Often the first time that you go to a networking event nothing happens regarding finding new clients to grow your business. This will often discourage people and make them want to stop attending networking events.
Please understand that it takes time to build relationships and get people to know, like and trust you. I find that most people want to get to know you before they are willing to connect you with their friends and clients.
We have worked hard to build our business and when we recommend you to our clients, we are saying that we trust you and that they should too. If something goes wrong, it may harm my relationship with my client, so I am careful about whom I want to recommend.
To me there are two types of referrals. The first is when you know someone is looking for a service and you say; I met Kevin at a networking event once, he seems ok, you should call him he might be able to help. That, my friends, is a super weak referral. The chance of that person calling is pretty low. With the second type, you reach out and tell the person how great I am and send my number to them and send their information to me, so that I can also call them. In the second case, you are telling them that you are personally recommending me and taking the steps to connect us to try your best to help both of us. This is the type of referral that most of us want.
By only attending once, you are failing to build a relationship and making a huge assumption that the person will remember you sometime in the future when they need your services. Take the time to let everyone know, like and trust you.
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Kevin Willett is the Author of One Connection How you can grow your business (and change the world) one connection at a time. The business networking book is available on Amazon. Purchase One Connection on Amazon
Kevin is also the CEO of the Friends of Kevin Networking Group and the New England B2B Networking Group. Please connect with him on social media to hear about his upcoming business networking events