Passion is good - especially when you are running the show. When I meet a business owner or entrepreneur who isn't excited and confident about what they are doing, I know that the company is heading for tough times. There are many challenges for small businesses. Sometimes the leader's enthusiasm and optimism are the key to finding success at the end of the day. Even though it's good to talk to your customers, employees, and partners with passion, though, it can quickly become a liability when you have to sell yourself or your company. It sounds counter-intuitive, but if your main sales tactic is to share your excitement about what you … [Read more...]
Following this Old-School Rule Will Make You Better at Social Selling
Have you been completely overwhelmed by social media yet? It seems like there's a new platform popping up every day. The established sites are constantly adding features. And the experts keep telling you a new way that you are supposed to be using it. There are always new widgets, new buttons, and new functions. It would be tempting (and easier) to write off social media as a fad...if it wasn't an immensely powerful business tool. Sure, you might not need every website de jour. But underneath the sometimes confusing veneer are new and exciting ways for you to connect with your clients, colleagues, and prospects. The Foundation of … [Read more...]
How Financial Professionals Can Take Their LinkedIn Profile to the Next Level
Update December 2018 Financial professionals have always considered themselves to be in the relationship business. The image of the small town insurance agent who knows everyone (and everyone's business) is deeply ingrained into our minds. Often they were the only source of information for their clients. That made them one of the pillars of the community and they were trusted advisors. But the world has changed. Whether someone lives in a rural town or a booming metropolis, they are only a few mouse clicks away from a wealth of information on products, markets, and prices. Your customers don't have to rely on you anymore. They … [Read more...]
Top Ten Book List
Updated October 2018 A few years back there was a meme that went around Facebook about the 10 books that had the greatest influence on you, and my friend Brian asked for mine. I put this together then, and have updated it with a few newer entries. But it's a simple truth that reading has been a a consistent and constant source of learning and education throughout my life and career. In the past I would tell people that I read a lot, and then dismiss it by making some comment about "being a nerd or somesuch." I've stopped apologizing for reading a lot and making constant learning a priority in my life. You'll notice that most of … [Read more...]
Being a RockStar Public Speaker
Being a public speaker is as close as you can get to being a RockStar during the daytime. And, it involves pretty much the same steps too: develop material over weeks and months, make a ton of phone calls trying to get booked, spend a solid amount of time getting to the venue hours early so you can do a 5-minute sound check, wait until it's your turn, worry about how many people are in the audience, deliver what you hope is a great presentation, try to minimize your mistakes, collect your applause and only sometimes a check, go back home and try to get another gig. Now, I love speaking just like I loved playing in a band (although it is … [Read more...]
The Confidence that Will Make You Comfortable on Zoom, on Stage, and in Zumba
Updated March, 2021 Years ago I read through Scott Berkun's Confessions of a Public Speaker and I came across the line: Know that your response to a mistake defines the audience's response. And I thought to myself, "Dude, you couldn't be more right." It's continued to stay relevant to me as I've moved beyond my normal public speaking and into the digital realm. Because now I can often see the mistakes I make in real-time! When you have a camera on you, and a little window of yourself in the corner of the screen, it can be a little intimidating. The Audience Only Cares if You Do And now everyone is a public speaker because of video … [Read more...]
How Can You Get More People to See Your LinkedIn Posts?
Updated December 2018 So I'm having an early morning breakfast at a hotel where I'm speaking that day for a group of financial advisers. I strike up a conversation with the guy sitting at the next table. And it turns out that he is attending the conference. He shares that he's been in the business for 20 years and has been pretty successful, but he actually came to the meeting to hear me speak about social media and LinkedIn, because he "...just doesn't get it. Why should I post what I'm doing? Who cares about that? Isn't it just people talking about what they had for lunch?" Create Visibility in a "Noisy" World After explaining … [Read more...]
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