Comments on: People Buy People First

By: interested 3rd party

interested 3rd party — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:11:40 +0000

Yep. Pretty much just like that.

By: Dave Staats

Dave Staats — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:58:44 +0000

There’s nothing new and different about “approachability”. If you are actually doing search it’s like a deer hunter covering himself with molasses. It’s time to put a name on your your idiocy…or at least change it to uninteresting 3rd party….

By: interested 3rd party

interested 3rd party — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:26:53 +0000

It seems, Dave, as though you consistently thumb your nose at processes and even ideas that are new and different. Why is that?

By: Dave Staats

Dave Staats — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:29:37 +0000

To simplify,clarify and amplify…. I have spent most of my life working on being more approachABLE but there is just nearly zero value professionally in my being approachED the way I do this.

That’s not an argument or an opinoion…It is just how it is for what I sell…

By: HELLO, my name is Scott

HELLO, my name is Scott — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:01:38 +0000

Thanks for the link love Dennis! Brad Alexander and the Statefarm gang were great – thanks for the rec! I owe you lunch

Good discussion guys. I agree with the idea of not wanting too many people approaching you who waste your time. Gotta set boundaries SOMEWHERE, right?

Later!

By: Dennis Smith

Dennis Smith — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:44:35 +0000

Jerry – great world we live in, eh? And yet….there are certainly people who conduct their business in both manners. It will be interesting to see how this plays out with Millenials. My oldest daughter’s world is certainly different than mine and yet I’m probably more prone to use web 2.0 tools than the average guy. However, I think she’ll require less f2f interaction to make important decisions. Granted, she’s still very social and wants the social interaction that requires looking in to somebody’s eyeballs, I just think she’ll move forward without that happening much easier than I.

Dave – hey, and to think somebody thought we were a boy’s club that agreed on everything!

First – nice idea on the videos…we’ll see about making a note regarding video length so as not to suck somebody in to something that’s overkill on the time.

You definitely have me thinking about your views on approachability and whether or not it’s a desired trait for headhunters. But I think the terms you noted (affable, agreeable, responsive) are attributes that make us (or give the appearance of) being approachable. I’m not necessarily being literal when I use the term “approachable.” It doesn’t mean that somebody necessarily had to approach you about business. But we can definitely have an attitude about work and customers, that reflects an approachability that makes people want to work with us versus our competitor.

The problem is that consumers today have too many choices. That’s why companies will spend millions to have these attributes associated with their brand. That’s why Sprint just spent big cash to put Dan Hesse front and center on their prime time commercials and give him the appearance of being a normal, approachable chap.

We can certainly have successful firms with loyal customers whether we’re Scott Ginsberg or Ebenezer Scrooge. But from a newcomer’s perspective, I believe “likability” and “approachability” are really, really close to being the same thing. At least when it comes to the money in my wallet.

I just find that I don’t conduct much business with people that I don’t’ like. And people that I don’t like are typically not very, um, approachable (or likable).

By: Jerry Albright

Jerry Albright — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:23:19 +0000

Interesting. In the age of social networking being THE topic – what are we to think of the message here?

People do business with people? Really….? You better not say that too loud. You’ll be shunned!

People are TWICE as likely to do business with a company when the relationship starts with a live person? You don’t say……

What about all this Web 2.0 stuff. I thought we didn’t HAVE to REALLY talk to people. Can’t we just ping? IM? Invite? Share?

Funny how the world turns. The flock is heading toward no contact, no “real” world relationships, building houses of straw all the while thinking they are on the fast track – that mass friends/contacts/ etc. is the way to success. And this guy is doing seminars on approachability?

Whodathunkit.

By: Dave Staats

Dave Staats — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:16:26 +0000

First, a general comment. All these videos posted anywhere and everywhere need to have a tag with the length on it. There’s usually no way to tell what we are getting into when we click ‘play’. That’s not your fault, Dennis, and my comment about your posted is also not intended to be an attack on anyone…BUT…
“Approachability” for an actual searching, recruiting headhunter is a debatable as a desired trait. For me, affable or agreeable might work better. Past experience in MY niche tells me that at least 90% of approaches to me are wasted time. I don’t mind them and I counsel candidates as favors etc but almost all my money,success,placements come from me approaching other people. In the past 5 years I can remember one deal where the candidate approached me… I remember it because it was the only one.

I fully realize there are jobs related to recruiting where approachability is desireable…but we need to be careful to whom we suggest cultivation of approachability. Do you agree?

I am still trying to think of my preferred word…maybe ‘respondable’?