Dare I introduce this person?
Why we bring people together whose paths would never cross
I wrote this article over a year ago and realised how much of an opportunity came out of this introduction. I ended up taking part in two virtual summits that went global, co-author of a book that instantly became International Bestseller on Amazon and took part in A Networking Retreat where I learned what I needed to, turning my networking with relatively poor results into outcomes and friendships I could never have imagined.
They are leaders in their own field, why would they feel I could give them anything that would benefit them.
Two years ago, I joined a Facebook Group mainly for women, based in America. What attracted me? It was for women and already had 49,000 members (now 61,000). Again I watched from the side-lines - however this time slowly joined in the conversations - it was a closed group at “stupid o’clock hours” in the morning. I felt more at ease commenting and found I could help others with my background of running a business.
It takes time and effort to get to know complete strangers on Facebook. I like to see whether they are a good fit. What does that mean? Do they write posts that are helpful, kind and caring? Do they support the group and add value; are they my sort of people? I have joined many groups and quickly left as the members were unkind and volatile, often rude, full of gossip - and I didn't want their posts coming up on my screen. This way I have managed to keep my social media feed to what the type of posts I want to read. The people I have met and have been introduced to in this group have exceeded any of my expectations and are a hard act to follow. I ended up joining the group owner’s “Marketing Boot-camp” workshops and found I learned far more than any book I could read. We were a good fit and slowly I found myself working on different projects with her.
"It takes a lot for me to fully introduce someone. This is not just a referral from a networking event, I can do that in my sleep, this was far more, and took more effort"
- Are they a good fit?
- How can both benefit?
- How much time will it take to achieve a good result?
- Is the timing right?
- One side may love the introduction, but what will it bring to the other party?
- Am I intruding?
These are busy people. I talk to both parties, that may mean I travel to where they are talking and ask for a quick ‘1 to 1’, or arranging zoom meetings, they are amazingly good at getting to know people. Only when I am happy that all my boxes are ticked do I draft an introductory email. An hour or so later after a full introduction explaining who each one is, how we met, what they excel at, why I feel they may like the introduction and after researching and listing the articles, books, summits, and client types they work with. I send the email - my bit is done.
Read on - what unexpected result actually came out of this interaction?
This took a somewhat unexpected twist that transformed into an amazing result - for us! Let me tell you what happened next.
The introduction was made and nothing really came from it, a clash of dates, timing there could have been many areas where the ideas just didn't match and well you win some, you lose some. Not every idea we have is a good one for the next person.
However, as a result I was asked to take part in the summit - 'The Alchemy of Successful Online Marketing', alongside 51 other presenters, a long story cut short (I feel another blog coming along) the summit went global, 1000's joined to listen each day. Many ventured onto our website and signed up for our 'Little Effort, Big Return' download.
It snowballed into a further invite to speak at another summit, 'Excelerate Experience' this again went global that led to a publisher watching the recording and suddenly within a few months I had joined 21 other ladies as co-author of a book 'Own Your Purpose & Realize Your Potential' https://www.38partnership.co.uk/the-book
- that when launched, instantly became an Amazon International Bestseller.
We never know what the next day will bring, what can seem like an insignificant chance comment can lead to a new client or massive opportunity. What started as a small gesture turned into a major change in our business.
Strangely and unexpectedly, later in the year, arrived an invite to join a networking retreat. I had begun networking before it was called networking. I can't begin to count the meetings during the many years of getting to know people via Rotary and the charities I worked with, I had many contacts; however, during the summer, I began to question the benefits or results.
Whom was the invite from?
The gentleman I had introduced at the beginning of the year. We had only loosely kept in touch. The Networking Retreat was fantastically successful; we quickly became a little team of 6 encouraging each other to succeed. The result - I rarely, if ever go to a networking event these days without coming away with not only new connections, meetings but also new clients.
So when the questions arises, dare I introduce this person? Or even, can I be bothered to spend some time and effort to make that connection, think about the opportunities you could yourself be missing out on. Now is it worth it?
Gill Fountain
30 years, living the up’s and downs of running my own business, as a woman starting out in a man’s world.
#Businessopportunities #nextlevelworking #Amazonbestseller #Author #Networking #Telesummit #wastenotime
Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/easystepsbrandmanagementwith38partnership/
Want to read more, look : https://www.38partnership.co.uk/blog
