How do we display Critical Thinking / Analytical Ability when answering questions?

Before answering that question we need to ask ourselves SOME of the following questions, firstly…
{What DO we already know …if anything?}

{What are the COSTs, RISKS, REDUCED UTILITY if the inverse was true …if any?}
{What are the dependencies …if any?}
{What is required in order for each option to be TRUE/FALSE …if any?}
{What is the probability of each option …if any?}
{What DON’T we already know …if any?}
{What assumptions can we make …if any?}
{What are the risks if .. …if any?}
{What are the limiting factors …if any?}

The Whole Product

Whole Product
Reading Guy's blog today, he lays down some simple rules around Geek Marketing 101. It always come down to a few basic rules. They're basically the same rules we were taught in our first marketing class. The rules are simple, sticking to them is what's hard. Technology companies love to solve problems that don't exist - "because they can". Companies are popping up all over the landscape (I talk to them every day) that have interesting products but they will never amount to much.

It's because making the product might be a 5% slice of the success pie.


" Whole Product" diagrams can be useful tools to get customers to understand that you need to have a "complete solution" if you want it to take off. Early adopters will suffer through complicated instructions, difficult downloads and installations, no customer support - but mainstream users need to be spoon fed.

The Rules:

1. Does It Solve A Problem - Have you solved a problem the customer recognizes. Have you identified the customers pain. If not, you have a vitamin and not a pain killer. You want a pain killer.

2. Is It Easy To Understand - Seriously, 5 words should do it. 2 words is better. Do the "mom test" If mom doesn't understand it, change something until she does.

3. Is It Easy To Get - Have you removed the barriers between you and having your customers use your product. In a 2.0 world we are talking free trials, no cost, fast, easy. Get it in their hands or nothing good will happen.

4. Is It Easy To Use - At Apple our rule was, "1 minute after they start to use it , they feel like calling their friends". ......" You will not believe what I just got".

5. Is It Easy To Share - In this ultra-connected world, your customers are your marketing department. If your customers are not marketing your product, you have problems. We used to call it evangelism, now we call it sharing. Your product needs to have "embedded viral components" - active mechanisms built directly into the application that assume your customers will want to tell everyone they know. Make it easy for them to do so.

http://donthorson.typepad.com/don_thorson/2006/10/whole_product.html

Why do marketing campaigns fail and customers leave?

Here are the reasons people gave for wanting off companies’ email blasts.
Email was too frequent: 54%
The emails became repetitive or boring: 49% (an additional 25% said the emails were never relevant in the first place)
I get too much email and need to pare it down: 47%

When people do find a email from a marketer boring, about two-thirds say they’ll click on the ‘unsubscribe’ link. But 8% say they’ll classify the email as spam.

The top three reasons consumers ‘unliked’ a company on Facebook:
The company posted too frequently: 47%
My wall was becoming crowded with marketing messages and I needed to get rid of some of them: 43%
The content became repetitive or boring over time: 38%. (Another 19% said the content wasn’t relevant from the start, and 17% said the company’s posts were too chit-chatty and not focused on value.)

Why consumers unfollow on Twitter
The company’s tweets became boring over time (52%). An additional 15% said the content wasn’t relevant from the start. Some 21% say the tweets were too promotional, and 20% said the tweets didn’t focus on value
41% needed to cut down on the number of tweets they saw
39% said the company tweeted too frequently

6 Things to Ask your prospect before selling to them. Sales

#1: Their History. Where are they coming from? How did they get here? What do they know about your and your firm? What dealings have taken place in the past?
#2: Frames of Reference. What ideologies and situations might affect their decision-making? Do they have a certain way of viewing your offering? How do they feel about their own firm?
#3: Needs and Desires. Where do they want to go? How do they expect to feel when they get there? How do they think they’re going to get there? What do they think will prevent it?
#4: Likely Objections. What is going to cause them to balk? How fervently do the believe in that objection? How real is it? Might it block the deal, no matter what you say or do?
#5: Capacity to Act. Are you communicating with decision-makers or seat-warmers? If decision-makers, what decision do you want them to make? If not, why are you talking to them?
#6: Decision-making Style. If they’re decision-makers, how do they make decisions? Are they all about facts and figures? Or do they decide according to a gut feeling?

