Mindset of Success: The Science of Personal Leadership Development

Moving Day! Revamping my blog, overcoming resistance, grateful for support

  I always get nostalgic on moving day. This move is a minor one (we just moved all of the materials about marketing a small business to ThePsychologyofMarketing.com) but for some reason I'm still nostalgic. Maybe it's the time of year with the holidays, or because I spent the past weekend with my best friend from growing up, or because my son is now almost 1 (and has his first tooth), but I feel that combined sense of missing the old and excitement for the new.

The old part that I'll miss is the ease and simplicity of having just one blog. It's funny, I always coach my business owner clients on the importance of speaking to just one market at a time but I resisted doing this myself for a long time (I think because I didn't want to write a second blog!). I've taken the plunge and now it's definitely worth it.

When I've moved, as I have many times in the past, one thing I'm always grateful for is the people who help. My husband and I hired movers for the first time the last time, and I was grateful to them-- they had to move us down 3 flights of stairs (no elevator) from a loft apartment on a 100 degree day (with 80% humidity!) in August.  Before that, it's always been friends and family generously helping with the move.

With the blog migration, I am very grateful to my virtual assistant Rhonda Embry and the great people at TypePad support services (blog owners, I highly recommend their Tune Up services).

Anyway, if you're a business owner, please join me over at ThePsychologyofMarketing.com or Twitter and if not and you're looking for more professional and personal development tips, stay here, you're in the right place!

Happy Holidays!

Larina Kase

P.S. It took me several years to overcome my resistance to doing what I knew I needed to do (separate my blogs). Fear creates resistance (my fear was, well, is, having less time). What are you currently resisting? What fears does it bring up? Simply acknowledging the resistance is the important first step.

 

What we all really want is ATTENTION

I’d like to share an excellent article by bestselling author and thought-leader David Meerman Scott. I had the privilege of interviewing him and really enjoy his ideas.

 

I'd like to be bold and boil down thousands of conversations I've had over the past ten years as well as about five years blogging into one word: ATTENTION.

 

Entrepreneurs, CEOs, and business owners want people to pay attention to their company. Marketers, PR pros, advertisers, and salespeople are on the payroll for one reason: To generate attention. 

 

In thinking about attention, there seem to be four main ways to generate it today. As I evaluate companies on a regular basis it seems that they are spending too much time, money, and effort on three ways of generating attention, and not enough on a fourth way, which is to earn attention by publishing great information online that people will find.

 

You can BUY attention. (This is called advertising). You buy access to people through television commercials, magazine and newspaper ads, the Yellow Pages, billboards, tradeshow floor space, direct mail lists, and the like. Advertising agency staffers are really good at buying attention. The problem is that whenever you have an attention problem and consult an advertising agency, the solution always involves buying attention.

 

You can BEG for attention. (This is called Public Relations).  You beg for access via the editorial gatekeepers at radio and TV stations, magazines, newspapers, trade journals, and more and more these days, bloggers, podcasters and other social networking sites. I realize that the word "beg" is a little extreme, but in my former life as VP of corporate communications for several public companies I did feel a bit like a beggar. And these days I get hundreds of pitches a month from people (usually PR agency staffers) who want me to write about something in the magazine articles I write or my blog or books and many of these pitches have a whiff of desperation about them. Public Relations agency staffers are really good at begging for attention. The problem is that whenever you have an attention problem and consult a public relations agency, the solution always involves generating attention from third parties.

 

You can BUG people one at a time to get attention. (This is called sales). You knock on doors, call people on the telephone, send personal emails, or wait for individuals to walk into your showroom. Again, sorry about the extreme nature of the word "bug" but that's what I feel when the confronted with pushy sales tactics. Salespeople are really good at getting attention one person at a time. The problem is that whenever you have an attention problem and consult a sales professional, the solution always involves generating attention one person at a time.

 

You can EARN attention online. (There is debate on what this is called.) People have referred to creating information on the Web as "inbound marketing," "new marketing," "social media marketing," "content marketing," and "permission marketing." The idea of all of these is creating something interesting and publishing it online for free: A YouTube video, blog, research report, series of photos, twitter stream, ebook, Facebook fan page and the like. An increasing cadre of social media gurus claim to be really good at generating attention through social media. The problem is that whenever you have an attention problem and consult a social media guru, the solution always involves earning attention by publishing content online.

