We all know the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”
I attend a lot of business events. And there are a couple of things that really irk me.
The first is someone offering a handshake while looking away at someone else and moving on to the next person while shaking yours. If you’re going to shake hands with me, stand still and look at me while doing so. Make eye contact and hold it. Anything else is simply discourteous.
The other is people spruiking their wares come what may. They continually talk about themselves and never bother to find out anything about you. I’m sure you’ve experienced people like that.
To them I have one piece of advice…
“I don’t care how much you know until I know how much you care!”
Doing business starts with a human connection. Getting to know and liking someone before moving to the next stage.
So rather than hog the conversation, focus on the other person and make them the centre of your world while you’re with them.
Think about how you could help this person. Be a connector. Is there someone in the room or in your network you could introduce them to? They’ll really appreciate you for it.
And finally, follow up afterwards.
Send them a note. Connect with them on LinkedIn. But best of all, pick up the phone and call. There’s nothing like the personal touch. You never know where it’ll take you.
It’s the end of February. The year’s galloping by. So I thought we’d wrap up with a synopsis of articles from this month in case you’ve missed them.
Starting with a sales series Why winging it doesn’t cut it in sales meetings. Followed on with part 2 Masters don’t wing it and finally What matters most in selling… which details the posture you must have for success.
And if you’re over 40 and find yourself being discriminated due to your age there’s Why Me, a look at how you can position yourself and get roles you can make a real difference in.
Finally, we regularly run communication skills and leadership workshops for our clients where we teach these principles amongst others. No matter what level you are in an organisation it’s your ability to deal with people that will ultimately determine your success.
So if you’re interested in knowing more and having us increase your bottom line results we’re a phone call away. Call me on (02) 9499-7958 for more information.
Rashid.
