Why Business Introductions Matter

• Be Concise & Only Include Relevant Information: Whether you are introducing someone else or yourself, keep your intro short and include relevant information like the name of your company and a maximum of one sentence that encapsulates what it does.

• Keep in mind Business Ranks: In Business, seniority and context matter. Always introduce people based on this hierarchy instead of focusing on superficial qualities like age or gender. If an individual is visiting your company, be sure to give them preference rather than introducing the internal team that you work with first.

• Respond Briefly to Cordial Greetings: When meeting a person for the first time in any scenarios- business or otherwise, there are often cordial greetings shared like “Nice to Meet You” or “How are you today?” These are shared purely for the sake of courtesy, it is important that you respond in kind and do not make any attempt to monopolize the conversation from that point.

• Don’t Start Selling: A definite conversation and relationship killer is to go directly to selling your product or service as soon as the introduction is made. Rather than generating a lead from the conversation, the aim of your introduction is to build a foundation for a future relationship.

• Be Memorable: We conduct several interactions on a daily basis, therefore when making a business introduction it is important that you are memorable. The key to doing this is to present a short statement on what you do, focusing on outcomes rather than procedures. You need to make an impression that sticks with the others in the conversation without being overbearing.

• Do Your Research: Business meetings hardly ever happen by chance, this gives you the opportunity to be prepared. Doing your prep work will allow you to create the best possible impression and create value from the introduction for all parties concerned.

• Finish Strong: If all parties concerned know what they are looking for from the relationship, then it is your job as the person performing the introduction to ensure that the discussions are fruitful. Finish your introduction on a strong note so that it forms a good foundation for the activities that follow.