It was a good company.
Exceptional products. Smart, skilled people. Honest, hardworking folks who did their best every day for their customers and for each other.
But they were stuck.
One day, this company discovered a little, unassuming four-letter word and it caught their attention.
They brought it home, examined it, thought about it.
After careful consideration, they agreed to put this simple word at the center of everything they did.
They used it to help real people find what they needed, to earn the trust of those people, to build authentic human relationships with them and to showcase their expertise with modesty all along the way.
Before long, this company was no longer stuck.
Then, they grew.
The little, unassuming four-letter word was give.
And from that day forward…
This company gave their prospects honest guidance without trying to persuade, but instead lead those individuals to the solutions that made the most sense.
They gave away smart, resourceful, expert insights – publishing their collective wisdom week after week to fill knowledge gaps, so their prospects could make more informed and confident buying decisions.
They gave objective comparisons of thing A and thing B – regardless of whether they sold thing A, thing B, both or neither.
They gave their prospects tools to help them weigh the short versus long-term effects of the complex decisions that lay in front of them.
They gave taste after taste of their secret sauce. And they gave it without fear of their competitors stealing it. And those competitors? Well, they were lost in the crowd somewhere, alongside other interchangeable and oblivious wanderers who were too busy asking and taking (instead of giving).
This company gave their growing assembly of spectators a glimpse inside their walls. They opened the shades and unlocked the doors, exposing their team and their culture to the outside world – unafraid that someone would “poach” their people. Because they understood that people want to work with people they like. And respect. And trust.
They gave uncensored looks at the faces and the voices of their teammates. They let the cameras roll and shined a spotlight on this diverse collection of expert practitioners – to broadcast the unique perspectives of those individuals to the outside world, unabridged and with authenticity. And they didn’t worry if they were having bad hair days or if they sneezed at minute 1:42. (Their prospects sneezed sometimes too, because they also were real human beings).
They gave their prospects respect, always. They weren’t pushy. They never tried to sell something that wasn’t needed. And whenever the fit wasn’t quite right, they didn’t force it. Instead they helped their prospects find a partner who was a fit.
This company gave all of these things.
And they asked for nothing in return.
They didn’t need to.
Instead, they spent the weeks and months and years ahead answering knocks on the door from individuals reaching the end of their long buyers’ journeys. These people already liked them, trusted them and were ready to choose them. And their minds were full from consuming every bit of genuine, honest wisdom and guidance they’d been given along the way.
Just like this company chose to give, so can yours.
