Thank you. Merci. Gracias. Arigato. Danke. Grazie.Go raibh maith agat.
There are many ways to show your thanks but we were taught that we should say it, weren’t we. Do you remember being told as kids that the “magic” words are please and thank you?
When should you use thank you?
Say it after EVERYTHING that’s done for you especially when clients buy your product or service.
Use it in your emails and on phone calls. You can mail a “thank you” card, send flowers, do something special that the other person likes (and that you know they do) or send an electronic card that makes them smile.
Say thank you all the time.
There’s several positive results from this this. You get remembered. You get cheques faster, people do things for you with a smile and immediately, repeat and referral business and best of all you feel good.
When, to whom and for what have you said thank you today?
You could be in line at the grocery store, at a health club, on the phone with someone trying to sell you a newspaper subscription, having a coffee or tea with a friend, picking up your dry cleaning or in a drug store ordering a prescription when you mention your business.
You never know what the person you are chatting with is interested in or who they know. And you don’t know who is listening in AND what they are interested in or who they know either.
Talk as if you are being heard (that doesn’t mean louder) or be very quiet if you don’t want to be overheard.
A colleague of mine was buying paint for her kitchen and while in the paint store, overheard the conversation that the couple ahead of her in line were having with the cashier. She interrupted them and suggested what colour paint they should get. They bought the colour she recommended and then invited her for coffee at a nearby coffee shop to talk some more. Voilà – they became her first client in her new interior decorating business!
Talk about your business
I ALWAYS mention my business no matter where I am or who I’m with. I’m proud of it.
Always be marketing no matter where you are or who you’re with. Have a marketingmindsetasyourway of thinking and seeing the world.
You never know who’s listening or where you’ll be when you get an idea. Tell me one of the most unusual places you were when you got a prospect.
Whether you’re a novice business owner or an experienced one you already may be known as a resource. When I was a schoolteacher and now in business, people always think of me as someone who has heard of nearly everybody or everything. And if I don’t know something or someone I suggest someone who knows. That makes me a resource.
So if I can’t help you then I can recommend someone who can. You may need a copywriter, a cleaner, a massage therapist, a photographer, a web designer, a lawyer or something else.
After all, I’ve been in business and networking for 40 years so I know lots of people!
How to give someone the name of people you recommend
Send an email yourself. Put both people in the “To” line. Introduce them to each other. Tell where you and the referral met and why you think the referee and her business could use her services. Then leave it to them.
Always ask that they use your name
The person will remember who you are and it becomes another way to build relationships. When the time comes that they need your services they’ll think of you. Who knows?
Here is an example of how it can work
I was at a networking event and told a colleague that I needed a cleaner. She brought me a flyer of one who was at the networking event we were attending. I saw the name of that network event’s leader Deanne Kelleher of Kaos Group as a referral in the brochure so I asked Deanne about them. She said they’re really good. But there’s more! She said that if they weren’t right for me she knows others.
So I called the cleaner and used her and her work was great!
Remember that you need to describe what you need as precisely as you can when you ask.
As women, we’re good at giving, aren’t we?
What service did you need and someone gave you the name of someone she uses or knows. It happens all the time! Comment here and share their contact info with everyone.
How do you find their email address or their phone number?
There are several ways.
you may meet someone new at a networking event. Ask for their business card and their permission to contact them. Take the initiative.
you may be told by someone about them and that they could use your services. Ask the “someone” to introduce you by email.
email a colleague who you think knows them and ask for an email introduction
you may just have someone’s email address. If they have a website, it’s always the name after the @ symbol. For example my email is trudy@smallbizbuilder.com and my website is http://www.smallbizbuilder.com
How do you find their contact info?
If you don’t have their card, go to their website and choose the About Us page. If you like what you see and think you may want to have a relationship with this person, go to the Contact Us page and send them an email or phone them about what you are thinking.
You may see something in a blog post or an article they wrote. Look up their website and send an email message via their web site.
You might receive an email and reply to the person who wrote it. Check them out on their website first.
You could find a blog post by them and put a comment on it.
read someone’s name you saw in an email but weren’t able to attend their webinar.
same as above only you heard the person speak and want to comment on it or learn more about them.
