I purchased a new thermos the other day.  I was looking for something else, and I found it quite by accident.  It turned up on one of those pages on Amazon that says this: “If you liked that other thing you purchased, you might like this.”  At first, I dismissed the item completely because it just looked like a paper to-go cup I would be given at just about any coffee shop. It had a white top on it with a slit in it to drink from, and even had what looked like a cardboard ring around the cup to keep the cup from being too hot to handle.  Quite unexpectedly, I found myself smiling when I looked at that picture of the cup.

I continued on my search for what I had originally been searching for, but I was distracted by nagging thoughts about that thermos.  It looked quite different from other thermoses or to-go cups, and in a sense, it looked painfully average.  What was it that was drawing me back to it, and why was I still smiling thinking about it?

Later that day, I went back to that to-go cup, and when I did, I found myself smiling again.  Just seeing that to-go cup made me think of all the wonderful times I’ve had over the years, meeting family, friends and clients at various coffee shops.  There’s nothing like a nice hot cup of coffee or tea, or whatever it is you put in a to-go cup to make everything right in the world.  It was then I figured it out, and I bought that dang to-go cup!

In fact, I didn’t just buy that dang to-go cup. I hatched a plan to create my own experiment.  Was the response I was having to that to-go cup a unique, individual reaction, or would it have a similar effect on others who saw it?  After all:

• Most people think of having a cup of coffee, or a hot drink, as a good thing, correct?
• Most people who drink these good hot beverages seem to enjoy them more at a coffee shop than at home, correct?
• Most people who drink these good hot beverages at these enjoyable coffee shops, drink them from a simple cup, with a lid, and a band around it to help better manage the heat, correct?

Therefore, wouldn’t you agree that seeing someone on screen who was sipping a hot beverage, speaking to you in a virtual environment like Zoom, would consciously or unconsciously affect the viewer in a positive way by drinking that beverage in a to-go cup?  Wouldn’t you also agree that one person out of twenty, or five percent of those who saw this to-go cup, would have a similar reaction to the one I had?  Wouldn’t they be significantly impacted, in a positive way, by this one, simple, move?

For the record, this BLArticle® has less to do with the to-go cups, and much more to do with what I call “a five percent move.” People literally thumb their noses at simple ideas like these because the impact isn’t perceived to be as significant as they’d like it to be.  The funny thing is this; I’m practically obsessed with moves like these “five percent moves.”  The day-to-day activities I participate in are littered with moves like these.  Wearing color friendly clothing for webcams, moving those cameras to eyelevel, sitting in a comfortable chair, decluttering your background, and improving your audio are all examples of, “five percent moves”… and I’m just referring to Zoom calls!  I’m a collector of “five percent moves,” so if you have any other moves that are even half as easy as this one, and you don’t think they are of value to you, please send them my way.  I promise, I’ll give them a good home here with me!  They are indeed worth the effort.

So, please don’t be shocked if you see me on-screen conducting a seminar, or participating in a coaching call, and you notice a “five percent move.”  It’s getting a lot of use because sometimes I can partake in six meetings a day.  Am I drinking six cups of coffee?  Doubtful.  Sometimes, there may be nothing in my pretend to-go cup. I’m fond of coffee, tea, water, and occasionally air.  I’m also quite fond of “five percent moves.”  One of my favorite quotes was spoken by someone else who I believe appreciated and valued “five percent moves” too – Vincent Van Gogh:

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.

By the way, I may have failed to mention that my new, pretend to-go cup keeps my hot beverage warm longer, keeps spills from being a disaster, and it is good for the environment.  Dang!

Want to listen to this BLArticle® read by the author?  Tune in to “Pocket Sized Pep Talks” and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles® and interviews updated often! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

I’ve appeared on the “Small Business Advocate Show” with Jim Blasingame for almost 20 years now, and you’ll find dozens of our conversations on his website.  We just sat down last week for a great conversation about selling fundamentals and the strategic use of stories.  Here’s a link to over 100 interviews done over the years, including my most recent that explores the myths and techniques involved in closing. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134

We recently posted the final video in a series on delivering amazing online presentations with my friend, Jeremy Webb. We go over some great stuff including:

• How to Select the Best Equipment for Online Presentations
• Pro Tips for Sustaining Interest in Online Presentations
• How to Look Like a Pro!
• Public Speaking Anxiety Tip
• Virtual Office Setup for Online Presentations

You’ll find the whole playlist here:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRO7BsBDl6oL-6ZPW3O01x-g5PiR38ljL

I just finished an interview with Jay Izso, on his show, “A New Direction.”  We sat down for a little over an hour and went at it!  If you’re presenting online, you’ll want to hear this interview. Normally, I sit down for a few minutes… but not with Jay. We go over a LOT of helpful hints here!  Here is the direct link to that interview:

https://jizso.net/and113

I joined @Dan Englander on The Digital Agency Growth Podcast where we talked about transitioning from in-person to teleconference sales. Some topics we covered:

• Why sales is a transferable skill but marketing is domain-centric.
• The important consistencies and differences in teleconference sales.
• Why objections are good.
• Why product knowledge is overrated. (Don’t shoot the messenger!)
• My Three P’s of sales performance.

I was recently interviewed on the “Salesman Podcast,” which was a lot of fun. If you’re looking to Change Minds, check out this podcast: https://www.salesman.org/the-simple-step-by-step-process-to-influence-anyone-with-rob-jolles/

I loved talking about the book, Why People Don’t Believe You on a podcast that I’m sure you’ll like called Onward Nation: https://predictiveroi.com/podcasts/rob-jolles/

After 30+ years as a professional speaker and trainer, one of the most common questions I get is this: “How do we make sure the training sticks?”  Take a moment and listen to this podcast; “SalesChats” with John Golden.  If you want to know why most training fails, listen up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR3dDOlTK7U&list=FLxBXKhqz0xBwbUPMqNthAJA&index=2&t=1293s