Terri Langhans

Terri Langhans is the former CEO of a $30 million national ad agency and marketing firm that she started from scratch and then grew large enough (and profitable enough) to sell to a Fortune 100 Company. More on that later...that was then, and this is now.

Now Terri is a CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) and author of the book, The 7 Marketing Mistakes Every Business Makes (And How to Fix Them). She is also COE (Chief of Everything) at Blah, Blah, Blah, her speaking and marketing firm. Why that name? One, because it's more memorable and easier to pronounce than Langhans (rhymes with Bang Pans). Secondly, because it's the business problem Terri solves. Namely, that  when it comes to business development and marketing, most businesses look and sound alike. "Hey look at me, look what I've got. Isn't it great? Aren't I wonderful? Wanna buy some? Wanna hire me? Do ya? Huh? Huh?" Day in and day out. Blah, blah, blah.

With 25-plus years of experience (that she'll admit to) on the front-lines of marketing and advertising all kinds and sizes of companies, Terri's programs are ideal for clients who want to stand out from the competition, get better results from their marketing, and win more business. Especially if they are in industries that truly do tend to look alike: Healthcare, Financial Services, Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and/or anyone who sells their time, talent, creativity or expertise-AKA services. 

Don't expect magic wands, MBA theory or rhetoric. Beyond a fresh perspective and powerful insights, Terri packs her programs with simple strategies and tangible tools audiences can use right away, in the real world--their specific world--to be less ordinary and more effective in the marketplace. For instance, everyone already knows they need to be different, build their brand, sell benefits, not features. Easy for most speakers, even big name speakers to say again and again. Terri goes one step further, one level deeper, because she knows what people really want to know:

• Where and how to find their points of difference.
• How to create a competitive edge no one else can copy.
• How to not just talk about  benefits--but bring them to life.
• How to market, position, pitch or just plain talk about the businessand articulate their value so that people will actually listen, buy and refer more of it.

That's what makes Terri and her programs different--People walk away both energized and equippedwith what they need to knowand what they specifically need to do to stop doing what every body else does and generate the kind of results they're looking for.

Terri hand-crafts each program, and depending on the length of the program and the audience's specific needs, interests and industry, she can drill down and zero in on these important marketing, communication and business development issues, as time allows:

• Distinguish and set your business apart from the competition (both real and imagined), in both the marketplace and in the minds of your prospects, referral sources and customers so that they not only understand what you do or sell, but  so that they also remember and respond when they need you or know someone who does. This includes finding your points of difference, no matter how much the marketplace thinks you and every other business like you "all look alike," plus sharing the single most effective, no-cost way to make your business stand out and create a competitive advantage that no one can copy.
  
  
• Craft high impact, memorable and compelling marketing messages and materials that break through the clutter, set you apart, open more doors, attract better response, generate more sales conversations, influence choice and trigger a decision to buy from or hire you. (Without being pushy, salesy, boastful, blatant or boring.) This includes how to navigate the four phases of the marketing and selling process, whether in live conversations or through marketing communication tools such as ads, direct mail, email, PDFs, one-sheets, you name it. She loves to de-bunk the voodo behind big budget advertising and clever creative strategy, revealing the four building blocks that anyone can use to make any marketing message more effective (without having to spend even a fraction of what the Big Boys do).
• Market anything to anyone using a cut-to-the-chase, 6-point decision process that not only gives you a clear path and definitive action plan, but also  helps you decide the right mix of marketing activities for generating new business from the marketplace, staying top-of-mind with your database and building better relationships with your existing customers and clients. It's the same process Terri used to grow her agency/marketing firm from starting it as a freelancer to having a national presence with offices on both coasts. It's also the same process she and her team used to create award-winning, results-generating marketing plans and advertising campaigns for hundreds of clients. (More on that later, too.)
• Be clear, confident and convincing whenever you have something important to say, and especially in client interviews or new business pitches. A program unto itself, Terri often calls it Help Them Hire You! How to Make Your New Business Presentation Stand Out, Set You Apart and Win More Clients. Terri has seen (and won) her share of "shoot outs" in which competing firms make it to the short list and then have to make a final pitch presentation to win the business. Not to mention doing so with a cross functional team of left brains, right brains, stage hoggers and stage frightened players who would rather just do the voodoo they do rather than talk about it or--worse,yet--sell it.

What makes Terri Miss Marketing Smarty Pants? Terri's agency won the the American Marketing Association Effie award for the most effective campaign in its category, as well as a Cleo, Telly and New York Film Festival award for advertising. But Terri also knows what it takes to grow a business, run a business, lead a team and even pick up the pieces and start over, personally and professionally. (The first business she started failed miserably, and she ultimately managed to stay married and raise three kids.)

When you do all that, something happens. You either go nuts, or you learn a few lessons along the way. Lucky for Terri--and her audiences--it was mostly the latter. (Although she says it could have gone either way for a while.) And that's what she brings, in her anything-but-blah way, to her programs--information, insights and inspiration that not only excite her audiences, but equip them to actually DO something the moment they leave the room.

Here are few of her most popular titles, although based on your meeting's theme, titles are gladly customized.

• Blah, Blah, Blah: How to Stand Out,
  Get Better Results from Your Marketing, and Sell More Products and Services
  
  
• Your Lips Are Moving, But All I Hear Is "BLah, Blah, Blah."
  
  
• The 7 Marketing Mistakes Every Business Makes (And How to Fix Them)
  
  
• Get to the Point (And Get People to See Things Your Way)
  
  
• Help Them Hire You! (How to Perfect Your Pitch and Win More Business)
  

Obligatory name dropping client list includes ASAE and the Center for Leadership, Siemens, McKesson, BioGuard/Chemtura, Chicago Title, National Association of Women Business Owners, Society for Marketing Professional Services, American Nurses Association, American Banking Association, Radiology Business Management Association, Baylor Health System, Delta Dental of Arizona and scads more.