Don't throw your revenue in the trash !

In this article I will talk about one my largest frustrations in networking. It's a strange phenomena which even after 13 years of very intensive networking, I still don't understand. I'm talking about recommendations and referrals, the powerful engine of your networking return.

During a networking event (or anywhere else) I run into someone who is looking for something very specific, or for someone who can help him with something specific. I start to search my brain. Is there anyone within my network who could be of any help ? Even with a very large network there is no guarantee that the right name will pop-up instantly, but sometimes you'll get one or even a few matching names very fast. This person is looking for someone to solve his problem and you really know someone who might be able to help him. When this is the case you can make the match and bring those two people together.

You don't need to spend a lot of time on the match. Introduce both people to each other in an e-mail or a message on Facebook or LinkedIn. Just add a sentence about this person maybe being able to solve the problem. The first person might find a solution for his problem, the second person might get a new customer and grow his revenue. Of course you do know that if this match is successful, it will also grow your credibility and reputation.

So, what is this frustration I was talking about ? Sometimes it happens that after a few weeks I meet one of those people at a networking event. Of course I do want to know if my match was successful and I pop the question. Very often I get these kind of replies : "I haven't had time yet to contact your friend" or "Yes, I have seen your message but I haven't had the chance to do something with it..."

If I would be telling this story during one of my presentations, this is the moment where I would insert half a minute of silence to make sure the message hits the right spot.

This is really the same thing as if you own a store and a customer walks in, waving his money in the air before your counter. Would you tell this customer to take his business elsewhere because you were about to close early today ?

Maybe this is a story worth thinking about during this summer ?