6 Questions to answer before closing any sales deal? Based on persuasion

Q1: Have you already helped this customer? If you’ve already helped the customer in some way, that customer will feel obligated to say “yes” when you move to close. Have you, for example, provided a unique industry perspective, or brought your customer a referral for a potential customer?
Q2: Does this customer think your offering is unique or rare? Customers peculiarly value products that are rare or difficult to get. Have you established that your firm is the only viable source for what the customer actually needs, so that customer will perceive your offering as uniquely valuable?
Q3: Does this customer consider you an authority? Have you revealed anything about your specific background or experience that might increase the customer’s perception that you’re an authority and that your firm is reputable?
Q4: Would buying bolster the customer’s self-image? Customers are more likely to buy if buying is consistent with a prior commitment they’ve made in your presence. Have you gotten the customer to define himself or herself as the type of person who truly needs what you’re offering?.
Q5: Does the customer know peers who’ve bought from you? Customers are more likely to say “yes” when presented with evidence that their peers are also saying “yes.” Have you provided the customer with examples and references that match the profile of that customer?
Q6: Does the customer like you personally? Customers are more likely to say “yes” if they know and like you. Have you found similarities between yourself and the customer and raised them to the surface? Have you communicated that you truly respect the customer?
v

How do you sell value?

INCREASE THEIR SALES:
How can my offering uniquely help them improve their revenue? How much more product could they sell? How much are those extra sales worth to them?

REDUCE THEIR COSTS:
How can my offering uniquely help them reduce costs? How much could they save in labor costs? How much could they save in overhead?

IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THEIR OFFERING:
How much could they save in reworks, scrap, overtime, corrective action costs, and so forth?
How can my offering uniquely help them improve delivery performance? How much would they save in canceled orders, expediting costs, airfreight charges, and so forth?

REDUCE THEIR RISK:
reduce their exposure to risk and liability? How much could they save in penalties, legal fees, and litigation?

By asking those questions, you’re defining the economic value of your offering to the customer.

Then, when you have your initial conversation with your customer, add the following three steps to your sales process:

STEP #1: Get the customer to agree on the specific negative financial impact of the problem.
Work with the customer to define ALL the ways that the problem that your solution addresses impacts their revenue and profit. Include direct costs, lost opportunity costs, personnel costs, etc., etc. Do this early in the sales cycle and make sure that the the decision maker buys into the cost analysis.

STEP #2: Convince the customer that your solution has attributes that no other solution provides.
It’s not enough to be vaguely “higher quality.” You need to be able to express specific quantitative elements of your entire solution that are unique from the competition. Anything that is unique about your solution (even the fact that YOU are the sale rep) is a potential differentiator.

STEP #3: Get the customer to agree on the specific financial impact of your differentiators.
For example, if your products can be at the customer site within one hour, and the low-cost competitors can only get the product there within 24 hours, what how much is it costing the customer to do without the product for 23 hours?

How do I beat my competitors by complimenting them?

Evolution - Describe the industry, market, customer base over a period of time and show what changes have happened. In this model, you can talk about the world of the ’90s, the ’00s and now. By describing the the changes, you can define your competitors’ advantages as addressing a world that no longer exists.

Revolution - Technology, regulation, off-shore competitors and other circumstances revolutionize businesses. Placing your competitors as great pre-revolution solutions is a good way to pigeonhole their value and emphasize yours.

Devolution - The world has gotten smaller — language like “Competition locally required this…, competition nationally requires that…, international competition demands something altogether.” The language of these conversation follows this direction: “Understanding your market as it was until (6 months or a year ago, whatever fits), I completely understand the choices you have made. As a matter of fact, I think under those circumstances, you probably made the best choice at that time. Under the current conditions, I can see why you are exploring new options. Our specialty is helping companies like yours who are in this exact set of circumstances.”

Basically, you’re killing them with kindness and compliments.

