Author, Speaker, Consultant: Ideas on Creating Profitable Customer Relationships

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Figure Out What’s Going On

Written by Steve Yastrow on May 15, 2013 – 11:02 am -

You start talking with a customer, and you want to Ditch the Pitch. What’s the first thing you need to do?

Figure out what’s going on.

Have a look at today’s newsletter, and practice these ideas in your upcoming customer conversations.

Recent Blog Posts

The Improvisation Instinct

April 30, 2013 – 2:40 pm

Our species evolved to improvise. Just about every situation humans face every day has some sort of novelty in it. Those who were best equipped to improvise were the most ...

Detecting The Pitch

April 9, 2013 – 4:56 pm

Imagine ... you are talking with your financial planner about your long-term financial health, and you suddenly realize that he is trying to sell you life insurance. You have just ...

The Decision Funnel

March 25, 2013 – 5:57 pm

How do you turn a potential customer into a paying customer, while ditching the pitch? Have a look at today's newsletter, The Decision Funnel, for insights about how to do this.SHARETHIS.addEntry({ ...

Find Your Customer’s Path

March 12, 2013 – 9:06 am

Isn't it frustrating when a salesperson walks you through their pitch, from start to finish?  Wouldn't you be more interested if the salesperson followed the conversation path you were interested ...

Say Less to Notice More

March 4, 2013 – 11:06 pm

"Every moment you are talking during a persuasive conversation is a moment you are not listening to your customer. You are listening to yourself." That's a line from today's newsletter, Say ...

The Persuasion Ensemble

February 19, 2013 – 2:10 pm

Remember that time, long ago, when you and a colleague were presenting a proposal for a project to your common boss, and you felt that your colleague kept contradicting everything ...

I Don’t Know What to Do. And I’m Okay With That.

February 6, 2013 – 1:16 pm

Mick Napier, founder of Chicago's Annoyance Theater, says, "Improvisation is the art of not knowing what you're going to do or say and being completely okay with that." In today's ...

Ignore the Economy

January 22, 2013 – 1:14 pm

Are you worried about how the economy might affect your business in 2013? In today's newsletter, I encourage you to Ignore the Economy. Or at least the macro-economy. Change your focus ...

Imagine it is December 31…

January 8, 2013 – 8:19 am

The year has only just begun, but all of us are already diligently working towards our 2013 forecasts, implementing sales and marketing efforts. But are they the right sales and marketing ...

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Steve’s Books

"When Steve Yastrow writes, I pay close attention"
- Tom Peters

"I had to buy two copies. The first one is so dog-eared and underlined I couldn't read it any longer."
- Seth Godin

Steve is the author of Brand Harmony and the newly published We: The Ideal Customer Relationship. Learn more and order direct from our Products page, or from Amazon.

About Steve Yastrow and Yastrow & Company

In addition to writing, I spend most of my work time helping companies unleash their potential by creating better connections with their customers. This happens through my speaking events and through Yastrow & Company consulting engagements, where my team and I help companies figure out who they intend to be in the future, and then engage the entire company in creating that future through strong "We" customer relationships.

Before starting Yastrow & Company in the mid-90s I was vice-president of resort marketing for Hyatt Hotels. My experiences in the hotel business showed me clearly that most marketing doesn’t happen in the marketing department. Customers are paying attention to all interactions with a company, not just the promises made in traditional "marketing communications."

For more information, see our About page.