Sell Yourself First, And Your Product Will Follow
Last night we were watching a show about a wedding cake competition. (she sat down first) The premise of the show was to determine who among the five bakers was able to create the best cake to be judged by the happy couple who would be serving the cake at their wedding.
To start, I had no idea that a wedding cake can cost well into the thousands of dollars. You heard me right ... thousands of dollars. This just turned into a serious competition. As the show progressed the couple walk from station to station talking to the bakers, expressing their thoughts, wishes and concerns about their cake. Now remember, the winner of this competition was going to walk away with a check for $5,000 and the losers are going home with $15 worth of eggs, milk, butter and flour. Game on!
I am not a professional wedding cake judge. I really don't know what makes one wedding cake better than another. I would probably base my decision of which cake offered the best financing. What I am capable of judging however is the likability of each contestant, and here's what I discovered.
As far as I could tell all the cakes looked great. One was as pretty as the next. The only significant difference was the interaction between the couple and the people eager to receive a check written in their name.
Now you would have thought that all the contestants would have treated the couple with respect. You would have been wrong. And just as I had expected, the baker who was the least likable was the first to be eliminated. And the person who won the competition was the most likable. No surprise here.
Likability matters. Did you know, for example, that the presidential candidate who had the highest likability rating with the American people has won every general election since JFK in 1960? There are also dozens of studies that found that likable people are more likely to get a job, keep a job and move ahead in that job. They earn more money, they live longer and they are overall happier people.
So, if you believe the statistics, getting elected and winning wedding cake competitions is not about issues or cakes, it's about being liked. But how do you become likable? Here's the secret!
If you want to be liked by others, (and who doesn't) you must focus your attention on helping people like themselves when they're in your presence. It's that simple. If you can help people like themselves when they're with you, they will like you in return.
Unfortunately, most of the bakers did not understand that winning is not about creating just a beautiful cake. It's about creating a beautiful environment where the customer feels liked, appreciated and confident that you will listen to their opinions.
I would love to hear how being likable has impacted your success. Please comment below.
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People Do Business wth People They Like
My area of expertise is fat loss and fitness. Likeability is everything in getting clients/buyers in this business. No one wants to be told they need to lose weight and shape up, for starters. So there is a built in "approachability" issue. Rather than promoting, a good fat loss/fitness consultant needs to attract people to him or her, by good word-of-mouth, and that means being likeable.
Most people, quite frankly, do not want to do what is necessary to lose weight healthfully and permanently, without gimmicks. That is, exercise daily, and watch carefully that they eat the right foods and drink the right beverages.
Most people think they can lose weight on their own, which is rarely the case.
Put these and other factors together, and a fat loss and fitness consultant has to be one of the most likeable people on the planet, if they want a steady stream of clients.
Most people who have overweight issues do not feel good about themselves, quite the contrary, despite the jolly fat person exterior many display. So I have learned that Bob's info that the primary key to being likeable is to ensure people feel good about themselves while in your presence is priceless advice.
It is everything in a business where people can take or leave the services being offered, like fat loss. People at some point have to go to the dentist, or have to buy the new car, etc. They can always and forever put off losing weight and getting into shape, which is what most people do.
To consistently win customers in that atmosphere takes at least a master's degree in likeability. First the client has to like themself. Then they like you, for making them feel good about themselves in your presence. Then they are most likely to buy your services; people do business with people they like.Posted 12-20-2007 at 04:53 PM by jeromek
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