Business Development and Personal Success Tip - Be Yourself
Business Development and Personal Success Tip - Be Yourself
When you don’t feel that you have to be perfect to be accepted, when you are given the freedom to be yourself in every situation, when you can share your heart without risk of betrayal, when being together is more important than what you do … that is when you’re in the presence of a friend. - Unknown
I meet a lot of people in my travels both online and offline. I’m sure you do too.
I can tell when I meet someone I can relate to; a person who seems genuine and sincere without all the hype and pretense. The kind of person who might initially be a colleague or client and has the potential to become a friend. To me that’s a big bonus.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Motivational Model recognizes the value of affiliations (social needs) in the way people make connections with others. Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone stresses the value of building meaningful personal and business relationships as the cornerstone of his great success. My point?
We all want to connect with others. It would be a pretty lonely life, otherwise. Too often I see people at networking events, social gatherings, and business meetings trying so hard to sound interesting, deliver a catchy elevator speech, compete for attention to look good or sound smart and attempt to impress others instead of being genuinely interested in getting to know the other person.
Yes, you do need to be aware of how you present yourself to others. Coming across needy, depressed, ditzy, overselling yourself, or divulging waaaaaaay too much personal information can be a big turnoff to the listener especially in a first meeting (or date!).
You’ve probably heard you have about 10 seconds or less to make a good first impression. People make assessments in three ways:
• How you look and act represents 55%. Your appearance, your posture, and your ability to make eye contact - all forms of non-verbal communication send out a distinct message to the observer.
• 38% is based on how you sound. Your voice quality and tone (resonance).
• 7% - is based on what you say. The actual words you use to express yourself.
I was at a networking event months ago to hear a specific speaker. I found myself sitting next to a gentleman in the financial services industry. We struck up a conversation for about a half hour and we talked about many different things relating to both our business and personal life. And, not once did it feel like a sales pitch. We had a great conversation that felt so comfortable and relaxed.
At the end of the evening we exchanged cards and promised to meet for coffee. I felt like I had made a friend. Since then, we’ve had several conversations that recently led to a business opportunity for me. One initial conversation can lead to all sorts of possibilities. And you know what - I have loads of cards for financial advisors. If I knew someone who needed financial help, guess who I’d send them to?
Many successful people realize the value of making connections with people to forge quality relationships that lead to friendships, strategic alliances, joint ventures, satisfied customers, new clients, referral resources and more…. In this way we create the potential for long-lasting affiliations with others.
Some people are naturally charismatic; they just have this innate ability to engage people. If that is not something that you see in yourself the good news is that these qualities are something that you can cultivate. If there are some people in your world that you feel are experts at building relationships, observe them to see how they do it. I don’t mean that your goal would be to replicate and do what they do, rather consider how you might interact with people differently in ways that feel comfortable and natural for you.
The key is being willing to trust yourself (and know who you are!) to show up with people in a way that feels human, authentic, and professional. We form personal and business relationships with folks we like, respect and trust.
I’m very blessed in my life to be surrounded by incredible people of high integrity who have become close personal and business partners. No only do they walk their talk and do what they say they’ll do, they also hold me to my best. They nudge, advise, inspire, and challenge me. They objectively call me on my crap and won’t let me wiggle out of things. They celebrate my successes with enthusiastic whoo-hoos, baby! Not only do I trust and admire them, I feel safe to be who I am. That’s very important to me in building close relationships.
How do you want people to see you? Think about you? What kind of reputation are you building in your life?
Do this exercise:
Make a list of your unique qualities, talents/gifts, and strengths. Ask your friends, colleagues, and clients for additional feedback. Find out what attracts them to want to be in a relationship with you. Use this exercise as a way to gain insight about how others perceive you. Be willing to discover things about yourself that might not make you feel or look good. In that way, you can see where you might be turning people off and focus on becoming more genuine and magnetic.
Business Development and Personal Success Tip Be Yourself - To learn more about this author, visit Lorraine Cohen's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something which you can do better than another. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that. Do the things at which you are great, not what you were never made for. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
When you don’t feel that you have to be perfect to be accepted, when you are given the freedom to be yourself in every situation, when you can share your heart without risk of betrayal, when being together is more important than what you do … that is when you’re in the presence of a friend. - Unknown
I meet a lot of people in my travels both online and offline. I’m sure you do too.
