Gotta Give It Away To Keep It
So there you are and you have all these questions. What type of images are going to help my website? Why do I want to get my execs to have their portraits updated? Why do I need an image of our office building? What is the cost of a photography for this project? How is offering staff portraits for free at the holiday party going to help my company and/or my staff? Who do I ask about all of this!?
Answers cost money don’t they? Not always.
Today the old adage of “it’s not what you know it’s who you know” is becoming very true again. With social media being a large marketing tool who you know can make a difference and not just in whom you do business with but also in how you do business. But that is only a part of the picture. It’s about relationships; getting to know people and their businesses.
I am very active on social media sites such as LinkedIn, in fact I spend a good part of my day reading and answering questions. 99% of the people I speak to I will probably never do business with directly. When I go to my local Chamber of Commerce I meet people, I answer questions, I give ideas, I am generally available for any question or comment that anyone has. Recently I was at an event and I mentioned that I had looked at a particular company’s web site the night before. I told the representative that, “Although I wasn’t sure if we could do business, I noticed a few things about their site that I wanted to bring up to them.” The person I was speaking with looked at me in shock. I actually did research. Just because I cared enough to find out more about the company rather than just do my pitch, they were willing to listen. I showed that I cared about their business. And I do care about your business.
Why should I care about your business if in fact you may never give me any work? Because, although you may never pay me, you will give me work. You will give me work because you will probably mention how helpful I was, knowing we wouldn’t do business. You are pleased that someone was willing to lend a hand without expecting a hand out. You also have started to get to know me and see that I am sincere in that I like to help people. Hopefully you will tell your colleagues and if they tell someone, sooner or later someone is going to need my services and my help.
It’s called Paying It Forward.
