How to Use Focus to Gain Sales Velocity
Severe thunderstorms were forecast for the Denver area on Sunday evening, so I was relieved to be flying out in the afternoon. I thought I’d be in good shape with a scheduled departure at 1:40 p.m. So much for my assumptions. Five minutes before we pushed back from the gate, the wind started rocking the plane and the rain came down in buckets. More surprising, ice began building up on the plane. We had sleet and hail and ice, and now...
Are You Presenting Too Soon?
Sunday night I experienced a rough flight out of Atlanta due to a line of thunderstorms and tornadoes making its way across the southeast. I was sitting next to a gentleman who had the window down, and I kindly asked if he would open it, which he did. I then proceeded to share my “wisdom” about the dark clouds we were looking at, relying on my decades of experience as a plane traveler. Fast forward an hour and the two...
Gaining Momentum in Life through Velocity
What makes you feel more like a kid than watching things explode? Recently I had the privilege of interviewing Steve Spangler, a leading science personality and Hall of Fame speaker, who has been blowing things up and mesmerizing audiences for the past 30 years. I love science, so you know I had to ask Steve to explain the scientific point of view of how Velocity works in our lives. He said Velocity is direction and speed. You cannot have Velocity...
How to Manage Your Tension to Gain Velocity
In Brandon Steiner’s new book Living on Purpose he shares a story about the University of Washington men’s basketball team losing its third game in a row in mid-February 2018. Even though the team’s record was 18-9, Brandon could see the team was despondent over its recent losses. During the game on Feb 15, Brandon noticed the players looked miserable—even at the half when they were leading the game. Brandon knew coach Mike Hopkins, so he called him and suggested...
Gaining Velocity By Eliminating Speed Bumps
We all encounter speed bumps at times, those unexpected situations that threaten to slow us down—a client pulling their business, an employee going rogue, a competitor stealing your idea, objections from a prospect that gets in the way of closing more business. Situations like these slow our progress and threaten our Velocity. The most common reaction to speed bumps is frustration, and anger is a close second. Speed bumps tend to unleash emotional responses that have the potential to lead...
Spring Forward with Velocity
As spring approaches, I’ve been thinking of new starts and renewals, specifically of the time I decided to launch my speaking/consulting business over thirty years ago. I was in an unfulfilling management job at the time—successful but not satisfied. My business skills had helped me to succeed but so had two important questions: What is my purpose (or goal) and do my actions support my purpose? Those questions had guided me, but I’d reached a point where I was stuck. ...
Selling with Sight and Sound to Gain Velocity
Selling an intangible idea can be tough. When you are trying to sell your competitive advantage, it can be challenging to verbalize the concept in a powerful way that resonates with your prospect. Intangibles leave a lot to the imagination, and that doesn’t necessarily work in your favor. If you’re running into trouble, you may be relying too much on your prospect’s ability to absorb information via their sense of hearing. Your differentiated advantage is on the line, so it’s...
What’s THEIR Problem?
Business is quite simple when you get right down to it. It’s all about problems. No matter what product or service you are selling, people buy from you to fix their problems. This tells us a lot about how to increase sales with the Velocity Mindsetô. The word problem can sound negative, but fixing a problem may really be about finding a better solution or way of doing things. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines problem as “a question raised for inquiry, consideration,...
Three Rules for Generating Creative Velocity
We’ve all fallen into the trap of doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. Some people call that the definition of insanity. Here’s how it plays out in our daily lives: You are trying to figure out how to close a deal that won’t close. You want your client to realize your true value and provide opportunities to sell the rest of your services. You’ve been trying for months to land that big client. Whatever it...