I see lots of people spouting off about how people will do business with people they know, like, and trust. They wax poetic about how important it is to network and get people to know and like you before you ask for the business. They even quote very smart people like Bob Burg, author of The Go-Giver, and Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI, when they make their proclamations. But guess what? None of that matters, unless . . .

On some level you must know, like and/or trust me or you wouldn’t have read this far. So, I would like to offer to sell you a ham and cheese sandwich on white bread, right now for $25. Interested? No?! Why not? Don’t you like me? Aren’t we friends? So why don’t you want to buy my $25 sandwich? Oh, you aren’t hungry? You don’t like ham and cheese? There’s no way you are paying $25 for a lousy sandwich? What?!

And now we’ve arrived at the key point that is often left out in this conversation: People will ONLY do business with people they know, like and trust IF their needs are being met. If you aren’t adding value or ameliorating a pain point at a reasonable price, then it doesn’t matter how much someone loves you; they aren’t buying what you are selling.

So, before you run around trying to get people to love you, make sure the product or service you are offering is worth paying for. Do your homework. What other options are available to your customer? Does your solution meet their needs? As you are uncovering all of this information, your prospect will start warming up to you anyway because you are really trying to get at the heart of their problem and help them solve it. You have already started the process of adding value simply by listening and uncovering their true need.