I tweeted: “Resilience doesn’t start with experience – it STARTS with attitude – your attitude.”
Arranging the meeting is more important than the meeting.
I had a business meeting in my office last night. Saturday night. The meeting started at 8 o’clock, right after a 2.5-hour dinner. There was no beer, no wine, and no alcohol at the dinner. This was business. And everyone wanted to be at their best. And did I mention it was Saturday night?
Dynamic speaking and presentations are NOT an option.
I give more than 75 presentations a year at annual meetings and sales meetings. There are always other presenters. CEOs and VPs of everything from finance to marketing. Most of the speakers are (to be kind) less than compelling. Most of the speakers (to be unkind) are boring.
Business Plans, Five-year Spreadsheets, and Other Fairy Tales.
I have no business plan. I have no spreadsheet with five years of projected earnings. There are two reasons: Most business “plans” never come to fruition, and five-year sales projections are about as accurate as political polls.
Percentage of Sales Success. How Low Can You Go?
“Jeffrey, I have to make 50 cold calls a week.”“Why?”“My boss said I have to. Everyone has to.”“Why?”“Because we’re trying to make new contacts and more new sales.”
How to sell best? Ask someone who buys!
I was emailed a question from a project manager. It was about sales ethics. I usually email back a response, but I was dying to know why someone with buying responsibility was reading a column on selling skills, so I called her.
More Sales are Made with Friendship than Salesmanship.
Your mom said it best. As a child, when you were fighting or arguing with a sibling or friend, your mom would say, “Billy, you know better than that! Now you make friends with Johnny.” Your mother never told you to use the alternative of choice close or the sharp angle close on Johnny.