Perry Buffington, Ph.D., wrote a neat little book I recommend (same title as this article) that I found on the bargain table at Barnes and Noble. He has 62 simple mind tricks that you can use in your business and personal life.
Cheap Trick No. 13: “Statistics from information theorists show that what you know is important 12.5 percent of the time, but who you know is important 87.5 percent of the time.” He points out that very few people are unapproachable. You just have to find that right person in the chain (could be an executive assistant or gatekeeper) and work your way up.
Joe Girard is famous for his Law of 250: every person you know, knows 250 others you don’t. I’d like to update his finding. Let’s call it the Law of Twitter: every person you know could have 1000 followers.
Cheap Trick No. 24: Your in-built circadian rhythm clock controls your peaks and valleys. The best time to hold meetings, and make and return phone calls, is 8:00 a.m. – noon. In fact, introverts peak between 8:00 – 10 a.m., while extroverts are most productive between 10:00 a.m. – noon.
The best “analytical time” is 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. This is when you want to attend to details and avoid personal interaction (including phone calls). If you call someone on the phone in the afternoon, you’re more likely to get a “no” to your request.
Why do most people get their pink slips on Friday afternoons? Because it’s the end of the week and late in the afternoon when people are confrontational, feeling their “oats”, and have less empathy. They’re primed for a fight and it will be easier to be ruthless.
Cheap Trick No. 30: Most people buy gifts based on the person’s personality. Don’t. Such gifts are often re-gifted and passed on. Instead, consider someone’s activities and hobbies and choose a gift accordingly. Do they like to run, hike, or bike? Are they computer gamers? Is photo their hobby? Hang gliding their passion? They will appreciate any gift in their gifted areas of fun.
Cheap Trick No. 41: Avoid watching the news since 70 percent of all your sensory intake is visual. Don’t avoid the news, just don’t see it. Instead, listen to it. “Hearing about a tragedy does not have the same impact as seeing it depicted graphically on television. Radio news tends to be shorter, more terse, and less likely to suffer from the emotional sensationalism inherent in television programs.” Reading the news is even better since the written word doesn’t have the emotional impact of visual demonstration.
Cheap Trick No. 51: Strip away people’s masks and get personal. Masks take the form of titles (Doctor, Ph.D., CEO, Ms., Mr.). Even the telephone is a mask people hide behind. (Why it’s easier for someone to say “no” on the phone, rather than reject you face-to-face.)
Buffington says that people who wear masks are less compassionate and more likely to harm others. (The Lone Ranger excluded.) People wearing masks can deliver more hurt to you with less hurt to them, because you’re an object to them and they can remain separate from you. If you’re talking with your physician, call him or her by their first name and not “doctor”. You’ll bring them to a personal level while getting honest information delivered empathetically. (Again, there are exceptions: see “House”.)
Note the irony: the author Buffington uses his mask (Ph.D.) on the book’s cover, title page, and preface.
Cheap Trick No. 54: An important interviewing trick is to respond to the prospect’s questions or statements with a simple “Oh?” This will get people to give more details and elaborate on their thoughts. “Oh” is simply a way of saying “Continue”.
And when you ask “What do you think about that?” or “What’s your take on the situation?” you turn the other person into an expert and they’ll like you even more.
Simple mind games. With a twist.
About The Author:
© 2009 Jerry Hocutt. Read more articles by Jerry at his blog http://footinthedoor.squarespace.com/journal and listen to a free preview of his CD/MP3 audio program Cold Calling for Cowards® at http://www.footinthedoor.com/freepreview.html.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment