Earn the Right
There are some people for whom I would do almost anything. I would go out of my way to help them. Not because I’m a generous or caring person, but because they created that situation themselves.
I received an e-mail from a fellow in Washington State. He is not a Member of DollarMakers. His wife is not a Member of Dollarmakers. I’ve never heard of him before. He tells me he has read one of my books, as have thousands of other people. He says he has a wonder product that could help me save peoples’ lives. He wants to meet with me – thirty minutes of my time, to pitch me on his product, probably a Network Marketing company.
This is very typical of most of the e-mails I receive almost daily. There is no offer to pay my $1,000 per hour fee or to create any kind of relationship or reciprocity. This person is not a Member of DollarMakers, has never attended a DollarMakers event or contributed anything to my life, has not been referred to me by a trusted friend, and has not earned the right to my time. He is a simply stranger trying to sell me a wonder product and using up my valuable time. Now, perhaps he has a great product, and I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but he is approaching this in the wrong way. There is a far more effective way to connect with people, to get their avid attention, and to strategically create in them an eagerness to help you.
Tim Francis attended a Bootcamp, created an audio version of my book, “How to Retire in One Year†at his own expense and in his own time, promoted me widely in his interviews and on his Blog, joined DollarMakers, and is getting involved in hosting DollarMakers events. And he hasn’t asked me for anything – yet. And here I am, promoting him to thousands of people. A far cry from the panhandler who holds out a shaking, nicotine-stained hand and demands your charity for no reason but his own need.
Create respect, reciprocity, and relationship before you start begging pitching, looting, and mooching. Invest, earn the right, position yourself, create overlapping interests, do your homework, and think like a Joint Venture Broker instead of a parasite or a poser. Give winners a vested interest in your success. A good relationship with a Champion is worth a thousand contacts with chumps.
Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com
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