Entries by Brian Ahearn, CMCT®

You’re Just Like Jesus—A Life-Changing Reframe

A few weeks ago, I posted a story on LinkedIn about reframing. It was about helping an employee shift from nervousness to excitement, a small tweak with big ripple effects on her professional and personal life. That memory jogged another—the most significant reframe of my life. Reframes can change perspectives in profound ways, often giving […]

I’m Not a Salesperson, I’m a Claim Rep

I had the privilege of working with John Petrucci, CPCU, for several decades. I learned more about sales from John during the first year we worked together than I’d learned in my first 10 years in the insurance industry! Here’s the interesting thing; John started out in claims. When he was approached about a sales […]

Doing the Opposite Can Make You More Influential – part 2

Last week I mentioned the classic Seinfeld episode, The Opposite. George’s interaction with Jerry and Elaine highlighted a paradox when it comes to influence and persuasion: instinctive approaches often backfire. In that post I shared three common mistakes — along with counterintuitive, science-backed approaches to help you ethically and more effectively influence people. I promised […]

Quarterly Newsletter

Welcome to 2025! The older I get, the faster time seems to fly by. It’s like going down a slide because feels like time accelerates. I enjoy the start of the new year because it feels like fresh possibilities. I know, January 1st is really no different than any other day but there are days […]

PAVE the Way for New Year’s Resolutions

The following is a chapter from Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical. This chapter is particularly appropriate just before New Year’s Eve. I hope it helps you get 2025 off to a great start. PAVE the Way for New Year’s Resolutions If you’re like many people, then you make New […]

Santa Claus — The Greatest Salesman Who Ever Lived

Each year around Christmas I share a variation of this post. Enjoy and Merry Christmas! Santa Claus — The Greatest Salesman Who Ever Lived Why do I believe Santa is the ultimate salesman? To start, he has a couple of success stories most of us can’t compete with. First, he’s successfully run the same family […]

The Vacation Bathing Suit Revisited!

The Original Story: Reverse Psychology and the Bathing Suit Early on in my blog, I wrote a piece called “Reverse Psychology and the Vacation Bathing Suit” and people found it to be quite funny. In fact, when I tell the story during training classes I always get lots of laughs. Many years ago, I tricked […]