It’s an old habit. When I read on airplanes and come across an intriguing passage or concept, I jot down notes on whatever scrap of paper I can find. While cleaning out my briefcase last night, I came across these two gems. (My apologies to the author – don’t recall the book or article these came from.)
- “The Sunday New York Times contains more factual information in one edition than in all the written material available to a reader in the fifteenth century.”
- “In 1900, a well educated person could still grasp the existing knowledge in almost every field of science and the arts (in fact, this was what a college education was supposed to provide).”
So what do those two factual tidbits tell you?
I can’t say I’ve ever read an entire edition of the New York Times, but I do read a lot more than that amount every month. And as far as grasping all the existing knowledge in any single field – science, arts or otherwise – well… forget about it. No living person can make that claim.
To me, those tidbits above reinforce the vital importance of a particular sales best practice: Begin every conversation with a compelling value proposition.
Stupendous! In the case of this blog post, I hope the word “stupendous” in the headline cuts through the flood of content coming at you today. (Although it’s not a common term, everyone knows what it means, plus it’s fun to say!)
Generate an 8 to12% annual, incremental increase in effective sales capacity. In the case of Sales Process Engineering, I hope the notion of methodical, relentless continuous improvement cuts through the flood of content.
It’s a kick-butt sales call every time. In the case of a sales rep’s own business talk radio show, I hope the near-guarantee of call effectiveness cuts through the flood of content.
How am I doing on my value propositions? How are you doing on yours?
