The right combination of character traits is essential for success — personally, professionally and organizationally. Here’s what to look for and cultivate. Verbal skills, mathematical ability, and the aptitude to detect patterns – measurements of IQ – are all considered important markers of future potential and success. We teach them, we test for them, and …
Category: Small business sales
Decisions, decisions – The Sunday Snippet – [4.7.13]
You can make better choices by avoiding the most common biases and distractions. The WRAP method can help us make better, bolder decisions. Have you ever agonized over a decision? Ever wrestled with which choice to make? Studies show that our decision-making skills have numerous pitfalls: We’re overconfident. Short-term emotions cloud thinking. We seek out …
A little give and take – The Sunday Snippet – [3.31.13]
Whether you’re trying to finalize a home purchase, or negotiate a multi-year, multi-million dollar service agreement, there are some things to remember in order to keep things moving and get what you want. Local negotiation expert Mike Milich runs SwiftNegotia with his partner Satish Mehta and they work with small and large companies alike to build …
Ban the buzzwords – The Sunday Snippet – [3.24.13]
Everyday words and phrases work best for clear and persuasive writing. Here are some helpful tips for avoiding bizspeak and telling it like it is. You could be losing influence, time and money if your emails, proposals and marketing content fail to win people over. Worse, you could even be repelling readers with two much bizspeak …
Laughing all the way to the bank – The Sunday Snippet – [3.17.13]
Have you been looking for a creative new way to gain attention for yourself, your company or your cause? Humor and custom cartoons like the one personalized for you above can get you noticed and in the door. And Stu Heinecke has the clients and marketing results to prove it. His cartoons have helped double and even …
You have three seconds – The Sunday Snippet – [3.10.13]
Remember to observe the 3:30:3 rule to earn the curiosity and interest of your prospects and foster engagement. At our humble word factory we spend a lot of time on getting the first three seconds of any message or communication just right. We work on it diligently because effective writing follows what’s known as the …
Happy customers shine and sell – The Sunday Snippet – [3.3.13]
How to put the power of testimonials to work for your business. Let happy customers sell for you. Brian Sullivan is president of Kansas City-based PRECISE Selling, and delivers seminars and training programs on sales, customer service, leadership and presentation skills to companies of all sizes. He writes regularly on these issues and his recent post on …
Hey – The Sunday Snippet – [2.24.13]
Daniel Pink outlines six pitches to help sell yourself, your ideas, and your products and services. If you’re wondering about the short subject line today, it’s something I learned from Daniel Pink and his chapter on Pitches in his new book “To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.” Pink offers a fresh …
The magic number – The Sunday Snippet – [2.17.13]
If you try to make more than three points, you probably won’t make any. We’ve all been bombarded with bullet points. In fact, it probably happens to most of us on a daily basis. Emails, presentations and speeches often have more points than we can count or comprehend. While we might think more is better, …
Beside every great man – The Sunday Snippet – [2.10.13]
At first I thought I would succumb, but I had a strong tower to lean upon, my wife, a woman of infinite tact and wisest counsel. – Washington Roebling You’d be hard pressed to name an engineering feat of the 19th century that was more audacious, courageous, and monumental than the building of the Brooklyn …