Adjusting your communication and attitude with prospective clients and customers can make all the difference in getting new business.
It has happened to all of us. Some ideas—even really good ones—just don’t work out sometimes. We come up with a great idea and are close to signing a new client or securing a partnership and then, just like that, the opportunity is gone. Have you ever considered that maybe your style of doing business is getting in the way? Or that your communication, the way you express things, is not quite right? I know it’s happened to me on occasion and recently, it happened again when I was set to meet a legendary photographer who had agreed to participate in my company’s monthly business call.
It was a real coup to get this photographer and he was a great fit for what I wanted to demonstrate to emerging photography professionals. I was excited, that is, until the day before the scheduled interview. I had all my questions ready and then I did what I always do. I took care of the business side of things and sent him an interview release. Five minutes later, it was all over. What did I do wrong?
I forgot that not everyone is like me when it comes to doing business. The truth-at-all-times, tell-it-like-it-is attitude works for me most of the time, but clearly, it doesn’t appeal to everyone. In this situation, I was too much about businesses and it hurt the friendly rapport that had developed between us. I had not adjusted my communication and attitude to reflect that I was dealing with a true artist, whose passion and calling is the need to create through the lens of a camera.
Build Relationships
Some things will work out on the first try. Other things require you to prove yourself over time. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of building relationships. Building trust means allowing others to get to know you and it often takes time. To get into the inner circle of a group you want to be connected with, you must pay your dues. Here’s a really interesting Inc. Magazine article about building better business relationships.
Your Next Great Idea
Look at why a previous great idea failed. Was it your presentation? Is it the wrong time or are you trying to make a square fit in a circle? Retreat, rethink and make sure next time your language and presentation is adjusted appropriately for the person you want to reach. And remember, consistency, quality, honesty and integrity will pay off over time.
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At her lowest point, Beate Chelette was $135,000 in debt, a single mother, and forced to leave her home. Only 18 months later, she sold her image licensing business to Bill Gates in a multimillion dollar deal. Chelette is a nationally known “gender decoder,” respected speaker, career coach, consummate entrepreneur, and author of Happy Woman Happy World. Beate is also the founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to women leadership and personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private, and digital worlds. Determined to build a community of women supporting each other, she took her life-changing formula documented it all in a book Brian Tracy calls “an amazing handbook for every woman who wants health, happiness, love and success!” Through her corporate initiative “Why Acting Like a Girl Is Good For Business” she helps companies with gender diversification training, and to develop and retain women.
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