Are Your Relationships Priceless?

“Build trust not page views.”  This is a line I read from dear friend Deana Goldasich’s post that was honored in Content Marketing World’s Top Blog Posts.  So first, “hoot-hoot” to Deana for a major rise to the top in her industry!   AND…hooray for the idea that the whole purpose of connecting is NOT for the numbers.  It’s the relationship.  And if the relationship is good…the numbers will follow. Why?  Because people seek out and enjoy being influenced by those they trust.

• Who follows you because they enjoy & desire being influenced by you?
• Do they walk away saying, ‘that was nice’, friend you or link you, and then become a #?
• Or, do they say ‘wow, I want more’…and become a new source of influence with you?
• What is your close rate…for the relationship to turn into continuous value?

So many people play the relationship consumption game.  We go to meetings, shake hands, collect business cards, enter people into databases, friend them on FB or LinkedIn and then what?  Do we listen for what that person is up to in life?  Do we hear the opportunity to truly connect her or him to what that ‘next’ goal, aspiration, and desire is?  Do we selfishly and freely give what we have, not knowing and being okay if we don’t get something in return?  Do we use our power to connect them to their own freedom?

The most priceless asset any of us have is our ability to think.  Therefore, when we give someone the permission and access to our thinking, the next best gift is allowing that person to influence our thinking. It is free…and priceless.

Change people’s thinking for the good, for their best interests…and you have found the key to a new world order.

(Join Kathy Oct. 21st in Denver, CO for the Business Building Workshop.

Early Bird Registration and Pricing at www.destinationbreakthru.com)

As I was sitting in the chair of hairstyle extraordinaire, Roy Naccour with J. Joseph Salon, he was telling me about an upcoming commercial he is shooting and how he will be taking his team through training in how to ‘give her the secrets to doing her hair’ so that she can DIY at home and not have to wait every 6-8 weeks for that ‘salon chair’ look.

“Kathy, so many others don’t want to empower the women they serve.  They think that it will cost their business.  But you see, I want to empower them, and I know they will not do less business with me.  They will feel better about themselves, and actually do MORE business with me.”

Amen to that Roy.

The world we live in comes together in 1 place…our minds.

Life’s meaning takes place as we consider how life is going for us.  Once we’ve determined whether we are on or off track from some ideal ‘place’ we are getting to, the meaning takes shape.

And I’ve come to realize that place is…freedom.  People seek to be FREE to BE WHO THEY ARE.  When we take the time to get to know them, we can give them access to be just that, and then help them find the ways to express this.  We do this as friends, as family members…but do we do this as business owners?  Do we try shoving our show down their throat…or do we listen to what they need and want, and connect them with that?

HOW FREE ARE YOU?

If you are a service provider, how FREE have you been setting the minds of YOUR customers?

Do you operate out of a scarcity mindset, or one of synergy, abundance, and setting people free to be their best?

In a conversation with my own coach, Alfonso Castaneira, we were talking about what Google did to offer priceless value to the world.  Google gave away a priceless asset – access to information.  It was free to anyone with the ability to get to a computer.  You didn’t have to pay a price of entry…it was yours for the taking.  In exchange, how loyal are Google’s customers to coming back to the site?  In average, 2-3 times per day, per millions upon millions of people.

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in the audience of an ACG event in Denver where Steve Knopper, Editor with Rolling Stone Magazine.  He was sharing how Napster found a key in ‘Free’ by giving people access to music for free as a point of entry.  People sampled the music, and wanted to express themselves more so they chose to purchase more than if they would have paying the price to enter.

The new world order is one that recognizes people want to be personally free from prosecuting themselves and given pathways to be empowered to be more of who they are without judgment.

Freedom begins in the mind.  Take Nelson Mandella.  How was he able to endure circumstances with such strength?  Take the incredible stories of Jews who survived odds within concentration camps with amazing attitudes like those of Victor Frankl.

Whether you are sitting in the hairstylists chair, meeting with a financial advisor, shopping at the grocery story, discussing insurance with a representative…these transactions are all expressions of what you want out of life. If you like what you are getting…no, if you lOVE what you are getting it is probably because is upholds something you believe in, it is something that makes you feel amazing in some way.  And when you feel amazing…you want to share it with the world.  And when you share it with the world, you increase the value of that vendor, and feed your own spirit that you’ve found a path to express yourself.

If you are a service provider, realizing this and changing how you interact with, listen to, and offer value to your customers may just get a face-lift.

If you are someone that works internally with others…the same concept applies.  Do you help to set others free? To influence their thinking for good?