Networking with Influencers

We are continuing our discussion of how to network with different behavior styles. Specifically this conversation is about building relationships with others by treating them the way they want to be treated. Once we have made the realization that they z others may not want to be treated the same way that we do, it opens our eyes to many things.

Have you ever wondered why someone behaved a certain way, did something that made no sense to you?

This usually happens because we have different motivations. Each behavior style has different reactions, motivations and ways to recharge. Understanding these things about the different behavior styles helps us to better understand them, and then understanding them better, we can focus on building the relationship.

The second behavior style that comes in the DISC arrangement is the “I” or influencer. The influencer is a fast paced people person. They are described as convincing, magnetic, political, enthusiastic, persuasive, warm, demonstrative, trusting, and optimistic. People that score high in the “I” quadrant tend to be motivated by being liked, they genuinely like others and prefer to spend their time with and around people.

“I”s are fun loving folks, and motivated by having fun with others. You may ask, “gosh, who isn’t motivated by having fun?” Well, last week we looked at the “D” behavior style. “D’s” are motivated by accomplishing tasks and getting things done. Even though both of these behavior styles are fast paced, the “D” is more concerned with tasks, the “I” is more concerned with people.

One thing that is very important to note when studying the behavior styles is that none of us are purely one style or the other. We are all blends of the four styles, with varying levels of influence from the four quadrants.  This means that each of us is unique and should be treated uniquely. Pay attention to your referral partners and sources. Learn how to determine what motivates them.

Come out to our Referral Success Program for Oct and learn much more about the behavior styles and how to work with them, I promise you will see results, have fun, learn how to work with others better and learn a lot of information.

Networking with Driven/Dominant individuals.

So, last week we talked about treating others the way they want to be treated. How can we do this, it is hard for us to realize how others would like to be treated, because we so often think that they are like us. We use a four quadrant approach to studying behavior styles that is based on the work of William Moulton Marston PhD (1893–1947). It is also related originally to the Four Temperaments Theory systemized by the Greek physician Hippocrates.

Today we will begin with the first behavior represented by the letter D. This behavior style is driven, dominant, demanding, determined, and decisive. They are recognized as doers.

What we want to know is how to recognize, and then work with referral partners that primarily behave as “D”’s.

“D”s are result driven individuals. They seek concise and to the point communication, they are motivated by task accomplishment, and are high paced.  With practice and close observation, you can begin to recognize those that have this behavior style. They tend to dress conservatively, preferring dark colors, focusing on business and results more than popular interaction. They tend to be fast paced, busy people that are competitive and like to win, they like new ideas and to focus as mentioned on results.

As mentioned last week, according to the Platinum Rule, to get along best, we should treat others as they prefer to be treated. This means that when we are working with a referral source that is a “D” we should focus on results, keep the conversation moving at a rapid pace, focus on the highlights and not get bogged down details. Furthermore, we should keep the interaction focused on business.

With this said, it is very possible to interact with any of the four behavior styles no matter your style, the important ingredient to make this work is knowledge of the behavior styles and how they can work together. Come out to the advanced training in Oct to find out more about Networking with Behavior Styles.

The Platinum Rule and Networking

So we all know and understand the Golden Rule. We may not follow it, but I think we all know this rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This phrasing is the phrasing found in the Christian Bible, in the book of Matthew. This ethical code or morality is attributed to Jesus, but was not named the Golden Rule until more recently. It is also known as the ethic of reciprocity. The concept was present in certain forms in the philosophies of ancient Babylon, Egypt, India, Greece, Judea, and China. Principal philosophers and religious figures have stated it in different ways, but its most common Modern English phrasing first appeared in a Catholic catechism around 1567.

So, you may be asking how this relates to referrals and marketing. Well, I want to use this rule as a basis for a slightly modified and updated ethic known as the Platinum Rule. The Platinum Rule teaches us to treat others as they want to be treated.

Wait a minute, you mean to say that how I want to be treated and how others want to be treated may be different. Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. Each of us is different. A simple example with me would be that when I am sick, I want to be left alone. No coddling, no babying, no sweet gestures, let me alone so that I can heal. The most I may want would be help getting something that I need, i.e. go to the store for something when I am feeling too bad to go.

I understand that this is drastically different than what many of you might want. Imagine the shock I had when I learned that. I had grown up with the golden rule, and upon learning more about behavior styles, I learned that many folks were different from me, and wanted to be treated differently.

I now work to apply the Platinum Rule though, this can be hard if others don’t let us know how they want to be treated. That is what we are going to work on this month. Learning how to spot different behavior styles, so that we can treat them the way they would like to be treated. This will greatly aid us building relationships and referral partners.

Good Luck and Good Networking.

The coveted prize

How many referral partners do you need to get as much business as you want?

