Articles
Explore over 350 articles that will help you grow your client relationships and improve your personal effectiveness.
The Sale that Won’t Close: Mystery Solved
One of the most common laments from my clients is about sales that never close. “We don’t understand what’s really going on,” one executive told me, “but some of our people just can’t seem to close. They have lots of conversations with clients, but they never come to fruition. It’s a mystery.” Actually, there’s no […]
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A Pure and Selfless Motive Can Move Mountains
(Note: This true story, told by my co-author Jerry Panas, was published as a chapter in our book Power Relationships) In Oswego, Kansas, people are mighty proud of their twelve-bed community hospital. There are other hospitals in larger neighboring cities. But people in Oswego wouldn’t think of going anywhere for their healthcare other than their local […]
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The Secret to Making People Root for You
The US presidential campaign is now in full swing. I won’t comment on this campaign, but I will describe something fascinating that happened in a very important presidential race from the last century. It illustrates the power of self-disclosure and the importance of what I call “emotional resonance” in relationships. It was September 23, 1952, […]
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The Most Powerful Relationship Commandment
Steve Pfeiffer had just stepped down as chairman of one of the largest law firms in the United States, Fulbright & Jaworski (now Norton Rose Fulbright). Elected and reelected three times by his partners, he served three terms as chairman over ten years. Why was Steve Pfeiffer reelected so many times? Leadership. He’s smart and […]
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How to Transform a Relationship
On November 25th, 2008, Citigroup executive James Bardrick stepped off his plane at the Mumbai airport in India. At the time, he was co-head of Citigroup’s banking business for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. His keen intellect, easy way with people, and fierce client devotion had propelled him rapidly up the corporate ladder at one […]
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A Magical Way to Get Trust
It was a perfect evening. I still remember it vividly nearly twenty years later. My wife and I were sitting at a table for two at one of the most talked-about restaurants in Paris. You could just spy the Eiffel Tower out of one of the windows, lit up against a dark sky. The moon […]
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Clients Speak: How a Lack of Empathy Destroyed a Relationship and Scorched the Earth for Ten Years
Years ago, I moderated a panel discussion about trusted business advisors. I interviewed three senior executives who were chosen because they had spent a lifetime selecting and hiring professional advisors and suppliers of all types. The audience consisted of the senior bankers from a prestigious global investment bank. My first question for the panel was, […]
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Why the Most Promising Leads Often Fall Flat
Sometimes, the urgency of the lead is inversely proportional to the probability of conversion. It was six in the evening. I was about to wrap up for the day. The phone rang. I was tempted to let the caller leave a message. But I was curious, so I picked up the receiver. The voice was […]
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