Top Sales Speaker
In his groundbreaking book Activate Your Brain, Scott Halford lays out the Five C’s of neuroscience—five triggers that, when activated, increase the chance of success in any pitch, proposal, or conversation. They are: control, certainty, completion, choice, and context. Today, I want to focus on just two: control and certainty—and how they played a major role…
For 17 years, Rory McIlroy chased one dream. He had already conquered the PGA Championship. He stood atop the U.S. Open. He lifted the Claret Jug at The Open. But Augusta—home of the Masters—always found a way to say no. In 2011, he led by four heading into Sunday. The golf world expected a coronation.…
Tariffs are dominating the headlines, and the fear keeping business leaders up at night—loss of control, loss of security. Nobody knows where this is headed. That kind of uncertainty crushes confidence, and when confidence disappears, people pull back. But if you have been in business long enough, you have seen this before. Back in 1983,…
Want to know how the Yankees crushed 19 home runs in just five games? It wasn’t luck—it was leverage. Talk to any exec in pro sports, and they’ll tell you that at the top, the difference between elite players is razor-thin. So how do you gain a competitive edge? If you are the New York…
As a top sales consultant and keynote speaker, here’s the million-dollar question that can double your business in two years: “What are the three results you need to generate from your next supply agreement?” This is what I call an issues-based question—designed to prompt someone to think about their future and what truly matters to…
As a top sales consultant, I’ve successfully shown organizations on six continents how to gain velocity in their sales efforts by asking the right questions. Here’s an example: A major financial services firm called me in to review their numbers. It took their advisors five sales calls to close a new investor, and they knew…
Duolingo, a player in the ed-tech space offering language learning services, was stuck in a rut with their company’s revenues. They offered a free version of their product to compete against other players like Babbel, which used a subscription model to sell their products. Duolingo gave their product away for free, calling it “freemium” to…
Today, several sectors are experiencing downturns due to economic factors. But in the fast food industry, even when demand is soft and year-over-year revenue declines, there is one fast food brand that is growing at a very fast rate. Guess who it is? Drum roll, please… Taco Bell! That’s right—Taco Bell. Taco Bell is forecasting…
Ever get a message that starts like this? “Hey Ron, I see that we are both in the same business of helping clients grow. We help consultants like you generate at least 25K a month.” Delete. Why? Two reasons. First, if the only thing personalized in your message is my name, it’s not personalization—it’s a…
Will AI replace salespeople? Here’s why it won’t happen. One of my greatest success stories as a top sales consultant was helping a client create a strategy and execute a plan to turn their biggest account – the largest user of their products worldwide – from a three-year bid on the lowest price to a…
In the mid-2000s, I was lying in a hospital bed recovering from back surgery when a difficult question hit me: What haven’t I done with my life? And why? When you’re forced to slow down, clarity shows up. I realized that unrealized goals rarely come down to talent or opportunity. They come down to three…
Most professionals ask the wrong question. They ask: “How do I improve what I’m already doing?” High performers ask: “What outcome do I really want to achieve?” That shift changes everything. Because when you focus on activity, you stay busy. When you focus on outcomes, you become strategic. And here’s the real problem… We let…
Things like AI and other issues come second. The first question is: what do you want to achieve for yourself? If you are not happy with what you are achieving on an annual basis, what would make you happy? What would make you feel fulfilled? It has to be specific, and it has to be…
Let’s talk about what’s happening in the market right now: tariffs, inflation, supply chain pressure, price. Customers are cautious. Decisions are slower. And suddenly everyone’s favorite strategy is discounting, because nothing says “premium solution” like dropping your price faster than your confidence. Inside the company, it usually sounds like this: Sales says, “We’ve got to…
Most people think velocity is blocked by outside forces—other people, missed signals, bad timing. The truth is far more uncomfortable…and far more powerful. It turns out the biggest obstacle that gets in our way is internal, and it starts with the stories we create every day. Everything that someone says or does to you, you…
Every conversation you have is shaping a story in someone else’s mind—and if you are not aware of it, that story could be working against you. We are emotional creatures. Like a strength, it can help us—but if it is overused, it becomes a weakness. Anything you say to me or do to me, all…
A quick question: have you ever shared what you thought was a brilliant idea, and the reaction you got back was a polite nod, crossed arms, or the classic, “Yeah, let’s think about it”? Same idea, same words, same logic and yet it landed with all the impact of a wet noodle. Here’s why. Have…
I became a speaker for the wrong reason. I figured if I could be on stage and slay my dragons by being proverbially naked in front of the audience, then I had made it and gotten rid of all my fears. That’s not true. That was being self-focused, and it didn’t help the audience. I…
Before you even introduce yourself, your prospect’s hormones have already voted on you. The question is: did you win? In the first few seconds of any interaction, their brain is quietly—but decisively—determining whether to trust you, engage with you, or shut down completely. And it all comes down to three key hormones neuroscience identifies: cortisol,…
You know, there’s a phrase from my childhood that stuck with me for decades. It wasn’t inspirational. It wasn’t wise. It was—“You’re a fraud.” My father said it to me. T And it became a lightning bolt that hit me every single time I tried to do something big. And here’s the worst part… There…