I have a secret. A secret that could become a powerful weapon that you can use to make competition irrelevant:
Nobody wants to be sold to.
Nobody wants to shake your hand bump elbows and be immediately subjected to a sales pitch.
I find it surprising that I still get private messages on LinkedIn, where the very first thing I hear is, “Hey, would you be interested in buying my suchandsuch?”
I’m not sure why this is still happening, because I can’t imagine it is ever an actual effective method of selling.
It would be like me going up to someone at a party and saying, “Hey, I’m JL. Hire me to write for you.”
How fast would you be squirming to get away from me?
I need to lure you with my charm, first!
The truth is, the best way to get business is to genuinely care about people.
In our culture of “me, me, me,” “how are you?” makes you stand out.
There is a big difference between, “what can you do for me?” and “what can I do for you?”.
I double dare you to adopt a giver’s heart when you interact with your audience. Look at the world through the eyes of someone who wants to give value, not as someone who wants to take from others.
Give valuable information. Ask for advice. Share your thoughts.
If everyone took this approach to business…oh what a world it would be.
