One of the realizations I came to early on in my consulting practice was that I could not be everything for my clients, nor could I provide every service or product to my clients. The best thing I could do was accept that I couldn't be everything to everyone and instead focus on being a resource to people who have needs I can't fulfill. I know I can't fulfill all their needs directly because I don't have the expertise in every area they might need. And I don't need to. What I do need however is to be humble enough to accept what I don't know so that I can tell my client or someone I'm networking with that I don't know, but I do know someone who can help them. Then I need to put them in touch with each other and follow up to make sure the connection actually happens.
It's important to be a resource to your client and network. This means that you assemble a team of people that you can refer to and who can refer you as well. Having a team allows you to have an answer to the needs of your clients. It also tells your clients that you are looking out for them and making sure that they have the resources they need in order to do whatever it is they need to do. It's also important to be a resource because when people know that you can help them with a problem they have, then they will come to you with all their problems, which is a goo thing because then you can either help them directly or refer them to people who can help them.
Being a resource involves cultivating a state of mind that asks how you can help. You ask yourself who you can help and how you can help. Then when you met with people you ask them what they need or you look for opportunities to help. You choose to be a resource, to help people out because you want them to succeed and you let that form the basis of everything else you choose to do. By holding such a state of mind you learn to recognize when people need something. You pay closer attention to what people are saying and you ask questions most people won't ask because you want to understand what they need.
Most people have trouble finding out what other people need or referring them. The reason they have trouble is because they aren't used to thinking of other people or thinking of themselves as resources. However you can change that. Start asking people what they need. Then connect them to people you know who can help them. Start asking yourself who you can help and pay closer attention to people and what they are saying and doing. You'll become better at referring people and you'll become a resource to your community.
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