The Connectors

INTRODUCTION They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. —Carl W. Buehner (1898-1974), Mormon leader, businessman, and author  
 
 
I have the great fortune of being able to personally meet some of the most successful sales professionals in the world—some of whom we work with at my marketing consulting firm. I have been long captivated with the “how do they do it” aspect of success in business, as many of us of course are. How do they think? What are their characteristics? What are the similarities among the most successful businesspeople? What consistent actions do they take? What drives them? What has combusted to make them who they are and to produce such exceptional accomplishments? Interestingly, this same curiosity about what makes others successful is also present in those enjoying current success. The individuals and firms with whom we consult know that we have other profitable businesses with whom we work with on strategy and business development. That is the reason, I believe, that the most frequently asked questions I hear are “What are other firms doing that’s working?” or “What exactly is she doing to bring on so many sales?” As businesspeople, many of us have a great desire to continue to get better and better, and not get caught being stagnant or too comfortable in our current situation. And, if we can find out what someone else has taken the time to discover and use with success, perhaps we can learn from that and not make mistakes which others have already made and corrected. But if simply knowing and implementing successful tactics in practice by others is the secret to success, then you would think that each proven idea, sales tactic, marketing strategy, or business system would be taken by the masses and turned into extraordinary sales. However, we know that’s not how it works. Therefore, the most profitable businesses and individuals in the world must possess something unique. I have spent a lot of time considering their intellectual power, their competitiveness, their determination, their implementation strategies, their staff, their funding options, and just about anything else you can think of that may distinctively contribute to such positive results. When we break down the characteristics that extraordinary businesspeople do possess, much of them are what we may consider to be some of the obvious enviable traits: persistence, drive, hard work, intelligence, ability to generate new ideas, ability to change, a “Never take no for an answer” mindset, and so on. However, there is one more key characteristic, and it is these individuals’ particular ability to connect with others and form meaningful relationships. This is not as simple as academic intelligence or an entrepreneurial spirit. The ability to connect is a different kind of intelligence, one that is the proverbial icing on the cake for most of the people who have reached to high levels of greatness. And without the icing, the cake probably can’t be an incredibly delectable cake; it would be missing a key ingredient. The cake alone may be delicious, but it really only becomes an extraordinary cake with the icing to top it off—assuming it is the right amount and taste of the perfect icing. This ability to connect with others is indeed the icing on the cake. Relating in an impactful way brings sales, leadership power, and personal success. It is an innate skill in some, but something that everyone can learn and improve upon. Yet it is truly a secret to success because it is often dismissed. We have a tendency to brush off the importance our ability to connect and create relationships is as a key contributor and explanation for business success. True connections need to be made with feeling and purpose and honesty. I know because I watch my clients do it every day. I have also spent a great deal of time, research, and energy on working through this very concept myself, applying it in my life, and continuing to work and learn at this most critical element in success. It is something I will always work at and, hopefully, continue to get better at. It is a constant process. Unfortunately, our ability to connect can be lost in a fraction of the amount of time that it took us to develop it. It seems sometimes that just one setback in our career or plan and—whomp!—we are back to the old “me, me, me” attitude that leaves little room for concern for others. But staying true to others and making a real effort to connect with them will no doubt make their lives better—and ours too. Cultivating relationships undoubtedly leads to success in just about anything that we do. And it is a skill that must be practiced and trained. The first experience that I had that really differentiated these characteristics of success took place while I was working with a financial advisor and his firm. We were hired to help them improve their marketing strategies and bring on new clients. The principle in the firm, Roch Tranel, measured progress by the amount of client assets they brought under their management at the firm. His goal was to grow into a large financial services firm with hundreds of millions in money under management. Since I had not worked with a financial services firm prior to this (and thanks to this client, we now we work with hundreds of financial firms each year!), I started by looking at the opportunities that existed and the type of prospecting that may work for attracting clients who would invest their savings with this firm. I asked Tranel how he had acquired clients in the past. Much of his success, interestingly, was rooted in his fear of prospecting. He didn’t want to cold call or employ similar strategies. So, he just kept calling and talking with those who had already done business with his firm. He kept himself busy by avoiding the typical prospecting strategies of reaching people who didn’t know him. The result was unintentional but amazing: His handful of clients truly loved him. They cared about his success; they brought him food; they sent birthday cards to his wife and his growing family of kids. And a valuable by-product of this was a stream of referrals. Tranel was only in his 20s, and he had little experience. But because of his drive and determination to stay in business and communicate properly with his few clients, they began to genuinely like and trust him. As a result, his few clients began recommending him to others who worked at the same company. When I began working for his firm, I knew that prospecting for people that had no connection to Roch Tranel was going to be a long shot based on his propensity for prospecting. So, we simply took his model of communicating and acquiring referrals and made a system out of it. His strength was connecting with others; he just needed to do it more systematically and to more people. And, his staff needed to do the same thing. Today, The Tranel Financial Group is one of the top financial firms in the United States. They do manage hundreds of millions in client assets. Roch Tranel has given my firm much credit for his quick ascent to success. But in reality, his ability to connect was the one great strength. We built an entire marketing system around that ability and then transferred that ability and connection techniques to his staff, and it multiplied and multiplied. Is it possible to build an entire, multimillion-dollar business around your ability to connect? It seems so. And it is the best way to build a business effectively, efficiently, profitably, and quickly. Others firms have seen the kind of success that Roch Tranel and his firm have enjoyed. They have asked me to do just what Roch did in his firm—build a model around the acquisition of referrals. And the model that I have developed is as follows: 1. Delight Clients 2. Acquire Referrals 3. Invite Referrals to Educational Workshops 4. Acquire Clients 5. Repeat Process from #1. It is actually a very uncomplicated strategy. Systematize your operation around your clients, build niches of clients, put on educational workshops, convert clients, and repeat. We’ve employed this system with great success in many firms. However, it is not as easily executed as it may appear to be. The key is the very first step: delighted clients. How you get to having a delighted client is much more complex than just sending them a few letters and visiting with them once a year to go over their accounts. It is a process that begins with the learned and cultivated ability to connect. Connecting with others is not incredibly difficult. But if it were easy, then wouldn’t you think that more people would take the time to work harder at connecting with others and developing deeper relationships? It may be that our trust issues or a habit of focus does not necessarily include others. Many businesspeople have established a survival-of-the-fittest-type attitude. My purpose in writing this book is to share with you what some of the most successful people have done to create better relationships and to show you how this has been the missing link in attempts to be more successful, bring on more new business, and create the kind of client loyalty that will win clients for life. Connecting at a deeper level can be achieved without spending money on consultants, courses, marketing strategies, psychologists, or spiritual consultants. It simply requires that you focus on others and have a plan to serve them, pay attention to them, listen to them, and care about them. Our research and findings...