Boeing’s Velocity Crisis: When Speed Trumps Quality
In today's world, the pressure to quickly deliver innovative solutions can sometimes lead to unintended consequences. Just ask Boeing. Its recent spate of mishaps is causing it a lot of problems. From increased regulatory pressures to safety concerns to customers, fliers, like me, worrying whether or not the Boeing plane they're on is actually going to get to where they want to go. For example, remember the door plug that fell off the plane in midair? How would you like to sit in...
Go Slow to Go Fast
Do you know that sometimes you have to go slow to go fast? Recently, I installed a new productivity software program. And like many of you, I figured I knew immediately what I had to do, so I didn’t bother reading the instructions. After two painful hours of trying to get the software to work properly, I finally gave up. What did I do? I googled a YouTube video on how to use the software and after watching for 10...
Three Questions You Should Ask Each Prospect To Quickly Grow Your Sales
Everyone is always looking for that quick fix. That's why Americans spend over $50 billion annually on vitamins and supplements. They want that quick fix. So, what's the quick fix you need in order to increase your sales? Well, the magic bullet, in this case, comes in the form of three questions you need to ask each and every prospect: 1.“What does success look like to you from using my product or service?” You have to find that out because...
Thinking Outside the Box: How a Shoe Store Owner Solved the Shoplifting Problem
As we've all seen for the last year or two, there's been a lot of shoplifting. A pack of thieves breaking into stores, stealing massive amounts of merchandise, and leaving before the cops come. If they're caught, they’re back on the streets in a couple of minutes. Shoplifting has gotten to such a high degree of loss for shop owners that many of them simply raise their hands, give up, and close their doors. But not this store owner outside...
Mastering Cross-Selling: Insights from Nature’s Banyan Tree
When I think of sales success, I think of a Banyan tree. Look at this tree. It is so magnificent. But look at the integrated network of roots. It's amazing how it grows. Now, here's what's special about a Banyan tree. It's not like normal trees that have one trunk coming down, and it's not planted by a seed. Instead, it propagates itself by entangling its web of roots and bark around host plants and basically takes over. This is...
Closing the 2-Minute Sale
I want you to meet Alex. Alex is a van driver who picked me and a few of my colleagues up from the hotel in Albuquerque this weekend to take us to the airport. It was a seven-minute ride. During the ride, Alex asked us if we had traveled to many different cities and ordered car services like this. We said: "All the time." He asked: “Who makes those reservations?” We said: "We have to." And then he said: “Well,...
How to become part of the inner woven fabric of your client’s organization
If you truly want to keep your competitors out of your accounts, you must become part of the inner woven fabric of your client's organization. Consider that loose piece of thread sticking out of the bottom of your sweater, and you start pulling it. All of a sudden, you inadvertently pull apart the entire sweater. That's what I mean by becoming part of the inner woven fabric: they can't afford to get rid of you because the impacts will be...
How to overcome your fears and live a life beyond limits.
A few years ago, I was taking a self-improvement course in New York City with a good friend of mine. After the program, we returned to my condo in Fort Lee, New Jersey, on the 10th floor. Now, my friend is an accomplished pilot. He flew overseas commercially for a major airline and was a former military pilot. I walked onto the terrace to see my family playing below. I looked behind me and suddenly saw my friend, the pilot,...
The 4 Questions You Can’t Afford to Leave Unanswered to Close the Deal
A few years ago, I was meeting with Steve Forbes in the Forbes building in his private library. The meeting was to discuss the presentation he was about to give to the National Speakers Association that I was president of. Rather, it was to get him to agree to give that presentation. What struck me in that meeting was that for the first 20 minutes, Steve kept asking me questions about my opinion on various subjects. At that moment, I realized that...