Doing what you say you’re going to do is a superpower.

May 27, 2020 / in Company Culture, LinkedIn / by Jason Terry

I’ve got a fun story to share about the power of LinkedIn this week.

And if you’re busy today as you’re reading this, I will give you the ending first: you have to use LinkedIn and do status updates regularly to stay top of mind. That’s when the magic happens. Do it a lot, and the magic will happen a lot more. Finally, if you do what you say you’re going to do, people will trust you and want to work with you… it really is a superpower.

Okay, so here’s the story…

It had been about four years…

I recently got a LinkedIn message from a friend/peer named Brent asking if I knew any local Kansas City web application developers. The last LinkedIn messaging Brent and I had done was back in 2016. So it’s been about 4 years since we talked last. (I was introduced to Brent in 2015 by Heath and Trent who own Umbrella Managed Systems.)

Magic Point #1: The only reason Brent thought to ask me if I knew any developers is because I’ve stayed top of mind through LinkedIn status updates over the last four years.

Brent has a client that’s been struggling to integrate their website with a line-of-business application. Even worse, his client has already tried to do projects with other developers… spent the money… and still hasn’t gotten there.

I immediately thought of Troy Wolf, who I’ve been networking with over the past year… we geek out together on web development and tech gear. So I connected him with Brent. Less than a week later, Troy has a signed contract to do the work and they’re moving forward together. Yay!

Magic Point #2: Even though this didn’t turn into revenue for Blue Gurus, it’s a win in my book. These things always comes back around in some way, shape or form.

Brent wins because he solved a problem for his client with a good referral. Troy gets another billable project that he will knock out of the park. And another mutual friend of ours named Jeff will also be helping out on this project. (It really does take a village.)

I ended up scheduling a Zoom call for Troy, Jeff and I to catch up and talk about business. There are lots of opportunities for the three of us to collaborate on projects. (And we like each other, which is always a plus.) Jeff and I have already done a dozen projects together over the last 3 years and it will be nice to have another technical professional in the mix.

Magic Point #3: The conversation that started with a simple request from Brent in a LinkedIn message has turned into ongoing opportunity for everyone involved. Ask your network for help.

During our Zoom meeting, Jeff, Troy and I talked about client work, hourly pricing versus project based pricing, etc. We talked about how we do business and how we take care of clients. That’s when Troy said something that’s a Core Truth… when he said it, I knew it would be the title for this week’s blog post.

Doing what you say you’re going to do is a superpower.

It’s my opinion that a lot of people fail at this more often than they succeed. I surround myself with people that actually follow through, but I’ve seen plenty that don’t. And it’s disappointing that doing what you say you’re going to do doesn’t carry the weight that it should.

When you do what you say you’re going to do, relationships in your world will be stronger, more sticky and more fun. From a client perspective, it is the core of a long-lasting relationship. The silly thing is that some people fail at this simply because they’re not organized. They forget to write it down or put it on the calendar. Don’t fall into that trap! And if you’ve got a friend that suffers from this, have the courage to help them get more organized. They will thank you for it.

The End

Well, that’s the story. I hope you got something from reading it. If you aren’t using LinkedIn regularly, and more importantly doing status updates regularly, start now. Just like a garden, you have to “tend” to your relationships. LinkedIn makes it easier to connect with your network more easily and more often. I hope you are having a great week!