As advice blog The Art of Manliness explains, most people tend to network with the idea of building their own contact list and finding opportunities for themselves. By connecting your contacts with each other...
Everybody wins: It’s rare there’s a “win-win-win,” but if anything qualifies, it’s making introductions (when they’re done in the right way!). The people you introduce benefit in that they’ve just met someone new. Your recipients are grateful to you and will probably repay the favor one day. And everyone benefits from a more connected world where resources and professionals have stronger ties.
It’s unique, and will help you stand out: It is rare these days for people to take the time to make introductions, which is why it can be very memorable. Johnson says making introductions helps you stand out in a sea of competition. When you make introductions, “people remember you,” says Johnson. “It’s a way to tell two people three things: I like you both. I am thinking of you. I vouch for you.”
Introductions help you strengthen your weak ties: As Gladwell demonstrated in The Tipping Point, there is great power in your weak ties. You can use introductions as a tool for reconnecting with and strengthening relationships with these weak ties.
Rather than sending a lame “Just checking in!” email to a weak tie you haven’t spoken to in months or years, use the opportunity to introduce your weak tie to someone else who they might enjoy meeting. It’s a much more powerful way to reconnect, and your weak tie will be more likely to help you in return.
Society as a whole benefits. Apple computer wouldn’t exist if Bill Fernandez hadn’t introduced Steve Jobs to Steve Wozniak.The Beatles would never have recorded a note if Ivan Vaughan hadn’t introduced Paul McCartney to John Lennon.
And where would we be if someone hadn’t introduced Daryl Hall to John Oates? I don’t know about you, but I can’t go for that. No can do.
How to make introductions in 5 simple steps
Using just five very simple and easy steps, you can make doing introductions a habit, and both you and your connections will benefit.
Step 1: Identify Your High-Value Contacts
Doing introductions can be time consuming, so it’s valuable to focus on people who matter to you. In other words, it’s best to spend your time connecting people who you would like to deepen your relationship with and who are going to greatly benefit from your introductions.
This is a great way to follow up and deepen the relationship after having forged an initial relationship.
Step 2: Be on the Lookout for Introduction Opportunities
The second step is to always be alert for opportunities to make an introduction. Chris Johnson says this doesn’t mean he has to constantly rack his brain for people to introduce, “It’s a reflex. I try hard to remember my network, and remember what they do. I try hard to ask people if there’s any introduction I can make.”
You don’t have to have a complex system. It just takes a little forethought and time.
In addition, you have to make sure the value in the introduction is reciprocal. It's better to introduce two people who can provide equal value to one another. When in doubt, check first to see if your introduction recipients actually want the introduction. They may not. If you don’t check first, you may just create an unwanted, drive-by introduction that burns bridges rather than builds them. The last thing you want is your introduction recipients feeling burdened rather than benefited by the introduction sitting in their inbox, even if it was unintentional.
Step 3: Use Tools to Make Introductions a Regular Habit
Like anything, in order to make a pattern stick, you have to make it a habit. To make introducing people a habit, I use a couple of simple tools:
A Calendar
One of the most powerful tools for creating any regular habit is the most simple: adding a repeating reminder on your calendar. Give and Take author Grant uses this approach for reconnecting with his “dormant ties” — people who you used to know, but with whom you’ve lost touch. “I added a repeating reminder to my calendar: reconnect with at least one dormant tie each month,” he wrote in The Huffington Post.
A Relationship-Management Program
I use a CRM program called Contactually for managing relationships, in part because it sends me reminders to follow up with people who I haven’t communicated with in a long time. When I receive these reminders, I then think about someone I can introduce them to. By doing so, I give them something of value and I don’t look like I’m just reconnecting for the purpose of trying to get something out of them.
Step 4: Make the Introduction Brief, Relevant, and Fun
A non-urgent introduction can quickly fall to the bottom of the priority list, especially if the people you are introducing are busy, successful professionals. So you have to explain clearly why your introduction matters. That’s why I try to make my introductions brief and to the point. I want to be respectful of others’ time, which is why I aim to clearly articulate anything the two people I am introducing have in common.
Be wary when introducing very successful, very busy people who likely are the recipient of many introductions of dubious value. The last thing you want to do is create awkwardness by introducing a very successful and very busy person to someone who provides little value in return.
Step 5: Follow Up Later
Finally, follow up with the people you introduce a few weeks or months later to be sure they connected. Oftentimes people get busy and they simply forget to follow through on the introduction you made. Introductions may simply get lost, or overlooked. That’s why it’s best to have a system for tracking the introductions you do.
Get Started Making Introductions Today!
When it comes to making introductions, you have to play the long game. You can’t expect introductions to immediately turn into money in your pocket. As both Walsh and Johnson demonstrated, introductions will pay off if you do it consistently.
If I look back at my career, nearly every job I ever had came thanks to an introduction. From waiting tables at a BBQ restaurant during high school to working at the White House, someone stuck their neck out for me and introduced me. Even today, the majority of my clients come via an introduction from a mutual acquaintance or friend.
That’s why I believe giving back by making introductions is so important. Not simply because it is financially rewarding for all involved, but because a small investment of your time can make a massive difference. Your introduction can literally alter the course of a person’s life.
Source // Lifehacker
