It's no secret that better relationships often lead to more sales. But, how do you affect better relationships? According to this article in the Journal of Retailing, one way to do this is through mimicking or mirroring. The article indicates retail salespeople who subtly mimicked a customer's speech and behavior were more successful at selling (based on an experiment by Nicolas Gueguen and others). Among customers who solicited salespeople for information about an MP3 player, 78.8% bought such a product from mimickers, compared with 61.8% from non-mimickers. That's a 17% improvement. Additionally, customers who had been mimicked were more positive about the salespeople and the store.
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Many CEOs pay lip service to the statement that "their people are their greatest asset." Do you, do you really believe your team, your people, are your greatest asset? And if yes, do you have recruiting and talent management processes that allow you to attract, hire, develop and retain your "leaders of tomorrow"? Do you run a "learning organization" and do you realize the value of "development opportunities" for attracting and retaining the best and brightest? If not, better make some quick changes. Because, according to Dr. Brad Smart in his e-book, Avoid Costly Mis-Hires, after conducting 65,000 case studies, the single most important factor in a leader’s (company's) success is the talent of the team assembled.
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Since you're nearly "over it" and consistently thinking on paper, it's time for a paradigm shift in your job hunting effort. As you search for your next great job, you must move from just seeing yourself as an employee to recognizing that YOU are the PRESIDENT of your own PERSONAL SERVICES CORPORATION. You sell your services to your customer, your future employer.
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I once heard John Maxwell talk about sending ducks to “Eagle School.” He said that no matter how hard you try, as soon as you hand them their “Eagle School Certificate,” they’ll waddle right off the stage because they’re ducks. The point is that it’s almost impossible to turn historical underperformers (ducks) into “A Players” (eagles). It’s much better to hire “A Player” “Eagles” from the outset.
Identifying “A Player” “Eagles” has always been like finding a needle in the haystack. Today, the haystack is considerably larger, and hiring right the first time is even more critical. You can ill afford under-performing employees that cost you valuable time and profits!
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“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” That's basically what the cat told Alice in the Disney Classic, Alice in Wonderland. The same is true in recruiting and hiring...if you don’t know "WHO" you’re looking for, you’ll take anyone you can get.
So, next time you begin a hiring or recruiting project, don't just dust off that same old job description and change the title...step back and "Begin with the end in mind!"
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