By Neil Phillips.

“A leader’s impact and legacy are in fact built through hundreds, even thousands, of interactive moments in time.”

~Douglas Conant.

When Diane first introduced Dana to direct sales, she said to her a very simple sentence that stuck with us both.  “You should give it a try.  It just might change your life!”  Here we are, a few decades later still entrenched in the direct sales profession.  Diane probably didn’t realize the power of the connection she created back then.  For us, the power of connections is the core of direct selling success.

We have started work on our new book; Sellers Connect: A Book About You (not sexy, but a working title).  The results have been incredible.  The stories we have heard are putting flesh on the bones of an idea.  In thousands of different ways, direct sellers touch and are touched by others.  The benefits are mutual, although they are not always clearly defined.  Here are some of the beginning insights.

Selling is transactional.  That is, you exchange (transact) goods for money.

Connecting is transactional, even though we are unclear on what we are exchanging.  Successful sellers work very hard to build up goodwill.  They have complete confidence that the goodwill they give will come back in some way, shape or form.

Connecting adds transformational opportunities.  The difference between selling and connecting is profound. When sellers connect, they create moments for change to occur. They change and are changed by the connection.  How many times have you heard someone say, “You just might change your life?”  That moment—that creative shift—is the connection that successful sellers work to create.

Successful connections depend on reciprocation.  Robert Cialdini calls reciprocity “the most potent of the weapons of influence around us.”  When you do something for someone, they feel they have to repay a debt.  Sellers connect knowing that at some time, the payoff will come back.

Efforts to connect transform us.  We are changed by what we do.  When you make that call, send that letter, or offer that hug, you have changed.  We are richer by what we give.

Touchpoints are the currency of connection.  Selling exchanges money; connecting exchanges goodwill.  The touchpoints we use are the currency of goodwill.  We will be sharing several of these in future posts. They include possibilities like:

  • Introducing two customers to each other (“You need an accountant? I have one you might talk to.”)
  • Sending birthday cards to your team members’ children.
  • Calling your team member when you know she cannot answer so you can leave an over the top message.
  • Sending a Starbucks card to your favorite customer service person at your company.

There’s more.  Stay tuned.

We would love to have your input.

How Do You Connect?  Will You Share it?

We want your vision in our new book.  Can you see a book with over a hundred specific ideas of how to connect?  You will see ideas that have been weighed, measured, and shiny as gold!  You will read how successful people share their vision and execute it.  You will find out how top leaders create a voice that’s heard. And you will find the value in connecting that they have.

We WANT to collect your ideas.  If you are excited to share, drop a note to neil@teamconnections.org, and we will arrange a brief interview to give you a chance to talk.  As ideas start to accumulate, we will be posting them on our Facebook page and in our Facebook group.

We will also be sharing more on this blog about the values of connecting.  We will share more on the competitive advantages of connecting.  We will talk about some of the scientific evidence of the benefits of connecting.  And, of course, we will start to share some of the tips and wildly successful ideas are being shared with us.

Ready to start?  We need you!  Please think about how you can contribute and email or text to Neil.