Ross Shafer grew up in the Pacific Northwest and graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington where he studied business management and played varsity football (linebacker). After college, he took a job as a training manager for a department store (Yard Birds) and was able to save $10,000. He took that money and launched his life as an entrepreneur. His first venture was as the owner/manager of America's only Stereo and Pet Shop in the small town of Puyallup, Washington (population 5,000 at the time).
Cleaning pet cages wasn't as appealing as it sounded to Ross, so after 3 years he closed the store and took a job as an advertising manager for the 28 store Squire Shops retail clothing chain in Seattle, Washington. Writing ad copy and concocting campaigns paid the bills, but at night Ross haunted local comedy clubs in search of a career in joke telling. After years of slogging around the comedy circuit, he won the Seattle International Comedy Competition and immediately became an opening act for performers like Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt, Nel Carter, Neil Sedaka, and Dionne Warwick.
In l985, Ross pitched a TV show idea to the NBC affiliate in Seattle (KING). It was a risky idea to emulate a local Letterman-like comedy talk show. Regardless, ALMOST LIVE was born and for the next 5 seasons Ross hosted the show while he and his team collected 36 Emmys. They won the Esquire Magazine dubious Achievement Award one year for attempting to change the Washington State song to Louie, Louie. During those years Ross also hosted an afternoon drive radio show on the 50,000 watt KJR-AM.
In l988, Ross was wooed by the Fox network to take over The Late Show. The Late Show was a nightly talk show that competed with The Tonight Show and David Letterman. The show lasted a year and Ross next found himself in New York co-hosting Days End on the ABC network. It was here that he sat beside Matt Lauer and Spencer Christian as they interviewed the movers and shakers of New York and the world. Dick Clark told Ross, Always have a back up plan, my boy, TV is terminal and predictably Days End was cancelled. Ross always wondered what happened to Matt Lauer? Ha!
The next stop for Ross was hosting the revised Match Game on the ABC network. Love Me, Love Me Not followed and numerous TV pilot projects.
By this time, Ross was headling all of the leading night clubs and casinos. He produced a highly acclaimed comedy album about the Clinton administration titled Inside The First Family. He also wrote a comedy cookbook that became a best seller; Cook Like A Stud - 38 recipes men can prepare in the garage with their own tools.
By l994, Ross heard Bill Gates give a speech where he said, Someday you will all be watching television on your telephones. Ross took that message to heart and he made the decision to leave TV and get back to his corporate training roots. Human nature and the human condition were always fascinating to him because that's what comedians do. They study the laughter and tears business. To date Ross has produced (14) Human Resource training films on Customer Service, Motivation, Leadership, and Peer Pressure. He has authored the business books, Nobody Moved Your Cheese, Customer Empathy, The Customer Shouts Back, and his newly released Are You Relevant? 12 Reasons Smart Organizations Thrive in Any Economy.
Today, Ross is one of the most sought after Keynote speakers and seminar leaders on the subjects of Customer Empathy, Personal Motivation, and Business Relevance. The father of two grown sons, Adam and Ryan, he lives in southern California with his wife Leah and their daughter Lauren.
The Customer Empathy Solution Part 1
While this is a high energy Keynote on its own, many of our clients often want to expand this topic into a Break Out. There is plenty of great material to accomplish that.
The evidence is clear. "If you want lifetime loyalty, stop training customer 'service'...and start coaching customer EMPATHY." This dramatic attitude shift goes straight to the heart of the customer experience. Ross defines Customer Empathy as, The ability to identify, interpret and appropriately respond to the customer's emotional state - before, during, and after the transaction.
After 14 years of writing, researching, and producing Human Resource training films, Ross unveils frightening case studies of organizations that ignored the customer because they were blinded by fantasy sales goals, outdated operational procedures, and frozen mission statements. Then, he reveals the smart (yet humble) teams who gobbled up market share by responding to their customers' evolving emotional state.
The Take-a-Ways:
1. Learn why your customers/clients/patients feel so vulnerable, helpless, anxious, and out of control, today.
2. Customers want you to provide Empathy...NOT "service.
3. When people love you, they will give you more money.
4. Why the iPod, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace have made it vitally important that YOU must create a "personal brand" with your customers.
5. Learn why Customer 'Evaluations' can do more harm than good.
The Customer Empathy Solution Part 2
his is a great follow up to Part I - Same point of view but with - Tons of New Stories - Interesting New Case Studies - More Inside Customer Psychology. Funny and Plenty of Audience Interaction.
This is the deep dive material we use in our full day Customer Empathy seminars and workshops.
Are You Relevant?
ARE YOU RELEVANT? AKA: NEVER WASTE A GOOD RECESSION!
In this energizing and enlightening keynote, Ross boldly shares the most innovative practices he has gleaned from dozens of organizations who continue to thrive in any economy. You will be inspired to cross-pollinate the best of these ideas for your organization. You will be more aware of cultural shifts that can endanger your market share - shifts that can revolutionize your industry and catch your competition off guard. After this session you will be convinced that your top priority is to matter to your customers, your clients, and your team members.
