Set aside the violence, the snarky humor and the profanity in Deadpool 2, and look for this surprisingly compelling technique Deadpool uses to connect with the movie-going audience.  Those comments the superhero directs straight to you – and not the other actors – is an acting technique called “Breaking the

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First Impressions Matter in Sales...and Acting People make several major decisions about another person in the first few seconds.  Decisions like: Is this person trustworthy?  Successful?  Competent?  So how do you make sure your first impression with your prospect or audience is helping you – and not hurting you? Casting

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I try not to make snap judgments.  But I do.  And apparently so do a lot of other people.  Research studies have found that we make several major decisions about another person in those first few seconds.  Decisions like: Is this person trustworthy?  Successful?  Competent?   In sales, this can affect

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It can be disappointing to  receive a small part of a customer’s business when you are hoping for the lead role.  Winning larger deals gets a lot of focus in sales, but sometimes large deals are hidden in small packages. Savvy actors often parlay a small or one-time roll into a

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Stories are a powerful selling tool, but rarely is one story right for every situation or customer.  To be successful in a dynamic marketplace, there are 5 types of stories every salesperson should be prepared to tell in a pitch or presentation.  Here is a brief description, example and tips

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Delivering an Oscar-worthy performance is one-thing, but what about an Oscar-worthy presentation? Each year I hand out (not literally) awards for the Oscars Best and Worst  Presentations in a variety of categories, along with some helpful tips for us less famous presenters.  Here are my top awards from this year’s

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You finally get that presentation or meeting set with your dream account. You arrive at their office pumped up and ready to knock your presentation out of the park!  But of course you have to wait…and wait….And with each passing minute you can feel that positive energy slip into anxiety

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Confidence in sales can be elusive. I hear a lot of advice a long the lines of “just be confident!” from sales coaches.  But I think most salespeople know that confidence is important in sales.  The question is – how do you gain confidence?  And if you’re not confident, does

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Many presenters share the actor’s nightmare of being in front of an audience and not knowing their lines.  I lived that nightmare early in my sales career. A Presenter’s nightmare As a new salesperson I was excited when I received a last-minute opportunity to present to an important prospect.  Although

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Your marketing department just invested a lot of time and money creating a dazzling new presentation for the sales team.  So why, three months later, is no one using it?!  Here are just a few of the reasons I hear from salespeople: “There’s too much information in it.  It’s not

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