Whilst I had not planned to write any new blog posts during my holiday, (I’ve been sending out scheduled posts since last Thursday), I really wanted to share this with you. It’s all about the power of small, simple human connections – the kind that are easy to forget, yet can be so powerful for you and your business.
What follows is a recent example, of how taking a few moments to think about another person’s situation and then offer some help, in even a very small way, can totally change that person’s day and the way they think about you.
It’s cool to help
On Saturday, I took my family to visit a castle in North Yorkshire. It was a hot, sunny day – around 80 degrees. The place was packed. The castle shop and ticket office were looked after by a very warm looking man, who I would guess was in his early sixties. He was busily working hard, to get everyone into the castle, whilst serving the gift shop’s customers too. I took a moment to speak with him and handed him a cold drink, which I’d got from the drinks machine.
His face lit up! He told me that in 14 years of working there, no one had ever done that before.
On our way out, the guy came over to us and thanked me again. The queue in the shop had gone and he was looking a lot cooler. He then gave my son a quick lesson on the castle’s history and handed all three of us, free tickets to a medieval jousting and falconry display; taking place there that evening. These tickets had been sold out for ages; we knew this because we tried to buy some before we set off on holiday!
The marketing power of giving
When I started out in sales, a former boss of mine told that it was important to help as many people within our marketplace as possible. He said these should be small, easy things – acts of kindness or help, which didn’t take too long to deliver – but were hard to forget. It worked. In fact, it worked extremely well and has continued to do so for the past 24 years!
Now, back when I started out proactively looking for ways to help prospective clients, it was almost exclusively with a focus on what I would get in return. Interestingly, after just a few weeks, I found that it had become a natural part of my daily routine and not just limited to business. I started looking for ways to help people, no matter who they were and without any thought of how it might benefit me (hence the castle example above.)
Most people will help someone in distress. This is different! This is about helping people, who may not be standing with their arms waving for help – those whose need may be less obvious or less vocal. If you have not previously tried this approach, I suggest you give it a try. As I wrote previously, small things can have a massive positive impact on your results AND make work a lot more fun too!
I would be interested to hear if you have had similar experiences to mine or what you think about this simple idea. Get in touch and let us know!
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The small business owners I work with enjoy far more sales, attract better clients and grow amazing businesses.
If you want the same, here’s exactly how it happens.