A Diamond is Forever

“One of the most interesting aspects of connections is that they may be priceless. Your job is to add as many gems as you can by finding the mines, digging the gemstones, and then polishing them to the point when they become priceless.” ~ Jeffrey Gitomer, The Little Black Book of Connections

How much are your connections, your relationships, worth to you and your business? How much time do you spend seeding, weeding and feeding? Wait a minute; are two analogies too much for one blog? Let me explain...

Finding the Mines = Seeding = Lead Generation
Digging the Gemstones = Weeding = Qualifying Leads
Polishing the Gemstones = Feeding = Adding Value on a Regular Basis

Just as you would want your diamond to have the best cut, clarity and color; so you would want your garden to produce award-winning fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Just as “a diamond is forever,” so should your goal of providing value to your connections forever be your #1 priority.

The use of Social Media to do all of these things is increasingly (and exponentially) gaining in popularity and acceptance by all traditional target audiences…including yours. You can use these sources to monitor your “friends” and “connections” to know what they value so you can regularly and unselfishly provide said value to your relationships. You can and should also use these resources to communicate regularly with your Centers of Influence in meaningful ways. If you do these things, the business will come. Remember...

“All things being equal, people want to do business with friends. All things being not quite so equal, people STILL want to do business with their friends.” ~ Jeffrey Gitomer

Marketing Budget = 3% of firm budget
Social Media Marketing = $0 (staff time, yes)
Building strong and lasting relationships (aka friendships) with clients = PRICELESS