Ross Shafer

As his friend Jay Leno put it, "Finally a motivational speaker, without the speech!" Ross Shafer didn't start out as one of the country's funniest motivational speakers though.

After graduating with a BA in Business Marketing, Ross blew his savings on what he was sure would be the "next big thing." He invested everything he had (and lost it) in "SOUNDS OK, America's Only Stereo and Pet Shop." Business failures aside, Ross started getting laughs at comedy clubs and his first big break came when he won Showtime's Comedy Laugh Off in 1983.

Within a year, Ross was hosting KING-TV's weekly comedy/talk show, Almost Live. With Ross at the helm, the show won 36 Emmy Awards and the prestigious IRIS award for the "Best Local Entertainment Series" in the United States. Over the next several years, Ross hosted a daily afternoon radio program, contributed to Dick Clark's TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes, hosted the game show, Love Me, Love Me Not, wrote and produced two comedy TV specials, and had a recurring role on the hit show 21 Jump Street. He moved on to become host of Fox's flagship late night program (cleverly titled The Late Show), was the host of the New Match Game, and continued to work on his stand-up act and regularly performed for the Improv, Comic Strip Live, and the A List.

Ross is a published author, and he practically invented the genre of comedy cookbooks with Cook Like A Stud, featuring 38 recipes men can prepare in the garage using their own power tools. He also wrote Nobody Moved Your Cheese! - How to Ignore the Experts and Trust Your Gut, The Customer Shouts Back and his latest book, Are You Relevant? Ross founded the Customer Empathy Institute™ because he's convinced the reason customer service hasn't improved, is because we haven't tried to understand the customer's emotional state before, during, and after the transaction.

Nowadays, he is in demand as a keynote speaker, seminar leader and event emcee. His clean, funny and relevant programs have made more than 3,000 meeting planners look like heroes and he's worked with dozens of companies that span various industries. When you book Ross Shafer for your event, your audience is guaranteed to laugh, see their business in a new way, be inspired to trust their gut and fulfill their own potential.

• 7. GAME SHOWS

  Ross is also 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), but they also encourage participation of the entire audience. Ask us how he and his team at "Game Show America" can create a custom TV show for you.

• 6. 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 Jack Welch, Colin Powell, Bob Dole, James Carville, Larry Bossidy, Tom Peters, 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 via the introduction and the Q & A - yet he doesn't shy away from asking the probing questions your people want answered (but may be too intimidated to ask).

• 5. THE ULTIMATE MC

  Because Ross is a trained talk and game show host (who has hosted over 1,000 network broadcasts) he is the perfect choice for moderating your executive panel discussions and leading award banquets. Ross will keep the programs lively and on task, drawing on his vast experience and lightning quick wit to navigate even the most unpredictable situations.

• 4. The Customer Empathy Solution – Part II

  This is a great follow up to Part I - same point of view but with tons of new stories, interesting new case studies, and more inside customer psychology. All of Ross' programs are funny and there is plenty of audience interaction. This is the deep dive material he uses in full day seminars and workshops.

• 3. THE CUSTOMER EMPATHY SOLUTION – Part I

  Our clients often add this high energy Keynote as a much longer Break Out. The idea is revolutionary, yet highly profitable in execution. 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:
  
  ·Learn why your customers/clients/patients feel so vulnerable, helpless, anxious, and out of control, today. The customer has been through a stock market collapse, home equity meltdown, two Iraq wars, rising fuel prices, and daily news of dire unemployment. You'll see how these (emotionally draining) cultural events dramatically change their buying habits. ·Customers want Empathy...NOT service from you. Empathy, as a sales and collaboration skill, means you need to become an expert at reading faces, body language, and voice inflection. You will learn how to listen to learn...not listen to respond. ·When people love you, they will give you more money. You'll actually learn what your customers/clients expect from you in order to garner their lifetime loyalty. When your customers feel an emotional connection with you, they will literally stop dating other companies - and start spending more time and money with you. ·Why the iPod, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace have made it vitally important to create a "personal brand" with your customers. Because personal identities and social networking have become such an enormous part of our culture, the best brand differentiators today revolve around the personal brands you create for your customers and clients. ·Learn why "Customer Evaluations" can do more harm than good. We look to evaluations to help us gather valuable feedback and input. But customers see these as a nuisance...an irritant that can severely degrade their experience. You'll learn which types of evaluations enhance the customer experience - and which types of evaluations destroy the customer relationship.
  

• 2. ARE YOU RELEVANT?

