I attended a BNI visitor day recently, where the Regional Director lauded the philosophy of ‘givers gain’: “If I give you business, you’ll want to give me business”.
I approve of the sentiment but not the way he expressed it. Sometimes you refer business to one person and someone else refers business back to you. It’s not always a direct exchange.
But things got worse.
In the so-called ‘positive contribution’ session, this same Regional Director waved a referral slip in the air while saying the equivalent of: “Dear Mr Guest, I have a fabulous referral here for you; it’s exactly what you asked for in your 1-minute pitch. All you have to do is fill in the application form and pay whatever-hundred pounds to join today, and I’ll be more than happy to pass it over to you”.
Hmm. If givers really do gain, surely you should simply give with an open heart and no strings attached?
That’s the way I do it, and it works for me!