Five Ways to Influence and Impact in Business

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TopMBA.com asks Paul B. Evans to list five ways to influence and impact your friends, colleagues and clients in business.

#1 Be Intentional

Accept and embrace your responsibility as a leader in your market. Make a focused effort to make a measurable difference.

There’s plenty of white noise in the world – no need for us to contribute.
Spend five minutes watching any cable news or opinion program and it will be nothing but critiques and judgment. “Coaching from the stands” so to speak. Very little of real value that will change the world.

But you can change the world. You can decide to be intentional with the change you want to make. You can step out with a plan to make it happen, rather than just talking about it.

#2 Be Available

John Maxwell put it best, “You can impress people from a distance. You can only impact them up close.”

Making a memorable difference requires close-knit connection.

However, if you’re going to help as many as possible then you must be creatively accessible. That’s why face to face meetings and seminars are so valuable. It gives you the opportunity to meet your customers and clients in person. Being in the same place at the same time will build the connection in a lasting way.

#3 Be Present

You’ve met and talked with thousands in your lifetime. How many were present? How many gave you their full attention? No looking over your shoulder. No getting distracted. Not acting like you’re beneath them.
Now then… how many times have you given others your full presence? Ahh… it’s not easy is it?

Yet one of the greatest compliments we can give another (or receive from someone) is the gift of full attention.

(This video clip will share the concept better than I ever could. Don’t get lost in the politics – grab the principle. It’s Bill Clinton’s “Reality Distortion Field”.

#4 Be Clear

What impact do you want or feel called to make? Have excruciating clarity on the difference you want to bring to the lives of others.

“Hoping to make a difference” is too risky. Don’t leave it up to hope. Write it down. What is the end result or benefit people will get from working with you or simply being around you? What are the results of customers buying and applying your products?

#5 Be Engaged

Life’s too brief to be monochrome. Be alert and focused. Be alive.

You can’t “make every moment count.” That’s impossible and too much unrealistic pressure. However, we can decide which events and people require our full engagement and which require little.

Influence and impact through being engaged can be simple…

•    Not using your phone at dinner.
•    Listening closely to a client with a question.
•    Actively being interested.
•    Taking the initiative to do something special and unexpected for someone.
•    Remembering a conversation and later saying, “You really changed my thinking when you said ______.”

Each day provides a new opportunity to be a positive influence on those around us. Each action may leave a memorable impact on the life of someone.

About the Author: Paul B. Evans is a 22 year veteran of business who helps entrepreneurs develop and grow strategically for the benefit of themselves and others. While most training companies center only on the bottom line – Paul helps entrepreneurs create a complete lifestyle business. Instead of making money the only goal and the only measurement, he teaches to measure your success by your amount of freedom and enjoyment.