When talking with your prospect, after the first silent statement of, I'm interested in you, the next thing you do is DON'T BE DISTRACTED BY ANYTHING. I know it sounds simple but boy does it show when you don't do this. And I wouldn't be discussing it if I didn't see that it is severely limiting many people from being good communicators. When you are distracted by something, immediately your silent statement of I'm interested in you is gone because you're not interested in them if you're distracted by something else. Instead, you're interested in the email that just came in or the waiter that just stepped up to the table. In toasting a glass of wine, champagne or grape juice, customary etiquette claims that you should keep the glass to your lips until the toaster has taken it away from his/her lips. In talking with your prospect, don't take your attention off the prospect until the prospect's attention goes off you. If the prospect looks at a TV, a waiter, a child, etc., don't keep staring at them shift your focus to what they're looking at. When you're on the phone, keep focused on the conversation no multitasking! Extremely important things get skipped while you're doing other things. Your replies to their statements and questions are very often incorrect or inappropriate or not timed correctly. And don't think for a second they don't notice it may be okay with them, but they know they are second [at least] in your order of importance. This is never okay. For those of you who've listened to Professional Inviter you probably recall my conversation with the lady Ruth and how she was multitasking. So I asked her to repeat what I had just said to her. Did you hear her trying to respond? It's actually very funny when you listen to it. But that's an example of her not being able to correctly respond because she was multitasking. When you're at an MLM business meeting with your guest, don't be distracted by the environment. When someone arrives late to the meeting don't look at the late person. I don't care if EVERYONE looks; don't you. Keep your eyes on the presenter; this reveals the importance you place on the content of the speaker. Your guest will notice your actions. This also goes for someone leaving the room. Often MLM training meetings are more relaxed, but the same rule applies don't be distracted by anything in the environment. Some common things I see Networkers distracted by are:
Men distracted by a cute girl walking by
Women noticing the wardrobe of another woman walking by
Television that's in the room
Children or pets at an in-home meeting
Cell phones ringing
Someone more interesting than the prospect which should NEVER be the case
The rattling of a health/candy bar or a piece of candy
Forget everything else and just pay attention to your prospect! This subject comes from the Ten Communication Qualities on Professional Inviter. The first quality of the ten is BE INTERESTED IN THE PROSPECT. The second quality is DON'T BE DISTRACTED BY ANYTHING IN THE ENVIRONMENT. If you think about it, if you're really doing the first quality, the second quality is a given. Much respect and admiration, Tim Sales |
