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Relationships are the key to networking success and the sign of a great networker is to have a wide variety of people in his or her network that can be tapped when you or someone you know is in need of something. So perhaps you have a friend looking to relocate that needs a real estate agent to sell a house. Your neighbor is a real estate agent, so you connect her with your friend and you look like a hero for bringing the two together, right? Not so fast.
A common mistake that many people make related to networking is referring someone without doing their due diligence. Sometimes, we’re so eager to people connect that we forget to ask ourselves the most important question in matchmaking: is this a good match? Now our intentions are usually noble, but let’s also face reality – we are often rewarded (financially or otherwise) for connecting folks and that can make us even more eager to make that connection. But sometimes, no connection is better than a connection for the sake of finding a connection.
To get back to the earlier example, your neighbor might be a great person who sells real estate part time, but her forte may be helping people find a house that meets their needs, rather than getting the most for a property. So she won’t be of much use to your friend who simply wants to sell his house. Do this too many times with the same person and you’ll find that he or she will be less inclined to use your connections, or even ask for advice.
A great example I’ve seen of someone effectively using their network to make a referral is the pediatrician my children use. When we need to see a specialist, she doesn’t choose one because she’s friends with them or she met them at conference. She checks her sources to figure out who the best doctor is in the area with that specialty and that’s who she recommends. And this is the way you should use your network.
So how can we as networkers make effective referrals? In general, you need to ask yourself the following questions before determining whether or not to make a referral:
Do you really understand your contact’s needs?
Again, our eagerness can get the best of us as soon as we find a potential match within our network. Resist that urge until you at least know exactly what your contact is looking for. Again using the earlier example, recommending a buyer’s broker to someone who is looking to sell a house is a hassle to everyone involved. If someone says that they need a real estate agent, ask them why: are they trying to sell a home, buy a home or both?
Since everyone’s situation varies, get details before helping someone. Ask the five W questions: who, what, where, when and why.
Does the person you’re matching them up with have the right skills?
Just like you need to know what your contact is looking for, you need to understand the skills and abilities of the person you’re recommending. We sometimes aren’t aware of specialties within professions. Lawyers are especially prone to this because there are so many different areas of specialization but so are doctors, accountants and even tradesmen. So always find out the details before making a recommendation.
Will the person you’re recommending do a good job?
Far too many friendships (and even marriages) have ended due to friends and family members doing business. The daytime court television shows are full of cases where friends and family members are suing each other over bad deals. Even though you personally may not have done anything wrong, when you connect two people and they have problems, it’s going strain your relationship with at least one of the parties involved (and often, with both parties).
At the very least, if you continually refer duds to people in your network, the perceived value of your network by others will decrease. In fact, if you do a recommend someone to them, they’ll immediately cross that person’s name off their list.
So these are just some tips to keep in mind when making referrals. Remember, although it’s great to put people in contact when they can mutually benefit from the new relationship, connecting two people that aren’t a good match can be a recipe for disaster.
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7 users commented on " Networking Success: The Right Way to Make Referrals "
May 31 2008
I found your blog on MSN Search. Nice writing. I will check back to read more.
Eric Hundin
June 3 2008
Great post. I know from personal experience that mixing friends and business can be potentially topic – I’ve been on both the giving and receiving end.
What is your opinion on sites like LinkedIn.com? Do you think perhaps saying, “Well, perhaps check this person’s credentials?” fare better for people instead of an outright recommendation?
June 3 2008
Eric,
Thanks for the note. I’m glad you enjoy the blog.
James
Test
June 4 2008
Tip Diva,
Thanks for the note. I like LinkedIn and I have posted and recieved recommendations. But you raise an interesting point about whether someone would be truthful when asked to (or guilted into) posting a recommendation for someone who is incompetitant. Personally, I would just not post anything rather than lie about someone being better than they are.
James
June 26 2008
I like LinkedIn as well, and it’s been really useful over the years. I try to keep it simple, and only make a recommendation if there’s a good possibility that it’s a good fit for both of the people.
March 8 2009
[...] big problem with this is that you miss the essence of networking. Networking is a two-way street so if your intention is to take without giving anything back, you’ll find that others will treat [...]
March 14 2009
[...] has to be one of the coolest trends for business events in recent years. It’s not only good for experienced networkers, but it’s the best thing to happen to nervous networkers. Even if you have no clue what to do at [...]