Winning By Giving

You don't win a game all at once. It's play by play, built upon weeks and even years of practice. You have to give from your heart like there's no tomorrow. 

Winning in the game of business involves giving from your heart.  Giving to your craft and giving to others. The Go – Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann, tells it all in a parable that is not so much about business but about a way of life. 

“Most people just laugh when they hear that the secret to success is giving… Then again, most people are nowhere near as successful as they wish they were.”

Here are The Go-Giver Five Laws of Stratospheric Success

1. The Law of Value: “Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment” 

“You give, give, and give. Why? Because you love to. It’s not a strategy, it’s a way of life.”

“All the great fortunes in the world have been created by men and women who had a greater passion for what they were giving – their product, service or idea – than for what they were getting.”

2. The Law of Compensation: “Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve then.”

“You get to determine you’re your level of compensation – it’s under your control. If you want more success, find a way to serve more people. It’s that simple. It also means there are no limitation on what you can earn, because you can always find more people to serve.”

3. The Law of Influence: “Your Influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.”

“You need to develop your army of personal walking ambassadors… a network of people who know you, like you and trust you… People who are personally invested in seeing you succeed.”

“Stop keeping score. When you base your relationships – in business or anywhere else in your life – on who owes who what, that’s not being a friend. That’s being a creditor.”

“Forget about fifty-fifty. Fifty-fifty is a losing proposition. The only winning proposition is one hundred percent. Make your win about the other person, go after he wants. Forget win-win – focus on the other person’s win.”

“Because if you place the other person’s interest first, your interests will always be taken care of. Always. Some people call it enlightened self-interest.”

4. The Law of Authenticity: “The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself”

“As long as you’re trying to be someone else, or putting on some act or behavior someone else taught you, you have no possibility of truly reaching people... no matter what you think you’re selling, what you’re really offering is you.

“Reaching any goal you set takes ten percent specific knowledge or technical skills – ten percent, max. The other ninety-plus percent is people skill… You want people skills… then be a person…. It’s called authenticity”

5. The Law of Receptivity: “The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving”

“It’s not better to give than to receive. It’s insane to try to give and not receive… Trying not to receive is not only foolish, it’s arrogant… Receiving is the natural result of giving. In fact, every giving can happen only because it is also a receiving by someone else… If you don’t let yourself receive, you’re refusing the gifts of others – and you shut down the flow.

Develop a Go-Giver way of life and begin winning in business and life.

Order The Go-Giver: http://www.burg.com/books/

Making Appointments After the Networking Event

“If and When were planted, and Nothing grew.”   - Proverb

You may have heard the saying, "The fortune is in the follow-up."  It's very true. You went to the networking or Chamber event to create connections for potential sales. Am I right?

Now the ball is in your court. It's time to follow-up and get the appointment.

Research shows that buyers are not the ones to contact salespeople. The salesperson still has to contact the potential customer.

A phone call is still twice as effective as an email. With email, it's too easy for the customer to postpone, delay or cancel. Be brave, stop thinking about it and just pick up the phone.

• When asking for an appointment: 
• Identify yourself and remind them where you met or let them know who referred you to them.
• Explain why you want to meet.
• Mention a benefit to them.
• Suggest a length of time, such as: "no more than a half an hour."
• Offer possible dates, times and places.
• Mention any others who will be present.
• Give your phone number, address, and email address.
• Express your appreciation for their time.
• Tell them when you will call to remind them.

• Helpful tips when making appointments:
• Don't postpone, delay or cancel the meeting if at all possible.
• If you do need to change a meeting, don't over apologize. Usually all you have to say is, "I'm sorry to have to cancel/reschedule..."
• Be assertive about making appointments.
• After setting up the appointment, follow-up with an email with time, date and place. Express appreciation for meeting with you.

Follow up is a successful salesperson's greatest strength. 

THOUGHT PROVOKING INTRODUCTIONS

 "Hi my name is Bill with ABC Company."

What do you say in the next 30 seconds that is honest and sincere and also thought provoking and interesting?

I don't know about you, but my attention span seems to be getting shorter and shorter. In fact, the longer you spend telling me all about your company, the quicker you lose me. 

Worse yet, many business people will only give their names or the company that they are with and SAY NOTHING after that ...  missing an opportunity to connect. Why not say a few extra words? Maybe something short of an elevator pitch, not even a tagline, but still thought provoking.

Here is where it gets interesting. Have some fun with it. Let's say that you sell:

Gourmet candy. You could say, "We create, market and deliver unique and creative candy gifts to businesses and individuals. Can I make a SWEET  delivery for you this week?"

Life Insurance: You could say, "I give away money."

Chiropractor: You could say, "I'm a chiropractor and I make your back happy."

Realtor: You could say, "Hi, Julie, with Keller Williams. Interview me now for your next home sale and I'll buy you lunch."