5 Scientic Ways to be Happier

How can you be happier? Jennifer L. Aaker, a marketing professor at Stanford University’s School of Business, Melanie Rudd, a Stanford MBA student, and Wharton marketing professor Cassie Mogilner, are here to help. Noting that inquiries into money and happiness have found surprisingly few correlations between the two, the trio instead set out to look at the way people spend their time and how that affects happiness. The researchers examined 60 academic studies, then tried to draw links between those findings to draw more general conclusions.

The results? Here are five guidelines they say anyone can use to increase their happiness.

1. Spend time with the “right people.” Sounds simple. But who exactly are the right people? Unfortunately, they’re generally not your office mates, who are the ones people tend to spend the most time with. The people that make you happiest will generally be friends, family, and romantic partners. That’s why one the most powerful influencers of general happiness is whether or not someone has a “best friend” at work and whether or not they like their boss.
Avoid small talk. A related predictor of happiness is how much substantive discussion a person engages in, compared to small talk. Generally, small talk makes people unhappy, and often, work relationships involve a disproportionate amount of small talk. If you want to increase your happiness, it’s far better to find one or two colleagues with whom you can have a real discussion than to engage in small talk around the water cooler.

2. Spend time on “socially connecting” activities, such as volunteering and spending time with friends.
Work doesn’t count. Unless your job is particularly fulfilling and your colleagues are your best buds, work is not ’socially connecting’ and is generally one of the more unhappy parts of the day. Commuting is also gets high marks for making people unhappy.
Volunteering has been proven to be a good way to increase happiness.
Memory is important, because it helps us take an event that happened in the past and extend its ‘worth’ into the future. One way to help choose experiences that will increase happiness is to consider how you might remember them in the future. What are your happiest memories? How might you create more similar memories?

3. Day dream, or, as the researchers say, enjoy the experience without spending the time. As counterintuitive as it may seem, research has shown that the part of the brain responsible for feeling pleasure can be activated just by thinking about something pleasurable. And we often enjoy the anticipation of something pleasurable more than the actual experience that we think is going to be so great. The most common example is vacation planning, which some find more pleasurable than the vacation itself.

4. Expand your time. No, this does not mean you have to find a warp in the space-time continuum (although it might help). Focusing on the “here and now” slows down the perceived passage of time, allowing people to feel less rushed and hurried. How can we do that?
Breathe slowly. Just for a few minutes. As the authors write: “In one study, subjects who were instructed to take long and slow breaths (vs. short and quick ones) for 5 minutes not only felt there was more time available to get things done, but also perceived their day to be longer.”
Volunteering makes it seem like you have more time. In general, spending time on someone else makes people feel like they have more spare time and that their future is more expansive.
Pay people to do the chores you hate. Activities that we choose to do generally make us happier than those that are obligatory. So if you can afford it, hire someone else to do some of the ‘obligatory’ tasks, such as cleaning the house. Then use the time you’ve ‘bought’ not to catch up on work, but to do something you genuinely enjoy.

5. Be aware that aging changes the way people experience happiness. Youths tend to equate happiness with excitement, but as people get older, happiness is associated with feeling peaceful. Young people get more happiness from spending time with interesting new acquaintances, while older people get more enjoyment from spending time with close friends and family.

Do these sound like guidelines you can follow in your own life? What activities make you happy? What else do you think should be on the list? I’m compiling readers’ suggestions and posting the best ones here.