The answer is between five and seven. I guess though, that I should have defined a profitable relationship first. A profitable referral partner is one that you have a mutually beneficial relationship with; you can pass referrals on a regular and measurable basis. In other words, you refer each other all day, every day. A profitable referral partner is one that you can meet with to control the flow of referrals, if you need more in your pipeline, you go to your referral partner.

Not many people have relationships like this. They are the exception, not the rule. Those that do have relationships like this value them, but usually only have one or two. It takes a plan and commitment to get the required five to seven partnerships. They don’t just happen.

You have to be in high credibility first.

You can’t skip into profitability. You have to pass through the credibility phase of the VCP Process™ before you can get into profitability. This is a mistake I see often. People assume that because someone has purchased from them that they are in the profitability phase.

Most purchases and referrals happen in the credibility phase.

A purchase is when the client or partner has told you that they trust you enough to buy. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing, but for many of us this is all the further we get. Being in credibility is important, but there is a higher phase. Dr. Misner speaks about the profitability phase of relationships in Business by Referral saying:

“The mature relationship, whether business or personal, can be defined in terms of its “profitability.” Is it mutually rewarding? Do both partners gain satisfaction from it? Does it maintain itself by providing benefits to both? If it doesn’t profit both partners to keep it going, it probably will not endure.”

With profitable relationships, there is an implied agreement in place. In a personal relationship, one example of profitable could be a good marriage. Before that marriage happened, there was a proposal, and an agreement between the two parties involved, and a tremendous amount of commitment.

A business relationship is the same, for it to be profitable, there has to be commitment, but in the end the rewards are great.

Customer Service Lessons for fast food.

I am guessing that you have all experienced the same thing that I have, you pull into a fast food restaurnt, make your order, they ask you to pull up to the window where they take you money then ask you to pull foward and tell you that they willbring your food to you. Now this is annoying enough, but lately I have had this happen when no one is even behind me.

My first thought has always been that this was bad for a “fast” food establishment. Though, when there s no one waiting behind me, it even seems more ludicrous. Besides the message that it conveys, it really seems counterproductive.

If you think about it, it takes more man hours, it take more resources, it delays delivery of the food to the customer.

So, the question remains, why are these restaurants doing this? Management wants the food to get to the customers faster, so they have put a timer on the window. They measure the amount of time that a car remains at the drive through window. Well have we seen a flaw here, the intended result was food faster to customers, the reality is food slower to customers, along with added irritation and annoyance.

What can you change in your business to reduce annoyance and increase customer satisfaction?

After the Honeymoon

After the Honeymoon

I once read about a spiritual seeker that had reached enlightenment. When asked what it was like, his example was of a person climbing a mountain. When he reached enlightenment, he said it was like taking his pack off. Then he was asked what came after enlightenment. His reply was that you put the pack back on and continue up the mountain,

Business is like this in many ways. I have often been asked how you know when your business is there. I have never been able to get a clear definition, from anyone, where “there” is. It seems that this mystical “there” is a place where your business will just cruise along, and you won’t have to work so hard. It is funny, it seems that as our businesses grow, so do we. As our businesses grow, “there” changes. As we reach the place that would have defined “there” at one time, we have changed so that our definition of “there” is completely different.

Mary Kay representatives will be very familiar with my next quote.  “When you stop growing…you rot!”

So, how does this relate to referrals and word-of-mouth business?

Well, what do you do after you reach profitability with a referral partner? You keep working on that relationship. You keep working on other relationships.

“The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today.”                                                                                                                                                  Isaac Asimov

Your referral partners will change things happen. I vividly remember working with a business owner in a Referral Success 101 class, she has a window treatment business, and a great, profitable relationship with an interior designer. She asked me why, given the relationship that she had, would she want to establish and develop relationships with other interior designers.  The answer is that things change, people move and retire, and businesses are sold.

After you start developing profitable relationships, keep doing it. It should be easier, and in truth, developing and living by relationship is a way of life. Just yesterday, driving through Fayetteville I saw a man panhandling at an intersection. I began thinking how close most people are to homelessness, and I realized, here again, the network that one has is very important. Your network is really a huge part of your wealth.

In with the new if you want to grow

If I were to tell a business owner or sales representative that they should never meet anyone new, I am pretty sure that they would think I was crazy. It is important for all businesses to be exposed to new people all the time. How many of us are focusing on this on a regular basis with strategic and successful actions?

 

Networking of course has many facets to it, and we all know that the primary purpose of networking is to build relationships. We also know that it isn’t who you know that matters, but how well you know who you know that makes much of the difference. There is of course the other side to networking as well. That is meeting new people.

 

Meeting new people is important for many reasons. The main reason is that everything is always changing. Customers move, grow, change, and sometimes don’t need your services anymore.  The same is true for referral partners and referral sources. Just this fact alone means that you will need to meet new people on a consistent basis just to maintain the status quo for your business.

 

How many of us want to grow our business? I would guess that it is the majority of people that I am talking to. Well, if you want to grow your business, a great way is to get new clients. This could also mean getting new referral sources and referral partners. Again, meeting new people is the first step.

