The most successful business owners tell the best stories

The best trade-show on earth, well that’s what our group called this past weekend at the Savor the Central Coast wine event near Paso Robles California. It offered rows of booths to visit and everyone wanted you to like their product the best – similar to a trade-show. As easy as it was for each seller to give away wine, the best storytellers were the winners. Read more

How to be a great storyteller

Everyone needs to keep a collection of stories and interesting factoids and be ready for the moment it will help move listeners to action. A great storyteller never tells a story the same way twice. Instead, she sees what is unique in each storytelling experience and responds fully to what is demanded. Read more

Free PowerPoint-Tastic Templates – #074: Circular Concept

Each week, the Fast Track Tools training company and the Cubicle Ninjas design firm work together to publish a template that makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas. This template will help you communicate workflows or items that have a circular relationship; many process flows are not linear, but rather continue around and around. Read more

How to persuade an audience

If you believe you would benefit from techniques to make strong connections with your audience, to inspire and make important changes, you should be exploring the techniques shared by Nancy Duarte, who recently presented a webinar at UCLA entitled: That Resonates with Me! How to Persuade Any Audience. Read more

Free PowerPoint-Tastic Templates – #073: Brand Equity Pyramid

Each week, the Fast Track Tools training company and the Cubicle Ninjas design firm work together to publish a template that makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas. This template will help you communicate how you see your brand. This pyramid is organized such that you have to build up your brand with supporting facts to ensure your brand story is complete. Read more

How to make a sale

Remember your last big personal purchase? You had to define your needs, develop a budget, explore options and make a decision. That’s not too different from a purchase made in the business world. I was reminded of this today. Read more

Free PowerPoint-Tastic Templates – #072: World Figures

Each week, the Fast Track Tools training company and the Cubicle Ninjas design firm work together to publish a template that makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas. This template will help you communicate how you have organized or located things throughout the world. This is often helpful to communicate how teams are located globally. Read more

Plan “spontaneous” rewards for your team

It is worth your time and effort to understand what motivates your team of salespeople? After all, they (and the revenue they generate) represent your business’ life. Hiring the best sales people and giving them the tools to succeed is important, but keeping them motivated is critical. Read more

Should we abandon PowerPoint?

Matthias Poehm, President of the Anti-PowerPoint Party of Switzerland is blaming PowerPoint presentations for a negative economic impact in 193 countries worldwide. Poehm calculates that 85% of employees and students who view presentations with PowerPoint believe the slides are “killing motivation.” Read more

Free PowerPoint-Tastic Templates – #071: Word Figures

Each week, the Fast Track Tools training company and the Cubicle Ninjas design firm work together to publish a template that makes it easier for you to communicate your ideas. This template will help you communicate facts and figures from around the globe. Read more