Giving value first
In sales and marketing, it makes sense to start with value-based thinking. Then you can move on to lead generation, referral generation, and all the other tactics. That's because people don't care about your product or service; they care about what it means to them personally. It's a common misconception that sales and marketing are about convincing people to part with their dollars.
But the product, service, or information you're selling may be so valuable to the customer that no explicit selling is necessary. The value of your product isn't just in its usefulness or even in its quality and features. The value is also in what your product stands for and how it makes the customer feel about herself.