This is Stevea Robbins.

Welcome to the Get It Done guys quick and dirty tips to work less and do more.

Enjoy the delicious at naturebox.com slash QDT.

I recently spent some time talking with Joanne Black, author of Pick Up the Phone, a book on relationship-based selling.

It got me thinking, in high school, everything got

done via the gossip network. Nicole told Ron, Ron told Rebecca, who told Claudia, who told EJ, who told

Reggie, who told Steph, who told Christina, who told John, who told Mark, who told Pat, who told

Michael Feedback, Sean Rana Flex Buckley, who told me. Joanne, not Joanne from my high school, Joanne the sales expert, pointed out that

the same thing is true in the so-called grown-up world, only it's not gossip. It's referrals.

Once you're past college, most things happen by referral. You'll be using referrals to get

informational interviews when job hunting, to find interviews for specific jobs, to find customers

for your products, donors for your nonprofit, and even a new schmoopee when the old one dumps you for an up-and-coming

Italian fashion designer. Referrals are delicate, though. You must handle them properly,

or you can accidentally burn bridges. When you're being referred, it's usually by a friend.

Maybe Boris, maybe Natasha. For convenience, we'll just call your friend the Russian. The Russian

has agreed to provide an introduction to Incredible Person. Before you make contact, do your research.

Google Incredible Person and find out everything you can. You'll be asking a lot of questions,

and you may be surprised to learn that in a referral

situation, it's not about you at all. No one wants to hear about you and how amazing you are.

We want to talk about us and how amazing we are. So you'll need to know about Incredible

person so that you can ask good questions that go deep fast. Ask the Russian for information

about Incredible Person. How should you

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