Serve Before You Sell

Modern marketing can be summarized in 4 words: serve before you sell.

The premise is simple, but the execution can take many forms.

Let’s break down the two statements.

What Does It Mean To Serve?

Service means intentionally offering your time, knowledge, or resources to another.

For a business, it could mean taking the time to educate each prospect.

For a creator, it could mean making the effort to engage with your true fans on an individualized basis.

To an individual, it could mean mean supporting your peers personally and professionally.

The market rewards those who are patient and unconditionally serve their people.

What Does It Mean To Sell?

A sale means the exchange one thing for another that's considered to have the same value.

To a business, it could mean prescribing your solution based on the pain-points you know your prospect feels (because you took the time to educate them).

To a creator, it could mean asking your audience to pay for something that you created (because they know and trust you).

To an individual, it could be asking for an introduction (because friends to favours to friends).

Both the serving and the selling parts are going to look completely different depending on the desired outcome.

But the underlying idea is the same.

When everyone is just trying to sell, starting with service will help you to stand out.

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