Conversations About Conversations

I'm always interested in having conversations with people about their business conversations. On this episode of Conversations About Conversations, I talked with Ben Pariser about how he approaches prospective clients. Ben and his company, Restorical Research, provide a valuable service. Their tagline is "Uncovering history to cover your costs." They help people deal with environmental pollution b...

What if you had Rules of Engagement for your business conversations? In my mid-30s, I had a mentor who was a retired military officer. One of the things he did for me, although I didn't know it at the time, was he helped me to create Rules of Engagement for my conversations. Rules of engagement have kept me out of trouble. They can keep you out of trouble too. CONTACT ivan@conversations.biz Conver...

The key to gaining agreement for action and the getting results you want from a conversation is to have a series of small (dare I say mini) wins leading up to the big win. You need to obtain several interim agreements, if you want to get the ultimate agreement. On this episode of Conversations About Conversations, I explain the methodology of using a series of open-ended and closed-ended questions...

On this episode of Conversations About Conversations, Jakub Kubrak and Ivan Farber talked with Chris iexcel Rodriquez. Chris is a 15-year marketing veteran with a passion for driving growth and tangible results for brands and entrepreneurs. He has worked with over 30 startups across all tiers of funding (Seed to Series E), generating brand awareness, website traffic, signups, downloads, and most i...

When it comes to your relationships with other people, what could be more important than your conversations? Could it be said that you even have a relationship with another person if you are not in some kind of conversation with them? Can you create results without having conversations? I say no. It's inside of conversations that results are created. Results require action. And action doesn't happ...

On this episode of Conversations About Conversations, Jakub Kubrak and talked with Chris Mazdzer. Chris is the first American athlete to win a medal in the Men's Single Luge event (or as he calls it, "Ultimate Sledding"). We learned a lot about luging and the conversation for what it takes to become an Olympic champion. I'm sure this will not be a shocker, but it takes time and practice—lots of pr...

On this episode of Conversations About Conversations, Jakub Kubrak and I had the opportunity to talk with Katie Chung Hua. Katie is a fitness expert, ex hockey player and self-described "professional badass". She's a social media influencer with 2 million followers. She is the creator and host of Built Podcast. For more information on Katie, visit www.katiechunghua.com . WATCH this episode on YouT...

Not all manipulation is bad. One definition of the word manipulate is to control or influence in a skillful manner. The point of having conversations is to control or influence them such that you can get agreement for action, create the life you want, and help others do the same. CONTACT ivan@conversations.biz Conversations About Conversations – Episode 159 #conversationsaboutconversations

This episode is about the book I just started writing—my second book. It's a compare, contrast and create episode. I compare how I did book #1 with my intentions and vision for book #2. I share the proposed chapters and how I've busted out a few rhymes with them. I also talk about how to get a free copy of (Book #1) Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Tim...

This episode of Conversations About Conversations has everything you need to know to be able to use the important core four strategies of active listening. My co-host Jakub Kubrak, special guest Jules Swisher and I mix it up and even get into some active listening about cats and dogs. WATCH this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hAgCGUyAxpg READ Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relati...

On this episode of Conversations About Conversations, I'm joined by co-host Jakub Kubrak and special guest Jules Swisher to discuss probing effectively. This is the third episode in the Peeling the Pomegranate Trilogy. Stay tuned for other episodes a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. Our discussion includes a summary of when to use open-ended and closed-ended questions and introduces 14 spec...

This is the audio version of an e-book I co-authored in 2004. We wrote it for business people and entrepreneurs who wanted more profit, more control and more free time. The main concept is the "PRIME" approach. PRIME stands for Plan, Review, Implement, Manage and Evaluate. Two additional concepts we introduced were the Time Map and the Financial Scoreboard. If you'd like to read a copy of the e-bo...

This episode of Conversations About Conversations is about probing effectively. It's the second episode in a multi-part series. We review when to use open-ended questions and when to use closed-ended questions and introduce a number of probes for specific uses. For example: leads, assessors, motivators and clarifiers. WATCH this episode on YouTube:   https://youtu.be/EZeaD_pM66g READ Conversations...

