My friend Alyce wrote, “I’ve recently come to the conclusion that letting people meet me, and feel my energy, is probably a far more effective selling tool than….” I could not agree more.
I am a techie and, when Candy and I started our first business, all I wanted to do was the techie stuff. I eventually learned that I had to get the word out about what we were doing and, having precious little advertising money, I chose instead to put myself instead of paid advertisements out there. I started being a loud-mouth and seeking business/social occasions when I could interact with people and let them see my passion about our product.
In the intervening years, we closed that first business and I have started a second. Hen’s Teeth Network depends much more on a wide network of people and so I joined the St. Peters Chamber of Commerce. At first, I saw every chamber meeting and networking event as a “sales opportunity” and I was out there selling selling selling. That did not work very well. I do take comfort in two observations, though. First, lots of other people seem to do the same thing. Second, I figured out that selling selling selling was not working and I moved past that point.
I finally figured out what Alyce wrote about, that simply letting people meet me is a powerfully effective selling tool. The selling never happens quickly and rarely can I put my finger on a single meeting and say, “Ah! That meeting resulted in this sale,” but, over time, there have been many occasions when business has sprouted from a relationship which had been largely social.
Now I participate in as many things as I can, doing what I do (web design and photography) and talking passionately about how much I enjoy these activities to anybody who will listen. I freely teach, too. This is a big world and I believe with all my heart that only good can come from sharing knowledge. Sometimes this is a bit scary, like this week when I had to consciously decide to offer some hints to another photographer who is in a similar business to mine.
These interactions with other people surprise me on a few levels. (Candy will laugh when she reads this.) I am frequently startled that other people share my interest in what I am doing and pick up on my own excitement. I am usually startled when people tell me that they like what I do (even though I know that I do my stuff well). And most startling of all, I find that I thoroughly enjoy the interactions with people, often more than my interactions with machines.
Thank you, Alyce, for triggering me to write this down.
