Category Archives: Networking

It’s a real pleasure to earn the trust of your customers

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“It’s a real pleasure to earn the trust of your customers slowly over time by doing what’s right.”

—Charlie Munger, late American businessman and philanthropist

Image from Unsplash by krakenimages

In the early years of my coaching career most of my time was spent networking and pursuing various business development activities.

Back then the world saw coaching as an activity only related to sports. The idea of a business or life coach seemed weird and a bit too far out to be widely accepted.

To capture my efforts, I used a customer relationship management software called ACT and LinkedIn to keep track of things.

In numerous cases it took years of steady and consistent effort and doing things right to build the necessary trust to eventually establish the partnerships to move forward.

EXERCISE:

What is an example of a relationship you created over time that was built on integrity and doing things right?

Please  email me at barry@dempcoaching.com if you would like copies of my Masterful Networking and Masterful Relationships workbooks.

“People can’t jump on your bandwagon if it’s parked in the garage.”

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“People can’t jump on your bandwagon if it’s parked in the garage.”

—Sam Horn, Intrigue Expert, Author, Communications Strategist

Image by Freekee, in the Public Domain

The term bandwagon first appeared in a book about P.T. Barnum, the famous circus promoter.

Back in the 1850s, a circus made a showy parade through town before they set up. The bright and ornamental wagons were always part of the parade, meant to attract villagers. Musicians were always included, so their arrival could be heard and seen for considerable distances.

What ideas, causes, missions, or purposes do you wish to share with the villagers in your personal and professional communities?

What are you currently doing to broadcast your energy and excitement so that others will climb aboard and join your parade?

EXERCISE:

Where are you still in the garage with your idea and vision? How can and will you strike up the band so that others can jump aboard?

“You own an army if you know how to win people’s trust and support.”

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“You own an army if you know how to win people’s trust and support.”

—Author Unknown

Image from Amazon.com

Social capitalism and masterful networking are cornerstone skills of many successful people. Take a moment to examine the variety of people who have trusted and supported your personal and professional efforts up to this point in your life.

In his book, Achieving Success Through Social Capital, Dr. Wayne Baker documents the fundamentally understood concept that relationships are valuable not just qualitatively, but also quantifiably. When others help us, we tend to reciprocate by making efforts to help them.

With this giving and supportive perspective in mind, we can all build and foster our own armies to support our personal and professional objectives. We can also act as foot soldiers in the armies of our supporters.

EXERCISE:

Consider checking out Wayne Baker’s book, or email me and I will send you a PDF copy of my Masterful Networking Workbook, which can be read in 15-20 minutes.

“Your smile is your logo…”

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“Your smile is your logo. Your personality is your business card. How you leave others feeling after having an experience with you becomes your trademark.”

—Jay Danzie, Success in Progress Inc.

Image from successfulandfit.com

Image from successfulandfit.com

Examine your personal and professional lives. Are the people in your communities buying what you are selling? Personal branding has been attributed to success in these domains, when it is done with sincerity and authenticity.

The quote “People do business with those they know, like, and trust” is attributed to Bob Burg, author of “Endless Referrals.” Take a look at those around you, specifically at your most trusted friends and advisors. How do their smiles, personalities, and the way they make you feel in their presence create that special enduring loyalty?

EXERCISE:

Go out of your way today to smile more often, share your most winning personality traits, and be sure to leave everyone you meet better off because of the time you spent together.

“Your network is your net worth.”

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“Your network is your net worth.”

– Tim Sanders, author, public speaker, and former Yahoo! director

Over the past number of years, I’ve been amazed that a good number of large companies have paid billions of dollars to acquire various social media sites. A critical key to the valuable of these social media sites are their networks of millions of users and customers.

Someone once told me that if I was to square the number of people in my network, it would be highly correlated to my net worth. That’s right: if you have 1,000 people in your network, your net worth would be $1,000,000.

I know this sounds very simplistic; however, I continue to see much value in my own use of tools such as LinkedIn for business networking and ACT! as a customer relationship manager.

Exercise:

Do your own network assessment to see its current valuation. Should you wish to grow it further, consider downloading my workbook on Masterful Networking here. (Enter the password barrydemp to access the page.)

Also, consider reading some of Tim Sanders’ work, including Love is the Killer App and The Likeablity Factor.