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Me: Hi, I'm looking for Doug. Doug: Yes, that's me. Me: Hi, my name is Matt Handal. I work for a company called Trauner Consulting in Philadelphia. We met at a design and construction network event in July. Doug: Yes, I remember. Me: I understand it's your birthday today. Doug: Ha, yes it is. You are good! Me: I think I may have a present for you. We are doing a teleconference on construction delays on November 5th, and I have a golden ticket for a free attendance. I know it's not a bicycle, but, even if you don't want to attend, maybe you can pass it on to one of your project managers for some brownie points. Doug: Wow, that would be great. Me: I'll send you an email with the information and just let me know who wants to attend. Doug: Ok Me: Doug, enjoy the rest of your birthday. Doug: Thanks (click) How many times have you been given a business card and never did anything with it? How many times did someone you met at a function fail to receive an email response from you after they sent a followup email? How many times did you make a commitment at a networking function and then fail to follow through. This is PPM (pretty poor marketing) and I know for a fact some of you practice it. Does that make you a bad person? YES! WHAT? Yes, you heard me. In the non-business world, we have a term for people who don't respond to communications and break commitments. They are called "jerks." So why do people in the business world think this type of behavior is somehow acceptable? It's not. And from a marketing standpoint, it's a massive failure. Nearly every successful marketer, business developer, or CMO I have spoken to has cited the same "secret" to their success. It goes by different names like "pay it forward" or "help everybody everyday." But it boils down to caring about and helping other people. It sounds like something you would read on the back of a John Tesh CD, but the psychological principle it is based on has been proven time and again in controlled studies. Getting back to my conversation with Doug. How long does it take you to do something nice for someone? 5 minutes? How long does it take you to send someone a caring or thoughtful message? 2 minutes? If you say you are too busy to do this at least once everyday, it's because you are a liar.
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Relationship Marketing 
