Over the last few years, I've used a phrase called sincere/specific/searchable. It works for thank you cards, it works for networking and it works for sales.

1. Are you sincere? Does the client feel you have their best interests at heart?

2. Are you specific? Have you done your research beforehand so you can customize your delivery to solve their problems and not simply pitch your product?

3. Are you searchable? Do people have an easy and convenient way to reach you afterward?

About six months ago I received a phone call from a friend who has worked in the hospitality field for over 20 years. Steve Ing is one of those "good guys" who possesses the 4 RHB rings of reputation (knowledge, personality, reliability and giving back.) Here is a shot of Steve with his beautiful son Owen.

Steve was working in sales a major hotel in Vancouver at that point and told me about a gentleman who met with him about sales training programs for hotel staff.

"Steve, I hear you are a RHB" commented Micheal Schell.

Steve assumed Michael had been to one of the RHB seminars but later on found out that Mike had done his due diligence. By googling Steve before their meeting, he came upon a testimonial on my website.  Mike had done his homework and tried to find out Steve's value system.

Steve Ing called me, "I have to tell you Dave, I get called by 10-15 people a day trying to sell me things. This guy really made an impact with me. He runs a company called Thought Leader; they interview clients and find out all the mistakes sales people make when selling to those clients. Then they conduct sales programs so salespeople actually learn how to sell properly. Mike seems to be a sincere guy who did his homework so well, he found all about you and RHB before he came in to see me. I think you should connect with him as you want a guy like that in your netowrk."

So I did. We hit it off on the phone. Mike sent me a book of his and a brief note.

Shortly afterward, Steve got an huge opportunity and is now Vice President with Conference Direct; because of his hospitality expertise, he now acts as a broker and saves associations and companies a considerable amount of time and money when they have to book hotel spots for upcoming conferences. (His email is below if you are booking a conference over the next year or two - use my name!)

Last week, I presented Knocking Down Silos to two corporate audiences in Burnaby and Vancouver. Both This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it were in the audience. Two good guys who are now part of the RHB network.

And it all started with a good guy doing his homework.