The Dating Game!

The first date ... oh what a wonderful rite of passage! Remember the awkward feeling of not quite knowing what to say or what to do or exactly how to act? The anxiety in the air was thick as pudding! Little voices of doubt were screaming in your ear ... "Will he/she like me? Will I make a fool of myself? What if I say something stupid? Will I make him/her look like a fool? This is so uncomfortable!"

This week in my Certified Networker course, we were discussing recruiting and qualifying a referral partner when someone said ... it's kinda like dating! The more I thought about it, they were right ... and on a much bigger scale as well.

Think about how awkard the relationships are in business when you first meet people. As you develop relationships into referral partnerships, there is a stage of anxiety as well. Your referral partner needs to gain confidence in referring you. The little voices in their heads are shouting nearly the same things as mentioned above! The weight falls on YOU to build their confidence. You need to dedicate the time and energy to train your referral partner on how to best refer you. You need to make it easy for them ... if you don't, quite frankly, the little voices will win ... and their anxiety will keep them from talking about you in a confident manner ... thereby significantly minimizing the referrals you will gain from that person.

So ... consider finding referral partners like dating. Choose the right person ... get them past the awkward stage ... ease the anxiety ... ultimately the relationship will become comfortable and to the point of completing each other's sentences.