Introductions

Networking partners provide referrals, advice, support, and other information to each other without keeping score about who does what or how much. They have a vested interest in the success of each other, both personally and in business. What is that vested interest? It may be only the knowledge that they can help someone else to move forward in their life and reap the results. They just care and do the right thing.

My friend, John Lee of Sales Xceleration, is a master at introductions of people. John sends emails to two people that he has met introducing them to each other. He includes the recipients’ emails, phone numbers, and a paragraph about each of them. He urges them to contact each other, meet face to face, and get to know each other. He believes that, even if they never become each other’s customers, they may be able to benefit in some manner from knowing each other.

What John does in these introductions is give people the opportunity to meet others that they might never know. What becomes of the relationship is up to the people who he introduces. If they never meet, they may lose out on great opportunities to help one another. They may never know what they have missed. They may not suffer from never meeting, but what could it hurt to meet another possible networking partner?

Each person knows the other has their information, knows something about the each other, and should expect the phone call. If these are responsible business people, they should be calling each other as soon as possible, and will make the effort to meet and get to know each other. Sure beats meeting someone by chance, doesn’t it?

We have previously discussed what these meetings should be. We get to know someone by asking questions about them, their business, and their lives. The knowledge that we gain about them allows us to decide if we like them and in turn if we trust them. Do we automatically do business with them? Maybe we do or maybe we don’t. Do we automatically start referring them to others; maybe or maybe not? It is a starting point from which we could build towards being clients, networking partners, or both.

Maybe we start by introducing them to others; maybe we start by inviting them to networking meetings that we attend. It is a journey, and we have started down a path to something that might be beneficial to all parties. Where that path leads is up to both of us, and it is a responsibility of both of us to try it. Anything else is not a good business decision.

We never know when our next client will come into our lives, from where they will come, or who they will be. Shouldn’t we explore every opportunity to meet that next partner or that next client? They might be the connection to the greatest client that any of us ever knows. Making introductions to others may just be the path to prosperity; following through on introductions from others may be a better path than our own prospecting.

Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call me at 360-314-8691. Start making introductions to other people in your business and personal life. The people we introduce may be better for meeting those people, and we will be better for putting them together. Thank you, John Lee for your wisdom and example.