BLArticle®
The personal touch of a blog; the informative touch of an article.
The Most Forgotten Step in Closing
After teaching sales to many clients over the past few decades, I think one of my favorite seminars was the hostage negotiation seminar I conducted in Baltimore several years ago. It was an exhilarating experience as I connected the world of selling to the world of...
The Can’t Miss Holiday
I’m a New Year’s Eve man. No doubt about it, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. What can you say about New Years Eve that isn’t positive? Christmas is a wonderful holiday, but not everyone celebrates Christmas. The same could be said for Kwanzaa, Bodhi Day, Hanukah,...
Prime The Pump
Zig Ziglar passed away a few weeks ago, and I wanted to take a moment to say, “thanks.” For those who may not know of Mr. Ziglar, let me take a moment and bring you up to speed. He was born in Alabama, the tenth of twelve children, and served in the United States...
“Knowing It All”
I’ve always been a basketball fan. I played a lot as a kid in various leagues, and began coaching kids at the age of 22. I coached both boys and girls in house league teams, select teams, and travel teams. I created my own playbooks, and ran full motion offenses. I...
“Not Leaving Well Enough Alone”
As a student of the presentation game, I’ve watched a lot of presentations in my life. After a while, you can quickly get a sense of those that know what they’re doing, and those that struggle a bit. Unfortunately, recently I joined the ranks of the “struggle a bit”...
“The One That Got Away”
While working for Xerox, I became the go-to guy when it came to meeting with our more eclectic clients. I was responsible for working with clients who wanted to understand the Xerox methodology of selling, and wanted to integrate these concepts into their...
“Shaking Hands With The Man”
I’m a pretty lucky person: I have shaken the hands of some pretty impressive people in my lifetime. Amongst others, I have shaken the hands of three of the past four Presidents. Recently, I was able to shake hands and spend a few moments talking with “The Man” in my...
“The Line In The Sand”
Some years ago my wife and I owned a Mercury Marquis that was one, interesting piece of work. It was a fine car, but we had it for quite some time, and over the years it developed some rather interesting, uh, habits. It had a rattle of some sort in the back wheel,...
“It’s Not Me; It’s You!”
It’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I was never fond of the various personality models that appeared over the years. These were the programs that identified various personality types and provided insight into the things about yourself that you never quite...
“The Blueprint to Change Minds”
I have learned many different sales tactics over the years. When I worked at New York Life, I learned the “Live, Die, Quit” story, the “Hundred Man” story, and few other impressive scripts. When I worked at Xerox, I learned “SPIN Selling,” “Strategic...
“Is Winning The Only Thing?”
While I was growing up, I was a fan of the late Vince Lombardi. Not only was he one of the greatest coaches ever, but he also finished his career with my Washington Redskins. He was also the man who is forever linked to the following words: “Winning isn’t...
“What Makes A Great Interview”
Recently, I was interviewed on a TV show called “We Mean Business!” It was a half hour show, and I enjoyed the interview a great deal. It was a successful show, and that was because the interviewer, Steve Dorfman, did several things that made the interview...
“Emphasize Everything…”
While I was conducting a seminar in Connecticut this past week, I was asked a very interesting question by one of the attendees: “When you have a lot information to present, how do you keep the audience focused on the critical information without losing their...
“Three Steps To Recognition”
Nineteen years ago, I walked out the door and left my dream job with Xerox. I was a casualty of lack of recognition. My management teams, just like so many others, were never trained in how to give recognition, so they took the road most travelled. ...
“A Casualty of Performance and Recognition”
When I was a trainer for Xerox, I took pride in my performance in the classroom. After all, that’s what I was paid to do. Every class ended with an evaluation form completed by the students, and those evaluations were strong. I was immensely proud of my high...
“A Different Kind of Empathy”
Sitting in the unbearable heat that racked the East Coast, a man has plenty of time to think, and hallucinate. It was quite an experience being part of a weather anomaly that many say will not be seen again in our lifetime. The Washington D.C area was hit like a...
Owning It
When does a four-hour delay not feel that bad? When you have a pilot who takes control of the situation and owns it! I know what you’re thinking: Here comes another airline story about delays and personnel inefficiencies! Last Friday night, flying out of Chicago...
“It’s Not What You Say, But How You Say It”
When it comes to how we communicate, it’s interesting how much attention is paid to what we say. We craft our words carefully, with nutty authors like me preaching to audiences about just how important these words can be. However, when it comes to the emotional...
“It’s Not What You Say, But How You Say It”
When it comes to how we communicate, it’s interesting how much attention is paid to what we say. We craft our words carefully, with nutty authors like me preaching to audiences about just how important these words can be. However, when it comes to the emotional...
Handling Aggressive Behavior A BLArticle® Miniseries Rule Four: “The Confidence Of A King”
By now, I think everyone knows that the biggest fear people have is speaking in front of an audience. But do you know why it is the biggest fear? This fear isn’t based on what will happen if things go right. It’s based on what will happen if things go wrong. Guess...
“Rob is an expert not only in the art of influence,
but also in human nature.”
~Ken Blanchard,
coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Trust Works!