Mike Brooks Quotes

• “Flight and guidance systems are theoretically foolproof these days, but fools are surprisingly ingenious.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “If you are willing to do the things that most sales reps aren't willing to do, then soon you'll be able to do and have the things that most sales reps will never be able to do and have.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “The galaxy’s huge, but humanity’s still only settled pinpricks of it,” Rourke replied, turning and leading the way towards the cargo bay once more, “and people who’ve made a career of doing the sort of things we do . . . well, we tend to cluster around the same pinpricks. It’s the nature of the business.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “As a result, the only sensible course of action for trade on a void station was to talk loudly, swagger noticeably, wear your weapons openly, and check everything twice; or, failing that, see who the people who could manage those things bought from and do the same, on the basis that those merchants were likely to be fairly honest at least some of the time. “Let’s”

  Mike Brooks

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• “I must confess I get lost with all these shades of grey.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Almost invariably, any native with enough understanding of the system to bring it down has too much invested in it to want to see it fall,”

  Mike Brooks

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• “My dad never did anything, though,” Jenna continued. “He never . . . I don’t know, he never went off to join the star force so he could help guard ships, or anything. I don’t know if it was even because he was scared to. I think it’s just that he wouldn’t have got paid enough.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “The way I see it, all governments are just a different flavour of bastard.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Once a person gets outside, he gets all these ideas of being free, and that plays merry hell for a government.” He nodded firmly. “Keep a man inside behind steel walls and thick windows, tell him that what you do, it’s for his own protection. Make him think he relies on you, let him think the prison is his home, and he’ll thank you for it.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Receptionist: “Thanks for calling the ABC Company. How can I help you?” You: “Hi, this is ___________________ with [your company name], may I please speak with ______________, please?”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Technique 2: If you don't know the name of the contact you need to speak with, then use the “I need a little help, please,” technique. It is very effective if you do it the way I describe? here. Receptionist: “Thanks for calling the ABC Company. How can I help you?” You: “Hi _________, this is ___________________ with [your company name]. I need a little bit of help, please.” [It is crucial that you wait here for the person to ask how they can help you before you ask for the person or department.] Receptionist: “How can I help you?” You: “I need to speak with the best person who handles (your product or service). Who would that be, please?”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Technique 4: If you get screened further, you absolutely must know exactly how to respond. Use any of the? following techniques: If the receptionist asks: “Is he expecting your call?” You answer: “I don't have an appointment this time, but could you please tell him that ___________________ is holding, please?” If the receptionist asks: “Will he know what this call is about?” You answer: “Not specifically, but please tell him it's about [his lead tracking], and I'll be happy to hold on, please.” You can also substitute “not specifically” with any of the following: “not yet….” or “not sure,” and so on.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “If the receptionist asks: “Have you spoken to him before?” You answer: “Not about [his lead tracking], but could you please let him know that ___________________ with ___________________ is holding, please?”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Perhaps you could point me to the right department then?” Asking for help in this way is also useful when you ask for someone and he or she is no longer there. It is also great for when you do reach someone and he or she turns out to be the wrong contact. When that happens, use: “Oh, I see. Perhaps you can help me then. Who would be the best person to speak with regarding ________?”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Or “I see. Can you point me in the right direction then, please?” Or “Okay, perhaps you can help me. Who would be the right person for me to speak with about ordering your (training, software, and so on) supplies?” These techniques are great for? finding the right person or department to speak with, but the power of this technique goes far beyond that. Use the following types of “help” questions once you do reach the appropriate prospect: “I'm glad I got in touch with you. Perhaps you can help me understand how you handle your (training, software, and so on) process. How do you get involved in that?” Or “I'm glad I got in touch with you. Perhaps you can help me. How does the ordering of the (training, software, and so on) process go?” And “_________, we have a lot of solutions that may be a fit, but I don't want to bombard you. Perhaps you can help give me a brief understanding of who handles what, and then I'll be able to know who would be the best person for this. Let's start with you—what do you take care of there?” And “_________, could you help me understand how this flows at your company? Who handles (training, software, and so on)?” And “_________, help me understand how the decision process works over there. How do you get involved?” And “Perhaps you can help me. I'm sure you've got a lot of people handling different things. Let's start with the part of the process you handle. What part is that?” Layer with: “And who handles the other parts?”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Just because you were human didn't mean you weren't a monster.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Now here comes the tricky part: in some cases, the gatekeeper has a little more authority, like an office manager or executive assistant. In these cases, it is okay to deliver your opening value statement briefly—just so they know what it is about—but then it is highly important to try to get through to the decision maker as soon as possible. Here are a few ways to do that. The best way is to quickly qualify for decision?maker status. As soon as you ask if he or she makes the decision on what you are selling and are told that someone else makes the decision, that is your cue to ask to be put through to the actual DM. By the way, never say, “decision maker.” Rather, use the contact's name. Try: “Oh, I see. I'll tell you what: if you would put me through to [DM—contact's name] briefly, I'll explain what this is about, and if he (or she) is interested in learning more, I can? make an appointment that fits his/her schedule. I will be happy to hold on while you connect me.” Or “It sounds like the best thing to do before I send something is to have just a few words with [DM], and that way I can save us both a lot of time depending on their level of interest. Could you please let [DM] know that I'm holding, please?” Or “Before I bother you with emails and then follow?up calls, why don't you put me in touch with [the boss/DM] briefly, and I will see if there is an interest on his/her side. If so, I will take the appropriate action. If not, we will save us all a lot of time. Could you let [the DM] know I'm holding, please?”

  Mike Brooks

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• “Let they who are without a shameful past cast the first grenade.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “He bumped the door open with his hip and spun through, sweeping the rifle's barrel across what did indeed prove to be a small but well-appointed kitchen. He debated opening the drawers to ensure they weren't some sort of façade concealing a hiding place but decided against it; it was clearly just a d*** kitchen, and he didn't have Kelsier pegged as the sort of man who was paranoid enough to build a bolt-hole into a kitchen located in a secret network of tunnels in the middle of a lonely asteroid. You had to draw the line somewhere.”

  Mike Brooks

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• “There’s always room to be someone else, and there’s always somewhere people will be willing to let the past slide.” He”

  Mike Brooks

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