University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You
Book

The Most Powerful Woman in the Room Is You

Command an Audience and Sell Your Way to Success

Lydia Fenet
Gallery Books, 2019
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Overview
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Learn how to sell from a Christie’s auctioneer who’s raised half a billion dollars at charity benefit auctions. Lydia Fenet urges women to prepare, show up and work hard, negotiate fearlessly for their compensation and build broad, diverse networks to sustain them personally and professionally. Fenet emphasizes the importance of resilience and integrity as she outlines ways to make the connections that lead to success (and name drops quite a few of them). She advocates rigorous time management, a can-do attitude, and a commitment to pursuing and achieving milestones along a “road map” of lifelong goals.

Summary

The “Strike” is a signature move that helps you focus, prepare and gain confidence as you make a pitch or a speech.

Hard work, preparation and relentless focus are essential to achieving your goals. If you want to persuade or influence others or make a sale, you need to discover your authentic way of taking charge and establishing yourself as a person to whom others should pay attention. Your initial Strike matters, but you must follow up with a clear, compelling “opening line” that demonstrates your command of the material and the situation.

The most effective salesperson is genuine and tells a story that creates a relationship with the buyer.

To be persuasive, be yourself and sell as yourself. Potential customers and clients want to hear a relatable story from an authentic person. They also want to be part of that story. Charm and humor focus people’s attention. Laughter opens their wallets.

When you share your true personality, you offer your audience the opportunity to enter into a relationship with you. Rather than devise some “persona” for your pitch, convey your belief in yourself and what you’re selling.

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About the Author

Lydia Fenet is managing director and global head of strategic partnerships at Christie’s. She also is a charity benefit auctioneer who travels widely, speaking on selling and the empowerment of women in the workplace.

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