Write down your happy moments. Tim Noyce says he finds “great value” in journaling happy moments or achievements. It’s easy to forget powerfully positive moments, he says. Reading them in a journal is emotionally uplifting.
Take a look at the big picture. Jenyj89 says having breast cancer in 2009 made her reassess her priorities. “Your family should be your WORLD,” she wrote.
Believe in a higher power. Several readers, among them Calil West and 2TallTexan, mentioned the power of God to instill happiness2TallTexan says a belief in the supernatural increases happiness, and that children who believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy are happier than those who don’t.
Work out. DataDude1 says he would add “staying physical… Take a break from the computer!”AirGate Solutions agrees: “Get out and exercise!” From Manabozho: “Exercise is huge.”
Do good deeds. Deancubed said, even if you don’t volunteer, “trying at least once per day to do something nice for someone else outside of the norm is a great way to uplift your spirits.”
Find a hobby. Nigel.colter says having a hobby has been “a great source of happiness.” And he notes that it’s widened his social circle as well.
Become an entrepreneur, if you hate your job, Mike Van Horn says.
Jay Taffet writes, “Avoid spam email from the mind.” He says we internalize thoughts like “I’m upset” “I’m anxious” even though we would never say “I’m a hurt elbow” or “I’m a sore knee.” We consider what’s going on with our physical self differently than we do our mental self, even though both kinds of mental messages–”I’m upset” and “I’m a hurt elbow”– can be ignored if we work at it.
Bentonsmom makes a related point: “Your brain responds to what you tell it and this includes the attitude and emotion you say it with… If you tell yourself you are going to have a great day, you will.” She also suggests living with compassion for those around you (hard to argue with that one).
Jim.marks references the work of academic Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a professor of psychology and author renowned for his work in the area of positive psychology. His suggestion: Set appropriate goals that provide immediate feedback and measurable progress.
Lyndsay Katauskas recommends women keep a “Have-done” list, or reiterate their accomplishments to a partner each day, to combat the stress of a never-ending “To-Do” list.
Finally, from Mvanderford: “Don’t forget the benefits of a good night’s sleep.” Hear ye, hear ye.

How Do You Identify The Metrics that Measure You To Show Value

http://blogs.hbr.org/johnson/2010/11/your-own-kind-of-moneyball-the.html?cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-management_tip-_-tip121610&referral=00203&utm_source=newsletter_management_tip&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tip121610

“Once we’ve identified our best skills, and figured out how to measure them, we are well on our way to maximizing our value.”

If you can measure what you do best, you'll get paid what you're worth.

If you can't measure it, you'll have a harder time putting a price on it. No price tag, no getting paid what you're worth

"When the A's acquired MLB relief pitcher Chad Bradford from the White Sox, Bradford's standard pitching metrics were respectable, but his fastball came in at 81-85 mph, and he looked funny when he threw — the scouts made fun of him. But because the A's thought about measurement more comprehensively than the other teams, Beane knew Bradford was a steal.
According to Lewis, "Chad Bradford gave up his share of hits per balls in play, but, more than any pitcher in baseball, they were ground ball hits. His minor league ground ball to fly ball ratio was 5:1. The big league average was more like 1.1: 1. Ground balls were not only hard to hit over the wall; they were hard to hit for doubles and triples." Bradford eventually signed a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles."

1) Talent Developer — tally the number of team members for whom a manager has brokered a move into other areas of the organization; 2) Innovator — did they create an environment that fosters innovation as evidenced by the number of ideas generated by their team; 3) Value Integrator (a manager who analyzes and synthesizes information and turns it into a competitive asset) — count, for example, how many cash management strategies came from their division? The number of M&A points of integration? Or, how many Lean or Six Sigma initiatives were successfully implemented?"

Because headline metrics rarely tell the whole story, you need to find the metrics that do, whether running a business or managing your career. That's what conflict negotiation and mediation teaches — whenever you walk into any negotiation you need to know how to value what you are bringing to the table, to put a price tag on it. Getting paid what you are worth is ultimately a negotiation. When you can identify your disruptive or best skills, and then present metrics that establish your value (creating them if need be), you can communicate your value. Are you ready to play some moneyball?

How do I have a better relationship with my manager?

10 Simple Questions That Will Win Over Your Boss
1.Ask what he thinks you can do to be more effective.
2.Ask what her top three priorities or goals are.
3.Ask what you can do to make him more effective.
4.Ask what you can do to make the team more effective.
5.Ask if he’s interested in knowing what will make your job easier.
6.Ask what her take is on the company’s top priorities and goals.
7.Ask what he thinks you should do differently or improve upon to be more effective.
8.Ask if she’d like to meet periodically, one-on-one, and if so, how frequently and what format would she like the meeting to take. Then set it up.
9.Ask what his philosophy is on your shared functional responsibility, whatever that is, i.e. marketing, HR, IT, engineering, finance.
10.And, if the meeting’s open-form and you feel it’s appropriate, ask about her background. Most people like to talk about themselves and how they got there, as long as they don’t feel like they’re being grilled, pumped for information, or played in some way.

