Honest, effective communication hinges on being able to make a distinction between what we know and what we think we know, and to apply this to our professional and personal interactions with clients, friends, colleagues and associates. This is a concept that was articulated at length by Dr. Brad Blanton in his book, Practicing Radical Honesty: How to Complete the Past, Live in the Present and Build a Future with a Little Help from Your Friends. He describes this distinction along the lines of what is noticed and what is imagined.

To explain this important distinction, let

Hi Everyone,

My grade 8 chemistry teacher Mr. Yamamoto was the first to teach me that making assumptions risked making an “A**” out of “U” and “Me”. Today I find myself reviving that saying in all of my training and coaching sessions as most sales are lost, or relationships strained, because sales people are making assumptions about their clients rather than taking the time to gather the facts. It’s my opinion, as you know from previous postings, that the best sales people focus on the customer first and engage in a dialogue that promotes open and honest communication.

The top 10% do not create proposals, forecasts and presentations on assumptions about the clients, they base them on the facts. Step one in learning to gather more accurate information about your prospect is to get over the fear of asking questions. Despite what many sales people think, asking questions does not make you look silly or stupid or undermine your power. Instead, asking questions emotionally connects you to the prospect and encourages them to share more, giving you better and more accurate information to base your solutions. Asking questions is a critical step to selling more in less time and making more money, so… get over yourself and focus on the customer! Give them a good listening to, not a good talking to and you will see the true facts emerge.

Dedictaed to increasing your sales,

Colleen

I saw this article from my friend and leadership expert Mike Staver and loved it. I hope you do to!

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Do you need to lose weight?

The number one New Years resolution is about losing weight. I was on a cruise recently and made the mistake of having a toxicity evaluation. They measured my body fat, metabolic rate, lean body mass, etc. Why I would do that on a cruise is beyond me. But what I found interesting was the amount of time they spent explaining how the body stores toxins and how the cumulative effect of the stuff we put in our bodies AND minds affects us. So my question to you is: do YOU need to lose weight?

I am not pretending to be some nutritionist attempting to get on the multi billion dollar diet industry. In fact, I really don’t care that much about your physical weight. I am most concerned about the metaphorical weight you need to lose.

What weight are you carrying around that you need to lose? Where is the personal or professional toxicity in your world? Perhaps this would be a good time to evaluate what you are carrying and cleanse yourself of it.

All of us carry our share of “toxins.” There is no way to rid ourselves of all toxicity but we can eliminate a significant amount. The destructive effect of carrying weight that is non-productive is significant. If you are like most people there is something to let go of. Maybe it is a relationship that is dragging you down. Maybe you are holding on to emotions like guilt or anger that rob you of the light heartedness or energy that you need to be effective. Maybe you are in a job or career that you know is dead.

Here are some ways to cleanse yourself of the toxins and weight you carry.

1. Evaluate the professional and personal areas of your life for those things that create drag or sluggishness.
2.Spend time alone thinking about how you want your personal and professional life to look.
3. Choose one area and make a decision to shed that weight and toxicity.
4. Evaluate unintended consequences.
5. Replenish the gap with those activities and thoughts that produce energy.

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Dedicated to increasing your sales,

Colleen

Prospects tend to chose industry allies and build relationships in their professional associations with other companies and peers who are similar and like-minded. In doing so, they can often become defensive when an outsider suggests they