I was speaking with a client recently, who mentioned casually, “And I’ll be meeting a colleague to do some networking, and exchange free sessions with them.”
And I was all like, “Whoa… hold it a second, what did you say there?”
I know it’s super common in the professional services/healing world to do the whole “Let’s exchange free sessions so we know each other’s work and can refer folks.”
I actually want to advise against doing that. Please. There are some very specific reasons not to, and something better, and way more efficient, to do instead.
Here’s the video:
What’s your experience with networking? Have I convinced you to stop exchanging free sessions? Questions? Pushback?
With love,
Mark Silver, M.Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.
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4 Responses
Great summary, thanks Mark!
I understand why this is important, and I agree in general. I guess the only push back I might have would be what if the reason you are doing a session exchange is more about bartering for services between the two parties? Would you still feel the same way about those kinds of b2b exchanges? Thanks, Mark.
Great tips. That really clarifies a murky issues. I love quick coffees with people that I meet via Linkedin. It is a way of quickly finding new colleagues. Thanks for your tips. Best Deborah
Great stuff, Mark. I think you’re spot on. Having been one to do networking trades many times over the years, I agree that it rarely turns into a referral source. And it often is not a good fit, as you said. On the other hand, I am very reluctant to refer clients to someone with whom I have no experience of their work. In healing work, the quality of the practitioner’s work and ethics can vary dramatically and a high-quality marketing plan is no guarantee. Honestly, I have pretty high standards and it’s hard to find someone that I feel comfortable making referrals to. I really like your idea to talk about client work and sharing specific examples of how my work has helped clients! Definitely would likely bring in more referrals because it helps the other person understand who you can best serve.