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Recent Articles from Julie Hansen
A sales lesson from the Wolf of Wall Street
Scorsese’s excess-packed The Wolf of Wall Street joins a long line of films (Wall Street, Boiler Room, Glengarry Glen Ross) that cast the sales profession in its most negative light. While millions of honest people make their living in sales, they rarely make movies about them (with the happy exce...
Mad Men’s top four bad business behaviors
Even though I worked in advertising long after the Mad Men era, the ghosts of Don Draper and Roger Sterling could occasionally be glimpsed roaming the halls after a long day, ice tinkling, cigarettes glowing. The agencies I worked for grew in huge exponential bursts, expanding from two employees a...
Best of CoBiz: The world’s most powerful sales tool
What is your most powerful sales tool? Your website? Your video brochure? Your multi-media presentation in 3-D? While all of these can support your message, the answer lies much closer […]
Breaking Bad’s winning formula
Watching Breaking Bad, I rarely (okay, never) knew where it was going, but I hung on for dear life. From the first episode, I trusted that I was in the hands of a professional and that it was all going to come together like a perfect puzzle at the end - yet leave me with that not unpleasant feeli...
Best of CoBiz: Shotgun or rifle approach to sales?
It took me three months to close my first sale. I was working for the third-ranked Top 40 station in the market, KS-104, home of the Cash Cow. (Yes, I […]
Best of CoBiz: The seven-second sales test
I try not to make snap judgments. But I do. And apparently, so do a lot of other people. Researchers from NYU discovered that we make 11 major decisions about a […]
Best of CoBiz: Try a little showmanship
That winning “Sales Trifecta:” the right product, the right price and the right timing is no longer enough to ensure you get the business – much less keep it. So […]
Best of CoBiz: Catch a cue
Active listening can open us up to new opportunities and insights that may not have otherwise become apparent to us. And as a salesperson, the more you focus on listening, the more you'll start hearing the word "Yes!"
Best of CoBiz: Powerful words inspire powerful change
“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your life extraordinary.”Dead Poet’s Society These powerful words spoken by Robin Williams’ character in the 1980 movie inspired a group of students to […]
Best of CoBiz: Role-play for sales results
Role-playing. With the exception of cold-calling, is there a pair of words salespeople dread more? While management may call it a “learning experience,” most salespeople know better. Role-playing is a […]
Best of ColoradoBiz: Creating buyer urgency
“You need to create urgency!” How many times have you heard this as a salesperson? I realize that this may go against the sales manager’s manifesto, but I don’t believe […]
Release your inner “bad actor”
While I usually give “good” acting tips for becoming a more successful salesperson or presenter, this tip falls into the “bad” acting category. It is, however, one of the most powerful and proven ways to put significant life and energy into your any business presentation or conversation.
