There’s no shame in feeling like you need a book entitled “business for dummies”. Understanding your need to be educated is the first step. Starting a business and then building that business are two totally different entities yet at the heart of them and every successful business is people. Engaging, inspiring, challenging and dealing with people. In this portion of an interview between Dale Beaumont and Michelle Bowden you will gain understanding of the essential qualities of a successful business builder.

At 28, with a baby and a huge mortgage, Michelle opened her training business, with AMP as her first client. She is an accredited NLP practitioner and master trainer in presentation and influencing skills. She works with CEOs and their teams to help prepare them for presentations at company meetings, conferences and sales pitches.

What do you think are the essential qualities or attributes of a great business builder?

• Client focus – I know what makes me successful: it’s my total focus on my clients. I believe that it is critical to understand what your value is to your customers and why they pay for your services, and then exceed their expectations. My team members are sick of hearing me say, ‘Each and every time we interact with our clients, whether it be in person or virtually, our mission is to make them smile‘. The corporate world can be tough and uncaring. I want my corporate clients to feel it’s been a ‘breath of fresh air’ to deal with me and my team. We achieve their objectives, help them achieve better results and it’s light work – lots of fun! Now, that can be difficult because of course, it’s not really light work at all – but your client should never know that.
• Passion – you must be passionate about what you do. It is passion that will feed your motivation to push through the roadblocks and negotiate the speed bumps that one inevitably encounters along the way. Kristine Carlson wrote, ‘Allowing enthusiasm to bubble up from you and pervade your very existence will bring an abundance of joy to yourself and others’.
• People – I make sure my company is a great place to work. I want everyone to say I am a great boss and that they love working with me.
• Systems – make sure your business is automated, procedures are in place and everyone follows the plan. That way it will be seamless for the client, easy for the employees and a breeze to oversee as the leader.

For more of this interview and information on Successful Business Builder check out “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed“.

The post Business for Dummies – Essential Qualities of a Successful Business Builder appeared first on Business Blueprint.

At 28, with a baby and a huge mortgage, Michelle opened her training business, with AMP as her first client. She is an accredited NLP practitioner and master trainer in presentation and influencing skills. She works with CEOs and their teams to help prepare them for presentations at company meetings, conferences and sales pitches.

What are your top tips for influencing others in a positive and empowering way?

Rapport, rapport, rapport! Before you can influence others you must build rapport with them. My advice is to:

• Understand the person’s personality filters – the way they experience, respond to and manage their environment.
• Make a plan – what do you want to achieve?
• Use pacing and leading – pacing involves being like your audience in your dress, body language, eye contact, vocal variety, style, language, interests and attitudes. Some people call this matching or mirroring. Leading is taking the audience where you want them to go. Your audience won’t follow you or give you permission to lead them unless they feel an affiliation with you. You really can’t ask for anything until you have first built rapport.
• Show them what’s in it for them to change – we know this as the WIIFM or ‘what’s in it for me’.
• Cialdini’s influence patterns help you identify the other strategies to use – for more information I recommend you read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini.

For more of this interview and how to influence people tips check out “Secrets of Top Business Builders Exposed!“

The post How to Influence People: Tips to Influence in a Positive and Empowering Way appeared first on Business Blueprint.