Mickey Mellen

“Certainly, it’s crucial to share information that demonstrates your subject matter expertise, but too often presenters pack their presentations with facts, case studies, and takeaways, trying to show off how knowledgeable they are. The audience leaves with all the information they need, and the presenter feels like they gave away their content with nothing to show for it. Better to engage your audience, giving them just enough information so they are compelled to talk to you afterward. That should be your primary objective for every presentation: a follow-up conversation with the prospects in your audience.”
― David Ackert, The Short List: How to Drive Business Development by Focusing on the People Who Matter Most

“Connectors bring you new ideas, referrals, resources, clients, or other business opportunities. They may be partners at your firm or external referral sources providing adjacent services to your industry.”
― David Ackert, The Short List: How to Drive Business Development by Focusing on the People Who Matter Most

“You might notice that highly competent people will often partner with highly warm folks to balance them out. Many famous duos include a highly warm character and a highly competent character. This is a good way to think about how these traits play off each other.”
― Vanessa Van Edwards, Cues Master the Secret Language of Charismatic Communication, How to Talk to Anyone & Kick Ass Small Talk 3 Books Collection Set

“Unfortunately, most business development occurs in our imagination. We have a meeting with a prospect. We feel the meeting went well. We imagine they are going to engage. But they often don’t. We have a great conversation with a client. The client implies they will call us when they are ready to engage additional work. We imagine they are just waiting for the right time, only to learn a year later that they hired a competitor.”
― David Ackert, The Short List: How to Drive Business Development by Focusing on the People Who Matter Most