Episode 81: Making Introductions That Will Actually Leave A Mark

Jul 8

So if somebody introduces you and another person, they've gone out of their way to vouch for you, gone out of their way to send this email. If you're the person in the position who's maybe asking for a favor from the other person, ideally, you need to respond to this 1st. That's important. Punctuality digitally is important, but the best way to respond.

Hello, and welcome back to prospecting on purpose today, we're going to be discussing a topic that's super important to me. And it's this concept of being a connector of others. So over the last few episodes here, we've discussed the concept of your network as your net worth. And also we've covered 10 tips to find a mentor.

And the best way to build out a high-caliber network is to be a connector. So when you're introducing other people to each other, whether it's a professional introduction, a friend introduction, opening your Rolodex of context to other people in your network. So you're viewed as someone who's thoughtful, Someone who cares about other people and their businesses and their goals and their personal lives.

But then you're also establishing your own net worth by demonstrating the people that you're in relation to, the people that you collaborate with. And the reason I love this concept so much is that it fits right into the, uh, concept of ABAV always be adding value because this is such an easy. Free way to establish your thoughtfulness of others and add value to the other person.

And the ultimate way that we add value to others is to establish connections that basically build other people's businesses or impact their roles in whatever that looks like. So if we're helping other people achieve their goals, that is the ultimate emotional bank account deposit. That is the best way for to ABAV - Always Be Adding Value.

Another reason I really like this is that it's a very non-salesy way to stay on top of the minds of other people and demonstrate that through action you're a person of influence. So the biggest piece of advice that I can give to become a good connector is to a) express genuine interest in everyone you meet.

So you're asking what are their goals? What skills and strengths do they have? Or what are they looking to build? So you're kind of building this memory bank of different things through your different contacts. And if you don't have a strong memory, find a way to document some of these high-level things that they share with you.

Maybe it's in the contact notes on your phone or your CRM system. Find ways to start with the bucket. Okay. Sally's good at this. Kim's good at this. Stacey's good at this. So when Barry needs this, you're starting to realize like, how can you pull pieces together? And then that's when you start to make connection points.

So in our last solo episode, we talked about 10 tips to find and maintain mentors. I shared examples of how I have built my mentor pool throughout the years, but it's almost exclusively from being connected through another source. So that was episode 79. If you have not yet listened to it, I feel that one of my strengths is that I've been able to demonstrate my expertise and add value to my mentors, to my clients, to my friends, by continuously finding opportunities for connections.

So let's say you find an opportunity of two people that you think would be a good contact. There's in-person connecting, and then there's. Virtual connection is usually via email or text, but if you happen to be in the same city, it's great to find opportunities to meet in person. So if I'm doing an in-person meetup, I'll usually give both parties a heads up.

Okay. I'd love for you to meet my friend, Stacy. She lives in the same neighborhood as you. She's an executive assistant for so and so, and she might be able to use your travel business when she books trips for her boss. And then I'll give Stacy the same heads up. Hey, Linda's a travel advisor. she's a great contact for you.

You're, but you know, business aside, you're both awesome people who live in the same neighborhood and I'd love to be the one who introduces you to each other. So in person is best if you can swing it, but many, many connections do not require an in-person touch. So most of the time we're introducing professional connections via email.

The way I handle this is I usually will get both parties' permission for a connection unless I have a strong grasp on one of my contact's businesses and I understand that I'm referring them to business. So, I don't ask if I'm sending them opportunities for growth and business. I'll share a quick example.

I have a client that I'm working with right now. And over the last few months, I've been working with them. I've referred her to an architectural photographer an event planner and a search engine optimization expert. And those opportunities for connections came up because I was expressing genuine interest and I was asking her questions about things she was working on outside of the scope of our contract.

And so one day she mentioned she needed to source photography. And that's when, you know, ding, ding, ding, your brain starts to think, Oh, Hey, I need to meet my friend Kim. She's a great architectural photographer. Here's how my past clients have worked with Kim. So then the way that I personally do email intros is in the subject line.

I will put, you know, Kim meets Sally. Usually, I'll put their business names in parentheses, just so it's easy to search for the person who very clearly understands what is that email about. So that's that step 1 is pretty clear in the email subject line. And then I usually do a short intro like,

Hey, Kim, Hey, Sally. You know, per our discussion, putting the two of you in contact with one another. Kim, I know Sally from XYZ Sally, I worked with Kim here, here, and here. So just kind of a little bit more, context, and then all include their contact details and the relevant websites. And then I end it with- I'll leave it to the two of you to connect from here.

But what is so great about this is, that obviously it helps my client, Sally. It gives her a resource for photos, which is on her project list. It helps my friend Kim. Because now Kim has a new client for her business. But then it helps me because my client sees that I am a resource for her for other things.

And I'm continually establishing my value and expertise with Sally, my client. But it also helps me with Kim. Because now I'm top of mind and I've added value to her business because I've sent her a client. So if I ever need a favor from Kim, it's a lot easier for me to ask because I have those emotional bank account deposits.

And, you know, it's important that we're not doing these intros for future favors. That's not what this is about. It's really building out your web of connectivity. It starts to snowball quite quickly, but if the people you're interacting with don't know what you're working on, they can't give you opportunities to connect as well.

So, the other day I was chatting with someone, ironically for this same client, Sally, I'm setting up a meeting with a different contact of mine and I mentioned this project I'm chasing in the Middle East and she says, Oh, my gosh. I used to work with the general manager of that hotel. He and I are really good friends, but let me put you two in touch.

So that's how this stuff starts to snowball. And this web of connectivity is really the asset that is, it's something that's really hard to measure because it's limitless opportunities for revenue and growth and connection with others. So being a connector is one of the biggest tools in our arsenal to really establish ourselves as experts in our industry, experts in our space.

I think this is the, the true feather in the cap of a strong business development person is the ability to connect with others. So to close out this episode, I want to share a best practices email script for when someone acts as a connector to you. So if somebody introduces you and another person, they've gone out of their way to vouch for you, gone out of their way to send this email.

If you're the person in the position who's maybe asking for a favor from the other person, ideally you need to respond to this first. That's important. Punctuality digitally is important. But the best way to respond, my response to these types of emails is usually, Hey, new person. It's so great to meet you.

Barry, thank you for the introduction. I'm moving you to BCC to save your inbox. And then I'll finish my email. I usually ask the new person to hop on a phone call or a Zoom call. What's your schedule? Here's my booking link. You guys know how to follow up and conduct business, but it's important to leave the person who connected you in the loop.

And the fact that you've taken the baton and ran with it, and the best way to do this is to include them in your response but put them at a BCC. So they're not stuck on the thread. And really, if someone takes this time to introduce you to someone in their network, they're essentially vouching for you.

They're putting their reputation on the line. With you, so treating it with respect and continuously find ways to be that person for others. That is going to be a secret sauce in your business development efforts, a secret sauce in feeling comfortable asking for help when you need it. The secret sauce for finding clients, finding mentors is this concept of being a connector.

So that's it for today's episode. Happy connecting and happy networking. Thanks for tuning in and I'll see you next week.