Enter, the "Cold Call" debate. When I began my telecom sales career in 1999, I was a cold calling machine. I would typically set aside two days a week to make 100 or more cold calls and in those two days I would set 6-8 new appointments. I did that week after week and...

In summer 2016, I became a big fan of the book "Emotional Intelligence 2.0" and have read through (and listened, I bought both formats) several times. Recently, I was invited to speak on the topic at the Virginia Recreation and Parks Society’s Management Conference in...

This is my favorite time of year! The weather is chilly, I get to wear jeans and sweaters and drink lots of piping hot coffee; and perhaps most important, is playoff baseball. While my team was eliminated (still bitter) I love the atmosphere of playoff baseball. Every...

That title is a bit harsh right? But it's true. I look at dozens of bad profiles every day. In fact, when most people learn that I provide LinkedIn consulting they quickly look down at their feet  and then tell me (while not making eye contact) how terrible their profi...

Two words that will lead to great professional success for you, patience and cultivation. Most companies miss this and most sales professionals miss this (FYI, these are also great points for people that are looking for a job or might look for a job in the future).

THE...

Each new day brings me a new conversation about LinkedIn. Part of that is because I cannot stop taking about it. Part of it, is because people ask me questions every day about little tips and tricks to get more from using LinkedIn. That is the main reason I started Mik...

Today's post is all about the many connections we make each and every day. More importantly, it illustrates, how one connection can create a "domino effect" and open doors you didn't even know existed. It all started with a networking event.

ABC: ALWAYS BE CONNECTING

In...

Here is a statistic that may shock you. After college, less than 2% of adults in America ever read a book. Reflect on that for a moment. This should help you realize why sales are not getting better. I know I was guilty of that for quite some time. I wrote a post a cou...

I had to explain a mastermind group to a colleague a few weeks ago. It occurred to me, that there are probably many more people, not familiar with the concept (don't feel bad, not sure I really knew what one was a couple years ago).

Put simply, a Mastermind group is a...

A couple weeks ago, I posted the picture above and asked people for book recommendations. The response was fantastic. It generated many new connections for me and gave me dozens of great new books to add to my reading list for 2016 (probably filled out my list for 20...