  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:
  
  ·Realizing that "Best Practices" are a moving target, you'll learn what you need do to avoid extinction. We've see complacency kill off some of the world's best known brands. We will discuss why they couldn't predict their demise...and how YOU can. ·There is no recession when you innovate. Economic times are always in flux yet some organizations refuse to participate in a downturn - and continue to flourish. You'll learn how to generate the same kind of small (but powerful) innovations other smart companies have invented to revolutionize their industries from within. ·Customer Service (as we know it) is obsolete. Today's world is so complex, customers and clients don't want "service" anymore. They want Empathy from you. They want you to understand their pain and frustration. And, they want you to be their trusted advisor. The distinction between service and empathy is so profound we created the Customer Empathy Institute to coach this dramatic behavioral change. ·Why do the same people win all of the awards? There is a reason the best salespeople consistently win the top awards - and make the most money. The best salespeople are like talk show hosts. They are trained in the art of curiosity and showing extreme interest in other people. We'll coach these skills so you can apply them tomorrow. ·You will be able to alert yourself to culture shifts & emerging trends. Reacting - and wisely adapting - to these shifts can dramatically spike your revenues.
  

• 1. 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:
  
  ·How to shed blame toward the economy, management, another business unit, or your competition. Real growth and opportunity only follows when you accept that nobody cares more about your career and success than YOU do. Success will be your own fault. ·How to avoid time-robbing distractions. Staying focused and "on task" promotes confidence in your coworkers and allows you to become a trusted advisor to your customers/clients/patients. You'll see how the "world's best" accomplish this feat. ·Advertising and marketing aren't powerful enough to grow your business (or your career). You must work to transform your customers/clients/patients into unpaid spokespeople for YOU and your company. Exponential growth happens when your biggest fans insist their friends do business with you. ·How to jump start your curiosity engine to create instant (yet highly genuine) rapport with team members and customers. These methods go beyond "transactional acquaintanceship." Respecting and collaborating with people, "as people," helps reduce costly miscommunications, inspires productivity, resolution, and stimulates fresh ideas across teams. ·How to keep your business and personal life in perspective. Understanding the difference between Making a Living and Making a Life is what will keep you curious, hungry, and excited about your profession; as well as your place in the world.
  

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  August 2011

  Grab More Market Share: How To Wrangle Business

  If you want to grow in a slowly recovering economy...a stagnant economy...or even a declining market, your best and only plan is to steal market share from your competitors and to remain reactive to the market's needs. Grab More Market Share will teach professionals how not settle for 1% growth. Ross' research uses rock-solid case studies that teach leaders to leverage the recovery to steal 10-15% market share from competitors. Ross alerts readers to the fact that they must leverage the culture (the public consciousness) to swing dollars towards their organizations. This same discipline will help professionals predict the next human behavior changes in buying habits.

  
  
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  January 2009

  Are You Relevant?

  Best practices are a moving target and the subtitle, Twelve Reasons Smart Organizations Thrive In ANY Economy, perfectly describes what's inside this book. The author is a highly respected and sought after keynote speaker/trainer/consultant who has carefully documented why some organizations succeed and others fail. You'll read interviews and case studies from such diverse companies as Nordstrom, Zappos, BDA Marketing, Staubach Company, Comedy Central, Honeywell, Lucky Strike Lanes, LiveScribe, PG& E Power, Lush Cosmetics, McCormick & Schmicks Seafood Co, Hackensack Medical Center, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and dozens of others. Every executive should study this in order to best navigate a recession.

  
  
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  November 2005

  The Customer Shouts Back!

  This book asserts that, in the post 9-11 economy, it's customer EMPATHY...no customer "service" that will win lifetime customers. This book is the result of 11 years of customer service research; combined with the careful dissection of 1,000 random complaints found on blogs and websites worldwide throughout 2003 and 2004.

  
  
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  February 2003

  Nobody Moved Your Cheese!

  Ross takes on some of our most revered cultural icons in the chapters, NOBODY MOVED YOUR CHEESE, THOSE CHICKEN SOUP BOOKS ARE FOR FOOLS, ANTHONY ROBBINS HASN'T DONE A DAMN THING, THE ONE-MINUTE MANAGER GOT LAID OFF, and 10 THINGS DR. LAURA SAYS TO GET YOU TO BUY HER BOOKS.  Plus, Ross slaps conventional wisdom in the face in chapters like, YOUR JOB IS TERMINAL...AND OTHER GOOD NEWS, GOAL SETTING IS STUPID, BACK UP YOUR LIES WITH THE TRUTH, and GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE CAN BANKRUPT YOU.  This is a book about taking extreme responsibility. Ross promises that it will shock you and empower you at the same time. You'll never feel insecure about your job or career choices again.