Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

Tag: Dale Carnegie

  • Business Etiquette for Entrepreneurs

    Business Etiquette for Entrepreneurs

    Life would be a little too easy if we could become an expert at one skill and then build a thriving business around it. Once we’ve figured out what we want to do, and we are open for business, we still have to market ourselves; otherwise, we may find ourselves waiting. Waiting like we do at a surprise party, wondering when the guest of honour will arrive. In this case, our guest of honour is our future client. And ideally, our future client would know how to find us. One way is to lead them to us with a trail of personal connections. You might have been thinking of bread crumbs, and metaphorically, you could think of it that way. Entrepreneurs are keen to add value and bring success to other people’s lives. If you aren’t in business to help others, then chances are, you won’t get far in your journey. After reading The 5 Essential People Skills by Dale Carnegie Training, I thought of some tips that really boost a business owner’s reputation and bring them more clients. I’ve even added some suggestions to the original list in the book. My biggest tip starts with the old adage, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This bit of advice applies the moment you venture out to meet new people.

    Social networking that grows your business

    If you’re looking to increase your client base, always search for networking events that your potential clients could be attending. A glance at the event description will help you gauge the likelihood that your potential client will be there. If you’re not sure, then ask yourself what your potential client is looking for and whether this event could be the answer to their search. When you are at the event, interact with as many people as possible. These opportunities are like mini job interviews. Introduce yourself and keep the conversation light with social or general work topics that avoid debate and hostility. For example, sports, current events, and the weather are fairly neutral. You may even talk about your background and your work. When you are asked a question, try to keep your answers less than a minute long to avoid babbling. Show that you’re interested in the other person by using your active listening skills. Nod and acknowledge points that he or she is making. Use appropriate body language, such as maintaining eye contact and facing the person you are speaking to. If the person you are talking to is a little on the quiet side, guide the conversation with open-ended questions such as, “How long have you been in business?” instead of closed questions (that request yes/no answers) such as, “Have you been to this event before?” Instead of expecting to get something out of the meeting right away, give value first. Instead of just looking for potential clients, and abruptly ending the conversation when you realize this person will never do business with you, find out what you can do to give them value. Ask what brings her to the networking event to see what she is looking for. Maybe she wants a specific type of business connection. Ask someone to tell you more about his business and compliment him on an aspect that you like. This attitude of giving value will make you instantly likable. As you continue to network, your new business acquaintance might introduce you to others at the event. Having someone introduce you to a stranger makes it much easier to connect with others than by starting a conversation from the cold. Similarly, introduce people you’ve just met to others. At the end of the event, you may find yourself with a whole deck of business cards and possibilities. In summary: connect by talking about social topics, practice active listening, add value to others, and introduce new connections to your network.

    Follow up with new connections as soon as possible

    When you return to your office after a networking event, it’s easy to get caught up with all the tasks that you missed during your absence, and to fall back into your usual routine. Set some time aside to follow up with the new connections you made at the event. If you can, send them an email within 24 hours. Keep your new collection of business cards organized. I sometimes write a quick note on each one to remind me where I met each person. If you’re more ambitious, enter each new connection into a database. This way, if someone asks you if you know an event photographer, you have people you can recommend. As I go through the list of new connections, I also note who I said I would follow up with. Following up on promises is crucial when you have your own businesses. People get a sense of how trustworthy and reliable you are right from the start of your new connection. If you said you would shoot them an email to set up a meeting time, send that email to mention where you connected and remind them of the purpose of your meeting. If you said you were going to introduce someone to your network, email them to make the introduction. It’s possible a quick email to refer Pam, who you met at the networking event, to Steven, who you know is great at marketing, will start a series of opportunities. You never know. For example, Steven may thank you by sending you some real estate business from his network. Or Pam might send you useful links to websites that give you some good business leads. The possibilities from a single networking event can be very far-reaching. In summary, follow up with connections as soon as possible, whether it is to set up a time for another meeting, or to introduce people to each other from your network.

    Check that your information is up to date and easily available

    New connections will want to know more about you. First, if they met many people at the event, they might not remember details about you right away. Have some keywords on your business card that jog their memory. “Realtor.” “I help you with your marketing needs.” “Business consultant.” If your business card doesn’t have your photo, make sure your LinkedIn profile has one. They may look you up on LinkedIn to remind them who they were talking with about X business opportunity! Your profile may also have details about skills that interest them, even if it didn’t come up in conversation. For example, a woman I met was looking for someone with publishing experience, but we had only talked about marketing. When she saw publishing in my profile, she inquired about it. Your website is also an excellent source of information about you and your company. A new contact can find testimonials vouching for your great service. It is also where they can subscribe to your blog and continue to get information about your business niche. I started a partnership when a new contact suggested posting a referral to his company on my website. The benefit was my clients could enjoy a discount for his services, and he would pay me an amount for the referral. It’s not the same as an affiliate program, but it’s a similar idea. In summary, your LinkedIn profile and your website are ways to help increase your business. When someone refers leads to you, promote them back by sending business their way. You can also work out a type of partnership that is mutually beneficial.

    Pay it forward

    The overall idea for successfully increasing your client base is to pay it forward. When you meet someone new at a networking event, or even online through a LinkedIn group, add value to them first. Always add value first. Even if it’s just to compliment them if you can’t think of a way to help out their business. When you meet someone for the first time, listen intently and show interest in what they do. It will make a favorable initial impression. You want people to see how much you want to help others, and how much other people matter to you. Think of ways to help people without considering how you can get money back for your time. Entrepreneurs aren’t paid by the hour or by salary. They don’t necessarily get rewarded every two weeks for their hard work with a paycheque. Sometimes they send out all these good vibes, follow up on leads, and build new bridges… and don’t reap the reward until weeks or months later when a referral turns into a paid project or a lucrative partnership. Sometimes a promising lead turns into nothing. However, if you focus on paying it forward, if you work on helping others first, eventually, you start to get results! If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the next post!

