ocused on the goal, I would ask myself, “What can I find out about this person that will help me to help them get the most from the sales program? How can I show an interest in them and in what is important to them?” Of course, every now and then I would slip up and interject a “me” statement, but on the whole, that day I did very little talking, and a whole lot of listening. At the end of the day, 200 kilometers and 15 interviews later, I found that I was a lot more energetic than I normally would be, and I was also in a much better frame of mind.

Sales, no matter what kind it is, products, ideas or services, is all about the other person whom you are trying to persuade. It’s not about you; it’s 100% about being interested en

"If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own." -Henry Ford.

I try to make it a practice every day to write at least one page in my journal, just to see where my head is and to bring to light some of the hidden issues that are lurking just below the surface. When I write, I usually go into “automatic writing” mode which often frees me up to not worry about the words that I am putting down, but to just let the pencil do the writing. After I spend a bit of time writing my thoughts, I will usually write a “skills application” paragraph where I write out my daily goals using the information that I just put down in the observation part, which encourages me to focus on the practice and application of specific skills and attitudes during the day. Planning my day like this has really kept me grounded in reality; it has also allowed me to focus on short term development of some key skills. I find that if I clearly write out how I will apply the skills and attitudes that I feel are important to me each day, the achievement of them becomes as natural as breathing.

Last Tuesday, as I was writing in my journal, I was preparing to interview people for an upcoming sales program, where I would be making my rounds of the different company branches and meeting with the participants of the upcoming project. Knowing that the day was going to be a particularly busy one, I was focusing on what I could do to best serve my clients and answer their questions. When I got to the application part of my daily writing, I was shocked to see that I had written “Instead of trying to be interesting, try to be interested!” Well, this took me off guard. I hadn’t even been thinking this, but still there it was in grey HP graphite, scratched out through the tip of my pencil.

“Whoa!” I thought, “Where did this come from? Did I do that? Did I try to get people interested in me and my business by talking about me and mine instead of being genuinely interested in them and talking about them and theirs? Hmmm… why yes, on occasion, I guess I do.” I could think of many occasions recently where the conversation seemed to be all about me, instead of about them… where it should have been in the first place if I was showing genuine interest. As I was “self talking” it appeared to me that what I had been doing was trying to get people interested in my “outside” personality by talking about what I had, instead of my “inside” caring personality that just wanted to know about them and what was important to them.

During the day, with this revelation constantly in my minds eye, I truly listened to what was being said by my clients, without trying to compare it to what I had or did. I felt exhilarated! This was so exciting to me that I was making a game out of it. Before each person came in the room and to keep myself focused on the goal, I would ask myself, “What can I find out about this person that will help me to help them get the most from the sales program? How can I show an interest in them and in what is important to them?” Of course, every now and then I would slip up and interject a “me” statement, but on the whole, that day I did very little talking, and a whole lot of listening. At the end of the day, 200 kilometers and 15 interviews later, I found that I was a lot more energetic than I normally would be, and I was also in a much better frame of mind.

Sales, no matter what kind it is, products, ideas or services, is all about the other person whom you are trying to persuade. It’s not about you; it’s 100% about being interested en

ut down in the observation part, which encourages me to focus on the practice and application of specific skills and attitudes during the day. Planning my day like this has really kept me grounded in reality; it has also allowed me to focus on short term development of some key skills. I find that if I clearly write out how I will apply the skills and attitudes that I feel are important to me each day, the achievement of them becomes as natural as breathing.

Last Tuesday, as I was writing in my journal, I was preparing to interview people for an upcoming sales program, where I would be making my rounds of the different company branches and meeting with the participants of the upcoming project. Knowing that the day was going to be a particularly busy one, I was focusing on what I could do to best serve my clients and answer their questions. When I got to the application part of my daily writing, I was shocked to see that I had written “Instead of trying to be interesting, try to be interested!” Well, this took me off guard. I hadn’t even been thinking this, but still there it was in grey HP graphite, scratched out through the tip of my pencil.

“Whoa!” I thought, “Where did this come from? Did I do that? Did I try to get people interested in me and my business by talking about me and mine instead of being genuinely interested in them and talking about them and theirs? Hmmm… why yes, on occasion, I guess I do.” I could think of many occasions recently where the conversation seemed to be all about me, instead of about them… where it should have been in the first place if I was showing genuine interest. As I was “self talking” it appeared to me that what I had been doing was trying to get people interested in my “outside” personality by talking about what I had, instead of my “inside” caring personality that just wanted to know about them and what was important to them.