In this episode of Conversations About Conversations, I share the process I use in a conversation to help prevent someone from making a mistake. It's one of the most important ways you can add value in your client relationships. Now, you could wing it in these situations, or you could follow a proven process. As my (tor)mentor frequently reminded me, "Don't wing it." READ Conversations: How to Man...

This episode of Conversations About Conversations is about probing effectively. It's the first of a multi-part series and starts where it should start: determining when to use open-ended questions and when to use closed-ended questions. ….. READ Conversations: How to Manage Your Business Relationships One Conversation at a Time   http://bit.ly/ConversationsOnAmazon CONTACT ivan@conversations.biz C...

As a follow up to Episodes 148 and 150, Jakub and I finish our discussion of 23 interpersonal potholes to avoid. For those of you playing along in the home game, #18 - #23 are: Cursing Being condescending Using jargon and acronyms Listening poorly Jumping to conclusions Being negative As you know, it's the little things that separate the average performer from the champion. Avoiding common pothole...

In this episode of Conversations About Conversations, I share my four-step process for generating successful outcomes when you're talking with someone who is emotional. Listen to the episode to learn how I do it. I give a detailed example of how I talked my client "off the ledge" when his candidate lost the presidential election. (To be clear, he was not literally on a ledge. He was using the term...

As a sequel to 10 Interpersonal Potholes to Avoid Driving Into (Episode #148), Jakub and I discuss 7 additional potholes that we unwittingly drive into that continually derail our effectiveness in our important conversations. For those of you playing along in the home game, #11 - #17 are: Speaking without thinking Speculating Gossiping Complaining Undermining yourself with statements like, "To be...

Do you ever get derailed in a conversation because your prospect or client keeps interrupting you with questions? If you do, this episode of Conversations About Conversations is for you.  I share 5 ideas that are guaranteed to get you out of the weeds and back in control of your conversations. ….. Conversations About Conversations – Episode 149 CONTACT ivan@conversations.biz #conversationsaboutcon...

If you knew where the potholes were before you drove on the road, would you want to avoid them? In this episode of Conversations About Conversations, Jakub and I discuss 10 common potholes we drive into that derail our effectiveness in conversations. As you know, it's the little things that separate the average performer from the champion. Avoiding common potholes can make all the difference. The...

In this episode of conversations about conversations, I discuss the vocabulary and strategy to get prospects and clients to say yes and agree to take action. How do you ask people to take an action? Conventionally, people ask for action with simple closed-ended questions that sometimes seem to come out of nowhere, are awkward and put someone on alert and activate their defenses. It doesn't have to...

Do you have a process for closing your deals or are you winging it and leaving it to chance? In this episode of Conversations About Conversations, Jakub and I talk about the proven and repeatable process from my book to get agreement for action and close more deals. It's not tricky or manipulative. It's process-oriented, needs-based, collaborative and consultative.  There are three parts to the pr...

In this episode of Conversations About Conversations, in order to demonstrate the CLEAR conversations model, Jakub and I demonstrate/role play overcoming the objection: "I need more time." If you face that objection frequently, this is a must listen. You'll hear here me slowly and methodically overcome indifference and resistance. Unfortunately, there are no magic short cuts. This 19-minute episod...

One of the best tools to help you become better and more effective in your important and most challenging conversations is role play. LISTEN to the episode to hear four strategies and principles you can easily use to maximize the benefit you'll get from using role play. We can all use role play to prepare for (and learn from) important conversations. It's a fantastic teaching and coaching tool. I...

In this episode of Conversations About Conversations, Jakub and I discussed the strategy for creating interim agreement at each step within a conversation. Agreement at each step is an important part of the process and leads to the ultimate agreement: an agreement that results in a sale, additional business or referrals. You cannot cause a breakthrough without gaining agreement for action. LISTEN...