What if we listened when someone told us how we could
improve our marketing and better our chances to succeed in our business? What
if we began a different approach to how we market our services or products?
What if we started discussing what others need before we tried to sell them
whatever we have to offer? What if we stopped being sales people and started
building relationships?
What if we disregarded any initial reaction to those who we
meet during the course of our days and stopped prejudging these new contacts?
We must learn who everyone actually is and not believe that we know who they
are from our first impression. We must spend some time with them, discovering
who they are and what their business is all about. We must find out how we can
help them get whatever they need.
We all have met people and believe that we know what they
are all about. Sometimes we are correct; sometimes we are very wrong. Perhaps
the person knows someone who we need to meet; sometimes their business differs
from what we thought. Maybe we know someone who they need to meet. There are
all sorts of possibilities. We must discover these possibilities and act upon
them.
How do we decide if we want to develop a networking
relationship with someone else? We must work to learn all we can about others;
we must decide if we like the other person; we must establish if we trust them.
If we know, like, and trust someone, we should be able to refer business to
them, helping them obtain what they need, and maybe helping another partner at
the same time.
Communication is paramount in all areas of our lives, both
personal and in business. We must establish a level of communication that
allows us all to get to know someone else and decide whether we like them. The
building of mutual trust may take a long time, or it may arise from immediate
contact. It all depends on how we approach the possibilities and listen to the
other person. What if we tried this with everyone?
Recently I met two other business people with whom I have
established this trust relationship rather quickly. It just worked out that
way, and we have moved from strangers to networking partners to business
associates. We were open to information exchange, and we listened to each other.
We allowed our imaginations to look at the possibilities. This seems like a winning
procedure for everyone.
As we go about our marketing and networking for our
businesses, we must ask ourselves the “What If?” question frequently. What if
we leave our comfort zone and meet new people? What if we try to get to know
everyone whom we meet, never prejudging anyone? What if we try something new
that we have never tried before? What if we ask ourselves “What If?” more
often?
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