Dale Carnegie: Week 13
How to do Friendly Business
“Begin in a friendly way.”
Brides. Couples. Families. Editorial Work. Documentary work. All types of photograph require one skill: connecting with people. No matter what type of photography we are doing, connecting with others is crucial. This is the reason why I love walking through this book with all of you. It takes us through some fundamental and crucial elements in managing business relationships.
The past few weeks we have discussed various principles that revolve around conflict in business relationships. Now we will take a positive approach. Dale Carnegie introduces the principle: Begin in a friendly way.
With all different types of personalities, backgrounds, and querks, we can easily find points of disagreement with one another. The key to creating a good connection with others is to begin in a friendly manner. Below are three tips to developing relationships with clients and co-workers in a friendly manner.
1. Be a sincere friend. Relationships come before business. Friendliness is contagious. So when you are meeting with a client in the beginning, take note of some principles from our earlier discussions: smile, commit their name to memory, ask questions, find something you admire about them and complement them on it.
2. No bull-dozing or forcing your opinions on others. You can state your opinion without forcing it upon someone. This depends on timing and style. Sometimes an opinion needs to be said after a foundation of trust is well established. This might take a few interactions to solidify. Also when you state your opinion you want to recall the last two weeks principles: don't immediately tell another they are wrong and be quick to admit when you are wrong.
3. Show gratitude. To establish a positive atmosphere and relationship of trust, the other person needs to feel respected and appreciated. I'm sure we can all relate in the sense that it's incredibly difficult to give our best to someone who doesn't appreciate the time you are giving.
These are the top 3 tips I would give on creating a warm and friendly environment with clients. My challenge for you is to jot these three ideas down, write out how you can specifically apply them for your next meeting. Do you have any other tips or suggestions to add to this list? Share below!