I'm not especially religious, but I do go to church regularly. Historically, I've taken the lesson from the sermon and twisted it for sales. Today's lessons aren't from the sermon. Rather they're about the way the sermon was delivered and my reaction to it.

First, I should say that I've heard this priest speak many times before and I've found him to be engaging and compelling, but today's delivery wasn't typical. I don't know whether the priest was uncomfortable with the message or hadn't practiced as much as usual, but he semed to refer to his notes way more than normal. He often read several sentences in a row without making real eye contact with the congregation. It was weird to watch. His voice, tonality, and inflection changed when he was reading. Like I said, this was outside his norm. As a matter of fact, at one point he wanted to use a prop, but couldn't find it. So, he had to adlib. He described the prop without notes. He made his points about the prop. He was awesome without notes and without the prop. Then he went back to reading.

Lesson #1 was be attentive to the effect that reading has on speaking when you're presenting.

As I watched and listened, I found myself wondering how many people were missing the message because they were distracted by the delivery. I spent some time thinking about how I should let him know. Should I send him a note? What should I say/ask? "Father, I noticed that you referred to your notes more than usual on Sunday and found that it affected the delivery. Did anybody else mention it?" I thought about other ways to raise the topic, but decided that it was none of my business because I'm not a church elder, he doesn't know whether I know what I'm talking about or not, but most importantly, he didn't ask for my opinion.

That's lesson #2.

I'm his prospect/customer. He wants to save my soul. He wants me to donate to his cause. He delivers 'services' to me. If he doesn't 'sell' me, I am under no obligation to help him. If I'm not impressed or don't 'buy', I am not obligated to tell him why.

How often do you offer advice or try to help when you haven't proven that you know what you're talking about or your prospect hasn't asked for help or even shown any interest?

If you've had a deal go south this year and you want a chance to do a free role play with me to resurrect the prospect and close the sale, check this out and get on the list.

Also, if 2014 wasn't everything that you dreamed and 2015 has to be your year, answer these questions and talk to me.