I just reread a book titled The Go Giver: A little story about a powerful business idea. Full disclosure this was the third time I read this book and I plan to read it annually going forward.
It’s not a big book, only about one hundred and fifty pages (my kind of book!), but it is extremely powerful.
It’s not really a true business book in the “how to” way a business book usually is, no not at all, it is a parable, a story with a strong message.
And that message is all about the power of giving. Okay, okay, before you run to hide your wallet, it’s not about that kind of giving. It’s more about giving of yourself, being generous with others, and how doing that will help you succeed in business.
I especially relate to this thinking because it has been my personal credo for many years. I begin every relationship with the attitude “allow me to be generous.” What I mean by that, is that we agree to help one another without keeping score. We agree to trust each other, knowing for sure that we have one another’s best interest at heart.
This attitude works with all relationships, from friendships to co-workers to customers and even competitors.
By using this “allow me to be generous” credo I have been able to help a great many people and they in turn always remember me when they find something that would help me.
It works, I know because I have lived it for many years.
And whenever I want to get my generous batteries recharged I go to this little book The Go Giver written by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
The parable is about a very wealthy and successful man by the name of Pindar who takes a younger man just starting out under his wing. He introduces him to some of his also successful associates (friends really) who talk to the young man how they have succeeded in their life’s work by being generous in their own way. In other words, the go givers.
Here from that book are the basic ideas or as they call them:
The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success (my comments on how to use these laws when it comes to sales are in italics)
The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take away in payment.
I agree, always find ways to provide more value that anyone expects. Surprise your customers by always doing more than they expect. Just the act of doing this will put you far ahead of your competitors.
The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
The better you serve your customers, the more value you bring to them will determine how well you do as a salesperson and hence the more income you will make. The idea is to focus on what you do for your customers first. If you do this and do it well the money will come.
The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
The better you treat your customers, the more valuable you are to them, the more they will listen to you. They will come to trust and admire you because they know you are always looking out for them. This means that they will turn to you for advice which of course will allow you to have some influence on their decisions.
The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
If you show that you are genuinely interested in your customers. If you demonstrate that you put their interests before yours, the more you give of yourself, the more trusted and even cherished you will be as a supplier, and then the more they will consider you one of their “trusted advisors”
The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
This is the kind of relationship we are talking about. This go-giver, this “allow me to be generous” attitude you develop with your customers will actually lead to them wanting to help you in return. Always make sure that you accept their help, their generosity graciously and with great appreciation. I see their generosity leading to references, and referrals and success stories to the point where they become one of your more powerful advocates. And there is no better way to increase sales than by having your customers recommend you to other potential customers.
In the end being generous to the point of being a true go giver truly is the key to having a successful sales career, actually to having a successful life filled with strong and fulfilling relationships with people in all areas of your life.
You can study all the ways to improve your sales efforts from cold calling techniques to social media communications but in the end ours’ as is all business is a people to people thing, and there is not better way to successfully partner with people than being generous with them when it comes to your time, your authenticity, and your genuine commitment to looking out for their interests. It’s only common sense
