NOTE: This morning I saw that Fidelity is about to lay off 4,000 people. Across America thousands of people are losing their jobs. To those people, this is a terrifying experience. To you it is an opportunity to extend your hand and not only help them but begin to heal the industry's image. This article shows you how to do it.

You probably know the idea of "pay it forward" from the movie. Many years before that movie came out, I was writing my first book on Credibility. During my research, I learned the concept of Give First. In selling and consulting, it means (even if the prospect does not buy from you)to give him something he can use. Like an idea or contact. In marketing, it means giving something away before you ask for anything in return.

If you've learned anything about me from reading my work, it is that I live and work based on the Give First concept. If you read my newsletters and articles, you remember that at the end of everything I publish, I give a reward (see below). It's typically something free, something that took me a long time to create, like a book or a report. In my coaching, I typically give a coaching session with no expectation of a pay back.