It was back in the early 1980s that Dan Molloy, a salesman by trade, attended a communications workshop in New York City given by Dr. Fernando Flores, a philosopher and one-time Economics and Finance Minister in his native country of Chile. A one-time political prisoner, Flores had spent years in prison because he was in the wrong party and, faced a firing squad three times. Only to have them shoot blanks.
“At the time, I thought I was a pretty good salesperson, but most of what I did was hit or miss. You know, throw enough at the wall and something will stick, which is typical behavior for most sales people,” said Molloy. “When I started going to workshops offered by Fernando, I realized there was a big breakdown in business and a bigger opportunity.”
Flores presented a communications model called the “Exchange Conversation of Commerce,” which set forth the premise that commerce occurs within networks of commitments and that the networks are built in a dance of language with very specific moves. Only by understanding this and learning the moves, he explained, can one hope to design long term relationships and trust with customers and employees – and one’s family and friends – on a consistent basis.
Incorporating Flores’s philosophy into his life – when his job as a partner in a national automotive company ended in 2003 – Molloy began to build business development training programs. Today, Molloy Business Development, based in Union City, New Jersey, offers both large and small businesses a highly intensive program he has renamed the Language of Commitment™.
“You can’t change the past or the chaos that we call life, or the fact that the economy can be fickle, but through mastering the Language of Commitment companies and individuals can build competence at inventing new futures,” said Molloy. “With respect to commerce, we demystify the sales and management process by identifying and measuring the six linguistic acts, which form the core of all commercial transactions, regardless of the language spoken. Additionally, we teach students to design conversations that are intended to produce action, which is what companies need more than ever.”