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Month: September 2022

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Leadership

C-Suite Network Announces the Lone Star Council

The C-Suite Network, the world’s most trusted network of C-Suite leaders, is announcing the launch of the Lone Star Council, led by Daniel LaBroad, President & CEO, Ovation Health & Services Inc. The Council aims to bring together the owners and executives of Texas businesses to support and promote each other utilizing the core principles of the C-Suite Network – Relevancy, Reach, and Reciprocity.

The Council’s goal is to address the needs of the Texas business community through collaboration, education, and motivation. Texas boasts the 2nd largest economy in the U.S., and the 10th largest in the world.  Many recognize Texas as a pro-business state that fuels entrepreneurism, supports the small business owner, and consistently attracts large corporations with our incredible housing market, low cost of living, and no state income tax.

Members of the Lone Star Council will enjoy:

  • Community– Join an established network, filled with business leaders like you. Our members are carefully vetted, helping you build new relationships with like-minded peers.
  • Networking– Value from this community comes from in-person connections at our events. We put you in the room with vetted and trusted peers and top thought leaders across industries.
  • Services– We provide services, tools, and benefits to help your business, your team, and your life.
  • Content–Access to member-only content created with the c-suite executive in mind.

The Council hosts monthly member-only digital (and eventually in-person) events to foster critical collaborations, offer effective strategies from highly successful business leaders in the C-Suite, and encourage trusted sharing among vetted peers.

Along with the Council membership, you’ll receive C-Suite Network Executive Membership, which provides access to key resources and discounted business services that will give you a success roadmap. More than anything, we are on the front lines with strong, steady leadership so you’re not going through this time of great uncertainty alone.

“Dan brings a lot of business acumen to the C-Suite Network. His dedication to business in general, but particularly in the great state of Texas, makes him an ideal partner and council leader,” said Jeffrey Hayzlett, Chairman and CEO, C-Suite Network.

The C-Suite Network’s mission is to provide members with the most up-to-date tools and benefits to help them stay abreast of all the changes taking place in the business world.

 

“As a member of the C-Suite Network, I have experienced first hand the dedication and commitment with the membership,” said LaBroad. “Being part of a community that cares about the business owner and foments a culture of collaboration and growth is something that we can all be proud of. I look forward to the continued partnership with the C-Suite Network and expand the reach of the Lone Star Council.”

Whether you are a Texas-based business owner or executive, or wanting to do business within the state, we invite you to join the Council for $150/month or $1500/year.

Join the Lone Star Council for a Virtual Networking Mixer on Thursday, October 22nd @ 4:30PM CT. It will be an informal time to connect with local business peers and learn more about the Lone Star Council community. Here’s a link to register: https://c-suitenetwork.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUofuypqDwsEtZoiZmDgOuX8iUB2YkV2_ug

For more information on the council, click this link.

Categories
Growth

Black, Blind, and In Charge

Best Seller TV’s September programming features former New York Governor & author, David A. Paterson, talking about anecdotes during his time in & out of office

Best Seller TV, the only show dedicated to covering today’s best-selling business books on C-Suite TV,  is announcing a new episode in September, featuring former New York Governor & author, David A. Paterson, talking about his book, Black, Blind, and In Charge.

David A. Paterson, author of Black, Blind, and In Charge, recounts memorable anecdotes from his time as the 55th Governor of the state of New York, after succeeding Eliot Spitzer, as well as after leaving office. He wrote the book to tell stories he thought were particularly important for everyone to understand the intricacies of serving as the governor of a state, especially with a legal disability.

The book also touts some lessons he learned along the way, particularly how running for office is like being a small business owner. In the book, Paterson recalls his transition from Lieutenant Governor to Governor, after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer. Even before he was sworn in, the slowly became aware of the crisis that awaited him, including a $40 billion debt. Paterson says that one thing he would do differently if given the chance would be to clean-house and carry on with people who were about his mission.

