Here’s a simple life hack I picked up from sales, and it works everywhere.
As part of our sales process, my reps and I always spend 2 minutes before a call reviewing the prospect’s LinkedIn
We look for interesting tidbits about their background
And we start the convo by bringing one of them up
It builds trust fast
It shows we did our homework
And it makes people feel seen
But recently, I realized something funny
This exact same tactic works in everyday life too
My fiancé and I got invited to a Christmas party by a friend we hadn’t seen in a long time
On the drive over, I said
“Why don’t we check out their socials, just like we do in sales?”
So we did
We looked at their recent posts, life updates, anything meaningful
And when we got to the party
We had so many natural conversation starters
We avoided the awkward “So, what have you been up to?” small talk
And instead, jumped straight into topics that made them feel remembered and appreciated
The vibes were great.
And it made me realize
Sales isn’t just about selling
It’s about connection
And the habits we build to connect better at work… can make us better people in real life too
-Alif