In this fast paced Web 3.0 world, there are some time proven strategies that are even easier to implement now than they were back when an eight-track player was state of the art technology. People who take the time to learn about their prospects, clients, referral sources and networking partners win over the people who don’t. Only every time. For years I’ve been telling my audiences to learn about The Mackay 66. Harvey Mackay is the owner of an envelope company and he’s always taught his salespeople to use what he calls “The Mackay 66”. It’s a simple questionnaire that you populate over time as you learn more about your prospects and clients. Everything from where they went to school to what status symbols are in their office to their favorite drink. Here’s a downloadable PDF of The Mackay 66: http://www.harveymackay.com/pdfs/mackay66.pdf Gathering this information is doing your due diligence. You …
How to Make People Feel Appreciated on 10 Minutes A Day
People who succeed know that “all things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust.” So how do we grow our “Know, Like, Trust Factor” or what I call our “Like-Ability”? One way to do this is to compliment people. And to do it sincerely. For most people, the only recognition they receive is when they screw something up. And ironically, most of the time they already know they screwed it up and don’t appreciate other people reminding them. Any mediocre manager can point out what people have done wrong. As Dale Carnegie said,”Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain. And most fools do.” There’s a huge difference between a manager and a leader but we’ll save that for another post. In order to make people feel appreciated….ready….wait for it….appreciate them. Rocket science, huh? I’m not smart enough to learn Harvard Business …
Passion Gets Your Attention
I was lying on the bed last evening surfing the channels while Karin was making dinner in the kitchen. I don’t typically watch a lot of news, but as I was passing the news with Brian Williams, he was interviewing someone and I stopped on the channel. The reason I stopped was because the person he was interviewing was exuding passion. And not the trumped up kind. This guy was sincere. His name is Geoffrey Canada and he is the CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone. This guy is passionate about helping kids. It is oozing out of him. I like that. You can tell that this guy walks his talk and you don’t see that every day. It was interesting to observe his style and Brian Williams’ style. Brian is cool and reserved as you would expect of a newscaster. Geoffrey was wearing his heart on his sleeve and …
How’s Your Like-Ability Factor?
All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust. True as gravity. Always has been and always will be. We know this intuitively and yet so few people take the time to increase their “Like-Ability Factor.” I think that people would invest the time to increase their Like-Ability Factor if they knew the returns that it would provide them. Our likeability isn’t about insincerity or manipulation. At least not the way that most people think about manipulation. Actually, if you look up manipulation in the dictionary, it means “to handle skillfully.” I’m guessing that most people would love to be handled skillfully instead of treated poorly. It’s a no-brainer. We are programmed to think that the more degrees we have and the higher up the ladder we climb the better off we are. I don’t know that that’s accurate. Our likeability …
It Takes So Little To Be Above Average
We hear in the media that opportunities are scarce and that these are tough times. Yes, they are tough times but there are ways to position yourself more favorably for opportunities. And some of the best ways have nothing to do with advanced degrees. I’m a big fan of common sense. And while I don’t claim to have the market cornered on common sense (just ask my wife), I have learned some things over the years. I think that one of the best ways to attract success is to do just a little more than the next guy. This is so easy that it’s almost laughable. Most folks are doing just enough to not get fired. They’re pretty average. Now, don’t think that this is a value judgment on people, it’s an observation. Everyone has worth as a person but many people act like they don’t realize it. We tend …
Be Enthusiastic And Attract Success
When we are kids we tend to have a vibrant appreciation of life. Sometime between being a kid and being an adult that sense of wonderment gets stifled for most people. That’s unfortunate, since adults are just kids with long, hairy legs. What does this have to do with networking or business? A lot, actually. All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like and trust. One of the key words in that statement is “like.” People like people who take a sincere interest in them. People like people who are happy. People like people who bring joy to other people. People like people who are likeable. Notice that’s “like-able”. When we’re enthusiastic, others tend to become enthusiastic also. Enthusiasm actually means, “God within”. But we’ll leave that for another post. Act enthusiastic, be enthusiastic. I’m not talking about bouncing off the walls …
Appreciation Makes The Difference
Learning to develop an appreciative attitude and expressing appreciation is a very important life skill. Being appreciative shows that we have an attitude of gratitude. In today’s busy world we sometimes forget how much we can be appreciative of. All we have to do is open our eyes to all the blessings that surround us. We’re mosquitoes in a nudist colony of abundance. When we don’t appreciate the blessings in our lives we probably have also forgotten some of the interpersonal niceties that make life easier. Things like saying please and thank you. As simplistic as it may sound, these simple words can work wonders in our lives. Our parents taught us these things for a reason. They’re a form of politeness and also a way to attract things into our lives. We get what we give. So when we are appreciative of other people they are appreciative of us. …
Do You Have Customers or Friends?
In business as in personal life we know that we should stay in touch with people. The old saying “Out of sight, out of mind” is really true. That’s why it’s an old saying. We do forget about people that we don’t see or hear from frequently. In a more and more hyper-competitive, over-caffeinated, Crackberry, 24/7/365 world it’s easy to lose touch with people and most people do. Many people are looking for ways to keep their name or their company’s name in front of people. My simple philosophy on this is “Be a friend.” Now before you think this is some starry-eyed, kumbaya, group hug post let me point out something. For the seriously jaded folks that think “we just have to keep pitching our product or services all the time”…how’s that working out? I’m guessing not so good. What’s that definition of insanity again? “Doing the same thing …
Keep Your LinkedIn Status Updated by Adding Value
On LinkedIn you have an opportunity to communicate with your Connections called a Status Update. This is a box on your LinkedIn Profile where you can post things. When you log into your LinkedIn account you automatically see your Connections’ most recent Status Updates with the most current one at the top of the page. This is a great opportunity to keep your name in front of people in a non-stalker, non-spammer like fashion. In my opinion, many people are using Social Media in a way that’s not producing the results they desire. This is how many of them are using Social Media: “Buy my product, buy my product, buy my product, buy my product, the competition sucks, buy my product.” And then they wonder why no one buys their product. Who wants a non-stop sales pitch? I know that I don’t. These folks aren’t engaging in Social Media – …
Always Be Connecting
There’s a saying that many sales trainers use quite frequently which is, “Always be closing.” If we’re “always closing” then the people we do business with will always feel pressure. Most people don’t like pressure and don’t want to “be closed.” Most of us want to be relaxed and comfortable in buying situations. And, quite frankly, in all situations. I prefer the term, “Always be connecting.” Knowing that all things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like and trust…connecting is a far better strategy than closing. And I’m hesitant to even use the term strategy. That sounds too “M.B.A.” to me. If friendship is a strategy than I guess I’m a strategist. I prefer to think I’m just a friend. As we take a sincere interest in other people, good things start to show up. Good things like job opportunities, referrals, clients, joy, …