How do I find the right decision maker in the sales process?

1.A job title that is relevant to the area that your offering addresses.
2.A position on the org chart that is relevant to the area your offering addresses.
3.A history of being a successful leader within the organization, implementing similar projects.
4.A reputation among other executives in the firm as a genuine contributor to the firm.
5.A reputation for being closely bound to others in the organization “by mutual advantage.”
6.Sufficient influence to control company events and activities and to alter the firm’s status quo.

The individual who has all those characteristics is the REAL decision-maker for your offering. This is the person whom you must contact, cultivate and work with to make sure that your offering actually gets purchased.

What distinguishes the best sales people from the rest?

how they convey ideas in a way that inspire others to think and feel different, as well as their ability to listen and through listening, create a real connection. I found this in every case: the distinguishing factor is really the way the very few send out messages and the way they take in messages. In the case of sales professionals, i know of so many highly-successful ones who had no process at all, and didn’t follow ANY sales methodology. But they earn the business because they were able to form an emotional connection with their buyer, and could inspire actions.

http://www.bnet.com/blog/salesmachine/ben-zoldan-the-power-of-listening/13215?promo=808&tag=nl.e808

How do I get to the sales decision maker?

Get more patient. As long as you’ve got a dialog going, you’re still in the sales cycle. Relax, take a deep breath, and revise your forecast to reflect the delay.
Get up-front commitment. During the demonstration, get the stakeholder to make an appointment (or send an email requesting one) with the decision-maker while you are online with the stakeholder.
Close the loop. When you email the thank-you and next steps to the stakeholder, copy the decision-maker, so that the decision-maker knows that the stakeholder is committed.
Send a warning email. Sure you might get a deferral, but if you’re going to get one on the email, you’re going to get one on the phone call anyways. Best to know sooner than later,
Create a sense of urgency. If you have some kind of discount program, make the discount contingent on a response within a certain timeframe.
Try to call higher. You say that it’s nigh impossible to get to the decision-maker. Well, maybe, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t try. Find out where the decision-maker network and make contacts.

Sales technique: Reframe the importance of the objection

Sales technique: Reframe the importance of the objection

Prospect: “The taxes are too high on that house.”
Sales Pro: “Yes, the taxes are a higher than the surrounding neighborhoods, which is probably why the public schools are so much better. Which is of greater concern to you, the taxes or the quality of education your children will receive?”


Prospect: “That computer is $1,000 more than I want to pay.”

Sales Pro: “I can appreciate that. You know, $1,000 comes down to about $.25 a day for the length of time that you’ll have the computer. Is the extra horsepower worth an extra $.25 a day to you?


Prospect: “I heard this is not a good area for property appreciation.”
Sales Pro: “We can check the appreciation rates when we get back to my office. Would that be critical to your decision about making a purchase in this area?”


Confirm That the Objection is No Longer Important



Prospect: “We don’t have the money in this year’s budget.”
Sales Pro: “That’s O.K. We can finance the investment so part of it falls into next year’s budget. Does that work for you?
Prospect: “I guess so.”
Sales Pro: “So that settles that, doesn’t it?”
Prospect: “Right.”

//After you’ve answered an objection, you MUST get the customer to agree that you’ve answered it. This prevents the objection from resurfacing later. The reason this is important is simple.

