Happy New You!

New Years bring new opportunities. A few years ago, a participant in the elevator speech workshop, Steve Builta, took the time at the end of the year to reflect on his professional life over the prior 12 months. Then, he sent out messages to those who were influential, helpful, or simply appreciated. What a great idea!

Taking a few moments to process the year in review helps us focus on what is working for us. This in turn will help us do more of these activities in the year to come. But my friend Steve took it a critical step further. He sent out thank you notes to those he felt deserved one. I know this because I was a recipient. When I discovered I had done something that Steve thought so much of, I called and asked him out to lunch. Hey, when someone tells me I made them more money than anything else that year, my reaction was, "Oh, tell me more!"

Because in my class that year he discovered his true voice and learned how to comfortably offer his elevator speech more often, he grew his business. I was glad I could serve him. And as with most things in life, the rule of reciprocity comes in: he helped me too. I learned from Steve the importance of taking time out to learn from the year behind me.

But the real breakthrough was that Steve followed up. His note to me led us to another meeting, and ultimately, several more business interactions over the next few years that benefited both of us. Lesson: thanking those who helped us this last year is another networking boon. People want to be the hero. Why not help give credit where it is due? It may help them and you become a new you in the new year.

By the way, Steve is an excellent mortgage broker and worth having on your team when you are buying real estate. +stevemc53@hotmail.com

Company wide elevator campaign

What if all the employees of your company tells everyone they meet about how the company can help them? What if they felt good about telling the world what they and the company does? This gorilla marketing tactic is inexpensive and effective. In essence, you are increasing your sales force by the number of total employees you have. Think of all the contacts, leads and increased business this could bring.

How? At the next company event, bring in a specialist. When I do these, I offer a keynote followed by a workshop. The keynote is an entertaining, funny way to get buy-in. The workshop is where every employee discovers his/her own way to publicly own what the company does. At mortgage brokerages, utility companies, and small businesses alike,  this program has worked. Contact me if you'd like to hear more about my consulting.

5 ways to start a chat.

Seems silly. You want to meet someone but don't know what to say. Fact is, it really matters little what you say, just saying anything usually works fine. But we use this lame excuse of not knowing what to say so we don't have to extend ourselves beyond our safety zone.

Here are five things to say.
1. Talk about them. Notice their smile, tie, umbrella, whatever and say you like it. Any reference to them works. Do they remind you of someone. Say so.
2. Talk about the surroundings. Is it cold in here? Say so. Or ask if they are cold. The old stand by here is to mention the weather. There's a reason this has become trite: it works!
3. Talk about yourself. Having a really good day? Own it. Tell someone else. I bet they will ask why, and bam!, you are in a conversation. Then you can ask how their day is going.
4. Ask for a favor. Do you know what time it is? Can you tell me where a good (insert ethnic choice) restaurant is?
5. Be blunt. If all else escapes you, be blunt. Start with "I'd really like to talk to you but don't know what to say... Has that ever happened to you? Funny thing, huh?" or similar.
You might practice one of these techniques each day for a week. Soon you will be over the misconception that you don't know what to say to start a conversation. More times than not, you will succeed in initiating a chat.