That was my response at the March 14 Drinks & Handshakes event when an attendee asked me, "How can you afford to give so much of your time to a trade association?"

Upon reflection the next day, however, I came to realize that, while my response definitely contained the right attitude, it did not actually help my new acquaintance decide to give first.

Shame on me for not giving first to him, by humbly answering his sincere question.

The St. Louis Small Business Expo was held on March 21, despite the late-season snowstorm that snarled traffic and scared off many a registered attendee. I was one of the many visitors who attended anyway, because I was on a mission to atone for my arrogance of the prior week.

Give first. Give only. Don't care what's in it for me.

And to make sure I stayed true to that goal, I attended the expo as the president of Yellow-Tie, not as a sales consultant.

Armed with pen and pad, I entered the seven-hour expo with the goal of finding someone to buy what every single vendor (there were 130) was selling. (The best goals are always lofty.)

1. To accomplish my goal, I had to learn three very specific things from every company with a booth:
2. What did they sell?
3. Who buys what they sell?
4. What do they need to buy right now that someone else with a booth might sell?

During the next seven hours, I had what I must say was the most fun I've ever experienced at an expo, because the moment I told the vendors I was there to find buyers for them, every one enthusiastically engaged.

The downside was that my conversations lasted so long, I got to know only 43 people. The upside is that I got to know 43 people, and I started this wonderful chain of events.

March 14 (at the expo):

I introduced a CPA with a computer virus to two gentlemen who specialized in small-office computer repair.
• I sent a trade-show booth expert who needed a CPA to the woman above (who needed her computer fixed).
• I connected a business consultant who speaks on business challenges with the CEO of a janitorial service -- the CEO also happened to be the president of a building service contractors association that was looking for speakers.
• I introduced a banker who provides merchant services to a website developer who wanted to start accepting credit cards.
• And I helped a telephony consultant find a company that could supply bottled spring water to his place of business.

Since that day at the expo, three of the people with whom I shook hands have met with me over coffee to simply chat about business and figure out how we could be of use to each other. Another two have corresponded by phone, and one more has traded a dozen e-mails. Among this group, I managed to connect three additional buyers with three additional sellers -- including helping a client of mine by finding her a specialized banking resource.

Yesterday, in preparation for this Visit the Sage tip, I contacted all the people I could reach and asked them how much business they had done or proposed -- if any -- as a result of the connections made.

All told, $42,000 worth of business has been proposed and $8,500 has closed, all as a direct result of my deciding to give first.

And today, you can add $3,500 to the closed total above, because one of the people I chatted with at the expo hired me to be her sales coach.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring? I sure don't. But I do know tomorrow holds far more promise than it would if I had stayed in bed that snowy morning two weeks ago.

How can I afford to devote so much time to a nonprofit trade association?

How can I afford not to?

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About the Author

Gill E. Wagner, president of Honest Selling, specializes in solving complex sales and marketing puzzles, building, managing and motivating sales teams, and coaching, mentoring and training sales managers.