Be A Lovecat

Today business and sales professionals are trying desperately to understand how to maintain their value as professionals in an increasingly inattentive and busy world.

There is a way to influence people and win business, to be a person everyone turns to, who leads rather than follows, who never runs out of ideas, contacts, or friendships.

John Maxwell³ says you will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read. So if you are going to grow as a person and add value to your relationships, then it is a must that you read. You cannot give what you don’t possess.

I had the opportunity about 10 years ago to meet Tim Sanders¹ in Palm Desert, California. Tim was speaking at a leadership conference I was attending. He was sharing the steps he uses to cultivate and share value. If you know Tim he is a dynamic speaker and is captivating. I was intrigued to say the least by his approach to cultivating and sharing value. I have stayed in touch with Tim over the years, and the value I have received from him has impacted my life. I will share with you what I have learned.

Tim said if you want to add value you must become a “lovecat”. A lovecat is a caring, smart person who succeeds in business and in life.

You become a lovecat by sharing your intangibles.

Your intangibles are…

Your knowledge — everything you have learned and everything you continue to learn. It also comes from all the books that I’ll encourage you to devour.

Your network — the collection of friends and contacts you now have, which I’ll help you learn how to grow and nurture in my Winning Strategies webinar.

Your compassion — that personal character trait that says you care.

That’s it! In the past, biz and sales people could survive years without advice, connection skills, or fresh and new ideas.

That has changed.

Today we are all pretty much knowledge workers. We are valued and rewarded for our knowledge and our network for solving problems. In the past you were rewarded for how long you were with a company and working your way up the ladder. Not anymore. It is a level playing field.

We all have the ability to create memorable and valuable experiences. The fact is the more you read, the more you know, and the more knowledge you have to pass along.

Attention is one of the world’s scarcest resources. Decision-maker attention is something companies spend billions of dollars to buy. In the book Permission Marketing, one of my favorite authors Seth Godin² says, the average person is attacked by about 3,000 marketing messages every day. These companies are trying to get your attention because attention is money. There’s nothing more valuable than attention.

So when people know your value they give you attention. You march right past the gatekeeper, the assistants and associates and everyone else waiting in line. When you have the attention of others, you are the deal maker.

Being a “lovecat” gets you attention. Others only get time. The difference between having their time and their attention is the difference between ham and eggs. The chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.

The good news is, you have all the tools you need to create “bizlove” and share your growing knowledge. So what are you reading?

 

Following are some thoughts to think about:

1. I highly recommend you read Tim Sanders classic: Love Is The Killer App 
2. When you have access to a person’s attention, how do you use that time? Are they wowed by the value you provided? (Don’t get discouraged starting out. It’s an art and takes lots of practice.)
3. Begin with step one: Knowledge — Read, Read, Read
4. Get a Kindle or iPad Mini (or both) and go to Amazon.com and buy some electronic books.
5. If you have a hard time reading, get over it and become a voracious reader. It’s where the game is at.
6. I also listen to books when I’m relaxing or driving. I have a monthly subscription at Audible.com. I love it and recommend it as well.
7. I take this information one step deeper in a 45 minute webinar.

Resources and References

¹Tim Sanders, Love Is The Killer App – Crown Business – New York, 2002

²Seth Godin, Permission Marketing – Simon & Shuster, 1999

³John Maxwell, The John Maxwell Company – website