1: How long do you have someone’s attention at the beginning of a meeting?
About 10 minutes.
That’s it, Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
“You naturally have someone’s attention for about 10 minutes before that person loses focus on your message,” says John Medina, author of the brilliant book Brain Rules and the director of the Brain Center … continue reading
1: Imagine a beautiful summer morning on Lake Erie.
“The sun’s out, but there’s just enough breeze to keep you comfortable. It’s not too hot and not too cold,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their powerful book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
Erik is lying in a hammock right by the beach. He’s reading a good book. On the table next to him is a cold … continue reading
1: “Every Saturday, a siren goes off in Tim’s quiet suburban community, signaling that it is noontime. No one gives it much attention around town,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their terrific book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
It’s just the “noon whistle,” people say.
But the same siren is also used to signal a severe weather emergency.
“As a result,” the authors note, “the same … continue reading
1: “If you’re like most sales professionals, you think a successful client relationship is one in which everyone is always smiling,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their powerful book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
You intuitively believe your job is to keep clients happy, as if being well-liked is the goal.
You send birthday wishes. You inquire about their kids. You do whatever it takes to … continue reading
1: Did you know that Babe Ruth began his baseball career in 1914 using a 54-ounce bat?
“That’s a big bat,” Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer write in their powerful book Conversations That Win the Complex Sale.
“For those of you who are not familiar with what’s ‘normal’ for baseball bats,” the authors note, “most professional baseball players today use a bat that weighs between 31 and 35 ounces.”… continue reading
1: Turns out anxiety and excitement are the exact same emotion.
Physiologically, that is. Which just means how your body operates.
“Whether you are anxious about something or excited about it, your body responds in a nearly identical ‘high arousal’ state,” Jane McGonigal writes in her book SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully.
How does your body react?
“You have excess energy, you may feel butterflies in your stomach, … continue reading
1: “Our conversations started out funny and just got funnier,” Diane Button writes in her wonderful book What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living.
Diane and Franck Battelli, both end-of-life doulas, were meeting with Greg, 53, who was dying from ALS.
Before proceeding, Greg wanted to make sure it would be a good fit.
“He let us know in a very serious tone of voice that … continue reading
1: Then Intel CEO Andy Grove was sitting in a conference room with other members of the Intel team.
The topic? “Evaluations of a certain highly touted new software from a company whose other products we already use,” Andy writes in his legendary business book, Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company.
Intel’s head of Information Technology shared the challenges her team … continue reading
1: Stanford business professor Tina Seelig divided her class into fourteen teams and gave them a challenge:
“Each group would get five dollars of seed funding and have two hours to make as much money as possible,” Sahil Bloom writes in his book The 5 Types of Wealth: A Transformative Guide to Design Your Dream Life.
When the two hours were up, each team presented their approach and results, sharing … continue reading
1: Netscape founder Marc Andreessen to his business partner and then Loudcloud CEO Ben Horowitz:
Marc: “Do you know the best thing about startups?”
Ben: “What?”
Marc: “You only experience two emotions: Euphoria and terror. And I find that lack of sleep enhances both.”
The year was 2000. The dot-com implosion was happening.
Ben and Marc had raised almost $200 million to launch Loudcloud, a startup focused on network … continue reading
