Why does it take so long to close a sale with a new customer? The primary answer is usually because they don’t know you or your company. However, there are two key components in turning this recurring challenge around so that clients come to you as if they already have an established relationship with you.

With almost all new technological breakthroughs there is a period when the new device is heralded as the answer to all our problems, followed quickly by a learning period during which we figure out how to best capitalize on the new approach to working. Voice-mail fits this paradigm and is the culprit that heightens “telephone tag” to an art form.

When I try to remember the last speech,presentation or sermon I attended, very few surface to the top of my memory. I do recall sitting through hundreds of boring hours of PowerPoint presentations given by various people — professors, classmates, and business colleagues.