Years ago, there were six degrees of separation between you and anyone else on the planet. Then came the social web and suddenly, there was just one pixel of separation between you and anyone with an Internet connection.
So, given this unparalleled business opportunity to connect with almost anyone, what are you doing with it?
Selfish demands from strangers
Very few small business owners seem to understand how to benefit from this opportunity.
They just don’t get it. They simply see a way to connect with someone via email or a social network who they think can help them, and ask that stranger for help. Rather than think ahead of the people it would be useful for them to know and invest the time required to connect with these useful people in advance, they just pester them with a direct demand for a selfish favour.
For instance, today alone, around half a dozen people who have never connected with me before, will email me and ask if I will let them write a guest post on this blog. Another dozen or so people who have never previously connected with me, will ask me via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or email if I will ‘check out their site and tell them what they are doing wrong.’ Then around 50 PR companies will email me a press release, even though they have no relationship with me and I have never published a press release.
None of us are self made people
The idea of the self made person is a myth. None of us can do it by ourselves. We all need the help and support of others, in order to achieve anything of value. The least effective way to garner that help or support, is to pester people we don’t know and demand it.
Business is all about people and people value relationships. This means relationship building should be an essential, ongoing process in your business.
Try this
Take some time out to identify the people, who you would like to know and then invest the time required to get to know them. You don’t need a complicated strategy for this any more than you need one for making new friends. It’s about people. Just keep it human and be prepared to give before you receive. Instigate the relationship with a hello, not a demand. Seek to help, before you ask for help. You wouldn’t make a new friend and straight away start demanding they do things for you – the same is true in business.
In short: Business is all about people and people respond very poorly to selfish demands from strangers. Make relationship building an ongoing priority, by investing the time required to get to know the people, who you can help and those who may be able to help you. Get this right and the potential is endless!
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Photo: Teen Photographer
Jim, I really like what you said about getting to know your prospects and friends first before trying to sell them and ask for something from them. I recently read that doing that is like walking up to a complete stranger and telling them that they have to jump in the lake, now. Unless I could see the immediate need to do that, I’d just get away from that person very quickly. Thanks for the reminder.
Great post! We just cannot forget that at the end of the day it is all about connecting with another individual. Yes, there are so many ways to effectively use the net to market. However, our customers keep telling me that they choose to do business with us because of how we relate to them and how we treat them.
Nice post! I must say that many people (unfortunately) forget how important it is to build such relationships. Even though many people may disagree with me, I still think that taking a human approach pays off better, much better. Thanks for a great post!
You’ve made 2 really good points Jim
-”The idea of the self made person is a myth”.
-”Business is all about people and people value relationships”.
All I’ve heard about marketing recently is about lead nurturing, blogging, website development, landing pages, email marketing, etc – All of which are important tools, but should not substitute face-to-face meetings if possible, especially for B2B firms.
Blogging is useful to build relationships, and is a great business model for certain businesses such as the one you are in, however, firms with physical products and services should not replace it with physical interactions.
We develop by connecting with others in our related industries, and to this requires resources in terms of time – not just online, but meeting them lunch, at work, etc.
Many companies sing about the benefits of having a ton of followers, but what matters in the business perspective are people who can contribute to your business in terms of ideas, contacts, customers, collaboration, and so on. For many B2B firms focusing on social media may not be as effective as they may not be targeting their customers.
Hi NGayanP. No matter whether you sell a product or service, business is always about people – not numbers, lists or followers.