Everyone loves to hear their own name.  Nothing gets your attention more than hearing your own name. Why? It connects you. We often find ourselves being connected more to a person who personalizes relationships with names rather than with pronouns or just nouns (sir, ma’am, miss, hon, sweetie).

Direct sales is all about building relationships. People like to do business with those they know, trust or like. If you want to increase your sales, bookings or recruits, one small word can make a huge difference.  That word is [Name].  Whether you’re talking with someone face to face, on the phone, or typing, using a person’s name will help your build relationships.

Using a person’s name will make you more approachable and more likable.

Don’t believe me? Try it. I challenge you for the next seven days to go out of your way to use others’ first name.  When you’re out and about and see someone with a name tag, use it. Next time your barista hands you a White Chocolate Mocha, thank that person using the name on the name tag.  No name tag? That’s easy – just ask, others are happy to tell you their name because they love to hear their own name.

When the waitress approaches the table and says “I’m Laurie, and I’ll be taking care of you today” – how many times has “Laurie” walked away and you never heard or didn’t pay attention to her name? As soon as someone introduces themselves to you or answers your question inquiring what their name is – repeat it back.  The correct response to “I’m Laurie, and I’ll be taking care of you today” – would be something like “Thank you, Laurie”.  Or “May I have a cup of coffee please, Laurie?”

There are plenty of tips and techniques on how you can remember names.

The easiest for me is simply to repeat it as soon as you hear it, and use it frequently.

Remember the scene from the Parent Trap (the remake with Lindsey Lohan) when she keeps calling Dennis Quaid “Dad”? Annie, pretending to be Hallie, goes home to Napa instead of England so she can meet her father, who doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary. Their conversation goes like this:

She runs to embrace him with a big smile, saying, “Dad! Finally!” The father tells her he missed her and a lot had been happening. Annie responds, “A lot’s been happening to me too, Dad. I mean, I feel I’m practically a new woman!”

In the car Quaid notices she can’t stop looking at him and asks, “What? Did I cut myself shaving?”

Annie answers, “No. It’s just seeing you for the first time. I mean, you know, in so long.”

As they drive Annie discusses the camp, ending almost every sentence with “Dad”. He asks, “Why do you keep saying ’Dad’ at the end of every sentence?”

Annie answers, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was doing it, Dad. Sorry, Dad.” They both laugh. “Do you want to know why I keep saying ’Dad’? The truth?”

The father says, “Because you missed your old man so much, right?”

“Exactly. It’s because in my whole life—I mean, you know, for the past eight weeks—I was never able to say the word ’Dad’. Never. Not once. And if you ask me, a dad is an irreplaceable person in a girl’s life. Think about it. There’s a whole day devoted to celebrating fathers. Just imagine someone’s life without a father. Never buying a Father’s Day card. Never sitting on their father’s lap. Or being able to say ’Hi, Dad,’ or, ’What’s up, Dad?’ or, ’Catch you later, Dad.’ I mean, a baby’s first words are always ’Dada,’ aren’t they?”

The father asks, “Let me see if I get this. You missed being able to call me ’Dad’?”

Annie answers, “Yeah, I really have, Dad.”

This scene is important because it highlights the importance of using someone’s name.  Have you ever called someone by their name, simply because they were wearing a name tag, only to have that person perplexed that you know them? They either forgot they were wearing a name tag but more likely, they aren’t used to hearing their own name so it threw them for a loop.

Back to our seven day challenge:

Whether calling customers to follow-up, or potential hosts to fill your calendar, use their name. You know that you never leave a table in a restaurant without giving your waitress a catalog or business card, so during your meal, use her name and you’ll be easily remembered after you leave.  You’ll be amazed at the results.

One final word on names with unique spellings or those that are unfamiliar to you: Don’t shy away from using them. The natural tendency if you’re worried you’ll totally butcher it is to not use it at all. Ask. They’ll be grateful that you took an interest in learning their name and using it correctly.  Repeat it back. You may need to say it a couple of times if it’s an unusual name.

What happens if you’re following up on a lead slip from a drawing box and you can’t read the name or you can read it and you have no idea how to pronounce it? You have a couple of options. You can do an internet search “How to pronounce [Name].” You may get a phonetic spelling or sometimes an audio file to listen to. If that doesn’t work, then just call and ask for the person, doing your best. If it’s an unusual name the person answering the phone is probably used to hearing many versions of it.  Then ask if you pronounced it correctly.

If you can’t read the writing, say something like, “Hi, this is Laurie with Scentsy (you might want to use your own name and company, if it doesn’t happen to be Laurie or if you represent a different direct sales company). I’m following up on a drawing slip that was completed at the Women’s Expo on Saturday. It looks like the name is Mariah.”  That way you’ve given enough information that together you can likely solve the mystery.

Starting this moment vow to use names more often.

That one small word can make a huge difference in your direct sales business.  I’d love to hear your results. Leave a comment below to let me know how it‘s working for you.