My friend tried to start a conversation this week with one of his referral partners at a networking event and the person told him ‘thanks, but I am all set. I am happy with the person I am working with’. We all have business relationships that we are happy with, but when you say you are all set, it hurts your chance to develop a referral relationship with the person you are speaking with. This happens all the time.
Rather than just saying I am all set, how about saying something like ‘that is not a match for me, but tell me more about what you are doing in case I meet someone who needs your services’. This simple approach will help you to build a relationship with that person.
It is important to remember that when we are networking we are selling through the person, not to them. Using myself as an example, I don’t have a lot of needs but I do have a good size network of people that I can introduce you to.
I have many friends who are not members of my networking group, but they have introduced me to many people who have become clients. Please give some thoughts to this next time you are tempted to say I am all set.
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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.
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