Sometime back I had the honor of sharing the platform with success coach and bestselling author, Mike Litman.
During his presentation, he suggested creating an “asset of value.” This is a part of you that you “bring to the table,” a way you can always add to the relationship.
What a great idea! And, an “asset of value” can include so many things. Among them are information, advice, referrals, introductions, names of great books you’ve read, retweets of quality on Twitter, a kind word, articles of interest, and much, much more, including your “way of being”…those things you do that are uniquely associated with you and that provide value just by virtue of being an extension of your personal values.
Come up with your unique “Asset of Value” and share it on an ongoing basis with those with whom you wish to establish mutually beneficial, give and take, win/win relationships.
You’ll become known for your “signature” asset of value and position yourself as a true center of influence; the type people seek out to do business with and refer business to.
So, the natural question is…what is your signature asset of value? And, if you aren’t able to fully articulate yours yet, feel free to share some examples of “assets of value” of others that have impressed you that you feel it would be good for us to know about.
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I like the idea of keeping others needs in the front of the mind. Your idea from your book of course regarding the connector.
What a thoughtful suggestion Bob, thank you.
Often our “asset” varies – depending on the person and the situation. If one looks for how to add value to the other person, whether it is the support of deep listening or suggesting a resource, being present and proactive for that person is a sign of respect – for the other person and for oneself.
In this increasingly complex, connected world, those who thrive and savor their life are honing their top talent and finding ways to collaborate around the sweet spot of mutual benefit – often to seize an opportunity or to solve a problem.
Usually such collaborations accomplish the greatest things when they involve disparate people. That means we benefit from strengthening our capacity to work well with people very different than us.
As Scott E. Page wrote, Diverse groups of problem solvers outperformed the groups of the best individuals at solving complex problems. The reason: the diverse groups got stuck less often than the smart individuals, who tended to think similarly.”
This notion dovetails with Clay Shirky’s theme in his new book, Cognitive Surplus
I believe that Consistency in your “Asset of Value” is key. Knowing that you can be counted on to be/provide that value on a regular basis allows others to build trust in you and what you bring to the table.
When I was a young single mother, with three children and open to a new mate in life, I recall taking inventory of myself and what I felt I had to offer in a relationship. I came to the conclusion that what I had to offer was ME and that my uniqueness and authenticity was special and something that could not be duplicated and money couldn’t buy. That sense of having something of value to offer made me set my standards in a new mate high. I was not willing to “settle” for less than I felt my children and I deserved. They were, after all, counting on me to make a good choice about who I allowed into our lives. That made me analyze what qualities I was looking for in a mate that I could grow old with. I did a lot of soul searching and came up with a grocery list of what qualities I needed that person to have. These were not shallow expectations but “real” ones such as trustworthiness, stablility, intellectual compatability, communication, integrity and several more including chemistry! After dating several wonderful people that had expressed interest in being part of my little family, but not feeling that level of connection, I recall praying, “God you know me and you know what I need in my life, but not only do I want you to give me what I need, I want to be what that person needs in their life as well.” The very next person that I dated was my husband of 16 years. He is someone that I love, trust and admire very much and I thank God for answering my prayer and sending him to me 🙂 He has been a wonderful husband and a loving father to, our now, six children.
Now of this would have come to be had I not believed in my “Asset of Value.”
When I have a networking partner that requests my services but cannot necessarily afford them, I provide them at no or low cost to the partner. I have to remember their referrals are more valuable than their business. In fact, a referral or testimonial by one of my partners is more valuable and longer lasting than ANY cash payment to my business.
Bob, That’s a great though-provoking post! I sometimes feel like I provide too much free consulting when I meet with clients and prospects. But I enjoy helping people and sharing suggestions on improving client website performance and marketing programs. While providing a lot of hands on service is time consuming I agree with you that sharing valuable info certainly helps build client trust. It also opens the door to lots of referrals. Sounds like what I should do is whittle down my suggestions to just the most valuable one or two that would help clients most.
Thank you for being the catalyst for my blog post Bob. Your inspiration, encouragement & friendship mean so much to me.
It was priceless to see the expression on my 10 year old daughter’s face when she read this post 🙂 She asked, with wonder in her voice, “Did you really pray to find Daddy?”
I told her, “Yes, and when Daddy and I were dating he made a silent wish upon a star when we were on a road trip . . . “Star Light, Star Bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish, I wish tonight.” He didn’t have to tell me what his wish was, but I have a feeling it came true 🙂
“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires, will come to you . . . ” ~Pinnochio
Thank you, all. As always, I very much appreciate your sharing your thoughts and wisdom with us.
A couple very quick comments: Tele, what can I say. That was just awesome, my friend. Richard, just as a thought, make sure you are doing this within the proper context. “Afford” is an “iffy” thing an often really isn’t the case. Rather than going into specifics here, I’ll discuss this more in a post this week in which I answer someone’s question – a bit different in that the person isn’t a friend or networking partner, but some of the principles involved will still apply. Bear, again, I’m going to suggest your being careful with that. If you’re doing it simply because you want to, fine. But, if that’s you’re job and main source of income, you need to determine when that is proper and when it is not. And, I’m not saying that you definitely are providing too much free consulting (I would have no way of knowing one way or the other) but I want to make sure that you’re doing what you’re doing in a way that is win/win, not lose/win. Regarding your suggestion at the end of your letter, I simply don’t know enough about what you do to agree or disagree, but it’s terrific that you’re thinking about it.