It is not who you know, or what you know, it is who knows you.
Just as a person can be rich with wealth, a person can also be a rich source of knowledge and information. Just as a person can be rich with information, he also can be rich with contacts and connections.
These three, money, knowledge, and fame, are powerful tools in the business world.
But if you are poor, like I am, how do you increase your income, information, and influence?
My brother David nailed in on the head the other day when he said, "It is all about promotion" "I am good at promoting." he said, and I believe that he is.
In today's world promoting is everything. And, if David is even half right, being at the cutting edge of promotion is the first vital step in achieve the best "who knows you" leverage in the world.
There is a word I want you to learn, from the very beginning, that is simply the key to how you approach the subject of promoting. This powerful word should be a part of your daily mantra. The word is finesse. One definition of finesse is this: to do something in a subtle or delicate manner.
In a lot of ways finesse is like dancing: It is the agile and gracefully working of the room or dance floor, naturally avoiding stepping on toes or bumping into people. If you are socially awkward , like I am, in the first place, then your dance moves will look fake or forced, and you will, more than likely, bump into someone or step on someone with something you say or do.
You really only have two choices then. The two choices are the difference between success and failure. You can avoid dancing, altogether, or you can acquire the necessary dance steps, by learning and practicing. At some point, with consistent effort, you will be able to, effortlessly, move about the dance floor, with finesse, and gain the necessary income, information, and influence to succeed.
Being famous is not always a good thing. Think of all the famous serial killers, or corrupt politicians, or even local people who get their names in the paper or on the news because of sexual assault. Negative headlines are still headlines, and anyone can make the news, but there are certainly negative ways to go about it.
Next to finesse, then, there is another equally important word you need to understand, right off the bat. That word is reputation. I believe that your reputation not only precedes you, sometimes it exceeds you. And if you have no reputation whatsoever, right now, then there is never a better time to guard it with your life.
Your reputation is like your social credit score. Build on it, don't tarnish it, and it will be a most powerful tool in helping you reach long term success.
If there is one thing we have learned from the most recent presidential race is that a person who has never held a political office, can rise to prominence, above every other Republican running for office, because he can get the attention of the media and the American public, by making outrageous statements that are covered, for free, by all the major news outlets. The Trump Exception to the reputation rule is that he gets the attention because he behaves in such a way to get the attention.
I am not suggesting that we behave with bizarre behavior, but what I am suggesting is that promoting requires promoting oneself as much as promoting a product or a service, or in Donald's case, a candidate.
Imagine there is a sliding scale between a poor way of promoting and an excellent way of promoting. Perhaps the scale can be broken down in four sections
Poor Fair Good Excellent
In the poor category, you with find what I call the 3 Bs of Bad Behavior. You find these 3 Bs all over Facebook. These three are the poorest way to promote and get people's attention. We can all fall victim to them on Facebook. They are the worst ways to promote self. They are Bashing, Begging, and Bragging.
You have seen the nature of these kinds of posts. Those who bash others seem to think by making someone else look bad it, in some way, boosts their own value. Exactly the opposite occurs. Those who bash their former employers, their EX's or even Trump or Clinton, may get some attention, but it is still a poor way to promote anything positive.
Then there are the beggars whose posts seem to always be about pleas for help or money or suggestions or advice, or pretty much anything that the needy person needs. We unfollow and even unfriend those who spend too much time begging. It may not be as bad as bashing, but it certainly is a close second.
Not too far upscale from bashing and begging, one finds bragging in the form of pictures as well as words. Think of the friends you have who rarely post on Facebook, but when they do, it is always about some great accomplishment or some exotic place they have been. As someone who has been to a number of nice places, I hope that any pictures or posts I have submitted are balanced with numbers of other worthwhile submissions. Perhaps it is the pattern of behavior of bashing and begging and bragging, not a specific post, that makes these poor forms of promotion such a turn off.
Moving further up the scale you find a fair amount of straight up selling going on. They aren't embarrassed to do it, and it isn't hidden in fake friendships or elaborate ulterior motives. Quite simply people have things to offer and without some selling, people wouldn't buy. But like a door to door salesman, we can shut the door, anytime, say no thanks, and walk away.
A good category, if not a better category than simply selling something is creating a reciprocal relationship. One reason I hated selling as part of my title company business is that I was always asking for business and taking business instead of returning the favor in any way. Unlike the realtor who can send work to the mortgage company, or the mortgage company, who could refer work back to the realtor, the title company, acting more like a pharmaceutical rep than a business to business generator, practically begs for work. This isn't a powerful position to be in. In fact, it almost felt third wheel at times. A good way to earn business is to send business the other way, not just expect business to be offered to you.
And it isn't just business we reciprocate. Reciprocation can include information. We reciprocate when we educate and provide needed information. We also reciprocate when we show appreciation for a job well done.
Most reciprocal relationships are also ongoing business to business relationships. Long term partnerships that have established a certain loyalty is rare in the competitive business world of today.
As powerful as reciprocity is, there is still an even more powerful way to promote an individual or a business. It is only a recent discovery, but it is in an excellent category all its own. In the music industry it used to be known as "going platinum". Platinum because that was the standard and level of achievement for how many records were sold. The standard was once gold--a gold album. But when the records surpassed a gold level, the platinum level was born.
Today we use the phrase "going viral". When a post or an app or a pic or a tweet or video recording goes viral, it is because it has multiplied and multiplied until it has reached an unbelievable amount of traction, usually in the millions or hundreds of millions, and usually in only a short period of time.
In short, when something goes viral it usually sells itself without much effort from the original promoter.
While it is almost impossible to say what will take off and go viral, and even more difficult to cause something to go viral, it is vital to see it as a standard to shoot for, if not the starting point of a desired outcome.
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