Asking Great Questions & Listening Actively to Build Strong Relationships with Customer — presented by Charlene DeCesare

Sales are won and relationships built based on the conversations you have with your customers.

You need to differentiate yourself and learn what is important to your customers by asking great questions—questions that inspire buyers to think differently, talk about their hopes and desires, and build their relationship with you. Otherwise, your customers are going to have the same conversation with you that they’re having with your competitors.

Of course, it is not just asking the questions but actively listening to show you understand that allows you to develop the relationships that keep your customers loyal to you. In this session you will learn the specific questioning and listening techniques and skills you need to lead the most effective sales conversations and connect with customers.

Building Resilience: Why It’s Important to Your Success at Work — presented by Anna Baldwin

In today’s ever-changing workplace, building resilience is essential to thriving in the face of challenges, setbacks, and disappointing outcomes at work.

Resilience is the ability to endure and learn from adversity and adapt to changing and often competing demands. This allows for growth and opens the door for opportunities to flourish in the workplace and beyond. Resilience is not a fixed trait, but a dynamic process that can be learned and developed. It involves solving problems effectively, making informed decisions under pressure, and taking responsibility for how you “show up.” Becoming resilient translates to communicating effectively and learning how to respond to others, creating a deeper sense of purpose and optimism at work.

In this session you will learn proven strategies to build resilience in the face of challenges, avoid burnout, and begin to identify what gets in the way of your success, setting you on a path to more sustainable and rewarding outcomes.

Job One: Trust — presented by Cesare Giammarco & John Simari

Trust is the basis for almost everything we do. This session will examine the importance of trust in the sales process. We will explore the elements of personal trustworthiness and how it impacts your business interactions and relationships. The discussions will address the importance and value of being a trusted advisor to clients, principals and channel partners. We will also examine different methods for retaining and rebuilding trust.

Quotes Are a Necessary First Step to an Order: How to Maximize Your Hit Ratio of Quotes to Orders Booked — presented by Walter Tobin, Tim Davis, Holly Good & John O’Brien

The art of the quote follow-up is an important part of the sales process, but one not often talked about. This discussion, featuring a panel of industry leaders, and moderated by Walter Tobin, ERA CEO, will address best practices in qualifying, processing, delivering and following up on quotes. This is not a “one size fits all” process. Attend this session to help you better understand how to increase your close ratio of quotes and turn quotes into orders.

How to Take Control of Your Time & Technology to Help You Work Smarter — presented by Steve Turner

In this session, Stephen Turner will show you how you can use your calendar even more effectively to be more organized, save time, and ultimately close more sales. He will demonstrate how combining advanced time management with technology makes for a powerful combination to achieve more success. Laptops, smartphones, tablets and apps can be powerful tools for sales professionals, but they can also be a time-wasting distraction; Stephen will show you how to use them all more effectively to save time and improve your sales results.

ERA Member Bonuses: Each ERA member firm who attends will receive a link to schedule a complimentary (no charge) consultation after the session, as well as 15 percent discount for any services you purchase from Turner Time in 2023.  You will also receive links to three valuable PDFs — “The Daily Wrap” (15 Saves 60), Quick References for Outlook Users (both Windows & Mac) and a Gmail Quick Reference.

Using ChatGPT & AI to Improve Your Sales Game — presented by Matthew Amato

Ready to level up your sales game? During this session, speaker Matthew Amato will dive into the incredible world of AI & ChatGPT and uncover how, if used correctly, it can supercharge your sales efforts. Forget about boring, one-size-fits-all approaches — we’re talking about using this powerful language model to find new customers, engage with prospects and grow your business.

Why should you care about AI & ChatGPT and what does it mean to you? ChatGPT can be used for sales to automate initial outreach, engage prospects through personalized conversations, and qualify leads efficiently. Let’s explore the game-changing potential of AI and ChatGPT in the realm of sales. From prospecting to closing deals and even customer retention, we’ll delve into how ChatGPT can be leveraged to create a competitive advantage for your business.