Can you unscramble these letters to make a real word? KIPYN That’s your challenge in a popular word game called “JumbIe,” which often appears in newspapers. It is a great word game and I admit I am a “Jumble” addict. More importantly, I would suggest that“Jumble” type thinking can save a sale for you …
How do you feel when professionals don’t model what they are selling? For example, the image consultant who looks like she just tumbled out of bed, or the wedding planner who shows up late for your meeting, or the dentist who starts to fill the wrong tooth in your mouth? A bit outraged? Incredulous? This …
Fast Company magazine posed this question to Pulitzer Prize winning biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin: “What’s the most important lesson that business leaders can take from [Presidents Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and LBJ]?” You needn’t be a senior executive to heed her response, which applies to anyone whose success depends on the ability to sell, persuade, or influence …
You don’t have to be a cook to know that you can’t put ten pounds of stuffing into a five bound bird. Yet, metaphorically, presenters do that when they talk fast in an enthusiastic effort to get everything into a listener’s mind as quickly as possible. The mind can only take in and process so …
I have been cleaning out my files in preparation for a move of offices and came across newsletters that I wrote ten, fifteen years ago. It is amazing how even with the technical changes in our lives in this time period, how some things never change. For example… From Winter: 2000 “So, What’s Your Story?” Too …
If it is true that attention spans are short and time is at a premium in face-to-face meetings, that rings doubly true when you present on the phone. On the phone, with a “no” or “not interested” just a hang-up click away, every word you say counts, particularly in your opening remarks. Hopefully, you do …
Agendas in presentations are usually seen as afterthoughts, useful low-level roadmaps, or necessary evils. Big mistake! An Agenda skillfully used can make or break a presentation. How much thought do you give to this part of your presentations? An Agenda strategy takes into consideration… Timing Content Agreement and Feedback Timing is Everything If you have an agenda, …
On the “people-are-more-interested-in-their-kids-than-in-yours” theory, meaning that listeners do not want to hear everything you know about your offer, but only what is relevant to them, here is a quick method for figuring out what will have the greatest impact on them in your presentation. Create 5 Written Lists 1. What are all your firms assets? 2. What are all the …
How frustrating is it when prospects drag out the sales process? You think you have done a good job presenting your value and then they want more information. So, being the responsive professional you are, you bring them the requested information. Then, they want additional information or they say someone else has to review the …
I received a call recently that went like this: Sales Manager: My team needs sales training. Can you help? Me: What’s wrong? SM: Their conversion rates are too low. They need training. Me: Where do you feel they are falling down? SM: They are not closing as well as they should be. They need to be better at closing. I …
When asked what Carol needed to help increase sales of corporate sponsorships for her company’s conferences, her manager said, “Confidence.” He attributed her disappointing results to poor sales skills and would I help her get up that learning curve as quickly as possible? One meeting with Carol and I realized that a lack of sales …