Most people go to meeting with one of three objectives:
- Can I sell this fellow my product or service?
- Can I get him to refer me business?
- Let’s just meet and exchange business cards so that we know where to find each other in the future.
There is a much higher, more sophisticated, more lucrative path to take.
My Objective for a Meeting
I met with someone this morning – a real winner. My objective is to build a long-term relationship with him and do lots of mutually-beneficial business over time.
What did I sell him? We met in a bookstore, and I sold him a copy of “Atlas Shrugged”. At least, he was headed for the cashier with the book in his hand when I waddled out. That’s possibly the biggest favor I will ever do for him. But my strategy for turning that meeting into a goldmine goes beyond recommending a book that will change his life.
Seek to Add to Your “Eagles List”
Having established his credentials, and my due diligence having shown that the man is a winner of the highest caliber, I simply add his name to my “Eagles List”. These are winners (many who assume they’re on that list are not) with whom I intend to build strong, trusting, lucrative relationships /goldmines. They are few and far between, hard to find, and like gold nuggets in tons of dirt, so one should value such a discovery. These people represent less than 1% of the population.
- The people on my Eagles List receive regular communication and value form me.
- I regularly introduce them to good people, good deals, and good Joint Ventures, look for overlap with them in my own JVs, and generally seek to add value to their lives.
- I monitor these relationships carefully, and when evidence reveals that they’re not who I thought they were, or they make bad choices, they are simply removed from my list (and go spiraling forlornly into outer darkness).
Building a Winners-Only Network
Winners understand reciprocity and they think big. If your network creates your net worth, it’s crucial that you avoid losers and parasites at all costs. By carefully and consistently building value and relationships with the right people, you earn the right to their time and advice.
Jim Rohn said, “Asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don’t go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won’t laugh at you.”
Winners know other winners, and it’s all about who you know.
Business is a Courtship
Think about a successful Joint Venture as the culmination of a courtship. Proving yourself as being professional, reliable, honest, and able, and creating trust and reciprocity, has to happen before smart entrepreneurs will work with you and introduce you to their friends. And they WILL judge you by the company you keep and your track record.
Jim Rohn again: “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals.”
When you put enough wood on the fire, you can heat your home.
