I am starting today with an expression of gratitude to my friend
Buddy Bresnick. He is the owner of the Dale Carnegie Training franchise
covering Maryland, Central Pennsylvania, The District of Columbia and
Norther Virginia. Buddy and I met for lunch in April and he encouraged
me to take one of The Dale Carnegie courses. I chose one for
communications and leadership. It was a fantastic course and if you are
interested in taking it as well, you can look it up
here.
When
you graduate from a Dale Carnegie Class they give you a pocket sized
"Golden Book" that highlights many of the ideals in the courses they
provide.
Here is a short list of the great insights I learned this week and can quickly apply to LinkedIn.
GIVE HONEST SINCERE APPRECIATION
The
#1 value to LinkedIn is connecting with people and delivering value.
The idea being that when you give ten times you will get one back. The
one you get back always seems to be worth 100 times what you gave. Show
those people that help you sincere appreciation. You may simply
reciprocate with an introduction. It may be a heartfelt "thank you." It
may be a gift that is highly personal that speaks to how well you know
the person and what is important to them.
BECOME GENUINELY INTERESTED IN OTHER PEOPLE
This
concept goes along very well with the first one. When you genuinely
become interested in another person, it greatly facilitates your ability
to make introductions for them that provide impact and value. If you
know they have a customer in a specific vertical and can make an
introduction to another business in that same vertical, DO IT! and watch
what happens, for you and the person you helped.
BE A GOOD LISTENER
Isn't
it funny how these concepts all seem to flow together. Before you
engage a prospective customer "listen" to what they are saying. What
questions do they ask or does their company ask on LinkedIn? Have they
been featured in the newspaper, or some other media? really listen to
what that content is "telling" you. It will give you great keys to
connecting.
APPEAL TO NOBLER MOTIVES
If
you want to connect with someone and do business them, lead with their
goals in mind and what they are trying to accomplish. Instead of saying
"hey, I read about your company in "fill in the blank" and wanted to
meet with you." Try saying" Hi NAME, I saw the article about your
company. It's sounds like big things are happening for your company. I
am curious, what plans do you have in place to deal with..." and then
ask 3 or 4 specific to that customer based on the article you read. make
sure they are relevant to the solutions you can offer.
IT ALL SEEMS OBVIOUS, RIGHT?
The
Dale Carnegie program doesn't share any radical ideas. It simply gives
you smart, well accepted ideas and helps you work through the most
effective way to use them in every day life. How much more successful
will you be this week, just implementing these fours ideas?
