Every single day you wake up, you have the opportunity to have an impact on the people that you come across. Whether it be in business, your family or just simply walking around — it is your responsibility add value to those around you. Well, that’s my opinion of course.
Too many people have it all wrong. They look for what people can do for them, or even worse, they give with an expectation of something in return. When you do that, you do two things:
- You set yourself up for disappointment.
- You come off as disingenuous — people know you aren’t being sincere.
Some people just flat out don’t know how to lead with value. They over think it. Let me help you — start off small. Start with listening. And when I say listening, I mean actually listen.
Call two people per day that you haven’t spoke with in a while and simple ask:
“How are you doing?”
“What’s new?”
Then shut up and listen. You have two ears and one mouth, use the proportionally.
Once you hear what they have to say, find a way to help. Connect them with someone that can help them in what they’re doing. Offer to help them yourself. Help with no expectation of giving anything in return. What will end up happening is that you will get exactly what you need in return. Over time.
Let me share a personal story that helps illustrate this perfectly.
I started a Facebook group for Financial Advisors that hits them with valuable information each and every day. It helps them in every area of their business. It’s 100% FREE. That’s right, FREE.
Why am I doing this?
Because I don’t want there to be a financial hurdle for anyone who wants to get better. I want to build a genuine trust with my audience. I don’t want them to feel like they are being sold anything. I want to do it the right way.
You know what happens with this?
People get confused. They’re waiting for the sales pitch. They’re thinking to themselves, “what’s the catch?”
Then they just ask: “Why are you doing this?” “What can I do to help?”
And that’s what I’m looking for. I’m looking for people that can be passionate about the community and what we’re doing. The more advocates, the better.
Of course, people will end up wanting more personalized attention and that’s when monetization occurs but that’s the long game. The short game doesn’t generate a lot of money and that’s something you have to be OK with. If you’re not, you’ve already lost.
So if you’re in it for the long game, you lead with value above all else and don’t have any expectation of receiving anything in return, you’ll get everything in return. It just takes time.
