Giving as a Business Strategy.

We’re pretty good at giving.

Especially when it’s convenient or socially popular.

We give when it’s easy to give.

And that’s not blaming anyone or pointing the finger at somewhat irrelevant Christmas Cards.

That’s just how we’re wired.

Our brains are massive “Risk/Reward Calculators”.

We carefully assess each giving opportunity (sometimes without even “thinking” about it) and decide how to behave based on how big the prize is for us.

We each do it differently too.

How we look at giving depends on how we usually look at anything.

• For those who are especially intellectual, we give when we can logically justify that giving is a better decision than not giving.  We look at the rewards we get or the prize that we give up and then adjust our behavior accordingly.
• For those who are more emotionally aware, you give when we feel like it’s the best course of action.  Adrenaline and empathy play a big part in how we come to the decision to give to others.

Regardless of how you make the decision, you decide how and when to give.

We need to give as a business strategy.

There are a lot of strategies and tactics that we employ in our attempts at business growth.

We use “link bait” to get people to read our content.  We offer free trials to get people to use our services.  We send out marketing newsletters, write blog posts, and share content on dozens of social media platforms.

Maybe we should start giving…

And not just the ways you are giving right now.

You can call “giving away whitepapers” as giving, but it’s probably more about the leads you get than the quality of the material that you are sharing.  The same thing applies to almost every business development strategy that we tend to employ.

We categorize them under the category of lead generation.

But in reality we pretend to give.

We are giving expecting to get something greater in return.

• More money.
• More attention.
• More publicity

It’s really all about us.

And that just doesn’t work.

• It’s why you aren’t getting leads to turn into buyers.
• It’s why more people aren’t signing up for your free trials.
• It’s why your industry isn’t taking you more seriously.

Buyers know the difference.

Buyers know when you really care and when you try to put a friendly smile on your selfish behavior.

You might think you’re being witty.

Buyers just think you’re being a jerk.

Maybe it’s time for a change.  Maybe it’s time for fewer business shenanigans.  Maybe it’s time to care more.

Giving is a better business strategy.