By Wayne O'Neill
If you’re a subscriber to this blog, you may have noticed that I’ve been working to create my own video series. This is a new endeavor for me: I have four people in the room, and in between cuts, they’re each tearing each word I said (and didn’t say) apart, analyzing all of my body language, and pointing out speech disfluencies I hadn’t noticed before. Though I’m new to going through the stress of making a video—and people telling me about tics—I’m not new to asking for others’ opinions. I find it’s the best way to ensure that you’re putting out your best work: whether it’s in making a video, developing an account team, or creating new solutions.
By Wayne O'Neill
With the Holidays inching around the corner, we’ve all got gift giving on our minds. For that executive in your life that has his fair share of ties and coffee mugs, I suggest you get them some new reading material. Here are three books I would suggest…
By Wayne O'Neill
When hiring members of a top account development team, some qualities that team members should have may be a little counter intuitive. You may focus on a well-written resume, work experience, and references. Or you could focus in on the way they present themselves and how eloquently they speak. But let me intrigue you for a moment about some characteristics that you should be looking for in potential hires.
By Wayne O'Neill
I often speak in metaphors with my clients. We discuss heavy things, and these abstract ways of thinking, leading a team, and reaching business goals are better understood when linking a process to an inanimate object or a relatable life occurrence.
By Wayne O'Neill
A nice looking man walks into a bar. He approaches a stunning woman and asks, “Do you want to dance?”
She declines. He sees another pretty woman, walks up to her, and asks, “Do you want to dance?” Again, no such luck. Not one to allow his spirits to get down, the man continues to the next woman, and the next, and the next.
“Do you want to dance?”
“Do you want to dance?”
“Do YOU want to dance?”
By Wayne O'Neill
I recently read an article in Golf Digest (yes, I’m showing my hair color) in which professional golfer, Jason Day, stated this simple fact: Swinging [the club] harder is not the best way to drive [the ball] farther.
Sounds counter intuitive, doesn’t it? Well, the keys to hitting a golf ball father and the keys to effective account development have more in common than you would think. Because just simply getting out in front of more prospective clients (swinging the club harder) is not the best way to generate profitable revenue (drive the ball farther).
By Wayne O'Neill
Many businesses have adopted a strategy for better customer relationships. It’s simple: they gather information about current and potential customers, input the data in software systems, create algorithms, and those algorithms make up readable information that leaders can use to influence future business decisions. The tough choices managers have been making all of these years are boiled down to information that a computer spits out. So easy a caveman could do it, right?
By Wayne O'Neill
We push people to authentically connect with companies in multiple ways and on multiple levels – both intellectually and organizationally. It’s not just as simple as sending a Facebook friend request or LinkedIn connection invite. Connecting is about truly understanding the issues and trends in their industry, and attaching how those issues affect all parts of their business; ranging from their customers, to their stakeholders, employees, investors and internal operational teams.
By Wayne O'Neill
Illusions are amazing in a magic act, but can be devastating in business development. Do your BD meetings go on for hours, but ultimately just sound like a Facebook feed of this week’s golf outings and nice dinners? Is there an agonizingly long Excel spreadsheet that, at first glance, appears to catalogue extensive work, and yet you somehow get the creeping feeling that people are just entering mindless drive? Is there typically one star rainmaker in your group, along with a few lucky partners who stumble into opportunities, and the rest of your meeting room listens in simply mystified and “along for the ride”? If you rely on a select few to carry the weight of new work for your company, then…
By Wayne O'Neill
If your business partners’ network has vanished or the value of your network is non-existent, then it may be time to take a closer look at your connections and relationships. Part 4 in game changing series: “Top 7 Signs That Your Company Needs to Change”
