Do you give before trying to get?

One irrefutable law of sales is that, if you want huge success, you must give before you get. Help or serve others with no expectation of immediate reward. I learned this the hard way, and I've read this in many great sales books (think Jeffrey Gitomer, Tony Parinello, Tom Hopkins). Are you being of service to others, or do you only lift a finger when you expect a sale?

As you can see, this is a huge conflict with cold calling ... cold calling is a "get" mentality, i.e. you are out looking to get something from the prospect: A sale.

I worked with someone in the phone system business who routinely made upwards of $17,000 a month in commission, and all because he went out of his way to be of service to others. He never, ever had to prospect because news of his willingness to help spread like wildfire and he literally had more referrals than he could meet with. Are you on this track? Or are you in the "get" mentality?