Dear Colleen

I am currently the manager of a commission-based sales team.

I have taught my sales people to run their own business. They have been very effective in reaching their goals, etc. My question is about vacation time. Technically, we do not provide any salary for them other than what they earn. In the summer, it is very slow. They are here when they need to be and get the job done. Some people in the organization question the amount of vacation days they get, etc.

What is the protocol? Can I tell them that they need to be here during the long dull days of summer, or say that as long as the sales office is covered, I don

Speaking of making your prsentations fun…Nothing perks up an audience like humor and no cartoons are more recognizable and beloved than those from the New Yorker magazine

My friend Dan Poynter (DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com) let me know about this neat service.

You can rent the cartoons for your multimedia presentations for less than twenty bucks! More than 85,000 to choose from. You will enjoy making keyword searches for the cartoons that will make your audiences love you.

See: http://www.cartoonbank.com/pro_presentations.asp

Presentations Magazine reports that Infommersion (the makers of data-visualization software) conducted an online poll of 382 business managers about staying awake during presentations. The results? Seventy-one percent of those surveyed have fallen asleep or nodded off a bit during a presentation, and 43% have seen others nod off.

The most difficult types of presentations to remain fully awake?

• Individual speeches 35%;
• Training sessions 23%,
• General meetings 16%.

Here’s the lesson: Fifty-one percent said the most important ingredient to keeping participants awake was “an animated and enthusiastic” speaker, followed by 36% saying “interesting and interactive.” The findings aren’t surprising, but they remind us of our need for passion and energy in our presentations.

They easiest way to ensure your clients are not falling alseep during your presentations is to engage them in the presentation. Ask them questions, get them talking, have them ask you questions. If they are participating, they can’t be asleep!

For more ideas on engaging senior decision makers during a presentation visit http://www.engageselling.com/articles/051212article_rightimpression.shtml

In the pulp novels of 1950