Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Dean Lindsay, the author of “Cracking the Networking CODE.” Dean had invited me to hear him speak to the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives (TCCE). We were able to sit down for about an hour before the event to get to know each other and share our philosophies.

Dean’s primary business is an organization he founded called Progress Agents. He spends most of his time speaking to groups and doing workshops in the areas of sales, marketing and customer service. When I asked him how he got into that business and how all of this ties together his one word for me was “Communication.” He then went on to say that what he teaches is Authentic and Honest Communication.

He is so right about these to elements. It’s the authentic and honest networkers who get the best results. They’re able to quickly build rapport with just about anyone, and for them it’s usually a pretty short trip from rapport to trust. Trust being the key ingredient needed before any referrals are likely to be given.

This caused me to think about great sales people. In my opinion the best sales person is the one who whole heartedly believes in the product he or she is selling. It’s that belief that allows them to communicate their sales message and be 100% authentic and honest in their communication. We all have a sixth sense about someone’s authenticity and honesty. We don’t always recognize it for what it is, but it’s what causes us to trust this person and makes us willing to buy from them.

This is certainly true for me personally. I know, unfortunately from experience, that I absolutely cannot sell anything that I don’t completely believe in.

Personally I love the fact that being authentic and honest get such great results. Why? Because it’s so easy. In order for me to get the very best results all I have to do is be ME. I can do that. I know that you can too.

Happy Networking!

Scott Ingram
NetworkInAustin.com

P.S. You can learn more about Dean Lindsay and his book at: www.progressagents.com.
I’ll also post a review of Dean’s book in the not too distant future.