How To Effectively Utilise Introductions / Referrals Effectively

The number one factor you must bear in mind at all times with regards to High Profile People is that they are extremely busy, and under an enormous amount of pressure; inundated with all kinds of requests, demands, and favours on a daily basis.

So if you're fortunate enough to get an Introduction or Referral, make sure you use the opportunity effectively.

Try as best to ensure that the Introduction / Referral isn't done via a hard copy letter. Letters generally lead to a slow process - having to go through PAs' first etc. There is a far greater chance of losing momentum if the Introduction or Referral is done via letter.

The best two forms of Introduction are via Phone or Email. Here's the best way to utilise each one.

1. Email
If your contact has introduced you to a High Profile Person via email, you should follow up this way;

-  Reply All - in other words when replying the original message (make sure you click on 'Reply All', so that both the person making the introduction and the High Profile Person see your reply).

-Thank your contact for the introduction.

- Introduce yourself to the High Profile Person by simply telling him / her your name, and how you can add value

- ask the High Profile Person when you can come and see her / him

Note - the high profile person will either tell you when to come and see him / her, or refer you to a subordinate that you are to meet with.

2. Phone
If you have been given the number of a High Profile Person, and he or she is expecting your call, the best process is as follows;

- send a text stating your name and the person that Introduced / Referred you, and tell them you will call them shortly.

Note - he or she will either not reply your text and simply wait for your call; or send a text asking you to call at a particular time.

- when you make the call, get straight to the point. Tell them Who You Are, What You're Known For, and How You Can Add Value.

Remember, these guys are extremely busy. They appreciate people that are 'To The Point', 'Precise',  and 'Focussed' in their approach.

Approaching A High Profile Sales Target At A Function / Event

 You need to remember two very important factors regarding High Profile targets - CEOs of Conglomerates, International Institutions / Organisations, Bank MDs, Business Moguls, Government Dignitaries etc etc.

1. People try to approach them every single day of their lives.

2. In reality how many of those people are they likely to remember?!

So your number one question should be;

"Why Would They Remember Me?"

In order for someone to remember you, you must make a quick and effective impact.

Tell them Who You Are, What You're Known for, and How You will Add Value.

Find time to think about this, and write it down. Start with a few lines, but over time reduce it to One Powerful Sentence.

Find An Hour

 Is it just me, or has it been a rather tortuous few days? I spent about 45 minutes in traffic yesterday morning at the Falomo junction. As I slowly made my way up Awolowo road I couldn't help but feel as though I was driving through chaos.

A few days ago, after going to four different petrol stations and either not being able to find any, or coming up against huge queues, I decided to call the company that services my car, to ask them to send one of their people to help me fill up my tank. The chap they sent met me at the first roundabout, Lekki Phase One. I told him I would walk back to the office, so that he could commence his task immediately without having to drop me back at my office.

As I walked back to my office I couldn't help but notice the loud and draining sound of generators - from virtually every compound / house that I passed. I had to make a couple of phone calls but was hesitant to do so because of the noise. When I eventually tried to make the calls I couldn't get through because of our woeful networks.

Suddenly it hit me - no petrol, no electricity, and poor mobile phone services; just a few of the services that don't work in Nigeria. I couldn't help but wonder whether Anything actually works in this country.

And yet, so many of us continue to think and behave as though everything is just dandy. So very little works, but we all seem to think it's okay. It's almost as though there is some kind of evil spirit / dark force hovering over this country - ensuring that we all remain ignorant and docile.

Is it really okay for nothing to work?

Do we really want to continue to have no electricity?

Do we want a life of perpetual petrol queues?

Do we want a perennially compromised NCC?

Do we want to continue to witness the increase of youths on the street - with no hope of employment?

Do we want corruption to continue to seep into and destroy every sphere of our lives?

Corruption lies at the route of all our problems. Funds that should go to Education, Stable Electricity, Security, PMS Supply, Job Creation, Health, Housing, and so much more, all too easily finds its' way into the pockets of individuals - be they politicians, Nollywood stars, or musicians.

Things simply cannot continue like this.
Please find an hour to pray for Nigeria today.

1. For Peace and Love to Reign

2. For God to frustrate the plans of those that want to keep us in darkness

3. For God's choice of candidate to win

4. For God's will to be done in Nigeria

If you have your PVC, please make sure you vote.

