Do You Trick or Treat in Your Business? Because It’s Probably Losing You Sales

It’s that time of year again when witches and warlocks are supposed to be about and you may even  be going to a Halloween Party.

“Trick or treating “ has become a common activity and it’s defined as “a custom for children on Halloween when they proceed in costume from house to house, asking for treats with the question  “trick or treat?””.

When I was at a recent business networking event it struck me that many people treat networking as a sort of business “trick or treat”.

What do I mean?

Well they proceed in costume (business suit) from house to house ( networking event to networking event) asking for treats ( business ) but often without even asking the question…….

I’m sure you’ve come across this because it happens at every event I’ve ever been to!

But successful business is all about relationships. As you know people do business with people they know, like and trust and yet I still see people at networking events expecting to get business straight away without  taking the time or effort to develop that relationship.

Some say to me – “ but I don’t have the time. It takes ages to develop that level of trust”. Well it depends whether or not you want the business!

It can take a lot of time  but you can speed up whole process when you know the right communication tools and techniques to use.

There are many courses available, some of them very effective, that teach you networking skills  – how to identify who to talk to, how to work the room, how to get that appointment, how to follow up and so on – all essential if you are going to  develop your business . But they don’t actually teach you how to connect.

It has been said that only 7% of the meaning of any communication is through the words that you say and this is what most networking courses focus on.

So how do you use the other 93% so that you develop that trust quickly and get the results that you want?

By developing your ability to communicate more effectively at an unconscious level  through developing a deep level of rapport which will enable you to develop an instant connection with anyone that you meet in such a way that they think they have met you before. When you develop these communication skills all relationships benefit and networking becomes easier and much more enjoyable and no longer “ trick or treat”.

Rapport is often described as “ feeling comfortable with the other person” or being “tuned in”, or “on the same wavelength”.

And I’d like to set you a challenge to do some of what I love to do – people watching.

In the next two weeks when you are out and about where people are in conversation notice what you notice.

Identify two people who are

(a)    in rapport

(b)   out of rapport

How do you know?  What tells you?

Because when you become more aware of how people prefer to communicate you are more able to develop the flexibility of communication which  means you will become a master of communication because more meaningful relationships  lead to better and more profitable business

Until next time,