Maximize Your Networking

Networking has always been important to successful professionals, but these days it may be more vital than ever.  Dan Norman, the author of  "Top Ten Selling" and popular sales trainer, shares a recent personal experience and his insights about networking:

I met a man at a business-networking event this week who wouldn't give me one of his business cards.

We exchanged introductions and described what each of us did for a living, and I found out he was a salesperson for a specialty promotional products company. You know; they put your company name on golf shirts, Frisbees and beer can koozies. That's right, koozies! I've acquired approximately 257,497 promotional koozies at events throughout my business career. I presently only have four because I perform a koozie consolidation at least once a month. If I didn't, I'd end up having to rent off-site koozie storage.

What happens to those things when you throw them away, anyway? Nothing made of dense foam rubber emblazoned with a pound of paint to highlight the embossed company name could possibly be biodegradable. My guess is due to their indestructible nature; they are probably retrieved from landfills, pounded flat and used as tiles on the space shuttle. In fact, I think I actually saw an IBM logo in a close-up shot during a recent shuttle launch.

Okay, back to the networking event. I thought based on what the man did for a living; I might be able to help him make a few connections in the business community. So I asked him for his business card. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of cards. I stood there with my card in hand; ready to hand it to him, as he counted his remaining cards.

Suddenly, he said, "Uh, I'm getting kinda low on cards." He then looked away quickly and put his remaining cards back in his jacket pocket, shook my hand and walked away.

Scooter was making a big mistake! (If I had his card, I'd know his real name!) His mistake wasn't that he wouldn't give me his card, because that's a symptom of a bigger problem. Scooter was simply walking through the crowd looking for people who he felt could help him. It appears I fell into the category of those he felt could not. This may work for Scooter for a while, but if he's not also helping the people he meets, they won't help him for long.

The very best salespeople tell us the primary goal of networking is to connect with people who we can help. Now don't misunderstand, we network to build connections with people who can help us achieve our goals, but when we get to know them, and share our knowledge, connections and talents with them, they generally want to help us as well. And the degree to which they want to help, based on the gratitude they may feel, will be much greater. The goal is to connect with people and be of value to them first so that a mutually beneficial relationship can develop.

I recently spoke at a tax and insurance conference and had a conversation with one of the top salespeople in that industry. He told me his success was predicated on his sincere desire to help others.

"When I meet people I often volunteer to help them understand their long-term financial planning because most find it very difficult," he told me. "What really motivates me is when someone says 'Thank you so much, I really appreciate your help!' Sometimes they even sign up to use my service, which is great since I'm an insurance salesman."

Here are five tips for effective networking:

• Network to "connect!" Make a commitment to look for networking opportunities, then attend and connect. Try to meet as many people as you can and avoid getting trapped in extended conversations. Follow up after the event if you wish to talk at length with someone you've met.

• Connect with your target buyers. Know exactly who your target buyers are and where you can find them. If you sell maternity clothes, don't network at a lumberjack convention. Find out where your target buyers network and what meetings and annual conferences they attend, then be there.

• Perfect your "elevator speech." Create a brief introduction; no one cares what instrument you played in the 3rd-grade band. Engage people in a way that has them asking for more information. We'll talk more about how to create the perfect elevator speech in a future column.

• Connect to help others first. Remember that when we get to know others and share our knowledge, connections and talents with them, they generally want to help us as well. And the degree to which they want to help us will be much greater.

• Stay connected. Carry lots of business cards, give them out and ask for one from everyone you meet. Follow up with an e-mail and stay in touch. Send e-cards, greeting cards or create a newsletter. If you see an article that might interest your connections, e-mail it to them.

Finally, if you're out networking and run into Scooter counting his business cards and trying to pull away from you, give him a copy of this article.

If you'd like to hire Dan Norman, or learn more about his expertise, check out his page on the ES site, or give us a call.

