The moment a new person enters your life, possibilities for the both of you multiply. A handshake can mean as much as a new client or business partner. The person you meet may have the solution to that problem you’ve had for months, or they may introduce you to the person that has it.
This is why every meeting you have is an investment that goes far beyond transaction. That goes far beyond what a person can do for you. A connection can alter both of you in unimaginable ways.
Just like in chemistry, if there’s any chemical reaction between two personalities, a new element will form. And that new element will enrich your businesses with fresh insight and new resources.
Opting for Connection Mode
Changing your mindset from transaction to connection mode can expand your business to the next level. Because in connection mode, you meet people that can give you insight that you haven’t had before.
In connection mode, you focus on helping each other’s business thrive, and this amplifies the old-fashioned win-win mentality that is so fruitful in business.
It’s not about what this person can give to me but how we can benefit each other’s businesses. Why run around trying to catch flies with a net when you can attract them with honey?
The Good Karma of Connections
There is good karma in business. The moment you meet an associate and approach them with an openness to opportunity, doors fly open in front of you. This has been proven many times by the most successful entrepreneurs.
For example, “superconnector” Scott Gerber of YEC specifically built a business around connecting people. His introductions lead to 7-figure deals of which he takes no cut. Even so, his business generates several million dollars in revenue annually.
But Scott Gerber didn’t do it alone. He did it with his partner Ryan Paugh, introduced to him by another superconnector, Dan Schawbel. Dan Schawbel could tell that what these two people wanted to build was very similar, and together they might just accomplish it.
It was something as simple as an introduction that led to the great success of YEC. And good karma had also found Dan Schawbel, whose access, reach, and clout from that point on increased exponentially.
Burning Bridges
Now here’s a negative example from Harvard Business School graduate and serial advisor Mark Morris. Often, when waiters find out he doesn’t drink, they will spend less time at his table. Because the prospect of tips from a non-drinker seems dim. What the waiters don’t realize is that he is a generous tipper. But because they only consider him a means to an end, they miss out on the big bucks.
Building bridges can be a whole lot more effective than burning them. Providing quality, even when it doesn’t bring immediate profit, is the winning strategy of tier 1 entrepreneurs.
Trust Leads To Consistency
Once a network is established and a relationship begins to blossom, the next challenge ahead is building trust. Trust is certainly needed to initiate transactions, but more importantly, trust is crucial for the bigger types of transactions that will propel your company forward. Trust not only leads to consistent work but allows clients to become comfortable with larger risks and bigger investments. This is a direction that leads to optimization in every direction: less orientation work for a returning client, bigger workloads, and more comfort. Going the extra mile for clients you see potential with can certainly pay itself back multiple folds. Showing the client you care about the results over the money by giving a price reduction, going the extra mile by adding additional un-billed hours, and such examples of building trust early on in the relationship.
Something as simple as a connection can help you out in times of need and give your business a rocket boost. The good karma of introducing people, and providing quality even when there’s no immediate profit, will always find you in the end. And this is why building and maintaining connections is the elixir of your business.
Written by Michael Peres (Mikey Peres).
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