You started your own business to have more freedom. And before you know it, you’ve got so much to do that you can’t see straight. How do you get it all done, keep your moral sanity and make sure you’re growing and making money? The answer, it turns out, is to continually give more than you get.
How does giving more make you more money?
"Um, excuse me, I’m trying to get more of everything coming in, not going out!" Yes, I hear that but I'd like you to think about this for a moment. Most tend to generalize, thinking that you sell your products and services to the faceless mass ‘out there’ known as your target market. After all, people like me are always telling you to focus on a target market, right?
But the very specific reality is that you interact and/or sell to just one person at a time. That person, whose face and voice are very real, may even have a lot in common with you. And like you, they love it when someone helps them get what they want, gives them hope, or makes them feel like a million bucks.
Of course, most of the time, they pay you to do that. But the most valuable client relationships are built when you help them without expecting anything in return. To prove this, think back to when you were a kid.
What does my childhood have to do with making more money?
Think back to your childhood, and try to remember an adult outside your family who you really, really liked and admired – someone who you thought just hung the moon. Why did you feel that way about them? No doubt it was due to fact that they paid attention to you, had time for you and your interests, and liked you (or did a helluva good job faking it). Man, wasn’t it great to be around them?
On summer vacation when I was 10 years old, we visited some relatives I’d never met before out on the west coast. We were going to be staying there a few days and almost immediately this what the lady of the house did…she invited me, that’s right 10-year-old-me alone, to go shopping with her to buy all the food that I liked!
Are you kidding me – an adult asking me what my favorite foods were and then popping them in the shopping cart? I remember thinking, “Wow, she is so cool!” She focused solely on me in that moment, and in our current business-speak, she “over-delivered” if you will. She made me feel so great that I remember it like it was yesterday (and not 35 years ago).
Can you make your clients feel that great?
How would your business, or your life for that matter, look if even half of your clients felt that way about you? We both know that it would skyrocket your income and your productivity as more clients would not only stay with you longer, but would be telling stories about how they love working with you.
As they say, you can’t buy that kind of loyalty. So what can you do to begin earning it? Focus on the little things because they make a huge difference. Yes, over-deliver with the value you provide for the money you’re paid, but then, ask yourself what else you can do that is unexpectedly remarkable to create stronger bonds with your clients, potential clients, readers and followers. That is the best strategy for the success you desire.
Cheers, Michael
P.S. Congrats to all of you who are finishing 2011 Like A Man On Fire in our program. And thanks for all the great comments about how it's helping you.
Photo Credit: Marxus
Very nice. when I watch my son, the one thing I think separates him from most adults is the sense of wonder. I can’t think of anything more valuable for people trying to make it happen on their own.
They keep asking questions and chasing answers.
Good luck!
Great point Josh! thanks.
Michael