Have you ever had coffee with a person and 5 minutes into the meeting you are looking for the nearest exit? It's not because their breath wreaks of garlic or coffee but because of "Commission Breath" and the sale that they are trying to make. In my previous article, I talked about how sales and marketers need to be careful to not have commission breath. Since January 7th of this year, I have attended 38 networking functions, have met over 140 new people and scheduled over 50 one-on-one meetings. There have been multiple instances of when I meet with people at an event or over coffee and they are so focused on trying to earn a commission that they forget the purpose of networking. One of my favorite books is Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey. In the book, Covey talks about how people do business with people that they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST. If the people that I had met with, had taken the time to have a genuine conversation so that I could KNOW who they are... lea

In my last blog post, I said we would discuss referrals vs. connections and since that post, someone has asked me about leads vs. referrals. Think of "Lead vs. Referral vs. Connection" as a type of sales funnel. If you have ever gone to a networking function you will likely hear them talk about business passed and referrals given between the members of the group. The reason why they talk about referral is that the person referred is likely expecting a phone call or email from the person given the referral. This is a “warm introduction” and should result in an easier sell. (Frank’s client, Chris, is purchasing a home and needs financing. Frank recommends Danny a local mortgage lender. Chris is now going to be expecting Danny’s phone call.) I love the definition of referral in the Collins Dictionary: “Referral is the act of officially sending someone to a person or authority that is qualified to deal with them.” The problem with a lead is that it is considered, “non-qu

A few years ago, while attending a networking luncheon, I was selected to be interviewed during the “Member Press Conference” section of the meeting. One of the questions that I was asked was, “What is one thing that most people don’t know about you”? To the surprise of many, I answered that I am a "people-oriented introvert." If you are reading this for the first time and wonder why they are shocked it is because I am in the mortgage business and consider myself a "Master Networker". Every week I attend 5 - 7 networking functions, meet 25 - 30 new people, and have 7 -10 "one-two-one meetings". This is why most of the people in the room were surprised by my answer. Many were skeptical. The reason I have created this blog is that most people that are introverts really make some of the best salespeople and marketers. They naturally do no do not sell, they connect. Many people in sales think of Alec Baldwin’s famous quote, “ABC… Always Be Closing”, from the