3 Second Selling

Why Attention Isn’t a Gift — It’s a Transaction

If you’ve ever wondered why some messages land instantly and others vanish without a trace, here’s the uncomfortable truth: We don’t live in a marketplace of ideas anymore. We live in a marketplace of attention. And in that marketplace, attention…

The Power of Listening

Introduction In an era where consumers have more options, louder voices, and faster access to alternatives than ever before, listening is no longer a “nice to have” skill for brands—it’s a business survival strategy. But listening in the marketing context…

Being The Baker Who Finds Romance In A Loaf Of Bread

I was recently talking about the years I spent as an entertainment reporter with an acquaintance of mine who happens to run an executive search firm. He asked me who my favorite interview subject was, and when I told him…

Why Your Marketing Isn’t Relevant – And How To Fix It

There is about an 80-percent chance there is something fundamentally wrong with your marketing. It’s flawed because it’s about you, not them (your prospect or customer), because you’re the hero of your own story, and because you don’t demonstrate value.…

Are You Appealing To The “Right” Brain With Your Sales & Marketing?

There is a new paradigm in business today. Our customers and prospects are time starved and in control as never before, and we must work harder, faster and smarter to reach them. In fact, it has never been easier to…

Down with Upspeak

Upspeak. You know what that is. We’ve all heard it. That’s what people sound like when they have a habit of making statements sound like questions, when they end clauses or sentences with an upward inflection, practically begging their listeners…

The value of taking yourself – and others – off autopilot

The day I talked to Tom Hanks about the hit film Forrest Gump he did 64 back-to-back, five-minute television interviews at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. Although I was fortunate enough to be in the first group of…

Want More Sales? Tell Better Stories!

STORY = information, knowledge, context and emotion When facts are so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter more is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with…

The Imaginary Competitor

I love to ride my bike. Cycling has been shown to increase cardio fitness, improve strength and flexibility, lower stress levels, and it’s fun! And yes, I probably appear to some as if I fancy myself winning a stage in…

Don’t Waste Big Selling Moments With Boring Small Talk

When the average American adult is subject to between 6,000 and 10,000 marketing messages every single day we can safely say it is an incredibly cluttered, crowded, chaotic world we live in. If we want to cut through that clutter,…