In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, we discuss the immediate steps you can take to begin growing your influence.  Whether you are in sales or not, everyone, at one time or another, needs to increase their influence. I’m reminded of a coworker of mine who really knew how to connect with people. Tom had that ability to influence others. He just understood people and prospects and he knew how to speak to them. He could point out potential problems before they became problems. As such, when he spoke, his clients listened. He was respected. My guest today, Stacey Hanke, is here to talk about how we, like Tom, can grow our influence. [00:01] Stacey is the author of two books, a Certified Speaking Professional, and CEO of StaceyHanke, Inc. Stacey and her team work with directors, to C-Suite, and with sales professionals to make them more aware of the level of influence they really have versus they level of influence they believe they have. They accomplish this with keynotes, with mentoring, and through workshops. They increase awareness by giving practical how-to advice so their clients know how to use both verbal and non-verbal methods of influence every day of the week. [03:25] INFLUENCE: WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT ISN’T Stacey has worked with a lot of individuals and organizations over the past 16 years. And though she sees it happen quite often, Stacey believes that influence is not something that you should turn on and off. For example, you’ve got a high stakes phone conversation, meeting or sales pitch and you decide to ‘turn it on.’  There’s nothing authentic about that. There’s no integrity to it. [04:46] Influence is when your verbal and non-verbal communication remain consistent at all times and in all situations. It is congruent with your priorities and purposes. Influence is having the ability to move people to take action long after the interaction has occurred.   It takes discipline and hard work. It is hard because we often get caught up with worrying about how we are perceived. Will they like me? Am I going to say the right thing? Switch your thinking. What is important to my client? What is their experience with the topic? Why is this conversation happening? To really drive home the value of your product or your service – whatever you’re trying to influence the person to act on – it first has to resonate with the client. [05:36] So, be genuine. Stacey recently helped a client to realize that he was putting more time into marketing materials and PowerPoint slides than into the actual delivery of the product. It is not the experience his clients were looking for. [06:46] FEEDBACK: WHY YOU NEED IT. As a sales rep, one of the first steps to increase your influence is to ask for real feedback. You have to plan for it and ask for it. Ask someone who you can count on to tell you the truth to listen to you as you practice. Ask them to listen, pay attention and give you feedback. When you can prepare in this way, the person providing the feedback is more likely to be direct and constructive with their comments. We don’t need to be told how great we are. We have to figure out our weaknesses in order to grow. It takes discipline to handle feedback and even more discipline to act on it. Don’t sabotage yourself by asking a subordinate or someone who is likely to tell you what you want to hear, instead of what you need to hear. Put your pride aside. Strive for honest answers. [07:39] Stacey has encountered many in her workshops who are hesitant to pursue feedback. She attributes this to the stigma that surrounds feedback as meaning you’ve done something wrong. Feedback instead means that you are already doing well. You wouldn’t be in the position you are in if you didn’t know what you were doing. Feedback provides opportunity to become even better. It encourages constant growth. [09:41] LEADERSHIP In a study conducted by Joseph Folkman of over 51,000 leaders, it was realized that leaders who frequently ask for feedback rank in