Sales & leadership lessons from the Democratic party

Lesson #1: Customers don’t buy features and functions. Whenever Obama or the Democratic leadership talked about their accomplishments, they get all wonky about weird little details. That’s the equivalent of a beginning sales rep going into an account and waxing eloquent about the superior widgetness of his firms offering. Dumb!
Lesson #2: Never promise more than you can deliver. Obama swept into office on a wave of enthusiasm that was practically messianic. He set expectations so high for a “transformative” experience that there was no way that the reality of a dysfunctional government could possible fulfill even a fraction of what the “true believers” thought would happen. Disappointing!
Lesson #3: Never sell against your brand. If you’re going to position yourself as the champion of the individual citizen against the excesses big business, it’s madness to kowtow to Wall Street and let them get away with gigantic bonuses after defrauding the American public. It would have been wiser to fix the blame firmly on Wall Street, even if it meant a worse Recession.
Lesson #4: Sell what you’ve got, not what you’ll have. Third rate sales reps sell features that the product will have “in the next release.” In the case of the Democrats, they kept on trotting out promises and possibilities, rather than touting the huge middle-class tax cut they already gave the country, and the changes in healthcare that protect average citizens from predatory insurance companies.
Lesson #5: Be clear on why you won last time. Nothing is more important, when you want to make a future sale, than understanding why you won (or lost) a deal. The Democrats won in 2008 because voters were angry and scared at a collapsing economy. If Obama had fixed that problem (rather than getting tied up in Afghanistan, healthcare and other assorted issues), I wouldn’t be writing this post.

How do I build rapport?

1.Don’t BS. Let’s get one thing straight. BSing destroys credibility. If you want to become a successful executive or leader, don’t BS. Period. It doesn’t matter how smart others think you are, just how smart you really are.
2.It’s never about you; it’s always about them. Connecting with people means finding things you have in common, or even different views on a subject you both feel strongly about. You already know you, what you don’t know is them.
3.People like to be schmoozed. I know some will disagree, but they’re wrong. People like attention, to be noticed, to connect and engage. That is, as long as you’re straightforward about it.
4.Be open and genuine. Be you. The most effective way to connect with people and find common ground is to be yourself, with all your native charm, faults, and idiosyncrasies. There’s nothing more attractive than genuine humanity - humility, humor, being yourself.
5.Don’t overdo it. Next to BSing and trying to be someone you’re not, trying too hard is the biggest schmoozing pitfall. Pushing too hard will backfire.
6.Everyone is schmoozable. CEOs, VCs, tough administrative assistants, everyone is schmoozable, for the simple reason that everyone likes the attention … under the right conditions.
7.Always be appropriate. Never overstep your bounds or make others feel uncomfortable. Never invade someone’s personal space. Not sure what the boundaries are? It’s different for everyone, so pay attention; they’ll let you know.
8.Always be respectful of people’s time. Now more than ever, our time is our most precious resource. Enough said.
9.Don’t talk at people. Nobody likes to be talked at. They like to be engaged. They like to be listened to. There’s a big difference. Just remember: give a little, get a little.
10.Let yourself be schmoozed. Although, by definition, schmoozing is related to persuasion, you’ll be better off just thinking of it in terms of long-term relationships. That means you should always be willing to help people first. It’s good Karma.

Public Speaking - The Most Common Storytelling Mistake

The Most Common Storytelling Mistake

By far the most common mistake speakers make with their stories is having too much narration and not enough dialogue. For example, they’ll say something like the following:

“And the principal threw me out of the school and told me never to come back.” Now that’s narration. However, dialogue would go something like this:

“And the principal looked me directly in the eyes and said, ‘Mr. Valentine, you are expelled. Don’t ever step a foot back into this building.’” That’s dialogue.

Narration is retelling a story but dialogue is reliving it. When you relive it, the audience hears exactly what you heard exactly how you heard it. They feel like they are there!

The Necessary Adjustment

If speakers would make the simple adjustment of replacing much of their narration with dialogue, they would automatically and immediately do one of the most powerful things in public speaking. They’d bring the audience into the present moment of the scene they created. Narration is retelling a story but dialogue is reliving it. When you relive it, the audience hears exactly what you heard exactly how you heard it. They feel like they are there!

Three Types of Dialogue you can use to Bring your audience into your Scenes

Most speakers at least know about using dialogue but they might not know there are three major types of dialogue they can use.

Dialogue between characters

Inner dialogue

Audience dialogue

Let’s listen to a quick live audio example of each.

