Fifteen year old Coco Gauff made history last week, first, by becoming the youngest player to qualify for the main draw at Wimbledon, second, by defeating Venus Williams in the first round. and, then, by winning her next two rounds. Although she lost in the fourth round yesterday, her performance has been astonishing. The secret …
If you don’t think metaphors nail a point and make you stand out among the competition, check out Kamala Harris’ memorable line from last night’s Democratic debate: “I don’t think Americans wants to witness a food fight. Americans wants to put food on their table! Anne Miller Make What You Say Pay! – with Metaphors
The famous author and poet Maya Angelou said “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. I was reminded of her famous remark when I went to pay a lunch check at a local diner earlier this week …
In a recent New York Times interview, Julie Sweet, CEO of Accenture was asked what she looked for in a new hire. I thought the two traits she named are also a part of what makes successful salespeople and presenters effective. They were curiosity and leadership. How does that apply to selling and presenting? Curiosity …
Two unrelated events come together this week for this blog. One is happening as I write this. President George H.W. Bush is being eulogized in Washington by his biographer Jon Meacham. The other event is being asked by Top Sales World to be one of the judges voting for the best sales book of 2018. What is …
I received a call recently that went like this: Sales Manager: My team needs sales training. Can you help? Me: What’s wrong? SM: Their conversion rates are too low. They need training. Me: Where do you feel they are falling down? SM: They are not closing as well as they should be. They need to be better at closing. I …
When asked what Carol needed to help increase sales of corporate sponsorships for her company’s conferences, her manager said, “Confidence.” He attributed her disappointing results to poor sales skills and would I help her get up that learning curve as quickly as possible? One meeting with Carol and I realized that a lack of sales …
We go to the doctor for annual health check-ups, so, why not take a few minutes for an annual presentation check-up as well? It is reassuring to hear the doctor confirm that we are okay in most areas, but it is also really important to learn where we may be at risk for future problems. The …
Most people send Christmas greeting emails that get lost among hundreds of others. Far fewer use Thanksgiving as a wonderful opportunity to get in front of clients and share genuine gratitude for their business. And, please, don’t send a mass mailing! When you personalize each one, you will be surprised at how many pleased responses you will …
A recent article in Vanity Fair, about how history will judge Trump’s presidency, struck me as having definite parallels to how clients judge us in the sales and presentation process. In the first of six short essays written by different historians, Jon Meacham, presidential scholar and biographer, wrote, “Without historical context, without humility, without empathy, he’s (Trump) what the author …
One of the only things worse than no sale is when, after an agreement, the buyer changes his mind. I had two buying experiences recently, one positive and one negative, that pointed up how to avoid getting into that position. The first happened on our holiday trip to the Montreal Jazz Festival last week. “Are …