I attended the annual Objective Management Group conference over the weekend and I had some time to speak with my good friend from down under - Gary Delbridge. We had a chance to catch up and talk about what is going on in our space. We also enjoyed a spectacular dinner at the best restaurant in Boston -- erbaluce. Interestingly this conversation led to us speaking about some of things that CEO's hate, both in Australia and here in the U.S. Hence this post was born and developed; I thought this would be helpful to think about as you approach decision makers in your market.

My guess is that this list is somewhat universal.

• They HATE having their valuable time wasted.
• They HATE someone trying to deceive or fool them.
• They HATE criticism of their people or their organization when given without tact or genuine concern.
• They HATE dealing with underachievers.
• They HATE someone that doesn't look the part or feel like the right fit to work with them.
• They HATE getting hung up on the petty details or things that should be handled by someone else that works for them.
• They HATE being asked mundane, canned and predictable questions.
• They HATE anything that sounds too mumbo jumbo, touchy feely or pie in the sky (you know what that means)
• They HATE wasting their money.

What does this mean for you? What might the impact of these 10 factors be having as you are involved in a discussion with a decision maker? How could you adjust what you say in order to not drive your potential clients away? Let's take the list above and write in the exact opposite next to each. That is what you need to do on each and every interaction. Make a list that starts with They LOVE ..................

Watch what happens.

• They LOVE constructive push back.
• They LOVE spending their time on anything that will help their business.
• They LOVE dealing with over achievers.
• They LOVE people that connect and credible.
• They LOVE big picture conversations that still focus on results.
• They LOVE questions that make them think.
• They LOVE specific and tangible language.
• They LOVE verifiable R.O.I.

Much better isn't it?