“Do not covet your ideas. Give away everything you know and more will come back to you.” Paul Arden

The other day I heard a friend talking about a workshop she recently attended. Something about how to get clients online, a topic that has always been fascinating to me since I literally hate chasing business.

The main point was that there is a fine line between what you put out there for free and what you keep as a premium, in other words, create a need by leaving your prospect wanting more. Nothing new really… basic marketing.

It took me back to the last time I faced that question. I remember not being totally clear about why but made the decision not to think about it anymore and just follow my heart. Today, I can explain why I think you should give it all away… and these are the main reasons:

Nobody Owns Anything Anymore

Ask the music industry if you don’t believe me… while top executives were questioning themselves on how to reinvent music distribution in a profitable way, we decided for them. Music will never be handled the same way. Don’t think too much about it because you no longer own the information you are holding back. You must understand that other people are providing that same information this very moment, and for FREE that is.

Just like bands are becoming more performing than recording artists and records are becoming more of a sample for their live show, you are no longer compensated for knowing what the rest of us don’t.

Generosity Kicks Ass These Days

Have you ever asked a question to somebody you considered an expert in the matter and got a vague, superficial and just lame response? I can guarantee you that people also notices when you go out of your way to provide real value, I mean share your knowledge, provide some resources or even mention your competition if you think it is a better solution in that particular case. Just be generous, be human and walk away from that conversation with the feeling you made a difference.

That is creating positive impact, the long-lasting kind.

Valuable Content Replaces Your Sales Pitch

Spread all your knowledge and experience out there, if you are true to yourself and your audience, soon you will be dropping your elevator pitch and your tie to let your valuable content represent you. There is no better way for a prospect to really see who you are and what you do. Does it take time? Of course it does, I’m talking about pushing a sale versus letting the perfect prospect come to you.

People Will Hire You More Than Ever

Just because the internet holds thousands of nutritional resources and there are hundreds of books, magazines or entire television networks around it doesn’t mean nutritionists are not been hired anymore. Of course they get hired everyday. Only one thing changed, today the consumer is more educated than ever, but if you are the one providing all that information… you have secured a position in the marketplace.

Final Thought

There is something magical in all this and it’s that you should NOT do anything expecting something in return, what I’m suggesting here is being transparent, being human about what you do.

Photo Credits: sueanna, rubenshito

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You hear it all the time, “social media is a 2-way channel”, “it’s all about others” or “it’s like a cocktail party…”

All good concepts, but what do you actually do once in front of the screen? Social media is about Karma, I have built a little list of things to do in seven days that can get you some positive vibrations…

Day 1: Don’t Think About What To Say, Just Listen

Most of the time we are focused on what to say. Hell, half the time in a face-to-face conversation, we’re just dying to see the other person finish talking so we can give our very valuable point of view. It is often said in Sales that you can close more deals by listening to your client, because the client is providing you with the necessary tools so you can cover his/her needs. Have you ever been in front of a sales rep that is running his mouth about something you don’t need?

If you listen carefully, you will know exactly what to say and when. It is no different in social media, would you interrupt in the middle of a conversation? Or would you listen first? Besides attention is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give.

Day 2: Visit 2 Blogs And Comment

We all follow at least a couple of blogs. Instead of just enjoying a good read and then surf away, make a comment, interact, provide your opinion. That is exactly the format to do so. If you provide a valuable point, at least one person in the thread will be interested in following you back to your site to see what else you have to say, not to mention the site’s owner.

A simple comment on a blog can be the beginning of a conversation or even a friend or follower.

Day 3: Talk To 2 Complete Strangers

Remember your mom telling you never to talk to strangers? Re-wire your brain. I’m not telling you to go talk to just anybody, in real life you wouldn’t engage in a conversation about Formula 1 if you didn’t know anything about it… Find somebody that shares the same topic, that is involved in the same line of business, stay in your arena.

Exchange ideas. Provide value. Don’t think the other person will reject you, that’s what social media is all about.

Day 4: Share Somebody Else’s Content

There are people in your industry providing very useful content in different kinds of media, stuff that can also be useful to your network. Share it with them. There are a few benefits behind this practice starting with the possibility of establishing a new relationship, getting in front of the other person’s network, your network will see you as somebody that’s providing useful resources and of course you are increasing the chances of the favor been returned.

There are different ways of sharing others content, you can Retweet an article, post a link on your Facebook Wall, submit the story to Digg and many other ways. One thing to consider, always make sure you are crediting the right people and you are sharing the original story.