However, one thing he is proud of accomplishing was that when he felt something was right, he didn’t look at the political ramifications. Doing what was right was his only motivation. While Paterson says he wouldn’t run for office again because of the “wear and tear,” he would love to continue serving people in an advisory capacity.

By writing this book, Paterson wants readers to understand their capacity to achieve is greater than they think it is. His lesson from writing the book was “I should have been more emotionally and substantively more prepared than I was” to serve as Governor.

All episodes of Best Seller TV air on C-Suite TV and are hosted by TV personality, Taryn Winter Brill.

Best-selling author, speaker, and former Fortune 100 CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett created Best Seller TV to give top-tier business authors a forum for sharing thought-provoking insights, in-depth business analysis, and their compelling personal narratives.

“It was an honor to have former Governor Paterson on our show to talk about the commitment, organization and compassion it takes to lead a state,” Hayzlett said. “We always wonder what happens behind the scenes, what politicians go through every day to serve their constituents and I think this book provides that insight and then some.”

For more information on TV episodes, visit www.csuiteold.c-suitenetwork.com/tv and for more information about the authors featured in Best Seller TV episodes, visit www.c-suitebookclub.com.

Categories
Technology

All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett Is Now on Amazon Music

All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett, the leading business podcast on C-Suite Radio, is announcing that it has been added to the lineup of podcasts on Amazon Music. All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett brings to light conversations with some of the brightest minds in business where nothing is off-limits – the good, the bad, and the ugly, from Main Street to Wall Street.

Amazon Music is one of the largest on-demand streaming music services with over 55 million customers and growing. It’s also integrated with Alexa, giving podcasters the opportunity to reach millions of listeners and target potential customers.

“This is a great opportunity for our show and for our network as a whole. At C-Suite Radio, we always refer to the hockey stick of growth – and while this time has been challenging for many, the network has been growing rapidly and steadily,” said host Jeffrey Hayzlett. “With over 200 shows on our network, this is a great opportunity and I encourage other podcasts hosts to follow in our footsteps. Content is king and the ability to monetize that content has increased significantly.”

 

All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett features insightful conversations around the most compelling topics in business today. Guests offer an astute perspective in the form of personal narratives, challenges faced, setbacks overcome, innovations pioneered, objectives met, and lessons learned. Past guests have included Beth Comstock, Steve Forbes, Piers Morgan, Gene Simmons, Kevin Jonas, Bob Guccione, Jr., Christie Hefner, Arianna Huffington, Andrew Zimmern, and more.

If you would like to submit your podcast to Amazon Music, visit this link and follow the steps.

If you have a business show you’d like to see on C-Suite Radio, contact us here.

If you would like to be considered as a guest on C-Suite Radio, fill out this submission form.

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development

Executive Briefings: Drama in the Workplace

By Thomas White, CEO of C-Suite Network

In my work, I meet business leaders from all over the world who have advice, stories and personal tips to provide. I sit down with these leaders to give them the opportunity to provide current business advice and give a glimpse to their personal stories as a business leader.

I recently interviewed Diedre Koppelman, Founder and CEO of PEAR Core Solutions. Since founding PEAR in 2003, Deidre has worked closely with senior level executives, business owners and organizational teams, providing strategic management counsel and solutions across a variety of industries. Deidre puts her focus into organizational development, leadership development and behavioral analytics for her clients.

Drama has been with us a long time. Drama has been depicted in the arts, movies plots etc. How does a psychiatrist by the name of Steven Karpman illustration depicting drama explain the Drama Triangle?

