How One Small Gesture Can Lead to Big Results

In this Edition

1. How a Little Praise Can Go a Long Way

2. Time to Step Away From Your Computer Screen?

How One Small Gesture Can Lead to Big Results

“I love your freckles”.

It’s not a comment you would normally make to a waitress whilst ordering food at a restaurant, but that’s exactly what my friend said as she browsed through her menu.?

Her comment initially seemed a little strange to me. To complement a complete stranger? I’m a Brit, we simply don’t say things like that over here!

But as she put it to me afterwards: “There are too many professions where people are simply ignored. They’re invisible. They’re taken for granted. It’s important to say something positive to them, to make them feel valued”.

And it struck me afterwards how right she was.?

In fact her comment reminded me of an amazing talk I recently heard from Marie Fratoni, a networking expert, who started her presentation by saying……

“When was the last time you kicked off a meeting with someone by praising them?”

How often have you sat down to meet a potential client, or a collaboration partner where the meeting starts with a little awkward small talk …. about the town you live in, what the weather is like, or the recent networking event where you met.?

Let’s be honest, It all feels a bit fake. And it can end up making the whole conversation feel formulaic….

1. Start with small talk?
2. They talk about what they do
3. You talk about what you do
4. You discuss how you can work together
5. Agree next action
6. END

Where’s the human touch?

Where’s the warmth?

Where’s the personality?

It’s not a job interview.??

So here’s an idea.?

Start every meeting with praise.?

It will change the trajectory of your whole meeting and ultimately your relationship.

Spend a little time researching the person you’re meeting.

• Ask others who’ve collaborated with them about what they’re like to work with
• Watch their TED talk, browse their videos, listen to their podcast
• Study their offer
• Read their articles

It feels so much more natural when you start off a meeting saying something like “I wanted to say how much I enjoyed your recent video about selling. It really resonated with me”. The whole meeting ends up becoming a friendly conversation. And it flows so much more naturally.

When was the last start time you started a meeting with someone by praising them?

This brings me to the topic of joint ventures.?

Before you work with a joint venture partner, they need to make sure they have these 3 qualities:?

1. Their audience needs to be a fit
2. They need to have an offer that will resonate with your audience; and,?
3. You need to actually like them!?

The third quality is the most important one.?

A great JV partner is so much more than just someone who promotes you.

They are someone who you can share ideas with and who will give you honest feedback….

They are people who will gladly refer you to their clients and friends…..?

They are often your biggest fans, they believe in you.?

I just came back from the Soulful Leadership Retreat in Florida. It’s a 3-day networking event for heart centered entrepreneurs. I met over 20 of the partners I collaborate with: coaches, consultants, experts, authors. We wined and dined together, we shared jokes, we shared experiences, we laughed together, we even cried. I count some of them as personal friends.?

Start investing in your relationships.?

Praise your JV partners.

It could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.?

Time to Move Away From Your Computer Screen?

I regularly share posts on how to be a "pro" when it comes to JV partnerships.

A couple of weeks ago, I actually met the "pro".

Meet Ellen Finkelstein, founder of Change the World Marketing, and host of the Freebie Swap Network.

Ellen teaches coaches, consultants, authors and speakers how to create their marketing message, grow their audience, and create an online product or course.?

She is the perfect role model on how to become the JV partner that everybody wants to work with.

Over the nearly 3 years we have worked together I have found Ellen to be incredibly generous with every partnership that she invests in.

It doesn't matter whether your email list size is 50,000 or 500. To Ellen you’re a VIP.

When she decides to promote you, she is "all in".?

In fact she is frequently one of the top performing partners on the product launches she participates in.?

I recently flew from the UK to Florida to be at the Soulful Leadership Retreat hosted by Mark and Renee Porteous, because I like to meet my JV partners in person. But that wasn't the only thing I did.

Whilst I was there I decided to make a detour to South Florida to meet Ellen.

Which brings me to the main point I'd like to make today.

Zoom meetings are great, but they should never be a substitute for meeting in person.

When you meet face to face, you can discuss everything that you discuss on a zoom call, but it's so much better......

? Face to face conversations feel less structured but more relaxing. The conversations flow better. You get to discuss topics that you wouldn't normally discuss in a zoom meeting. For example, your personal lives, which helps build your relationship

? You're both more focused when you're in the same room. You can have deeper conversations

? You can pick up body language. It's easier to detect changes in someone's tone of voice and their emotions. You can read the room. As a result, you interact better

? Meeting in person builds trust. By making the decision to travel, you are demonstrating that you value each other's time and business.

? Best of all. issues with technology are eliminated. Think about the number of calls you've had where either video or audio isn't working properly. Technology can ruin the whole relationship building process.

It's no surprise that I met two of my clients in person, thousands of miles away from home, before working with them.

I get it. Zoom can sometimes be the only practical way to meet. Some of us are literally oceans and continents apart. But if you're a few minutes, or even a a couple of hours apart, its worth blocking out a morning or afternoon to meet.

Trust me, it's a game changer.

And if you are ever in South Florida, make sure you visit Ellen.

You won’t be disappointed!