Getting Job Security

We continue to see headlines like these daily (the following are from major news outlets over the past several months):

US: Dell, Motorola, IBM announce new job cuts

Office Depot, Yahoo, Electronic Arts add to job cuts

Big U.S. Companies announce massive job cuts

Security. Some people marry for it. Banks want it before granting loans and business professionals are looking for it.

Everyone wants security, but where can it be found?

Most business leaders would agree that there's only one place where job security can be found and it's inside of you. This is the only real source of security in business. And once this inner security is attained it must be maintained by improving ourselves everyday. We must improve each day if we expect to stay on top because when things stop growing they start dying.

Think about it. Everyone expects his company to grow, but have you considered that you can grow as fast, if not faster, than your organization? Are you keeping up or ahead of your company's rate of growth? The reality is that your company must investment in business research and development each year. These investments are aimed at creating competitive advantage in the marketplace and financial security. Should you emulate your company by investing in the personal research and development of yourself each year?

If you'd like for Daniel to address your audience on performance, accountability . . . on winning more and losing less in business . . . just give ES a call or drop us an email.

Do pauses in speech mean the person is lying?

Quite a few of our clients and friends have asked what we thought about the new TV show Lie to Me. I must confess I hadn't watched it till this week. I love the fact that Fox thinks this is a worthy subject, but I find the implementation of the concepts to be a bit cheesy. But you didn't come here to hear my television show reviews.

One thing I do want to address, however, that Lie to Me reminded me of, is the notion that pauses in speech suggest someone is lying. The show's leap from pause to deception is a dangerous one. It's simply not that simple.

In our book Face Values, we discuss the speech style, pitch, tone and energy of the Thinker or Analytical personality type, which is often filled with starts and stops and silent pauses in between.

What's happening in this case is the Thinker is doing what he or she does best.....thinking, and although there is a lot going on in their heads, it hasn't yet made it's way into their speech. Do these pauses mean that all Thinkers are lying or busy making things up? Of course not.

Research by Benus and colleagues at Columbia University (in conjunction with SRI) documented here http://www.cs.columbia.edu/nlp/papers/2006/benus_al_06.pdf tells us that pauses-both filled and silent, occur more frequently in truthful statements than they do in deceptive speech.

The paper also provides a good summary of existing research on pauses and provides an interesting tidbit that can help us distinguish between pauses as part of a regular speech style and pauses as clues to deception.

There is evidence for increase in pitch as an indicator of deception. "Higher pitch is assumed to indicate increased tension on the part of deceivers. Hence, we hypothesize that filled pauses with higher pitch and intensity may occur in deceptive speech."

When reading people, especially if trying to identify deception, requires that you form a base line for this person. How do they normally sound? Let's say my normal delivery is slow and laborious. The energy level is low, tone is monotone and there are lots of silent pauses. That's my base line. Now, what can you learn if all the sudden the pace reves up and the pauses disappear. You might surmise that I am more comfortable with what I'm saying-I don't have to think about it. I might also be excited about what I'm saying. You've hit on something I'm passionate about. Now, how might you distinguish that kind of response from a lie? The short answer is tension.

Tension can be "read" in a variety of ways-in the mouth, in the eyes, in the voice. This subject qualifies for mpre discussion, so I'll address this topic in subsequent posts.

To learn more about Michael and Pam check out their speaker pages on the ES website, or call us to check their availability for a program or workshop for your organziation.

Understanding the Generations is Vital

Since 1620, when the Mayflower brought the first families across the Atlantic to the new world, 19 generations have come of age. The Pilgrims were lucky if three generations were alive in a family at any given time during the Puritan days. Today our communities are filled with individuals from six generations. A longer life expectancy is responsible for this phenomenon.

