Saturday, December 16, 1995

Ask yourself this question

I just heard an incredible question posed. It comes from marketing guru Jay Abraham, who has helped thousands of companies and individuals to make hundreds of millions of dollars.

If you can answer this question, your success is assured. Here it is:

Who stands to gain more from your success than you do?

Wow. There’s a world of power in that simply phrased question. It drives home the point that your success depends entirely on your ability to provide service and value to others. And it goes beyond that. Because not only can your customers gain from your success, but so can your suppliers, and so can other people with whom you may not even have a relationship.

For example, if you’re selling residential real estate, your success could also mean success for a mortgage banker. Or a moving company. Or an interior designer. If you’re selling computer hardware, your success can help people who sell computer software.

In the corporate world, there’s a hot trend called strategic alliances. Computer companies form an alliance to develop and promote a technical standard. Disney and Burger King form an alliance take advantage of the popularity of “Toy Story.” These strategic alliances are nothing more than an answer to the above question.

If you can find someone who stands to gain more from your success than you, then do you think you could enlist the support of that person? Of course! It’s a no-brainer. How hard can it be to get someone to act in their own interest?

Ask yourself this question and be creative about your answer. I think you’ll find a whole world of possibilities opening up.

— Ralph Marston

A Change of Scenery       It's not what you have, it's what you do with it