Five Ways to Burn Bridges with Your Network

Building and managing your network is something that you should take very serious.  Your network is your own personal asset that you can keep with you no matter where you work. Guard it very carefully. With that said, make sure that you don’t do anything to cast a negative shadow on yourself or to burn any bridges with anyone.

Below are five ways to burn bridges with your network

1. Only speak about yourself – You should show an interest in others as well. Otherwise, people will think that you are too self-centered.

2. Don’t reciprocate with referrals/introductions – If you get referrals/introductions, then you need to reciprocate. Otherwise, you will be seen as only a taker.

3. Don’t lie or misrepresent the truth – Be honest at all times. If you lie to people about who you are and what you have done, then you will eventually be found out.

4. Treat others with disrespect – Be careful not to treat people who you know or their referrals with any disrespect. By doing so, your brand will be hurt.

5. Constantly selling your services/products – You should focus on building relationships not selling your services/products. Over time, people will buy from you but not only they get to know you.

Related post: Seven Ways to Ruin a Relationship.

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Comments

[Tony Miller]

6. Ignore emails or phone calls. If you meet someone at a network function, more than likely, they will follow up with you with a kind "nice to meet you" email. If you do not respond, the sender will feel snubbed. If the email is a pitch for an appointment, you should graciously write back and nicely refuse. You get more respect than ignoring it. By ignoring someone, it makes you look like a coward. Why would anyone give a coward a referral in the future? They feel that if you ignore me, then what if you ignore the lead I am giving you?

[Jason Jacobsohn]

Great additional point Tony. I can't tell you how bothersome it is to me when people doesn't respond to my emails or phone calls. It sets a bad taste in my mouth for these people.