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Be Influential

Written by: Jill Lublin

Article Overview: The best way to build or expand your business is to become influential; to convince others that your goods or services can improve their businesses or their lives.

Be Influential



Be Influential

The best way to build or expand your business is to become influential; to convince others that your goods or services can improve their businesses or their lives. In order to become influential, get noticed. Getting noticed is the most powerful way to drive your business, increase your profitability, and your worth.

To be influential, it takes:

* distinguishing yourself from the competition

* creating your ooh-ahh factor using publicity

* being completely present in each moment

* connecting to build lasting relationships

* using effective networking

* keeping a positive outlook

* having integrity

* building a referral network

* overcoming discomfort and fears

* being of service to others

This being influential stuff is a full-time job; it's a continual process that starts when you slip outside to retrieve your morning paper and continues until you switch off the lights at night. People watch you from afar; they observe how you act, what you do, how you work, and how well you perform. They listen to what others say about you and they follow your exploits.

In communicating, the most important objective is to make yourself understood. Smart and accomplished individuals are especially prone to using jargon and big, uncommon words. They know what they're talking about and assume that others also do. However, jargon confuses most people and turns them off. Unfortunately, some people use such lingo to impress, but it usually has the opposite effect by boring or confusing.

Break your use of code by speaking with people outside your field, people who will tell you the truth. Ask them directly if they understood you, if you were completely clear, and how you could have said it better. Identify your mistakes and don't repeat them. Getting external feedback forces you to engage with people outside of your field and to see if you can clearly and convincingly get your message across.

To be influential you will need to take the initiative. Success usually doesn't occur in isolation, it tends to a byproduct of other actions; it must be generated. Take chances, go against the grain, try something new. Explore new directions; combine items that already exit in ways that have not been tried before. Find how you could take what you're doing and make it new and different. Try turning it inside out, upside down, on its side, or even break it in two. See how you can make it more exciting, compelling, and have more benefit to you, your clients, and customers. Playing it safe will provide some results, but to set yourself apart, you have to step out of your comfort zone and take risks. You have to keep pushing, moving forward, and thinking. Turn to your fantasies and ask, "What if?" Banish logic and reason to the back of your mind. Develop ideas and objectives, deal in possibilities, and then explore ways to make them work.

Start creating your be influential magic today. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Know yourself - your strengths and weaknesses. To make a strong connection, you must be able to clearly express what you bring to the partnership; your talents and abilities. If you know your shortcomings, you understand the type of help you need and who to form liaisons with.

• Know what you want to create and accomplish - your short-term and long-term goals. The most ideal blending of talent won't be productive for you if you and your partner's goals are opposed. You may want to build a solid, long-term career, while your partner is interesting in make a big, one-time score and get out of the business.

• Be willing to ask others if they would want to work with you or if they know others who would be a good match for you. If you expect others to approach you, prepare for a long wait. Don't expect magic to magically appear. Prime the pump and see what flows.

• Be open to possibilities. People may not want to go in the direction you have in mind. They often have their own agendas that they want to pursue. The fact that they have clear ideas and objectives should not eliminate them as potential partners. If you are otherwise well matched, see how you could both fulfill your needs. Also be open to venturing in new directions, providing that they don't force you too far a field.

• Use all your senses. Examine matters from each of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Look at them one at a time and when you have considered all five, try combining some of their features.

It's up to you, so don't settle for the ordinary - go out there and be influential!

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Article Tags: influence, networking, publicity
Referred by: http://www.nikkileigh.com/promo.htm



Related Forum Posts
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: Rudeness! - [quote="OmnivoreInk":15lk162t]But some people say no. Well...they don't say no, they just don't bother to respond at all. And that really annoys me. I don't mind being turned down for an interview, but I'd like the courtesy of a reply. Even saying "Sorry, your publication is too small to bother with" is less rude than not even answering at all! Because you don't know if they never got your email, or if they're just being rude! But when you've had an email conversation with them on another subject, so that you [i:15lk162t]know [/i:15lk162t]they're getting your emails, and then you ask for an interview and all of a sudden...silence... you know they're just being rude.[/quote:15lk162t] Hi Barbara, I was recently fortunate enough to attend a seminar on "Media relations strategies for entrepreneurial business" by Ian Portsmouth, Editor of Profit Magazine and he was telling us how he receives hundreds of pitches everyday via email, phone, fax, product gifts, etc... and the truth is that the majority of them are never even read, let alone responded to (so you shouldn't feel bad). Influential people are often hounded/stalked by small business owners who want something from them, so it should come to no surprise that they're more selective in who they trust or choose to correspond with. In addition, maybe some of the people you're writing to are simply very busy or may have misinterpreted your email request for an interview to be spam? Your best bet for an interview is probably through a third-party endorsement. But I definitely agree with your point about individuals who normally correspond with you, but then suddenly give you the silent treatment when you ask for an interview as being rude. While I don't think a stranger owes you anything, I feel that an acquaintance owes you at least a response.


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