When I was a kid and my Mom took me to the butcher shop when we lived in Germany, I remember that the butcher would slice off a few pieces of deli meat and give them to me and my brothers. He would give samples. This is a smart business practice.

As I get to know my clients around the world in all different industries, I notice that some of them give samples and some of them don’t. And a “sample” could be a meeting, a consultation, a product or anything of value to the potential client or customer.

There was a time not too long ago, when people and businesses were very concerned about intellectual property. Intellectual property rights should be observed, but as we become more interconnected, I believe there’s good reason to loosen up a little bit.

Being tight-fisted regarding your content and services will not serve you or your business well in the long run. You’re actually telling your potential client more about yourself, the way you conduct business, and the type of relationship you’re potentially going to develop with them, than you probably realize you are.

By giving away samples, you are letting the potential client know a lot about you and your business. You’re exhibiting your generosity and starting to develop a “Know, Like, Trust” relationship.

Will some people run with your free, unpaid consulting from time to time? Yup. That’s just the cost of doing business. But people are pretty smart. We all like doing business with people who are generous and a delight to communicate with.

Give a little. Don’t give away the farm, but give value from the get-go with everyone.

What goes around comes around. As you’re going around, give a little more. And you might be pleasantly surprised as to how much more comes around.

We all have times during the day when someone pops in our mind. These are great opportunities to build and strengthen relationships.

Just for fun, the next time someone pops in your mind, pick up the phone and call them. You’re probably busy and don’t have much time, so start the conversation like this, “Hi Joan, this is Kevin. I only have a quick minute, but you just popped in my mind and I’ve learned that when someone pops in my mind, I should call and at least say hi. HI! Again, I only have a real quick minute, so maybe we can talk longer another time. Anything I can help you with real quick before I have to run?”

People will be amazed that you took the quick minute or two to call them and they’ll be glad you did. With all the high-tech, many people are forgetting the high touch. Never pass up a chance to make a personal connection. Huge doors of opportunity swing on little tiny hinges. And those hinges are called relationships.

I travel a lot. I get to see some amazing places and visit some incredible locations. I get to eat in fine restaurants and also at McDonald’s. I stay in five-star resorts and in fleabag motels. I experience a lot of contrast on a daily basis.

And no matter where I go, there’s always one thing that’s consistent. People are people wherever you go. Regardless of whether they’re wearing a Rolex or a Timex, whether they’re picking me up at the airport in a Mercedes S500, or a rusted out Yugo, whether they’ve got a bunch of letters after their name or they can barely write, people are the same wherever you go.

We all want to be appreciated, have fun, be loved and feel safe. We want to be happy. We want to make a difference. We want to have an impact.

Remember this as you’re spending time on your Social Media platforms. It’s not about technology, it’s about people. Always has been, always will be.

Take the extra minute to let people know that you’re thinking of them and that they matter to you. Never pass up an opportunity to make something personal. The personal touch is everything.

The world is getting smaller and folks are figuring out that we’re far more alike than different in so many ways. This is a good thing.

So travel, have fun, take pictures, collect experiences, and make sure that you remember that regardless of how sophisticated technology gets, people are people wherever you go.

As you’re connecting with everyone on Social Media platforms, don’t forget that people are more than their static profile pictures and postings. Part of adding value to people is getting to know them better.

As busy as we all are, we choose how to spend our time. Some folks choose to invest their time instead of spending it.

We all spend time in our cars. Invest a little bit of time every day calling your Social Media-mates on the phone while you’re cruising down the road. Holy crap – did I say call them on the phone?! Yup, I did.

Start the conversation with, “Hi Mary! I only have a quick minute, but I was thinking of you and wanted to call and say hi.” By starting with letting them know that you only have a tiny bit of time, they’ll know that this isn’t going to be a “War and Peace” conversation. If you have a difficult time getting off the phone, politely interrupt them by reminding them that you only have a minute and that you have to go.

You’re not doing this to be strategic, manipulative or any of that stuff, you’re doing it because you want to take a sincere interest in them. That’s what relationships are about, isn’t it?

I’m betting that if you give people a quick buzz, they won’t forget it. They don’t forget it when I call them. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Care.

Derek Sivers has written a short masterpiece in his book, “Anything You Want.” He unintentionally started a business and ended up becoming a multi-millionaire by serving people. That’s what successful business do, don’t they? Serving people, that is.

One of the things he talks about is the concept of ‘No “yes.” Either “HELL YEAH!” or “no.” This is a great thing to learn especially if you’re over-committed or too scattered.

If you’re deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything other than psyched, jazzed and fired up about doing it, don’t. By saying “no” to many things it opens up space for you to pursue the things you love.

This may sound over-simplistic. It’s not. The book will take you less than an hour to read. If you’re a small business owner or thinking of starting your own business, or pursuing a passion, this is required reading.

