Alan Weiss’s Monday Morning Memo® – 02/19/2024

My birthday is approaching next month, and in May we’ll go to our 60th high school reunion. I’m also working on my 60-something-ish book, and we’re about to go to Florida for work and pleasure for 10 days, going to Bologna in April, and expecting our fourth grandchild (and first grandson).

So I had a cigar and some Macallan yesterday and contemplated age. The average age of the US is 38; Europe, 44; Australia, 38; Russia, 40; China, 39; Africa, 19. (These statistics are all from the internet and/or New York Times.) Historically, power has accrued to those nations with a great deal of young, available labor. That may not be the case in the future, as technology and AI are employed (hopefully, intelligently).

My primary message, however, facing an election in which the candidates will apparently be 78 and 82 (82 and 86 if they complete a four-year term) is that “age” and “aging” are two different things. “Age” is the implaccable chronolgy of how many years we’ve been alive. “Aging,” however, is the process of living longer, which may casue physical deterioration of some sort (probably) and may cause deterioration of cognitive ability (possibly, but not necessarily).

I’ve had the opportunity over the last year to talk to college presidents, CEOs, entrepeneurs, and other highly successful people in their 70s and 80s (and two in their 90s) and the common theme in every conversation is, “I feel smarter than ever.” To my mind, that’s because wisdom can only accrue from experience and continued growth.

There are signs of physical deterioration—my arthritis occasionally requires some over-the-counter medication. Someone may require a hip replacement. There are signs of cognitive deterioration—slurring words, mistaking where you are, forgetting to whom you’re talking. But it’s not about mild forgetfulness or “absent-mindedness.”

If you can’t remember where you left the car keys, that’s not dementia. If you’ve put them in the freezer, well…

Just Created: Using Contemporary Events to Generate Uniqueness and Extreme Value to Buyers  

One day I was forced by my buyer at a St. Louis hospital to attend a board reception before my speech. I simply could not get out of it, so I began to “mingle.” I met a man who owned the largest trucking firm in Missouri and the eighth largest in the nation. I said to him, “How does the bankruptcy of Consolidate Freight affect you?” (I had read that in the Wall Street Journal on the plane.) He spoke for 15 minutes and asked if we could talk again later. He became a client.

Are you aware that supply chains are being “shrunk” in order to be less dependent on foreign sources and intervention? Do you appreciate the fact that use of telehealth has increased by a factor of 38 since the pandemic and is expected to grow almost 25% annually from its current $100 billion in revenues? There are 32 million small businesses in the US, small businesses comprise 99.9% of all global businesses, and 50% of all of them fail in the first five years due to clearly preventable factors.

Two bad service experiences prompt about half of your customers to quit the brand.

This session will run on March 4 at 10:30 US eastern time, on Zoom, and will be recorded for distribution later. My birthday is the prior day, Sunday, March 3, and so your gift to me is $900.  Includes recording  Bring your own coffee. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/using-contemporary-events/

In the Buyer’s Office

I’ve been asked to elaborate on the extremely popular “In the Buyer’s Office” videos on a regular basis. So I’m going to stop whining about doing it, and do it. I’m offering a 1.5-day, live session in Rhode Island during which everyone will get the chance to sell to the buyer and to be the buyer. You may record this if you like. You’ll learn how to, and apply how to:

• Open the meeting gracefully and move quickly to your objective.
• Handle distractions.
• Overcome objections.
• Reframe and pivot the conversation.
• Create trust, find key issues, create conceptual agreement, and “pour cement.”
• Create a resultant proposal with over an 80% probability of acceptance of options 2 or 3.

For those of you who can’t travel or are afraid of TSA, I’m offering the same experience (as much as possible) virtually over the course of three mornings. All of this will be recorded for distribution. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/in-the-buyers-office/

Million Dollar Consulting® for the World: I’ve provided 14 modules with videos from me, from your colleagues globally, slides, and text. They include everything from launch to self-esteem, proposals to fees, closing business to creating a brand. No upsells! It’s only $115. What do you think about a 10,000:1 ROI? We have over 500 people from 47 countries. https://milliondollarconsultingcourse.com

Million Dollar Consulting® for the World ADVANCED: The new program contains over 60 videos and has 15 modules focusing on what to do in the buyer’s office, overcoming crises, financial planning, and much, much more. https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/advanced-global-learning-program/

Sentient Strategy Certification: My new book on the topic (above) has been released, so this is an ideal time to market Sentient Strategy. Write me to apply, join over 70 people certified in six countries. One-time fee of $12,000, includes 90 days of my support, free admission to all future certifications, and admission to a private web board with other Sentient facilitators.  alan@summitconsulting.com In a recent program a participant sold a $100,000 strategy program within 48 hours. Write me at [email protected]