Making Professional Introductions for Others

Okay, my blog, so I get to do a little horn tooting - I'll get it over with now. This week, I had a client send me a testimonial about the professional networking services I provided while they were in pre-launch on a project. Here's what he sent...

"Mary has made a big impact on our start-up business, creating a beach-head into the industry we’re targeting by giving us a ready-made network to tap with our sales efforts and early partnerships. She connected us with a range of games publishers and developers within a matter of weeks, including some of the biggest in the industry, such as Ubisoft and IO Interactive. Her energy and intelligence, especially in applying the latest social media tools, meant a great return on our investment. As a bonus, Mary consistently provided proactive advice and feedback which was truly valuable. We look forward to continuing a long partnership together!"

Robert Yuen on behalf of the entire team at Live Social

The thought occurred to me this week after finding myself explaining professional networking services to several who were considering the service, that this whole whole thing is really a new field. Professionals who seek out types of people for clients and generate introductions are not terribly rare - recruiters have been doing it for years. But, to develop social media for a client (ground-up) and mine/filter for collaborations, channel partners, publicity opps, and prospects...hmmn kinda new, I think.

So, I did a little research to see what was out there on the net. Let me get clear before I share with you what I found - I'm not talking about general social media management. I'm talking about actually looking for specific types or (as I call them - persons of interest) on a client's behalf and starting the relationship development to the point where an introduction to the client is negotiated. No affiliate marketing programs...no paid referral plans.
That said...here's what I found. Get ready... nothing!

I really found nothing. Seems like some time ago I saw article on someone in NY who was offering professional networking services, but, alas, I cannot find it now. I didn't conduct an exhaustive search, but I did spend twenty good minutes exploring.

I know that some of you reading this are actually raising your hands and saying out loud..."I do this! I connected a client last week to someone who wants to lead-share with them." You qualify as a professional networker - absolutely. During the course of service delivery, you make a connection with a resource or prospect for your client and pass it on as part of your contract. You get paid -- client makes a contact he would not otherwise have had. Voila. Simple. But, not really.

To be a pro-you need amazing networking skills that you can translate within social media. Do that with results and you've got yourself some "uniqueness." Finding a way to claim that skill and make it work either with existing services or as a stand-alone is the key.

Since there is so little hard-core information out there on professional networking, and because I'm a sharing sort...I've done something. I've started a group on Linkedin called Professional Introductions.Happy to include you if you find yourself a fitter.

Since the last thing any of us needs is one more thing on our "we must pay attention to this" list, let me assure you that I won't be at you non-stop. This is a networking and resource group. Drop in and ask about fee structures or shop the group to see who might be up for a collaboration. Perhaps you hold the key to someone else in need of a good contact or vice versa. I know I'll be looking for guest blog posters, people with great connections in the game industry, Twitterers with a nice following, and internal corporate types who network heavily.

I'm all about viz - so my first order of business is to offer group members a little of that, so check it out. Here's the link to the group again, in case you missed. Professional Introductions Group on Linkedin

Look forward to meeting you there, unless you'd like to leave me a message here.