Networking 101 - Taking Responsibility

Networking 101 - Taking Responsibility

By Nikki Viljoen of N Viljoen Consulting CC. February 2010

In his article entitled “Not Getting The Referrals You Want . . . Then It’s All Your Fault”, Dr Ivan Misner, puts the blame squarely at your feet and quite honestly I agree with him.

To continue where we left off last time:

Logically speaking, you need to take responsibility if your Network is not referring you.  Have a look at what it is that you are doing incorrectly or not doing at all.  Look at things like – are you teaching them about who you are and what it is that you do?  Do you come across as passionate about what it is that you do or sell?

Whilst many individuals are often very reluctant to accept responsibility, my Life Coach Vanessa Rothquel is adamant when she says “You are responsible for creating your own reality” and I agree with her totally.  I would even venture to take it one step further and say that you are also responsible for the actions that people around you, take on your behalf.  After all you are the one who ‘chooses’ to have those people around you, you are the one that interacts with them and you are the one that gives them the information that they convey to others, about your business.  Therefore it stands to reason that if something goes wrong or if you are not getting the referrals, it’s because of something that you yourself have overlooked.

It is said that one of the greatest strengths of a referral network is that ‘everyone becomes friends’ and on many levels this is true, but your also need to be aware of the fact that one of the biggest weaknesses of a referral network is that ‘everyone becomes friends’.  Taking responsibility for what your role is in the process and being accountable for what happens is the only way to ensure the success of the process

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za  or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za