Manners Make A Difference

For the past week I have given a lot of thought to networking because of Jason Alba's (www.jibberjobber.com) visit to Austin and the flurry of networking that he kicked up when he was in town. One thing that I think is really important to a successful networker is manners. That is right: simple manners. You know what I mean by manners. Say please and thank you. Follow up when you agree to research some information for someone. Return correspondence and phone calls in a timely fashion. Those manners.

For example, if someone sets up a meeting for you to meet one of his/her contacts you should send a thank-you note to both the person who set up the meeting and the new contact you made. I recently had occasion to set up a meeting between two business contacts. One of the two contacts was gracious and thankful that I arranged for them to meet. The other contact was dismissive and didn't bother with any thanks at all. Guess who I will go out of my way to help in the future? And guess who I won't put myself out for a second time?

I am a believer that you really can't say thank you too much. Sometimes you may wonder if a small favor really warrants a thank you note, email, or call. The answer is yes. Yes, say thank you for favors and kindnesses both small and large. It's good manners and it will also differentiate you from others. You would be surprised at how few people remember their manners on any kind of consistent basis. No one ever complained that someone else was "too polite" or "too gracious". When in doubt you should err on the side of too much gratitude rather than too little. Believe me it makes a difference.