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Mirror,mirror on the wall, who’s the most influential of them all?

This is part two of “How to become a power influencer.”

Based on an inanestatement about how to become a power influencer, purported by an”expert,” I decided to clarify the process in detail, so that youcould have a shot at becoming one.

Last week’s elementsof a power influencer included: smart, shrewd, knowledgeable,successful, a winner, full of answers, someone with ideas that work,creative, a thinker, someone with a great reputation, someone withgreat timing, and someone with a great attitude.

There’s a lot tobecoming a person of influence. But the rewards will last a lifetime.

Here’s the rest ofthe list.

A power influenceris

Well read.Influence comes from a combination of thinking and reasoning that’snot just based on experience. Reading will help you better understandand clarify your own thinking, even refine your own thinking,and it gives you an additional resource to draw from as you’rebuilding your influential base.

Published. Forthe past 15 years, I have published a weekly article — more than 800individual writings that have helped and influenced others in theirthinking and in the actions that they take. If you seek to influence,you must do it in a multitude of formats. I promise that if othersare influenced by your writing, they will also be influenced by thewords you speak.

An author. Writea book that has both influence and prestige. Articles become books.Books become read. And the people who read them will be influenced bythe person who wrote them.

Service driven, notsales driven. Salespeople are only able to influence temporarily.Power influencers lead with service and their service leads to sales.

Friendly — wellliked. All things being equal, people want to be influenced bytheir friends. All things being not quite so equal, people still wantto be influenced by their friends. While friendly is not always thebest case for influence, I believe it is the best case.

Someone who hasgained the customer’s (other people’s) confidence. The moreyou perform, the more successes you have, and the more wisdom youconvey over time, the more confidence others will have in you.Confidence only comes as a result of performance over time.

Tells the truth allthe time. You can influence temporarily with a lie. But once thelie is uncovered, you can never influence again.

Gets the job done nomatter what. People of influence are also performers. They DO,not just say. They walk their talk. They don’t make excuses becausethey don’t have to. They’re the one person who is counted on in atime of need. They are reliable and relentless. They don’t leavethe job until the job is done.

Trusted. All ofthe already mentioned elements combine to form trust. One of them canbreak trust. If you lie, trust is gone. If you quit a job in themiddle, trust is gone. No one element builds trust. But the lack ofone element can destroy it.

Long-term oriented.Influence is determined by relationship and long-term thinkingprecedes relationship. It’s not about your quota. It’s not aboutthe end of the month. It’s about doing what is best for others overan extended period of time regardless of your self-imposed deadlines.

Not greedy. Ifthere are givers and takers in the world, people of influence areseen as givers. People who are always thinking about or talking aboutmoney are not as influential as people who are always talking aboutideas and serving others.

“A fit.” Oneof the most powerful but least talked about elements of relationship,trust, and influence is how comfortable people feel with each other,how easy it is to do business with each other, and how natural therelationship is formed. You don’t have to force it because it’s afit.

This list containselements of the IDEAL influencer. All people of influence do not haveto have all these qualities, but the more they possess, the greatertheir power to influence.

NOTE WELL: This listdoes not contain the words “has money.” Having money and beinginfluential are mutually exclusive. Maybe money gives you a slightadvantage, but all the other elements outweigh it. By a ton.

While this list onlytook a few days to compile, it will take you years to master eachelement of influence. That’s the good news for you, if you arededicated to become a power influencer. Most other people will quitafter reading this list. “Too much work,” they’ll say. “Notworth the effort,” they’ll whine.

GREAT! More room foryou at the top.

If you missed last weekand want BOTH parts of this column, go to www.gitomer.com, registerif you’re a first-time visitor, and enter the word INFLUENCE in theGitBit box.