A Win-Win: How to Eliminate Pressure and Increase Impact!
What does your pipeline look like? What percentage of your pipeline does your biggest account represent? A few years ago I was in Sao Paulo, Brazil, doing a keynote on negotiations. During the break, a CEO of a small company that produces automobile parts approached me and complained about the purchasing agent of a major automobile manufacturer. He said the guy was ruthless, always squeezing him for more discounts to the point where he was not making any money. Sound familiar?...
Mining for Gold: Use Your Existing Customers to Impact! Your Prospects
This past Saturday I cheated! I fell off my no carbohydrate diet with a trip to the bagel store. I ordered and then proceeded to one of the two cash registers to pay for my order. The first register was directly ahead of me, but customers were waiting there; the second was around a corner, and it had no customers. I proceed to the second register, and as I was paying, I noticed a plaque on the counter—an award for “Best Bagels” from 201...
You Can’t Impact! Others Without Trust
A while back I had the honor of being the emcee of a two-day team-building program featuring two NFL legends, one of which was Joe Gibbs, former head coach of the Washington Redskins. In interviewing Coach Gibbs, I asked him if past behavior was a predictor of future behavior. His answer was a resounding yes! When I was in college, if a student was caught in the dining hall during a semester that he wasn’t on the dining plan, the student was...
From Lost Trust to Lost Business—How to Avoid This Business Killer
A key executive for one of my clients passed away recently, and although I tried desperately, I could not make my travel arrangements work out properly to get to the funeral service. To make matters even worse, the morning of the funeral I realized I had forgotten to send flowers. I immediately called a florist, but it was just two hours before the service. I placed my order and asked whether they could guarantee the flowers would be there in...
Five Tips for ImpactING Your Market with a Big Idea
Some people think the big idea will always remain unattainable—and for those people, it will. But as a Sales and Leadership expert, I promise you that big ideas are meant for implementation. Here are five tips for creating your own big idea to Impact! your markets and achieve exponential results: Create a Vision—Before calling on the market, create a vision of what success looks like for you. Forget about the past and Create versus Compete—Stop competing against your competitors. Find out from...
Using the Big Idea to Impact! Your Markets
It’s easy to spot a big idea because it’s usually followed by the thought that it will never happen. In The Science of Getting Rich, published in 1910 (find the free e-book online), Wallace Wattles examines what separates those who make it big from those who always seem to fall short of their goals. According to Wattles, one of the key strategies that wealthy entrepreneurs use is a Thought in Formless Substance—otherwise known as the big idea. Imagine driving down...
Avoidance—What Keeps You from Success?
What are you avoiding today? Avoidance played a big part in my failure to write last week’s blog. You see, I was busy with client work, and there was the holiday weekend, and I had writer’s block… and yes, I am making excuses. Usually, I get motivated by the big idea, and when I don’t have a big idea, I avoid sitting down in front of a blank computer screen. I avoid it even though I know that when I get started...
How to Increase Velocity and Sales with Less Effort
Have you ever heard successful salespeople say they do very little marketing yet business just comes to them? Everyone wants to increase sales and impact their markets, but not everyone has uncovered the key to making that happen: calling on the right customers. The old axiom “You can’t be everything to everyone” is as true in business as it is in our personals lives. In terms of sales it means that not every potential customer is a good fit for...
Impact the World Like #2
This past Sunday the New York Yankees retired their remaining single digit number, which belonged to their former captain Derek Jeter who played with them for twenty seasons. For most of his career Jeter was consistently among the leaders in the American League in hits and runs scored, and he served as the Yankees' team captain from 2003 until his retirement in 2014. The stadium was full during the retirement ceremony and resounded with chants of D-E-R-E-K J-E-T-E-R. As I watched from...