Recently I’ve had several situations
arise which have reminded me yet again that attitude shapes the outcome of
everyday dealings in huge ways. Because of this, I decided to visit this idea
in this month’s column.
Some days my schedule involves
marathon radio interviews beginning at 4 a.m. As you can imagine, getting up at
an hour when roosters haven’t even begun to think about warming up their
vocal chords is not the most enticing of tasks.
However, as the founder and
chairman of an international organization, I agree to do these interviews at
such an outrageous hour because it is my responsibility to do whatever needs to
be done to network for the organization.
Now, can you imagine what would
happen if I answered the interviewer’s first question –which is always
“How are you doing today, Dr. Misner?”– by grumbling about how I had stubbed my
toe, how tired I was, or how I wished I was back in my warm bed? What
would happen is that people would be immediately turned off by my negative
attitude and nobody would listen to me.
This brings me to my point: In order
to be a master net-worker, you must always maintain a positive attitude no
matter what. With almost three decades of professional networking
experience, one thing I’ve learned is how important it is to have a positive
attitude in order to successfully network.
And if I’m going to go around
telling other people how to discipline and train themselves to network
effectively, then I darn well better be walking the talk (or at least limping
along, stubbed toe and all) and maintaining the positive attitude of a master net-worker.
Now that I’ve shared one of the most
important traits of a master net-worker, I figure I might as well give you
another eight as well. Choosing to do these will most definitely make you more
successful…
1. Being enthusiastic/motivated This is similar to number 2 just above, but it also has to
do with your own internal motivation and drive to succeed.
2. Following up on referrals If you don’t take the time to follow up on the referrals
you get from others, not only are you losing potential business – you are also
losing the trust of those who referred you (and probably also any future
referrals from them as well).
3. Having good listening skills As I’ve always said, you have two ears and only one mouth
for a reason. Those who choose to use their ears more than their mouth usually
gain more valuable information than those who don’t.
4. Being trustworthy It’s a proven fact that it’s much harder to re-gain trust
after it is lost – choose the path of trustworthiness.
5. Always networking The strongest net-workers I’ve met are those who don’t turn
their networking efforts “on” and “off” according to pre-determined hours.
Networking is not a “punch the clock” activity.
6. Thanking people This sounds so simple and obvious, but I continue to be
surprised at the number of people I see not doing this!
7. Being sincere Another trait that is pretty easily seen through if it’s
not really meant. No one wants to do business with a snake-oil salesman.
8. Enjoying being someone who helps
people This trait is very difficult to
fake. A sincere love of helping others is an unbeatable complement to a hard
and focused business drive.
Starting this week, try making a
conscious effort to be aware of your attitude at all times and if it could
stand some improvement think about three simple things you could choose to
do to change your attitude for the better on a daily basis. If you’ve
already got a great handle on maintaining a positive attitude, take this week
to focus on one or more of the other traits of a master net-worker and think of
three ways you can build your effectiveness in these areas.
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