Why Social Deficit Is Expensive And What You Can Do About It

Have you ever wondered about the true cost is exacted by
the people in your company who regularly leave bad
relationship tracks? According to a recent report, almost
80% of employees believe, to paraphrase the late Rodney
Dangerfield, that "they get no respect" at work. Sixty
percent of those think the situation is getting worse.
Twenty percent of employees say they are victims of
incivility on a weekly basis. One in eight employees ends
up leaving because they experience rudeness. The average
Fortune 1000 executive spends 13% of his/her time mediating
worker disputes. According to Time Magazine, that
translates to seven weeks a year!

The true cost of social deficit is recognized by more and
more companies. One company has a policy that will not
tolerate people who consistently disrespect people and who
throw sand in the gears of human interaction. But Social
deficit is not just caused by people who are rude. It
occurs any time we walk away from an interchange without
building rapport, trust and respect.

These social deficit costs go beyond the bottom line. They
also create other serious problems. Conversations that
occur in an environment of social deficit require more time
and effort in order to develop shared understanding. Even
mild social deficit can quickly double the interactive time
that is required to complete a successful transaction. As
social deficit increases in severity leading to breakdowns,
the waste explodes exponentially.

In every interchange, you are either building social
capital or social deficit. And what you build in this
interchange will be there to meet you in the next.

Social capital is the residual value that is created when
relationships include trust, rapport and openness. It is an
asset that builds value: an investment in one interaction
that pays dividends in the next.

Social capital isn't just about treating people with
respect. It is also about creating trust. You tend to trust
the people that are both capable and reliable at delivering
on their promises and keeping their commitments. You trust
people whom you know are open and forthright and are wary
of those that are manipulative or speak with mixed or
hidden meanings. You experience rapport and are more
naturally open with those you trust.

Social capital influences the fabric of conversations
because it creates a safe haven in which undeveloped ideas
can be teased out and clarified. It also increases the
amount of intellectual ferment by creating a generative
environment that encourages people to move out of
intellectual comfort zones to produce inspired thought.
The broader the thinking required, the greater the bank
account of social capital required.

We build social capital with conversations not only because
we seek community although this is an invaluable end in
itself. We build it because we know that high quality
relationships measurably enhance our ability to
collaboratively develop ideas and to do it without the
waste that always accompanies social deficit.

How do you build social capital in your organization? It
isn't just about weeding out the worst offenders. Here are
some concrete steps you can take.

Set expectations. Build a set of norms at the executive
level. Then set the clear expectation that everyone will
use every interaction as an opportunity to build social
capital.

Back it up. Let everyone know the cost of social deficit,
and what it takes to build social capital. Share the norms
you expect people to live by. Then back it up. Don't just
excuse people because they make their numbers. Let them
know that you expect them to also deliver on social
capital. Many companies make it part of performance review.

Provide support. Don't start by singling out the people
who have a reputation for creating social deficit. Make it
clear that you expect everyone to step up. That's why we
don't recommend hiring an executive coach just to deal with
problem people. Instead, translate your norms into a 360
degree feedback survey. This should be administered to
everyone on your senior team and should include individual
coaching for each person. Then include your middle
managers. Important: The survey information should be
totally confidential. It should not be shared with anyone
other than the coach. Performance review should be focused
on observed behaviors, not confidential survey information.

Stay on it. Make it clear that you are expecting a
permanent shift. If people don't step up after they are
coached, that is the time to deal with them directly.
Repeat the 360 degree feedback and coaching process to
track improvement.

Social deficit exacts a hidden cost far beyond just time
wasted. It can increase turnover, degrade innovation, sour
relationships with customers and erode morale. The
investment you make in social capital is money in the bank
because it never stops paying dividends.

----------------------------------------------------
Lewis E. Frees, Ph.D. is president of Harmony, Inc.
(http://www.harmonyinc.com ) an organizational development
consulting firm. Lew and the Harmony team train, coach,
facilitate and provide process consultation to develop
inspired high performance organizations. Together they
provide services necessary to ensure that organizations
master all of the five competencies required to develop
superior intellectual products and big value outcomes.

11 Rules For Improving Marketing Results On The Phone

Your palms are sweating and your heart is racing. You have
that uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. Never has
there been a tool that has caused more fear in the hearts
of marketers than the telephone! These tips will help you
not only surmount your fear, but empower you to use the
phone as a powerful part of your marketing strategy.

Rule #1: Always "sell" value before price. Prospect will
almost always ask "how much does it cost?" - This can be a
buying signal but before you tell them how much it will
cost be sure you have sold the value. If not it could be
the end of the conversation. Tip: Before you send
additional information, try this qualifying question, "When
people request our free CD, I often discover that they are
really not interested about making more money from home but
are just curious about the CD. Is that the case here?" They
will often respond with, "No, I'm really interested."
Chances are that they will act consistently with their
response. This way you can spend your time and marketing
dollars on those most interested in your offer. You might
want to have some online backup material to provide to
those who are just curious.

Rule #2: The majority of the time prospects will not call
you. Some prospects will call you, but most won't. If you
want to become a member of those who carry a sign reading,
"will work for food" wait for your prospects to call you!
In MLM this applies especially to follow-up but also to
step one prospecting. The bottom line is that if you don't
use the phone at some point in your marketing, either up
front or after the prospect has shown interest, you simply
won't be able to build a long-term business. The reason
most people fear the phone is because they fear the
personal rejection that prospects can inflict. Everybody
says not to take it personal.

