I\’m a passionate believer in business networking because I\’ve had so much business passed to me by word of mouth, significantly more than I could ever hope to get through traditional advertising, and that business continues to grow and grow.

Having said that, I do find that after a couple of years at one business networking group it\’s time to move on, especially if no one else moves on. Quite simply I feel that those people around the table that I have built relationships with will stick whereas those that just didn\’t gel for one reason or another and it\’s best to accept it and move on.

Inevitably starting with a completely new group means that things are going to be slow at the start. Remember the rules, you\’re not selling, you are trying to communicate the competences of your business and the type of people that you want to be put in touch with. After that you are trying to build up relationships with your fellow networkers so that you can make the first move and give them referrals too.

What if during the working day I come across a contact who\’s looking for a web designer. I know one is in my new group but I don\’t know him very well and in my last group there was a great designer and whenever I referred anyone to her she always gave them a cracking service? So who should I recommend? Given the freedom to refer I would naturally go with the lady from my old group, not only does it keep the contact going but I can also be absolutely certain that my business acquaintance is going to be happy with the outcome and therefore look on me in a good light too.

I could have referred both but I think that this is a cop out. It\’s taking the easy option and not guaranteeing that my business acquaintance is going to be delighted so whilst it might seem a good way to get the problem off the desk in the short term, long term it\’s going to do me no favors at all.

Many business networking groups target the members to provide a specific number of referrals that you have to give each month. This has it\’s pro\’s and cons:-

On the positive side one of the benefits of business networking in this way is it forces everybody to be continuously thinking about the other members of the networking group and talking about the available services at all points during the working day.

On the other hand it can also put undue pressure on some people to make referrals when frankly they are only “half way there”. In other words they\’re not much of a better opportunity than a cold call.

All this brings me back to the point of my ramblings. Let me pose another question – I\’ve changed business networking events and I\’m obliged to give referrals weekly but there\’s one member of the group that I either haven\’t found a connection or simply just can\’t get on with them. Because I\’m obliged to give referrals that means that the group facilitator is clearly counting and it\’s going to become obvious that this one person isn\’t getting any referrals. How do I deal with it without it becoming awkward?

Well in my book there\’s only one way to deal with it and that\’s to confront the issue head on. Not aggressively, just by talking directly and privately to ensure that both me and my colleague fully understand the situation. By doing it this way I ensure that any sore would doesn\’t become infected and more often than not, a bit of direct talking even breaks the ice and we finally start to get to know one another.

Author Bio: Peter Nash is passionate about the benefits of business networking and regularly attends business networking events around the UK. He\’s also full of speed networking tips.

Category: Business
Keywords: business networking, business referral, business networking events