What If?

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?

Don’t get stuck in a rut; try something new today, tomorrow, and every day that follows. We should ask ourselves “What If?” and follow our curiosity. Sometimes whatever occurs to us “out of the blue” may be just what we need to try to improve our business. Please leave me your comments here, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691 to let me have your thoughts.