As our parents and grandparents told us, we only have one chance to make a good first impression. Make smart use of first impressions. When someone sends you an email, calls you, leaves you a voice mail message, pings you on Social Media, etc. think about how you typically first respond to that person. What if one of the first sentences out of your mouth or in your email or Facebook reply was “I’m all about paying it forward and I’d love you to ask me to prove it.” I’m suggesting that this one simple act and then backing it up with action will transform your business and personal life. It has mine.
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Top Of Mind Awareness Is Easy
I meet so many business people who say they want to stay top of mind with their prospects, clients, customers and referral partners. Some of these folks fall for the offers of “We can get you 50 bajillion Twitter followers in an hour” and so on. That’s sad. How naive. There’s a very easy way to stay top of mind. The problem is that anything easy to do is also easy not to do. How’s that NordicTrack clothes hanger in the corner working out? The Golden Rule is the answer. You know, that “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you” thing. If you’d like for people to say thanks when you do something for them, get in the habit of saying thanks. A lot. If you’d like for people to refer you business, start referring business. If you’d like for people to be a little nicer, be the …
Give People The Benefit Of The Doubt
When people do something bone-headed, and we all do bone-headed things, it’s better to think the best of the person versus immediately coming down on them like a ton of bricks. Take the extra few seconds or minutes to reach out to them and politely discuss the situation. More than likely they didn’t realize they were doing something to bother you. It’s better to think the best of people and not become jaded. This takes practice. Now, if they’re repeatedly doing things which lead you to believe that you’re dealing with a walking brain donor….