Rule #3: When they don't return your call, it doesn't mean
they aren't interested. Veteran marketers know that lack of
a call-back does not mean the prospect isn't interested. It
most often indicates a lack of time or attention. Marketers
all too often assume that when a prospect doesn't respond
that they are not interested. But in the majority of cases
it doesn't mean that at all. What a lack of response most
often means is that you haven't made a connection to the
prospect yet. The prospect simply does not yet understand
or realize how your offer will make their life better. The
art of marketing is of course, figuring this out. This does
not mean that you should simply bombard your prospect with
calls or any other marketing until you get a response. Use
a little common sense and think about how you like to be
sold. Yes, I said sold! MLM is selling no matter what the
storybooks say. You are always selling yourself and your
ideas so start to think about what attracts you to certain
products and services and incorporate what you learn into
your own marketing.

If a prospect says, "It's best if I call you," ask a couple
of qualifying questions to see if you can call them on a
specific date about their decision. If they still prefer to
call you realize they have just told you "No" and let it
go. People with certain personality styles avoid
confrontation and rarely tell others no. They just hope to
wear you down (most marketers give up by the third call)
which is usually rather easy. Sometimes you just need to
know when to stop wasting your time and move on. Never show
your frustration or disappointment when prospects tell you
"No", either directly or indirectly. Keep them in your
long-term follow-up with no more than two e-mails messages

Rule #4: If you dial a number and get voicemail, you WILL
leave a message. You already dialed the number, don't hang
up when you get a machine! The message you leave should be
a prepared "commercial" which will address one 'pain' your
offer can resolve and one 'gain' it will provide. (Sample
pain: lack of success in business. Sample gain: a
continually growing source of income.) Leave your message
in a clear voice and at a pace that makes it easy to
understand. Request that the prospect return your call. (be
sure to leave a number - toll-free if possible)

Rule #5: Know the purpose of your call. Our responsibility
as marketers is to know our prospects. We should research
our prospects needs and triggers. As part of this we also
need to know the benefits of our offer and how they relate
to the prospects needs. How you relate to the prospects is
determined by the purpose of the call. Decide ahead of time
if the purpose of your call is establish rapport, set a
follow-up interview or to close a sale. This will help you
keep on track with your objective. Tip: Understand your
Pain-and-Gain position. How much have you researched your
prospects? The more specific the 'pain' is to your prospect
the more powerful the 'gain' will be. Identify what is
hurting your prospect by not using your product/service or
participating in the opportunity. Identify what the
prospect will gain by using your product/service or
participating in the opportunity. Try using a message
template of "You know how… Well, what I do is…" Example:
You know how you sometimes wish you didn't have to go to
work to make a good living? Well, what I do is help people
build profitable businesses from their own homes that can
in many cases replace a full-time income within 2 years
working just around 10 hours a week. Example: You know how
you feel like making 6 figures a year is out of your reach?
Well, what I do is work with average people and teach them
how to create an above average income. We have a unique
system in place that can turn a few hours a week into an
$8,000 to $10,000 per month income in just a couple of
years.

Rule #6: Offer something for free in your message or first
call. Offering your prospect something of value on the
phone can be more effective than radio, magazine or
direct-mail advertising with the same offer. A call can be
as simple as, "Hello, I'm calling to see if your interested
in earning $100,000 or more working from home and would
like to receive a free tape that will explain in detail how
you can do it. Call Robin at 1-800-555-5555. Thank you very
much.

Rule #7: Leave three different messages at 3 to 7 day
intervals. Don't leave the same message more than once
(you're not a machine). Respect their time and give them a
chance to respond.

Rule #8: A call is a performance. You're an actor. You're
not boring or overbearing. Both can have serious
consequences to your results.

Rule #9: Keep your energy high, your speed low. Fast does
not equal energy. Some people talk fast because they are
nervous, others because they feel it makes them sound
excited. In reality it does neither. The only thing it does
do is give your prospect the opportunity to miss something.
Take two or three deep breaths before you call and stand up
if you are feeling low. Use a mirror to watch your facial
expressions and body language. Our mood is often expressed
in our body language and is often transmitted in our voice
by our volume and intonation. Even subtle aspects can be
picked up by your prospect even if it's subconsciously.
Become aware of yourself and learn how to get into the
right frame of mind for calling prospects.

Rule #10: Be prepared to talk to your prospect. Be prepared
to deliver your full script in case you get to talk to the
person. Voicemail is more common today and it's harder to
get a hold of prospects today than it was ten or fifteen
years ago but sometimes you'll have the opportunity to
deliver your message. Be prepared for when you do.

Rule #11: Be consistent. Make calls every day on a regular
schedule. This will help you develop the habit of calling.
Getting the habit started is the hardest. Once you're
going, your own momentum will help motivate you to stay in
action. If you're cold calling shoot for two hours of
calling per day. Schedule your time and make sure you stick
to your schedule. This will help you build your consistency.

Final tip: Self-Talk, personal goals and a love of your
product or service will motivate you to be successful in
network marketing and in life.

----------------------------------------------------
If you want a Free cd about what teh Heavy hitters of MLM
WILL not tell you or to Join "Robin's Renegagdes" you need
to comtact Dr Robin Rushlo at blindguy55@msn.com or start
today at http://www.cashwithbooks .
Remember you can also learn more of the 35 years in Network
Marketing from Dr Robin Rushlo at
http://www.readingblind55.info/blog
Have a great day and get your other freebies at
bookwise55@getresponse.com
Thanks