T.A.P Theory

My mentor shared with me one day about a concept called T.A.P. I personally had never heard of it, and maybe someone out there has heard of it, maybe even use it, but I want to share what T.A.P is and how you can use it in the online world (internet).

T.A.P. is of course an acronym, it stands for Things, Accomplishments, and Personal. I’m not a very outgoing person. I wouldn’t consider myself shy either, however if we were at a party and I really wanted to talk to someone there, more than likely I’d just pass on the opportunity. But if that same person at the party approached me to talk, I could handle myself.

In network marketing, mostly like everyone else, I started out “offline” doing the things my mentors have done and tell me will work. And they did, but it took longer. I would pass out fliers in the mall, knock on folks doors try and convince them I wasn’t soliciting, lol, I would sit in Starbucks and chat it up with folks about my business, doing lots of things out of my character in order to succeed. Saying all of that to say this, I was out one day with my mentor, and he shared with me what someone shared with him one day called the T.A.P theory. He told me that for one you need to be a very observant person and to always have a friendly look about yourself when dealing with the public. That may sound obvious for you all, but for me it was very difficult. He continued to tell me that when he first started out, he mastered the T.A.P principle and it helped him to communicate with people and helped to generate the level of comfortablity and trust and ultimately make the sale.

When you first meet a person, you want to compliment them on something, ergo the T.A.P theory. Compliment them either on a Thing you saw associated with them, an Accomplishment, or something Personal that you may have saw associated with them. So maybe you are knocking on doors, and you notice a very well kept front yard landscaping. When the person comes to the door, compliment them on that landscaping. Maybe you meet a person for the first time in their office, and you see a picture of a beautiful babygirl, say “What a beautiful babygirl…” Or maybe in that same office, you see a trophy of some sort. You can compliment them on that. It is a great conversation starter, and it eases the transition from them thinking you are some pushy salesperson. My mentor always says “People don’t care how much you know, ’til they know how much you care.” And that’s real, just a slight notice of something that hits home with a person, shows that you noticed, and implies that you care.

Now I know you are probably thinking, “But Jasmin, we work online, how can we apply this T.A.P. Theory?” Well I’m glad you asked me, wink, wink, the same principle still applies, just in a different form. So, maybe you are conversing through email and you notice in their signature there is a website, go to the website, and email them back asking questions or complimenting them on the website. That shows that you were interested in them enough to check it out. Maybe you find a prospect/future business associates profile on a social networking site, complement them on their pictures or read their blogs, and let them know that you saw it. Or, maybe this person contacts you directly via telephone, ask them some questions about themselves, instead of diving right into your business opportunity. Lets them bring it out of you, it just proves that you are far more interested in building a relationship with them, more so than the sale.

All this builds relationships, whether you do it online or off, the T.A.P. Theory is a great key or principle to keep in mind.