You've just met with a potential new client and tension levels are fairly high. This is the stage for 'small talk' and developing rapport and a business relationship. So what do you speak about?

Well, think about it, who do most people like to speak about. They love to speak about themselves, so that's what we have to do; we have to get them to speak about themselves.

For many years, I've used 'past, present and future'. I'd walk into the prospect's office, have a look around and say, "this is amazing, you've got this great position with this top company, how did you get started?" Nobody's asked them that question for years and they are really proud of what they have achieved and how well they have done in the company (this works really well with CEOs).

They may reply, "Well, fifteen years ago I started as a clerk and I worked my way up....and now I am the CEO"

You just keep quiet and listen. The next question you would ask would be about the present situation. "So tell me about your position at the moment, how are things going?"

Two years ago I predicted that video was going to change the way we all did business on the internet.

Take a look at a March 2008 report by comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world statistics.

• US Internet users viewed 11.5 billion videos online during the month of March 2008.
• 139 Million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 83 videos per viewer in March 2008.
• 73.7% of the total U.S. Internet Audience viewed video online during the month of March.
• 84.8 million viewers watched 4.3 billion videos on YouTube, alone!
• 47.7 million viewers watched 400 million videos on MySpace.com (8.4 videos per viewer).
• The average online video duration was 2.8 minutes.
• The average online video viewer watched 235 minutes of video.

Video has literally changed the way I do business. Take a look at the results:

• My video mails have brought me in 10,000 new subscribers
• I get regular bookings and product sales from my videos.
• I am able to monitor the number of viewings from the different sites
• I have included video in all my websites and blogs
• I have discovered an incredible way of using video as a search engine optimiser - I can get to page one for a short time with almost any keywords.

On July 28th I will be running a teleseminar sharing all the details, take a look at Seminar for all the information and to register.

Everyone should develop a 10 touch plan to stay in contact with their clients on a regular basis. The easiest way to do this is through an ezine or electronic newsletter.

This is a great way to share information, promote your products, and get feedback from your most important customers. Here are some pointers to creating a successful newsletter.

1. Have a Theme.

The largest pitfall to developing an effective newsletter is the lack of a theme. When creating newsletters on a regular basis, select a unique theme every month that appeals to your audience. Once you have identified a theme, be sure that your newsletter content focuses on that specific theme throughout its content. With my newsletter, I have a number of themes to suit my different audiences; sales, technology, speaking and motivation.

2. Allow for Easy Reading and Archiving

The first few seconds are your most important so make them count. Use big, bold headlines, and article descriptions, providing links to the full article or related content areas. Also, make it easy for subscribers to read back issues and put a link to the archive on your blogs and websites.

3. Use Graphics.

Producing a newsletter that's wall-to-wall text will not be able to keep the interest of even your most savvy reader. Include photographs and videos where possible. This will break up those large blocks of content and increase your newsletter's appeal. Make sure your graphics include links to the articles or products they reference as Internet browsers tend to click on pictures or graphics presented online

4. Include Product or Service Information.

Internet users are very comfortable with product promotion especially when receiving free information or content. I always try to give a great deal of content as well as many free resources - take a look in the links section. Products or services that are closely aligned with the theme of your newsletter can be ideal. As a rule of thumb, keep the number of products you promote to three or less.

We moved from South Africa to England fifteen years ago and for four years I worked in the City of London. It is now one of my favourite cities in the world. Flattened and rebuilt several times in the course of its long life, London is a fascinating combination of the new mingled with the very old. It has been said that when you tire of London, you tire of life. There is plenty to see and do and it is heralded as the theatrical centre of the world. Some of the great attractions include, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, The Eye of London, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey to name just a few.

Oxford Street is famous for its shopping and if your credit card stretches far enough, visit Harrods, one of the most exclusive department stores in the world.

The transport system is great to get around with when you don't have a car with the 'underground tube' taking you wherever you want to go. A one-day travel card costs around £8 and gives you unlimited travel on the tube and London's double decker buses. A cab drive with the London Black Taxis is a great experience and if your driver is a cockney, you'll love the rhyming slang language and their sense of humour.

Dining out is a wonderful gastronomic experience with different ethnic foods to tempt your palate and there are many good and also many not so good hotels to stay in and the small size of some hotel rooms are a disappointment to many visitors. Don't be surprised when you see the prices, as London is well renowned to be one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Moving out of London, a short drive or rail trip will take you to the beautiful town of Windsor renowned for Windsor Castle, one of the Queen's residences and Eton College where many of the Royals complete their education. The vast countryside in Britain is a wonderful sight to behold and the little villages along the way offer exquisite antique shops to visit, country tea houses serving fresh scones, jam and cream and interesting places to visit.

A day at Henley on Thames for the boat races is a must - see the photograph above.

The challenges that so many businesses face are that they are purely results driven and many times ignore the importance of relationships and communication, which are ironically significant contributors to achieving results.

Having spent many years recruiting top sales people, I discovered long ago that in the recruiting interviews I had to find out a lot more about the person than what they and their resume were telling me. I had to find out what their unique behaviours and attitudes were and whether they could fit comfortably into my sales team.

I had to discover how good they were at developing relationships not only with clients, but with the rest of the team. I also needed to know whether they were hunters who were prepared to open doors anywhere and anytime or whether they were farmers who were great at developing existing relationships.

I learned early that good leaders are effective matchmakers - taking the right person with the right talents and matching that person with the right tasks and responsibilities. The perfect match builds a person's self-confidence and makes him/her want to work harder. It is then not the leader who inspires. Rather it is the leader's responsibility to help others inspire themselves.

Here are some points to ponder as you consider your team:

• Have you reflected on why you are in your position?
• Do you know what the unique behavioural talents of your colleagues are?
• Do you know how to capitalize on the differences in your team?
• Is everyone on your team committed to the business?
• Do you know how to adapt your communication to address others on their terms?
• Do your team members trust each other?
• Do your team members work harmoniously, or is there a 'them' and 'us' attitude (I find this with so many of the teams that I train, sales and sales support or admin in conflict which hampers the results for everyone.)
• Does your business (or the business you work in) have the right financial alignment to meet the needs of the team and its business goals

For many years I tried every tool on the market, but most were personality and not behaviourally based. When I visited Atlanta recently, I discovered that this tool had been developed and wanted to share this with all the CEOs and managers that I work with around the world. It will literally change the way that you look at recruiting sales people in the future.

Please take a look at http://ww w.salesrecruitmentdna.com/ as well as the recent webinar on how to recruit top sales talent.