Your Branding and Marketing Start with Names
In 1936, Dale Carnegie wrote in How to Win Friends and Influence People that “we should be aware of the magic contained in a name and realize that this single item is wholly and completely owned by the person with whom we are dealing…and nobody else.”
Carnegie’s statement is as true now as it was 83 years ago. Whether you have one client or 4,000, one employee or 10,000 – knowing names is key to ensuring your business’ success. Any executive, as quoted in the 1981 reprint of Carnegie’s book and attributed to former Texas Commerce Bank chairman Benton Love, “who tells me he can’t remember names is…operating on quicksand.”
If you’re bad with names like me, you learn this lesson the hard way. A guy I knew for years in college realized that I didn’t know his name. “My name is Jeff. Remember it!” he said in a frustrated voice.
It’s been 12 years since that conversation. The reason I remember it today is that it was the first time I realized the importance and respect which is inherent in remembering people’s names.
Few people know the importance of names as well as John Aggrey, the CEO of The Unicorn Group. His entire business model is based around connecting his clients to the world’s leaders in of industry. “If one really cares, they will remember,” he told me for this piece.
Connections are what make a public relations firm like mine successful. We develop relationships with media gatekeepers; connect with social media influencers; pitch client collateral to reporters, producers, and editors; and set up meetings with elected officials and leaders of industry.
So, how can people who are bad with names thrive in business? They can work hard to improve, use their strengths to compensate, use the Internet, and spend extra time in preparation before conferences and meetings.
Working hard is the most important step. Be intellectually honest with yourself: are you bad with names, or are you not trying as hard as you should? There is a fine line between “I’m lazy” and “I’m being straightforward” if you must admit to being bad with names. The latter is acceptable; the former puts your company on life support.
Charan Ranganath, Director of the Memory and Plasticity Program at the University of California, told Time last year that many people are overconfident in their ability to remember names. A summary of relevant research at FiveThirtyEight noted that most people’s brains simply have limited space for remembering names.
Deliberate and intentional effort to remember names is the most important tactic to getting names right. Whether it’s repeating the name back to the person, saying it to yourself several times, or using using mnemonic devices, be sure to do the most important step to remembering names: sincere and legitimate efforts to improve.
Second, know your strengths when it comes to memory. If repetition works for you, ask the person to repeat their name. If the written word helps, write a detail or two about that person on their card or in a notepad.
In my case, I am good with faces and remembering key details about when I met someone. Remembering the details of my first meeting with one person saved me when I forgot her name. It showed that I did genuinely remember who she was and what we discussed.
In business situations, I associate the person’s name on their card and/or their organization with a key detail about our initial conversation so that my follow-up e-mail isn’t a form letter. This personal touch is an important form of marketing and business development.
Third, use the Internet. With today’s technology, there is no excuse for forgetting someone’s name if maintaining contact with him or her is important. A simple online search for someone’s name and organization will almost always bring up their name, face, organization, and social media accounts. In congruence with the above two tactics, an Internet search allows for those with poor name memory to improve without taking time away from the other important components of our business.
Finally, before a meeting, conference, or networking event, be sure to review who from your network is likely to attend. Review business cards and e-mails from people you expect to see. Look at the list of speakers and organizers so you know the influential people and groups with whom to connect. If you are speaking at an event, see if you can get the list of attendees ahead of time so you can do the aforementioned Internet search.
Nobody is error-free. However, just as basketball players are successful by practicing their free throws until the lights go off, the successful small business owner – especially one who is just starting out – is the one whose branding and marketing includes making honoring those he or she meets a top priority…starting with the person’s name.