The definition of madness is expecting change or improvement whilst we continue to do the same things over and over and over again.

Play your role, and leave the rest to God.

Be Prayerful And Peaceful

"I call on all Nigerians to peacefully express your views and to reject the voices of those who call for violence. And when elections are free and fair, it is the responsibility of all citizens to help keep the peace, no matter who wins.

Today, I want to speak directly to you - the people of Nigeria. Successful elections and democratic progress will help Nigeria meet the urgent Challenges you face today."

Barack Obama, President of United States of America

The US president couldn't have put it any better.

There are two things that matter most this week.

1. Prayer

This is a time in which we must all be very prayerful. We must pray for a Peaceful election wherein no lives or property are damaged in any way, and wherein the unity and sanctity of our nation is held firmly in tact. 

Pray also for God to frustrate and destroy the plans of every man and woman that wants to frustrate Nigeria's progress; for God to destroy the plans of of every man and woman that is holding this nation back.

2. Exercise your Electoral Right and Duty

For those of you that were not able to collect your PVCs, I am genuinely sorry.

For those that were able to do so, let no man, woman,  or situation deter you from exercising your right and duty to vote. There is nothing more annoying than hearing people complain and complain about the state of our nation, and yet those same people don't bother registering to vote. It smacks of both hypocrisy and foolishness. 

Do what is Right and Good, and leave the rest to God. 

When the whole of Babylon was ordered to worship a statue at a certain time on a daily basis, rather than cower / hide in fear, Daniel did what was right by his God. He continued to worship his God, and was promptly thrown into the lions' den. But in the midst of the lions was Jesus himself. Hence the lions never touched him.

God has given Nigeria another chance of redemption. 

Think about what is right for this nation - for your children, and your children's children. 

Finally, as a dear friend of mine pointed out to me during his adorable daughter's dedication party on Sunday afternoon, the connotations of this election are huge.

If, as many expect, the APC wins, as a result of people being sick and tired of the PDP, and President Jonathan peacefully accepts the outcome, it will send two very loud and clear messages to two groups of people.

1. It will tell the electorate that the real power lies with the people.

2. It will tell all parties and future governments that they can no longer do as they please and expect to remain in office. 

So play you part, and leave the rest to God.

Building Rapport Effectively During A First Meeting

The number one thing to remember with regards to Building Rapport is this;

It's All About Entering Your Prospect's Zone Without He or She Feeling Uncomfortable With You Inside It.

Note - if you enter someone's zone and they don't feel comfortable with you inside it, they will try to get away from you or get rid of you as quickly as possible

Remember what we learnt yesterday?

1. 'Similar' leads to 'Like' leads to 'Trust' leads to 'Business'

In other words your most challenging moment is at the very start; getting your prospect to think / believe that you are similar to each other. Once you successfully convey the 'similarity' signals the rest is fairly straight forward.

One of the most effective ways to project 'similarity' signals is by subtly mirroring your prospect's body language.

For example

- If your prospect is sitting with his or her legs crossed, subtly do likewise.

- If your prospect is sitting with his or her back against the chair, subtly do likewise.

- If your prospect continues to shift positions, remain in a neutral position.

Note - if your prospect has his or her arms folded, do NOT do likewise, as it is a defensive and negative stance.

Have you ever noticed the body language of a young couple in their early stages of dating? They basically mirror each other. In other words without realising it they are subconsciously telling each other that they are alike, and are comfortable in each other's world / Zone. That's where such phrases as - "we just gel" or "we just connected" come from.

For both Business and Relationships, it is all about entering the other party's zone without he or she feeling uncomfortable with you inside it.

How To Build Rapport On The Phone For Sales / Business and Romantic Relationships

There's a particular person that I always fear speaking with on the phone; a very nice person, and whom I have absolutely nothing against. And yet, the thought of speaking with this person on the phone often fills me with dread.

Why?

Because of the person's tone of voice - very shrilly - almost to the point of torture. Because the person's voice aggravates me so much it subconsciously tells me 'this isn't someone that is in anyway like me', and hence not someone I can ever do business with. Therefore I keep contact with this person to the barest minimum.

Building Rapport effectively on the phone is key to both Business and Romantic Relationships / Friendships.

There are two important areas to focus on.