The Drama Triangle is an inverted triangle with the three corners illustrating the dynamics of drama. Once we can understand what role we play on the triangle, the triangle can provide us with a map on how to get out of the triangle, and basically end the drama. Here is a breakdown of each of the roles:

  • The Victim – The victim’s stance is “Poor me!” The Victim feels victimized, oppressed, helpless, hopeless, powerless, ashamed, and seems unable to make decisions, solve problems, take pleasure in life, or achieve insight. The Victim, if not being persecuted, will seek out a Persecutor and also a Rescuer who will save the day but also perpetuate the Victim’s negative feelings.
  • The Rescuer – The rescuer’s line is “Let me help you.” A classic enabler, the Rescuer feels guilty if he/she doesn’t go to the rescue. Yet his/her rescuing has negative effects. It keeps the Victim dependent and gives the Victim permission to fail.
  • The Persecutor – The persecutor insists, “It’s all your fault!” The Persecutor is controlling, blaming, critical, oppressive, angry, authoritative, rigid and superior.

We often might see ourselves playing these different roles in different situations. Does this mean these roles are interchangeable?

Yes, these roles are interchangeable. Here is an example of how we go through and interchange these roles. You may be a victim of someone or something so you go to a Rescuer and ask “Please help me, I can’t get this done.” If the Rescuer cannot help the Victim, The Victim will move into the Persecutor or Bully role and will start to bully the Rescuer, who now moves down to being the Victim. The movement on the triangle can happen in minutes. As we keep going around and around, the drama escalates.

Drama is all around us, every day, is there anything we can do to eliminate drama?

There is definitely an antidote to drama — the power of TED. TED is the acronym for “The Empowerment Dynamic” which was formulated by David Emerald. The basic concept is that you are going from an anxiety-based and problem-focused situation, which is drama, to a more passion-based and outcome-focused dynamic, which is the empowerment dynamic.

It is important to know, for those who have control in their organizations, that establishing a zero drama tolerance is really important and that you will not accept drama. To remove drama from the workplace it involves removing one role from the drama triangle. By eliminating the victim, the drama is gone. Here is where “The Empowerment Dynamic” can come into play. The victim can become the creator. They become accountable, confident, and they know that they have choices in any situation and can envision different outcomes. This also applies to the rescuer. When a rescuer is approached by a victim, the rescuer will assume the role of coach, they do not see the victim as a victim, but as someone who is capable and resourceful. They empower the victim to make choices, to come up with solutions, to take action. The antidote for the persecutor is to really spark growth and challenge the victim with the intent to help them grow. By changing every single role, you are ultimately empowering the victim into the role of creator.

Is there an assessment you can use to help identify which role you or your employees are playing?

A good place to start is to set up a workshop on the drama triangle. This will allow for everyone to understand the different roles and to help identify, through self-awareness, when they are in one of these roles. Once you can identify if you are in the triangle, you can identify at any time who is in what role.

If someone comes to you, and they are helpless, they feel powerless, they have no control over a situation, they would be identifying someone who is in the victim role. When this happens, you can understand that they are looking for help, you can then jump into a creator, or coach role and ask them “What do you think we should do?” or “Why don’t you think about it, come back, and let’s discuss it.” You always want to empower someone to be resourceful and to look for the answers, to give them control and the power to get over their situation.

How do you be a good, empathetic listener but also try to be encouraging at the same time?

Once you identify when you are switching from a coach to a rescuer, you will want to be empathetic, want to help, want to listen to the victim. This is where you’ll want to set limits to your listening. If it is something that the victim is complaining about over and over again, then you are just enabling them, and that is not what you want to do. But if the victim comes to you and they have an issue, listen and then automatically switch to the coach role. There is always the balance of listening to what challenges someone is having, and being careful that you are not going to solve that person’s problems. You want to enable them and empower them to come up with solutions and support them.

Categories
Growth Personal Development

It’s No Joke! Humor Positively Impacts Your Brain

By Tony Alessandra, Best Selling Author & Professional Keynote Speaker

True! It’s no joke. There absolutely is a connection between laughter and improved brain function. A great deal of study has been devoted to the negative things that can happen to the brain and why they happen. We know a lot about the effects of depression, fear, and anger. For some reason, the positive influences haven’t generated as much interest. But these influences are very interesting. Laughter, in fact, is not only interesting but is positively mysterious.

