Conversations About Conversations

WHAT TO BRING TO MEETINGS I'm frequently asked, "What should I bring to meetings?" I used to bring a lot of stuff (i.e. brochures, handouts inside of folders and slide decks) to meetings, but now I hardly bring anything. After pondering this for hundreds of meetings, I've come to believe that LESS is MORE. Bringing less has resulted in deeper RELATIONSHIPS, greater client SATISFACTION and increased LOYALTY because my conversations are oriented around what's most important to my clients—their NEEDS, their GOALS and their highest ASPIRATIONS. WATCH the video to find out more about the PHILOSOPHY I've developed on conversations and how it relates to what you should bring to meetings. ….. READ: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time — Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu CONTACT: [email protected] Conversations About Conversations - Episode 82 #conversationsaboutconversations

THE RIGHT VOCABULARY TO GET AGREEMENT FOR ACTION There's a point in every conversation when you'll need to ask your clients, prospects or colleagues to agree to the next steps. I was really bad at this part of a conversation because I didn't have the RIGHT WORDS or strategies. As a result, I was often STRESSED about not getting the results I wanted to be getting. I'd spend a lot of time WORRYING. I was CONFUSED I wouldn't know how to handle things. It undermined my CONFIDENCE overall. It was truly unfortunate to spend as much time as I had (and worked as hard as I did) to get to this point in the conversation only to then flounder, fumble and not get a decent return on the time I'd invested. CAN YOU RELATE? If so, here's my RECOMMENDATION: -Have a plan. -Don't wing it. -Be deliberate in how you ask for agreement. WATCH THE VIDEO to learn the specific vocabulary I recommend. #conversationsaboutconversations

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? Short questions (generally seven words or less) prevent you from turning questions into statements and make it much clearer that you're asking a question and will listen to the response. It's easy to assume you've understood what your client meant, but a short follow-up question offers him a chance to clarify and elaborate. It's a false assumption he truly knew what he meant. We think people are telling us what they mean the first time around, but I'm amazed at how people restate or even contradict themselves when I ask, "What do you mean by that?" or "When you said ____, what did you mean?" Take the point of view that the first version of a story or explanation is just a draft. When you follow up, you'll be amazed at how it will change and so will he. >>>WATCH Video..... READ: Conversations (Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu) CONTACT: [email protected] ..... [Conversations About Conversations - Episode 73] #conversationsaboutconversations

LISTEN ON PURPOSE The people you have conversations with place tre­mendous value on being heard. If they don't feel listened to, they're go­ing to be hard pressed to be satisfied with the conversations they have with you. This makes listening fundamentally important. Good listening grows your rela­tionships. Poor listening results in dissatisfaction, mediocre relationships and loss of opportunity. ASK YOURSELF: -Could I improve my listening skills? -Do I have a specific focus or framework for listening? -Do I have a disciplined and thoughtful listening plan? WATCH the video to learn four frameworks to listen from. ..... READ: Conversations (Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu) CONTACT: [email protected] Conversations About Conversations - Episode 74 #conversationsaboutconversations

EXCUSE MY FRENCH Approach each conversation with the idea that YOUR BEHAVIOR in the con­versation will be decisive. Your ability to exercise SELF-CONTROL in conversations will determine how and where your re­lationships go. A single conversation can be productive, fail to go any­where, take a relationship backward or even end a relationship. ASK YOURSELF: -Am I intentional in my use of words and language? -Do I always think before I speak? -Is what I'm saying keeping the conversation on track or taking it in a needless direction? WATCH this discussion of the mindset which leads to optimal RESULTS. ..... READ: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time — Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu CONTACT: [email protected] ….. Conversations About Conversations - Episode 75 #conversationsaboutconversations

OBJECTIONS ARE NATURAL AND NORMAL If you want your conversations to generate RESULTS, there's a very good chance you will receive objections to your recommendations and proposals. It's natural to WORRY that you'll be STOPPED by objections. But instead of resisting objections, LEARN to welcome them—resisting them won't RESOLVE them. Have a PLAN. Trying to wing it doesn't work. I know because I used to wing it and now I don't. Since conversations are relationship building endeavors; how you handle objections is of paramount importance. When you handle it well, it can DEEPEN your relationships. WATCH this video to learn the four generic objections and a plan for the most feared one of all—skepticism. READ: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time — Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu CONTACT: [email protected] Conversations About Conversations - Episode 77 #conversationsaboutconversations

IT'S LIKE RIDING A BIKE In this episode of Conversations About Conversations, I draw an analogy between the way I ride my bicycle and the way many people handle their conversations. CONSIDER how IMPORTANT your conversations are for your career and SUCCESS in business. Are you training such that you are riding at your maximum POTENTIAL? WATCH the video to learn why the way I ride my bicycle is not the same as the way I choose to handle my conversations. READ: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time — Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu CONTACT: [email protected] Conversations About Conversations – Episode 85 #conversationsaboutconversations

PLANNING IS A PREREQUISITE FOR CONFIDENCE If you want to have CONFIDENCE in ALL of your conversations than you have to develop more than just basic interpersonal skills. My assertion is you CAN wing it in eight or nine out of ten conversations. So, I'm referring specifically to the one or two out of ten when just improvising will lead to suboptimal RESULTS. In these situations, in order to have confidence, you must have a PLAN and a STRATEGY if you want to improve your results and AVOID SELF-INFLICTED disaster. HOW DO I KNOW THIS? I've made the mistake in thousands of my conversations. You might as well learn from my errors. WATCH the video to begin to engage in this conversation. READ: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time — Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu CONTACT: [email protected] Conversations About Conversations - Episode 78 #conversationsaboutconversations

HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO RETURN YOUR VOICEMAILS AND THE REAL REASON THEY MIGHT NOT BE RETURNING YOUR CALLS In this BUSY day and age, if you work with people, you're going to be leaving voicemail messages. It's a fact of life. One of the biggest COMPLAINTS I hear from the professionals I coach is that their clients and/or prospects don't return their voicemails. The PROBLEM is that you cannot truly serve or sell to a person that you're not having a conversation with. WHY is it that they're not returning your phone calls? WATCH this video to find out why and what to do about it. There's a BAD NEWS INSIGHT that you may have to seriously reflect on since YOU'RE THE ONE who's leaving the messages. ….. READ: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time — Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu CONTACT: [email protected] Conversations About Conversations - Episode 79 #conversationsaboutconversations

IMPROVE THE WAY YOU GIVE FEEDBACK TO OTHERS In most cases people are not very open to receiving feedback. And yet most people readily provide it—even without first checking to see if it's desired. Because feedback frequently comes at an unexpected time or from an unexpected place, we're often insulted by it and may instinctively become defensive. It doesn't have to be this way. WATCH the video to find out a simple strategy to improve the likelihood someone will listen to and appreciate your feedback. ….. READ: Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time — Available now on Amazon http://a.co/d/7Ruhapu CONTACT: [email protected] Conversations About Conversations - Episode 80 #conversationsaboutconversations