Warning: That guy at the Scottsdale mixer who 'knows everyone' nearly cost me a deal

I was at a Chamber of Commerce event last month at some Italian place in Old Town, and this one older fella in a blue blazer kept cutting into every conversation I had. He'd throw his arm around me and say things like 'I've known this guy for years, he's good people' to people I was meeting for the first time. At first I thought it was friendly, but then he started whispering to one of my potential clients that I was 'still learning the ropes' and to be patient with me. I was thirty minutes into a solid conversation with a property manager about commercial cleaning contracts, and that one comment made them look at me different. I had to pull the manager aside and explain I'd run my own crew for 7 years, that guy just met me five minutes before. Has anyone else had someone try to 'sponsor' them at a networking event and end up hurting their reputation instead?

2 comments

2 Comments

benc531mo ago

Oh he's 'good people'? That's funny, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell him too." Really hate those backhanded compliments disguised as networking. Guy probably thinks he's being helpful too.

phoenix_carter27d ago

Man that is brutal. I feel for you. Having someone step in like that and basically undermine you in front of a potential client is a special kind of frustrating. It's like they think they're doing you a favor by vouching for you, but really they're just making you look like you need a babysitter. I've had similar stuff happen at events where some self-appointed "connector" tries to muscle in and suddenly you're the one defending your own experience. Honestly it makes you wonder if they're trying to help or just trying to make themselves look important by association. You handled it right by pulling that manager aside and setting the record straight. That's the only move in a situation like that.