Offline, Online; It’s Still About The Basics
We’ve all heard the expression, “The more things change the more they stay the same.” How true this is, especially in terms of cultivating new business.
As “Social Media” (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) becomes utilized by more and more people, the potential for its mis-use in terms of productive business-building becomes greater and greater.
The first thing I note (and most of my online social/businss networking is done of Facebook and Twitter) is the number of - ugg, I hate this word - pitches from people for their product or service…when first connecting!! No relationship-building; no focusing on the other (and, no, thinking you’re going to help them by their buying from you is not focusing on them) :-), no taking time to identify want, need or desire; no respecting the process, just pitching. {Side note: on Twitter this is often done via auto-responder which I believe, as the saying goes, “adds insult to injury”)
This is the online equivalent to introducing yourself to someone at a Chamber of Commerce or other business mixer and immediately shoving your business card at them and telling them all about what you do. Does that really achieve the desired result? While we can “never say never” we can definitely say the odds are well against it, both for short and long-term success.
Remember, “All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to, those people they know, like and trust.” This doesn’t happen as a result of being pitched but as a result of knowing the other person has their best interests in mind.
So, when connecting with someone online, instead of pitching your product or service or asking yourself how they can help you, ask yourself, “how can I somehow provide value - real value - to the relationship, and effectively communicate my desire to do so?”
If sales and referrals are going to happen, they will…after you’ve proved yourself to be an asset of value; not a taker of energy.
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