Little Things Mean A Lot

From the desk of Ron Sukenick

Even if you're too young to remember the hit song popular in the '50's, "Little Things Mean A Lot", the advice in that title will never go out of style for business relationships.

My work involves teaching a set of attitudes and actions that foster meaningful connections between people. In going beyond networking to build connections, paying attention to details is absolutely crucial.

In the song, a woman is telling her romantic partner what little gestures he can perform that would hold a lot of meaning to her. "Blow me a kiss from across the room", Kitty Kallen sings. "Give me your arm as we cross the street…Send me the warmth of a secret smile", she adds.

I would never presume to offer advice on love, but I can see some powerful parallels between the business followup system I teach in my Relationship Strategies courses and in my book and the lyrics of this Kitty Kallen blockbuster hit song. That's because, whatever kind of business we're in, we do business with people, and to people, little things mean a lot. For example, in my earlier blog, Interactions That Start Relationships, I suggest one little thing you can do as you're preparing to leave a networking event, recommending that you make one last round to say a special goodbye to each person you met for the first time.

You see, I believe that, before we can go beyond traditional networking, we need to set a system in place, a process for getting to Connection. In each part of that process, it will be the little things that make all the difference, those crucial extra touches that give clues to others that they are important to us.

Dr. Ramon Avila, who teaches sales at Ball State University, talks about the Six Silent Questions people think (but don't ask) when they meet us. After determining if we are competent and dependable, our new business contact is asking him/herself a question about us: Does this person understand my issues and challenges? The reassurance you provide is in the details. What little things help make each step of your followup process more personalized?

Here's my Beyond Networking challenge to each of you reading this blog as together we begin moving our business "into the beyond" in 2009: Take a moment right NOW and come up with three little things you can do to make a big difference in your business relationships. Email those to me at rsukenick@indy.rr.com. Watch out, world - we're going into the Beyond!