George Uribe started Guestbooker in 2006 and built the company from the ground up. Today, they have over 250 clients and have effectively maintained strong relationships with their multitude of connections. George is described by those who know him as a “connector.” He has taught me the importance of networking and maintaining client loyalty. In fact, on my first day, George stressed the importance of loyalty and how “loyalty cannot be demanded. It has to be earned.” This is a great lesson in client relations for any industry. If you treat your clients with respect, care, and attentiveness, they are much more likely to be loyal to you whether you are a television booker, a boutique owner, a doctor, a waiter/waitress or honestly any occupation.
I have also learned the importance of a first impression and the follow up. If you do not follow up within 30 days, your connection will be lost. Additionally, George states that it takes 7 interactions until someone is in your network. This may seem like a lot of work, however if I have learned one thing from this internship, it is the importance of building a strong network. Another helpful tip in forming these connections is that when you meet people you should immediately be doing two things. First, you want to be looking for some common ground and connection with them. Next, you should be thinking about what is unique to you that could help them and what is unique to them to help you. Finding both common ground and a unique way to being meaning to a relationship will help make the connection stronger and ease the process of following up.
For example, George took me to a tour of the Nissan plant in Smyrna. He met the head of HR and wanted to bring him into his network. George naturally brainstorms ways he can help others and form a mutually beneficial relationship. Yet, how could a TV Booker and a HR manager at a car production plant help each other? George thought out of the box and realized that there were 10,000 employees there who were in need of something to boost employee satisfaction. Meanwhile, one of his clients is a country singer who is in need of more publicity to grow her audience. This led George to propose that she could do a free concert exclusively for the Nissan plant workers. The HR manager was very excited by this idea and immediately gave George his business card. Boom- connection made!
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