Givers Gain
This morning, I went to a business networking event by an organization called BNI (Business Network International)
One of the main core values in the BNI community is the concept of “Givers Gain” when it comes to business referrals. It basically works like this: You get together once a week for breakfast with others you want to pass business referrals to. If, for example, you offer recording studios services, like me, you’ll be placed in a group with Electricians, Catering services, photography, furniture manufacturing, etc. And no other recording studio will be allowed in the group. Everybody then tries to get to know the product or service that everybody else offers and you will try to find business referrals that might need their particular product or service. This is the main thing you should focus on: giving high quality referrals that have a good change of resulting in business for your BNI chapter members. You don’t have to do it right there on the spot. You can take all week to go through your friends, family and colleagues and pass that referral later in the week. Eventually, when your friend closes a deal thanks to your referral, there is no commission for you. All that is expected is a “thank you”.
Planting the seed
What happens next is interesting. Now that you’ve helped them with new business, even if it’s a small one, that person will most likely will want to spend a little extra few minutes with you at the next breakfast meeting and get to know what YOU do a little better. and this will start to build rapport between you.
They’ll start to like you a bit more and they’ll start to know your business a little better too.
Sooner or later, they’ll come up with someone who might be looking for the service you’re offering, and they might just put you in contact.
Hey, you know what? my friend Peter as a ad agency that is looking for some voiceover work and since that’s something you specialize in, I thought I’d put you two in contact and maybe you can do business together.
Why, thanks Allan! I’d be delighted to talk to Peter about the voiceover work!
And that’s your cue to shine.
Allan has offered to refer you to someone from his network; treat him or her like an important customer.
Allan will find out from Peter how well you did your work. How your customer service was and how appropriate your pricing is for the work you did. Since Peter will give a raving review of what it was like to work with you, you have now gained some of his trust and he will more easily refer you to more members of his network.
People do business with those they know, like and trust - Ivan Misner.
https://twitter.com/bniselondon/status/1440312880939683843
- bniselondon
Givers Gain in HIVE
I was listening to 
And he mentions the “Givers Gain” philosophy on HIVE in this episode.
You need to give first and then by giving, others will start to notice, like and trust you, even the OGs.
And I think this is exactly right!
We need to show up on #HIVE so other members of the community will start to notice our presence. Let’s show up to their podcast and engage in communication with them. If it looks like they’ve put time and effort into an insightful blog post, hit ‘em with a little upvote and show them your support. Make a comment about why you like what they’re doing on HIVE. A little pat on the back goes a long way.
Is someone who is newer than you having trouble using the right tags? Help them understand the importance of tags and how to use them properly so that their content can be discovered.
Is someone you know running a HIVE or HIVE-ENGINE witness node? If they seem to be involved with the Hive ecosystem and adding value to the network, hit their witness node with a vote!
Did you find a great post that is 30 days old and isn’t eligible to receive upvotes anymore? Don’t be stingy! hit ‘em with a tip! or BEER or CTP.
Has someone you know written a white paper on a new project that’s about to launch a HIVE-ENGINE token? reblog that baby! give them some feedback and maybe buy some tokens if you have the funds to.
Why Give?
Giving is a positive force in society. There are many different ways and reasons to give. Here are four reasons that might inspire you to give a few minutes of your time, some knowledge, some encouragement, and upvote or a comment:
- let’s give because what we do in our society, others will do too.
- Let’s give because we want to give back where we have profited before
- Let’s give because we get bigger and better results (network effect/synergy)
- Let’s give because it feels great!
So yeah, I loved going to BNI networking and I'm all about choosing to apply the Givers Gain philosophy here on #HIVE. Don't be afraid to give now and reap the rewards from giving later. You will gain so much more than you think and you will have lots of fun in the process; I promise :)
