The mistake most individuals make in building relationships is assuming that influence is a one-time event. We sprint through life, running from meeting to meeting, shooting off email after email and ending our days wondering, “What just happened?”
I refer to every conversation as The 3³ Approach. During every conversation you should ask yourself: “What do I need to do and say to influence this relationship three days, weeks, months and years from now?”
Think about every conversation having influence from a wider lens by asking these powerful questions:
What perception do I leave with my listeners after every conversation? What questions can I ask my listeners to better understand where they are now with my topic compared to where I want them to be? How do my listeners prefer to communicate with me – face-to-face or a phone conversation, email or text? This question is critical to ask early in the relationship to honor your listeners’ time and to communicate through a medium that works best for them. You can’t take the relationship to the next level without frequent communication.
When you take a closer look at what you can do and what you can deliver to make every moment matter, your relationships have more meaning and depth.
This level of influence keeps you in front of your clients, peers and team members when they:
Want to partner with a reliable and trusted resource; Need to expand their knowledge, services and offerings; and, Are ready to buy.
As a result, your ability to influence your listener weeks, months and years from now will put more money in your pocket and advance your career and personal and professional relationships.
Complete Your Five-Minute Feedback™
This week prior to a conversation, give serious thought about what you can do and say to influence your listeners and the relationship days, weeks, months and years from now. After a conversation, identify: What Worked, What Didn’t Work and What Do I Want to Change. For example, under “What Worked,” answer these questions: What delivery skills allowed me to connect and engage my listeners? What questions did I ask that helped me identify what’s really going on with my listeners?
