Finding the style that works for you will give meaning to each encounter and create connections that build lasting relationships.
“Imagine what will happen if each of us decides to reach just a little bit higher, to try just a little bit harder, to care just a little bit more. That’s the power of one.” —Gil Atkinson, inventor
Kippie Helzel, MAS, vice president of sales for Erie, Pennsylvania-based supplier CPS\The Keystone Line (UPIC: keystone) and I were thrilled that so many attendees chose to participate in our education session at The PPAI Expo in Las Vegas last January.
For those who missed it, our program was titled “13 Ways to be Remembered,” and I’d like to recap it here because every day I am reminded that business is not business as usual. Unless we differentiate ourselves, continue to add value, build high trust in each relationship and seek out new sales opportunities, there may not be an office to go to tomorrow. But how do we get that phone to ring or e-mail program to chime? How do we become the go-to contact or resource even in a down economy?
During this session we offered our perspective on two topics: remarkable people are remembered and how each of us can find our own unique style to become remarkable and create the connections that build lasting relationships.
Although I’d love to discuss all 13 ways here in this article, space obviously is an issue. So I selected the following four topics to share with you:
Identifying Our Strengths
Today we need to transform our companies from solution-based to meaningful solution-based businesses. We can no longer simply be the promotional products company that has access to millions of different items. Relevance, value and emotion are important attributes that have to be assimilated into our service vocabulary.
For the past several years, Kippie and I have relied on the strengths we possess. Our company’s offerings are unique and, in many cases, our client base is different. We discovered that by combining our product knowledge, networking ability and spirit of adventure, sometimes magic transpired. By focusing on our individual strengths, we each were able to open new doors and find new opportunities.
What is your strength? Our product concept here at The Book Company demands story-telling. It’s not about varieties of colors or what’s new. It’s about creating stories and sharing messages that are inspired or supported by great books. I love telling stories. I love showing a book and saying “What if …” or probing with thoughtful questions to see how I can capture an idea and meld it with a book idea. Something that is truly remarkable is always remembered, and isn’t that the objective?
You have a unique talent. Discover where that lies. Sit down with your family, peers or team members and figure out what energizes and inspires you. Learning about the real you is one way to help you build your life and your business.
Developing A Personal Brand
So do you have a personal brand? How do you package yourself? How you appear to others impacts how they respond to you. Just think, would you buy from yourself? The first impression happens within a matter of moments. What you wear, how you sound on the phone, the words you use in your e-mail; all of these contribute to how recipients perceive you. How they perceive you may not be the reality of who you are, but it’s all they have to go on. Perception is 99 percent of what we need to deliver to our clients. It’s the picture they have in their minds of you and your company that you want to paint.
Kippie and I have a similar personal brand. We’re both genuinely friendly. We both really care about our colleagues and customers. We both like to smile and laugh as often as possible and put people at ease. Thank-you notes and birthday surprises have become trademarks for those close to us. People tend to remember my great big smile—those huge teeth covering most of my face. Great, I’m glad to be remembered for that. If we can make a connection with these simple ideas and open doors with a smile then wonderful. What’s even more remarkable is that it doesn’t cost anything.
Communicating Effectively
In addition to presenting ideas about finding our strengths and creating our personal brands, Kippie and I talked about the importance of effective communication.
Tim Russert, the late host of NBC’s Meet the Press, was direct in delivery when asking tough questions but yet always had a pleasant look on his face. What a loss he’s no longer with us. Isn’t it remarkable how a whole nation mourned his passing as if he were our friend, one of us, a member of our family? After the election, many only wished he were around to share his perspective. His greatest and most memorable moment came during the 2000 presidential election. On his dry-erase board were the words: Florida, Florida, Florida. He communicated in a way we all understood and remembered.
People who communicate well are informative, prepared and show strength and leadership. They are unafraid to speak the truth, and their words inspire or clarify. How we communicate verbally—whether in person or on the phone, through e-mail or letters, on YouTube or Facebook—all stands as a testament of how we want to be seen and what we want people to remember.
Embracing Our Passions
Patrick Henry Hughes was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder. His arms would not straighten, his legs would never allow him to walk, and he was born with no eyes. Yet, what happened over time is truly remarkable.
In his book, I Am Potential, Hughes and his father share their incredible life stories. At age nine, first experimenting with a piano, until today, as an accomplished musician and author, through unwavering optimism, humor and courage, he turned his disabilities into amazing abilities. “On the day I was born, you might say I arrived carrying a bag full of lemons,” Hughes says. “But life is what it is and you just have to keep going.”
Patrick’s passion for music set the stage for him to make great strides. He turned his back on living a life as someone whose glass is half full to someone whose glass is overflowing.
What are you passionate about? Find something that energizes you and gets you up at 4 am (besides work). Immerse yourself in a program or an organization that means something.
These are four of the ways Kippie and I believe we can all make a difference in our own personal lives and, inevitably, grow our businesses. The key is to find the way or ways that work for each of us. The beauty is that we are individuals, which is a treasure and something to be cherished every day.
This year, I hope you’ll make a genuine effort to show who you really are. Let your guard down and be real, be approachable, be humble and be a friend. Reach out to your industry friends and colleagues, such as Kippie and I have with each other, and ask us for ideas and suggestions.
