Introduce colleagues, so they succeed

I have been introduced to others in many ways over the years. My favourite two are:

1. “He’s the bald guy who bangs on about AFTERs all the time”
2. When someone forgot my name, she thought I was called Randy Burns

Nice.

I like these. Partly because they’re funny. But mainly because I can recover from them quickly! But what is harder to recover from are things like this:

1. “Andy is a salesperson” – which makes people think “Here we go. Smarmy salesperson.  I hate him”
2. “Andy is a consultant” – which causes many to think “Bless him. I wonder if he’ll tell me he’s ‘between jobs’”
3. Or, when someone introduced me to a multi-millionaire entrepreneur as “Andy’s an expert at presenting. He’ll be able to give you some tips on how you can improve”… this gentleman started our chat with “I believe you can improve me. Go on, then”

So, get introduced well, and we have a good chance of success. But get introduced badly, then we’re immediately on the back foot.

Which means introductions are critical:

1. How we introduce others
2. How they introduce us

Taking each in turn…

When you’re introducing a colleague to someone, focus on the AFTERs they cause.

(Yes, I’m banging on about AFTERs again! AFTERs are why the other person is better-off AFTER working with them)

For example, if you’re speaking to someone who wants to reduce their tax bill, you could say…

“My colleague is an expert at helping people like you reduce their tax bill. In fact, she recently helped someone reduce theirs by over £85,000. I will set up a meeting for the two of you – ok?”

Clearly, this is a lot better than “I know a tax accountant”.

There are three key bits of this intro:

1. The word “expert”
2. The AFTERs – reduce your tax bill
3. The success story – helping someone else save £85,000

And what about when someone is introducing you?

Ask them to use the above three things – “expert”, AFTERs and success story.

Give them example wording whenever you can.

I know it sounds over the top. But first impressions drive everything. And I do not want to start a conversation on the back foot – because someone has introduced you as a salesperson, a consultant or as Randy Burns.

Action Point

1. Identify your colleagues who you introduce to others. Create your intro sentence for them, including “expert”, AFTERs and success story. (Ask them which AFTERs/story to use?)
2. Identify the people who’ll be introducing you to others. When appropriate, ask that they introduce you using AFTERs and stories

Yes, this will help you, and your colleague. But it also helps the person you/they are meeting. After all, they’ll now know why they’ll be better-off AFTER meeting you, and have a success story which proves you can take them there.