Selling Archives - Catherine Johns

Business Communication, Professional Presence, Selling, Speaking

Thank You for your Attention to this Matter

Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you know that President Trump has taken to ending his social media posts with, “Thank you for your attention to this matter.” If anybody can get attention just by opening their mouth or typing into their phone, it would be the president of the United States. Especially this president. And yet, there he is, thanking us for our attention. Now, how many business conferences, town halls, and even regular weekly department meetings fall flat because instead of being grateful, the person at the front of the room or the head of the table feels entitled to attention? Sure, maybe it’s true. Those people listening have to be sitting there. Somebody’s keeping track, making notes, taking attendance. Doesn’t matter. Attendance can be mandated. Attention can’t.

Catherine Johns | Aug 6, 2025

Rear view of Caucasian female speaker speaks with microphone to diverse business people in a business seminar in a conference room

Business Communication, Selling

Selling You

Selling you – It hit me like a ton of bricks. I’m listening to a podcast from Pod Save America. Celebrity businessman Mark Cuban is the guest, and they’re analyzing what went wrong with the Kamala Harris campaign. You might remember that Cuban was heavily involved in it. So there he is telling Dan Pfeiffer the Democrats relied way too much on research, testing, and traditional advertising. “There was not a single salesperson in that campaign,” Cuban explains. “There is nobody that ever sold magazines door to door. Or sold construction equipment. Or sold whatever. They were lifers in politics. And it was just so obvious.” “Where Trump was the opposite,” Cuban says. “He could sell.”
Yes, he could. Can you?

Catherine Johns | Jul 16, 2025

Business Communication, Selling

Listen Up!

Listen up! – It always strikes me as funny when Free Listening Day rolls around in April. Free Listening Day? Shouldn’t we be listening freely every day?Maybe. And yet … Urban Confessional literally has people standing around in parks, plazas, and on street corners holding signs that offer “Free Listening.” A group of actors launched this project in 2014. The way they see it: “We listen for others, believing that people need to be seen, heard, and understood. We listen for ourselves, having found the exercise of engaging strangers with open ears and open hearts to be life-giving.” Their experiment in Los Angeles has grown to include people around the world who share their mission: To provide compassionate, non-judgmental listening to anyone who needs to be heard.

Catherine Johns | Apr 9, 2025

two people in deep conversation while having coffee in office

Business Communication, Communication, Networking, Selling

How Curious Are You?

How curious are you? There it was. In boldface. Your curiosity is more appealing than your accomplishments. “Amen to that,” I thought. The article in The New York Times was not about networking, or sales, or business success. It was about romance. “Seven Ways to Love Better” was the title—the author is the guy who writes their Modern Love column, and has been for twenty years, this week. I confess, I almost never read it. I might start now, though. Because Daniel Jones’s prescription for loving better has implications for all kinds of relationships, not just the romantic ones.

Catherine Johns | Oct 16, 2024

photo of young white businessman with megaphone

Business Communication, Networking, Selling

A Different Client Avatar

When we meet someone new, we’re interested in learning about them and about their work and their life. But then they start spewing chapter and verse of what they do and how they do it, and we can hardly wait to nod politely, say “Nice to meet you,” and move on to talk with someone else. This is why I talk with my clients about feeding a chipmunk. I thought about them this past weekend, spending time with good friends in Michigan. When I was a kid, we vacationed (with one of those same good friends!) way up north in the U.P. And a favorite vacation activity was feeding the adorable little chipmunks that scampered around the resort. It ranked right up there with picking raspberries and collecting clam shells. (Okay, so Uno Lodge wasn’t exactly Disney World…) Anyway, how do you feed a chipmunk?

Catherine Johns | Jul 17, 2024