19 Mar
"Good in a Room" Helps you Put Your Best Foot Forward in a Sales Situation
Have you ever tried to pitch an idea to your boss only to find that it was shot down before it was given a chance? Life is a series of sales situations in which many times you have to prove that your idea is as good, if not better, than someone else’s. Sometimes it is what you say and how you say it that can make or break a deal or decision.
When the time comes to sell yourself, your product, or idea in a high-stakes situation, even the most experienced person can ruin a golden opportunity if they don’t know how to make the right pitch. Even in a job interview, hiring decisions tend to look past differences in resume quality and focus on how the candidate performs in the room.
My friend Stephanie Palmer has just published a book that I think you will find extremely useful. Stephanie was MGM’s Director of Creative Affairs and her book, Good in a Room: How To Sell Yourself and Your Ideas and Win Over Any Audience, is in stores now. The book explains the pitching techniques used in the room by successful writers and directors and how you can apply them to sell spec scripts, set up TV shows, land directing assignments, and secure financing for independent films. I recommend it highly!
To read an excerpt or learn more, please visit http://www.goodinaroom.com.
Is Deleting Technology the Answer?
In its most recent annual study, the Institute for Business Technology determined that the average U.S. professional spends 9.4 hours each week just managing email. And that doesn’t count the time spent actually writing or answering them! It all adds up to $650 billion in lost productivity for American firms, according to one estimate.
Okay, I admit it. I am one of the few who doesn’t own a Blackberry. It doesn’t bother me not to have one however, a part of me would like to have what everybody else has… a status item sans the stress. When I travel, I take my laptop and my Sprint aircard so I have access to the Internet every place I go. However, I can’t check email on the fly like everybody else. But, as strange as it may seem, I am content that I’m not “connected” 24/7.
I cherish my down time and I enjoy checking email at certain times of the day. And if someone really wants to reach me in an emergency they can always call me. Speaking of calling, have you noticed that your land line doesn’t ring as much as it did four or five years ago? My land line seldom rings anymore. That tells me that more people rely on email to communicate.
So if you email me and I don’t respond right away, it isn’t because I don’t care or think your message is unimportant. It’s simply because I’m managing my time wisely.
Here are five ways to cut the time (and money) it costs to process email on your Blackberry or PC:
- Think of messages in terms of monetary value; ignore anything worthless.
- Create an email filing system that reflects the way you think.
- Simply send fewer emails. You’ll receive fewer emails.
- Delete without reading any emails that cc you and two or more recipients.
- Set regular times each day to respond to email and stick to them.
Source: Institute for Business Technology