This Misunderstood Skill Will Help You Master Any Conversation
Although I didn’t know it at the time, I started a “sales career” when I entered the fitness industry in my mid 20’s. I began my career as a personal trainer at a high-end fitness center on the Upper Westside of Manhattan, New York, and after many hours on the job I reached a master-level […]
The Formula for GREAT Questions
How do you create a GREAT sales question? That’s easy…you intentionally structure the question so it shows understanding, a focus on them, and empathy. Over the last several weeks we have been dissecting Walt Whitman’s quote, “Be Curious, Not Judgmental” and how it pertains to Sales Questioning. As we wrap up this series of blogs, […]
The GOOD Question Killer
Have you ever found yourself in a moment where you incorrectly judged a situation because you chose not to be curious? Yep, me too. I have also learned that prejudgment can come at a cost. I remember a few years back I had a young woman interviewing for a telemarketing position at my old […]
Conversation Curiosity
Like most Americans, I was introduced to the concept of “binge watching” over the past 18 months. This is the act of watching a documentary, comedy, musical, or full-length motion picture at any time and at a back-to-back pace. If your family is like mine, we went back and watched classics like Harry Potter, awaited […]
The Teeter-Totter- Balancing Live and Virtual Exchanges
Have you noticed that people are back? As I was watching the PGA Golf Championship a few weeks ago, I was struck by the number of fans that were swarming around Phil Mickelson as he made history by becoming the oldest player in PGA history to win a major championship (let’s hear it for 50-year-olds). […]
The Impact Value of a Question
When you are preparing to meet with a new client, everyone has their own little rituals they go through prior to that sales conversation. Some sales professionals take a few minutes to: focus on key points go for a quick walk or sit in the car listening to music to clear their heads, shake their […]
What is Instinctive Elaboration
This morning I was at my desk working on a “heads down” project. You know the kind…where you are focused on nothing but the project at hand. As I was working through a spreadsheet, a colleague of mine stepped in and asked me this question… “Hey Jeff, have you seen the new Justice League movie […]
The Art of Storytelling
Once there was a business professional who was highly trained to communicate with product or solution expertise. Each day as she grabbed her briefcase and headed out for her daily adventures, she was filled with a sense of joy, hope, and optimism. One particular day the sun was shining, her car was clean, her favorite […]
Dealing with Wake Up Calls
What is a wake-up call? When you consider it, there are many different types. According to Merriam-Webster, a wake-up call is something that serves to alert a person to a problem, danger, or need. The wake-up calls you get when… your alarm awakens you in the morning you get up from a good night sleep […]
Charging a Dead Battery
As I write this blog, it is a cold winter morning in the Midwest. For those of us who live in cold areas, is there anything worse than being out in freezing weather, and when you get in your car and turn the key… nothing happens. You hear the dreaded “click, click, click” that accompanies […]
