Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Recently, I heard my son Shane’s friend whisper a “success tip” to him so that he could get what he wants. At the time I was reprimanding Shane for not doing his chores like I asked and that he agreed to do. Through our discussion I asked him if he really wanted to have a sleepover with his friend that night. If he couldn’t do the things he agreed to then maybe he shouldn’t go. He proceeded to tell me that it was a lot of work and he has been so busy with hockey, etc that he just didn’t have time. That’s when his friend, who was sitting next to him, noticed the conversation was taking a turn for the worse. He whispered (loud enough for me to hear), “Shane, just do what you need to do. And apologize. Then tell your mom how beautiful she is and how much you love her. That always works with my mom.”

Well Shane ended up doing his chores, apologizing for not doing them when he was supposed to and for arguing with me. Then he did what I knew was coming. He said, “Mom you look beautiful today. You know I love you.”

Do you think it worked?

Hook line and sinker – and I knew what was coming! He ended up getting what he wanted, and maybe I got what I wanted too. Every son thinks his mom is beautiful, but how many say it – contrived or not? Moral of the story – it never hurts to compliment someone. Even if it’s manufactured.

How often do you tell the people in your life and your clients how much you appreciate them? Trust me, it goes a long way – especially if you think for a moment it could be true.

www.redzonemarketing.com

Maribeth Kuzmeski, is the author of the new book, The Connectors: How the World’s Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life (Wiley, September 2009, ISBN: 978-0-4704881-8-8, $22.95)