1. Tone
Pay attention to the tone of voice of the person you're speaking with, and harness yours with theirs. 

The key to building relationships is the subconscious messages that are being sent.

It goes like this;

A. If a person thinks you're similar to them, they start to like you.

B. If they start to like you then they start to believe you can be friends.

C. If they believe you can be friends then they start to trust you.

D. Once they trust you they can do business with you - or in the case of Romantic Relationships, Date you.

2. Language 
Pay attention to the words they use in order to find out both their thinking patterns as well as how they make their decisions.

Just as in Relationships of Romance, the key to Building Rapport on the phone in Business is 'Listening'.

Listening in order to understand will enable you to know whether to Assimilate, Adapt, or Run.

Cold Calling For Sales And Dating

There is a distinct correlation between Sales and Relationships.

But before we begin, I sense some of you may be wondering what the point of this particular exercise is.

This week's sessions is for those that have convinced themselves that they will never like or be good at Sales. The fact of the matter is that we utilise certain Sales Skills in various aspects of our lives on a regular basis.

The four areas we will look at are;

1. Cold Calling

2. Building Rapport on the Phone

3. Building Rapport during a first meeting

4. Relationship Building

Cold Calling

Cold Calling means calling someone that doesn't know you, and who isn't expecting your call for the first time.

Remember the first time you called that girl / guy that you really like / liked?

What did you do before you dialed the number?

1. You did your research

2. You prepared for the call - most likely by identifying certain topics to discuss, based on your
research findings.

In most cases there are two objectives with regards to Relationship Cold Calls.

1. Get a date

2. Build enough rapport to be able to make a second call

In the same way, when making a business Cold Call, you should do the following;

A. Research the prospect

B. Prepare - have a list of three objectives that you want to achieve from the call.
- sell on the phone
- obtain a meeting with the relevant person
- obtain the contact details of the relevant person

When you do your research, and prepare thoroughly there is no longer any need to fear. For you are the one in control

Blowing Dollars !!!

There are some things that happen in this country that simply blow your mind; actions that are literally a shameless slap in the face; which scream out to all and sundry that "So long as I'm in power I can do whatever I want."

I read in last Sunday's Punch Newspaper that the President was shelling out US$250,000 bundles at south west traditional rulers.

Ponder on this for a few ticks;

1. Nigeria's dollar reserves are the lowest they've been for a decade.

2. The price of crude oil is at it's lowest for over sixty years.

3. The dollar to naira exchange rate has never been so high, and continues to increase at an alarming rate.

4. The financial markets have been taking a battering since January, and continue to do so.

5. Electricity supply may as well be non existent.

The poor continue to experience copious amounts of pain and grief, the comfort levels of the middle class continues to decline at breakneck speed, and even the rich are starting to experience a rather uncomfortable nervous twitch.

And yet, our Oga At The Top is blatantly spraying US Dollars across the land.

First of all, where exactly is this money coming from??

Secondly, even the smallest ounce of sensitivity or care for the plight of the people he is responsible for should tell him that such actions are bad for both the exchange rate and the economy.

This is not an anti-Jonathan or anti PDP article. My concern is for the State of Nigeria - Our Nation.

Yes, I know we're all suffering from electionitis at present. We've grown tired of the posters, the billboards, and the tv and radio adverts.

We in Lagos have grown especially tired of the traffic caused by both parties' political rallies, and the president's incessant visits. Indeed in my view the fact that a whole city comes to a very uncomfortable 'traffic standstill' every time the president comes into town suggests to me that contrary to the way things should be, we the people are the servants, and the government officials are very much our salacious masters.

It is for this very reason that we must not allow tiredness to creep in. Yes, it's been a long and painfully slow walk to this upcoming election. But now is not the time to allow mental fatigue to get the better of us.

Pay attention to your options and ensure that you choose widely.

Figure out the things that are important to you, and choose wisely.

Visualise the type of country you want your children to grow up in, and choose wisely.

 Think about the type of system you want your children to grow up in - Transparency or Corruption - and choose wisely.

Think about whether or not you want Government Accountability, and choose wisely.

Think about whether or not you want an Education System we can be proud of, and choose wisely.

Think about the Job Opportunities that may or may not be available for your Children after
University, and choose wisely.

Identify what it is needed to put Nigeria on the path to Greatness, and choose wisely.