Revisiting business clichés for success

Try and try until you succeed. When it rains it pours. To see is to believe. Never say never. We’ve heard and used these expressions so many times. They are oft-repeated utterances that we sometimes ignore, saying enough of those self-help locutions. They are what we call clichés. But here’s the thing: Just because an expression is timeworn, just because it’s conventional wisdom or common knowledge, doesn’t make it any less true or useful. In fact when we come to think of it, clichés have more to offer than what we care to think.

A cliché is a common thought that has lost its impact through overuse. The world of business is full of clichés. We may not get to say them as often as we used to, but they continue to pervade our writings, speeches and conversations, or enter our consciousness because they work. These idioms, figures of speech, phrases of wisdom, or whatever we may call them have been put into action that yielded positive, advantageous results.

Clichés don’t come from statistic analysis of hardcore data. They’re not based on the latest technological advances. Clichés come from the most basic truths of everyday experience. They develop from the tried and true, from trial and error. Since we hear clichés frequently, and since they slip so easily off the tongue, we assume we have no more to learn from them. False.

Barry Farber, noted speaker, author and US TV talk show host, in one of his dissertations on the subject listed 12 business clichés and why they work. The list provides us with knowledge culled from a wide range of perceptions, experiences and business cultures. It talks about tenacity, persistence, making good impressions, making plans and setting goals, selling added value, conscientious follow through and hours of hard work. It discusses building relationships, living and working with passion, and doing business with integrity.

It takes all kinds. As Deng Ming-Dao said, "The good in you is like water in a well. The more we draw from it, the more fresh water will seep in. If we do not draw from it, the water only become stagnant." It takes so many things to reap success. All sorts – building the right attitude, watching out for naysayers, turning rejection into an asset, building the right relationships, earning trust and even trusting ourselves.

This cliché focuses on the TRUST acronym (truth, reliability, understanding, service and truth). Indeed, it takes all kinds to build a successful personal brand.

Never take no for an answer. It’s all about getting past and forming relationships with gatekeepers who usually have inside information and hidden power and authority to help us accomplish our goals. Remember that gatekeepers usually have the uncanny ability to spread the positive word about us. This cliché challenges our ability to get through the decision-makers, to be persistent, not pushy, to hang in over the long haul, and handle objections well. Listen to the advice of Thomas Edison when he enthused, "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is to always try just one more time."

The relationship is everything. Relationship, a good one that is, is a mater personal and professional chumminess, and as J.C. Penney remarked, "all business is based on friendship." Friendship develops from the time we make a powerful first impression, and is nurtured by always thinking that if the closeness breaks down, we all can have a second chance. First impressions are established based on how we begin a transaction and how we harness both our intelligence and emotional quotients to open and close a deal. And if we fail, deal immediately with the negative impressions by correcting misperceptions or letting the other party know how things have changed. It should be our rule though, that we should never make the same mistake twice.

Our attitude determines our aptitude. Attitude is the most important factor for our success in business and in life. It is the great equalizer. We all have it, and it’s up to us whether we make it a plus or a minus. Attitude stresses the importance of enthusiasm – "the god within us," the power of passion to continue improving and the intensity of persistence and tenacity. Our mantra should be "Giving it all we have," especially when faced with less-than-perfect situations and difficult challenges. And as Norman Vincent Peale articulated, "Any challenge facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure."

The harder we work, the luckier we get. Hard work brings benefits. It makes us feel good, affects our attitude, provides added value to ourselves and to whomever we do business with. But this cliché also reminds us that it’s not hard we work, it’s how smart we work. Hard work doesn’t guarantee success, working smart does. Farber added, "Luck is a reward for the hard work we’ve put in to reach our goal. We don’t just get lucky – we earn it."

Fail to plan, plan to fail. This pertains to setting clear goals that can help us focus, move us forward and boost our confidence for reaching the next target. We have so many goals, but so little time, and this is where time management comes in. We have to look at how we spend our moments, and think about whether we are or we’re not spending our time on earth wisely. We sometimes get bogged down by short-range goals, but as Charles Noble averred, "We must have long-range goals to keep us from being frustrated by short-range failures."

It’s not what we know, it’s who we know. Networking strength is critical here. We should be able to leverage our success by utilizing people within our circle to help us expand it. As we learned from pyramiding schemes, we network for new business, for more referrals and for advice. And when we are able to build our pyramid, we should protect it from crumbling by non-stop seeking, serving and selling. Seek out other people’s goals and challenges and figure out how to serve them, And if these two are done, they will eventually allow us to make the sale. Dwell on Napoleon Hill’s musing, "You can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed."

Knowledge is power. Generating information that builds our knowledge arsenal is vital in any business endeavor. In advertising and marketing for example, we need to know our product, our market, and our competition. The more we know the easier it is to come up with solutions to our clients’ problems. It gives us added value and a distinct differentiator from competition. As Mario Andretti expressed, "Prepare ourselves in every way we can by increasing our knowledge and adding to our experience, so that we can make the most of opportunity when it occurs."

We can’t fit a square peg into a round hole. This tackles the issue of matching – making sure that each business prospect has a need for our product or service, can pay the price, and has the authority to buy or make a deal. Otherwise, we waste our time, and theirs. The art of listening is key here. Listen with our head and our heart. If we are able to do both, the match will be glorious. Prove Erma Bombeck wrong when she lamented, "It seems rather incongruous that in a society of super-sophisticated communication, we often suffer from a shortage of listeners."

Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle. This means selling more than features and benefits, and helping prospects solve problems. Our presentation should be prescription for what ails an individual or a company, and our product or service, taken as directed should be the panacea. We should always aim to have an excellent presentation to explain our diagnosis and demonstrate its cure. Franklin Delano Roosevelt may have had the best counsel for anyone giving a presentation. When he uttered, "Be brief. Be sincere. Be seated." Speak from the heart and get the message across. Then quickly sit down.

We get what we pay for. This projects the value of the win-win solution. The most successful businessmen take pride in a job well done and in helping other people, knowing they will be rewarded in the end. And to give real service, as Douglas Adam verbalized, "We must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity." Our mind should be occupied with the thought that when we move towards a mutually beneficial situation, the rewards can be tremendous.

Honesty is the best policy. "No legacy is so rich as honesty," William Shakespeare proclaimed. The philosophy behind the cliché? Seek truth in everything we do, in ourselves, and in others. Need we say more?

Clichés are not passé. They continue to be part of our daily business and life. They hold more wisdom than we can imagine.

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E-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.net for comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks for the valuable feedback.