Build Relationships through Positive Self-Talk
You want to build stronger business relationships but you’re not always sure if it’s working. It’s common for many business professionals to wonder if they have formed a connection. Do you build relationships or watch opportunities slip away?
Lack of progress towards your goals is often not rooted specifically in your actions. That’s not the root cause. The root cause is that your actions often develop from your mind-set.
Foundation Skills
Negative self-talk is easy to get validated. Pick anything that you think can go wrong and you’ll likely find someone with a matching opinion. Immediately, your negative thoughts are validated.
Relationship building has this same challenge. Many people are fearful that a potential contact won’t have interest.
The fear is that they might not be into what you are into. Perhaps they won’t see the value in building a relationship. Worse yet, you might believe you’ll say something silly that will turn them off entirely.
I’ve heard a few speakers suggest that building business relationships is like dating. Certainly most people can see a few similarities. We might call these, fundamentals. The great thing about fundamentals is that they form the foundation for what happens next.
It’s true, once you have the fundamentals down, and believe in them, the rest will come pretty easy.
Positive Approach
Here are several important pointers:
- Positive Self-Talk. If a little voice inside your head is giving you all the reasons why it won’t happen, you have to change that. Sure a little praise from someone else will help, but you can’t count on it. Mostly because if you’re being negative you won’t accept it. Give yourself positive affirmations, endlessly!
- Confidence. Find every reason why this will work. Confidence is built from self-efficacy and self-esteem. When you flood your thoughts with positivity about how it will work, why it will work, and picture the positive end result, you’ll leave little room for doubt.
- Be interested. Many believe they must sell themselves. They push hard for that. The key really is that you must be more interested in the other party. Less pushy on selling yourself. Ask more questions. Learn about them and their needs. They’ll appreciate you more and the sell will happen naturally.
Build Relationships
If you have any doubts, you’re going to have to get rid of them.
Use positive affirmations in your self-talk. Lots of them, flood your mind with all the reasons why. Leave no room for negativity.
Be positive, be confident, and most importantly be more interested in them!
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and corporate trainer that specializes in helping businesses and individuals accelerate their leadership, their team, and their success. He is a four-time author and some of his work includes, Forgotten Respect, Navigating A Multigenerational Workforce and Pivot and Accelerate, The Next Move Is Yours! Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
