How to Differentiate Yourself from the Competition
A client recently shared with me that they had conducted a sales presentation by using the process outlined in my book Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way. Afterward, attendees said it was the best presentation they had ever been to. Talk about differentiating yourself. How did they do it? By engaging the participants and making it a genuine meeting rather than a show-and-tell of the seller’s capabilities. Instead of coming in with great slides and telling the attendees...
One Simple Strategy for Turning Objections into Closed Deals
In sales, it’s not uncommon to face certain objections again and again. So how do you turn those common objections into closed deals? Simple: You stop having conversations that are driven by past experiences or fear of the future. Let me explain. In 1980 I landed my first sales job: selling copy machines. But before long I began to believe I was limited by the features we offered. We had a great unit that produced 15 crisp copies per minute. My...
The Power of Helping Clients Gain Momentum
This week I met Ashlin, a phlebotomist at my doctor’s office, and I’d like you to meet her too. As soon as I sat down for the blood draw, I was impressed with her attitude. She was both confident and caring, and I felt safe in her hands. When I complimented her, I asked what was important to her. Her answer surprised me. She said if she leaves someone better off than when she met them, she did well. She...
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. ...