The Numbers Game VS. Warm Connections - Which Is Right For You?

A colleague of mine and someone I hope considers me a friend, Stan Faryna, pointed out that my article Tell A Friend: The Magical Power Of Ten came off as a rather bold statement.  It seems that in all my zeal I inadvertently discredited some close friends and colleagues, folks that are true heroes in my book.

Well, for that, I deeply apologize.  Let me reiterate: 

For those of you in my inner circle that have worked hard to develop a powerful personal brand and massive audience, I have no doubt that you worked hard and honestly to do so.

Now that we have cleared the air a bit, I will say that I do stand by my beliefs.  I feel that many so-called "gurus", experts, thought leaders, and influencers are mainly just broadcasting and spamming.  Maybe they got lucky or maybe some folks stood by them in spite of their selfish ways.  Who knows..  We're not here to talk about that.

Here's what I have found: some play the numbers game and others focus on warm connections (a.k.a. engaging, unmarketing, and caring).  While the numbers game is not always about spamming or insincere communications, I feel that it is more of a grind.

If you're into gambling, perhaps comparing this behavior to playing roulette may make more sense... 

[ Source:  Sales2.com ]

Let's use a social media example.  If you play the numbers game, you're sending out automated tweets and broadcasting to a large audience.  With all the stuff on Twitter streams, the chances of someone seeing your particular tweet is pretty slim. The average Twitter stream moves at around 30-50 tweets a minute at peak times and it gets crazier once you follow over 1000 people!

That scenario, in my experiences, is certainly more akin to playing roulette.  You keep playing until you "win".  Chances are that, by the time you finally hit, you barely broke even (or are still in the hole).

With that roulette-style of marketing and communication, there are too many variables to know if you just had good timing or amazing content..  Or maybe something else.  With all the tweets going out there, having your stuff noticed, let alone acted upon, is tough. 

Now, if you take the time out to really connect and interact with people in more deep, authentic, and meaningful ways, you may be added to a Twitter list or be set up as an alert/notification.  For most, that takes time and perhaps it's more time than folks are willing to invest but consider how much more you can get out of a relationship where there is more of a give and take.

I don't know about you but, if I'm going to gamble, I want to go with something that has better odds of winning.