In a corporate world where ‘sell, sell, sell’ and ‘make the assets sweat’ are mantras and a lack of instant success results in the words ‘You’re Fired’, it might seem heresy to suggest building a successful business on giving. However, giving first can be a powerful tool to build strong and lasting customer engagement, a compelling brand image and open the doors to collaborating with other businesses to enter new markets.
As is the case with most things it needs to be done with integrity, we have all seen examples where a free gift is the route to a hard sell. One small business that embraces the ‘give first’ approach is Sox Digital and they do it well. On their website they say “we really dislike it when people’s free advice amounts to “buy my stuff and solve all of your problems!”” They set out clearly what you can expect from their free advice offer and that is free advice and that’s it. One advantage of giving is that people will often become advocates giving word-of-mouth recommendations. If you find that hard to believe then look no further than this article for proof. I have just recommended Sox Digital. According to a Nielsen report, 92% of people trust word of mouth referrals from those they know, more than they trust all other forms of advertising. Powerful stuff.
Giving can also show you to be an expert and able to provide exceptional value. Again I will provide an example, Trevor Lee. Trevor provides Presentation and Sales Training and often runs free webinars or in person talks where he provides lots of free information and advice which has led to him being seen as an expert. You take away a lot from those sessions including the thought that if you want to improve more it would be well worth paying for Trevor’s services. Trevor has written two books, 12 Business Lessons from Running an Ultramarathon and 7 Steps to Successful Presentations, he doesn’t give them away but in line with his giving ‘ethos’ profits are donated to the charity Children’s Hospice South West.
Trevor also runs a podcast, ‘Better Presentations More Sales’ where he interviews industry experts. As you would expect there is a giveaway on his website’s podcast page, a guide to delivering better virtual presentations. The podcast is a powerful example of how giving can lead to great collaborations. Originally Trevor had to find people to interview for his podcast, now they approach him, which can only strengthen his brand. Now Trevor is thinking of taking the top tips from those podcasts and using them, with the contributors’ permission, to create a business book. That is something that would not have happened if he ran his business in a sell, sell, take, take way. I am sure the book will be a success, all the people who have their tips included will obviously be keen to promote Trevor’s book.
So start giving and unlock your true potential.
Honesty Box
The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.
If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to. Pay for two and I can have cake as well. 🙂
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Business Thoughts 