This is a guest blog for J V Crum III, business coach, host of the Conscious Millionaire Podcast and best-selling author of “Conscious Millionaire: Grow Your Business by Making a Difference”. Each guest blogger is a top successful entrepreneur who writes on areas such as:  social entrepreneurship, conscious business, how to become a successful entrepreneur, online marketing, business solutions, startup, business opportunities, entrepreneur training, and business coaching.

 

          JASON WEBB 2048As a patent attorney, I work with a lot of entrepreneurs. One thing that I’ve learned from this view is that everything of meaning that we accomplish, we do with other people.

So, if you have plans to change the world, you need strong relationships with the right people.  Here is a two-step process for building the right language to get introduced to whoever you need to meet from the people you actually meet.

I developed this technique by using reverse engineering.  Reverse engineering looks at the solution first and then tries to work back to the problem.  Try solving a maze by starting at the end; it is usually easier.

When you look at the process of successfully asking for introduction backwards, you realize the “right words” do the following two things:

  1.       Clearly communicate how the other person can help you (the “right” thought)
  2.      Persuade them that they want to help you (the “right” feeling)

So, it is all about planting the right thought and the right feeling in the other person.  When those two exist simultaneously in the other person, they work their magic.

Since your “right words” need to do two different things and need to work at the same time, it is helpful to know what to do first.  In this case, it actually matters a lot.  Here is why:

Think about something that happened to you an hour ago.  Can you remember the exact words that were said?  Probably not.  Can you remember how you felt?  Probably so.  Thoughts are fleeting and feelings linger.  Therefore, we want to first say the words that create the feeling and then say the words that plant the thought (then we are quiet to let them do their magic).

But, since we figured this process out by reverse engineering, the process for figuring out the right words will be backwards from the process for using them.  So, we first figure out the words that go with the thought.  That then helps us figure out the words that create the feeling.

First, answer the following two questions in the following order:

  1. What kind of person can help me get the one thing I need next?

Key: Use the “search terms” that describe that person.  Imagine that you are doing an internet search, but using the listener’s brain to do the searching.  Be sure to use words that they use to describe their friends.

  1. Why does that person want to talk with me?

Key: Use the best, credible, and true facts you can say about my project or myself that will lead my listener to the conclusion that the person I described with the search terms wants to talk with you.  If you just say conclusions, the listener will be cautious and maybe even suspicious.  If you state facts that lead them to their own conclusions, then you are much more credible.  This may take some thought or research, but it is well worth it.

Then to deliver the “right” words:

You first introduce yourself with those best credible facts from question two.  Keep it short and easy to understand. Transition to your request by saying something like “I am looking for a personal introduction to” and then you say the search terms from question one. Finally, you just stop talking and wait for them to respond, or you end with a guiding question like, “Who do you know?”

 

Bio: Jason Webb is a registered patent attorney who focuses his practice on helping start-up to medium companies identify and protect their intellectual property through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and licensing. His background in experimental physics and numerical modeling allows him to work with almost any technology, including software. His clients say he is easy to work with and doesn’t sound like an attorney at all.  www.jpwebb.us