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David's Blog

Useful insights on What Matters Most to you and me and everyone else.

A Year on Stages Around the World (And What It Taught Me About What Matters Most)

I'm supposed to be writing a book right now.I'm sitting at my desk in Vancouver, third cup of coffee going cold beside me, staring at a manuscript that needs my attention. But I've got my speaking calendar pulled up on a second screen because I was looking for a specific date I needed for a chapter, and then I just started scrolling. I didn't mean to go down this road. I do this sometimes, though. I get lost in the memories of my travel itinerary, the way some people get lost in old photo albums.

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David Alison

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Three Values That Can Transform Speakers Bureaus—and How to Put Them to Work

Leaders of speaker bureaus are constantly looking for ways to attract and retain clients—who are primarily ‘event planners’ of one sort or another. In this blog, I want to share a strategy I recently presented in a keynote on the shared values of event planners. These values can help bureaus engage event…

David Alison

Sales

Leadership Development

Three Questions That Reveal What Matters Most to Your Team

Someone says, "I know my team. I have worked with these people for years." But when we ask their team these three questions, everyone in the room is surprised by the answers.

David Alison

Employee Engagement

Leadership Development

The Values Psychology of Pricing: Why Your Customers Will Pay More

You've analyzed your costs. You've benchmarked competitors. You've run the spreadsheets. And you still don't know what to charge or why some competitors command premiums for similar offerings.

David Alison

Sales

The Science of Motivation: Why Incentives Backfire and Values Work

Your bonus structure is generous. Your recognition programs are elaborate. Your carrots and sticks are carefully designed. And somehow, the people you most want to motivate remain stubbornly unresponsive while the behaviors you're trying to encourage actually decline.

David Alison

Employee Engagement

Leadership Development

The Root Cause of Disengagement: What a Physiotherapist Taught Me About Leadership

I was hurting. For over a year, my back was telling me something wasn’t right. I tried everything: acupuncture, massage, stretching, all the usual suspects. Nothing worked. Until I met a physiotherapist who did something unusual. He looked at the front of me. He pressed around and said, “You don’t have a back problem. You have a front problem.” Turns out, he was right. After a few minutes working on the aftermath of an old surgery, the pain vanished. Just like that.

David Alison

Employee Engagement

Leadership Development

The Real Reason Customers Don't Refer You: It's Not What You Think

Your customers are satisfied. Your NPS is healthy. Your referral program offers generous incentives. And referrals remain a trickle while your competitors grow through word-of-mouth.

David Alison

Sales

The Real Reason Behind Every Sales Objection; And It's Not What They Said

"It's too expensive." "The timing isn't right." "We need to think about it." "We're going with someone else." You've heard these a thousand times. You've been trained to overcome them. And you're fighting the wrong battle.

David Alison

Sales

The Psychology of Selling Luxury Real Estate: What High-End Buyers Actually Want

Your listing has the views, the finishes, the square footage. Your marketing highlights every premium feature. Your comparables prove the value. And yet the showing ends with polite interest that goes nowhere.

David Alison

Sales

The Psychology of Brand Loyalty: Why Customers Stay (And How to Earn Their Trust)

Why do two contractors with identical demographics reach for completely different power tool brands? The answer lives in their values. And understanding this changes everything about how we connect with customers.

David Alison

Sales