It’s All About Making People Feel Good!

“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.”
Albert Camus

You’ve probably had this experience. You go to a restaurant or nightclub and have to stand in a line. The security guards are semi-rude, you wait around for ages and eventually, you almost feel lucky to get in.

And, I get it. Everyone wants to feel cool yet the staff that controls the crowd never makes you feel good while you wait in line.

Here’s the point that these nightclubs miss completely. By making people feel bad or unwelcome, you never build a sustainable business. Nightclubs come and go and seldom last.

I learned this lesson when I had a chance to open a nightclub in Sydney, Australia. I thought to myself: “What if at my club, I’m always nice to people? What a difference that would make.”

That’s exactly what I did. I stood at the front door and shook hands with people. I’d give out hugs or slaps on the back. It was uncomfortable at first, until I realized how effective it was. When one of the regulars would come up with a friend, I would say something to the friend like: “Oh, you’re with him? This guy’s awesome. I love this guy.” Or something like that. I did my best to make the regular feel like a king.

By just being nice, we built one of the most sustainable nightclubs in the city. All I did was make people feel like they were friends of mine. 

I developed more relationships than anyone in the business.

What do you think would happen the following week when everyone got together and they were talking about where to go on the weekend? That guy would jump in and say: “Forget everywhere else. Let’s go back to Glen’s place.” Why? Because he had the ultimate “cool” factor. He was friends with the owner.

What’s crazy is that I barely knew people’s names but I could recognize their faces and take a moment to honor them. And by the way, it felt better to me to be a nice guy as well.

At the end of the day, building relationships is about making people feel good. What’s the process? You connect with them.

It’s no different in JV marketing. What can you do to make others feel good? Can you say nice things or offer compliments? Can you buy drinks? Can you take the time to acknowledge someone else and establish that connection, even if just for a few moments?

What happens later when they have many products to promote and there’s a choice to be made between your launch and someone else’s?

They’re going to choose you because of how you made them feel. It’s so simple and all about basic human nature. And, it’s how you build a sustainable JV business.