When was the last time you took a bite of something and it tasted really, really bad? I went to a restaurant with some friends and we all ordered something different and we shared a spoonful of each other’s plates when the waitress brought our food. I reached over with my spoon as my friend lifted her plate so I could reach this rather yummy looking vegetable salad on her plate. When I tasted it I immediately wanted to spit it out. But being the manner-able lady I am, I swallowed it quickly and gulped several sips of cold water. The sauce on the salad was TOO HOT AND SPICY for my taste and it was HORRIBLE! I told her I didn’t want any more and she backed away with her plate. Now my taste buds were ruined for the rest of my dinner because the fire on my tongue rendered me unable to taste much of anything else afterwards.
How many times do we as leaders, entrepreneurs or business owners approach people in our leadership, sales or marketing strategies and we’re trying to push something on to people they don’t yet have a taste for, and instead of inviting them to sample more of who we are, what we offer or how we can help them (i.e., build a relationship) we try and force feed people and leave a very bad taste in their mouths that kinda ruins it for everybody else they may interact with . Much like that salad ruined it for me. People do NOT like to be sold to and generally don’t want to be told what to do. (Well that depends, depending on your tone when you say it). What they DO like is to be RELATED to; if you don’t know how to relate to people FIRST in your leadership, business or marketing, you will NEVER be able to lead your employees, prospects or clients to the value of what you offer. They’ll walk away with a sour taste in their mouths and not really want to interact with you again.
Build a connection with people FIRST. Then a relationship.
#RelationshipLeadership #RelationshipCurrency
If you’re that type of leader who struggles with connecting with people and building relationships and want some private help, please email Tracy@GetRelationshipCurrency.com to get exclusive coaching to get the results you want and not the ones you have!
Tracy is a thought leader that trains and inspires leaders and organizations to stand out and be market leaders in their industries by building strong relationships. To have Tracy speak at your event, train your organization or coach your leaders contact Tracy@GetRelationshipCurrency.com .