Earlier this year, I participated in a speed networking exercise through my business networking group ProVisors. The mantra at ProVisors is Know Like Trust Refer.  This exercise was one of the many ways we have invested time in ProVisors meetings in trying to learn more about each other so we can get to know each other on a professional and personal level.

The goal, of course, is to get to know each other in a way that makes us feel comfortable giving referrals. While most of us seek out competent professionals when someone we know have a need that we cannot fulfill, in truth, it is much easier to identify someone we like and who we trust.

Since by definition, a competent professional has a skill set that we lack, often our decision to make a referral is not based on our professional assessment of that individual’s skill.  Do we really know that someone is a good CPA if the Internal Revenue Code puts us to sleep?

Getting to know more about people on a professional and personal level is the way to build our network and ultimately our referrals.  What I really like about this exercise is that it lays out in a long list, potential areas inquiry.

To read the rest of the article and see the questions, click here.