MANNERS ADD VALUE TO YOUR BUSINESS IN EVERY WAY
Today, one of the greatest noticeable sins in business, is the lack of manners within business related relationships. It may be an old-fashioned concept. The fact is however; good manners have been, and will always be, a positive factor in adding value to your business. It takes almost time at all to include in your conversations such words as, "Hello, how are you", or "thank you" or "please", but it does make a world of difference.
If you are in doubt of the value of good manners, ask your mentors and the various professionals with which your firm interacts, on what they think about manners. For instance, when building and maintaining a positive relationship, what are their thoughts on the following business interactions?
(i) Do your salespeople appreciate being left waiting or treated with disrespect when attending a sales meeting?
(ii) At a networking meeting, do you really like those people who rush up just to give you their business card and then dash off to meet somebody else?
(iii) Ask your credit or debt collection contacts how they view the display of good manners.
Better still, study the techniques of the very best fraudsters, especially early on in the relationship when they are trying to win you over. When you think back about their tactics, the one factor constantly on display, was good manners.
Why have good manners disappeared so prominently in our business settings?
I would suggest the main causes why good manners are displayed less often today have been the:
(i) self-imposed pressures to succeed in an ever frantic and troubling business environment;
(ii) undisciplined and uneducated application of technology in the business environment in the hope that it will solve all problems and eliminate the need of employing people;
(iii) use of technology in everyday business and personal applications which is leading to a loss of social skills;
(iv) ever dominate focus on using cheaper costing employees with less skills in mind-dumbing work environments;
(v) increasing evidence of the lack of any embarrassment when business processes and strategies are found wanting;
(vi) loss of financial acumen brought about by new-age software products which provide endless reports which few businesspeople seem to understand;
(vii) the loss of respect for the professional employee at all levels within the business setting.
Consequently, it is no wonder the importance of social skills and in the value of good manners is lost. One of the fundamental truths in business and in our personal lives ha been lost. The presence and use of good manners, allows us to forgive a multitude of sins.
In today's frantic business environment, where sameness and poor business practices seem to be the norm, good manners are an essential component in winning business. It is a key, and very inexpensive factor to help make your business stand out from its competitors. It takes very little time to include in your conversations the words, "Hello, how are you", or "thank you" or "please". However, it makes a world of difference to the other person.
Good manners never go out of date, and never will. Best yet, they cost nothing more than a bit of thought and personal discipline. To be treated with respect, is the first and most important factor in developing any positive personal or business relationship.
