Illustration courtesy of 24Slides.com In business, most people (and salespeople are no exception) don’t speak with as much energy or personality as they do in their personal lives. They tend to flatten or smooth things out and tamp down the good and the bad news alike. Telling

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“Why are you wasting my life?” Can you imagine a client saying that to you after you delivered (what you thought) was a pretty good, on target presentation?? Jeff Bezos did exactly that after one of his engineers delivered a complicated, boring presentation to the outspoken founder of Amazon. I

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Even if you didn’t get swept up in the Breaking Bad saga, it would have been difficult to miss the powerful hold it had on its audience, the awards it racked up or the place it earned popular culture. Maybe you had to listen to coworkers endlessly dissect each episode

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Most actors have to audition for every role.  In fact, even Marlon Brando had to audition for his iconic role in The Godfather.  Although he was a very successful actor at that point in his career, there were a lot of qualified actors competing for the part.  He knew he

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If you’ve been selling for more than a week, you’ve already heard plenty of excuses from buyers: I need to think about it. I can’t afford it. You’re too expensive. The details may vary, but the reason buyers aren’t anteing up typically boils down to this: Frankly my dear, they

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Can you imagine an experienced performer like Justin Timberlake ending his performance by singing a few random notes before looking blankly at his audience and announcing, “Well, I guess that’s all I have” ? Not likely.  Professional performers strategically plan how they close their set to leave their audience clamoring

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The average American spends more money on entertainment than on gas, household furnishings or clothing.  Global spending on entertainment and media is over $1.8 Trillion dollars. What does that have to do with you—a salesperson who doesn’t sell entertainment or media-related products or services?  It has everything to do with you: These people

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It was how many nightmares begin, only this time it was real.  I was standing in front of 200 people ready to speak at sales conference.  My first slide had a link to a virtual poll that would get everyone's input on the topic.  We had tested the link and

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When my dad was in sales, he didn’t have to compete with a steady stream of “urgent”texts or emails for his prospect’s attention.  He was rarely rushed along when he presented, asked to stick to the “script” or sandwiched in between competitors.  My father had the luxury of building rapport

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