There are lots more ways to meet people without physically going out.
Add more and tell me about them. Comment here.
What do you put in your email to them?
Sometimes what you have to say is a question. Sometimes you agree with what they’ve written and sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you just want to give them the electronic equivalent of a “pat on the back”.
You never know whether the person will phone, email or do nothing, or how long it may take. And you never know what they will do with your information. I got a phone call to me to help promote an event in New York City, a call about becoming a regular writer for an ezine that originates in Texas and a thank you and let’s keep in touch in Toronto just to name a few that happened.
You have nothing to lose if you do it – so ………. Write or call them. Just remember to be interested, compelling and positive.
I watched the movie “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen” and to me, the theme of it was to have faith in your dream. In summary, Fred Jones played by Ewan McGregor, is a fisheries expert and academic who works for the British government. When he’s approached by Harriet Chetwode-Talbot played by Emily Blunt with a plan to introduce salmon into the waterways of Yemen for the purpose of sport fishing, he laughs off the scheme, claiming it impossible.
The movie is based on Paul Torday’s novel, a political satire that was a best-seller in the UK. It’s an English movie too and I love them because they aren’t full of “blockbuster” film qualities as American movies are.
How is it like entrepreneurship?
When you fish you have to wait a long time to catch anything, don’t you? It could take 100s of hours before you feel that magical tug on your line. But you do it anyway. You may go fishing to enjoy nature and its beautiful scenery and the sounds of water flowing and for the stillness fishing creates in you. There are no phones ringing, no email and no noises of a busy city – silence.
This is a lot like starting your own business. You believe in your idea but like fishing it may take a long time to reach success as you’ve defined it. You persevere anyway. And you have patience.
Entrepreneurship means that you see problems as mysteries to be solved no matter how long it takes.
I was re-reading one of Tad Hargrave’s posts recently. This one was about Slow Marketing.
In it he describes how marketing or building your business is like having a cup of tea. One sips tea. One doesn’t gulp it like one does coffee.
So have faith. Believe in your dream. Persevere. Be patient and wait. Success will come.
Tell us about one time when you believed in your dream – when others around you were saying “Give it up”.
Relationships are essential both in business and in life.
I read a book on neuromarketing (brain science research and how to use it in marketing) called The Buying Brain. Secrets for Selling to the Subconscious Mind by Dr. A. K. Pradeep. In it he has a whole chapter on marketing to women and on page 75 of the book, the author says “Emotional memories are paramount in her decision making and in her relationships.”
We know that you need to build relationships in business. We know that women are better at building them than most men. Now we know why. Read the book to learn more about neuromarketing and selling to different groups.
How to find “old” relationships
Several years ago, I had coffee with a friend I had met in the 80s. We had lost touch over the years but I found her again via Linkedin!
We got together for coffee and talked for 3 hours about many things – what happened to each of us, what we’re doing now, and finally how we could help each other.
In December 2019, a woman I knew when I was a teacher in the 1970s, found me on facebook. We got together and picked up the friendship we had over 40 years ago!
This year another friend found me via LinkedIn and because of the pandemic and isolation, we saw each other along with a mutual friend using Facebook Messenger video. I hadn’t seen her for 10 years and it was as if it was yesterday.
Thank goodness for social networking!
Here are some more techniques including social media that you can use to find your friends and colleagues:
use the phone book online
use a search engine like google or bing
use social media like facebook or linkedin
ask mutual friends or colleagues
be creative!
How to maintain relationships
Whether a relationship is new or one you’ve had for years you can and should maintain them using one or more of the following methods. You may use some already.
call them by phone
send an email (ask for their phone number so you can speak in person)
have coffee or tea or lunch BUT get together somehow. In this Covid-19 era, use facetime, skype or zoom and have a virtual “coffee chat”.
email them something pertinent to their interests. This will show you’re thinking of them.
meet them for an event you’re both attending
get a ride with them to a networking event you’re both going to. I do and talk with business colleagues during the ride to catch up.
tell them about an event you’re attending online in this Covid-19 era and then chat 1 on 1 via phone afterwards to talk about what you each thought of the event
send a birthday card by mail or electronically
call near Christmas or Hanukkah with a holiday wish for good health and prosperity
other ideas?
