Giving referrals first when building your network

In some previous posts I have referred to some research that we did into building trust in business networking relationships. A key factor in building trust is to give something of value to another. Giving a referral first is a good example of this.

I was talking to the Director of a Branding Agency last week. Their target market are the Chief Executives and Managing Directors of Medium and large sized Enterprises. He had just had a 121 meeting with a Business Coach. During the meeting the Coach had referred him to the CEO of one of his large clients.

I know that the coach in question makes a point of giving referrals first and then on a regular ongoing basis. In this way in the past few years he has established a great network of Professionals and Business Owners that now regularly refer and advocate him.

Does your networking strategy include actively looking for opportunities for your network & giving referrals first. Then meeting your close network on a regular basis to share the opportunities you find for them?

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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