“Likable” — having qualities that bring about a favorable regard

—————

So, I was talking to a consultant this morning.  He has a client who provides a very common product – something that companies can buy from others, and they buy it constantly.  So, they need to “set themselves apart,” and “product” is not the way to do this.  Their product really is too common.  He said that they need to get better at simple “customer interactions.”  They need to learn “how to interact well” with their customers.  This is a good, simple, clear phrase – “customer interactions.”

So, do you interact well with your customers?

I thought back through the books I have presented at the First Friday Book Synopsis, and remembered a section in Guy Kawasaki’s terrific book, Enchantment:  The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions.  The chapter headings alone in this book provide quite a “how to improve relations” agenda.

Consider these:

Chapter 2:  How to Achieve Likeability
Chapter 3:  How to Achieve Trustworthiness
Chapter 4:  How to Prepare
Chapter 5:  How to Launch
Chapter 6:  How to Overcome Resistance
Chapter 7:  How to Make Enchantment Endure
Chapter 10:  How to Enchant Your Employees
Chapter 11:  How to Use Enchant Your Boss

But it is chapter 2 that is especially useful for this issue:  Chapter 2:  How to Achieve Likeability.  Here are some of the points, the steps to take to achieve likability:

• smile!
• dress for a tie
• perfect your handshake
• use the right words  (simple; active voice; short; common, unambiguous analogies)
• accept others
• get close
• don’t impose your values
• pursue and project your passions
• find shared passions  (assume everyone has passions)
• create win-win situations
• default to yes

Think about it.  If you are not likable, if your employees are not likable – there is a pretty good chance your clients and customers won’t like you.  And people really do prefer to work with and work for people that they like.

So, how do you interact well?  Being more likable is a good place to start.

And, being likable is an ongoing quest. As Guy Kawasaki put it, you have to “start over tomorrow with the enchanting job.  And do it every single day… forever!”

—————-

You can purchase my synopsis of Enchantment, with handout + audio, at our companion site, 15minutebusinessbooks.com.