There’s a phrase I’ve heard a few times:
You’ll only work with people you know, like, and trust.
And after a year of freelancing and building my brand and business, I’m fully convinced of the truth of that statement. Since I’ve been on my own, I’ve met quite a few people. And I’m not working with them all. Nor should I.
This article will explain the 7 different people you meet while networking and demonstrate why they’re not right for you. Whether you want to work with someone is all based on combinations of knowing, liking, and trusting them.
1. People you KNOW, but don’t LIKE or TRUST.
It’s easy to meet people. Walk up to them, stick out a hand, and say, “Hi, I’m Stephan.” Have a 3-minute conversation, and you’ll know someone.
But you might not like them, or trust them. You might not like their business – perhaps they recycle old tired into playground cover material, and you are adamant that those old tires should be burnt. And you might not trust them, either, to do what they say they’re going to do. Perhaps that’s because you saw a LinkedIn endorsement that says “Hey, K. is a fabulous real estate agent,” and one from just a month before that says “K. Is the most awesome kindergarten teacher in the county.” If you see that, do you trust that K. is now going to be dedicated to your cause of IT recruiting?
Who knows, which is why K. is someone you might not trust. And so you’re not going to work with her. She’s just as likely to come in tomorrow as to leave you high and dry. And you can’t afford downtime like that.
2. People you LIKE, but don’t KNOW or TRUST
This category is for people in the public eye who align with your goals, but you don’t know them personally. YouTube stars, television celebrities, paid endorsers of one kind or another. Even local celebrities of one kind or another. Or to put it more blunt: “St. Louis Famous.” They might champion causes you agree with. You might know these [Your City Here] Famous people, but you probably won’t agree to do business with them. If they were to approach you with an opportunity, you’d politely decline.
Why? Because you don’t know them or trust them. You don’t know them because it’s hard to get to know them. It’s hard to understand whether these people really like you, too, or if it’s an act. They’re pretty good at the act, which is usually how they got to be however famous they are, and because of that it will take a longer time to get there.
3. People you TRUST, but don’t KNOW or LIKE
These are, again, people with reputations, but not the kind you want to be associated with. In the political world, they might be the Koch Brothers (on the right) or labor unions (on the left). The point is, you TRUST them to live out certain values, but you don’t like what values they espouse. So why would you want to do business with them?
More personally, this might be people you meet who just rub you the wrong way. Maybe you hear about them from another in your networking group. Maybe you read an article they’re featured in and decide, “Yeah, not worth my time.” However you learn about them, it’s clear you’re not going to be seeking them out.
So that’s all the people who only fit one category. What about those who fit 2?
4. People you KNOW and LIKE, but don’t TRUST
This is your lazy friend from high school. You know, the one who’s always promising to pay you back next Tuesday for a hamburger today. [Somebody get that reference!] When you see these people, you like them. You’ve hung out with them. You’ve joked around and kidded with them.
But, in the end, you realize that they’re just not going to follow through on what they said. They’ll promise one thing and fail to deliver. Then they’ll try to convince you that it wasn’t their fault, that something else got in the way, and that you should give them just one more chance. Please! They’re good for it.
And if you agree, they’ll fail you once more. For going against what you know you should do, you deserve that one.
5. People you KNOW and LIKE, but don’t TRUST
So who falls into this category? These are the people who have parallel non-business interests as you. They could be intelligent, well-read, travel in the same social circles as you do, and have similar hobbies. It wouldn’t be surprising to find many in this world like that. So what’s the problem?
Mostly it’s people who have different goals than you do. They might be trying to build your next new competitor. Or they might be trying to take down one of your current business partners. Perhaps they just got a new contract that’s going to squeeze your supply chain and potentially put you out of business. Not a good fit.
The fact that their goals don’t align with yours mean that you can’t trust them to do business together. They might say that they would be able to handle a conflict of interest, but when it comes down to it, we’re all going to look out for ourselves. We might say we’d act independently. In reality, though, we’re more likely to perform in ways which further our own vested self-interest. Same goes for them. Steer clear.
6. People you LIKE and TRUST, but don’t KNOW
These are the celebrities (local, regional, national, or international names) who are perfect for you. They align with your brand, your goals, and your ways of doing business.
The only problem is that you can’t talk to them. You don’t know them! You want to, and you want to be able to have that relationship. So you send a dozen e-mails one week, and call every day the next, and even blog about your future perfect partnership, calling them out and tagging on every social media platform. But you just can’t get any traction.
Because to them, you’re just another face in the crowd. You’ll need some way to stand out. And until you do, until you have that one-on-one connection, probably from someone who already knows the two of you and can bring you together, it’s going to remain just a dream.
And that brings us to your ideal business partner:
7. People you KNOW, LIKE, and TRUST
It’s been said before, and it will be said again, but these are your ideal business or referral partners. These are the people who are aligned with you, your goals, and the way you do business.
And it doesn’t even mean they’ll be your clients, or vice versa. These could be referral partners who know you, know your business, and what you’re trying to do. They could be simply advocates for you, and provide you a good little testimonial or endorsement. They could write you a LinkedIn recommendation. [I just did that today! Three months late, but who’s counting?] There’s lots of different ways to maximize this relationship.
The point is, you’ll have lots of connections. You might not be able to immediately figure out which category people will fall into when you first meet them. Give it time. Don’t rush it, because mistakes could hurt your bottom line and your reputation. But when you find those that you know, like, and trust, you’ll both be better off for it.
In Conclusion
You’ll run across many of these 7 people when you’re out building a business, no matter what that business is, and no matter whether that business is for-profit or not-for-profit. You’ll even meet these people in your personal relationships, or you might find them in a governing body like your city council. You’ll meet all of them at one point or another, and eventually you’ll see that they’re not all wrong.
They’re just not all right.