Influence: we know influence can be good and bad.  Think back to you and the neighbor kid – the one mom winced about every time you wanted to play with him because he’s INFLUENCED you to do some dangerous, annoying or possibly dastardly deed.

“Don’t walk in my head with your dirty feet.”
― Leo Buscaglia, Living Loving and Learning

Then, there were the nice ones that every mother wanted to have to the house for days at a time because you were better behaved, kinder to your siblings and generally delightful when they were around.  Those are the influencers we are talking about.  We carry those values with us into adulthood and into our careers.  What we do with those skills is ever-changing.

Who influenced you as a kid? 

Who influenced you in college? 

Who POSITIVELY influenced you at your first job?

Right now, when you think of someone who positively affects the direction you take in your career, sales techniques, customer relations – who comes to mind?  Those are the types of leaders that the 50 Most Influential in Sales Lead Management is about.

“You don’t have to be a person of influence to be influential.
In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me.”
― Scott Adams

We are well beyond earning the classroom ice-cream party for magazine sales well done, but the ideals are the same.  Who influences you through credible methods, inspiring you to be better at what you do? Whom do you watch for the next trend or to stay ahead of the competition? Who is the game changer – the one who stirs up how things are currently and gives us a new normal to aspire to?  The Influencers, that’s who.

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

leadership

About the Author: Susan Finch

Susan has been a web solutions provider since 1997 and combines it with her years of experience in Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising. In her own company, Susan Finch Solutions (http://www.susanfinch.com) Susan provides training, design, set up, strategies, and graphics for clients online and for print. Susan has been a director for the SLMA since 2008.