Be InterestED not InterestING: By Rocco De Leo

Ok, we've all done it! We hear from a customer, friend, or family member of a story about a vacation, site, experience, etc. Our first inclination (and probably action) was to "one up" the person. "You won $1,000 in Vegas, wow, I won $1,200 in Atlantic city". Does that look familiar. Nothing tells a person "enough about you, let's talk about me", like attempting to be interstING while not being interstED. The great Dale Carnegie in his landmark How to win Friends and Influence People uses the analogy of fishing. He says that while he is a big fan of strawberries and cream, the fish seem to be much more fond of worms. The point he makes is that he can go the lake with his interests in mind; throw some strawberries and cream on the line and wait...and wait...and wait...and wait: get the point! Take the worm to the fish, and enjoy the catch! This is very simple! I continues that the "the only way on earth to influence other people is to talk about what THEY want and show them how to get it." Dale Carnegie had an idea on how to win over people. So tomorrow, go out to your customers and listen. Of course you have an objective to your meetings (ie, make a contact, appointment, commitment, etc.), but remember that you cannot make that person do what you want, you need to get them to WANT to do what you want them to do. Show them that you are interested in their business or their issues. Listen intently and sincerely when someone tells you something. Make sure you understand what is being said...ask for clarifications, dig deeper (or as we say "peel the onion"). Your opportunity to "sell" your solution will present itself. Just remember to focus on the person talking to you. If you find yourself talking too much about yourself---you may just find that you are talking yourself out of a sale...good luck and good selling.