Potty Training

Yes, you’re still on the business channel, don’t get scared, this won’t take long.

I’ve been potty training my 3-year-old on and off (for her safety and my sanity!) for the last four months. She has gone through bouts where she screamed when someone said the word “potty” all the way to being all zealous and happy about it. The times when she was excited were very few and very far between.

So I turned to my network. Yes, my business network.

I called the business people I knew that had kids. Some I wasn’t sure and I called them anyway.

First, I apologized for bothering and asked if they had a moment for a non-business question. Everyone that answered said yes and I’d ask them how old their kids were and if they had any potty-training advice.

I got a wide variation of answers (that I won’t list because you probably don’t want to know) and bonded really nicely with about five out of the fifteen or so business owners I talked to. The five all want me to call back and let them know what worked.

See how this worked?

1. Call with something non-business related and remind them who you are and what you do.
2. Make them feel special because you care about their opinion while getting actual help for a real issue you have. Win-Win.
3. Bond if you can, move on if you can’t. No pressure.
4. Follow up with the five prospects and tell them how wonderful the advice was and you’d like to return the favor … would they like a free consultation as a way of saying thanks?