Top Dog: Impress and Influence Everyone You Meet

Top Dog: Impress and Influence Everyone You Meet

Released March 2015
Publisher(s): Capstone
ISBN: 9780857086099

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Get the results you want and come out as the Top Dog in every conversation

Fancy being the 'Top Dog' in all your dealings? Fed up of feeling like the underdog? So many of us regularly 'lose' in conversations before we've even opened our mouths. Often without realising it, we don't see ourselves as a peer of the other person. And we transmit this in what we do and say ("I'll fit round you. I know you're really busy.") The other person picks up on this. And, without doing a thing, they're suddenly in charge!

Top Dog will teach you how to lead in all your interactions, so you can get more of what you want, more often.

Together, Andy Bounds and Richard Ruttle are experts at helping people achieve more from their conversations with others. Their techniques work in every type of interaction—conversations, socialising, dating, interviews, sales, marketing, and networking. Basically, anytime you want to impress and persuade others.

Top Dog:

  • Details the skill set needed to gain competitive advantage from the outset

  • Provides instructive and thought-provoking content, relevant to both beginners, and seasoned professionals

  • Contains insights from working with some of the world's largest companies

  • Addresses how to achieve more from interactions in business and social arenas

    •

    Table of contents

    1. About the Authors
    2. Acknowledgements
    3. Introduction
      1. People want you to be impressive, not subservient
      2. Why we chose to co-author the book
      3. And finally …
    4. Chapter 1: Lead the pack: Focus on others' successes, not your own
      1. Want to be better with people? Learn from the masters – dogs
      2. Be the Top Dog, not just a pack member
      3. It's easy to become Top Dog
    5. Chapter 2: Drop!: Unlearn the bad habits that hold you back
      1. You can't teach an old dog new tricks
      2. How we've learned ‘me too’ habits
      3. You can teach an old human new tricks
      4. To build intimacy and trust, go solo
      5. Pre-prepared slide packs make things worse
    6. Chapter 3: The welcome visitor: Make a good first impression
      1. Dogs find it easy to differentiate themselves. So, learn from them
      2. First impressions drive everything. So improve yours
      3. 1. Use an icebreaker to establish rapport quickly
      4. 2. Write a compelling Elevator Pitch (so not ‘I'm an Accountant’)
      5. 3. Use your appearance to impress
      6. 4. Ensure your handshake turns people on, not off
      7. 5. Give your business cards when you should, not when everyone does
      8. 6. Be flexible, so you adapt to whatever's thrown at you
      9. And now your first impression's so much better, let's use it
    7. Chapter 4: Pick up the lead: Get – then prepare for – a great first meeting
      1. Step 1: Get the meeting
      2. Technique 1: Use referrals to get a meeting
      3. Technique 2: Use cold email/call to get a meeting
      4. Step 2: Prepare. A lot
      5. 1. Know who you're meeting
      6. 2. Know her likely issues and challenges
      7. 3. Focus on her AFTERs
      8. 4. Prepare something you'll teach her
      9. 5. Prepare compelling stories
      10. 6. Know your desired outcome from the meeting
    8. Chapter 5: Walkies!: Deliver a great first meeting
      1. 1. Establish rhythm
      2. Meeting stages and rhythm
      3. 2. Start well, using your icebreaker
      4. 3. Transition from icebreaker to agenda
      5. 4. Share experiences and add value to each other
      6. Option 1: She goes first
      7. Option 2: You go first
      8. 5. Keep being an Alpha Dog (don't be subordinated)
      9. 6. Confirm next steps
    9. Chapter 6: Keep walking!: Build momentum in subsequent meetings
      1. Prepare impressive follow-up communications
      2. How to prepare for second and subsequent meetings
      3. Prepare a second icebreaker
      4. Prepare to transition from icebreaker to agenda
      5. Prepare new WWFs
      6. Begin to shape the solution
      7. Consider bringing other attendees
      8. Step 2 – Impress during Meeting Two
      9. Co-develop the solution
      10. #1: Paint a picture of the future
      11. #2: Work backwards to show how you'll get there
      12. #3: Write a timeline
      13. How we'll increase sales through better negotiating
      14. Identify potential obstacles, and how to remove them
      15. Confirm next steps
    10. Chapter 7: Become Top Dog (1): Write a compelling proposal/business case
      1. Quick answers to the most common proposal problems
      2. Send the proposal late
      3. Agree your follow-up before you send the proposal
      4. Agree your proposal content before you send it
      5. A proven proposal template to use as is and/or copy bits from
      6. Ensure all your accompanying communications are brilliant
    11. Chapter 8: Become Top Dog (2): Nail the final presentation
      1. Here's a much better way to start
      2. Dramatically improve your presentations
      3. 1. How to be interesting
      4. 2. How to be two-way – think ‘chat, not rant’
      5. 3. Good questions, and even better answers
      6. 4. Create visuals that enhance your message, not dilute/contradict it
      7. 5. Structure it right
      8. 6. Start and finish brilliantly
    12. Chapter 9: Stay Top Dog: Lose your fear, and win more
      1. The most successful people do this: so we should
    13. Advert
    14. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: Top Dog: Impress and Influence Everyone You Meet
    • Author(s):
    • Release date: March 2015
    • Publisher(s): Capstone
    • ISBN: 9780857086099