If you seek another heart-felt paean to the true meaning of the holiday season—then move along, nothing to look at here folks… This post is the counterpoint. First, we need a great bah-humbug blog post. This year’s winner is Private Equity: As a culture we are horribly conflicted. We denominate value in cash, but consider […]
Enviga Coke Green Tea EGCG marketing caffeine
Trust sales proposal selling
Which is a better deterrent to crime: jail sentences, or restraining orders? We normally apply these sanctions against perpetrators of domestic violence, or robbery. But what about the scandal du jour—endemic stock option abuse? Which is a better deterrent to stock options abusers: prison sentences, or structural reform around corporate governance? The latest twist in […]
When I give seminars or training sessions, I often begin by asking for participants’ expectations. And reliably, at least one of the first two will say, “I’d just like to learn some tips and tricks to become more trusted.” Tips and tricks to become more trusted. Of course, my first reaction—which I’ve learned to stifle—is […]
One of the biggest reasons sellers and marketers don’t become trustworthy is that they chicken out. At the last minute, they can’t give up control. They’ve got to tweak the truth just a bit; or whine just a touch to get the sale this quarter; or massage the message just a tad. And poof—self-orientation rears […]
Trust listening sales presentation pitch
Fortune talks about recommender systems. Take Amazon’s “if you liked The Da Vinci Code, you’ll love Blink.” Now move from book-to-book relationships into book-to-other relationships: “If you liked the Da Vinci Code, you’ll like a Jura Capressa espresso maker.” That’s a recommender system. Fortune’s example is www.whattorent.com, helping slackers save time at 10PM Friday night […]
I was on the afternoon Amtrak Acela Express from Boston to New York. I got on at the Back Bay stop in Boston (the second stop), and went to the next-to-last car, designated as the Quiet Car. It has signs posted asking customers to talk quietly, and to not use cell phones. After a while, […]
Several months after 9/11, I had dinner with friends—a couple from New York. One’s a doctor, the other runs a small business. Both are well-educated, successful people. They told me that the press had hushed up a major disaster affecting the PATH system (stands for Port Authority Trans-Hudson Rail; they run light rail trains from […]