 

Meeting new people doesn’t have to be by chance only. Use your existing network to find out about others you should meet, other networks that exist, and where they meet new people. Many networks are great places to meet new people, the Chamber of Commerce for instance holds many open networking functions that are usually well attended. I often see different crowds at different networking events though. Attend networking events that you don’t usually attend to meet new people.

 

Now, I am not saying that new is better, but I am saying that you need to meet new people to maintain and grow your business. These new people represent potential new deep and meaningful relationships.

Being heard over all the others.

Marketing and advertising is much different today than it ever has been in the past. Years ago companies had the ability to flood the market with their message, forcing potential customers and clients to listen. With all the disparate media available today, it is virtually impossible to flood the market with your message. Given the fact that consumers today have more control than ever over what marketing reaches them and what messages they hear, it truly is a time of permission based marketing. DVR’s and spam filters, (I even have software that blocks ads on the internet) make it so that we, as consumers do really have control over the messages that we listen to.

 So, how do you ensure that your message is heard?

 The easy answer is to tell them something that they want to hear.

 When doing a presentation, the next step after figuring out who your audience will be, is to determine what message the audience wants to hear. Many make this part of the process more difficult than it needs to be. Simply ask a couple individuals in your target market what they would like to hear. Ask them how it would be best communicated for them to hear the message that you want to convey. Remember the purpose of you presenting is not to educate others about the details of your business, but to be memorable to your target market, to prove your credibility and legitimacy and to allow them to refer and purchase from you when they have a need.

 It should also be remembered, that this is not a sales presentation. No one enjoys being sold to, contrary to some sales trainer’s beliefs, but everyone likes solutions to their problems, or the chance to help someone else.

  Another important point is that we as humans really don’t remember lists of information that well. (This fact definitely explains all the forgotten items off of our grocery lists.) So when we prepare our presentation, we should really focus on two to three aspects of our business. Many of us find it hard to narrow our business down to two or three aspects, and to only present these aspects when given a chance.  It is easier though if we remember that our presentation is for the audience, and we want to give them what they want.

 We can help you successfully design your presentation to get the best results. Learn how at the Referral Success Training.

 Present what the audience wants and they will hear you. Try to force them to hear what you want them to hear, and they surely won’t.

First Impressions in Business

So, when I first entered the business world, I learned about how important first impressions are. When is your first impression and how do you control it?

Well, your first impression can happen a number of ways and at a number of points. If you are an avid networker, your first impression may very well be in person, or through a referral partner. In this case, your appearance, body language and speech patterns are very important.

Your first impression could also be made by your marketing material. Either advertising such as radio, television or print. Professional help with your marketing materials can go along way helping ensure this type of first impression is the best that it can be and that it is inline with your core business identity.

Your first impression could also be from your pysical storefront. I was thinking about this yesterday as I looked at a historic North Carolina BBQ restaurant. It really didn’t look like much. If I wasn’t in the know about it, it doesn’t make a good first impression.

First impressions are so important. Take some time to realize how your typical first impressions occur and then you can realize how to best control or better these first impressions. You may even decide you want to change how the first impressions of your business occur.

The important thing is to remember that you are able to affect how and when first impressions occur so that you can improve the first impression of your business.

The Relationship Rulebook

Many of you know that I am a huge evangelist of the VCP Process©.

 I thought that it would be appropriate to highlight this process once again as a “rulebook per se” for relationships. I am always talking about building effective, strategic, referral partnerships, but oftentimes I feel like I don’t get to give you the skinny on how this actually happens. 

 Business relationships are much like personal relationships. All relationships go through the same process of development. This process is named the VCP Process. Visibility – Credibility – Profitability. Let’s talk about some of the guidelines of this process, the so called “rules” of the game.

 1. It’s all about adding value to the other person. How many of you like hanging out with someone that is needy and always takes you down? Anyone like to be around a person that always complains, or one that puts you down? No. Why? We as humans like to be around people that make us feel good, people that add something positive to our lives. Business is no different; in fact, it may be more clear-cut, business is all about ROI(return on investment).

 2. It takes effort. Great relationships don’t just happen. Sometimes they may seem that way at first because you are having so much fun. Long-term, though, all relationships are going to require effort to maintain health and benefit.

 3. The best relationships are about two people. Sure, at given points of time, relationships can be greatly affected by one party alone. Over the course of time, it takes two to tango. Both parties have to have a stake in the relationship so that it can prevail. No profitable relationship is one sided.

 When you set out to build your business relationship keep these points in mind. Add value to the party that you want to build the relationship with. Make deposits into their “emotional bank accounts”. The more you invest in this account, the further along the relationship curve you travel. At the same time, make sure you are building the relationship with someone that you want a relationship with. See rule number 2 above to understand why you want to make sure the relationship is with the right person.