The Go-Giver Law of Influence
By Scott Gillespie
This week is the third of a five-part series based on the bestselling book, The Go-Giver. If you only read three books this year, make this one of them! It is a true paradigm shifter as you will begin to look at business and life in a whole new light.
Last week we learned the Law of Compensation says “your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.” This week’s Law takes a look at serving people from a different perspective. Rather than focusing on serving our customers, we look at serving other business owners in your business community as well as the people that live and shop in your community.
Bob Burg, author of The Go-Giver, defines the third law, The Law of Influence, as follows: “Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.”
Of the five laws, I personally find this law the hardest to wrap my head around as it is more subjective than it is objective. For example, with the first law, the Law of Value, the charge is to provide more in value than you take in payment. Check. The second law, the Law of Compensation, instructs that if you serve more people, and increase the level to which you serve them, your income will also increase accordingly. Check.
But this third law? There is no blueprint to follow to build your business with or to increase your sales by. Rather, this law is a bit more abstract with its purpose and lesson. It’s also a little backwards compared to conventional thinking. To better understand the foundation of this law, let’s look at couple examples we may be a bit more familiar with.
Picture in your mind what wind looks like. Can you see it? If we were talking about this over a cup of coffee and I asked you to describe the picture you have in your head of what wind looks like, there’s a good chance you would describe the leaves and branches of a tree moving back and forth. Or maybe you would describe the clouds moving about in the sky or the tall grasses waving in a meadow.
But is that really the wind you are seeing? Or is it the effect that the wind has on these tangible objects? In other words, isn’t what we picture in our minds really the “influence” the wind has on its surroundings? Similarly, the waves of the ocean are really the effect of outside forces on a body of water. A wave just doesn’t happen. It is an external force that influences the water to move.
I mentioned earlier that this law goes against conventional perception. Many people would associate influence as a byproduct of a person’s position, title or stature; while others may see influence as something that is given rather than earned. The converse reality is influence is what allows us to attain our lot in life and the positions to which we ascend.
Getting back to the Law of Influence, let’s apply the analogies of the wind and the waves to see how influence affects growth in nature as well as in business. As the wind blows harder and harder, it influences the leaves and branches to move more vigorously. As the forces on the water become stronger and more widespread, the waves also become stronger and more powerful. So as the influence of the force increases, the impact it has on its surroundings increases as well. It is only when the influence of the wind and the influence on the waves grows strong enough, that a name is given to each like hurricanes and tsunamis.
Ok. So what does this have to do with business and sales? Everything! Whether you are just starting out in business/sales or beginning your journey of helping others and putting their interests above your own, you begin as a breeze or a ripple. As you grow in your commitment to abundantly help others and expand your reach and service to them, so to will the influence you have with those people.
There are three basic levels of influence as it relates to your business success: retaining existing customers, acquiring new customers and generating referrals. Starting off, as you focus on the needs of your existing customers, your influence on them builds loyalty that will bring them back to you time and again.
As you cast your net with the commitment you give to others’ needs, your influence will then attract new customers that provide you the opportunity to earn their loyalty through your consistent influence.
Over time, your influence on others will continue to grow and grow. It is through this increased influence and commitment to others’ needs that you will begin to receive referrals from those that you have not even done business with. As Bob Burg writes, it is this growing network of people that know you, like you and trust you that will keep you in the front of their minds so when they stumble upon someone that may need your product or service, they will instinctively and naturally refer them to you.
My final insight with this law centers around having faith in something you cannot see providing results from the influence it has. You cannot see the wind, but you can see the results of the wind through the trees, the clouds and the grass. You cannot see the force that creates the waves, but you can see the result of that force in the waves that crash on the shore. Your faith in these forces is strong because you’ve spent a lifetime witnessing the results.
With developing influence, this is where faith steps in. As you begin to build your influence through abundantly putting the needs of others first, you may not immediately see the results of your growing influence. However, stand firm and know that the time you invest in touching the lives and building the success of those you know, as well as those you do not, will be returned to you 10, 100 and 1000-fold!
Now, Go Get ‘Em!