Day 5: Introduce 2 People That You Think Can Benefit From Each Other

This is also a practice that will get you a positive return. Be creative, there are other possibilities besides providing someone with a referral for a sale. You can introduce two people in the same industry, maybe two people that can complement each other or are simply talking about the same topics.

You will be remembered if the relationship takes off.

Day 6: Answer 2 Questions From People You Don’t Know

Questions on any kind of topics are being asked everywhere every day. When you answer a question you are positioning yourself as an expert on the matter and it is a great way of becoming part of the conversation.

How to find these questions? Let me help you with that. Search for existing conversations on whatever topics you wish, you can do this on Twitter or Yahoo! Answers, both good places to find questions. Do it with the intention of providing a service, don’t use it as a promotional vehicle to pitch your services. Provide links to resources.

Day 7: Think About What’s Needed, Not What You Need

You need to contribute to the conversation and want to do it with something of value, if you have been listening, you’ll know how to do that. When you are writing a post on your blog or simply engaging in a conversation in one of the social networks, think of others first, think about how to cover a need.

Make sure you are not using social media just to promote yourself. Do you like that guy that’s always talking about himself and never makes a pause to listen to others? Me neither…

In Other Words…

This thing is more about others than yourself and it sounds a lot like leadership to me. Apply some common sense, this really works as in real life, if you start caring about others they might just start caring about you too…

The other factor that can’t be ignored is the touch of brutal honesty. Represent yourself as yourself.

“People should be impressed by who you are, not because you’re trying to impress them.”

For years I was successful at building brands for my businesses, creating a whole corporate image with a logo, fonts, an advertising campaign, communication strategy through PR messages and so on, but I always struggle at the same point: How to position that company in the marketplace. How are we different from our competitors. Lower price, higher quality, better fulfillment systems. The reality is that there is rarely anything different and you end up just trying to push more product out the door.

The marketplace has changed, and with the use of new communications tools such as social media, I came to realized that those differences exist and are so obvious that we actually don’t see them:

You

The competition doesn’t have you. I’m not saying you’re better, but you have something to offer that only you can provide, something unique. When I started SocialMouths, I went through the same process of creating a company, building an image and a structure for it, just to realize that almost all the business I get is coming from people that got to know me or was referred to me for who I am, ignoring my logo completely. This made me think if people were following me in the past and not just my company…

Honesty

I can’t really explain it but when you are truly honest with your clients, they can see it. I remember being afraid to say something that would drive my prospect right to the competition, but what if the best solution for that client is to keep the current provider or go somewhere else? Are you willing to let go of the short-term benefit and hope that you can establish a true long-term relationship? Don’t be afraid, let your values get in the middle and surprise people, I can assure is coming back to you sooner or later.

Painless Process

I find that most of the time people resist something they’re not familiar with, the unknown, it’s only natural. People are standing in front of you thinking “This is going to be expensive” or “This is going to require a lot form me”. This is known to you, and the first step you need to take is to clear those assumptions, provide clarity. I can remember many opportunities when I was on the other side feeling like this and ended up not doing anything or hiring a service in the dark, not sure I made the right decision. Putting your prospect at ease by painting a clear picture in front of them might just be the one and only reason you are hired.

The Price Of The Future: FREE

When was the last time you provided something for free? Tim Armstrong (Rancid) published his solo album, A Poet’s Life, in 2007. Before going on iTunes and hitting the stores, he gave away every song of the album on his website for a few months and then went on to become one of the bestsellers that year. Tribes, Seth Godin‘s latest book went out as a free download before becoming a national bestseller. All this is happening while the music industry struggles to find new ways to profit. You get the point, don’t be afraid.

Organic Results (No Sales)

When you put your values at the core of your business, that’s what you get, organic results. I was the guy pushing product out the door for many years, I was the one buying more time on TV and always trying to come up with strategies on how to increment everything. I didn’t want to deal with sales, always hated sales, so I made sure all those ads were bringing the business in. Today, the only strategy is being myself and exceed expectations, and that not only brings business but I’m getting the opportunity to work with amazing people on exciting projects at the perfect time. I forgot about marketing, sales and worrying about ROI, the only thing I always feared.

I read this somewhere last week and I have been breaking my head trying to remember where so I can post the exact same words and give credit to whoever said it, but it wen something like this:

“Create something by following your passion, put it in front of the right people and see what happens”

I don’t know but it sounds a lot like LEADERSHIP to me…

What do you think?

Photo Credit: Vilseskogen