As you work on building your global network, you will develop an appreciation for the value of good referrals. The key to good referrals, however, is in the quality, not the quantity. Of course you do want to acquire as many referrals as you can handle, but it is important to be discriminating about them. If you collect a large number of low quality referrals then they are not going to be of much value to you. Conversely, if you get too many, you can’t handle them with adequate professionalism then this is suboptimal situation as well.  

On the other hand, you might get so few referrals that your business doesn’t grow as much as it could. You may be doing very well with the referrals that you have, but if no new ones are coming in then your business will stagnate. Ideally, of course you will want to find a balance of quality and quantity of referrals. It is important to strike a balance of maintaining quality relationships with older contacts, ‘grooming’ potential new ones and improving the quality of ones you already have. Once you have mastered this skill you will be much closer to your goal of effective global networking.