By Scott Gillespie
This week is the third of a five-part series based on the bestselling book, The Go-Giver. If you only read three books this year, make this one of them! It is a true paradigm shifter as you will begin to look at business and life in a whole new light.
Last week we learned the Law of Compensation says “your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.” This week’s Law takes a look at serving people from a different perspective. Rather than focusing on serving our customers, we look at serving other business owners in your business community as well as the people that live and shop in your community.
Bob Burg, author of The Go-Giver, defines the third law, The Law of Influence, as follows: “Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.”
Of the five laws, I personally find this law the hardest to wrap my head around as it is more subjective than it is objective. For example, with the first law, the Law of Value, the charge is to provide more in value than you take in payment. Check. The second law, the Law of Compensation, instructs that if you serve more people, and increase the level to which you serve them, your income will also increase accordingly. Check.
But this third law? There is no blueprint to follow to build your business with or to increase your sales by. Rather, this law is a bit more abstract with its purpose and lesson. It’s also a little backwards compared to conventional thinking. To better understand the foundation of this law, let’s look at couple examples we may be a bit more familiar with.
Picture in your mind what wind looks like. Can you see it? If we were talking about this over a cup of coffee and I asked you to describe the picture you have in your head of what wind looks like, there’s a good chance you would describe the leaves and branches of a tree moving back and forth. Or maybe you would describe the clouds moving about in the sky or the tall grasses waving in a meadow.
But is that really the wind you are seeing? Or is it the effect that the wind has on these tangible objects? In other words, isn’t what we picture in our minds really the “influence” the wind has on its surroundings? Similarly, the waves of the ocean are really the effect of outside forces on a body of water. A wave just doesn’t happen. It is an external force that influences the water to move.
I mentioned earlier that this law goes against conventional perception. Many people would associate influence as a byproduct of a person’s position, title or stature; while others may see influence as something that is given rather than earned. The converse reality is influence is what allows us to attain our lot in life and the positions to which we ascend.
Getting back to the Law of Influence, let’s apply the analogies of the wind and the waves to see how influence affects growth in nature as well as in business. As the wind blows harder and harder, it influences the leaves and branches to move more vigorously. As the forces on the water become stronger and more widespread, the waves also become stronger and more powerful. So as the influence of the force increases, the impact it has on its surroundings increases as well. It is only when the influence of the wind and the influence on the waves grows strong enough, that a name is given to each like hurricanes and tsunamis.
Ok. So what does this have to do with business and sales? Everything! Whether you are just starting out in business/sales or beginning your journey of helping others and putting their interests above your own, you begin as a breeze or a ripple. As you grow in your commitment to abundantly help others and expand your reach and service to them, so to will the influence you have with those people.
There are three basic levels of influence as it relates to your business success: retaining existing customers, acquiring new customers and generating referrals. Starting off, as you focus on the needs of your existing customers, your influence on them builds loyalty that will bring them back to you time and again.
As you cast your net with the commitment you give to others’ needs, your influence will then attract new customers that provide you the opportunity to earn their loyalty through your consistent influence.
Over time, your influence on others will continue to grow and grow. It is through this increased influence and commitment to others’ needs that you will begin to receive referrals from those that you have not even done business with. As Bob Burg writes, it is this growing network of people that know you, like you and trust you that will keep you in the front of their minds so when they stumble upon someone that may need your product or service, they will instinctively and naturally refer them to you.
My final insight with this law centers around having faith in something you cannot see providing results from the influence it has. You cannot see the wind, but you can see the results of the wind through the trees, the clouds and the grass. You cannot see the force that creates the waves, but you can see the result of that force in the waves that crash on the shore. Your faith in these forces is strong because you’ve spent a lifetime witnessing the results.
With developing influence, this is where faith steps in. As you begin to build your influence through abundantly putting the needs of others first, you may not immediately see the results of your growing influence. However, stand firm and know that the time you invest in touching the lives and building the success of those you know, as well as those you do not, will be returned to you 10, 100 and 1000-fold!
Now, Go Get ‘Em!
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Issue #55 ~ April 27, 2010 Printer friendly PDF file
