It’s said that you never have to worry about being without when you focus on giving to others. Take the focus off yourself and be of service to those around you. It’s a simple concept but do most of us do this on a regular basis? Dr. Ivan Misner, the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization, has a very simple motto: “Givers Gain”, and this is the foundation and cornerstone that drives the success of his organization.
Living in our current society, there seems to be a recurrent theme. People often think, “What’s in it for me?” or “What do I have to do to beat the competition?” It has become a foreign concept to look out for the other person but that’s exactly what we need to do to bring about more success among today’s networking professionals.
What would happen if we began shifting our focus on learning more about and looking out for our networking partners best interests instead of just our own? Real relationships would begin to form. Increased trust between networking partners would begin to occur. This law of reciprocity would bring about the passing of quality referrals received with such gratitude and excitement that giving back in return would become a common place occurrence.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that this happens quickly or easily because it’s a process that requires hard work and diligence. It begins with setting up meetings to get to know your networking partners and their businesses. It involves sharing ideas on how you can work together and educate each other on how to identify opportunities to refer. It takes time and effort to develop these relationships but once you’ve established a group of trusted networking partners who know you, understand your business, and are looking out for opportunities to refer to you, you’ll be surprised how your business will grow and how good it makes you feel.
In the words of Dr. Misner, “By applying the Givers Gain philosophy, you will make your referral relationships relational rather than transactional and find success in this relationship…The way to start the process is to give.”
