As an adult, you rarely try something that is completely new. After a certain point, you don't have a lot of chances to dive into new situations or experiences. We don't usually start a new job in a different field or a hobby that is completely unrelated to something we've done before. Even when we "try something new", it's usually tangential to something we've done before. Which means that we usually have some knowledge or background to draw upon in our new venture. For example, if I wanted to learn how to play the clarinet, I would have someplace to start. I've played the drums for almost 30 years, and have taken lessons in … [Read more...]
Who Do You Trust?
When You Miss These 5 Rare Skills You Kill Your Conversations
Does technology always help in the sales world? The knee-jerk response from most sales professionals would be a resounding “Yes!”, but we might want to dive a little deeper. It’s great to be able to use the latest AI-driven CRM or social media platform, but is it interfering with the fundamental role of a salesperson? Is it making it harder for us to connect and influence people because we can’t engage with them on a human level? Technology Makes Us Conversationally Absent Sherry Turkle, the author of Reclaiming Conversation, shared the results of a meta-analysis of 72 studies that showed that college students have experienced a 40 … [Read more...]
3 Necessary Ingredients for Building Networking Relationships
One of the most important pieces of powerful networking is building successful, long-term relationships. That’s why people who take a short-term view to networking usually fail - you can’t take shortcuts to building relationships. Just as your personal relationships take time to nurture and grow, so too do your professional connections. It does take time to build connections with the people in your network, but you can accelerate the process by focusing on the quality of your interactions – and always keep your networking goals in mind. There is an old sales adage that says “people do business with people they know, like, and … [Read more...]