I recently ran across Benjamin Jenk's blog about name tags and it got me thinking about the approachability or even the likability of the successful people in the real estate industry. Is there truly any way to succeed without having an approachable attitude or a like-able personality?
I receive a e-newsletter from this guy named Scott. Scott's made it his life's mission to define approachability and improve the day-to-day encounters that he has with others. As of today, he's been wearing his "Hello, My Name is Scott" name tag for 2,339 consecutive days. WOW! To me, that truly proves that he is passionate about improving the world around him.
I know for me personally, if someone is wearing a name tag - whether it be a waiter/waitress, airline attendant or banker, I always try to acknowledge their name in our conversation. I've also paid special attention to the fact that people seem to positively respond to be called by their (correctly pronounced) given name and I usually receive better service.
Does taking that extra moment to acknowledge someone's name provide an opportunity to make a connection? Or perhaps that's all that we are all looking for - a connection. That "something" that draws two people together whether it be personal or professional that makes us more comfortable around them.
There's also "Communication Accommodation" by Giles. To put it plainly, it simply means that we change the way we speak to accommodate the person we are speaking to. When speaking with children, we use smaller words and less syllables. When speaking with potential clients, we would speak slower and with passion (if you're passionate about the topic). Typically, when you meet someone for the very first time, your first few sentences are slower and the words are usually chosen for specificity. It's been proven that when someone calls us by name, it automatically opens the door for a connection. And - coming full circle, you would then be conceived as more approachable. Hmmm.... do you see a pattern here?
Is success directly tied to your approachability? Would a potential client ultimately choose to do business with someone that they like over a not-so-liked person with a better price or package?
Do people do business with people they like or are we merely doing business to improve the bottom line?
Is there a difference?
Calie, If the salesperson is rude, impatient or condescending then I will not buy from them. I might have to pay more for the product but I have the satisfaction of knowing they did not get my business or my money. (Plus my family and friends know the service is terrible at such and such a place.)
Word of mouth has great benefits if it is good information but if it is bad info, your company has lost business. So in my opinion, yes it does make a difference.
Thanks, Leslie