Dialogue between Characters

This occurs when one character is talking to another. Listen to this quick example from my speech to the engineering students at the Colorado School of Mines

The key to using dialogue in between characters is to set up the dialogue with a bit of narration. For example, the narration part was “I was so upset about this I called my friend Steve and I said…” That narration set up the dialogue of “Steve, you’re positive. Tell me something…”

The other key to using dialogue between characters is to make sure we know which character is talking. In addition to many Deliver Devices (click here for details) you can use, you can also put the recipient’s name in the line of dialogue (i.e. “Steve, tell me something…). By using Steve’s name, you now know that I’m the one who is talking. Then Steve says, “Craig, you write that book…” and we know Steve is the one talking. I picked this strategy up from Patricia Fripp

Inner Dialogue

Whereas dialogue between characters brings your audience into a scene, inner dialogue does something even greater. It brings your audience into your character’s mind. You can’t get closer to a character than that! Knowing what’s going on in a character’s mind lets your audience connect with you much deeper. Listen to this 15 second example again from the Colorado School of Mines:

The key to using inner dialogue is to avoid the phrase “I thought to myself…” Whenever I hear someone use that phrase, I ask, “Well, who else are you going to think to?” Just say, “I thought…” or “I’m thinking…” Please remember that reactions tell the story. When you can show your reactions on your face and couple that with the inner dialogue of whatever your character is feeling, that will really bring your audience into your situation and keep them hooked.

Audience Dialogue

This is one of the most important yet most neglected tools you can use as a speaker. Give the audience dialogue. This simply means, verbalize their thoughts in dialogue form. Or you can even verbalize what you want them to think and then put it into dialogue that seemingly comes from them. Listen to this 10 second example also from the Colorado School of Mines:

Obviously my audience was not actually thinking that, but I still connected by giving them dialogue even if it was just playful. So it still worked. Keep in mind I still had them use my name in the line of dialogue in order to clarify who was talking (or thinking). However, the best time to give your audience dialogue is when you can truly anticipate what they are thinking and then you can verbalize it. For example, you might tell what seems like a crazy story and then say, “You’re probably saying, ‘Craig, that’s crazy!’” Whenever you know what they’re thinking, verbalize it in dialogue coming from them. They’ll either laugh or think. Either way, you’ll connect on a deeper level.

Some of the phrases you can use to give your audience dialogue are the following:

You’re looking at me as if to say, “Scott…(dialogue)”

Now you might say, “Janet…(dialogue)”

You say, “Craig…(dialogue)”

Final thoughts

Keep in mind that good dialogue is still set up by some narration. If you only use dialogue without any set-up narration, your story will look more like a stage play. You don’t want that. If you only use narration and no dialogue, you won’t have a story.

How do I move this sales opportunity forward?

APPROACH #1: Define a viable solution. Work with the prospect to determine an approach to solving the problem.

APPROACH #2: Define economic consequences. Work with the prospect to estimate the economic impact of the problem.

APPROACH #3:Define decision criteria. Work with the prospect to understand how they’ll make a buying decision.

APPROACH #4: Define budget allocations. Work with the prospect to determine whether there is budget for a solution.

How do I ensure my Email gets opened?

Rule #1: Personalize your email address. Have an email address that identifies you clearly. Mine has my full name in it, so whomever gets my email knows right away its from me. If they know who I am, they’re more likely to open it.

Rule #2: Personalize the subject line. If possible, include the name of somebody who you are CERTAIN the recipient will know. (e.g. “[recipient's boss]: Conversation on Software Needs”] This is appropriate when you’ve been referred to the recipient.

Rule #3: Refer to a competitor. If you don’t have a referral to use with Rule #2, use the name of the recipient’s biggest competitor. That’s going to break through the “noise” in all the email messages, because it will be relevant but unusual.

Rule #4: Be specific about the benefits. Pick the two or three words that will get them to sit up and take notice. Something like “Productivity gains at [competitor]” looks like SPAM; by contrast “How [competitor] saved 20% in inventory costs” is more likely to get opened.

Rule #5: Keep it short. The subject line should be no more than 50 characters, since that’s what typically gets displayed on the email system when it’s displayed with a list of messages. If you want to see how this is done, check out how newspapers write headlines.

Rule #6: Test, Measure, Test. The only way to find out what’s going to get opened is by tracking it. Some phrases will work better than others. If you don’t track and measure, you’ll never be sure whether you’re getting the best results.

How do I effectively learn new skills and practices?