 

I recommend that every businessperson know what the four ways to generate attention are. And you should understand the point of view of the person you are talking with about attention, especially when there is the inevitable pushback about earning attention through what I call the new rules of marketing and PR.

 

Most organizations have a corporate culture around one of these approaches to generating attention. (Examples: P&G primarily generates attention through advertising, Apple via PR, EMC via sales, and Zappos via social media). Often the defining organizational culture is because the founder or the CEO has a strong point of view. When the CEO comes up through the sales track, all attention problems are likely to become sales problems.

 

Chances are that your CEO did not come up via the social media track. So you’ll have to convince your boss to invest in social media. Most organizations over spend on advertising and sales and under-invest in social media, but nearly all organizations should be doing some combination of all four ways of generating attention.

 

 

David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, keynote speaker, seminar leader,
and the author of the award-winning BusinessWeek best-selling book The New Rules of
Marketing and PR: How to use news releases, blogs, viral marketing and online media
to reach buyers directly, which is being published in 24 languages and the new hit
book World Wide Rave: Creating Triggers that Get Millions of People to Spread Your
Ideas and Share Your Stories. He is a recovering VP of marketing for two publicly
traded technology companies and was also Asia marketing director for Knight-Ridder,
at the time one of the world’s largest newspaper and electronic information companies.
David has lived and worked in New York, Tokyo, Boston, and Hong Kong and has presented
at industry conferences and events in over forty countries.  

 

Check out his blog http://www.webinknow.com/

 

Follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/dmscott

 

Download his free ebook The New Rules of Viral Marketing: How word-of-mouse spreads your ideas for free at http://www.davidmeermanscott.com/documents/Viral_Marketing.pdf

 

 

 

 

Getting High Caliber Publicity is Cheaper and Easier Than You Think

One of the best business building strategies is with publicity. You get in front of thousands or millions of prospects. And you get instant credibility because publicity is like a third-party endorsement. A reputable newspaper, magazine, radio show, TV show, website, or blog who quotes you is implicitly endorsing you and saying that you are the expert.

 

Every business owner wants publicity but most don’t try. The reason? Most people think that getting great media quotes is prohibitively expensive. I thought this myself and didn’t try it for years. But then I started doing my own low cost publicity and have been quoted in media such as The New York Times and Inc.

 

Here are some tips to help you get inexpensive publicity in top media outlets.

 

1. Turn your ideas into headlines.

With publicity, as with most things, it’s not what you say, but how you say it. The media loves sound-bites. Sound-bites are short, punchy statements that get your ideas across concisely and powerfully.

 

I recommend writing down a few elements of your core message (how you or your product helps people). Then turn them into headlines. For example, take the title of this article. I originally wrote down “Build your business with low-cost publicity” because I help my clients get their own publicity as one of the elements of building their platform. Then I turned the idea into a headline is more attention-grabbing and curiosity building.

 

2. Send pitches, instead of press releases.

Once you have a great headline, turn it into a media pitch. After interviewing members of the media, I’ve learned two things: First, they are always insanely busy. Second, they are always under insanely tight deadlines. They don’t have time to sift through your press release to find the story.

 

A pitch, on the other hand, is a story idea. It begins with your powerful headline. It then describes your key points which should be different from what’s been said before, controversial, and/or tied to current events. After your key points, include a brief media bio and your contact information. The pitch should fit on one page.

 

3. Get to know your local media.

 

Once you have a pitch, the best and easiest way to get started is with your local media. Once you have some local media placements you can build up to national outlets. You’ll get a demo-tape of yourself on TV and can get reprints of articles that have your quotes. You’ll leverage these to get into even bigger media.

 

Before sending out your pitch, research local media outlets. Figure out if your story would be the right fit for business, lifestyle, health, etc. Get to know the style and format of the TV or radio shows and find out who the best producer for your segment would be.

 

4. Use the telephone and email to your advantage.

Remember that members of the press have deadlines of yesterday so you need to get right to the point and communicate as succinctly as possible.

 

If you are emailing someone “cold” I recommend a one sentence introduction which includes your credibility-enhancers, which are things like your book, university affiliation, title, or accolades. Then provide 3-5 bullet points with your tips. If sending a pitch to TV media or radio, call first to let them know to expect your pitch.

 

5. Create a great media room for your website.

When you send out pitches, get listed in media directories, and take other steps to help the media find you, make sure they are finding exactly what they. Some publicists recommending having a separate media website, but you can also make your existing site media-friendly.

