You Can Catch More Flies With Honey Than With Vinegar
“I’m best of breed within my industry. I’ve got plenty of charisma and I’m not bad looking. I’m one of a kind.”
“My social life; my personal life don’t mean anything to me. I live to work, that’s all I do.”
“I take cut throat and ruthless to a completely new level. The only focus for me is myself. I’m cold and hard. I am unstoppable”
TV shows, such as Dragons Den and The Apprentice (from where these lines are taken), are heavily edited to draw in an audience and create “edge-of-your-seat” viewing. I’ll leave you to decide if they succeed, with that.
Therefore, anyone starting a business for the first time may be forgiven for thinking that this is the way business should be done if someone wants to succeed. That it’s all about one-up-man-ship and backstabbing to get to the top.
However, I’m going to let you into a secret: It’s not!
One of the most challenging but rewarding aspects of building a new, professional relationship is establishing rapport and trust. For this, you need to make it clear from the offset that you are one of life’s good people, by showing credibility and empathy with your new connection.
Forget this TV-driven world of corporate bickering and focus your energies on generosity and reciprocity.
For example, when you help another business owner to overcome a challenge, there is a high chance they will look to help you back one day. Even if they don’t, you’ll feel good for helping and will quickly build a reputation as a trusted business professional, which will act as an attraction tool itself.
We all recommend people we trust. That trust is measured in the level of service provided, the quality of work and how expectations are exceeded by wanting to help and support.
I often see both sides of this approach happen at my Business Owners’ Mastermind Groups, where business owners provide solutions to the challenges of others in the group, without the sales pitch. This attitude is a winner for everyone whether you’re helping others or others are helping you.
Action Point
Try this the next time you’re trying to forge a new relationship or at the next networking event you visit. Don’t go with the aim of meeting potential new customers by selling your services and handing out business cards to everyone in the room; Go with the thought in mind of “how can I help someone else?”
As the late Dr Maya Angelou wrote…
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
What examples of generosity have you seen in business? How has that approach helped you overcome challenges? Email me or tweet here.
This post originally appeared at http://www.edagoodman.com/you-can-catch-more-flies-with-honey-than-with-vinegar/