How does the brain know that something is funny?

Studies suggest that on this is a three-part process. A cognitive element helps you get the joke. A neuromuscular aspect helps move the muscles of the face to smile and laugh. And a third emotional element produces the enjoyable experience of laughter.

Why is laughter enjoyable?

It stimulates the production of a neurochemical called dopamine, which is also associated with many other pleasurable activities.

Jokes aside, there are Practical Benefits

All of this seems to have some very practical benefits. Tests have found evidence that humorous films and videos can diminish stress and promote relaxation. How this happens is not entirely clear. Something is definitely happening on the biological level — the production of dopamine.

But could laughter also simply distract the brain from whatever else was on its mind, so to speak? It doesn’t really matter. We’ve seen that stress weakens brain function, so whatever lowers stress will have the opposite effect. At this point, I’m tempted to tell some funny stories, but I’ll resist that temptation and say goodbye until my next blog post.

Categories
Growth Personal Development

Ushering in the Future 500 – White Paper

Greetings, C-Suite members.

Exciting news! Navalent, producer of inventive and gainful business, has collaborated with us and published a white paper for c-level leaders on helpful, groundbreaking research on leadership. The truly innovative logic behind the brand is revealed in this publication, entitled: Ushering in the Future 500: How Mid-cap Executives are helping their Organizations Build for Sustainable Growth and Win.

An exciting opportunity for growth is plentiful within mid-cap companies, but oftentimes leaders find themselves constricted by their work environments. The potential for balance within pattern shifts is revealed within Navelent’s publication. Organizational and strategic patterns are investigated and specifically assessed.

The downloadable white paper is available to our C-Level leaders. Please find the offer through this unique link: Download Here

Categories
Personal Development Sales

Executive Briefings: The Model of R.E.A.L. Leadership

By Thomas White for Huffington Post

In my work, I meet business leaders from all over the world who have advice, stories and personal tips to provide. I sit down with these leaders to give them the opportunity to provide current business advice and give a glimpse to their personal stories as a business leader.

This week I interviewed Joe Hart, President and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training, an organization whose founder pioneered the human performance movement over 100 years ago and has continued to succeed and grow worldwide, through constant research and innovation building on its founding principles. Dale Carnegie Training has more than 3,000 trainers and consultants, operating in 300 offices in over 90 countries impacting organizations, teams and individuals. Dale Carnegie Training’s client list includes more than 400 of the Fortune Global 500, tens of thousands of small to mid-sized organizations and over 8 million individuals across the globe.

Dale Carnegie does a lot of research in regard to leadership. What are the traits that make up a great leader?

Dale Carnegie Training initially conducted research on this subject in 2015 in the United States and Brazil. We were so intrigued with what we had found that we expanded the research to 13 additional countries. Some of the key questions we found included: what are the types of traits that really motivate someone to want to give their best and what are the things that demotivate people. From this research we have characterized these to ‘R.E.A.L.’ or reliable, empathetic, aspirational and learning.


What makes a leader Reliable?

It refers to someone who is internally reliable. Internal reliability is someone being authentic. As people, we have great intuition, and we can tell when somebody is being consistent with who they are. They are internally reliable. But with external reliability people want to sense a level of integrity. Does the leader do things that they say they are going to do or do they say one thing and then do another?

Of the four traits, this one is absolutely foundational for the other three. It doesn’t matter if you’re empathetic, aspirational, or you’re an active leader, if do not have reliability, you do not have the core trust that you are building with people. If you do not have this trust with the people you work with or who you interact with then the other traits just will not matter.

What does it mean to be Empathetic as a leader?

Being empathetic means to really want to reach out and to be others-focused. It means to demonstrate a desire to listen, to care, to recognize the importance that other people have and to really give them the respect of hearing what it is that they have to say. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.” So, an empathetic person is trying to learn, trying to listen and trying to demonstrate caring for the people around them.

