Who doesn’t like to be told that they do a good job? Everyone likes
to be told they do a good job. Most people enjoy receiving compliments.
I’ll be honest with you. I am pretty self-aware when it comes to knowing
whether I’ve done a good job or if I could have done a better job. I like
to think that if I am confident that I have done a good job, I don’t
really need anyone to tell me…I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t
like it, especially if it’s written.
I present at a many O&P meetings around the United States so I get
to meet a lot of people face to face. I am very happy when someone tells me
that they’ve read my column or that they liked the presentation, but that
doesn’t require a lot of effort. I’m right there, they’re right
there. It’s easy.
Time to write
Writing it down is a whole different story. I’ll give you an
example. I got two emails in the last month regarding columns that I’d
written. Both of them were short and to the point. One said “Good
job.” The other one said “Just wanted to drop you a note — I
read your article and found it useful. Thanks for the help.” Boy, did they
make me feel good. Not only did they take the time to read the column, they
also took the time to write and send. Now, one of them I’ve known for a
long time and I have tremendous respect for him so his “good job”
means a lot. The other person I’ve never met. Do you think I’m
looking forward to meeting him sometime? Sure am. Do you think I’ll forget
his name? Nope.
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I love the American Marketing Association’s definition of
marketing. “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes
for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have
value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” You market
because you want to deliver value in order to gain value. You want people to
know, like and trust you. You can get them to know, like and trust you by
communicating to them that you appreciate and understand the value that they
are trying to provide. That is a pretty long-winded way of saying…tell
people when you think they do a good job. Tell people when they do a good job
and it will make it that much easier for them to get to know, like and trust
you.
As I said, I can’t wait to meet my column reader. He obviously is
highly intelligent if he understands and appreciates the value I’m trying
to deliver, right?
Reach your targets
We all have targets we are trying to reach. Referral sources,
influencers, customers, clients, employees, payers, prospective employees, etc.
What do they do to create value? How can you communicate to them that you
understand and appreciate it? Say for example it’s the front desk person
at the orthopedist’s office.
If you’re in patient care, you know what a critical cog they are in
the referral machine. Find the value and acknowledge it. Write it down and send
it. If you really want to deliver value, send it to his or her boss.
You’ll make them feel good for hiring/employing them and you’ll make
them feel good by recognizing the value they are trying to deliver and
you’ll be that much closer to being known, liked and trusted. It’s a
win-win situation for everyone!
On that note, thank you for reading this month’s column. I really
appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to read it.
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