All industries have one or two. Youll see big glossy rags with names
like Automotive News, Restaurant Business, Pool and Spa
How to Secretly Learn About Their Lives 159
News, Trucking Industry, and even Hogs Today for people in the pig
business. (Excuse me, they call themselves swine practitioners. Hey, you
never know when, to make your next big sale, it will help to speak pig.)
Any one issue will give you a sample of their lingo and inform you of the
hottest issues in that field.
When it comes to peoples hobbies and interests, browse through
magazines on running, working out, bicycling, skiing, swimming, and
surfing. Large magazine stores carry biker rags, boxer rags, bowler rags,
even bull-riding rags. Youll find thousands of special-interest magazines
published every month.
Several years ago, I got hooked on buying a different one each week. It
paid off quickly when a potential consulting client invited me to dinner at
her home. She had a beautiful garden and, thanks to Flower and Garden
Magazine, I could throw out insider terms like ornamentals, annuals, and
perennials. I could even keep up when the discussion turned to the
advantages of growing from seeds or bulbs.
Because I was so fluent in flower, she invited me to take a longer walk
with her to see her private back gardens. As we
Technique #41
Read Their Rags
Is your next big client a golfer, runner, swimmer, surfer, or skier? Are
you attending a social function filled with accountants or Zen Buddhistsor
anything in between? There are untold thousands of monthly magazines
serving every imaginable interest. You can dish up more information than
youll ever need to sound like an insider with anyone just by reading the rags
that serve their racket. (Have you read your latest copy of
Zoonooz yet?)
strolled, I gradually changed the subject from chrysanthemums to the
consulting work I could do for her company. Who was leaing whom down
the garden path?
Is the world getting smaller, or are we getting bigger? Todays
Renaissance man or woman is comfortable and confident anwhere. The
next technique helps you be an insider wherever you find yourself on the
ooja
(Ooja)
#1