 

Have a page specifically for the media. Call it Press, Media Room, or some such so that it is clearly identified. Include your headshot and media bio, a list of your media appearances, interview questions or topics, and an online media kit. An online media kit is a PDF file that goes into greater detail about your background and interview topics.

 

 

These are just five of the many ways to attract low-cost, high-quality publicity. Enjoy the instant credibility and business growth.

 

How to Achieve The Things You Think You Can’t (But Really Wish You Could)

What is the key to high achievement?
 
Well, there are many factors that lead to our greatest work success. At the top of the list is our ability to push ourselves.

Imagine this familiar scenario:

You are faced with an incredible opportunity. You know that you could propel yourself to new levels of success if you were to take it on and master it. You realize that you could make a significant difference in your company, community, and world. You’re thrilled and honored by the good fortune to have this opportunity presented to you…

Suddenly your excitement starts to dwindle. In fact, it turns to dread.

“Uh-oh,” you think. “This is not exactly the easiest thing to take on.”

Your self-doubts and insecurities start to creep in.

“This could be disastrous! How in the world will I do this? I’ve never done something like this before. I could make a fool of myself. I’ll never be able to show my face outside of my house again. Or worse, I could lose all self-confidence, which is shaky to begin with…”

Most people do not handle this scenario well.

They make one of the following common mistakes:

1) They decide to avoid the opportunity. They choose to settle for the status quo rather than going after an incredible change because they fear failure and humiliation.

2) They go after the opportunity before they are ready. They plunge right in (smartly knowing that if they don’t take action, they never will). The problem is that they haven’t adequately prepared. They haven’t lined up the resources and support that they need. They haven’t created a plan. They may be successful, but it is more due to luck than strategy.

3) They dilute their responsibility. They go after the opportunity, but choose to be a follower rather than a leader. This way, if it doesn’t work, they aren’t to blame, but if it does, they can claim partial victory.

 
4) They rely on old crutches. They go for it, but do so with their old crutches and habits which hold them back from truly pursuing the opportunity.

5) They retreat at the first sign of failure. Unfortunately many people escape from uncomfortable situations too early—before they have a chance to get used to the anxiety and achieve their goals.

You see, avoidance is the number one killer of confidence and high-achievement. All five of the mistakes above entail some form of avoidance.

The keys, therefore, to achieving more than ever before are to:

1) Seek out opportunities to challenge yourself.
2) Align your resources to be best prepared for the challenge.
3) Go for it 100%, without holding back or relying on crutches.

To take on your biggest challenges, you will need some level of confidence that you can handle them. The way to build this confidence is by building momentum. Start out by strategically taking on opportunities that push you out of your comfort zone by about 20%. Then go up to 40%. Then 60%. Then 80%. Then 100% (your most difficult and important goal).

As Newton discovered, a body at rest stays at rest and a body in motion stays in motion. Get the ball rolling by taking on smaller challenges, and soon you’ll have momentum on your side to help you with the larger challenges.

For example, let’s say that your challenge is confrontation. You hate confrontation and avoid it at all costs. But in order to better develop your employees and stand up for yourself, you must master the art of confrontation.

You’d start by correcting someone who mispronounces your name or leaves off your job title. Then you’d give an honest performance appraisal (including negative feedback) to your employee. Then you’d confront a coworker who frequently takes credit for your work. Finally, you’d confront your boss who takes credit for your work.

What’s your challenge?

Once you’ve identified it, break it up into steps and start at step one.

Pretty soon you’ll surprise yourself with all that you’re able to achieve. Nothing will be out of your reach.

Conflict Management: 5 Powerful Strategies to Quickly Resolve Conflict and Influence Others

Whether it’s personal or professional, conflict is always stressful. It often escalates from a small dispute to a much larger issue. You and/or the other person feel wronged, frustrated, irritated, and sometimes, pessimistic about whether things will change.

 

When, on the other hand, you’re able to mange conflict well, you and others feel more relaxed, focused, happy, and fulfilled.

 

Conflict management is possibly the most essential skill to positive relationships. The goal is not to never argue or be frustrated with others, it’s to effectively handle the inevitable disputes that arise.

 

Directly addressing conflict, rather than avoiding it, can improve relationships, if of course it is addressed well. Research on couples has shown that the way in which couples argue predicts whether or not they stay together.

