Make It Happen

Who's your Charlie?

One of the most productive ways to see a country, especially where you don't speak the language, is to hire a private guide. You get an insider's perspective, a translator, and a driver all rolled into one.

And if you are lucky enough to have a tour guide like Charlie, then you might also learn a few things... about networking.

He didn't talk about networking at all, but he certainly lived it. Over two weeks, he greeted, shook hands, hugged, and kissed approximately 20 people each and every day. It didn't matter if it was me and my group, the security guard, cashier, or the driver in the next car. Everyone got attention.

When asked to explain, he simply said that he "likes people". (When asked about how he finds new clients, he explains very simply: His clients like him, so they tell their friends. Hmmm.)

As I've written about extensively, Give-to-Get is the primary mechanism to develop value-based relationships with others. The lesson from Charlie is that a friendly face and some personal recognition both have an intrinsic value of their own. And that this value grows over time.

This Week's Action Plan: This simple lesson was earned through a relationship with a tour guide. Often, our best teachers are those around us - even if they don't know you're the student. Who's your Charlie?

Bonus Action Idea: This week, spend time each day giving personal recognition - even a friendly hello will do - to those around you. So simple, yet an incredibly powerful network builder.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news to register.

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news

Mind the (Service) Gap

How often have you been disappointed by an experience with a supplier? When it happens, it is usually because of a very basic problem: a gap between your expectations of service (or quality), and their expectations when delivering the service. Reducing frustration and disappointment is easy... if only you could get rid of that pesky gap.

Here are some ideas:

1) Set reasonable expectations: You expect five-star service at a five-star restaurant - but what is a reasonable service level for a three-star diner? (Hint: not five-star!) Often, we set ourselves up for disappointment by unreasonably expecting more than a supplier is capable of providing.

2) Communicate your requirements: Too often, a gap exists merely because the two parties don't understand what each needs. Does "next in line" mean a 10 minute wait, or an hour? Ensure that there is understanding by being clear about your requirements, and finding out beforehand if there may be a problem.

3) Solve problems early: For larger "transactions" find ways to monitor the progress periodically. If there seems to be an issue, it's always less expensive - and less frustrating - to address it earlier in the process.

When we reduce the gap to zero, and exceed client's expectations, an interesting thing begins to happen: our great performance becomes the new norm. Then to exceed this new norm requires even stronger performance. And so on. While some may see this as a problem, the opposite is true: we have created a virtuous cycle where the mere interaction with others causes us to improve.

This week's action plan: Whenever you communicate with others, you are either setting an expectation, or delivering against it. Before you blame others for disappointing (or frustrating) you, consider your role in the matter: did you set reasonable expectations, communicate your requirements, and solve problems early?

Social Media bonus idea: Expectations are set in the Social Media world as well. This Tipsheet comes out every Tuesday, Wednesday at the latest, and has for almost six years. What expectation am I setting in readers minds? Consider your own Social Media posts: if you were reading them, what implicit promises are you making? What expectations are you setting? Set the right expectations, and you'll never have to worry about the gap.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news to register.

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news

Respect Your Referrals

One of the most powerful concepts in networking is "Give to Get": the more you help other people, the more they will help you. Give to Get also has a longer term benefit: the longer you do it, the more powerful your relationships and the more positive your reputation.

A great networking question is how much should you continue to give, before you might expect to get. Consider these two real, but opposite situations:

• After ten years of "giving", a networking contact referred a significant prospect, which resulted in an important new client.
• After delivering a high five-figure client to a networking contact, there wasn't any thank you or acknowledgement.

In the first situation, the networking contact saw an opportunity that was a perfect fit; keeping my name visible and valuable over time directly resulted in the referral. This contact continues to receive plenty of attention, and the relationship is even stronger.

In the second situation, the networking contact was so inwardly focussed, that the thought of even a simple thank you - let alone a gift - never crossed their minds. The result? They will never receive any attention (from me) in any way ever again: an organization that never says thank you will also never send a referral. The relationship is dead, and Give to Get is with them is a waste of time.

This week's action plan: A referral can be a new business lead, an important introduction, or maybe just a suggested connection on LinkedIn. Who have you given a referral to this week? Who has referred an opportunity your way? It is too easy to take these for granted, without realizing the impact of not reciprocating... or not saying thank you.

Bonus action plan: Go back through your calendar for the last year, and identify all of the people you haven't thanked, or that you haven't thanked enough, and take care of the task immediately. Respect your referrals.

Give to Get bonus: If you've done the thank you's from above, you're now treading water. This week, make some referrals yourself: you'll earn respect from your referrals. And hopefully, a thank-you.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news to register.

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news

For those reading (or watching) the news, you may have seen me recently. I've been quoted (or have appeared) in the following newspapers, magazines, or TV shows:

• News 88.9 Radio Saint John, Aug 4, 2010
• Globe and Mail, July 29, 2010
• Regina Leader-Post, July 27th, 2010
• CKNW radio Vancouver, July 25, 2010
• Canada AM, July 23, 2010
• CJAD Montreal July 23, 2010
• CKOM Radio Saskatoon, July 23, 2010
• CKTB Radio Niagara Region July 22, 2010
• CJOB Newstalk Winnipeg, July 22, 2010
• KoolFM Barrie, July 21, 2010
• KoolFM Barrie, July 6, 2010

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news

Idea Popularity Contest

How do you know if your idea is really popular? Asking around is one way. Doing a survey is another. But how how about the popularity of your idea on a world-wide scale? While this might be a bit of a challenge, if you can boil it down to a few keywords, there is a way, and surprisingly, it's free.

Google has a hidden tool that accesses all of the collected search data, and allows you to determine the popularity of any word or phrase. To test an idea's popularity, go to https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal, and enter your keywords or keyword phrases. Not only will you see how many people searched for the term, but you'll also see how the popularity has changed over time. Google provides all of this data for your search term, and also for hundreds of related ones.

This tool is particularly useful if you are looking to add more powerful keywords into your social media profile, web sites, or any online property. Or if you're just curious to see how often people are searching for a concept similar to yours.

This week's action plan: Gauging the popularity of keywords isn't just useful online. If you are writing a report or proposal, powerful keywords make a more powerful document. The next time you write anything important, check a few key phrases in the Google keyword tool to see if there are other words that are similar - but would win the popularity contest.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news to register.

Randall Craig
www.RandallCraig.com
www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com/news