Want to be memorable? Talk about them, not you.

Be memorable. Master the art of building relationships by using Woo.

Woo is the ability to strike up rapport quickly and easily with another person. How? You put your attention on them. Talk about them.  Not you.

A relationship based upon deep rapport is already in itself a great differentiator, because let’s face it – there may not be much of a difference between your firm’s capabilities to your competitors. Relationships built on trust rule! It starts with Rapport.

Years back, I was speaking with a managing director of leadership development at a Big Four firm and his greatest concern was that many of the Partners were not adequately generating new business.  Revenue flow was an issue and their leaders weren’t creating business opportunities for the firm.

He knew the problem was that the partners were meeting with potential clients’ senior leadership and they only talked about themselves.  “I am. I have. We are. We do. We have.” Blah, blah, blah.

He called it “showing up and throwing up.” Quite graphic.

Rapport begins with putting your attention on them.

Around this same time, for this same firm, I was engaged to help a pitch team get ready for a significant pitch to a potential new client. The competition was fierce for this strategic business.

Joining me in this pursuit effort was one of the firm’s top leaders. Both brought in at the eleventh hour, we witnessed what they had cobbled together thus far in a rehearsal. They ignored best practices for the amount of preparation that goes into devising a winning pitch.

This top leader, she was furious. So much time, effort, and resources were given to this pursuit and she discovers that the lead partner had absolutely no relationship with the decision makers of the target company.

Rule of thumb: Don’t pitch to strangers. Rapport and relationship is everything.

Simply trotting out a bunch of senior people and experts to talk about themselves and their credentials was not going to cut it.

It was disheartening to watch this team of partners and leaders spout off on all their greatest  achievements. Who cares?

The client wants to hear about them. Not you!

And being that this was the eleventh hour with no relationships built, I don’t need to tell you that they did not win the business.

What works best?

We invite you to join us for the online Masterclass Foundations of Leadership Communication which includes  Building Rapport with Diverse Audiences along with Probing & Listening.

Click here to learn more.