 

When you’re in a conflict with someone, it may be impossible to change their mind in the heat of the moment. Instead, look for ways to de-escalate the conflict. Once there is peace, it will be easier to influence him or her to your way of thinking.

 

Here are 5 ways to de-escalate a conflict and getting your ideas heard:

 

1)      Start with the facts. People often get engaged with their emotions and forget to do their research and start with the objective data. When you focus on the facts, you’re less likely to get defensive or make the other person defensive.

 

2)      Look for common ground. In research with all types of people (kids, businesspeople, couples, etc), the most effective way to resolve conflicts has been shown to find an overarching objective about which you both agree. When you’re in an argument with someone, it feels as though you are light years apart. Establishing a common goal helps draw you together. 

 

3)      Express empathy. If the other party does not feel that you’re listening, they will resist your influence. They need to know that you understand where they’re coming from, or at least that you’re trying to. If they keep repeating themselves over and over, chances are that you have not used active listening and expressed empathy.

 

4)      Give and take (but give first). According to the law of reciprocity, when you give others naturally want to give too. Say, “That was a good point, I will definitely work on that piece,” and you’ll be amazed how quickly the tone changes. Of course, what you say is not as important as how you say it, so don’t forget to do #3 above (empathy) so you mean what you say. 

 

5)      Get feedback—on yourself. Ask someone who is not involved in the conflict and will tell you the truth if you are being stubborn or ridiculous in your position. It may give you the incentive to negotiate if you’re standing firm is unreasonable.  

 

When you use even one of these conflict management skills, you’ll see how quickly and easily you can reduce the conflict, come to resolutions, and improve your personal and professional relationships. 

For more on how to proactively navigate conflict and other uncomfortable situations, have a look at my book The Confident Leader. You’ll see in the reviews that it isn’t just for “leaders” like CEOs,  it’s for anyone who wants to take a leadership role in their careers and lives.

How to Turn Nervous Energy into Motivation and Exceptional Results

If you're like most people, you find it difficult to push yourself to do 2 types of things:

 

1.    The things you don't like to do.

2.    The things that you're afraid to do.

 

 

 

 

I recommend outsourcing #1 when possible.

 

Knowing when to outsource will help you focus on what you do best. If you don't like doing something, it will probably drain you of energy and not be as good as if someone else (who liked doing that sort of thing) did it.

 

The most efficient and productive solution is to hire someone else to do it. For example, if I did my own taxes, it would take me away from doing things that I do very well and probably put me in a bad mood, so it’s a great thing to outsource.

 

I recommend doing #2 when possible.

 

My research and work is based on helping people use their anxiety and fears for peak performance, rather than pushing their fears away. Our natural reaction is to avoid that which makes us uncomfortable. The problem with this natural response is that it keeps us from challenging ourselves and growing.

 

Instead, choose to take action in spite of discomfort. In fact, anxiety is a great source of motivation because it is simply energy with a different interpretation. When we're excited, we interpret the butterflies or agitation as great. When we're nervous, on the other hand, we think it's awful. Biologically it's the same thing.

 

When we change our interpretation, "nervous energy" becomes motivating energy.

 

For example, let's say that you are afraid of public speaking and have the opportunity to give a talk to an audience you can greatly help with your ideas. You're passionate about the topic but you have public speaking phobia.

 

When you start to experience the adrenaline rush, you might typically say, "Oh no, now I'm anxious and it's going to be obvious to everyone and make my talk not go well."

 

Replace this type of interpretation with something like, "Okay, so now I'm anxious. I'm energized and ready to go. People probably won't even notice, but if they did, who cares, they're there to learn something and I'm there to help them!"

 

See the difference that your interpretation can make?!

 

Whenever you're faced with a tough, challenging, or anxiety-inducing situation, first ask yourself if the discomfort you experience is due to #1 or 2 above. If it's #2, do it. But don't just do it. Change your interpretation and then go after your goal with 100% gusto. This is the secret to motivation and your best results.

 

Workplace Productivity: Resist Temptations and Stay Focused at Work

What Tempts Us?

 

Let’s face it, there are many things that are more tempting to do at work than work. Essentially, the temptation is either to avoid doing something that seems taxing or intimidating or to do something that seems like more fun, or both. Your temptation may be social, such as chatting with coworkers. You may avoid work by surfing the internet. You may be tempted by looking out the window at the sunny sky and daydreaming.

