Pull Marketing Strategy #7- Develop an Inner Circle – Jason Elkins
I’m blessed to have great mentors and entrepreneurs that speak into my life, challenge me and give me great advice.
As we were just forming Transparent Social Media, we met with one of these mentors and he said “Jason, you want to know how the rich people do business?” I smiled and thought to myself “this guy owns one of the most successful transportation businesses in Nashville, and would be considered ‘rich’ by most standards of wealth”.
I said “no, but I would love to hear it”. He gave me an interesting bit of advice that I’ve worked to incorporate into my business.
He said “The rich people… and I mean the really wealthy business owners – pass money around to each other”. He went on to say that when these folks find a new project, they go to their core group of successful business people for the resources to complete that project.
“Each of them has a set of unique skills, and they work with other highly skilled entrepreneurs, write up a one page ‘Deal Point Agreement’ and move forward. The Deal Point Agreement is simply a punch list of who is responsible for what, and is specific to that particular deal. Once that project is over, the ‘Deal’ is over, or a new agreement is drawn up. These people have built up a high level of trust, and when any ONE of them lands a big project, they ALL benefit. “
It reminded me of the deals you make with your friends when you are a teenager … “Scott, if any one of us hits the lotto and makes millions, we’ll make sure that everyone is taken care of”. Except in this case, the prospects are real, the projects and commitments and real, and the dollars are certainly real.
I’ve been working at developing my own inner circle. Currently, my group is comprised of many skilled folks: marketing geniuses, social media consultants, website developers, video production companies, virtual assistant organizations, and some traditional marketing firms. When I started Transparent Social Media, I was anticipating ‘closing a deal’ and running through my list of sub contractors to see who was available. With these “Inner Circle Partners” I have my team already in place, and the quality of my work is much better.
My Inner Circle folks specialize, work hard, hit deadlines, are passionate about what they do, have a GOOD understanding of what I do. I’m still in the early stages for sure, and nowhere near ‘rich’ by almost any standard, but this advice is paying off!
Are there companies out there or individuals that you can partner with on a project? Who do you know that already has a good reputation for delivery? You may want to call them up and invited them to a ‘future inner circle meeting.’
Jason
