Have you ever listened to any Spencer Davis Group music? (They were a UK band formed in 1963 and lasted about six years.) One of their massive hits was the Gimme Some Loving song. I fell in love with that song more than twenty years after it was released. The chorus goes like this.
So glad we made it, So glad we made it. I want you.
Gimme some a lovin’, Gimme some a lovin’, Gimme some a lovin’ every day.
About now, I can imagine you scratching your head wondering why on earth I am blathering about a song more than 50 years young.
Because I want you to think about your customers. How often are they telling you, “I want you”? And are you regularly gimme some a lovin’ on them? WHAT???
In the spirit of everything old is new again, this Post-COVID world we find ourselves in needs a different bunch of lovin’ going on. You see, all humans want connection. The fastest way to keep your clients close, to bring new ones in, and to hear “I want you” is pretty straightforward.
Just Gimme Some Loving to every one of them.
For the most part, business transactions over the last three hundred years have been cold and impersonal. Precious little personality, feeling and tenderness abound in the relationships we have with our clients, or our people for that matter. Business is, in the main, transactional. As in, I pay this, and you give me that. You show me the value to which I agree or not.
However, the pandemic has opened our eyes. The foundation of all business is people. Yet there is a massive swath of people, now unemployed. Too many of the lowest-paid people are deemed essential. Being physically sequestered from family and friends is no picnic for anyone. The phone doesn’t ring as frequently these days because the budgets of the people we deal with have been reduced. Zoom meetings are great but can run amok when we import sloppy meeting habits into the digital realm.
Most of us realize our family and friends are vital. We also realize we can’t treat our people the same way as we used to. Today, I want to add that we can’t treat our customers the same old ways either.
So, let’s invest in some Gimme Some Loving.
Starting with our customers. Why? Because they are human beings. And all of us human beings love social interaction. Social interaction builds massive amounts of trust. And while trust keeps our customers close, lovin’ creates even more opportunities for doing business with them, keeps us standing out and standing apart from our competition and keeps our business strong.
Here is a really simple exercise to get started. Begin with your best customers and invite them to a Gimme Some Love session. Expect massive curiosity about this 30-minute exercise. When you begin the booked appointments, outline that you will take the first 15 minutes, and they will take the next 15 minutes. Then you start to show them how it’s done. Simply answer three questions. Where are you from? What obstacles and barriers have you overcome in your life so far? What is your dream? At the end of 15 minutes, give the floor to your customer to answer these exact three questions.
Here is what will happen.
You will both learn stuff about one another you never knew before. And you will both have moments of personal awakening. Plus, you will both share your plans for your future. Most importantly, you will begin to take your relationship with one another to a much deeper level. Which invites more discussions about how you can further help one another. And ultimately creates a bond that no one can break – not for a better product, a better price or even a better experience.
Gimme Some Loving is very much needed and wanted right now. If you have the compassion, the empathy and the desire to put people first, it will be your defining differentiator.
The concept of Gimme Some Loving is the only way I can neatly explain my own success and how I have been viewed as definitely different from all the rest. It justifies the outstanding performance of those of my colleagues and clients who practice it. And is the fundamental reason behind their significant ability to stand strong with their customers, and stand out and stand apart from the rest of the market.
So, please take the leap. The world is waiting for you to get into the Gimme Some Loving movement. Being human, being real and vulnerable is precisely what is needed today, this year and the next decade. Want to get more comfortable doing it? Happy to help.
