Greetings!
It's Spring! Walking around outside it's easy to forget that we are in the midst of worldwide turmoil - the budget at home, Japan and Libya overseas. A year from now spring will return and it will be different issues in the news. Sometimes it makes you wonder what's important, the facts or the feelings. |
| Reason and Emotion |
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Facts or feelings, do you know what drives your decisions? People realized long ago that a consumer's buying decision is based on emotion and justified with logic. The challenge for the purchaser is to realize that while it is happening. There is nothing wrong with emotional responses. Life would be pretty dull without them. Problems arise when you base your business decisions on emotional reactions.
As humans we are wired to discriminate. It's part of our DNA. We tend to accept people like us and fear or shun those who are not. The government enacted anti-discrimination laws to change our behavior. Yet discrimination can still be subtle and counterproductive. When hiring a candidate do you gravitate toward someone you like or someone you need? The former is emotional, the latter is a business decision. When deciding what tasks to prioritize, are they the ones you prefer or the ones that will move the business ahead. Are you acting on emotion or reason?
When I'm working with my clients I suggest that they try to focus on those emotions. Where are they coming from, what situations in the past are causing them to arise now? By recognizing the facts that have caused the emotion you can better weigh your options. Remember, you can't control how you feel but you can control your behavior, how you react to those feelings. I think my mother was right when she kept reminding us: "If you can't say something nice, keep your thoughts to yourself."
It's your actions that will determine the future success of your business. It stands to reason that you will feel better if your business is more successful. |
| Focus on Sales |
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If customers buy based on emotion and later justify their decision with logic, how should you change your approach? Think about asking more questions to uncover what your customer is really feeling. What would you learn if you spent more time asking your customer "Why?" When you understand what's important you can offer real solutions. Then selling won't be required, they'll be asking to buy. |
| Networking Tips |
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We've all been networking since we were kids. Some of us have done it better than others. When I had to learn to network for business six years ago I had to face the fact that my emotions stood in the way of being effective. I was afraid to strike up a conversation with a stranger, let alone try to develop a referral relationship. They would probably think I was an idiot.
I forced myself to network and for me the emphasis was definitely on the "work" part. I asked a lot of questions. I was able to discover things we had in common. Gradually I discovered that people are genuinely interesting. All it takes is a willingness to ask questions and be open to the possibilities the answers present. It's no longer work, it's now fun - and rewarding. |