There’s been a transformation of how leadership has been viewed over the decades. In the past, one might expect a leader to have all the answers, to show strong leadership qualities. Today, especially when you look at the millennial generation, people want to contribute to find out the answers. They want to have meaning in their work. They want to know the work they’re doing is valuable and that they are valued as a person. Someone who comes in and simply says, “Here’s what we’re going to do and you’re going to do it,” that is an immediate dis-engager for high percentages of people.”

What does a leader need to do to be someone who is Aspirational for the people that they are working with?

Leaders tend to focus on the bottom line. The finances are important and critical to the success of any business. However, to focus on those exclusively without a broader picture is not necessarily enough to connect with a lot of people. If a leader understands that people really want to have meaning in what they do, then simply hitting financial targets may not be enough. A leader not only needs to be focused on the details but also on why we are doing this at all and why what we are doing is important.

The financial parts and having targets are all important, but at the same time, to have something broader and something we can connect to that makes us feel like, “Yes, I’m really a part of something bigger and important, and I can go home and feel really good about that.”

How critical is it for a leader to also be a Learner?
It is very critical. Being a learner connects with empathetic in the sense that the learner says “I don’t have all of the answers”. The learner recognizes that mistakes are going to happen and they learn from that. They don’t necessarily like it but, they will embrace it and they won’t hesitate if they’ve made a mistake, to admit it, to address it and to move on. It’s about taking action. It’s about making mistakes. It’s about experience and judgement.

Follow Thomas White on Twitter: @ProfoundlySmple

Categories
Growth Personal Development

C-Suite TV Talks Enacting Change, Empowerment, Sales Coaching, Customer Service and the Importance of ‘WE’ Commerce

April/May Programming for Best Seller TV Features Authors Ilja Grzeskowitz, Meridith Elliott Powell, Jason Forrest, Donna Cutting, and Billee Howard

NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – May 11, 2016) – Best Seller TV, one of the top online business shows on C-Suite TV, has announced their upcoming episodes for April and May. Best Seller TV will feature in-depth interviews with a number of leading business authors: Ilja Grzeskowitz, author of Think It. Do It. Change It.: How to Dream Big, Act Bold and Get the Results You Want, Meridith Elliott Powell, author of Own It: Redefining Responsibility – Stories of Power, Freedom & Purpose, Jason Forrest, author of Leadership Sales Coaching: Transforming from Manager to Coach, Donna Cutting, author of 501 Ways to Roll Out the Red Carpet For Your Customer: Easy to Implement Ideas to Inspire Loyalty, Get New Customers and Make Lasting Impressions and Billie Howard, author of WE-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate and Succeed in the Sharing Economy.

Ilja Grzeskowitz, or “change expert #1” as he’s known by German media, talks about his new book, Think It. Do It. Change It.: How to Dream Big, Act Bold and Get the Results You Want, which details the step-by-step process he uses with clients to make change happen. Grzeskowitz says in order to make change happen, one must not just think differently, but act differently, too. He also highlights the six steps to fully execute the change you want — dream, vision, direction, goal, action plan and execution. A firm believer in ‘firing’ the negative people in your life and allowing the fear of change to become your best friend, Grzeskowitz feels dealing with change will be the most important skill everyone will need to master in the upcoming years. He urges his readers to remember the following when thinking of change, “You will become the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Become an agent of change.

In her book, Own It: Redefining Responsibility – Stories of Power, Freedom & Purpose, Meridith Elliott Powell talks about the need for both leaders and employees to take responsibility — not only in their work life, but in their personal life as well. She decided to write the book after discovering how powerful and empowering taking ownership of your own life and career can be. Powell feels that, “If people could learn how to take responsibility and the skill of it, they can do or accomplish anything they wanted” and when both leaders and employees take responsibility, she states, you have “a serious recipe for success.”

