Let’s face it, we would all have preferred to be part of the ‘popular group‘ at school, wouldn’t we? Sadly for me, I was not one of the lucky ones. I was not gifted on the sports field (quite frankly, I was rubbish!) and my talents as a mathematician and musician certainly did not qualify me for ‘cool’ status. However, I had a good group of friends, several of whom I still keep in touch with to this day, many decades later.
It’s not all about being popular or about ‘being liked‘, though it sure helps. Several FWL blog posts recently have referred to the proverb do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Consider this: Why do you give people your business? If you want to get a new bathroom fitted, what do you do? You get a quote, or two, or three…. and how do you choose who you will get your business? I would estimate that 99.9% of people base their choice on cost, availability and the rapport/relationship with the person they dealt with (though the order of priority for individual people will vary). So, popularity and profitability go hand in hand.
There needs to be a balance. Clearly we can’t be solely concerned about popularity, but nor can we be solely concerned about profitability with no regard for popularity. ‘Buy-in’ or ‘engagement’ with people is crucial to all businesses. Many people in life do things for nothing for others. Givers Gain – if you help me, I will want to help you in the future and this is true for most people/most of the time.
What have you done today to increase your popularity? What have you done today to make your business more profitable? Are the answers to these questions connected in any way, or are they totally independent of one another?
