Will Ya' Get a Business Card

OK, right up front here I am going to admit that I have broken some very important rules of networking in the past and will probably do so in the future.  Just last week, I forgot to take my phone in to a networking event and thus didn't have my calendar with me.  Notice, the word FORGOT.  I had brought a guest with me and we were busy talking.  At least that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

So with that being said, I want to talk about a networker who made a conscious decision to not allow others to get back to her.  This person gave me her card and asked me to sign her up for our upcoming course preview.  I told her that I would be happy to do so and would send her the details via email if she would give me her card.  She did.  I didn't look at it.  Bad girl.  Both of us.

Later, I started to react to my promise with the aforementioned card.  All the information on the card front had been scratched out except for her name.  On the back she had written the URL of her multi-level marketing site, which I did visit in the hopes of getting a way to contact her.  It was just a general site with no apparent way to make that connection.

This person made a conscious decision to make it impossible for others to connect with her.  I have absolutely no reason why she would have done this, other than this might have been her subtle way of getting people to her website so they would purchase from her.

WRONG!

What do you think?

PS.  The card is now going in the trash so I won't have to obsess over it any more!

PPS.  I am not the only one she shared cards with as another networker made a comment to me about the same issue with this person.

Givng but not Getting

A couple months ago I received a call from someone I didn't know, but they used the name of someone I did.  This new person we'll call Herb, wanted to schedule an appointment with me.  I very carefully explained that I was not interested in what he was selling, but that I would be happy to meet to see if there might be a way I could help.

The day of the appointment he was very appropriate and likable.  I could think of several of my acquaintences that would be good connections  for him.  I have since taken my time to make those personal introductions happen, three different times.

Also, I happened to meet another new person, let's call her Sally, who would benefit from meeting Herb, so I asked Herb to come to a networking event where Sally was going to be.  Herb agreed.  At the last minute Herb bowed out.  "Something had come up."  Herb also asked me to save him a seat in a preview that we give of our course, which is basically two free hours of training. I'm sure you've guessed it, last minute, "Oh gosh darn, something has come up."

While I meet new people with no expectation, when I go the extra mile to help them, I expect that they will want to enter into the concept of giving back to others, too. 

Is this too much to ask?