Everyone should!
My point here
today is
that even in your WORSE days... days
when business... customers...
clients... associates... and yes, even your
referrals just plain old
SUCK... I'll still bet
it's not as bad as Louis Zamperini
had it.
And that leads me into the
valuable lesson of this Issue:
After all, that’s the yin and yang
of biz, right?
A client sharing your
talents with others and everyone
benefiting from
the experience..
Wrong!
If there's
anything that Psychology 101 has taught us
it's that people really only care about
themselves.
A problem in
today’s over buzzed world where
most
people today
have reduced themselves to
being flaccid, passive (and dare I
say lazy)
with just about
everything.
Except, of course, cramming more
into their
already overhacked
daily schedules.
Sure, the average business
person working for The Man still
does the daily grind very well.
In fact, they
ought to have a PhD at it.
They're
masterful at it.
Just ask them.
They'll confide in you...
Every Frickin'
Trite Trial
In Their Confined
Little World
That even
includes telling you the troubles
you are hearing about "Fifi”, the
sabal colored
Pekinese mo-mo
dog who’s in heat.
But for them to expect word
of mouth and customer referrals to
consistently creep into their
schedule... and
to show up on their
doorsteps? Hah!
They’d have better luck
waking a college sorority chick at
7:30 in the morning.
Consistency in word-of-mouth?
It ain’t happening.
And for a reason.
It
all comes down to lack of
consistency with referral
generating activities.
That’s what truly sucks in
this human relation equation.
And for that, we need only to look
at ourselves.
So
to solve the
festering problem,
you have to go
deeper -- to delve into the
average person’s mindset;
a
frightening journey, at best.
Here lives
"lack of intention" –-
which for this
Issue and simplicity sake -- I'll
define as actions
designed to further
"progress-based
impressions" with others. (My
emphasis added, amigo.)
In this
case, I'm talking
about intentions with a client. Or
with a business colleague, or
with a new
found acquaintance
or associate.
And that... well that
is indeed a
pretty sick, twisted
behavioral bedfellow.
And furthermore
friend,
When
The
Average
Business
Person
Grows Enough Chops...
...to admit they
don’t get the
personal
introductions and referrals they
deserve... hah!
... that's when frustration surfaces
like a 12-year old
with pre-pubescent
zits.
What
am I driving at here? Two words:
Business interaction.
The
type that involves influencing others in the
day-to-day.
More aptly, human interactions.
Now you might
not subscribe to
this that
"theory," but it's true.
Whether you care to
admit it or not, every decision a
person makes to
listen to you, agree with you,
interact with you, and yes even
hire you... involves
them
-
buying your
conniving
little (or big) sales pitch (however subtle or blatant); and then,
-
them
assuming
decent-sized...
Risk
That
You’re
Not
Going
to Royally
Screw
Them
Over.
Whether it’s direct or indirect...
intentional or a passive, isn’t
the real issue at all,
amigo.
It’s
building relationships based on interactions and
impressions
which become the core of influence,
including referral generating
influence.
The culmination of this
success is a "trust-bond" that
starts to form.
It’s what allows
others to become introduced and
referred to you when people open
their mouths.
But it has to start
somewhere. And this mean getting to
know what others need in
their business so you can help them
advance and progress.
Comprende?
When you do this, the
opportunity for them to know
you and your work gets
flushed to the surface. It’s
a natural
part of relationships.
That yin and yang
becomes...
'I take
interest in you, you do the same
with me.'
Again: the
tough nut is knowing when that
consistent interaction
ends up yielding
flow –- referral flow.
That takes time.
It’s a relationship formed on
the promise of making progress
together –- sometime in the
future. And that takes
world-class
patience –-
an even bigger killer
amongst today's rookies.
Indeed, it’s a difficult
pill for the Average Joe to
swallow who wants the business now...
TODAY!
If your referrals
SUCK, it’s
because you’re not providing enough
progress to others and their
lives.
Last I checked... in business,
success wasn’t about winning awards
or showing up in the Sunday paper.
Or getting pats on the back.
It’s was about closing the
deal.
You close the deal
when you provide progress that
furthers someone else’s life –-
personally or in business. Do that,
and one thing is
for sure:
It’s an approach rooted in
helping the other person advance
based on their
own little selfish
motives, NOT yours.
You with me muchacho?
If your referrals suck
right now, you have the equation
backwards.
Remember, people will always
trust others who can bring progress
into their lives, first.
So here's my leave-behind -- your
take-away -- today:
-
Genuinely
start
caring
about the other
person’s business success.
-
Offer value to them willingly
-- and often times unexpectedly.
-
Allow these benefits to shine so
they recognize they will gain a
lot by being associated with you
in an active relationship.
Louis Zamperini says he was...
"always called Lucky Louie." But
he also says his mission now
was the same it was back then:
"to inspire and help
people by living a
life of good
example, perpetual
influence and quiet
strength."
He
says that he's
always amazed at a person's response
when he tells his story.
And it's really no
mystery why he's called Lucky Louie.
Like they say, it's not luck. It's
opportunity meeting preparedness.
Same for you.
