27/10/2026
Good morning!
Mind Your Manners: The Customer Is Judging
At every networking meeting, the room is a courtroom and every potential customer is the judge. They’re watching how you arrive, listening to how you speak, and noticing how you treat everyone around you. By the end of the meeting, they’ll have reached their verdict: whether to buy from you, refer you, or give you the chance to show them more.
Good manners win that verdict.
Here are seven simple manners successful networkers practise every time:
1️⃣ Address people well. Learn names, use them warmly and remember them next time. Respect starts with recognition.
2️⃣ Rise to the occasion. Arrive early, stand to greet people, offer a firm handshake and give everyone your full attention.
3️⃣ Speak in turn. Let others finish, listen with genuine interest, and save your pitch for your 60 seconds. The best networkers are the best listeners.
4️⃣ Keep your tone warm and positive with everyone, including people in your own sector. The judge notices how you treat the whole room.
5️⃣ Answer clearly and briefly. Know your message, share it with confidence, and give helpful, straight answers.
6️⃣ Respect the room. Phone away, dressed for business, focused on the people in front of you.
7️⃣ Thank people as you leave. A follow-up message within 24 hours is your closing statement.
The verdict: a customer can only judge what they see and hear. Show them someone courteous, reliable and generous with their time, and you’ll win more than a sale. You’ll earn trust, referrals and the chance to tell your full story at a 1-2-1. How you treat them tells them exactly how you’ll treat their best clients when they refer you.
Don Burr, founder of the American airline People Express in the 1980s, famously said:
“Coffee stains on the flip-trays mean (to the passenger) that we do our engine maintenance wrong.”
Your manners work the same way with your referral partners. This week, I held back a few referrals from someone who had missed several meetings. Just as Don said, the small signs made me wonder about the bigger ones.
At BforB, this is how Know, Like and Trust is built: one well-mannered conversation at a time. Reputation is built over time.
Wishing you a week of great connections!
