The other day, I was on a coaching call with a client, and the Starbucks name kept coming up.  Strangely enough, it had nothing to do with my asking this client to meet me at the coffee shop.  It came up because I was asking this client to visualize she was meeting me at the coffee shop.  Confused?  Let me explain…

Most of us don’t realize it, but more often than not, there is an actual script that we follow each time we meet someone at a coffee shop.  Once we walk in, order our drink, and sit down, the ritual begins.  We tend to start with small talk, shift into the deeper part of our conversation, and then finish with more small talk.

When I was recently working on sales technique with a client, I was trying to get her to simulate that Starbucks ritual in her dealings with her clients.  Salespeople are known to jump into the deeper parts of a conversation too quickly. I asked her to visualize she was at Starbucks, having coffee with a friend.  “How quickly do you get to the deeper, more difficult parts of the conversation?” She immediately understood she needed to slow down, be patient, and spend some time just enjoying their time together.

At a recent presentation, an audience member mentioned that he wanted to come across as authentic. He followed that up with his concern that it felt forced when he tried to do that. My response?  “Visualize you’re at a Starbucks having coffee with a friend.  How forced are your conversations there?” He immediately understood he had to soften his tone, relax, and stop pressing so hard. 

When I was in a Zoom meeting and someone complimented me on my carefully orchestrated background, I went back to the Starbucks analogy: “Visualize you’re at a Starbucks, and you’ll notice a carefully created, pleasant, environment that encourages relaxation and conversation.  That’s what I’m after here.” She immediately understood she needed to pay more attention to her background, and ultimately toned it down. For the record, when it comes to virtual communication, a poor microphone, a weak internet connection, and poor lighting are still three of the four most common complaints, but none exceed the number of complaints about a poor background.  The environment you create matters. 

Oddly enough, my version of the Starbucks Effect on Conversations has little to do with actually being at the coffee shop itself.  Just visualizing and simulating that experience in your mind will do wonders.  Like many of you, I still spend a lot of time on Zoom. I always encourage my clients to have a cup of coffee or tea with them in their Zoom call.  When I’m meeting with a client virtually, I make sure they see I’m joining them with a thermal cup that looks just like it came from a coffee shop.  (I wrote about this nutty cup in a previous BLArticle® called, “Five Percent Moves.”)

Starbucks changed the way we drink coffee, where we drink coffee, the taste of coffee, and how we consume coffee, but I think it goes deeper than the coffee itself.  Unbeknownst to us, Starbucks became our meeting place – our family room – and a safe place to just be ourselves.  What a perfect way to visualize a conversation with clients. 

What do you get when combine energy, enthusiasm… and great content?  You get a “Pocket Sized Pep Talk!”  Tune in and you’ll hear a collection of BLArticles®, conversations, and interviews that are sure to teach, motivate, inspire, and dare I say, entertain!   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pocket-sized-pep-talks/id1497772972

I recently appeared on, “It’s Not Rocket Science! Five Questions Over Coffee,” a fun podcast with Stuart Webb.   You can listen to the podcast here:

• On Facebook facebook.com/INRSFQOC
• On Youtube – https://youtu.be/KJBK0dm-VaU
• On Linkedin – linkedin.com/posts/stuartwebb_a-sought-after-speaker-and-best-selling-author-activity-6858787689332920320-zhxC

If you are looking for something to listen to on your next coffee break you might enjoy this brief chat between me and Tom Bailey, Founder of Succeed Through Speaking and the Succeed Through Speaking podcast. Listen closely if you would like some high value ideas to boost your business results.

You can read the transcript here – https://bit.ly/3BOfU7o

You can watch the podcast here – https://youtu.be/w-QgGvweE2M

You can listen to the podcast here – https://apple.co/2YVGWuN

I Zoomed my way to India to speak with Motivational Diaries, and Ashish Janiani.  We spoke for about 30 minutes about sales processes and training for success. 

   Sales Process To Sales Success || Interview With Robert Jolles – YouTube

If you want to read some “Life Lessons” I was able to share in a recent interview, you’ll find them here:  https://worldclassperformer.com/short-life-lessons-from-robert-jolles/

I had the pleasure of appearing on Robert Miller’s, Follow Your Dream Podcast and thoroughly enjoyed the discussion.  We go way back in this conversation to my first memories of performance… at age four!  I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!  https://follow-your-dream.simplecast.com/episodes/rob-jolles-superstar-salesman

I also mixed it up with a wonderful podcaster, Terry McDougall on her Marketing Mambo show.  As she puts it, we “Cha-cha-chatted!”  If you want to hear sales and marketing go toe-to-toe, you’ll enjoy this show. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1569061/8172686-the-art-of-influence-in-sales-and-marketing-with-rob-jolles

I recently did a podcast with a wonderful, new, and up-and-coming star named Jahmaal Marshall.  His podcast is called, “Listen Then Speak.”  I’ve done a lot of podcasts, but we got into topics I rarely talk about, and I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy the show!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/listen-then-speak/id1550684472

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 a few weeks ago 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 interview that explores our many behaviors we display that are based more on a default mechanism than actual logic. https://www.smallbusinessadvocate.com/small-business-experts/rob-jolles-134

We posted a video 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 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