Dale Carnegie Part Two
It is often said that “people buy people before they buy products or services”. Building relationships and trust is a significant step towards creating valuable clients and friendships. Dale Carnegie clearly understood this as can be determined from the following concluding excerpts from his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
“You can make more friends by becoming interested in people than by trying to get them interested in you.” Think about this the next time you are networking. Demonstrate genuine interest and most importantly “SMILE”. You cannot over-estimate the impact a smile will have on others as well as on your own wellbeing.
“Be a good listener, encourage people to talk about themselves and their accomplishments. A simple tool is to ask questions the other will enjoy answering.” Demonstrate interest in what enthuses them. Making them feel important is a key step towards building a positive, genuine relationship. Develop rapport before dealing with business, this cannot be repeated too often.
Try beginning a conversation by including things you have in common. Strive to elicit “yes” responses. A “no” answer is negative and inhibits rapport.
“You cannot win an argument – asserting authority is futile.”
“The best way to win an argument is to avoid it.”
Respect the other’s opinion and avoid threatening their self-esteem. Concede you may be wrong but never say “You are wrong.”
For example, if handling a complaint let the other person do the talking, never interrupt, ask open questions and observe body language.
“If you are wrong admit it quickly and emphatically, have the courage to admit your errors.” Apologise for mistakes but be wary of being defensive and close minded, teach yourself to listen and to not interrupt.
To motivate others to achieve more, create a competitive environment, be challenging and appeal to the “desire to excel”. Many of us find it difficult to be critical and point out faults. Perhaps begin by giving examples of your own failures or mistakes. Highlight any areas for praise but be genuine.
Moving forward, highlight improvements towards the standard to be achieved.
Applying these principles does not come with a guarantee for successful relationships but they will certainly make a substantial contribution.