Computer Repair: You could say, " Just call me when your computer ticks you off."

Mortgage Lender: You could say something like: "Hi, I'm Mark with Top Roofing.  When it hails, I'll bring my nails."

Have fun adding something thought provoking to your introductions and see how easily conversations open up.

Build Rapport for Easier Sales Later.

Build rapport at a networking event before you "go for the sale." It will make your life much easier.

RAPPORT is a close and harmonious relationship in which the people concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and they can easily communicate.

So, you go to a networking event and finally get in front of a business person who you would like to know better.  You shake hands... and then what do you do?

You'll be surprised how simple and easy it is to create rapport by following these simple steps:

1.  Open with the right words, words that are positive and that attract and hold attention. Here are four words that seem to open an easy flow of conversation:

 

     "I am fascinated by what you do." (People love to be fascinated, to be drawn to something.)

     "So, what are you focusing on right now?" (The word "focus" creates thoughtfulness.)

     "I am struck with amazement when I realize how much you do." (How many people are

     amazed by you or something you do or by your company or your idea?)

     "I'm curious. How do you... ?" (We love to satisfy curiosity. You know what it did to the cat.)

Use these words: "fascinated, focusing, amaze or amazement and curious" in a multitude of ways. Fashion a few opening sentences in your own words and practice saying them.

2.  Give them permission to relax and have a conversation with you. Remember, they might be nervous and confused on what to do at a networking event. It helps if you suggest it's okay to relax and talk. Make them feel comfortable. This step is important. 

     "Go ahead, tell me about it."

     "Relax, so tell me..."

     "We can relax, the meeting doesn't start for awhile."

     "Let's sit for a few minutes."

3.  Be yourself. Are you acting aloof or star-struck? You need to relax and act comfortable. Don't try to sell them anything at this point. Just create rapport.

4. Keep your eyes, your ears, and your feelings wide open and focused on the moment. Be an active participant in the conversation. Temporarily, forget about what's going on around you. At this moment, it's all about connecting to one and only one person.

5.  Agree with them. Now is not the time for a good debate on how to handle feral cats or health care. Reinforce the positive flow of conversation with words like:

    

    "Yes."

    "I see."

    "I hear you."

6.  Plant seeds for a future meeting.  Don't be too bold, just plant suggestions within the rhythm of the conversation. You're building rapport for a future meeting. You can say things like:

    "We should do that sometime."

    "I'd like to have a cup of coffee and hear more about... ."

    "Could I get your email and send you an invitation?"

    "I would like to hear more on that next time we meet."

    

7.  Before you part, agree that you've made a good connection. They may not realize it, but you do. Before you go two separate ways, try to get them to agree that you have established some kind of connection. Say something like:

    "This has been time well-spent, don't you think?"

    "I feel we've made a good connection here, don't you?"

Once you're comfortable with building rapport, you'll find that business networking is easy, fun and profitable.

By the way, I would love to help you increase your business with Gold Star Referral Clubs. I invite you to visit:  www.WelcomeToGoldStar.com

 

     

The 6 Common Mistakes When Building Rapport

STOP Making These Six Common Mistakes While Networking!

1. Stop being so NICE! I'm not suggesting that you be nasty. It's that sometimes people are so busy trying to be nice that they create a barrier to sincere conversation. Try real communication without the syrup. If you're too busy being nice, you may not actually get to know the other person. Be nice but real.

2. Don't TRY SO HARD! When you are trying too hard to communicate, it comes across as desperate, eager to please. Nobody likes to hang around desperate people at a networking event. Sometimes the best thing you can do is maintain an attitude of "I'm cool. You can come talk to me but I'm okay if you keep going." Smile and nod your head as they pass by.

3. Wanting something from someone TOO MUCH! You've seen them. They want you to buy something, attend something, endorse something or whatever. Becoming a little too pushy will instantly break up any rapport that you hope to build with another person.

4. Not caring and LACK OF INTEREST!  If you are sending out signals that say, "I'm so not interested in you,"  then they feel the vibes that you are bored and maybe even annoyed. People will respond to you by shutting down and walking away. In just a few seconds, rapport is lost.

5. You're playing a ROLE! It's always best to try to be YOU. When you play a role, you can create a disconnect with the person you're speaking to. By role, I mean trying to come across as something that you aren't. Like acting like a bigwig when you're still just a small company.

6. Relating TOO much and too deep! It makes good sense to use common interests to relate to people in order to build rapport, but beware of taking common interests into long deep unlimited conversations. You may come across as one track with few other interests.

Now that you know how to avoid the common mistakes made while building rapport. Read my next blog on how easy it is to BUILD RAPPORT with business people at a networking event.

Visit www.WelcomeToGoldStar.com to find out more about Gold Star Referral Clubs.