I can tell when I meet someone I can relate to; a person who seems genuine and sincere without all the hype and pretense. The kind of person who might initially be a colleague or client and has the potential to become a friend. To me that’s a big bonus.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Motivational Model recognizes the value of affiliations (social needs) in the way people make connections with others. Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone stresses the value of building meaningful personal and business relationships as the cornerstone of his great success. My point?
We all want to connect with others. It would be a pretty lonely life, otherwise. Too often I see people at networking events, social gatherings, and business meetings trying so hard to sound interesting, deliver a catchy elevator speech, compete for attention to look good or sound smart and attempt to impress others instead of being genuinely interested in getting to know the other person.
Yes, you do need to be aware of how you present yourself to others. Coming across needy, depressed, ditzy, overselling yourself, or divulging waaaaaaay too much personal information can be a big turnoff to the listener especially in a first meeting (or date!).
You’ve probably heard you have about 10 seconds or less to make a good first impression. People make assessments in three ways:
• How you look and act represents 55%. Your appearance, your posture, and your ability to make eye contact - all forms of non-verbal communication send out a distinct message to the observer.
• 38% is based on how you sound. Your voice quality and tone (resonance).
• 7% - is based on what you say. The actual words you use to express yourself.
I was at a networking event months ago to hear a specific speaker. I found myself sitting next to a gentleman in the financial services industry. We struck up a conversation for about a half hour and we talked about many different things relating to both our business and personal life. And, not once did it feel like a sales pitch. We had a great conversation that felt so comfortable and relaxed.
At the end of the evening we exchanged cards and promised to meet for coffee. I felt like I had made a friend. Since then, we’ve had several conversations that recently led to a business opportunity for me. One initial conversation can lead to all sorts of possibilities. And you know what - I have loads of cards for financial advisors. If I knew someone who needed financial help, guess who I’d send them to?
Many successful people realize the value of making connections with people to forge quality relationships that lead to friendships, strategic alliances, joint ventures, satisfied customers, new clients, referral resources and more…. In this way we create the potential for long-lasting affiliations with others.
Some people are naturally charismatic; they just have this innate ability to engage people. If that is not something that you see in yourself the good news is that these qualities are something that you can cultivate. If there are some people in your world that you feel are experts at building relationships, observe them to see how they do it. I don’t mean that your goal would be to replicate and do what they do, rather consider how you might interact with people differently in ways that feel comfortable and natural for you.
The key is being willing to trust yourself (and know who you are!) to show up with people in a way that feels human, authentic, and professional. We form personal and business relationships with folks we like, respect and trust.
I’m very blessed in my life to be surrounded by incredible people of high integrity who have become close personal and business partners. No only do they walk their talk and do what they say they’ll do, they also hold me to my best. They nudge, advise, inspire, and challenge me. They objectively call me on my crap and won’t let me wiggle out of things. They celebrate my successes with enthusiastic whoo-hoos, baby! Not only do I trust and admire them, I feel safe to be who I am. That’s very important to me in building close relationships.
How do you want people to see you? Think about you? What kind of reputation are you building in your life?
Do this exercise:
Make a list of your unique qualities, talents/gifts, and strengths. Ask your friends, colleagues, and clients for additional feedback. Find out what attracts them to want to be in a relationship with you. Use this exercise as a way to gain insight about how others perceive you. Be willing to discover things about yourself that might not make you feel or look good. In that way, you can see where you might be turning people off and focus on becoming more genuine and magnetic.
Business Development and Personal Success Tip Be Yourself - To learn more about this author, visit Lorraine Cohen's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
|||
Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
|||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Lorraine's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | ||
|
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Authentic Leadership Write A Bestseller Website Planning How To Select Keywords Customer Retention / Attraction |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 SEO Posts - 2007
Top SEO Posts of the Year | |
 |
Top 50 Social Media Blogs
Top 50 Social Media Blogs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||