There will be a quiz. It’s called your happiness.

All kids love to make things. And very quickly we tend to start comparing what we’ve made to what other people have made and most folks determine that they’re not creative and that creativity is some magical ability that only special people are born with. What a crock.

You are creating every day whether you realize it or not. If you’re not creating something physically, you’re creating experiences. Don’t poo-poo this. People who create experiences tend to do far better than people who create tangible items.

When you get up in the morning, ask yourself, “Self….what shall I create today?” And then seek to make every human interaction with you magical. Pay it forward. Go out of your way to make people feel better about themselves. Under-promise and over-deliver. Show up early and stay late.

Here’s the secret that few know: creativity is magical and only for special people. And everyone is special. But 99% of humanity have forgotten this. Don’t forget. And leave a beautiful path of creativity behind you every day by creating wonderful experiences for yourself and others.

Success is based on relationships. People who are truly succeeding know this intuitively. Nothing and no one operates in a vacuum. As you build your life, business, etc, focus on only participating in, building, and enhancing mutually beneficial, win-win relationships.

The days of being a Rambo and leaving a bunch of bad relationships in your wake as you strive to “get ahead” are over. What goes around comes around and nowadays it comes around at the speed of light. Literally. If it’s not going to be a win-win situation, walk away.

Run to win-win relationships and life is an exciting and profitable adventure.

I appreciate the Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal and the other 900 lb gorillas in the world of business credibility. They have a lot of valuable content that can help people with their businesses. But sometimes we get too technical in terms of trying to succeed.

An interesting thing happens when you’re in business for a while and you ponder from time to time on what makes people and their companies successful. I sometimes have an annoying habit of reducing things to the absurd. So here’s one of my absurd reductions: successful people and businesses make people happy.

At first glance this may sound obvious…but it’s not. Think of some of your recent interactions in stores, online and with people in a position to serve you in some way. Everything they do should be focused on making you as happy as possible. Did they?

Making people happy isn’t that hard. Smile and sincerely appreciate them. Do what you say you’re going to do when you say that you’re going to do it. Under-promise and over-deliver. Go above and beyond because you value your customers.

Don’t sweat it if you don’t have any letters after your name. You don’t need any. Concentrate on making sure that every interaction with another person is as delightful as possible. Make people happy. Happy people come back. Happy people tell their friends about you. Happy people are a pleasure to be with. And what you give out comes back to you. Making people happy makes you happy. Nice how that works, huh?

One of the neat features of LinkedIn is the ability to see who’s looking at your profile. There are some limitations to this, but it can be a valuable tool if you use it correctly.

It will serve you well to take a minute every morning to see who has been checking you out. How about sending them a message like, “Hi Mary, I noticed that you were looking at my profile. Thanks for taking a few minutes out of your busy day to check me out. How may I serve you in some way? I always seek to add value to all my personal and professional relationships. I’d love to help you in some way. Make me prove it. Kev ”

Now, you may be thinking, “Really? You would type something like that?” Word for friggin word, my friend. And “friggin” isn’t a cuss word, it’s a New Jersey term of endearment.

People are seeking authenticity. Instead of pretending that eight-hundred pound elephant isn’t in the room, run up to it and hug it. They must have been looking at your profile for some reason. Let’s not pretend it didn’t happen.

Huge doors of opportunity swing on tiny hinges. Offer to help people. All the time. Those who serve the most lead the happiest and most profitable lives. It’s your time to shine.

Remember that everyone has “WIIFM” written on their forehead in invisible ink. WIIFM stand for “What’s in it for me?”

I just returned from a speaking engagement for a multi-billion dollar financial services firm. They’re one of my favorite clients and I’ve been blessed to meet some amazing people there and they’ve introduced me to many other amazing people.

I was speaking on using Social Media as a tool to add value to client and potential client relationships. There was a very savvy businessman there who said that he’s not active on any SM platforms and that he’s had many people try to get him on SM platforms.

He and I shared a limo ride to the airport after my presentation. He very kindly said to me that no one had ever presented this content in a way that compelled him to participate, but that he was going to now. I’m sure someone must have, so maybe the other folks loosened up the jar and I just happened to be there to take the lid off.

He said that most of the presentations he has already seen were very technical in nature and that most of the presenters appeared to just be trying to show how smart they were. This is a very important point.

As we share with people, it’s important that we get our ego’s out of the way. We are there to serve. That’s it. We’re not there to impress people. We’re not there to hope that someone in the audience will hire us. We’re there to serve. When we do that with a sincere, authentic and transparent spirit, everything else will fall into place.

People need help. Help them. Remember that they have WIIFM written on their foreheads and focus on answering that unasked question in every communication with them. Don’t get distracted. Focus on them and serve them. Speak their language and they’ll understand you and your value to them.