After over 4300 shows in 25 years, Oprah’s final show aired recently where she mentioned that of more than 30,000 people she has interviewed, they all had one thing in common; the need to be validated. Oprah claims that the common three questions they needed answered were:

‘Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say matter to you?’

I propose that these questions are at the heart of 21st Century selling – the principle of exchange of value. How well a salesperson validates their clients and prospects through skills such …

It didn’t surprise me one little bit when I read an article in the Australian Financial Review on 9 June 2011, titled ‘Big Banks deluded about small business’. The article surmises that the vast majority of small business bankers are nothing more than product floggers trying to sell a product rather than providing consultation expertise to their SME clients, on their specific needs and working with them to get the best out of their business banking relationships.

Most disturbing is the bank’s illusion of their customers’ satisfaction with the service they’re receiving. The reality is of course entirely the opposite. Are …

‘Should I sell and distribute my own products or another company’s products?’ This is the question I really needed to answer back in 1995 and should have answered by 1999 however, it took me a further two years to understand what I really needed to do if I was to achieve my goals and fulfill my ambitions.

When I launched my consulting business in 1995 I had no actual product to speak of, other than myself. I didn’t know much about the world of distributorships nor did I know how long it would take to build my …