If you have any other ways you maintain your relationships, share them with everyone. I’ve only included a few here.
What does that mean? Keep reading and I’ll explain.
You may not know the expression High Tech means High Touch but those of us who’ve been around technology for a while (for over 30 years) know it’s true.
When ATMs or banking machines were installed in Canada between 1969 and 1972 everyone thought it would mean the demise of bank tellers but they found out the opposite. People used bank tellers even more than before these “cash machines”. This is an example of why “high tech means high touch”.
In 2012, I was at a hospital for a blood transfusion (I have a very rare blood condition and have had more than 30 transfusions since the condition was diagnosed in 1978. Don’t worry though. It’s become “normal” for me.).
At that time, they had “a great new addition” using technology or so they thought. They assumed they could give more treatments than before and so help even more patients.
Here’s what happened. There were three administrative staff at a long desktop who checked you in at their computer and gave you a pager.
When mine hadn’t buzzed for more than an hour I went back up to ask what had happened and was it normal to wait this long. She checked my name on the computer and said my “product” wasn’t ready yet. No mention of how long I’d still have to wait and no offer to “physically” check for me – just on the computer.
To make a long story short it was a volunteer who helped me out after I’d been waiting for 90 minutes and I got my transfusion. That’s an example of why “high tech means high touch”.
Why didn’t the person at the computer get up and check for me? I believe she was an admin person just doing her job. It was in her job description to only check the computer.
Do I trust computers? Yes. The person using it? It depends. Human error is the problem, isn’t it.
So is “high tech” better? Yes and no. Yes more people get their transfusions and infusions. No because only when one asks does the person at the computer check AND only on the computer.
What would you do if it was your business? I hope you said “Help the customer. Get up off the chair and check why and come back with a REAL answer.” THAT’S customer service.
I’ve used the analogy of sailing to describe business many times – and not just because I’m a sailor!
Here are 8 ways that show why.
Here’s me in August 95 at the helm of my own sailboat in San Francisco Bay
1. Let’s say you want to sail across Lake Ontario from Toronto to Rochester. You know where you’re starting from and where you want to get to – your destination. That’s like business planning. For example, you plan to get gross sales of $1 million and you have a revenue of $0 to start.
2. You have a nautical map and use it to mark your route. In business this is your written business plan.
3. When sailing in waters unknown to you, you need a chart (map) that shows not only the land but also what’s under the water – rocks, shoals, sandbars or reefs. In business you must know your industry and its trends and you must always be learning so you have a good idea of what’s coming. The future could hold things like changes in your industry, technology updates, the need for a mobile friendly website, or laws like CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Law).
4. Sailing is different from using a powerboat since the motor in a powerboat allows you to get to your destination in a straight line. There’s no such thing as “straight there” in sailing. It always depends on the wind – you could be on a tack or a reach, use a small sail or your spinnaker. In business you learn to “go with the flow” and expect changes in everything.
5. Speed is also dictated by the wind on a sailboat. Sometimes you move fast (on a reach – all hands on deck) and sometimes you’re in irons (no wind and therefore no movement) during which you clean the ship, fix sails etc. As I said in another article “All marketing is slow marketing“.
6. You keep adjusting your sails to try to get as “close to the wind” as you can. In business you need to review your marketing and sales results (analytics, split headlines) frequently and then tweak your plan accordingly. But since you know your destination that’s not a problem. Changing it just gets you closer.
7. You could be in a fog (a real one like I was in in San Francisco Bay) or heavy rain and you need help from others. That time we asked the US Coast Guard for help. In business it’s important to know when to ask for help.
8. Before you begin any sailing – daysailing, racing or a trip, you ALWAYS check the equipment – the sails, the lines, the mast, and especially your team to make sure they’re all in good shape. In a business you do the same – it’s called having knowledge. I know the information for what to do is free on the internet but that’s not good enough – take courses – hire a consultant – get a team around who know what they’re doing because they’ve done it before.
What other similarities did you think of while reading this? Tell me!