Jason Forrest, author of Leadership Sales Coaching: Transforming from Manager to Coach, compares sales professionals to athletes in the sense that they want to be coached like an athlete, rather than managed like an employee. He also highlights the difference of being a manager and a coach, stating that a manager makes peoples’ lives easier, while coaches make people better. Forrest is also a big believer in unleashing profits through people. The book is field-tested to reduce turnovers and increase sales, and it’s aimed at “corporate gladiators” interested in becoming coaches rather than managers.

Donna Cutting’s book, 501 Ways to Roll Out the Red Carpet For Your Customer: Easy to Implement Ideas to Inspire Loyalty, Get New Customers and Make Lasting Impressions, tackles the world of customer service and rolling out the red carpet for all customers. Cutting states that employees need to be armed with all the proper tools in order to provide excellent customer service. When employees don’t have all the tools, there’s a disconnect with the service they ought to provide, but don’t. She says there are four main things to think about:

1. Consistency – Every customer receiving the same level of service from every team member at every opportunity, every single time
2. Technical piece – Involves asking the question, ‘Am I delivering the product or service I’m promising?’
3. How do you deliver – How are employees delivering customer service? Are they making the customer feel like they’re important?
4. ‘Wow’ factor – The unexpected moment of surprise and delight that makes people want to talk about you in a positive way

Billee Howard’s book, WE-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate and Succeed in the Sharing Economy, highlights a world in which culture and commerce collide in ways that are considered unprecedented and an economy driven by entrepreneurialism and creativity. Howard talks about how the sharing economy ushered a variety of micro-economies that enable people to come together and experience luxuries they’ve never experienced before. She makes the argument that millennials, and Gen Z behind them, aren’t interested in owning possessions, but in sharing, borrowing, and using technology to come together and help make the world a better place.

All episodes of Best Seller TV will air throughout the month on C-Suite TV and are hosted by TV personality Taryn Winter Brill.

Best-selling author, speaker, and former Fortune 100 CMO Jeffrey Hayzlett created C-Suite TV to give top-tier business authors a forum for sharing thought-provoking insights, in-depth business analysis, and their compelling personal narratives.

“We have a great lineup for April and May! I am a big believer in empowering those around me so I think our viewers will enjoy these interviews that talk about making necessary changes and the empowerment that comes with enacting a positive change — personally and professionally,” Hayzlett said.

For more information on TV episodes, visit www.csuitetv.com and for more information about the authors featured in Best Seller TV episodes, visit www.c-suitebookclub.com.

Categories
Personal Development Sales

10 Sales Tips for Asking More Effective Questions

By: Dr.  Tony Alessandra

“What is the #1 rule in sales? Ask more questions! Sometimes the most knowledgeable expert is the most likely to fall into the trap of talking too much. Remember to slow down and let your prospective client do most of the talking. Study after study tells us that the most effective sales tips a trainer or manager can reinforce involve asking a lot of questions. Hall-of-fame keynote speaker on the subjects of sales and customer service, Dr. Tony Alessandra, shares his top 10 sales tips for asking more effective questions…”

1) Ask permission.

In some situations, it’s understood that you’re there to gather information. In other situations, it’s appropriate to show respect by asking permission to ask questions.

Example question: “May I ask you some questions about your business?”

This may be a rhetorical question, but it’s worth asking anyway.

2) Start broad, and then get specific.

Broad, open-ended sales questions are a good way to start gathering information. They put your prospect at ease because they allow any type of response.

Example question: “Could you tell me about your business?”

This is a non-threatening way to begin. Listen to what your prospect says and what she omits. Both will suggest areas to explore in greater depth, such as, “Could you tell me more about how absenteeism impacts your bottom line?”

3) Build on previous responses.

Any good interviewer knows that the most logical source of questions comes from the interviewee’s responses. Dovetail your questions with the responses by listening for key words.

Example question roleplay:

[Prospect] “I own six flower shops that specialize in large event decorating.”  