During the day, with this revelation constantly in my minds eye, I truly listened to what was being said by my clients, without trying to compare it to what I had or did. I felt exhilarated! This was so exciting to me that I was making a game out of it. Before each person came in the room and to keep myself focused on the goal, I would ask myself, “What can I find out about this person that will help me to help them get the most from the sales program? How can I show an interest in them and in what is important to them?” Of course, every now and then I would slip up and interject a “me” statement, but on the whole, that day I did very little talking, and a whole lot of listening. At the end of the day, 200 kilometers and 15 interviews later, I found that I was a lot more energetic than I normally would be, and I was also in a much better frame of mind.

Sales, no matter what kind it is, products, ideas or services, is all about the other person whom you are trying to persuade. It’s not about you; it’s 100% about being interested en

be a particularly busy one, I was focusing on what I could do to best serve my clients and answer their questions. When I got to the application part of my daily writing, I was shocked to see that I had written “Instead of trying to be interesting, try to be interested!” Well, this took me off guard. I hadn’t even been thinking this, but still there it was in grey HP graphite, scratched out through the tip of my pencil.

“Whoa!” I thought, “Where did this come from? Did I do that? Did I try to get people interested in me and my business by talking about me and mine instead of being genuinely interested in them and talking about them and theirs? Hmmm… why yes, on occasion, I guess I do.” I could think of many occasions recently where the conversation seemed to be all about me, instead of about them… where it should have been in the first place if I was showing genuine interest. As I was “self talking” it appeared to me that what I had been doing was trying to get people interested in my “outside” personality by talking about what I had, instead of my “inside” caring personality that just wanted to know about them and what was important to them.

During the day, with this revelation constantly in my minds eye, I truly listened to what was being said by my clients, without trying to compare it to what I had or did. I felt exhilarated! This was so exciting to me that I was making a game out of it. Before each person came in the room and to keep myself focused on the goal, I would ask myself, “What can I find out about this person that will help me to help them get the most from the sales program? How can I show an interest in them and in what is important to them?” Of course, every now and then I would slip up and interject a “me” statement, but on the whole, that day I did very little talking, and a whole lot of listening. At the end of the day, 200 kilometers and 15 interviews later, I found that I was a lot more energetic than I normally would be, and I was also in a much better frame of mind.

Sales, no matter what kind it is, products, ideas or services, is all about the other person whom you are trying to persuade. It’s not about you; it’s 100% about being interested en

where the conversation seemed to be all about me, instead of about them… where it should have been in the first place if I was showing genuine interest. As I was “self talking” it appeared to me that what I had been doing was trying to get people interested in my “outside” personality by talking about what I had, instead of my “inside” caring personality that just wanted to know about them and what was important to them.

During the day, with this revelation constantly in my minds eye, I truly listened to what was being said by my clients, without trying to compare it to what I had or did. I felt exhilarated! This was so exciting to me that I was making a game out of it. Before each person came in the room and to keep myself focused on the goal, I would ask myself, “What can I find out about this person that will help me to help them get the most from the sales program? How can I show an interest in them and in what is important to them?” Of course, every now and then I would slip up and interject a “me” statement, but on the whole, that day I did very little talking, and a whole lot of listening. At the end of the day, 200 kilometers and 15 interviews later, I found that I was a lot more energetic than I normally would be, and I was also in a much better frame of mind.

Sales, no matter what kind it is, products, ideas or services, is all about the other person whom you are trying to persuade. It’s not about you; it’s 100% about being interested en

ocused on the goal, I would ask myself, “What can I find out about this person that will help me to help them get the most from the sales program? How can I show an interest in them and in what is important to them?” Of course, every now and then I would slip up and interject a “me” statement, but on the whole, that day I did very little talking, and a whole lot of listening. At the end of the day, 200 kilometers and 15 interviews later, I found that I was a lot more energetic than I normally would be, and I was also in a much better frame of mind.

Sales, no matter what kind it is, products, ideas or services, is all about the other person whom you are trying to persuade. It’s not about you; it’s 100% about being interested enough in them and their problems to want to help them solve them. As cruel as it may sound, most people really don’t give a hoot about who you are and what you may have: What they do care about is what concerns them and makes them feel fulfilled or important. So, why not give them what they need? In the true reality of human relations, just how necessary is it that we tell the person all about us, and not find out about the other persons needs and desires? I know, I know, we all have this craving to feel important, and we search it out wherever we are. It’s a common theme in being human: Freud said it, Jung reiterated it, and hey, even your mother probably said it: “If you want people to be interested in you, then you have to be interested in other people!” It may take a lot of work for some people, but it is possible: if the desire to connect at a much deeper level is greater than the desire to just be liked on the surface. Being liked is an outward symptom of being human, but liking people is a much more meaningful and rewarding state to be in; it’s an inside job.

This week, if you are looking for ways to be a better persuader or to gain more enjoyment out of life, take the time to get to know your fellow earth passengers. When you do, you will find that when you give of your self you will get more of others. Life is all about giving and receiving, or planting and sowing. Plant genuine interest and you will harvest success in many forms.

Make this your most “interested” week ever.