raebates
07-25-2007, 08:08 PM
Contact with Confidence
Lyn Conway
The secret to a successful business is enough—enough sales, enough recruits, enough time, enough . . . whatever. And, I’m the one who defines enough.
Introduce yourself, not your services. Build a relationship so you can determine their needs.
Shut off the bad angel. Every time you try something new, you will have a good angel on one shoulder cheering you on and a bad angel on the other telling you all the reasons you’re going to fail. Smack that bad angel down and refuse to listen to him.
It’s okay to feel fear. Just don’t act on it. You don’t have to be brave to act brave. Behave like your best self until you become it.
Never assume people will initiate contact. Nine times out of ten the other person will be shyer than you.
Pay attention to details—accent, logo clothing, cute haircut, distinctive jewelry, etc. This will give you a way to start a conversation. Once you’ve established contact, ask good questions. They should be open-ended. If they seem open to more conversation, explore. This may be a new friend, a new customer, or a new recruit.
It’s not about maneuvering the conversation. Don’t be in a rush to get to the PC stuff.
Develop a poker face to deal with rude people or negative reactions.
Talk to yourself on tape, voice mail, in the mirror, etc. Gauge your voice and expression.
Circulate and cultivate! If you always go where you’ve always gone, you’ll always see the same people.
Go in. We can do most of our business from our cars, but that doesn’t really offer the best opportunity to connect with others. Chicken? Dare yourself.
Become a friend-finding magnet. Work the room looking for people to connect with. Again, don’t make it all about PC. If you build relationships, the customers will be a natural consequence.
You will never find the time to do what you need to do. You must make the time.
Lyn Conway
The secret to a successful business is enough—enough sales, enough recruits, enough time, enough . . . whatever. And, I’m the one who defines enough.
Introduce yourself, not your services. Build a relationship so you can determine their needs.
Shut off the bad angel. Every time you try something new, you will have a good angel on one shoulder cheering you on and a bad angel on the other telling you all the reasons you’re going to fail. Smack that bad angel down and refuse to listen to him.
It’s okay to feel fear. Just don’t act on it. You don’t have to be brave to act brave. Behave like your best self until you become it.
Never assume people will initiate contact. Nine times out of ten the other person will be shyer than you.
Pay attention to details—accent, logo clothing, cute haircut, distinctive jewelry, etc. This will give you a way to start a conversation. Once you’ve established contact, ask good questions. They should be open-ended. If they seem open to more conversation, explore. This may be a new friend, a new customer, or a new recruit.
It’s not about maneuvering the conversation. Don’t be in a rush to get to the PC stuff.
Develop a poker face to deal with rude people or negative reactions.
Talk to yourself on tape, voice mail, in the mirror, etc. Gauge your voice and expression.
Circulate and cultivate! If you always go where you’ve always gone, you’ll always see the same people.
Go in. We can do most of our business from our cars, but that doesn’t really offer the best opportunity to connect with others. Chicken? Dare yourself.
Become a friend-finding magnet. Work the room looking for people to connect with. Again, don’t make it all about PC. If you build relationships, the customers will be a natural consequence.
You will never find the time to do what you need to do. You must make the time.