What Clients Say

"As a global science and technology company, our company was planning some fairly significant moves - including joint ventures and acquisitions - and we knew we had to prepare our leaders to speak about these business moves to the key audiences who will determine our success.

So far, 16 of our top executives have benefited from the Bates Communications "Executive Visibility Boot Camp." We have gone through the entire C level; now we're into the business president level. Our CEO said that he can tell which executives have been through the Boot Camp program because they are markedly better communicators than those who haven't.

At the outset some of our executives were skeptical: I heard mutterings like, "Do I really need this?" or, "I really don't have time to do this right now." After the program, though, every single participant has said how valuable it was. One person wrote in an unsolicited email to our CEO saying, "Why didn't I do this 15 years ago? I should have done this earlier in my career." Other executives are clamoring to be put on the waiting list to attend this program. To me, that's the ultimate barometer for success.

As a result of Bates' training, we're increasingly comfortable sending our trained executives to meet with any targeted audience. The Boot Camp program has given our executives much more confidence to speak before key decision makers. You can't put a monetary figure on that. It's an opportunity cost of 'will you remain competitive'? As they've become better speakers, they are called upon more often to speak. We have more than doubled our load in getting these executives into key speaking venues. For some of them it's gone from zero to two key speeches a year and others have gone from two key speeches to doing five, six, or even seven per year.

Bates Communications has had and continues to have a profound impact on our ability to connect with any audience that is important to our business success. Our executives are far better communicators than ever before, and the results show in our increasingly positive press and ability to move these audiences to action. This program has been so successful that we're going to make this powerful program available to even more of our executives because we know it will help them develop the confidence, presence, and abilities they need to advance our strategy and drive results for Dow."

- Matt Davis,
VP of Public Affairs,
The Dow Chemical Company

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"My team of senior IT managers needed help in connecting with the executive business leaders they were assigned to support. While members of my team may someday BE the CEO or CIO, Bates Communications helped them learn how to speak WITH the CEO and develop the executive presence necessary to sell their ideas at the executive level. Previously they may have been able to effectively communicate their ideas and key points less than half the time, but now my team has the skills, preparation, and confidence to take advantage of far more opportunities and to make an impact with their business leaders more than 70% of the time.

Personally, I considered myself a reasonably good speaker, perhaps a 7 out of 10, and always received very good feedback. Working with Bates Communications, I not only raised the bar on what I now consider to be a good speaker - but I consider myself a greatly improved speaker and receive exceptional feedback. While I could lay out a very logical position justified by facts and reason, Bates showed me the tremendous communicative power in communicating through stories and sharing some of my own life experiences. I realized that with my previous logical approach it sometimes took as long as 6 months before people became fully committed and energized. Now I'm able to connect with people intuitively through stories that connect them to the heart of my messages - and motivate them to immediate and lasting action, which dramatically improves the results of the business and hastens the speed at which we change.

When assessing the value of working with Bates Communication, I consider the painfully obvious "cost" of ineffective leaders. How many people in your organization are unproductive because they are misdirected, unmotivated, or unfocused? If your organization has a $100 million labor budget and 20% of your people are not focused where the business wants them, you may be throwing away tens of millions of dollars each year! Replacing the leader only adds to these costs. Over the two years that we worked with Bates Communications we became much more effective at leading, motivating, and communicating to support our business growth."

- Jeff Neufeld,
retired Executive,
GE, Lockheed Martin, Citigroup, Fidelity

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"As a startup, we needed to translate a very complex message into one that someone on the outside could easily understand and relate to. Bates Communications was invaluable in helping us shape our message so we could attract funding, partners, and customers. Investors are smart; they invest in substance made really, really clear. As a result of working with Bates Communications, we've been able to raise $60 million, even in a difficult market. As well, Bates has helped us clarify our message to attract significant partners to help us grow and bring our products to market.

Not only are we demonstrably more effective in dealing with the marketplace, we are hugely more effective in our internal communications and leadership abilities. Four of my top executives went through Bates Communications' training and coaching programs, with impressive results. Each of them is communicating better amongst their teams, and they are much more effective leaders than before. With Bates' objective feedback tactfully delivered, these executives realize they weren't achieving their full potential and were able to put in place specific development plans that have been invaluable for them, the company, and especially for me as the CEO. My employees are more motivated, more productive, and generating better results than before working with Bates Communications."

