You’ve Been Introduced, Now What?
Whether the introductions were given or received, the purpose of each was to get connected with potential industry partners. Now that you’ve been introduced, what is the next step?
Before answering, I want to help you avoid any missteps, the common, deadly mistakes, that most networkers make. This next step is where most networkers try to pitch, sell or recruit. This mistake is what causes people to avoid returning your calls and canceling your appointments. Do not let this be you!
Think about this for a moment, if someone needed financial advice would you recommend an advisor you bowl with weekly or someone you met earlier in the day at a networking event? How about an advisor that regularly attends the same church as you or the newly acquainted advisor? Whether you’ve received financial advice from your bowling buddy or the church member, in both cases, you’d still likely recommend either of them over the advisor you met earlier that day. Why is that? The answer is you know, like and have a sense of trust with them through your regular interactions.
I use this example to make a point. While it’s always more comfortable making a recommendation if you have first hand knowledge of the work, service or product, you will still likely recommend someone you know and like. (The way they handle your recommendations and referrals leads to trust.)
So you’ve been introduced. How do you get to know and like someone? While this may seem difficult, it really isn’t. If you have any friends, you know how to do this. Remember, every friendship you have started with an introduction. Even if you bumped into a stranger and you became friends, you started with an introduction. “Hi, my name is…”
Generally when we first meet someone, we tend to look for something in common to connect. Traveling abroad, in a foreign land, you meet a friendly face and you ask, “where are you from?” The stranger replies “the U.S.” You perk up and say, “so am I.” When you meet someone you are interested in, you find out if they like the movies, dancing, fast food or fine dining.
In business, it is no different. Regardless of what type of business you are in, it’s all people business. You want to find commonalities. You want to find out something you can praise someone about, something to make them feel good. You want to show that you are interested in them as a person, not a sale or a recruit.
Think of your first face-to-face like a first date. You want to discover if there is a spark, connection, or energy!
There is no better way to get to know anyone than to “listen more and talk less.” You want to ask questions that will help you discover the paths your potential partner has traveled to get to this point in life. You want to discover their hopes and dreams. You want to know what wakes them up early and keeps them up late at night.
If you visit the training section, Partnership Path, Stage 3: Get to Know Your Partners! at www.businessnetworkingformula.com you’ll see some great questions to ask during your initial one-to-one meeting.
One obvious question when you bump into someone for the first time is “What kind of work do you do?” Regardless of their answer, a great follow-up question is “What do you like most about what you do?” The answer to this question will tell you about what the individual likes to do, and if the answer is “nothing, I hate my job” you will discover things the individual doesn’t like.
The success of your initial introductory meeting, whether scheduled or by bumping into someone, will be determined by how well you listen to the answers of the questions you ask. Most answers will reveal something that will (or will not) align with your beliefs, passion, and work ethic. If nothing else, by listening, you will have other questions in response to their answers.
The quality of your meeting and your potential relationship will hinge on the quality of your questions and how well you listen to the answers.
It’s important for you to visit the training section at www.businessnetworkingformula.com and watch the video on “Get to Know Your Partners!” You will also find: talking scripts that can help you find potential industry partners when you are at networking events and email templates to help you set up one-to-one meetings with potential industry partners and to follow-up on those meetings.
After visiting the training section and reviewing the examples of great questions to ask, if you are still unsure of how to proceed with getting to know your partners, you can click on the “help” button in the lower right hand corner. You can also ask for help from the leader at any of the BNF meetings, one of the networking coaches, or through the BNF Members! Facebook page. At BNF we all want to help one another. Each member, regardless of their networking experience, started out as a beginner.
At BNF, we believe in you and your business. We are committed to helping you master the art of networking if you have the passion and desire to do so. It’s not going to be easy but if you make clear goals, turn your learning into study and your study into improvement and results, anything is possible.