Passion Equals Success
What do applicants get wrong in the process of applying to a top-tier college like an Ivy League school? Today they believe that perfect SAT scores are enough to differentiate them. According to Christopher Rim, founder of Command Education, perfect test scores no longer differentiate students. They are simply the cost of entry. What differentiates students today is their tapping into interests that unleashes their passion. Since 2015, Command Education has been helping students in the top, elite private...
Have You Addressed The Big Elephant In The Room?
When was the last time you truly listened to a captain's welcome announcement on a plane? Last week, flying from New York to Florida, Captain Ian Wallace of @United Airlines came out of the cockpit before the doors closed. He grabbed the intercom and filled the aisle with his hulking presence. Looking directly at us, he welcomed us to his flight in his booming voice. He had our full attention. Then, he dared to go where many don't...
Why Bombas is a Selling Success Story
If you want to know how to succeed in sales, look at Bombas. That's B-O-M-B-A-S, pronounced "bum-bus" socks. That's right, these are the socks; they're no-show socks. What I love about them is that they stay in place and are of great quality. But that's not the reason I'm telling you about Bombas. When Randy Goldberg and David Heath started Bombas in 2013, they had a mission: to donate a pair of socks to homeless shelters for every pair sold....
Selling the Ben Feldman Way
In 1912, legendary insurance salesman Ben Feldman was born. In 1942, he joined New York Life Insurance Company. His first few years selling life insurance were very tough. Ben had a very strong stutter, and he couldn't get his points across. After the first few years of failing miserably, he decided to do things differently. First, he decided to prepare better. Before each sales call, he would write down the major points he wanted to cover. Then, he would...
How to Grow Revenues by Leveraging Your Assets
Are you leveraging your assets? You know, about 12 years ago, I got divorced. When you're divorced, single, and looking for a new relationship, you often turn to online dating or apps. One thing I quickly realized is that to be successful on those platforms, you need to leverage your assets. I've been told by quite a few people that I have what's called the trifecta: I’ve got the teeth, the hair, and these killer baby blue eyes that have...
How to Build Profitable Relationships
Imagine you're going into the office of a senior decision-maker at a huge Fortune 100 company. He's had nothing but problems with your company. He bought 200 units of electric timestamps. Every time a trader makes a stamp, it's the same time for all trades, and they don't get fined by the SEC. He had nothing but problems with these 200 units. My company took them all back, changed the motors, and then replaced them, but he was still having...
What’s More Important – Will to Prepare or Will to Win?
What's more important to you? The will to prepare or the will to win? That is a question the Vice President of Sales for Hertz equipment rental division asked me as we were flying together to his national sales meeting, where I was giving the keynote. Without thinking, I said, “The will to prepare.” He responded, “That's my guy.” He explained that most people get it wrong, thinking the will to win is what pushes them over the finish line....
Do you really have full control of your emotions?
When you realize that a big deal you're expecting to close is not happening, does that trigger your emotions? Do you really have control of your emotions? Take this example: A Vice President of Sales and a National Account Manager went to San Francisco to renew a $5 million contract. Their customer wanted all contracts to be reduced by 8% to get into the black. My client could not offer an 8% reduction. Instead, they decided to restate their value...
How to Succeed in a High Failure Zone
Recently, I had dinner with an executive in the baseball industry. He described baseball as a high-failure sport. I love that phrase. Why? Because I've always used it in my speeches, not that phrase exactly, but the idea. Think about it: a hitter getting three hits out of every 10 at-bats is a .300 hitter. That means they failed seven times, but they're still considered Hall of Fame material. That's why it's such a high-failure sport. Now, that relates to...