For the first time in the history of the industrialized world, four generations are working side-by-side in the workplace. Older generations will stay in the workforce until a later age due to longer life spans, personal desires and financial necessity. Younger generations are sometimes slowed or blocked from moving up in their careers because of this trend. And our youthful tech-savvy employees often view the people in charge as slow-to-adopt dinosaurs. Coupled with their preference to communicate via technology versus face-to-face, younger generations sometimes appear aloof and inconsiderate to older generations.

A generation is a birth period that spans 20 years and is defined as a group of people who have common life experiences and defining moments. For many Americans those moments include Pearl Harbor, the assassinations of the Kennedy's and Martin Luther King, Jr., the Challenger explosion and September 11^th. The impact is greatest, if an individual is coming of age when those events occurred. Common threads of a generation include:

• childhood news & events
• cultural milestones & defining moments
• role models and experiences of political leaders in charge
• evolving technologies of the time

Because of these common experiences, each generation tends to have a similar outlook on life and perspective on work. Baby Boomers came of age in the altruistic "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" advertising era, while fast-paced, impatient Gen Xers were saying "Just Do It".

While every person has their own unique set of personal experiences, each generation tends to have a common belief and value system, with similar attitudes and appreciations. Each generation brings a distinct management style to work and a shared expectations as to the appropriate way their boss should manage them. And generations don't always understand each other, and sometimes generational clashes are experienced in the workplace.

Companies can't afford this tension. They need to retain older, experienced workers in light of a looming workforce shortages in some industries. Nor can companies lose out in hiring the best and the brightest recruits who to provide technological leadership within their organizations. So the ability to manage and motivate a diverse group of people spanning several generations will be a coveted leadership skill.

And if your company is marketing products or services to various generations, then understanding their preferences and needs is vital. Many of the marketing directors in advertising firms are people under the age of 30 who can't afford to miss the mark in targeting the 78 million Boomers (those born between 1943 and 1960). Baby Boomers currently outnumber and out-earn every other generation. But no business can afford an ill-fated campaign that wastes marketing dollars because it insults a generation it needs to reach.

There is a new body of information evolving around the generations, and many businesses find it is imperative to understand these important dynamics to successfully manage people and market to win.

Check out Carol's page on the ES site, to learn more about the business, management and leadership topics which she addresses, or call Jane at 703.243.1620 to learn more about engaging her for your next event.

Timely Insights from Marjorie Brody

Marjorie Brody, a gifted and popular speaker, recently became one of the ES family.  Here are some of her musings on the biggest story out of our nation's capitol of late:

It's all about how you look at things.

Aristotle said that all speaking is persuasive speaking. Ultimately, the goal is to sell ourselves and our ideas.

This past week, it has been interesting to listen to the use of persuasion by our elected -- and appointed -- government officials.

The topic was the stimulus package.

Of course, President Obama wanted to get more (or at least some) Republican support. He wanted it to be a bipartisan package. But, his eloquent powers of persuasion didn't work this time.

Persuasion is only possible when people hearing a message are open enough to take in the new information. If the mind is closed, there is no chance for this.

Unfortunately, we have close-minded people on both sides of the fence.

Going back to Aristotle, he suggested that there are 3 "modes of proof" - ways of getting buy-in from audience members.

The reality is that speakers need all three of these to succeed, which didn't happen in the case of discussion concerning the stimulus package. The 3 modes of proof are:

1) Logos - information that hits the head, or logical evidence. Unfortunately, so-called facts and figures can be manipulated/slanted to say whatever the speaker wants.

2) Pathos - emotion, hitting the heart. Clearly, in the case of the stimulus package, the fear over the economy has been used to create a sense of urgency. However, if the desired audience doesn't buy into whatever emotion is used (i.e. fear), it does no good.

3) Ethos - your personal credibility. Depending on your perspective and political party, the ethos is either working for or against President Obama.

So, where does that leave us - the American public? Unfortunately, between a rock and a hard place.

Persuasion is one of the topics that Marjorie addresses in her programs.  Check out her page on our website, or give Jane a call to have Marjorie speak to your audience.