If you think that Dale Carnegie was a wise man, consider this ancient Chinese proverb that Mr. Carnegie discussed in his book. Such an important piece of advice, it is worth repeating…
“A Man Without A Smiling Face Must Not Open A Shop!” -Chinese Proverb
Carnegie continues, “Your smile is a messenger of your good will. Your smile brightens the lives of all who see it. To someone who has seen a dozen people frown, scowl, or turn their faces away, your smile is like the sun breaking through the clouds. Especially when someone is under pressure from his bosses, his customers, his teachers or parents or children, a smile can help him realize that all is not hopeless- that there is joy in the world.
If A Picture Says a Thousand Words, A Smile Says The Nicest Thousand Words In The Universe.
If you haven’t realized it yet, my blog is very focused on connecting with others in a positive and meaningful way. Nothing sells better than a strong personal relationship. When you connect with your customers, they become your best media.
When Your Customers LOVE YOU… They Can’t Help But Sing Your Praises To All Who Will Listen.
This is why I am such an advocate for focusing your marketing efforts on connecting with others. Advertising can only get you so far. Especially in a competitive environment like paying per click in an auction setting. Typically, with PPC, the marketplace reaches the peak of an acceptable cost per acquisition for the industry. The player with the best margins, or best converting website can suffocate the competition and eat up most of the traffic. Probably the single best strategy for dominating your keywords in search results is to find a way to turn each click into more than just one customer, and more than just one sale with that customer.
Some Businesses find customers to make sales. Winning Businesses Make Sales To Find Customers.
The stronger the bond, the longer you can maintain the relationship, the more referrals you can get from them are all ways to cut your cost per acquisition into a fraction of the initial sale. Want to see the companies who mastered this, go into an affiliate network and look for advertisers that offer 100% of the first sale. If I recall correctly, Zappos did this, and we all know they won the reputation for the best customer service online.
Dale Carnegie says, “You Must Have a Good Time Meeting People If You Expect Them To Have A Good Time Meeting You.”
You and I, We Like People Who Like Us. Have You Ever Felt Someone Didn’t Like You and Decided You Don’t Like Them? What About The Opposite, Have You Ever Felt Connected To Someone Because They Liked You and Expressed Genuine Interest In You?!
If you go into business or open a shop, you have to be proactive in liking people, smiling at them, letting them know you like them. In fact, your business obviously creates some sort of value, provides some product or service people want or need, otherwise you wouldn’t be in business. So, You Are Truly Helping People When You GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY FROM YOU!!! They clearly like you and want to be your friend… if you go into a sales call with this mentality, you will surely reflect these feelings with a reciprocal friendliness, and connect with them in a meaningful way.
I leave you with a brief holiday prayer…May your advertising dollars go further, and may your relationships last longer.
About David Melamed
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Sometimes I would go to work in a terrible mood. It happens to all of us, and it’s a part of day to day life, but I would always make an effort to smile and be as friendly as possible. I always found that despite my mood, if I put effort in, people would reciprocate it just as they would if I was happy, and then in turn, their happiness would help improve how I was feeling as I interacted with more people. You would think being happy around customers would actually be common sense as well, but sadly it isn’t. I don’t want to be served by people who are obviously in a bad mood because it drags me down and makes me unsatisfied with everything. Chinese proverbs really are a gold mine of wisdom, and “A Man Without A Smiling Face Must Not Open A Shop!” is a great one, and I wish that most business would also take it as a reminder that “They Must Not Hire Staff Without Smiling Faces.”