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Matchmaking Is The Key To Networking Success

There seems to be a bit of confusion over my post, The Secret to Networking Successfully.

I wrote that the secret to networking successfully is simple:

Know What People Have To Offer and Know What People Need

The post was brief (perhaps too brief!) but it’s all about connecting other people together by matching them up. When you know what people are offering, and you know what people need, you’re able to bring them together. It’s not about selling people on your services/products or being sold – you’re playing matchmaker.

And matchmaking is uber-powerful when it comes to networking because it:

  • Keeps you in touch with people
  • Raises your profile
  • Leads others to reciprocate
  • Boosts your networking karma

The idea of network matchmaking is summed up very nicely in this email message (just a sample of what I might send):

Dear Bob,

I hope you’re doing well. It was great speaking with you the other day, and I wish you the best with your new project.

I wanted to introduce you to Leslie (who is cc:’d on this email.) She’s a great graphic designer that I met a few years ago, and I’m confident she could help you out with your project. Her blog is at http://www.greatgraphicdesigner.com. I spoke to her briefly about what you’re doing and it’s right up her alley.

Her email address is leslie@greatgraphicdesigner.com.

Let me know if it works out and if I can help out in any other way.

Sincerely,

Ben

Short, sweet and to-the-point. You’ve just connected two people that need each other. You have put your reputation on the line (so do this cautiously) but even if it doesn’t work out you’ve gained bonus points with Bob and Leslie. They’ll appreciate the effort, thought and willingness to take some time out of your day to connect them.

  1. Know What People Need.
  2. Know What People Have To Offer.
  3. Match ‘em Up!

Entrepreneurs Unite! Let’s Do Breakfast in Montreal

My friend Julien Smith has one of the most popular podcasts around, and he’s an opinionated fellow when it comes to doing good and connecting.

Julien feels there’s not enough community-driven things going on in Montreal. He unleashed a hailstorm of comments from people with opinions across the board. Many people disagreed, saying that the community is strong, vibrant and active.

Here’s my take – Montreal has a lot going on. But, there is a disconnect. That disconnect lies between the various groups of people in the technology space doing things for different reasons. Some are working exclusively on non-profit projects, others are more business-focused. Some do it for the art, others do it for the money. And, with a smaller city, you do get pockets of expertise – programmers in their Linux User Group meetings, artists collecting at art galleries, entrepreneurs…well…

Hugh McGuire (great guy behind LibriVox and blogging at dose) hits the nail on the head:

I have been around the world, and Montreal has something very particular, but also less cash and less alpha attack (maybe because of that). For me that’s a good thing: rents are cheap, people do art for art, and not to make a name for themselves (see what it’s like in NYC). (on the downside, no one can sell anything here).

A few things stand out there:

  • less alpha attack – that’s bad.
  • people do art for art – that’s good, but when art and business come together it’s even better.
  • no one can sell anything – that’s bad.

The problem doesn’t lie with artists, technologists, a lack of resources, people too spread out (although it wouldn’t hurt to be geographically focused), etc. The problem is a lack of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial spirit.

When entrepreneurs get together magic can happen. Ideas are exchanged. The right questions are asked. People help each other more.

We need more entrepreneurs.

We need to bring them together on a regular basis, to share ideas, goals, contacts, leads, etc.

With that in mind, I’m proposing a weekly (or regularly scheduled) breakfast meeting for every entrepreneur out there doing something in the technology space. That’s a broad swath; from social media experts to hardcore geeks to business people in the Web world…If you’re an entrepreneur in the technology space in Montreal, you should attend.

Breakfast is easier for me (I got a young kid at home!) and meeting up with everyone would be a great way to start any day. How about Wednesday? Thursday? (I’m flexible on location.)

If others are interested, I’d also propose we think about ways of connecting at the breakfast. I don’t think we need to play musical chairs or introduce each other in a kumbaya circle, but what if each of us asked everyone else casually in conversation, “Is there any way I can help you out?”

I wonder what kinds of connections we’d create then.

So, anyone interested? Fellow entrepreneurs…you folks out there?

(PS. If you’re counting, I’m going to use this effort to cross off one of Ron McDaniel’s buzz marketing challenges. Ron suggests that you arrange a networking lunch. He recommends inviting 2 or 3 people together that don’t know each other. To help kickstart the idea, meet with 1 person and ask them who they’d like to meet. Then call up the 2nd person and bring ‘em together. I think this is insanely cool and powerful. My networking breakfast isn’t quite the same, but it should still bring people together that don’t know each other!)

Create a 3-D Product Box Easily With Photoshop

It’s always a good idea to include images on your site, landing page or online sales letter. I’ve seen studies done on the effectiveness of landing pages (although I don’t have a reference to point you to right now) that indicate the use of images is very important.

I think this is even more critical when selling a non-tangible item, something people won’t touch and feel.

For example – you might be selling software that’s dowloaded or hosted, so the client never gets any actual software box. Or e-books, white papers, audio books, etc. — all great examples of items that might not have a physical component to them, but benefit from the use of an image.

People like to see what they’re buying.

I wanted to create a 3-D Product Box for my business blogging site precisely for that reason. To give people a more tangible feeling, to show them that my services include documentation. I think it adds a more comfortable feeling to the site and my approach.

Creating the 3-D Product Box is quite easy using Photoshop, and I found a very helpful guide: Create a Product Box in Photoshop.

If you’ve got a bit of experience with Photoshop this should be very straightforward. I did have to fiddle around with the final steps regarding the shadow behind the box, otherwise they were spot on.

Admittedly, my example above isn’t great – the text isn’t ultra-clear and the URL is totally lost. But I did it quickly as a demonstration – work a bit more with the colors, layout, fonts, etc. – and you can produce a 3-D Product Box that is extremely clear, easy to read and effective at giving people an image of what you’re selling.

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About Ben Yoskovitz
I recently joined GoInstant as VP Product. GoInstant changes how we use the web, making it shareable like never before.

I'm also a Founding Partner at Year One Labs, an early stage accelerator in Montreal. Previously I founded Standout Jobs (and sold it). I'm a hands-on startup guy, helping companies grow successfully from the idea forward. You can reach me at byosko at gmail dot com.

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The opinions and commentary on this site are mine and mine alone. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of my employer, GoInstant.

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