- Peter Savas,
CEO,
Alseres Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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"Dow AgroSciences is a profitable business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, and one used to illustrate key elements of Dow strategy. So when our President and CEO, Jerome Peribere, speaks to an investment audience, people listen. His spoken word has impact with many stakeholders; every time he speaks dynamically in front of a community group or is quoted in a key publication, we are making an impression on potential employees, legislators and community members. It's a cycle of success that builds on itself. Jerome has always been a very good speaker, and working with Bates helped him strengthen his focus on preparation, practice and being able to tell a story . He's very quotable! We were in Forbes earlier this year and, this high profile appearance shows the power of a quotable, articulate executive.

In fact, Jerome is now passing speaking opportunities on to his nine vice presidents who were also trained by Bates earlier this year. They are each focused on their speaking skills, and it's great to have so many good speakers to choose from for speaking opportunities. This is extremely valuable because our CEO has more time to do the things only a CEO can do. Having him surrounded by people who can tell a good story and drive a point home is very powerful for our business performance. As I think about executive communications coaching, what really works for our executives is the ability of the Bates team to combine media expertise with global business experience just like theirs.

The return on investment is real, as executives are quick to tell you if something was worth their time. For example, one of my management team members told me "I really didn't want to waste a morning on communications, but boy am I glad you made us do this." I would say to anyone involved with coaching executives: Bates Communication delivers incredible results. Having worked with Bates Communications, our executives wouldn't settle for less."

- Kenda Resler-Friend,
Public Affairs,
Dow AgroSciences

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"Rarely are C-Level executives dismissed due to incompetence-no, it is usually because there is something broken in their relationship with the CEO, their peers, or even the Board. At this level one's success is less dependent on technical skills and more dependent upon one's ability to communicate, motivate, and lead others. Unfortunately, these increasingly critical skills aren't taught in school or in most job environments. For this critical training, there is Bates Communications.

Four of our staff went through Bates Communications coaching & training and the response was stellar. As a result of working personally with Bates Communications, I believe I have improved significantly as a leader and a speaker. My team is motivated, willing to let me know when I can improve and even more committed to meeting our goals. I've worked very hard on becoming more of a guiding rather than directive force. It was immensely valuable to have Bates help me take a step back and ask, "How does the world perceive me?" By helping me examine myself through others' eyes, Bates helped me become sensitized to the needs of my staff --and learn how to help and encourage them to grow.

As a CFO, return on investment is critical. Considering what it might cost us to replace a struggling executive with contractual severance benefits & retained search fees one could easily spend $500,000, not to mention the business disruption during the transition. You owe it to yourself and your shareholders to work with Bates Communications to help an otherwise competent executive learn to communicate, lead, and effectively motivate."

- Ken Rice,
EVP and CFO,
Alseres Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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"Although we had very high-caliber customer-facing employees, a third-party research firm scored us poorly compared with our competitors in our ability to deliver effective boardroom presentations to senior-most executives at Fortune 500 customers and prospects. We knew we had to take action because the risks were huge: a good meeting could result in a business lead worth in excess of $1 million or may enable us to keep $500,000 worth of business for 6 months longer.

We hired Bates Communications to improve the executive presence for most all of our client-facing employees, with spectacular results. The third-party ratings rose dramatically within one year as a direct result of Bates Communications' work with us. On average, junior executives improved from a 5 to 8 out of 10 in their overall communications ability, and senior executives improved from a 7 to a 9, with immediate and measurable impact on customers, prospects, and revenue.

During our engagement with Bates Communications, we faced a significant challenge when we had to deliver material news to a number of clients quickly to avoid a media and customer relations issue. We were afraid of the impact on our business, particularly with some of our larger and most profitable clients. With Bates' assistance, we were fully prepared for the most challenging client meetings and questions and successfully delivered our message with little or no impact to our business.

With these types of results, it is very easy to justify an investment in Bates Communications. I unequivocally recommend Bates Communications if you want to develop executive presence and enhance your ability to lead, communicate, and make a dramatic impact on your company, customers, and the marketplace."

- Penny Darcey,
Former Sr. Managing Director of Sales & Marketing,
State Street Global Advisors

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