So, last week, I was hanging out with Danny O’Malia during a Rainmakers event at Bar Louie in Clay Terrace. The topic of conversation was first impressions. (One of my FAVORITES, right?) Anyway, we were talking about how many salespeople just like to sell, sell, sell. Now, let’s keep in mind not ALL salespeople take this approach…there are brilliantly trained sales folks out there due some amazing trainers we have here in Indy….but anyway, Danny then chimes in with this great quote that his father, founder of O’Malia’s Food Market, had said… “People...

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a judger. I take one look at someone and can usually come up with assumptions fairly quickly. I don’t think that’s necessarily a BAD thing, afterall, we were born with some sense of “this is good…this is bad” in us, for the most part, but how much is a learned behavior? What are our judgements founded upon? Our childhoods? Our religious backgrounds? (now that’s classic.) What about the corporate culture that most of us adhere to on a daily basis? Do any of these things effect or play an influence in how you view others? Here...

I was sitting in on a coaching session yesterday with Tony Scelzo, founder of Rainmakers. He was coaching Ken Moore, who has built a company called Resume Bridge. He also does career coaching. Ken’s services, I believe, are absolutely ones that can benefit others. So, Ken is working on some things, including his website, however, he is looking for ways to REALLY create value in his brand, which is something he is passionate about. During the conversation, the idea of statistics came up. Should a healthy statistic of those he has helped be something that should go on the site? Hmmmm. Okay,...

I am the proud owner of a MINI Cooper. I purchased my MINI in August, 2008 from Dreyer and Reinbold. Jim Barth to be exact. I absolutely KNEW I wanted a MINI before I even knew what the benefits were…ei, synthetic oil, gas mileage, all oil changes ON MINI for 3 years or 36,000 miles!! Free oil changes??!! What??!! Yes Okay, so here’s my experience. Because of the synthetic oil in MINI (I really have NO idea what that means), you only have to change the oil every 15,000 miles. I drive, ALOT. So, it is past 15,000 miles, and I have to get the MINI in for service. I called, made an appointment...

Up front, this is a motivational blog (whatever that means) :-) I watched the movie, “The Secret” not too long ago. Has anyone out there seen this? Actually, based on the conversations I have had in the last three weeks, I can probably name the people I believe have seen this ‘documentaryish’ film, without even asking them (and I haven’t). Anyway, I was having a conversation yesterday with someone I look up to (in a weird, don’t really know him that well, kind of way), and he was asking me what some of my goals were. I have ALOT. I could have talked his ear off....

I met up with my buddy, Dr. Charles Shinaver, last week. Our conversation didn’t start on the path that it ended up on (does it ever?), but did indeed shift to the state of the economy and small business owners. However, as depressing as it was listening to him share with me the lastest ‘gossip’ on the economy (I call it gossip because I believe there is some control if we choose to take it), we both had similar conclusions in the end: Relationships (internal) will be the saving grace to many companies (big and small), if they so choose to cultivate them, rather than be ruled...

Happy Friday! I have been checking out Jim Muehlhausen’s book, The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How To Avoid Them, courtesy of Ann Clifford, and there was one error that just rang out loud and clear and even made me giggle a little. It is, according to Jim (his last name is way to long for me to use, so we’ll refer to him as Jim for this blog): Fatal Error #10: “We Suck” Selling Let me share what he says, which is so true. “When I survey businesses, margin pressure is always #1 on the complaint list. It seems that everyone is susceptible to lowering their price to...

So, this morning on my way to work, I already knew I was going to post about management today. I mean, I guess I should say I was going to pose the question to the SI community about what qualities you look for in someone that makes you say, “I love my boss,” or “I love the company I work for, everyone there is cool.” When we think about managers, or management styles, what type do you work most effectively with? This came to mind when one of our Slingshot candidates came to us yesterday and was a little frustrated over the way his manager was treating him. In this person’s...

Happy March everyone. I have been such a slacker on the blog scene lately. Not that that’s bad because Slingshot is growing in leaps and bounds, but I have to say I miss you all, and have committed to making sure I can do this more. That being said, graduation is just around the corner. I have met so many talented students getting ready to make their way out into our business community. It’s really exciting (since they are, afterall, the future of Indianapolis). But at the same time, it’s also really scary for our soon-to-be grads as unemployment rates have obviously grown. This...

As marketing director and intern coordinator of Slingshot, a company that provides sales-trained interns to small and large businesses, it is my job to root for our Indiana interns. I know I post on this topic alot, but there really is something to be said about bringing new, talented energy into an existing team…or even a non-existing one…(just ask my boss :-)). That being said, if you answer yes to any of the following questions, perhaps you should consider looking toward interns for YOUR company. 1. Do you want a cost-effective way to grow your business, especially in this economy? 2....