Use Fewer Words First let’s learn what Jerry Seinfield says – because after all if you can learn from a marquee comedian who gets millions of dollars a year, well, it’s going to help with your sales. Jerry said, “I will take an hour to edit an eight-word sentence down to five.” Now in his […]

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If you are a leader, manager, executive, professional speaker, Toastmaster, or ambitious professional, most likely you will have the opportunity to moderate a panel. If you believe there is nothing duller than a bad speech, may I suggest a dull panel is even worst? As with any great presentation, when opening a panel discussion, the […]

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You have to like selling to succeed at it. Success, after all, is doing what we like and making a living at it. Work isn’t work if you like it. And, success is a journey not a destination.

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The speech was called “Everything Begins with a Love Story.” I told the audience of how our parents met and fell in love and about our joy of hearing this story when we were young, and now as adults. The brilliant Robert Fripp said “Sister, do you know why you are so moved by this? It is because by reliving the story while told the event itself continues to live in the experience of the storyteller and the audience. We grew up in our parent’s history and it became part of the living present.”

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6 of the Biggest Mistakes Salespeople Make in Their Presentations

By Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

Salespeople are incredible. Like Hollywood actors, whenever they open their mouths, they are putting themselves and their company on the line, taking a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome. Just like actors, even the best, most experienced salesperson can use some coaching and polishing now and then.

Here are the 6 most common mistakes that my sales clients are making at the beginning of our coaching sessions. By the time we’re through, they’ve learned how to avoid them.

1. UNCLEAR THINKING. If you can’t describe the objective of your interaction in one sentence, you may be guilty of fuzzy focus, trying to say too much at once. You’ll confuse your listener, and that doesn’t make the sale. Decide exactly what you want and need to accomplish in this contact. What would be a positive outcome? For example, imagine that a busy executive says, “You have exactly ten minutes of my time to tell me what you want me to know about your company. In one sentence, tell me how I should describe your benefits when I talk to my managers tomorrow.” At any stage of the sales process, you should know in advance why you are interacting, what benefits you are offering your prospect or client, and what you’d like the next step to be.

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Is Cold Calling Fun? Not unless you know how! This morning THE Executive Speech Coach Patricia Fripp…yes me! was reading my inbox and found the video from CanDoGo. This is a video service and I have created many of my own. Not only do they give you the video they give you the content.

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