Chris Lytle

When I was I boy, I listened to “Our Changing World” most every morning on WCLT-AM in Newark, Ohio. Earl Nightingale’s 5-minute program ran every weekday morning at 7:25 AM. It was sponsored by the Park National Bank forever. When I went to work at WCLT in 1972, I found out that the show was delivered on a 33-1/3 RPM record. When I went to Wikipedia this morning, I discovered that “Our Changing World” was the world’s most syndicated Radio program of its era. More than 7,000 radio stations worldwide carried it. It was 1973, when I moved to Madison, WI to work for WISM. Soon after I arrived, our sales manager called a meeting and played Earl Nightingale’s gold record The Strangest Secret to the eight salespeople on the team. “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal,” he said. “You become what you think about,” is another gem. Over the years, I bought many Earl Nightingale cassette albums. In one of them, he said: “One hour per day of study in your chosen field is all it takes. One hour per day of study will put you at the top of your field within three years. Within five years you’ll be a national authority. In seven years, you can be one of the best people in the world at what you do.” I used to study a lot longer than that in college so I figured I could manage an hour a day. I read. I attended seminars. I bought more and more cassette tapes from Nightingale-Conant. I was always learning something new. Since I was selling advertising, I read a lot about advertising theory. In fact, I read two or three advertising books for every book I read on selling. I figured, if I could get results for my advertisers, they would renew. If the ads didn’t work, it would be a hard sell ... Read More

Quick Question . . .  . . . has got to be the best email subject line ever. When a prospect didn’t call me back, I sent the following email. The subject line was: “Quick Question.” The body of the email read: Cliff, I still have you on my ‘waiting for’ list of people I’m expecting to hear from. Am I still on your radar? Chris Cliff’s response came minutes later from two time zones away: You’re good. Let’s talk this morning if you are available. I’m out of town but can be reached on my cell phone. Result: Before I could call him, he called me from the road and we scheduled our next meeting and closed the deal. My two-sentence e-mail worked (I believe) for two reasons: I really do have a waiting for list and keep track of people from whom I expecting an email, return phone call, signed contract or check. The “Quick Question” subject line gives these time-starved pros something quick and easy to get off their full plates. I’m not asking them to read a 23-page PDF or even write a paragraph. It’s a quick question. Thousands of salespeople on three continents have used this e-mail, word-for-word, to get prospects and customers re-engaged. If you haven’t already, then share it with your sales team today. Ask them to identify three people they want to send it to. Follow up in a couple of days to see how it worked. I don’t call this “The Magic Email” for nothing. “Trick Question” You really should try this one the next time you interview a new sales candidate. Sarah McCann, my partner and wife, cuts to the chase with the first question she asks in every job interview.  Usually, she asks it it before the candidates have had a chance to hang up their coats and settle in. “How’s the job search going?” It comes off like small talk, but it isn’t. The candidates’ answers ... Read More