Are you a nice person? Could that be said of you? In fact, do people remark that you are a pleasure to be with? Do they tell others? I read a book some time ago that impressed me on the value of being a nice person. It was called "The Power of Nice: How to Conquer the Business World with Kindness." That book really expressed the importance of being nice and what it means to business. At the time, my wife Carol told me that I was not very communicative and friendly in social situations. I have a tendency to be a loner and stay to myself. Small talk is not very interesting to me.
I had to learn to be nice. It has been a difficult journey. I have to pay particular attention to others around me and not only acknowledge their presence, but be sincerely interested in interacting with them. I am a type A personality and don't see the point in non-essential discussions. It's not easy sometimes, but very important. I am getting compliments.
Can people expect you to come through…every time? Gaining a reputation for reliability is critical to getting referrals. Paying attention to small details is a critical part of reliability. An incomplete task screams "unreliable."
I was encouraging a young man on his desire to build a lawn-care business. Upon observing his work, I noticed that his edging wasn't sharp because he was rushing the job to get to the next yard. One of his problems was that he was relying on low price to get yards for lawn care. I encouraged him to slow down, and improve his quality. That would allow him to increase prices and make more for less work. The neighbors would also be impressed with his work and want his service.
This is good advice for producers as well. We all have the same products to sell. So what can make us different? Reliability!