[Salesperson] “You specialize in large events. Why did you choose that niche?”

[Prospect] “Lower overhead. I can work out of a warehouse rather than a storefront. I don’t have to maintain perishable stock; I order in large quantities only when needed, which keeps my prices down.”

[Salesperson] “What do you mean by large events? How would you define that? What are the minimum orders?”

4) Use the prospect’s industry jargon, if appropriate.

If you’re talking to an expert, show your expertise by sounding as if you’ve spent your whole life in his industry. If you’re talking to a neophyte, don’t embarrass him with your technical jargon. This is especially true in retail sales in which customers look to salespeople for guidance, not confusion.

Every field has its own jargon, and you may be an expert in yours; however, your prospect may not be as well versed as you. Avoid questions that will confuse your prospect or worse, make him feel inferior.

Example question not to ask: “Was the baud rate of your present system satisfactory?”

Example question to ask:  “Were your telephone transmissions of data fast enough?”

5) Keep questions simple.

If you want useful answers, ask useful questions. Convoluted or two-part questions should be avoided. Ask straightforward questions that cover one topic at a time. It’s best to ask for one answer at a time.

Example question not to ask: “What do you think about the marketing plan and will the new ad campaign confuse customers and would that confusion actually be beneficial to the long-term product growth?”

This will not produce a meaningful answer. If you ask a two-part question, people tend to either answer the second part only or only the part they were interested in or felt safe with. One question at a time!

6) Use a logical sequence for your questions.

Prospects like to know where your questions are headed. If they can’t tell, they may suspect you’re manipulating them. By following keywords and asking sales questions in a logical order, you will keep your intent clear and build trust.

7) Keep questions non-threatening.

Start off safe, general, and non-threatening. That means asking open-ended questions that don’t touch on sensitive subjects. Later, after you have built up trust — and when it is appropriate — you can ask about financial ability, business stability, credit rating … anything relevant.

Example questions: Here’s a post that highlights seven questions one sales rep uses to ask more intense questions in a light and friendly manner. 

 

8) If a question is sensitive, explain its relevance.

It makes sense to justify a sensitive question to your prospect. After all, she has a right to know why you are asking.

Example questions: Here’s a post on how to ask sensitive sales questions without upsetting your prospects.

9) Focus on desired benefits.

Many prospects will not know all the benefits of your product or service. Therefore, don’t ask them what benefits they are looking for; tell them what benefits will be theirs! When you ask them what they want, have them generalize about the improvements they would like to see.

10) Maintain a consultative attitude.

Remember, you’re a liaison between your company and your customers; you are a consultant. As such, you want to question your prospect in a way that will yield the maximum amount of information with the least effort. To do so, take the pressure off the questions. Ask them in a relaxed tone of voice. Give time for the answers, even if it means sitting quietly and waiting. Don’t be in a hurry to get to your next appointment. The investment you make in time now will pay off handsomely when the prospect evolves into an annuity.Dr. Tony Alessandra has a street-wise, college-smart perspective on business, having been raised in the housing projects of NYC to eventually realizing success as a graduate professor of marketing, internet entrepreneur, business author, and hall-of-fame keynote speaker. He earned a BBA from Notre Dame, a MBA from the Univ. of Connecticut and his PhD in marketing from Georgia State University (1976).

Known as “Dr. Tony” he’s authored 30+ books and 100+ audio/video programs. He was inducted into the NSA Speakers Hall of Fame (1985) and Top Sales World’s Hall of Fame(2010).  Meetings & Conventions Magazine has called him “one of America’s most electrifying speakers”.

Dr. Tony is also the Founder/CVO of  Assessments 24×7.  Assessments 24×7 is a global leader of online DISC assessments, delivered from easy-to-use online accounts popular with business coaches and Fortune 500 trainers around the world.  Interested in learning more about these customized assessment accounts? Please CONTACT US