Last week 3 or 4 people emailed or called me to if I knew someone that could ______or if I could give them a couple of names of people that could help them with ___________.

I listened carefully, searched my database and of course was more than happy to see if I could help out. I’ve been in business for a long time (26 years and counting) and over this time I have met literally thousands of business people in all manner of businesses.

Many of these “contacts” have turned into trusted resources and are my “first line” when I get a call or email asking for help with a problem.

You see it’s a great feeling to be that go-to person that clients and contacts trust for names and referrals to all sorts of business owners. I take the responsibility very seriously and think long and hard before making any connection.

And, in the rare case that I don’t have a suitable contact in my own database, well then I have scores of people that I can turn to for their referrals and can then pass these names to my client.

Sure, being a go-to person is a responsibility but it also puts you in a pretty awesome position.

• People respect your contacts
• People view you as a TRUSTED business advisor/resource and not merely a vendor
• People understand you to be a “well-connected” business person
• People remember who you are
• People keep your contact information handy and are apt to refer you as well

But honestly, first and foremost, you want to be a go-to person because you know that you are helping someone and by finding the right resource for them, you are, in effect, helping two people and their businesses.

It’s a great feeling whether it comes back to you in spades or not.

So work hard to build your contacts and your reputation and strive to be that go-to person that everyone thinks knows everyone.