If there is one thing I would have loved to learn during my MBA, it’s how to make a proper business introduction.
When I returned to Montreal after having spent several years in the US, in particular in Boston and Silicon Valley, I had a very small professional network in Quebec.
As a young entrepreneur, I quickly realized that without a network, it would be much slower and more difficult to complete my business project. Over the past few years, I have worked to build a network to help me. In doing so, I discovered the best way to improve my network: making quality business introductions.
Why? It’s very simple. By helping others achieve their goals, the people in your network will want to help you more to achieve your own.
The multiplier effect
Therefore, in the future, instead of doing the work on your project alone, you will have dozens or hundreds of supporters who will keep their eyes open for you! It has a great multiplier effect.
Employee or entrepreneur, everyone has a professional goal, and there are two choices. The first is to focus only on your own goals. In my opinion, it’s a rather myopic, short-term view of business. The second is to take a few minutes from time to time to help others achieve theirs.
Making introductions is profitable over the long-term. It is also very consistent with my personal philosophy on life. I believe strongly in the notion of giving before receiving. By being genuinely interested in others, people will be genuinely interested in you. For this reason, I will sometimes make dozens of business introductions a week without expecting anything in return.
Making great introductions
So how exactly do you go about making a business introduction by email?
Here’s an example:
“Julie: As discussed, this is Marc. Marc is a very good friend of mine, and a seasoned entrepreneur who has started several companies in the gaming sector.
Marc: This is Julie, a pleasant young entrepreneur that I met at a networking event last week. Julie is looking to start-up a new video game company and would like to meet other entrepreneurs in this sector. Like you, she’s also a graduate of Concordia!
I will let you both get in touch with each other if mutual interest.”
Introductions can also be used to introduce customers, suppliers, employees, investors, partners or potential business associates.
Here are 3 things to keep in mind:
- Provide enough context: Keep your introduction short while providing enough context so both parties will know how to proceed. It’s often useful to indicate how long you’ve known the two parties (a longtime friend vs. a new contact).
- Include profiles: I often like to include links to each party’s LinkedIn profile. This way, if one of the parties would like to do a little research on the other before initiating the conversation, this work is made easier.
- Reply but delete the original sender: When one of the two parties responds to the introduction, the etiquette would be to “reply all” to notify the original sender that you did indeed receive the introduction, by putting them in blind carbon copy (bcc). If the introduction is successful, the conversation may involve many additional emails between the two parties that are not necessarily relevant to the original sender.
However, here are 3 mistakes to avoid:
- Making too many introductions: The goal is not to make as many introductions as possible to connect everyone, but rather to make quality introductions. Each intro takes time from everyone involved, so make sure your introduction counts!
- Committing one of the parties: It is important to avoid committing one party to another, sometimes without even realizing it. For example, I would be careful about adding a sentence like “This is Marc, a seasoned entrepreneur who would be glad to meet you to discuss your project”. The decision to meet Julie belongs entirely to Marc. By deciding for him, you make it more difficult for Marc to decline.
- Connecting blindly: In many cases it’s better to take time to qualify an introduction before doing so, especially when one of the parties is a highly sought person who already receives many introductions each week. It is better to ask this person if it is OK to present someone to them.
Making good business introductions is an art. That said, it’s an art that can be learned with practice. The key is to always do it with the utmost respect for both parties without expecting anything in return.
Good karma
We often say that it’s a “small world “. This is true, especially in Quebec! But when I started to make introductions, I realized, in theory, to what extent many people should be connected (because of their shared interests or their collaboration potential) often were not!
The more people who want to meet and who do so quickly, the faster projects will take off. Connecting people around us is also good for our business ecosystem.
So, Quebec Inc., are you ready for a challenge? Should we all make a quality introduction this week to accelerate the success of someone in our entourage? I can promise you, it will come back to you in time.
[Note: This article was originally published in Les Affaires.]
Source: Photo.