Dave Allred is a textbook example of a people person. He is also a self-described lifelong student who pursues knowledge and personal development. His natural skills were on full display as he excelled in the challenging job of door-to-door sales. Today, Allred applies his impressive interpersonal aptitude to real estate, and has just come off a record-breaking year.
To achieve this success during a global pandemic, Dave Allred took an unconventional approach that yielded stellar results. The years of door-to-door sales laid the foundation for his mantra: relationships are the new currency. While networking is heralded as one of the most important facets of any business, Allred has realized it can seem forced or even come across as a gimmick in some situations. Instead, he taps into his uncanny people skills to build authentic and relevant relationships.
Allred defines networking as prioritizing the relationships that he calls the “new currency in business.” Like any relationship, these take time and effort to cultivate. Allred has learned how to conquer tough situations by learning how to be comfortable even in the most uncomfortable of situations. He sees this as an opportunity to truly get to know a person and secure rather than shy away from a potentially valuable relationship. It also keeps Allred ahead of the competition and provides an effective tool for overcoming challenges, even one as formidable as COVID-19. It is these very challenges which make strong relationships more important than ever.
Allred has seen firsthand how relationships translate to currency. His best deals and partnerships have stemmed from close friends and his social networks. The key word is close, and Allred has learned how to duplicate this closeness across virtual platforms. The pandemic limited personal interaction, but Allred was more than up to the challenge of cultivating strong relationships through social media. Viewing this as yet another opportunity to connect with people on a meaningful level, Allred uses Facebook Groups and Instagram to share purpose-driven content he hopes will add value to people’s lives.
Allred is inspired by numerous people on social media. He follows those he respects and deems social media platforms powerful tools for not just communication but also for collaboration. There is a strong sense of community where members can find motivation in each other’s success and learn how to translate such achievements into their own organizations. Here again, we see the real-world application of Allred’s belief that relationships are the new business currency.
Financial gain, and the freedom it offers, is an effective motivator but Allred considers it a byproduct of the things which matter the most to him: memories, relationships, and experiences. To Allred, the most precious of resources is not money but time – specifically, time that is devoted to fulfilling the lives of others and in turn finding self-fulfillment, which is indeed priceless. Allred devotes a great amount of time to building relationships that transcend currency by adding purpose and value to people’s lives, thus allowing him to enjoy his own to its fullest.
