Volume 6, 2009

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Featured Topic: Stimulating Relationships

Inside This Issue

Stimulate Relationships

Companies are striving to stimulate their sales, provide quality service, and keep their employees happy during these challenging economic times. Competition is stiff for the customers who are making purchases and decisions. It all boils down to relationships.

Ask any one of the 12.5 million Americans who have lost their jobs how important relationships are. It is no longer who you know, rather who knows you and how willing they are to help connect you to the right person or organization. Last month we encouraged you to make a list of people who would return your call immediately or respond to your email. If you have done that, try making contact with a few. You may be surprised who doesn’t respond.

Now is the time to cultivate relationships for future sales, service, or jobs. It is not a one step process. If you have not had contact with a person in a while, it is unlikely that you can accomplish what you want in one phone call. Yet, do not delay in making that long overdue contact.

Instead of calling to find out what you can sell them or who they know that can help you, reverse the process. Call to find out what is going on in their business and life and offer to be the connector. Perhaps you cannot connect them immediately, yet knowing their situation will afford you the opportunity to seek solutions for them.

One simple way to accomplish this is to take two business cards instead of just one. Write on the back of one specific points of your conversation. Keep the second one clean to give to the person you will eventually connect them to. It can work similarly when using a database. Put in electronic notes of their needs and place on your calendar people who might be possible connections.

When you are in a meeting, don’t just tune into the portion that directly involves you or your department. Listen for opportunities to help others reach their goals. The aim here is not getting public credit, rather building relationships. People that help you and don’t ask for something in return are the very people whose calls you will return when they reach out to you. Become that person.

Yes, how fortunate it would have been had you started this process long before the recession. The key is that taking the time to build relationships now will eventually pull you and your company out of it. Start today so that you may have tomorrow.

What Our Clients Are Saying

... About Spring Creek Retreat: My family was visiting from Texas and we rented the large house. They absolutely loved the house, the grounds and sitting on the deck and fishing in the river. It is a WONDERFUL house with many touches that made us feel at home. The Texans all want to come back- but our family is not going to wait that long since we are only 3 hours away!! Thank you so much- it was the best few days we have spent together in over 20 years!!!

Jeri Perchinski- Huntsville, AL

Two Ways to Stimulate Relationships Without Spending a Nickel!

Vincent Ivan Phipps

My father always told me, protect your credit! When I asked him the significance, he said, “Credit is better than money. You can always get more credit!”

In our current recession, protecting your credit and money are both important. It is equally important to protect your current relationships. Our society is inundated with electronic forms of communication including text messages and online social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, etc). We are more connected electronically than socially. Our interpersonal communication is becoming distant.

Relationships require that human touch. I find it funny how we use computer emoticons: :-) smily face, LOL (laughing out loud), BRB (Be right back), TTFN (ta ta for now), and JK (just kidding), to compensate for our lack of emotions in written electronic messages.

Last month, I was asked to deliver the keynote speech at a company’s award luncheon. A few days after the speech, I received some emails from the audience sharing how much they enjoyed the way the content was customized specifically for their industry. What was most surprising was that someone wrote me a letter!

Yes a letter! Not an email, not a text message, not even a personalized e-card that had my name and company typed on a posted website. It was a genuine, hand written, front and back letter, written on paper. It was awesome! I can’t remember the last time I received (or wrote), a regular letter. It made me feel special! I was recently asked to travel across the state to motivate over 500 people in 30 minutes. That one letter motivated me in less than 30 seconds!

Let’s share this positive energy and continue the wave of stimulation in our relationships. Since the theme of this issue is stimulating relationships, here are two things we can do that are easy, free, and effective:

Number one:

Brag on others. When we brag on ourselves, we appear arrogant and conceited. When we brag about our own companies, it comes across as self-serving and pontificating. But when we brag on other companies and their success, we are seen as promoters and supporters!

Example: At your next networking function, instead of saying, “John, this is Alice. Alice, this is John,” say; “John, I want you to meet Alice. Alice has just been promoted to the Head of her Department in Human Resources. Alice, this is John. John just started his own company.”

Both people will see you as selfless and supportive of others. Your knowledge in each of their fields will also make you look more invested in their success. In turn, they will look to repay the favor and promote you too!

Number two:

Compliment them. This is more than just saying, “congratulations” or “nice job.” TLC teaches a technique called, “Informative Compliments.” These compliments go beyond traditional compliments. Informative Compliments are designed to make the other person feel great and to ensure that she will do it again!

