Trudy Gilbert: Elite Introductions

“If I don’t have someone to introduce them to, and if I don’t feel I can give them value for money, I will say to them ‘now is not the right time for you to join but I’d like to keep your details on file and call you when I do have suitable candidates for you to meet’,” she explains. “It’s an honesty thing, and it’s about reputation. I will think about my members’ best interests before taking them on as clients.”

Apart from refusing business, Gilbert also has an unusual business model in that success for her means no repeat business. Instead, she aims for a high referral rate. “We have such a high success rate that our members quite simply don’t need to rejoin. We’re always meeting new people and always closing accounts, which is good because that’s how we get the word out and maintain our reputation,” she says. “If everyone rejoined, we’d only have the same members and we wouldn’t have any new people to introduce to one another.”

As for putting a price on love, Gilbert says it was hard in the beginning, but as her database grew and she realised the work involved, she could see the value she added to a client’s personal life. Membership now starts at $1495 for three introductions. Clients sure get their money’s worth, with Gilbert unable to turn off her matchmaking radar, even out of business hours. Even when out and about she often finds people for her clients and invites them in for an interview.

“I have a memory bank of all of my 500-plus clients and if I meet people through events or in the social pages, I’ll ring them and say ‘I have someone who would like to meet you, are you interested?’ I’m always on, I never shut down,” she says.

To share the load, Gilbert now has five staff, including another consultant like herself who interviews and matches clients. Even though Gilbert has invested her personality heavily in the business, she doesn’t think that will detract from future success. As a good judge of character she knows that her staff have what it takes to maintain business operations while she changes hats and works on the business rather than in it.

Despite turning away 30 percent of applicants, Elite has tripled profit growth year on year, which has prepared the agency for expansion. The first interstate branch opened in Melbourne last month with other capital cities, and perhaps New Zealand, to follow eventually.

Profits keep the agency running, but they’re not a priority, Gilbert says. Priority goes to bringing people together. “When you think about it, you’re doing a beautiful thing and that’s how I run my agency. I don’t want to sound like an airy fairy person, but if you do the right thing it’ll come back to you, it’s karma.”

Tips for new business owners

* Find something that complements your natural abilities, your interests and training.

* Realise that you have to work a lot harder than an employee. You need to have a different mindset, as you’ll be working twice as hard—at least in the initial stages of the business.

* Get a mentor or someone who can give you support, like a partner or a family member to boost you when you feel things are slow and guide you through those down moments.

* Exercise. You need to de-stress.

* Read lots of business books. Gilbert likes marketing books by Jay Conrad Levinson and says The E-Myth (by Michael E. Gerber) is a must-read for business owners who need to be able to work on the business and not just in it.