Do you want to achieve unusual results in life and in business? Here are six personal skills that can help you. Master them and you will enjoy the success that others dream of but rarely achieve.
1. Effective communication
First of all, it is the ability to communicate effectively with others. You need to be able to interact with other people on their level so that they understand you and the points you are trying to get across to them. Remember that we are all different. Each of us has different styles of communication and behavior, and you need to be versatile enough to relate to each person according to their individual style. Be careful to speak a language they are familiar with and can relate to, and not to abuse “buzzwords” or industry jargon.
2. Stay on target
This is its ability to quickly make intermediate corrections. Each of us is human and subject to the weaknesses that accompany this mortal life. From time to time, we all make mistakes or errors in judgment. Making the mistake or the mistake is not the problem – the first time. It is when we keep making the same mistakes over and over again, without learning from them, or when we fail to recover quickly and make the necessary corrections to avoid total calamity, that we run into trouble.
3. Develop foresight
Forecasting, in this context, is simply the ability to detect and analyze trends. Being able to look at the past, as well as what is happening today, and predict what might happen in the future, can have a significant impact on the success of your business. Another word for this ability is “foresight.” In a recent interview, the president of a very large meat company recounted how just a few years ago his best-selling items were canned hams. But today, with more women working and less time to spend in the kitchen, they sell very few canned hams.
Today its mainstay is precooked dinners. Without foresight, or the ability to look ahead and predict with reasonable accuracy what may happen in the near future, a company could lose its competitive position and find itself in serious trouble.
As a business owner, you need to give serious thought to staying on top of industry changes, new laws, tax laws, buying trends, and other factors that could affect your customers positively or negatively. Then take whatever steps are necessary to prepare for those changes, as well as position yourself in your customers’ minds as the expert they know and depend on.
4. Demonstrate leadership
The fourth ability or skill to develop to achieve outstanding success is that of leadership. Leadership is the ability to take charge and move others to action. When you are working with a prospect, client, or client, and have identified and analyzed their needs, it is up to you to prepare and recommend a good workable plan or proposal that will help meet those needs; a plan that is right for your situation and fits your budget.
It’s not up to the client to tell you what they want. You are the professional. They have come to you for help and advice. You have much more experience, knowledge and understanding of your products and services and what they can do for them than they do. It is up to you to take charge and take responsibility for meeting and solving your problems, needs, and wants. And if you approach it with the right mix of professionalism, knowledge, and confidence, you’ll be surprised how many people will heed your advice and follow your leadership.
5. Persuasive selling skills
The ability to sell well. It’s amazing how little most business people know about professional sales. Selling is one of the most important skills a professional entrepreneur can possess. Many of your prospects and existing customers know enough about what your products or services can do to make them dangerous. They’ve talked to other people, they’ve read some articles in some magazines, they may even have seen a show or two on TV, they’ve looked things up on the internet and they think they know exactly what they need.
In some cases, they may be closed. But in other cases, they are far from the mark. You owe it to your customers to be as effective a salesperson as you can. By doing that, you’ll end up providing them with better solutions and better value, saving them time and money, and helping them have greater peace of mind knowing they have the products or services that are best for them. They will also feel good about their choice of place of business, knowing that they have just dealt with true professionals who truly care about them.
You will also be a beneficiary of that effort. You will feel good about yourself and about the work you just did for your client and that will make you more effective and professional in your next interview or sale. Not only that, but your client, being satisfied with what you have done for him or her, will be more inclined to tell others about their experience. Believe me, people respond to the personal experiences of people they respect. And they will respond to you, because a truly professional and caring person or company is hard to find these days.
6. Actions
The sixth skill to develop is action. All of the things we’ve discussed in this chapter won’t do you or anyone else (your customers, for example) any good if you don’t take action and do something about it. Remember, action is the key. As we discussed earlier, it’s not what you know, it’s not what you talk about, it’s what you do. True success in business, or in life, is an ongoing process. As my friend, Joel Weldon, says,
“The road to success It is always
Under construction.”
Some people say that knowledge is power. But is not; not by itself. Knowledge is not power unless it is applied. Understanding these six personal skills will equip you with the vital knowledge needed to be successful in business. But it is the application…the implementation of this knowledge that will ultimately allow you to achieve the success you desire.