If any of you are “A Christmas Carol” enthusiast you will recognize the phrase “A Toast to the Founder of the Feast” What does this mean in Business?  If you are a small business owner, you know how important networking and referrals are to the survival of a business.  Some businesses pay referrals, some just want to track the source of new business so they know how to spend their marketing dollars.  Whatever the reason, who is the founder of the feast?

I was talking to a potential client at networking events for 5 months.  A mutual friend recommended me to this potential client.  Did I find the client or did our mutual friend get credit for finding this client?

What if the referral is six degrees of separation away from the founder of the feast.  For example, Sally is looking for an IT person. Joe recommends Tom for IT services for ABC Corp, he says he can’t do it so Tom refers her to Tim and Tim says ABC Corp is too small a company, so Tim refers him to Sue and Sue says she can do it.  Who is the founder of the feast?  Without Joe no one would have known that Sally was looking for an IT person.  Does Joe deserve a referral fee? No big deal unless the contract is $100,000 with a 20% referral fee. Tim says he deserves it. Who’s right? Tom says he wants part of the action.

Sometimes it is hard to tell what really triggered the person to contact you.  Maybe they don’t even remember meeting you at a Chamber event.

Too often the founder of the feast is not recognized or ignored.  I say acknowledge the founder of the feast.  Without them you wouldn’t have the client.  Too many of us get so caught up in, “We did all the work.  All you did is give me their phone number.”  Anyone in business will tell it is not easy getting business.  That’s why people often ask, “How did you hear about us?”

Remember the founder of the feast, the contact and connection is just as important as the work.