The Top 10 Ways to Add Value,

for the Sheer Joy of It.

September 2006

To make money in business, you need to add value to customers. And to have a very attractive life, adding value is, of course, key. In this Top 10 List, you'll learn how to add value to others in ways that can also bring you joy. In fact, the aspect of the practice of adding value which will make you most attractive is the joy that you experience in doing so, not the quantity or quality of the value you are adding. Big difference.

The bees do it right. They do their thing, going from flower to flower collecting pollen as they go. The byproduct/value being added? Pollination of the trees and flowers. Often, the best value is the byproduct to others of what you do for joy.

1. Find out what the other person places a high value on.
   Everybody has their own opinion as to what adds value to their life. Take the time to ask and get to know what other people define as value. You may not want to package or deliver what you have to fit their exact description, but the process of being open will add value to you because it will sensitize yourself to what matters to others. With this expanded perspective comes wisdom.
   
   
2. Discover what brings you joy and do lots of that.
   Very few people know what brings them joy, but when they find out, they become more attractive to themselves. What does bring you joy? Is it intellectual pursuits? Giving to others? Solving problems? Designing something? Usually when you're expressing your values, you'll feel joy. When you experience joy, you're probably adding a lot of value to others at virtually no cost to yourself.
   
   
3. Find ways to broadcast/share what you have/know, without a cost to yourself.
   Thanks to the Internet and electronic distribution of information, you can add lots of value to others, without it costing you any extra time or money. Set up a weekly e-newsletter, teach a TeleClass, train trainers/teachers, write a book, create audiotapes. These are all ways to increase the distribution of what you know, which add value all along the way.
   
   
4. Stop trying to sell, convince, enroll or hype yourself or what you offer.
   Part of the process of becoming more attractive is to stop pushing yourself or what you offer onto others. Adding value usually occurs least expensively to both parties when one party takes it from 'your doorstep' instead of you knocking on their door. It's a pretty big change in style, but few people who are pushing hard experience joy. So, stop, and find a better way to make your business work or reach your goals.
   
   
5. Help others create tremendous value from what you provide, instead of just giving them more value.
   You can overwhelm your customers and potential customers with too much value, just as you can fill your mouth so full with food that it's hard to chew. So, one way to add more value without adding a thing is to show your customers/potential customers how to make the most of what you've got. Giving them instructions, coaching them, staying with them as they use your product or service, challenging them to invent new ways to use it, etc., are all ways for more value to be created without you having to give more product.
   
   
6. Don't get your personal needs met by attempting to add value to others.
   'Adding value' is an attractive mantra, but it becomes less so when it is simply a way to get your needs met. When this is the case, the buyer feels the added value as a hook or a setup, not as a gift. It's pretty subtle, but it affects the buyer negatively. Add value because it brings you joy, not because it fills a need for you personally.
   
   
7. Match what you have to the people who need/want it; customize.
   One of the easiest ways to increase the value you deliver without a lot of extra work is simply to repackage or customize pieces of what you offer to fit the exact (and I do mean exact) needs of your best customers. Buyers are getting very picky and exacting; each of the forty shades of beige/ecru/bone matters a great deal to the person buying those shoes. The same is true for almost every product or service today. Plus, it's fun to customize if you're at all creative.
   
   
8. Get into synch with a large trend and move forward to the head of it.
   Because the bulk of what is called value added in our information age is intangible (information and skills, not brick and mortar), the more you can add value to other people's intangibles, the better. And keeping up with trends which will affect the value of information and other intangibles, is the perfect lookout-position! Right now, two meta trends (that's meta, although these are mega as well), are the Internet and 'meaning.' Perfect your knowledge of these, and their implications, and you'll be adding a lot of value because it will upgrade what you currently offer without you having to upgrade that.
   
   
9. Put people together in networks which mean a lot to them.
   You can add a significant amount of value by doing what may come naturally to you -- putting people in touch with each other. Whether you have a big Rolodex or are developing one, the more people you put together, the more value that everyone receives. And if you can sponsor, host or create special-interest networks, that's even better. People need to belong (emotionally) and need resources (professionally), now more than ever. You can provide this service without any extra work.
   
   
10. Become a coach and/or master the full set of coaching skills.
    A coach is someone who shows you how to do or master something, whether it be to reach an important goal or to make a difficult change. A coach stays with you and helps you select the goal, engage with it, progress through it, achieve it and integrate the accomplishment into your life. People need this level of care and 1-1 touch. Show people how, don't just tell them how.

By Thomas J. Leonard, Founder, CoachVille/School of Coaching

Copyright © June 1997, 98, 99, by Coach U, all rights reserved.

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