Sales Engine

Feb 2

Craig Wortmann — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:59:47 +0000

Your “5 things” for February 2nd!

1. Narrow your target market

2. I know it sounds counter-intuitive

3. But it focuses your efforts

4. And your messaging and positioning

5. And your time

Jan 23

Craig Wortmann — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:00:20 +0000

Your “5 things” for January 18th!
1. Think about your leadership style
2. What are the three things you do well?
3. What would people say about how you lead?
4. What’s one thing you could work on?
5. Get on it

Jan 20 weekend

Craig Wortmann — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:00:50 +0000

Your “5 things” for the January 20th Weekend!
1. Get up this weekend and do a different kind of workout
2. Stretch, lift, run, walk, bike, yoga, climb or just some push-ups
3. Then read a section of the Sunday paper you don’t usually read
4. It’s too early in the year to fall into a rut
5. So don’t

Jan 19

Craig Wortmann — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:14 +0000

Your “5 things” for January 19th!
1. Call home
That’s it.

Jan 18

Craig Wortmann — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:00:40 +0000

Your “5 things” for January 18th!
1. Read David Brooks for your red meat
2. Read Michael Pollan for your vegetables
3. Read Christopher Hitchens for your spice
4. Read Doris Kearns Goodwin for your conversation
5. Read the latest pulp thriller for your desert

Jan 17

Craig Wortmann — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:36 +0000

Your “5 things” for January 17th!
1. Make sure you are reading stuff you don’t always read
2. And then talk about it with someone
3. Look for patterns
4. Pay attention to how you fit it into your worldview
5. Challenge that process

Jan 16

Craig Wortmann — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:00:09 +0000

Your “5 things” for January 16th!
1. Be aware of the stories that are unfolding around you
2. Capture them
3. That means write them down!
4. Tell one or two as soon as possible
5. Repeat

Make an impact

Craig Wortmann — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:49:38 +0000

Let’s pick up on this theme of listening and being comfortable with silence. If you can exert mastery over your tendency to fill silence, all kinds of good things accrue. First, you make room for dialogue, not monologue. For conversation, not just empty give and take.

Then, you give yourself an opportunity to really understand what someone is saying. This understanding comes through the questions you ask, and there are three types of questions:
1. Closed-ended
2. Open-ended
3. Impact

Closed-ended questions are those that yield a one word answer. “How are things?” “Good.” Very informative!

Open-ended questions go a bit farther and yield a longer answer; “What have you been working on?” “Not falling asleep.” Okay, that’s a start.

Impact questions go all the way. These are questions that ask someone to actually think; “Given what you just said, how will you change the way you approach that next time?” “Hmmm…let me think.” Now we’re talking.

You have asked tons of impact questions. You know you have, because you get the “Good question…let me think” response. This is almost always good. It means you have honored your partner in conversation enough to think about and ask an impact question. And you have offered that person the chance to really think something through.

There’s nothing wrong with closed and open-ended questions, but they function more like transactions than relationships. What they are best-suited for is breaking up the flow of your impact questions, since if you ask TOO many impact questions, you can easily exhaust and annoy your conversation partner.

Next time you are walking into a meeting or a social situation, take a pause and make an impact.

Jan 13 weekend

Craig Wortmann — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:36:35 +0000

Your “5 things” for the January 13th Weekend!
1. Say yes to new opportunities
2. These put you in front of new people
3. And groups you haven’t come across
4. You learn
5. And good things happen

Jan 10

Craig Wortmann — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:00:09 +0000

Your 5 things for January 10th!
1. Today, make another 10 calls
2. Use ‘purpose, benefit, check’ in EVERY meeting this week
3. Really listen
4. Pivot to the important subjects
5. Follow-up