Monday Mash-Up ~ Vol. 2, Ep. 33

Recommended Reading
Making “Intentional Connections” in a Remote Working World

I spoke to a salesman last week who complained that it’s “impossible” to “truly connect” with prospects over Zoom or other remote communication channels. I sent him this article by Seth Godin: Intentional connection in the digital office. This is about making connections with coworkers. But the principle is the same when applied to marketing and sales. Here’s a big idea from the post:

The real challenge of remote work isn’t that it somehow erases the mysterious serendipity of magical office collisions. The problem is that making connections digitally requires enrollment and effort. If we do it with intent, it actually works better.

Recommended Viewing
What We Can Learn from Introverts

12.7 million people have watched Susan Cains TED talk called, “The Power of Introverts.” Are you an introvert? An extrovert? Doesn’t matter. Watch this video that reveals a ton about the differences between the two and why we have so much to learn from introverts’ natural style.

Recommended Reading
Decisive by the Heath

I’m a fan of the Heath brothers — Chip and Dan. I discovered them when I devoured their great book “Made to Stick” in 2007.

A newer book “Decisive” (2013) is also great. As described by the publisher:

““Research in psychology has revealed that our decisions are disrupted by an array of biases and irrationalities: We’re overconfident. We seek out information that supports us and downplay information that doesn’t.”

“We get distracted by short-term emotions. When it comes to making choices, it seems, our brains are flawed instruments. Unfortunately, merely being aware of these shortcomings doesn’t fix the problem, any more than knowing that we are nearsighted helps us to see. The real question is: How can we do better?”

Great question. The Heaths offer great answers in this book. Useful for recognizing your own biases. Useful for business leaders and marketers/salespeople who want to understand biases in others.

Free Download
5 Storytelling Secerts

In case you missed the announcement last week: I have published a new ebook: “5 Storytelling Secrets to Captivate Prospects and Inspire Them to Buy.” I unveil 5 legendary, Hall-of-Fame advertisements and unpack secrets from them to help you become a more powerful, client-attracting storyteller. The e-book is free, and you can get it here.

Words to Ponder
Wise Words from the Guy Who Built THE Chocolate Factory

Milton S. Hershey was born on this day in 1857, and he said this:

“My experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren’t so because of what they know, but because of their insatiable need to know more.”