Happy Friday! Here we are at the end of another week, and it's time for us to share what we've been reading online this week. Here are our "best" from around the web.
1. Practice for Tough Situations as You’d Practice a Sport — HBR
Preparation is one of the most obvious yet most misunderstood aspects of learning soft skills. Imagine you’re heading off to lead a meeting, make an important pitch for your company, or have a difficult conversation. It’s obvious in these situations that you want to prepare yourself for what you’re going to do or say. But what we often miss when learning soft skills is preparing to manage ourselves—especially when we start to feel the stress and pressure of the real-life situation. This article explains that to learn soft skills in a way that truly prepares us for what we’ll face when it really matters, we can take a few lessons from a different arena where learning, development, and performance are essential: professional sports.
2. Why Business Leaders Need to Earn Trust, and How to Go About Doing it — Inc.
Business around the world is increasingly earning the trust of the general population, and this is happening specifically because of the leadership shown by some companies in the area of sustainability. That's the conclusion of this year's "Trust Barometer," the detailed global survey published annually by communications firm Edelman. This post digs into the details.
3. 9 Principles of Psychology for Powerful Marketing Campaigns — PR Daily
Purchases are 85% emotional and impulsive—and based on basic principles of psychology. With all of the hype about content marketing strategies, marketers often forget these basic principles. In some places, they are not even taught anymore. Here are nine psychological principles you should have in your tool belt.
4. 3 Sales Email Templates to Use When Prospects Aren’t Ready to Buy — HubSpot
A salesperson should "Always Be Helping." When a prospect has a challenge or goal you can help with, you know what to do -- you take them through your sales process. That’s the best way to help them. But what if they are busy with another priority, yours is not the most obvious service to help them, or they just won’t admit they are a good fit yet? How do you help them in a way that makes them likely to come back to you if and when they do need or want your help? Here are 3 email templates that will help you nurture these prospects.
5. Inspire Loyalty With Your Leadership: Here's How — Entrepreneur
Loyalty isn't something you can just gain, at the drop of a hat. To be a leader truly worthy of loyalty takes hard work and requires self-inquiry and a clarity of mind. After all, who can follow someone who doesn’t even know what he or she wants or is headed? Inspiring loyalty may take personal work, but it will be worth the effort when you have a team that will follow you to the ends of the earth. There are many ways to inspire loyalty, but here are six essential ways in which the best leaders inspire loyalty, in even the most dubious of employees.
This Week on The Center For Sales Strategy's Blog:
