By Elke Houghton
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Although the list of leads is crucial to your business, there is still another very important aspect to getting customers and recruit network marketers for your business and opportunity.
Even though we have all these comfortable connection helpers like social media, email, and many other online platforms, it cannot make up for connecting with people on a personal face-to-face basis.
Connecting with each other personally is in my opinion one of the most important steps towards success in your business.
We have to build relationships in order to gain trust, mutual respect, likability, and success.
Have you heard this saying: NOTHING HAPPENS UNTIL SOMEBODY SAYS SOMETHING.
Through conversations, thoughts are shared, which can only be accomplished through personal contact. By talking to each other, creativity comes alive and endless possibilities are at hand.
Through talking to people anytime and anywhere we can, the sky is the limit to what can happen. Both of our worlds can change through any of the conversations we start.
I don’t think that much progress can be made in a reasonably short time, if people don’t talk to each other. Information isn’t exchanged, ideas aren’t created and shared, and energy just isn’t going to move.
Think about it for a moment: little remarks about the weather can trigger exchanges between people in a natural, easy way. Compliments always get a positive conversation exchange going. Things like “Where is your accent from?” – “I love your shirt” – “I love your hair” – “I love your purse” (and so on) are great conversation starters.
Technology is a great conversation starter too. Everybody likes to talk about their experiences with their electronic toys like smart-phones, iPads, or any other electronic devices they are using when you see someone standing or sitting around.
After the conversation has started, everything else falls in place and there are tons of things that happen, like watching, listening, asking, nodding, responding, laughing; and through all these actions you connect. It’s that easy.
The fact is truly, that no good business is being done until your prospect meets you in person. No Website and no Blog or other sites can replace that.
At the end we need to meet the people we want to do business with and most importantly – they need to meet us in person. They need to like us. They need to be able to look us in the eye to make up their mind about us. That will build the trust needed to get a business connection started that will last.
In this new era of online connections, where everybody meets on social sites, the personal hand shake, the person-to-person conversation is still the best way to get business going. And I don’t even mean selling your products or opportunity right away. It’s the personal contact that needs to be established first.
In a book store, restaurant, airport, air plane, supermarket, elevator, waiting room, gas station, hotel, hair salon, copy shop, (…. And the list goes on and on) people are the most relaxed and accessible and available because that’s when they are most themselves.
So, what it really comes down to: Nothing can beat the chemistry of a personal, face-to-face conversation. It’s the best way of interaction two people can have with each other.
Believe me; it beats Facebook friends-requests, LinkedIn connections, tweets, text messages, conversations on the phone, and even emails.
Talking to strangers and building a bond with that new connection, nurturing face-to-face relationships, shaking someone’s hand, being able to look that person in the eyes, sharing real physical space, and by doing so exchanging mutually respectful communication, will be more and more comfortable and inspiring each time you take the opportunity to do so.
When you start talking to someone wherever you are, you will get to know their personality, what they are doing career-wise and in their free time, and what their business is – and of course that goes the same way around. This builds trust and before you know it, you will shake hands and introduce yourselves and exchange business cards. That’s how the best contacts are made. That’s the contact that can trigger your very own business success and the same the other way around. It’s a give and take.
I believe that right underneath the surface of almost everyone there is a smile, a funny bone, a laughter, and a pure willingness to meet you halfway.
Here are some other ways how you can start a conversation with a stranger: Clothing with company logo, company logo pens, binders with company logo, name tags, logo on laptop cover, which can be seen from several feet away. Go over to them. Ask questions, start a conversation about it. Those are great ways to connect and build a personal relationship.
There are many ways to open a conversation:
“Is that your line of work?”
“Are these your children?”
“Is this your family?”
“What a cute little one, is that your daughter/son?”
“How do you like your laptop (phone, reader, tablet, etc)?”
“How is your day so far?”
“Looks like it’s going to rain!”
“That’s a great outfit!”
“Good book?”
and endless ways to start conversations with strangers.
Here is great advice I read in a book I just recently got interested in:
Ask more questions than you make statements. And try to listen more than you talk.
A sure fire way that will flatter your new connection is:
Find something that will show your interest in your new acquaintance, something remarkable, noteworthy, significant, unusual. Ask questions to find out.
Here are some things about strangers you meet that you could be curious about:
What are they doing for a living?
How did they get into that kind of work?
What do they like about it?
Where do they live?
Do they like the area they live in?
What are they doing in their free time?
Do they have children?
Where did they go to college? And so on.
Talking to strangers has always an abundant outcome even if the person itself doesn’t seem to be the right one for your product or opportunity. They all still have a circle of people, a circle of influence like coworkers, spouses, children, parents, family members (also extended family members), friends, colleagues, customers, neighbors, networking associates, etc.
As you can learn something from everyone you meet, they also have something to offer, even if it is the value of whom they know.
Last but not least – give yourself the respect to let others know you are an expert in your field. Instead of saying “I am a Realtor” say: “I help people sell their house at the highest possible market rate”. Instead of saying “I am a MLM distributor” say: “I help people realize their dreams by accumulating their own fortune”.
And don’t forget to give yourself the in for a follow-up. Exchange business cards! Get their email address! (“Can we exchange business cards?” – “What’s your email address?”).
I hope these ideas will make you more comfortable talking to strangers. It will change your business success forever in ways you would have never imagined!
Always Your Success In Mind,
Elke Houghton at Juvele
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
