H = Honesty
The term honesty means “The quality or condition of being honest; integrity. Truthfulness; sincerity.” The reason why this is such an important building block is because you have to be honest in order to be successful. Liars and cheaters never prosper; no matter how it looks. In the end evil does not prevail.
When you operate from a foundation of honesty, you are able to gain trust and build quality relationships. For the business owner this is pertinent as relationship marketing can either make or break your business. Your business’ growth is not determined by the money you make but by the connections that you create with an approach that is honest.
The best way to make connections is by being transparently honest. I don’t mean spilling your guts and telling your life story but do connect; and do it with integrity. Let your market know if you screw up and when you do share a valuable lesson and then give them tips using your approach that you used to solve the problem. It will do a few things for you:
- It will show that you are human
- It will show that you are not all about the money
- It will show others that you have confidence in what you have to offer
A good example of honesty is how I did not listen to Yahweh when He gave me the idea for this series. You see I made a huge mistake when I did not write the idea down in my vision journal. I jumped right into it; started posting to my CinchCast Station and it was well received. Then I fizzled out and writing the words for the series seemed more and more difficult as the days went on. Over time I kept getting messages, emails, and even a call or two about the ABC Building Block series as to when I was going to get started again. I had no answer to the questions I received. What I realize today is that I was not in my total Success Zone because I was hiding behind my ministry and Yahweh wanted me to get my coaching vision in line with His will, launch my site, and start marketing. That is when the plan for this series and my upcoming books all started coming together. I was to wait and I did not listen. From this mishap I learned lessons that I share with others to help them not make the same mistake.
One of the most beneficial parts of my business is my honest approach. It has helped me to connect to my market in a refreshing way. As a result my bottom line has not just grown but expanded as well.
Your challenge this week:
Share one mishap with your market in a blog post, ezine, or even on Twitter or Facebook. Be sure to provide tips for avoiding the mishap and the lesson you learned from the mistake. Watch the response you get from your marketing over time as you take the time to be transparently honest.
What is your take on being honest in business? Is honesty something that is missing in marketing?
Looking forward to reading your response!
