What is that sultry sound that you love to hear? It shows you’re needed, wanted, known, considered, and even accepted. It’s your name. A person’s name is the most important sound to them. In Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, arguably the book with the most impact on business interaction (also know as the “Business Bible”), Carnegie spends a whole chapter on the importance of a person’s name on his business.
It may sounds selfish but people love hearing their name. That is the one sound that will make a person turn their head towards the sound instinctively. It is also the sounds which a person has heard throughout their WHOLE LIFE. Among other purposes of a name, the most important is the use of identity. When you realize that a name is an identity, the true potential of a healthy name drop suddenly opens up.
In Carnegie’s book, he retold a story of Andrew Carnegie (no relation to Dale) in his youth. Andrew, as a child, wanted multiple rabbits… but he did not want to have to take care of them. So, when he got his rabbits he went around to the kids in the neighborhood and told them to take care of a rabbit for him. When the children asked Andrew why they should take on the responsibility, Andrew responded “If you take care of a rabbit, I’ll name the rabbit after you”. From there, Andrew never had to worry about telling a kid to take of or feed a rabbit- they did it automatically.
Conversely, the absence of name use in conversation/interaction can show subconsciously that you are not needed, wanted, known, considered, or even accepted. Not only that… you might that the person doesn’t know your name!
BoweryJE22
Great Blog Post! I have been very consciousness of this notion during my interactions with prospective customers. I have noticed the success rate of this tactic even in restaurants where I have called waiters by their name and have received better service in return.
One thing I am admittedly very bad about is names. Even if I remember somone’s name, I’ll second guess myself, and just say “Hi there!” or “How’s it going?” for fear of calling them by the wrong name. This is a skill I must work on, going into thr business world. In regards to the sales process, I agree that addressing somone by name is a vitally important way of connecting with them. I will say, however, that I have been in situations where I’ve interacted with someone, and they’ll say my name far too much. Such as, every sentance, or sometimes more than once in the same sentance. I find this to be very awkward and unnatural, and am usually turned away by this strategy. Or at least the overuse of it.