7L: The Seven Levels of Communication. Michael J. Maher

left out. He needed Michelle to help him make sense of all this. He examined the black band and was reading it when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

      “There you are!” Michelle said, giving him a quick hug. That was nice. Does she ever not smile? “I’m so glad you made it!”

      “Me too!” Rick said quickly. Truthfully, he had been glad she wanted him to come, even if he felt a little hesitant about being there. “I appreciate all the reminders.”

      “Well, I think you’re really going to enjoy it. Oh, and thanks so much for e-mailing your broker. I called him and we’ve got the “Lunch and Learn” scheduled.”

      “Oh, good, it was no trouble really,” Rick said, trying to sound casual. “Anyway, I’ve never seen this place so full.”

      “I saved you a seat close to the front with me and a few others. Let’s head up there before they get started.”

      Rick followed her into the main auditorium and down towards the stage. Wow, we’re in the “Reserved” seating. I guess she does know some people. Rick was very glad he was headed there with her, instead of sitting by himself in this crowd.

      When they arrived at their section, Rick shook hands with a few new people. Oh, there’s Alan, he noticed, looking down the row. What’s a lawyer doing here? Rick felt a small twinge of disappointment that he chose to ignore.

      The crowd began to hoot and holler as the lights dimmed and some music began to play. It was strange to feel so much energy at a business event. Do they think we’re at a rock concert or something?

      An introductory video played, which stirred up everyone even further; and finally, Jay Michaels himself jogged to the center of the stage and waved to the crowd. He was of average height and build, dressed in a black suit and mock turtleneck. Rick realized that he had half expected to see a movie star or celebrity athlete emerge. He found himself rising with everybody else to give a thunderous standing ovation. The intensity was reaching a fever pitch with shouts and cheers. Rick felt chills run up his spine, despite himself. It reminded him of the time his high school football team had made the playoffs for the first time in ten years.

      “Thank you!” Jay started. To Rick’s surprise, instead of quieting down, the roar got louder. The back and forth continued for what seemed like several minutes as Jay continued to greet the crowd and they welcomed him in return.

      “Welcome, members of the Generosity Generation!” Jay began. “I am so excited to share the Seven Levels of Communication with you and show you how to go from relationships to referrals. Even veterans and Ambassadors in the crowd will spot many new items tonight as we continually improve our game!” More cheers. Jeez, these people really love this guy.

      Jay raised his hands and the crowd quieted almost instantly. It was time to get to work. Rick noticed nobody took their seat. Jay continued, “As many of you know, I always start my day and my presentations with affirmations. They focus our minds for the task ahead. Let’s get started!”

      Oh, great, Rick thought. He had tried affirmations before, staring in the mirror every morning and telling himself he was stronger and better. It had done nothing. Here goes nothing, he thought.

      Jay passionately said the affirmations and then the crowd repeated them. A loud clap followed each. Rick mouthed along, and glanced to his side to see what Michelle and her row of fans were doing. They were enthusiastically participating, although he caught Alan looking at his BlackBerry several times. He can’t be here for anything but Michelle.

      The affirmations continued. “I do it now!” Jay shouted.

      “I do it now!” The crowd responded. CLAP!

      “Excellent!” Jay shouted. “I want each of you to take a look at the black rubber bracelet you received in your packet. This is your procrastination-elimination-solution.” My what? Okay . . . Rick thought. “Do you remember when your teacher made you write something on the chalkboard over and over when you misbehaved? My teacher made me write phrases like, ‘I will not pull Cindy’s hair’ and ‘I will not chew on my pencil in class’. She made me write those things so that it would be instilled in my mind to do the right thing. I want these wrist bands to instill a sense of urgency in you. If your buyers aren’t buying and your sellers aren’t motivated to sell, perhaps it is YOUR sense of urgency that is lacking, not theirs.”

      Rick thought about that for a moment. MY sense of urgency? For all this noise and hype, Jay had cut right to the chase. Rick felt oddly alert in response.

      “To conquer procrastination, this band will remind you to DO IT NOW!” Jay continued. “Tap your band right now and say to yourself, ‘Do it now.’”

      Everyone tapped his or her band and shouted, “DO IT NOW!” Rick repeated the line along with everyone else. Another thunderous clap followed.

      “Again!” Jay implored.

      Rick tapped the band on his wrist. “DO IT NOW!” the crowd shouted and then clapped. They did it five more times with each shout and clap getting louder.²

      “Affirmations—what a great way to start!” Jay continued. “Please have a seat. Thank you.” The crowd settled in.

      “A wise man once said, ‘Begin with the end in mind.’ What’s interesting about the philosophy of the Seven Levels is that the first thing you look at is the end. . . your end. It sounds horrible, but we are all mortals and will someday face our end. We need to make sure our lives AND our businesses are aligned with the legacy we want to leave. To draw a line from point A to point B, we need to know where point B is and what it looks like. Consider these questions: If there were only twelve words written on your tombstone, what would you want them to be? Who would you want at your funeral? What would you want them to say about you?”

      Rick shuddered. Who would come to my funeral if I died today? The thought was a terrible one. Rick didn’t want to pursue it further but he couldn’t resist. Did this really have anything to do with his business?

      “What you want said about you at your funeral has everything to do with how you do business today,” Jay declared, as if in answer to Rick’s question. “Your business should be a vehicle for helping you live and leave a legacy. Your business should help you fulfill your purpose. The most important conversation you ever have is the one with yourself. Your affirmations are statements of who you are and who you will be. They shape the kind of business you will run and in turn the type of life you will lead.” As Rick pondered this, Jay began telling a story about cold calling, spamming and door-knocking which was getting a lot of chuckles. Rick had never thought of his business as much more than a way to make a living, much less a “legacy.” The thought of his funeral continued to bother him.

      “Like most of you, my brokers told me the only way I could succeed in this business was to be a spammer, a solicitor or a criminal!” Jay declared to roars of laughter. “I knew I had to find a better way.”

      Well, if you did, I’d love to hear it, Rick thought sarcastically.

      “Then I thought about who I had really sold to in the last six months: my mother’s cousin, my college roommate’s brother and another friend of a friend,” Jay continued.

       So?

      “And the difference hit me: the people I had sold to trusted me. They used me because we had a relationship. I realized that it was my relationships, not my marketing budget that was going to create my future.”

      Rick considered his point. Josh had used him because of a mutual friend.

      “I stopped chasing leads. I decided not to spend another dime on advertising. I decided to be like a lighthouse that attracts, guides, and directs instead of running all over the place pursuing clients. Guess what happened?”

      You burnt out, Rick chuckled to himself.

      “I doubled my business. . . every year . . . for four straight years!”