If a Tree Falls in the Forest – What’s the Lesson?

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If A Tree Falls In The Forest and There’s
Nobody Around Does It Make A Sound?

(OR—Is There ANYBODY Out There Listening/Hearing Me/You/YOUR CLIENT?)

So ok, when a tree falls in the forest it still DOES vibrate, right? Well when a prospect or client, fan, follower evokes the need to be heard—do you feel their vibrations?

Still too abstract? Ok, how about this…. Nearly twenty years ago I started showing people how to “feel and hear” their market’s pain. Those that put their marketing ear to the ground (figuratively) and listened—connected at unimaginably deep levels with their prospects—who rapidly transformed themselves into loyal, passionate buyers/clients.

It worked “majestically” in every other form of marketing; So, why then is it so terribly hard to comprehend that a market—in any form, be it online or offline, be it social or insular—every human being merely wants to be understood, appreciated, acknowledged, respected, recognized and made to feel important ( as they are.) we are all relevant, important, significant pieces of this amazing puzzle we all call life.

So today—without purporting to be THE greatest social media maven in the cosmos—I’d like to offer up some universal truths that should serve each and every one of you as a set of ideals, distinctions, guidelines and ideological/purpose-driven standards for communicating, connecting, interacting with your fellow man and woman.

Be it via Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Linked-in, and every other form of human contact, communication and direct verbal, written or visual interaction you and your business ever shares—consider these thoughts:.

By the way, this short-course primer is NOT specific. It’s up to YOU, personally——to translate it specifically to your various applications. My intention today is to shift your paradigm, animate your thinking and teach you function over form, quality over quantity—and purpose over profit.

Buckle-up, ‘cause I’m going to do this quickly and simply:

You may be too young to remember the movie, “What’s It All about Alfie?”…But here’s what the meaning of business life is ALL about in any/every form of positive impact you ever express—no matter the media form.

Show people authentic empathy for their situation, Make them know they have relevance. Recognize THEIR perspectives and situation, too! Always sell one thing: Authentic, purposeful leadership. Demonstrate truly, clearly that YOU genuinely feel what they are feeling. Show people you clearly understand their problems, challenges, frustrations, goals, hopes/dreams.

Don’t give people information,. Render well-reasoned ideas/advice/perspectives they can believe in/trust. Help provide people with true focus. Focus is clarity. Clarity gives people power. Power gives people understanding. Understanding gives people confidence and certainty. Certainty gives them the ability to trust.

Without trust people will never take meaningful action—or believe. So always, always give them viewpoints they can trust. (See Stephen M. R. Covey/Greg Link and their wonderful books on trust building). Since most people don’t have total focus, when YOU help provide it to them—that leads to true/authentic “connectivity”. Connectivity is the fuel that allows people to take the next step-forward.

You need to cultivate the ability to put into words what people want and don’t want. Show them you understand them so well, you can clearly/crisply/dimensionally verbalize what’s been gnawing at them so long.

Always sell a point of view –but selling does not mean manipulating, Machiavellian-like. It means strongly, passionately, emotionally advocating your beliefs, viewpoints, thinking.

THIS is a “biggie”… ALWAYS make YOU—the prospect, you the fan, you the follower, you the member of the community—THEY are who is  REALLY important. You the vendor– are NOT the center of their universe. Make them the center of yours and you’ll have a raving…no, make that near-rabid fans for life!

Demonstrate real hopefulness for your marketplace.. the hope that they understand, the hope they have a better day, the hope that they gain benefit and value from what you are saying, writing, posting, tweeting etc.

Think–how can you have the most positive impact in those few moments or sentences when you are in their life, today? Remember too—no message, communication or interaction has any value to the other side—UNLESS it has an impact.

People need to recognize your communication as a solution, elixir, to a problem, void, uncertainty, gap they feel—emotionally, not merely rationally. Provide people with reassurance, motivation that you truly DO care about them, their life, their issues, their relevance.

You can communicate result-inducing ideas—or merely provide them with a better feeling about themselves and what they either are already doing—or should start doing.

Always question your purpose/intention for doing anything and everything communication-wise! Ask yourself—If I were on the receiving end of this communication—would I be positively impacted? Would I be eager to either anticipate the next communication—or better still, take the next step you are after from me?

Most people, when trying to communicate with another– fall in love with their message, or themselves or their product/service. Try falling in love with the person your communicating to/with, instead—not romantic love, but appreciative, empathic, respectful love for who/what/where/why they are where they are in their lives/business.

Your goal here is to interact with people in a meaningful way that enhances their lives because you—and your message were in it. Every time you communicate/connect—make people better off because of what you did, said, shared. Better off can mean happier, more stress-free, laughing Etc.

A mistaken belief in communication is to ask, “What do I have to do or say to get people to buy into my proposition?” WRONG QUESTION TO ASK!

The right question is merely… ”What value, contribution, benefit, or fulfillment do I have to give them?”

That’s enough for now… I’ll provide lesson two/installment two in one of my next posts.

Think deeply, meaningfully, reflectively about what you’ve just read.

 

Jay