For example, let’s say a person referred someone to you. Their referral resulted in a lucrative outcome for you or your company. Instead of saying, “thank you for the referral. It was very helpful,” say this instead, “Vanessa, thank you for referring Jonathan Smith to me. Jonathan said he wants me to talk with his executive board about a 6-month contract! This sale means a lot to our company's financial success.”

When complimenting, remember to tell the person what they did and exactly how it helped you. This ensures they know you are appreciative of their efforts and informed about the outcomes.

Use both of these approaches to stimulate the economy by stimulating your relationships. Much like credit, you want to protect your relationships, too. Money can eventually run out. But you can always build stronger relationships. Here are two ways to ensure that you do. Remember, the more people you know, the more you and your team can grow!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to TLC clients celebrating in June!

Featured Service: Spring Creek Retreat

“Summer time, and the living is easy!” The fish are jumping and the birds are singing. With all the late spring rainfall, Spring Creek is higher than it has been in several years, and there’s nothing better than the rush of passing water for a great night’s sleep!

The high water mark is not the only improvement at Spring Creek Retreat. During the winter months, we were busy sprucing up the Creek House. The interior walls are now aglow with fresh paint. The large country kitchen is even more functional now with a china cabinet and space to place your groceries. The master bedroom is a haven for relaxation with the new color schemes of rich tan and brown. The living room boasts a new flat screen television.

We hope you will come see for yourself! With the previous renovations on the Ayuwasi House and the recent ones for the Creek House, all that’s missing is you! If you have a special event, please let us know. A recent guest was celebrating a 40th birthday and we helped to make the weekend special by picking up and placing the bouquets of roses throughout the house. What can we do for you?

Remember, if you want to see people and work on your relationships, you need to bring them with you. Otherwise, you and the critters can have a ball relaxing by the white water creek or hiking the trails.

For more information, pictures and a virtual tour of Spring Creek Retreat, bordered by the Cherokee National Forrest and spring-feeding the beautiful Hiawassee and Ocoee rivers, please go to our website at www.springcreekretreat.com or give us a call at 1-800-488-7218.

P.S. Return to page one of this issue of The Exchange to read what a recent visitor had to say about their weekend at Spring Creek Retreat.

CEO Corner

Beverly Inman-Ebel

“Work the Net”

Sometimes I just get tired of phrases like “teamwork” and “networking.” I think I get fatigued with them because they have become buzz -words that we use thinking everyone understands; yet few execute, which dilutes their impact.

Take the word networking. Unfortunately, too many people execute this concept like consumers react to after Christmas retail sales. Everyone is running around looking for deals and disregarding common courtesies. You won’t catch me anywhere near the stores on December 26th.

Instead of networking, I think we need to work the net that we have. Imagine a fisherman. If he is net working, then I see him mending his net in order to catch more fish one day. If he is working his net, I visualize him casting his net into the depths of the water.

We all have people within our net. Are we working them? And if not, how do we begin? I have a former client that was a director at a Fortune 100 company. I liked him a lot. Once, when his beloved Gators (University of Florida for you non-football fans) did not surprisingly make it to the SEC championship game and Tennessee did (bigger surprise!), he called me and gave me his pre-purchased tickets because he remembered I was a VOL fan. Several years later, he left his company because of a new practice established to send work overseas that he disagreed with. I respected him for that. He now works with a cutting edge, but smaller firm. My company will not likely use his company’s service, yet I am still looking to connect him with another larger company that can. Even though I have not made that connection for him yet, last month he sponsored me as I rode my bicycle for The American Diabetes Association. This man is working his net and I would return his call in a heartbeat.

On a personal note, I have a friend from my college days that faithfully sends me birthday and anniversary cards. She came to visit us about three years ago. In other words, she has worked her net to keep us connected. I, on the other hand, send an annual family newsletter and don’t even know when her birthday or anniversary is. I decided to change that. I contacted her last week to reconnect, no easy feat since I had been out of contact with her and her numbers had changed. My husband and I are going up to spend the Fourth of July with her and her husband. Deb realizes this is a big deal because July 4th is our wedding anniversary. It’s about time that I started demonstrating that our relationship matters.

I have always said that I learn from my clients. I plan to work my net and let people know that they matter to me. How about you? Now is the time. Let people in your life know that you care about them, not just so they will return your calls, but because it is the right thing to do. Right thing. Right time. Live your dreams!

TLC establishes long-term relationships with our clients. If we have helped you or if you believe our approach to change would work for someone you know, please request a proposal or phone 1-888-232-2873. We work with individuals and groups on the following subject areas: attitude, listening, body language, voice, leadership, compliments and corrections, behavioral style, teamwork, effective meetings, public speaking, accent reduction and much more!.

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