Last month, we introduced you to Pete Andrews, who was just asked to fill in for a colleague and deliver a Foonman Enterprises important sales pitch … virtually. He quickly reviewed the department’s ‘Sales Presentation Best Practices’ document and made sure he checked all the important boxes. His pitch was ready to rock.
Phil Stella
Networking Worst Mistakes
(Now that some live networking events are returning to our area, it’s time to re-run this bit of sage advice.)
I’ve seen a lot of Networking Worst Practices in my 25 plus years of writing and speaking about the topic, but the worst of the worst is making an absolutely terrible first impression on a stranger in less than one minute by delivering an Elevator Speech from Hell! That happens when pitifully amateur networkers:
An Email Fave
Add this one to your growing list of often-heard comments from my workshops or presentations. ‘The only thing worse than an ineffective email is an effective email that should have been a text, a brief face-to-face conversation or a phone call instead!’ Phil Stella, 21st Century workplace communication expert, executive coach and author.
Why I Hate ‘No Problem’
I’m really getting tired of ranting about this issue, but it looks like my work here is far from over!
Why do so many people respond to ‘Thank you.’ with ‘No Problem.’ today? I doubt that many of them felt that the act I just thanked them for was, in fact, a problem. Maybe it would usually be a problem, but not this time. Or maybe a problem with other people, but not me.
To Write … Or Not To Write? That is the Question.
Previous articles about workplace writing in ‘Communicate Confidently!‘ have discussed the all-important Pre-Write phase: Plan What You Write. You ask four defining questions about each document before you start writing:
Why does my boss stink at communicating?
(This piece from ‘Phil’s All-Time Hits, Vol. 1’ just ran in the Council of Smaller Enterprises ‘Mind Your Business’ e-Letter.)
A reader recently asked me, “Why doe my boss stink at communicating?” The short answer to this recurring question is that communication skills weren’t on the ‘Boss Test’.
Pete Prevails: Zooming Through Sales Pitches – I
Foonman Enterprises Senior Sales Rep Pete Andrews arrived at work early Tuesday so he could help his boss Tony prepare for the big sales pitch to Glitz’O’Matic that afternoon. He hadn’t even gotten his coffee when Marketing VP Ralph burst into his cubicle.
Make Your Pitches Painless
Do you ever experience pain when you pitch business? Do you cause some pain for your prospects as a result of those pitches? If you answered ‘yes‘ to either question, then read and heed these 10 Best Practices for creating Painless Sales Pitches.
Dealing with Angry Customers
How do you deal with angry customers? First, have a well-defined policy in place that senior management participated in creating and signed off on. Second, make sure that everyone who touches customers understands, embraces and follows consistently. Third, periodic re-training or review can be helpful.
Phil’s Faves About Teams
Here’s one of my favorite concepts from my workshops and presentations on teamwork … ‘There is no ‘I’ in ‘team’, but there is a ‘me’. So make me feel welcome, valued and important if I’m on your team.’ So, are the people leading your teams taking good care of you? And are you taking good … Read more