 

Many people are tempted to slack off when the weather gets nice outside, when they’re tired, when their energy levels drop (such as mid-afternoon), and when they have difficult work activities to do.

 

A Little Slacking Is Good

 

Plan both productivity and slacking off into your work day. We can’t work at 100% without breaks, so the best thing to do is to be productive when you’re being productive and relax when you’re relaxing.

 

Plan a brief 5-10 minute relaxation activity every 90 minutes. Plan a lunch break to re-fuel and re-energize. There is no pride or strength in getting into a battle of wills with yourself. Instead, predict your distractions and set up a schedule to keep them from interrupting you.

 

Forget Willpower

 

I don’t believe in willpower. I think that the best way to resist temptations is to create situations where you aren’t forced to face temptation and battle yourself about whether to give in. The psychological term for this is “stimulus control,” and it’s about structuring your environment and habits to reduce temptation.

 

The first step is to know what tempts you, and the second step is to plan to avoid those situations.

 

For example:

·         If you’re tempted to stop in your coworkers office and chat (wasting 30 minutes of your day) every time you pass her office, choose to walk down a different hallway.

·         If you can’t resist checking email every time a new message comes in (distracting you and requiring much more mental energy to refocus constantly), turn off your email indicators, close Outlook, and only check at designated times of the day.

·         If you’re tempted to duck out of work early to enjoy the beautiful spring or summer weather (but doing so will not impress the boss or make you miss out on important opportunities), schedule a meeting for later in the day. Then plan something enjoyable outdoors for when it is time to leave.

 

Boost Your Energy

 

When you battle temptations at work, you use a lot of energy and often end up giving in and feeling guilty. Using these “stimulus control” strategies keeps you focused on what’s most important, keeps you out of situations which distract you, and channels your energy into productive or relaxing endeavors.

 

Are You Tempted By Unhealthy Food Choices?

 

If so, you’re likely to get stuck on the low energy-sugar-energy peak-energy crash cycle that negatively impacts mood, energy, and productivity. If you struggle with emotional eating at work (or anywhere) here’s a resource to help you.

 

10 Ways to Assertively Lead Up and Influence Authority Figures

What do you do if you have a boss or other authority figures who are making your life miserable? Are you destined to discomfort? Not really. Before giving up, try the skill of “leading up.”

“Leading up” is an assertiveness skill that allows you to influence your boss or any authority figure who needs to make some changes. Here are some tips on how to do this:

1)     State the priorities. For example, “I understand that project A is a priority and that it is due on Friday. In order to get the results we need on that one, I cannot take on project B this week. If there’s still a need for work on project B next week, I’d be happy to lead it.”

 

2)     Be direct and do not over-explain. If you start explaining too much you’ll reduce your credibility and appear to be defensive and offering excuses.

 

 

3)     Refer to your track record. For example, “You and I have both been pleased with my performance to date. You know that I’m not a slacker and my saying no is because I’m working on being strategic and not taking on more than I can successfully accomplish.”

 

4)     Ask for your boss’s support. This sounds strange, but it is of the “If you can’t beat them join them” approach. Say, “With increasing demands on my time, I’m concerned that the quality could decrease. How do you suggest we handle this?” Saying “we” is critical. This approach is very effective because your boss co-creates the solution and will, therefore, need to support it ongoing.

 

5)     Calmly state your position referring to evidence. You don’t want your boss thinking that you’re simply emotional or unable to handle stress. It is crucial that you remain calm and highlight specific objective examples.

 

6)     Be aware of your body language. Even if your boss is intimidating, look her in the eyes, sit or stand up straight, and maintain a serious facial expression while making your request. This will enable her to take you seriously and respect your assertion.

 

7)     Take responsibility. Do not say “You give me too much work,” because saying “you” will put her on the defensive. Instead take responsibility for your response and request.

 

8)     Express empathy for your boss’s position. Empathy is the most important characteristic in your ability to influence others. Your boss will best understand you if you express understanding for her. This will also allow you to collaboratively come to solutions.

 

9)     Don’t back down from the boundary you established. For example, if you told your boss, “I will be taking a personal lunch today for 45 minutes and won’t be accessible except in a true emergency,” and midway through your lunch your boss calls your cell, don’t answer it. Let her leave a message. If it is truly urgent, call her back and if not, touch base when you get back to the office.

 

10) Benefit your boss. Go out of your way to find opportunities to make your boss or other authority figure’s life easier. They will appreciate this and reciprocate.