  • How to Gain Respect in Business

    How to Gain Respect in Business

    It’s not always about owning a fancy car or having your name mounted on the wall of a fifty storey building. You don’t even have to be the CEO of a six-figure empire to gain respect in business. You can start with making just a few small changes with yourself and your attitude toward your business and your network. Four tips in Dale Carnegie’s book The 5 Essential People Skills give you some suggestions on how to gain respect in business. It starts with how you plan your day.

    1. Have a busy schedule.

    Stay busy. Stay hungry. Be productive. Set daily and weekly goals for yourself and work on achieving those goals for your business. If you aren’t meeting with clients or prospective clients, then look for networking events to attend. Examine your business. Are there aspects of your marketing or sales that you could work on?

    Take some time for personal development. Read a book to improve your knowledge. Personal goals can be a part of your professional goals. Keeping healthy and fit are just as important as hitting your sales goals. You can’t enjoy success if you’re sickly. You can’t work hard if you’re constantly fighting fatigue. Plus a healthy body boosts confidence, and confidence is a magnet that draws people toward you.

    When you are busy working on your goals, you’re less likely to focus on the negativity that may nag at your conscience. You’ll find it easier to suppress that inner voice that may question your abilities if you accomplish even a small amount every day.

    No sound is more dreadful to a new business owner than the sound of silence. It’s so tempting when you finally get an email or a call from a prospective client to jump on it right away. It’s so easy to say, “Yes, I’m free to chat with you right now! Yes, I can start working with you in two hours!”

    But you should refrain from responding so fast. Being so eager smacks of desperation and can scare your prospective client away. Think about the last time you walked past a restaurant with only a couple of occupied tables. What were you first thoughts? Compare that to the time you walked past a restaurant with a lineup out the door. What was your opinion then?

    Keep busy, stay busy, and look busy. When a prospective client calls to book an appointment to do business with you, flip past those blank pages in your appointment book and say you’re not free til next week.

    2. Place yourself in important settings.

    Having the right mindset is one way to gain respect. Having the attitude that business will eventually come to you because you possess the right skills is just as crucial. But you also need to place yourself in important settings so you can start building a network.

    Look around for networking events where people who are key to your business will be attending. If you have a fitness business, attending an event for gamers would not be as productive business-wise. However, going to an event for people in the food and nutrition business would be a better fit. Of course, a convention for fitness coaches, gym owners, and athletes would probably be the most beneficial for you.

    Depending on what you’re looking for, attending a free event may not get you the same results as an event with a $20 or $80 entry fee. Paid events tend to attract more experienced or serious people. They aren’t there out of curiosity, or because they wanted an activity to fill their Thursday night. People who pay to attend are there because they are looking for potential clients, joint venture partners, or people who can refer them to those who can build their business.

    Events with hefty price tags are also more likely to attract industry leaders. Being able to rub shoulders with these leaders, or even have them as your mentors will be an asset to your business. We all need strong role models.

    3. Spend time in the company of successful, well-regarded people.

    We all need role models and mentors, and that includes having peers who inspire us. There is a saying that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Think about how true that is for you.

    Consider the goals and aspirations of your five closest friends. What do they aspire to do in their lifetime? What are their plans for their families? What is their income level? If you average out the answers for all these questions, you are probably similar to them. It is rare that you would find an aspiring CEO that is best friends with someone who is content with a lifetime of minimum wage jobs. Similarly, it is almost impossible to find a humanitarian who is best friends with someone who has little regard for other people.

    If you want to gain the respect of others in business, surround yourself with successful people. If someone said their mentor is multi-millionaire Dan Lok, how would that affect your perception of them? Or if someone said that they work with Oprah Winfrey, or they are on Tony Robbin’s team, or belong to the same diner’s club as a Fortune 500 CEO, what would you think?

    Having these priceless connections is like having a letter of reference, or a recommendation just for your association with them. It’s a reflection on your values and opinions.

    4. Keep a neat workspace.

    So at this point, you’re looking busy and accomplished. You’re attending events with industry leaders and you’re surrounding yourself with well-respected people. One final tip to getting respect is to keep your workspace tidy. It may sound like a tip from elementary school. But psychology and mindset are a big part of getting yourself ready for success.

    For practical reasons, a disorganized workspace will make it challenging to find documents and information. You may even miss a meeting or misplace a file. If clients visit your office, it won’t give a favourable impression.

    Keeping your workspace neat and tidy will result in the opposite – better organization and better impressions for clients. But on a psychological level, it will give you a mental boost if you work in a clean environment.

    pexels-photo-932261
    Good fortune cat

    I would even suggest adding items that inspire you to reach your goal. Asians favor the good fortune cat to encourage money to come your way. Some like a leather chair to have that feeling of elegance.

    However, this mental inspiration can be as simple as having all your office stuff organized with colour-coded stickies, pens, and file folders. Or a smiling photo of your spouse. Or kids. Or both. Whatever it takes to remind you why you got your business started in the first place.

    These are just four tips  to get you started on gaining you respect in business. Earning the respect of others is not a magical moment that can happen overnight. They can have a high opinion of you to start with, but like a blossoming plant, nurturing and keeping that respect will take time.

    Do you have suggestions on how to gain respect in business? Please share in the comments section!