A Novel Idea: You Get What You Give

I wish I could remember who gave me this idea. If I could remember, I would give credit where credit is due because I didn't think of this little gem. (If it was you, let me know and I'll thank you in person!)

As marketing and sales people, we are sometimes obsessed with metrics. I know I am. If I can't measure it, I can't improve it. We like to measure things like qualified leads, conversion rates, visitors to our web sites, return on investment, number of cold calls made, etc. Those seem obvious.

But this year, I've added a metric to my own business development program – I'm tracking the number of referrals I GIVE. That's no typo. One of my primary missions is to understand the challenges my contacts are facing – even when it's not sales and marketing related. Then I make a conscious effort to connect them with people and resources that could potentially overcome these challenges.

I don't expect anything in return I just believe that the more people I can help, the more people will be willing to help me when the time comes. I give way more referrals than I receive but that's part of the process. I get a real kick out of helping someone and it feels great when they tell me how much they appreciated my help.

I'm not talking about simply giving somebody a name and number and wishing them good luck. That's not a referral. If it were, I could just hand them a phone book and say - “Here's some companies that can solve your problem – have fun.” I actively facilitate an introduction. Sometimes I do it in person over coffee with both parties, but more often than not I send an email to each person with a short description of why they might find it beneficial to meet. Sometimes I'll call them to make the introduction – it depends on my time availability and the contact's preference. I like email because it is easy to include everybody's contact information.

Already this year I've made eleven introductions. And that feels pretty good.