The Theory Segment

Stage 1: Unawareness. You are completely unaware that there is a skill to be learned. For example, a novice sales rep might be making cold calls without realizing that her accent is making it difficult for customers to understand what she’s saying.
Stage 2: Awareness. You realize that something isn’t working. For example, that novice rep may notice that her hit rate on the cold-calls is much lower than the other people working in that office. This causes her to ask colleagues and her sales manager for suggestions.
Stage 3: Clarification. You understand what you need to do differently. For example, that novice rep signs up for a class that will improve her diction and make it more understandable to the target customer base.
The Practice Segment

Stage 4: Awkwardness. You attempt the new behavior and find it difficult. For example, the novice attempts to apply the skills learned in the class and speak without the debilitating accent. She finds that it’s hard and exhausting to hold a conversation without slipping into the old accent. WARNING: Because the new behavior seems awkward at this stage, it’s easy to give up, conclude that the new behavior is “not right for you,” or simply too much bother to pursue. This is where people who aren’t really committed fail at follow-through.
Stage 5: Familiarity. The new behavior is easier but still not automatic. For example, the novice finds that she can now hold a conversation in the new accent without fumbling or falling into the old accent. Practicing the new skill is no longer a burden. WARNING: Once a new behavior seems easy, you’ll be tempted to neglect practicing it. In most cases, people think that they’ve mastered the skill and can move on. But, in fact, the skill is not yet automatic, which means that, without practice and ongoing attention, you will quickly slip back into the previous behavior. This is where people who are committed (but are unaware of how the human brain works) fail at follow-through.
Stage 6: Automatic. You no longer think about the behavior but simply do it. For example, the novice now finds that talking in the new accent seems more natural than the old accent. In fact, it takes a conscious decision to speak in the old accent. At this point, the brain has been reprogrammed so that the new behavior no longer needs monitoring or specific practice sessions. It’s now like “riding a bike” - a lifelong skill that you’ll never forget.
Reaching stage 6, where the new skill, behavior or habit becomes automatic, requires constant and consistent practice. The amount of time varies according to the complexity of the behavior and the degree to which the previous behavior is ingrained, though.

For example, changing a habitual negative thought (like “I’m not that good with people”) to a positive alternative (like “people really like me when they get to know me”) can be accomplished in less than two weeks, simply through five minutes of daily affirmations. By contrast, changing something major, like your eating habits, can take a commitment of an hour or more a day for six months to a year. (This is, by the way, why most dieters regain whatever weight they lose.)

If you don’t practice the new skill until you reach stage 6, so the change in behavior never becomes automatic. And that requires single-minded focus. Unfortunately, that focus is difficult to achieve. I explain why (and how to achieve that focus)
The focus required to achieve Stage 6 in today’s business world for two reasons. The first is distraction. Modern working life is full of interruptions constantly vying for your attention.

The second focus-killer is over-commitment. Most people who are committed to improving their lives often attempt to make changes in multiple areas, makes it difficult or impossible to focus on single one change long enough to reach stage 6.

For example, how many times have you heard yourself (or somebody else) say something like: “Starting tomorrow, every day I’m going to run three miles, lift weights, drink eight glasses of water, stop smoking, stop drinking coffee, and eat 50 percent less fat.” While those are all laudable goals, the likelihood that you’ll be keep up that regimen for more than a few days (let alone reach stage 6 on any element of the regimen) is practically nil.

To overcome distraction, you must set aside a very small amount of time each day - hopefully less than ten minutes to focus on the change in behavior that you seek. More time than that, and it’s likely that other priorities will intrude.

To overcome over-commitment, pick a single behavior that you wish to change, and then focus on that until it becomes automatic. Then move to the next.

Over time, your list of automatic skills will far exceed what you would ever been able to achieve through the scattershot “crash course” that’s the mainstay of sales training and self-improvement.

BTW, don’t worry that focusing on one thing will make everything else fall apart. While you focus on this one thing, the other automatic behaviors that you’ve already acquired will continue to function much the same way as before.

In other words, if you can already do what it takes to sell, focusing on improving a single sales skill won’t cause the rest of your skills to disappear.

READERS: How does Wingard’s process square with your personal experience? It matches mine perfectly