March 28, 2011
OPEN Forum Message
Company Culture
Can you recognize signs that your company's culture isn't working? Get advice from the experts on what to look for–and how to fix it.
Learn more
Selling what you sell for your business is important. But it's also rarely the first thing people are going to want to talk about when you engage them. You know what works better? Learn how to be the go-to "guy" in your world. (Just to get it out of the way, this is a gender-neutral implementation of the word. We could've said "girl," but I presume you've got that covered.)
You might already know how to do this in person. You know people in the community. You know how to connect them to others, and/or how to be useful. You know how to connect them to others. But doing this online is every bit as important these days.
Your goal is to be helpful. Spending time learning how to be a go-to guy isn't going to get you far if your prospective buyers think it's all an act to sell them. This must be genuine. Your goal must be to serve as a key person with the goal of being helpful.
Information is currency
Online, the first role of a go-to guy is to provide useful information to those who need it. If your goal is to find more people in your local community as prospective customers, then it's good to talk about that community. Do you know where to find the best buffalo wings? Share it. Are there people doing great things and you know about it? Share it with others in the community. Make useful and praising information your coin of the realm.
Want to read more from Chris Brogan? Check these out:
Connections are treasure
Go-to guys are the people who know the person who can fix a broken PC. They're the people who know who's hiring. Whatever you can do to help people meet each other and do good works, that becomes the gold. Can you do this online as well? Of course.
Sometimes it's a matter of retweeting someone's great idea on Twitter. Other times, it's finding a connection on LinkedIn that makes sense to share with a friend. Or you can even point out someone amazing in the comments section of a blog.
Referrals are favors that will be remembered
Never do things with the quid-pro-quo sense that if you do someone a favor, you should get a favor in return. It's just not the way to go. Still, the more favors you do for others, the more it's obvious that you're looking to be helpful and that you are the go-to guy. One way to do this is by passing on referrals all the time.
You can refer people to your competition if they're better suited for certain jobs than you. You don't think they'll remember that? Try it. You can refer people who offer services or products that you don't. Try it. Make recommendations that help others succeed. The more you do this, the more you'll build quite a store of memories in the minds of people who will remember and find ways to repay you, even if that's not your goal.
There are other ways to succeed
Being a go-to guy takes time. It's not the easy path. But in creating a human business, you're building deep relationships and connections that will find you business when you're not even around. The beauty of working in these ways is that you're both doing good and developing a loyal customer base. To me, that's a win.
Check your balance, review recent transactions and pay your bill on the go.
