Introducing the other side of success (the one I failed at)

It’s a fat lot of use being a whiz at copy or marketing if you don’t know how to meet the right people – and get them to do what you want face to face

You may find this  hard to believe – I disguise it pretty well – but I am painfully shy.

If I go into a room full of people I don’t know, I won’t speak to anybody – unless they speak to me first or I’ve had a lot to drink and usually both. I blench to think how much utter rubbish I have talked as a result and how much business I have lost.

When I was first asked to do a speech at a friend’s wedding I was so terrified I made a complete fool of myself. So much so that bride’s father stood up and said “Since the best man hasn’t made a speech, I will.”

That put me off talking in public for twenty years. But unless you can talk confidently to people face to face – either as individuals or in groups – you simply cannot succeed in business – or anything else.

What’s the use of going to a networking event if it’s such a bloody nightmare you don’t talk to anyone?

What’s the use of meeting someone influential if you don’t know how to explain what you do and how you can help?

What’s the use of having a brilliant business idea if you can’t sell it to the people who have the money you desperately need to get going?

What’s the use of having created a sensational series of ads or an ingenious  new app if you don’t know how to sell them face to face to your client?

What’s the use of knowing you can completely transform someone’s business if you don’t know how to do a compelling presentation?

If that makes sense to you, then I have the answer.

It is not me. It is the man who taught me to do all these things, and can teach you.

He helps big firms with deals worth billions. He has written not one but two best-sellers on the techniques of persuasion. He radically improved my approach to presenting – when I thought I already knew all about it.

He is funny, clever, surprising, amazingly down to earth and downright inspiring.

He shows you how to persuade other people to do what you want.

And not just in business, but in your personal life. Because there is more to life than business, isn’t there? So he also talks about his wife, his children and his mother.

You will love him.

I will be writing to you about him next week.

Keep your eyes peeled!