 

 

 

It may take some time and practice to start to see changes. The key is that you are consistent in your efforts and that you project confidence, empathy, and self-assurance.

 

 

 

10 Ways to Motivate Employees in a Tight Economy (without Financial Incentives)

Study after study has shown that what motivates employees is not money. Money can make employees unhappy if they are not sufficiently compensated, but it has not been shown to lead to motivation, satisfaction or performance.

 

Fortunately, in a tight economy, what motivates employees most are free things, such as:

 

1.      A manager who expresses caring and compassion for employees.

 

2.      Clear job expectations and feedback.

 

3.      Being on high-performing work-teams with inspiring coworkers.

 

4.      Being praised at least once per week. Specific praise is better than general praise.

 

5.      Providing opportunities for training, growth, and development.

 

6.      Allowing employees to specialize and do what they do best.

 

7.      Providing employees with opportunities to take on challenges. The optimal challenge level for intrinsic motivation is 4 out of 5.

 

8.      The way that goals are formed—Goals framed as performance-mastery or performance approach are best. These are goals that are framed around improving or selecting the best. The least effective goals are framed as performance-avoidance, which means that the worst performance will be selected (the goal is framed around what to avoid).

 

9.      Framing goals around the type of motivation individual employees have. The most common three types of motivation are affiliation (seeking stronger relationships), power (seeking leadership), and achievement (seeking knowledge).

 

10.  Conveying a positive mood. The mood of leaders is contagious to others. Leaders who convey a cheerful mood have more positive, productive, and motivated employees.

Closing the Sale: What Works Best, Selling the Benefits or Selling the Features?

Conventional wisdom stated that in order to sell products or services, you needed to sell the features. A car salesperson would go on and on about all the wonderful features of the car. The typical buyer, like me, who knows little about cars would find themselves getting lost. Their eyes would glaze over and they’d feel too stupid to ask any questions. So, they’d keep looking.

“Sell the Sizzle Not the Steak”

Thus began the new approach to sales which said to forget selling the features, and instead to sell the benefits. The car salesperson then began to sell the smoothness of the ride, the ease of navigating the controls, the money savings brought about by fuel efficiency, and so on.

This benefits selling approach can certainly been seen as an improvement over the previous features selling, but it doesn’t always work.

As I discuss in my book The Confident Leader we often take an idea, learn that it isn’t working, and go to the other end of the spectrum. This process is like a pendulum swinging back and forth, when in reality, the best approach may lie at either one of the sides or somewhere in the middle.

 

When to Sell the Sizzle, When to Sell the Steak

As a lifelong vegetarian, this is not my favorite metaphor to discuss, but it is the most widely known one in sales literature. Let’s edit it a little (to something I do love): wine. When to sell the taste, and when to sell the grape vintage.

Let’s take the average consumer of wines who doesn’t know much except that they like a wine that tastes good. Do you think you’d sell the features or the benefits?

You’d sell the benefits. You’d let them know that it’s a wine that pairs well with most foods, works well for most people so it’s great for dinner parties, is inexpensive, and other such benefits. The novice wine consumer would be sold.

Well, what if you took this same approach with a wine expert? They would be insulted and not buy from you. They would want to know about the vintage, the legs, the body, the tannins, and so on.

So, sell the features to experts and the benefits to beginners.

What about an Intermediate and Unknown Consumers?

In today’s internet age, most consumers are somewhere in the middle. As consumers, we can easily educate ourselves and achieve some level of familiarity with products and services. The more of a commitment (of resources including time, energy, and money) the decision is, the more likely we are to educate ourselves.

If you are not able to ascertain the expertise level of your prospect (by asking questions or surveying them in advance), assume an intermediary level and start your approach there. Be on the lookout for clues as to whether they are more expert in the topic and you can get into specific features or they are less expert in the topic and you can discuss benefits.

The Most Crucial Ingredient

No discussion of selling would be complete without mentioning the most important aspect—more important than what you say: establish rapport with your prospect. Seek to understand them and empathize with their situation, and help them feel comfortable.

If your prospect feels uncomfortable, he will hide his expertise level. If she feels condescended to or if you speak at too high of a level, she may act as though she knows more than she does, and you will miss out on this targeted selling approach I’ve described.

Learn about your prospect, establish comfort and rapport, frame your discussion around features or benefits accordingly, and you’ll have not just a sale, but a lifelong customer or client.