Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others
by Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas
“You’ve heard about people who talk too much. You never heard about a person who listens too much.”
Power Questions is about the productive use of questions in a variety of contexts. Co-authors Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas are experts on client loyalty and fundraising, respectively.
Continue reading “Power Questions”
To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others
by Daniel H. Pink
This book is about sales, but also “selling in a broader sense—persuading, influencing, and convincing others… Physicians sell patients on a remedy. Lawyers sell juries on a verdict. Teachers sell students on the value of paying attention in class.”
The old-school image of a dodgy salesman relied on what Daniel Pink calls information asymmetry—the seller had access to information which the buyer did not have. Clearly that environment has changed. The author replaces the old sales training mantra Always Be Closing with “the new ABCs—Attunement, Buoyancy, and Clarity.”
Continue reading “To Sell is Human”
Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference
by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler
Jennifer Kahnweiler observes “that introverts can be highly effective influencers when they stop trying to act like extroverts and instead make the most of their natural, quiet strengths.” She points out some noteworthy introverted influencers, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles Darwin, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Warren Buffet, Condoleezza Rice, Steven Spielberg, and J.K. Rowling. “Quiet influence is not about talking a great game to win the deal. It is a less understood approach to influence and differs from more ‘out there’ talkative methods.”
Continue reading “Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference”
Real Influence – Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In
by Mark Goulston and John Ullmen
This book is about the “connected influence model.” Disconnected influence is about “getting what I want.” It’s adversarial and focused on the short-term. Connected influence is oriented around understanding the other party’s situation and “viewing your current actions as a springboard for future relationships, reputation, and results… In the real world, interactions are never isolated. Anything you do might affect your relationships, as well as your reputation, for a long time to come.”
Continue reading “Real Influence”
The Key Point 