OFB 54 | CEO Turned Diesel Mule, Happy Feet at Penguin Publishing & The Art of Make the Business Connection

Connecting – when you first meet do you elevator pitch, sell, connect, ask, tell …? How good are your first-impression-making skills? We explore The Art of Making a Connection on this edition of Open For Business.

But first, some Hot Potato News items ….

Oh Sandy!! The storm was devastating, disrupting lives and destroying billions in property. The aftermath in terms of long term economic impact could be worse. Read more … http://www.marketplace.org/topics/generic/weather-economy/hurricane-sandy-could-cost-billions-damages

Stories from the Storm -- Read how one CEO, in order to ensure service to their clients, carried diesel fuel up 17 flights of stairs so their generator kept running.

http://betabeat.com/2012/11/squarespace-diesel-peer1-wall-street-hurricane-sandy-data-center/

Happy Feet at Penguin House -- In response to a rapidly changing publishing industry Penguin Publishing and Random House have merged. They now control 25% of all English speaking published books on the planet.

http://qz.com/20988/citibank-and-goldman-sachs-are-working-from-home-today/

Discussion Item -- The Art of the Connection

Sales training 101 instructs that you should develop and practice your elevator pitch because you never know when you will meet your ideal prospect. You need to be ready.

But do you need to be so rehearsed? Do you need an elevator pitch?

In the latest edition of OFB we explore the Art of the Connection. And our conclusions may surprise you.

Authenticity is more important than rehearsal.

Connect to the person; focus on who, not what.

Listening well and appropriate questions count much more than talking about yourself.

Don’t elevator pitch, and especially don’t sell.

Think about 30 minutes, not 30 seconds, and tee up the next meeting.

Tell us what you think. How do you make 30 seconds work for you? Email Tommy or Ken at [email protected].

Open for Business – Seven days of Fun in Less than an Hour.

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VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPDNq_r_6B0&feature=plcp