Remember the olden days when you were taught your ABCs….meaning Always Be Closing?

Yuck!  Let’s change it to Always Be Contributing.  I know that sounds a little cheesy, but the truth is that referral marketing, relationship marketing, word of mouth marketing and social media marketing all depend on people LIKING YOU.  If they don’t like you, they’re not going to recommend you to their friends.  And they’re not going to like you if you keep pushing your agenda, and you never contribute anything interesting or meaningful.

You might be genuinely excited about what you’re offering! You’re not trying to be a pushy sales person.  It’s just that your enthusiasm is being misunderstood. (I’m sure we’re ALL guilty of that at times!)  If that’s the case, you can make a minor course correction.  But when people start avoiding you, stop returning your phone calls, and block you as a Facebook friend, you need a major wake-up call.  Let me bring  you some self awareness.  You are “THAT GUY” if:

• You never call your friends, clients or associates to say “Hi” or “How are you?” without leading with some “Buy This!” or “Oooh, I need a favor?!” message. 


• You give only with the ulterior motive to get something in return - “Buy-that-lady-a-drink!”


• You only ask self-serving questions on LinkedIn – Would you like a solution that does XYZ at a fraction of the price of our competitor? Oh, we do that!


• You only comment on blogs to say – “Great post! Come visit my blog at XYZ.com”


• You do all the talking – and not enough listening.  You don’t truly converse with other people. 


• You ask questions at a conference with the sole purpose of getting the microphone so you can tell everyone about your company.

All of us who are in sales and marketing walk a fine line between letting people know what we do – and shoving it down people’s throat.  (Do the former; avoid the latter.)  It’s OK to be excited about what you sell – you should be!  Just don’t expect everyone to jump on board before they even know you. Pay attention to the feedback you’re getting and adjust appopriately.

Contribute.  Educate.  Give.  Resolve to do one nice thing today without expecting anything in return. 

Always Be Contributing!