Finding a dollar is a good omen… this was like two thousands times better.
As you’re well aware, I use profanity and talk about sex. For someone that “open” (and talkative) it would seem as though there’s not much I’m not telling you, but there are a few things. One element of which would be the decade or so I spent in multi-level marketing.
The last two years of which were spent developing CatalystMLM, a “no pitch just value” community connecting trainers with students. The goal of the project was to become the Grand Central Station of the industry and slice out some element of the spamminess.
The project ultimately failed as a result of poor management, manipulative clients, and a misaligned partnership. The experience provided a menagerie of opportunities to learn from my mistakes and have guided me since. The website and podcast are still live, but aren’t managed. It’s probably been a year since I actually looked at the website.
I was “relaxing” and avoiding things that could be construed as work by unsubscribing from email newsletters and emptying my spam folder. Right off the bat, I discovered a PayPal notification saying I had made a $100 commission and found the money in my old account.
I kept scrolling and discovered that I had earned $50 in credits to Handy, a home cleaning service, by referring it to a friend (who had just completed his first booking). This led me to login to my account where I discovered I now had a total of $150 in credits. My apartment has been in desperate need of a good scrubbing and you can’t argue with free!
I was smiling pretty damn bright at the fact that I’d just found $200 in the spam of an old inbox… so I kept scrolling. I spotted a notification from an old client of the multi-level marketing business saying I’d earned a $236 commission just last week! Splendiferous!
Logging in to claim my loot, I had to request a forgotten password as it had easily been two years since I’d been in this account. The page finally loaded and I saw this…
I literally jumped out of my chair and threw my hands in the air… while in a public space.
Apparently I need to write an e-book titled: “How I Made $1,872.42 Checking My Spam”
Heh, that reminds me of a hilarious short about Junk Mail by Cyanide and Happiness.
I digress… there’s a reason I tell you this story. While you might not have commissions from old marketing campaigns sitting in your spam folder, you do have an address book and I guarantee you that there’s a veritable treasure trove of value waiting to be cashing in.
If you’re a remotely wonderful human being—which the vast majority of you are—then you can be certain there’s someone in your phone right now who will happily provide leverage.
They might not break out their checkbook, but if you ask the right questions they’ll get you to the people who will. If you’re in need, do this to cash in on your brownie points…
- Craft and communicate a specific need (e.g. introductions to people needing support in X who can be identified by expressing an interest in Y or a frustration with Z)
- Recognize that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. If an introduction isn’t quite right, do your best to get them closer to the person they need.
- Reward those who support you. Whether through an empathic thank you or a thoughtful gift, make them feel just as appreciated as you feel grateful.
If you want to know exactly how to tap into the leverage you already have sitting in your address book, these are the kinds of conversations we have in Ghost Influence.
When was the last time you called to thank you mother for making you?
(starts dialing phone)