How To Mobilize Other Local Businesses and Elevate Your Standing in the Community

[Garrett Sussman]

How To Mobilize Other Local Businesses and Elevate Your Standing in the Community

Your local businesses is under intense pressure.

It?s the nature of running a local businesses ? you?re fighting for a large slice of a small pie. Your customers have an abundance of options, both online and offline.

You?re looking to elevate your standing in the community, because it?s an important part of running a local business. You know that improving your standing in the community makes it much easier to attract, win, and keep customers.

Sure, you could do it on your own, but success is far more likely if you have a team.


At this point we run into our first problem

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We?re not sure how to mobilize other local businesses. If you?re like most people, you don?t know how to work with other businesses to elevate your standing in the community.

You probably know it?s important.

But the ins and outs of getting that done? The details are hazy at best.

It sounds complicated, difficult and messy. Why would other businesses want to work with you? Won?t they want to set things up so they come out on top?

Why would your competitors work with you? Do you even want to work with competitors?

Right about now the objections and fears are swirling around, am I right?

Not only is it in your best interest to mobilize other local businesses in the community, it?s also inevitable. If you?re part of a local community, you?ve already interacted with other businesses in your area.

What if these local businesses were eager to send you customers?

What if you elevated the standing of local businesses so much so that they jump at the chance to help you in the future? Sounds incredible doesn?t it?

How exactly do you go about doing that?

It?s easy.


Use this elusive formula to manipulate your way into local businesses

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That word, manipulate. It sounds incredibly yucky, I know.

And it is yucky.

Manipulating people, regardless of the reason, is yucky. It?s almost always a terrible thing to do and the consequences almost inevitably lead to disaster.

So, why am I telling you to be manipulative?

Because we?re focused on manipulating things, never people.

Manipulation isn?t immoral or unethical when we manipulate things. Let?s look at how Dictionary.com defines manipulation.



No surprises here, right?

When we hear the word manipulate most people think of definition #1. If we?re manipulating people, if we?re behaving in an unfair or unethical manner, that?s immoral, unethical and gross.

We?re all on the same page here, right?

Our formula is going to be focused on the manipulation of things, and of circumstances. This formula is the main driver, the basis, for how you?ll get local businesses to work with you in the community.

The formula goes like this:

1. Create X dollars of value for local businesses.
2. Capture Y percent of X.

It?s deceptively simple.

Let?s unpack this a bit so we?re clear on exactly what we?re dealing with.

• You?re creating value for the local businesses around you
  
• These local businesses could be complementary or competitors
• The value you?re creating is defined by these local businesses, not by you
• It?s tangible or it produces tangible results (e.g. more customer traffic, sales, leads, connections, etc.)
• You?re tapping into a portion of the value you have created
• By serving others first, you serve yourself

This isn?t the usual approach most people take.

Find a target, then harass them relentlessly

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This is the unhealthy model most people follow. They find someone they think will give them money, zero in on the specifics of what they want, then they pounce. They pursue their targets until it works or it doesn?t.

When it works, they get money. When it doesn?t, they move on, repeating the cycle with their next target.

How do I know?

We?ve all seen it.

Let?s say you?re on Twitter and you receive a new follower. What?s the first thing that happens after you accept?

You?re hit with the ask,


The sales pitch,



Or high pressure request.



If we?re inexperienced we may respond to a few of these at first. But, what happens after the 15th request? We stop responding.

Read the rest of Andrew's post here to see the steps he recommends to mobilize other Local Businesses.

 

[Linda Buquet]

I LOVE the way Andrew writes and the angles he covers. This post is especially good.
There is so much more value after you click over to read the rest!

I really like this part:

Transformative results. These are results that make things better for your company, other local businesses and your community as a whole. It can be as simple as sharing knowledge, expertise, or connections. It can be as detailed as a joint venture or partnership.

... and his ideas about how to transition from conventional to transformative...

Thanks so much for sharing Garrett!

 

[Garrett Sussman]

Thank you, Linda! I agree, I think that Andrew finds some really great theory and then applies it to actionable advice. This article highlights some great local opportunities.