East Portland Chamber of Commerce

This week my Appreciation Marketing blog posting at WWW.JimTeasley.com discusses whether you have more excuses than you have clients or prospects?  Give me your opinion by commenting, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call me at 360-314-8691.  Stop making excuses and get on with your marketing efforts.

This week my Appreciation Marketing blog posting at WWW.JimTeasley.com discusses that you cannot be too small, or have too few customers, to market your business. Do you believe that your business is too small or you don’t have enough customers to market who you are and what your business is? Can you afford to market or not? Let me know what you think, and what you do to market to your prospects. You can also email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com or call me at 360-314-8691. Look forward to future discussions of marketing efforts and how you can retain your customers once you get them.

In the past we have discussed the need to meet others in order to form networking relationships or partnerships.  This practice is also necessary in order to maintain those relationships.  Whether it is a networking relationship or a business connection, these situations always fare better if we engage in face to face discussions as often as possible.

My daddy taught me that a relationship was always better if we can personalize the communication.  “Don’t just write to someone when you can call them; don’t just call them if you can meet them face to face”, was his mantra.  He also would add that if you can engage in all 3 means of communications, so much the better.

Like Tom Hopkins, I am an advocate of the well written and personalized note or card that shows how much someone else means to you, whether it is business or personal in its intent.  Take that communication further and call the person on the telephone and speak to them, telling them just how much their relationship or business means to you.  Don’t just leave a message or voicemail; talk with them directly and let them hear your voice, with all your inflection and sincerity.

When possible, take the relationship another step further and arrange a face to face meeting, where you can speak your thoughts plainly and clearly.  Taking the time out of your busy day and sitting down to talk with someone is extremely giving, on both your parts.  When you meet face to face you can see the other person’s facial expressions, watch their hand gestures, and examine their body language.  It adds so much more to the conversation, and they can see your reactions to all of these means of communication.

Communication is not just words spoken by someone and heard by someone else.  It is all of the different ways of showing how we feel about the subject at hand.  It is every grimace, each frown, all the smiles and laughs, the hand gestures and shrugs, the eye movements, the yawns, and the other body movements.  The sound of someone’s voice can change the intent of words, and the change in the mouth’s shape can divulge the true meaning of a phrase.

Does the other person actually look at you when they speak to you; do they watch your movements when they listen to what you have to say or answer?  Do they really listen to what you say to them; do you listen to their answers to your questions?  We all have our own agendas in our everyday living.  We must add to that agenda the steps to make our partnerships and relationships more meaningful to the others in those partnerships and relationships.  Enhance those relationships, either by writing, calling, or meeting face to face.

Let me give all of you a challenge: contact someone and engage in conversation about this subject.  Discuss your relationship with them and what their reaction to a thank you card, an appreciation telephone call, or a face to face meeting could mean to both of you.  Then, start taking those communication steps in your daily routine.

Then share your results or stories with others and here by leaving your comments for me to publish.  You can email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or you can call me at 360-314-8691.  You just may discover that you have better relationships than you previously thought, or you may find out some new ones.  Either way all of you win, both you and your partners.

I’ve always been pretty good at memorization.  It must have started back in Sunday School with all those memory verses.  When I was in the high school drama club I was usually able to have my lines and those of my fellow actors down by the second or third rehearsal.  Even today, most of the really important numbers in my life I’ve committed to memory. 

So why has it been so difficult to remember names?  The conclusion I came to was that it was no more difficult to remember names than it was to remember any of the other things in my life.  I mean we’ve been told for years what a marvelous super computer our brains are, yet remembering names seems to be a shortcoming in such a large segment of the population as to approach epic proportions. 

I knew there had to be a solution to this issue and so I began an intensive search.  I found some things that were for me revolutionary in my quest to remember names.  I tested these theories at a youth camp where I was speaking.  Out of approximately 160 students I was able to memorize 95% of the names and be tested with random selections.  Let me share with you what I discovered. 

First we must abandon the myth that we cannot remember names.  Everyone reading this has the ability to remember names on a grand and long term scale.  I’ll prove it to you.  Do you have parents?  What are their names?  You may have step or foster parents, what are their names?  If you have siblings, do you remember their names?  Are they married?  Remember  the spouses?  How about the kids?  How about your kids?  Being a parent I realize this one may take a little work, but you can do it.  If I showed you a picture of your first grade class, you could probably name the majority of the kids there. 

So what makes the difference?  What elements are necessary for this tremendous recall success you’ve already experienced? There are three essential elements that you are already applying to the names you know.  

The first is time.  It took time to remember those names.  Most people do not have the benefit of a “copy and paste” memory so we have to take the “time” necessary to remember the names.  There is no shortcut to this element. 

The second element is “frequency”.  You either heard or spoke the names you know a multitude of times. It does not matter whether you heard them or spoke them in a positive or negative setting, the reality is you heard them often.  This can be awkward in a social or business setting, especially if you start repeating someone’s name like an automaton.  “Well, Sue Anderson, it’s great to meet you, Sue Anderson.  Is this your first time to our meeting, Sue Anderson?  Where do you work, Sue Anderson?” 

Humans are the most creative and innovative beings on the Earth, business people are the most creative humans, and entrepreneurs are the most creative business people.  Try to find some creative, friendly, discreet ways of using a persons name, or at least hearing it.  One thing you might try is to introduce them to someone else.  If it’s a colleague at your event, they will also use the name a time or two and you will leverage your frequency.  You’ll also make your guest feel at ease and make yourself look good. 

The third, and most important element is “value”. Those names you already know are important to you.  You remember them because you want to and in some cases your survival was dependent on it.  If you can master this third principal, the other two will become automatic. 

The main reason we don’t remember other peoples names is because we don’t really care.  We are more interested in the impression we are making on them, than we are in them or their name.  Does my breath smell bad, is my hair combed, is my tie crooked, and any of a number of  “self”-conscious thoughts.  Stop thinking about yourself for thirty seconds, and let the world revolve around someone else.  You’ve done all you can do to make your first impression, so just trust your preparation and focus on them. 

Every time I forget this element I fail to remember a name.  Conversely, every time I use it I am successful.  It has become my personal crusade to do away with name tags at business events.  As business people, sales people, and entrepreneurs this is a task that we should excel in.  Try these steps at your next public gathering or social event.