By Communication Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Raise your hand if you’re a “talker”. I know I’ve been guilty of it. I remember as a kid, a teacher saying to me that I wouldn’t amount to much because I talked too much! Fortunately for me, I grew up to be a keynote speaker, so I learned to leverage that particular skill! As a former therapist and human relationship expert, I’ve also learned a whole lot since those school days about what connects us and what divides us as human beings. As leaders, spouses, partners, parents, friends – all of those roles require communication skills. In Read More
Quit SELLING from a Place of Desperation Rather Than Success
By Sales Keynote Speaker and Human Behavior Expert Connie Podesta Bottom line? People want to buy from salespeople who project confidence, not desperation. In the video below, I share two personal stories of my experience as a new speaker. The first, an occasion where I acted completely out of desperation and literally ended up spending more to get myself to the multi-day event than I made. The other was when I ignored the completely blank you’ve-got-no-bookings calendar in front of me and answered an event manager’s question to whether I was available in July with two very strong Read More
Quit Underestimating Word of Mouth Marketing
By Sales Keynote Speaker and Human Behavior Expert Connie Podesta Word of mouth marketing is EVERYTHING. Why? Because it’s personal. It’s another human being putting their stamp of approval and trustworthiness on what you do – and then sharing why you’re the person to call with someone else! That’s powerful, especially in today’s world. It is true for almost every industry – doctors, lawyers, restaurants, salons, spas, real estate agents – you name it. It’s exceptionally important for salespeople. Many get into the mindset that they are in the business of whatever their product Read More
Quit Moving on When the Sale is Closed
By Connie Podesta, Hall of Fame Speaker Let’s be clear salespeople – if you’re only in it for the money, you’re leaving money on the table. How’s that for an attention-getter? Sales is an amazing industry, often with sky’s-the-limit earning potential, but you and I both know that there are plenty of people in it just for the quick dollar, not the long-term customer relationship. You know the ones, right? Those who literally move on to find their next deal before the ink is dry on the sale they just closed? Here’s what you are missing: The lifetime value of a client. Personally, more than Read More
Quit Pressuring People to Buy
By Connie Podesta The world has changed. The way consumers buy has changed. That old school, “There are ONLY TWO left” tactics are out. The truth is consumers have OPTIONS now. There’s hardly anything that we can’t purchase online. So, the high-pressure, gimmicky, push people to purchase sales delivery will get you exactly the opposite results than what you want. I’m reminded of how many times I’ve gone into a car dealership only to have someone try the, “I’ve got to speak to my sales manager” routine. Now, when I want to purchase a car, I go straight to the manager and tell them I Read More
Quit Making Assumptions in Sales (and Life)
By Sales Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta You know the old saying about making assumptions – right? I won’t repeat it here, but let’s just say it doesn’t work out well for the person making them. In today’s world – assuming you know it all--can always read the room, the person, or the buyer – is doing you, and your sales, a disservice. I’ll give you a great example. I went to purchase a car for myself, and I brought my husband along. I knew what I wanted, and I was looking at the vehicles that had features that were most important to me when along comes the salesman. What does he do? Read More
Quit Asking the WRONG Sales Questions
By Sales Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Want to close more deals? First – know your audience. Buyers usually fall into two categories: Relators and Bottom Liners. The Relators are the warm and fuzzy people. The ones who want to get to know you. Ask about your family. Launch into relationship building. Connect. The Bottom Liners? Want facts. Figures. Graphs. Price. Delivery time. Data. They also have zero interest in being your friend and small talk sends them right through the roof. Here’s the deal: As salespeople, we fall into those two groups too. More than that, we tend to sell Read More
Sales Pitfalls: When the Ego Goes Unchecked
By Sales Keynote Speaker and Human Behavior Expert Connie Podesta When it comes to top salespeople, ego comes with the territory. That bullet-proof attitude of self-assured confidence is what allows them to step out of the crowd and into the spotlight. It gives them the charisma to persuade and influence. It fuels their drive to close the deal and be the best. It’s also what can stop them in their tracks. I’ll give you a personal example. Years ago, I was working to land a keynote speaking engagement with a blue-chip company that I REALLY wanted on my client list. I knew, without a Read More
Quit Listening to Employee Complaints
by Leadership Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta Here’s a question for you. What are three words that make managers want to run the other way? Open Door Policy. The original intent of an “Open Door Policy” was to create a communication mechanism to ensure that employees would feel free to honestly discuss key issues without fear of retribution or, even worse, losing their jobs. In other words, not only would a leader’s door be open but, hopefully, so would their mind. However, over time that concept has expanded and become an excuse for some employees to also feel free to complain. About Read More
Quit Trying to Make Everyone Happy
Leadership Lessons for Today’s World By Leadership Keynote Speaker Connie Podesta When did it become our job to make other people happy? Our kids? Our partners? The people on our team who follow our lead? Isn’t it about all we can do on most days just to make ourselves happy? Somewhere along the way, managers have been told by well-meaning people (and probably a few motivational speakers) that one of their priorities is to make sure all of their employees are happy. WRONG! Psychologically, it is IMPOSSIBLE to make someone else happy. I know you know that. You’ve certainly tried hard Read More