Question: What word is guaranteed to get a person’s attention?

Answer: Their name.

If you want to cut through the noise of the barrage of marketing out there, use your client’s name. Immediately, your communication is individualized and friendly.

Look at the amount of baby name books and websites out there – people put a lot of care into naming us humans! We respond a lot better to that than any awkward, “Er, uhm”, filler we can use.

Marketing, selling, serving – it’s all about establishing a relationship. When we’re communicating with our clients and customers, it’s incredibly important to connect with them and make them feel like they’re not indispensable. Using their name will immediately get their attention, and create the opportunity for connection right off the bat. 

What exactly is it about names, anyway?

• Names are unique identifiers. Everyone responds to their name. We’re conditioned to instinctively pay attention. It lights up that part of our brain and prompts us to have a specific response.
• Using names builds trust and loyalty – At least, lets the person know you’re paying attention, and they will assume you’re paying attention to their challenges, wants, and needs. 
• You create a personal relationship. Using someone’s name makes them feel validated in the conversation and that they’re receiving personal attention.
• A friendly warning – Using someone’s name too much can get weird. If someone was talking to me and kept repeating my name, I’d either think they were getting weird or condescending. Opening and closing the conversation with names is plenty.

It may feel like a small detail, but try using people’s names more often and see what the reaction is. I bet they feel more comfortable with you and any conversation that proceeds after that. 

-Mike