The Take-a-Ways:
1. Accepting that "Best Practices" are a moving target.
2. There is no recession when you innovate.
3. Customer Service (as we know it) has become obsolete.
4. Why do the same people win all of the awards?
Are You Ready for the "Recovery"
The global recession has redefined the ways smart organizations will be successful in The Recovery phase. The recession has also accelerated the decline and extinction of so many others. Ross dissects the reasons for the staggering success stories—and he pinpoints the warning signs that were ignored by those who failed.
These inspiring case studies span the landscape of retail, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, and finance. In this compelling keynote, Ross cuts-to-the-chase to describe what it will take for your organization to be one who will take advantage of the incredible growth opportunities available during "The Recovery."
The Take-a-ways
1. You'll learn how to recognize when cultural trends are shifting - before it is too late. The world is littered with organizations that have succumbed to the law of Natural Selection. The "survival of the fittest" will go to the organizations that secure their brand promise yet revolutionize their marketing approach. They will pay strict attention to evolving humanity and technology—and respond nimbly to make friends between the two. If necessary, you'll learn how to course-correct your formerly successful "model."
2. Your attendees will learn how to effectively engage the new "on demand" customer. Because of technology, customer expectations have changed. They want everything "on demand." They want what they want - when they want it - how they want it - Oh, and they might change their mind tomorrow. They want instant manipulation of their TV, music, shopping, love, health, education, and service. This means their expectations of you are different. They want real-time feedback. And, they want you to empathize with their pain, vulnerabilities, and frustrations. Ironically, the social networks have challenged their anxiety levels to the breaking point. Ross can show you how to alleviate your portion of that customer/client/patient stress.
3. Ross will teach you how to generate tiny innovations that produce explosive profits. The organizations that will thrive in The Recovery) have been creating a culture of ongoing innovation; with minimal or no cost. They are growing profits and market share by dancing on the cutting edge of employee retention, product and/or service offerings, and more emotional customer engagement. You'll get an exclusive peek inside the organizations that consider innovation and change their reason for living.
4. How to think like a contrarian. The old rules don't apply anymore. Many of the organizations who will blow away their competition in The Recovery are contrarian thinkers. They defy tradition and conventional wisdom with the intent to dominate their markets. You'll hear winning ideas (and rationale) like, "Price wars are fatal in a recovery." "Don't follow predictions, follow the science." "Social networks can't just be our chat room. It has to be our knowledge base." Ross will share their specific strategies and show you how these outliers are breaking down the walls of complacency.
5. Learn to embrace that the future is already here. We already know the economy will never restore itself to the ways of the past. Employment models have evolved. Product distribution models have been re-imagined. Service has been eclipsed by empathy. Smart organizations have studied revolutions outside of their "silo" and realize the future is already here. Our need to stay web-connected 24/7/365 has resulted in testing brain-implanted chips, clothing that will dispense medicine to various parts of the body, and smart drugs that increase muscle tone and reduce fat. You'll learn how to find these (and other) adaptive components that will directly or indirectly impact your organization—so you can remain relevant to your people, your customers, and your future.
Nobody Moved Your Cheese!
High energy and hilarious keynote - perfect for setting the opening tone or the closing message for your conference. From small town pet shop manager...to Emmy award winning TV host..to renowned business author and speaker, Ross is a fierce proponent of taking personal responsibility (and being accountable) for what happens in your professional and personal life.
The Take-a-Ways:
1) How to shed blame toward the economy, management, another business unit, or your competition.
2) How to avoid time-robbing distractions.
3) Advertising and marketing aren't powerful enough to grow your business (or your career).
4) How to jump start your curiosity engine to create instant (yet highly genuine) rapport with team members and customers.
5) How to keep your business and personal life in perspective.
Ross Shafer is the Ultimate EMCEE
THE ULTIMATE EMCEE: Ross hosts a select number of multi-day events for his high-end clients each year.
Because Ross is a trained talk and game show host (helmed over 1,000 network broadcasts) he is the perfect choice for moderating your executive panel discussions and complex award banquets. Ross will keep the programs lively and on task; drawing on his vast experience and lightening wit to navigate (and rescue) even the most unpredictable situations.
TALK SHOWS: Ross is adept at handling back-to-back breakout sessions that may feature a myriad of presenters. He has hosted such luminaries as President George Herbert Walker Bush, Jack Welch, Colin Powell, Bob Dole, James Carville, Larry Bossidy, Tom Peters, Marcus Buckingham, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to name a few. Since many high profile presenters are more comfortable being interviewed by a "pro," Ross is able to show the utmost respect from the opening introduction throughout the Q & A - yet he doesn't shy away from the probing questions your people want answered.
GAME SHOWS: Finally, Ross is a popular favorite for hosting custom game shows. Not only do these formats lend themselves to imparting important training information about your company (in a fun way), they also encourage participation of the entire audience. Ask us how Ross and his game partners at (Game Show America) can create a custom "TV" show for you.
