Invest Your Time to Learn About Referral Partners – Dr. Ivan Misner

Business networkers that are successful understand the need of spending time learning about the value of referral partners’ products or services if you want them to understand the value of yours. I think a face-to-face encounter is the ideal setting for doing this. For the sake of better understanding one another’s enterprises, master networkers routinely get together.

It’s a simple invitation that goes like this: “Juan, I’d like to be able to refer more business to you, but in order to do that, I need a deeper comprehension of what your firm does and how you run. To discuss it, may we meet up the following week?

Juan is aware that he will also be learning about your company even though you don’t state it directly. Knowing how confident your contacts are in introducing you to the individuals they know is not always simple, I understand. You demonstrate interest in assisting them in expanding their firm by setting up a personal appointment with them. In keeping with the Givers Gain® philosophy, which is based on the Law of Reciprocity, they will be eager to assist in the expansion of your company as well.

A key component is trust.
When it comes to offering and getting references in business networking, trust is crucial. It doesn’t matter who or what you know, I often say, it matters how well you know each other. Having a real conversation with someone can sometimes feel intimidating in our fast-paced, digital world. We might even think we’ve lost the ability to do so.

Because of this, BNI® has the GAINS exchange, which is a great approach to start building trust with other members and referral partners. It’s crucial to start laying the groundwork for your business relationship as soon as you sit down one-on-one with someone you’ve met through networking. The best method to do it is via GAINS. You gain an understanding of each other’s personal and professional Goals, Accomplishments, Interests, Networks, and Skills, which results in deeper, stronger connections and profitable referral partnerships.

Do YOU Make Time to Understand Others?
Am I being realistic about how long it will take me to reach the necessary level of confidence depending on my profession? is a question you might want to ask yourself. The answers to the following questions may be useful in determining your position.

• Do I frequently educate and enthrall my other networkers about the value I bring to my clients?
• Doing business with fellow members of my networking group will allow me to provide them with compelling testimonials, increasing the likelihood that they will do the same for me.
• Do I routinely get together with my networking partners to learn about their companies so I can recommend them to my own contacts with confidence?

A networking partner will probably be willing to return the favor if you can attest to the high caliber of the services or goods they provide, increasing other people’s confidence in them. Testimonials from one or two of your networking partners may cause another member of your group who was hesitant to take a chance on you to make a much larger and more valuable referral.

You will be well on your way to developing dependable relationships and receiving recommendations from networking partners if you stick to these straightforward advice and take the time to get to know people.

About Dr. Ivan Misner

Dr. Ivan Misner is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization. Founded in 1985 the organization now has over 10,000 chapters throughout every populated continent of the world.  Each year, BNI passes millions of referrals resulting in billions of dollars worth of business for its members.

Dr. Misner’s Ph.D. is from the University of Southern California. He is a New York Times Bestselling author who has written 28 books including one of his latest bestselling books – Who’s in Your Room?   He is a columnist for Entrepreneur.com and teaches Leadership in the MBA program at Concordia University.  He is also a past member of the Board of Trustees for the University of La Verne.

Called the “Father of Modern Networking” by both Forbes and CNN, Dr. Misner is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on business networking and has been a keynote speaker for major corporations and associations throughout the world. He has been featured in the L.A. Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times, as well as numerous TV and radio shows including CNN, the BBC, and The Today Show on NBC.

Among his many awards, he has been named “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Red Cross and has been the recipient of the John C. Maxwell Transformational Leadership Award. He is proud that he and his late wife, Elisabeth, are the Co-Founders of the BNI Charitable Foundation. They also reached “empty nester” status after happily raising their three children.