I read "How to win friends and influence people” when I started my journey as entrepreneur a while ago. It's an essential read for anyone who wants to excel at the art of selling.Written in 1936, the book sold more than 15 million copies and it’s a masterpiece in the science of human interactions.The book author, Dale Carnegie, was an accomplished salesman who turned into a best-selling author. Later in life, he spent part of his life teaching public speaking, earning up to $500 every week. At age 20, Warren Buffet described Carnegie’s course as a moment that “changed my life”.As a B2B founder, I knew I would take many learnings from this book.After a few years, I'm writing this post with the top 7 insights that had the most impact in my life as an entrepreneur:1. Give honest and sincere appreciationThe only way we can get a person to do anything is by giving them what they want. What do most people want? Apart from food, sleep, health and money people have a deep desire to feel important. When selling something to a person make sure to be aligned with that person’s goals and success metrics2. Become genuinely interested in other peopleListen to other people and care about their problems and interests. When someone is interested in your product but is not a good fit, point them to the right solution even if it’s not your company. People will appreciate the effort and will remember you in case they see the need for your product in the future.3. Be a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselvesA young boy once said to his mother, "Mom, I know you love me very much because whenever I talk to you about something you stop whatever you are doing and listen to me." Wow, that hits home! In business: Listening is the ultimate act of caring. Good entrepreneurs listen to customers and uncover their pains so they can provide a fitting solution.4. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphaticallyAny fool can try to defend his mistakes, but it raises one above the herd to admit one's mistakes. If your feature A is worse than your competitors simply admit it. You can even bring it up before your customer does. Work your way around your weaknesses and make sure you make them see what you’re good at.5. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desiresDisagreement doesn't necessarily mean there is a wrong and right side. You should be open to other people's point of view and learn from them. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes particularly if you don’t agree with their decisions. This will help you understand their acting patterns and navigate your way to a successful deal.6. Ask questions instead of giving direct ordersHumans hate taking orders from other humans, so give people the opportunity to think and do things by themselves. Although it might be tempting to repeatedly tell your potential customers how good your product is, it is way more powerful if you ask them questions that will make them arrive the same conclusion. Before appreciating your solution they have to realize they have a problem. Keep asking!7. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerelyWilliam James said, "The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated." Help someone feel appreciated and how could they not like you? When a customer calls you and complains about your product pay attention and make him feel important. Even if he has already agreed for a 2 year contract and he is the smallest of your 10.000 customers, they will appreciate your gesture and like you which has compounding effects in the future.---------Before writing this post and deciding which were the most impactful learnings, I sat down and wrote a quick summary of the book.It's always good to refresh our mind with learnings from such a classic. If you haven't had the time yet to read the book, this is a great way to get a sense of what you might be missing... so, here are the notes I wrote about the book. Feel free to take a look.What about you? What were the most impactful insights that completely changed your entrepreneur journey? see hubwealthy.com/wealthy
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