Wattles was discussing this principle in terms of a direct sale. However, we’re talking about the value you give, not in selling your products or services, but simply in the relationship you’re beginning with a new networking partner. Given that, let’s take a deeper look at what Mr. Wattles wrote. Taking the passage above that says, “You cannot give a person more in cash value than you take from them, but you can give them more in use value than the cash value of the thing you take from them,” let’s rephrase and condense it:
Give someone more in use value than what you take from them.
This simply means, always do your best to add to the other person’s life and success, without concern—especially at the beginning—for what you are receiving from the relationship.
There’s an excellent reason why this attitude will help you accomplish much and reach great financial heights. Again, according to Mr. Wattles:
- People are built with a desire for increase in their lives.
This is why, when you have a product, service, or skill that can help people increase an aspect of their lives, you can make a lot of money.
A few quick examples: Percy L. Spencer, the inventor of the microwave oven, satisfied the desire for more convenience. Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies, tapped into people’s desire for more pleasure, as did a man by the name of Candido Jacuzzi. There are many, many more examples on a local level—from the person who helps people satisfy their desire for an increase in their financial security by helping them invest in the right financial growth products, to the computer troubleshooter who helps his customers satisfy their desire for increase in the work they can accomplish on their computers.
When people sense that just by being associated with you, their lives will experience significant increase, they will naturally want to advance the relationship. And they will do so by doing their best to give back to you.
To me, this passage from near the end of Mr. Wattles’s book is one of the most profound statements of all time; it is also key to understanding the way of the successful networker:
- No matter what your profession, if you can give increase of life to others and make them sensible [i.e., “aware”] of this gift, they will be attracted to you, and you will get rich.
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Bob Burg (www.burg.com) a popular speaker at company sales conventions, is author of the newly revised and expanded Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts into Sales. He offers free weekly Video Briefs at www.BobsOffer.com.