Leadership Viewpoint

Think about the people that you choose to hire. Now think about the ones that you would rehire. My bet is that they meet Bob Burg’s criteria (Endless Referrals) of being people that:

You know
You like
You trust

This, essentially, is the point of business networking. If people don’t know you and cannot find you, they can’t hire you. Hence, at the most superficial level, you must get your name out there and raise awareness. This is by far the easiest of the three criteria.

If they know you and can’t stand to be near you, they will not hire you. Therefore, the ability to get along with others is a necessity. There are a myriad of sources to learn how to get along with other people and how to network, yet many people do a very poor job of it. They arrive at a meeting, talk about themselves and stuff unsolicited sales materials into people’s hands. To connect with others well, ask them about their successes and interests. Get them talking about, and show an interest in, positive aspects of their lives, and they’ll think you’re a wonderful conversationalist. Importantly, don’t talk about yourself unless you are asked. Additionally, be careful to give them appropriate personal space. In the U.S., that’s 2 to 3 feet away from their face. People that creep in too close make others uncomfortable.

Once they know you and like you, you have a chance for them to learn to trust you. Trust takes more time. At a business level, trust is based simply on doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it at an appropriate quality standard. It sounds basic, yet pitifully few businesses do it consistently. Before a businessperson will spend money with you, they may want to see you in action a few times. This makes volunteer work with community and professional organizations very important. It is not sufficient to just show up on occasion. Moreover, you must contribute to the greater good and demonstrate your skills, character and dependability.

For more information on this, check out Bob Burg’s book, Endless Referrals. It’s simple, clear and concise.

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