LESSONS FROM THE COFFEE SHOP TO BOOST SALES AND SEAL DEALS
By Karen Friedman, Communications Coach, Author, Shut Up and Say Something (Praeger 2010)
His name is Steve. He’s retired now, but before spending mornings at the local coffee shop, he spent forty years in sales, owned his own company and boasted a resume of successes.
For a good ten years now, I’ve enjoyed a morning cup of joe with Steve and a small group of loyal Manhattan Bagel regulars in my neighborhood. Sometimes it’s a quick buy and bye. Other times we sit and chat. We’ve sipped through elections, wars, simmered over political differences and added extra sweetener to sugarcoat a disappointing Philadelphia Eagles loss. We’ve come to value each other’s opinions even if like a steaming cup of coffee, our differences sometimes boil over.
So on this fall morning, I asked Steve to share his secret of sales success. Without hesitation, he answered…