It's February already? I guess I missed out on the traditional "new year, new things, new way of life that lasts about a month" column. (I should really start planning ahead.)
So in a nod to my own unconventional schedule, I think I'll offer a bit of reflection this month. See, this year will mark my fifth at the helm of Benefits Selling and while I might be a bit early, you can blame it on the holidays.
Without further ado, then, I'd like to rip a page from Esquire and offer up my own little version of what I've learned while I've been here.
- Public speaking is a hell of a lot harder than it looks.
- So is having your picture taken.
- Journalists are lot like sales people. We both ask a lot of questions. But the good ones know when to shut up and just listen.
- And sales people are usually better at returning calls. At least the ones still working.
- Speaking of which, returning calls (and e-mails these days) is the easiest, most effective thing you can do to stay in business.
- Attacking both sides all the time doesn't make you objective, it just makes you sound bitter. And who wants to hear that?
- It's far better to excel at a single thing rather than flail about screwing up several things at once.
- Trade shows can be a lot like stories: You get out of them exactly what you put in.
- Tailors are underrated.
- Service will always trump price. I mean what do you hear more often: Stories about great deals or tales of customer service experiences above and beyond the call of duty?
- It doesn't matter how fancy the product or advanced the enrollment, nothing beats plain English. Or a face-to-face.
- A few minutes of real eye contact is worth more than a blazing, Michael Bay Power Point presentation.
- Pink is never subtle.
