Archive for the ‘business networking’ category

The #1 Success Factor in Business Networking

August 18th, 2010

What’s the number one thing that has the biggest impact on the results you get from business networking?

The correct answer is you.

You are the only person on earth who is able to deliver your own business networking success. Here’s why…

  • You’re the only one who can choose to put you on training courses in business networking
  • You’re the only one who can choose whether or not join a networking group
  • You’re the only one with the power to allow other people to build a strong business relationships with you

It’s never the group, society, the economy, the media, illegal immigrants – or any of the million other factors that people love to throw into the excuse pot.

It’s always been about you, baby! And it always will.

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Another Great Business Networking Question

July 8th, 2010

In my previous article I talked about 3 simple networking questions designed to get the conversation going. Those questions were…

  1. What kind of work do you do?
  2. How did you get started in _____?
  3. How does the recession impact on your business?

Another great question you can ask is “What do you like best about what you do?”

This invites the other person to talk about their business. And it can help get past an awkward pause. For example, imagine this conversation…

Hi, I’m Wayne

Hello Wayne, I’m Sandy

What do you do Sandy?

I’m a wedding planner

Oh, ummm…how interesting…

If I’m not personally interested in weddings, the conversation may not flow as freely as I’d like.

This is where the question “What do you like best about what you do?” comes into its own.

It gives the other person an opportunity to tell me what interests him/her about their business. And it gives me the chance to look for networking opportunities.

For example, the other person may tell you about the silly things their clients do and how they love to fix things. This might remind me of a friend in exactly that situation.

It gives me the chance to set up a referral, and that in turn gives me an excuse to call back.

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How to Give More Referrals

June 29th, 2010

Would you like to give more referrals to other people in your network?

One way to generate more referrals is to attend business networking events and keep your ears open for opportunities. For example, you might ask questions like these…

  1. What kind of work do you do?
  2. How did you get started in _____?
  3. How does the recession impact on your business?

If you get a glib or one-word answer to that last question, simply follow with “Oh, how come?”

These questions invite the other person to talk. And give you the chance to listen for opportunities.

There is no specific goal here, other than to get the conversation started.

By listening to the other person, more questions will suggest themselves. And you may uncover an opportunity for someone you know.

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Be the “Go To” Guy

June 21st, 2010

This networking technique was pioneered by Dr Ivan Misner before he started BNI.

He wrote to every one of his clients – today I guess we’d email them – and told them he knew highly skilled and reliable professionals in a number of different fields.

He then listed the different fields.

He told his clients to contact him if they ever needed anybody in one of these fields.

As you might expect, his clients began to view him as the go to guy when they needed to find a good quality professional or tradesman.

It worked the other way too. The people on the receiving end of his referrals were delighted, and sought to return the favour.

There’s no reason at all why we can’t do this within our chapter, and each become the “go to” person for our own network of friends, colleagues, clients and suppliers.

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Follow Up – Fast

June 5th, 2010

Dr Ivan Misner, the founder of BNI, ranks “timely follow up of referrals” as the #1 trait found among successful business networkers.

Put another way – follow up fast. The longer you leave it, the colder the opportunity gets. And like a yummy steak pie, opportunities are much better when they’re hot!

I’d also add that it’s important to report back to the person who gave you the referral. It’s polite, of course. But also gives you the opportunity to shape future referrals from that person.

If the person referred to you wasn’t exactly what you’re looking for, let the referrer know. And explain what you are looking for, and give pointers about how to uncover the right kind of referral.

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The Joy of Giving

June 1st, 2010

All relationships require give and take if they’re to thrive.

In networking – and especially within well structured networking groups – you get to meet a lot of new people. That gives you a lot of opportunities to form new business relationships.

With a new relationship, somebody has to be the first person to give something. And as you can’t control the other party, that person has to be you.

If you’ve just met somebody it may not be appropriate to give a referral, so you might start thinking about giving something else.

It might be notice of an upcoming event you know the person will find useful. It might be free advice or information. It might even be a free taste of your product or service.

Whatever it is, there must be some value attached to it. I’m not talking about unreasonable value. Just enough so the other person recognises it as a selfless act on your part.

Most of the world’s population feel compelled to reciprocate when given something they find valuable. And this helps to get the relationship started.

What about those who simply take and take and take? Forget about them. They’re few in number.

There’s no point keeping score. If you find you’re doing all the giving, and you’re not happy about it, move on.

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Get more business from networking

May 14th, 2010

A quick and easy way to get more business from networking is to set a goal. Your business networking goal should describe a specific outcome to be achieved by a specific date. For example…

  • I will meet one new potential client per week
  • I will attend 3 extra networking events per month
  • I will earn an extra £2,000 from networking this month

The above list contains examples. You should create a single specific networking goal of your own.

As soon as you’ve settled on a special goal, work out what you have to do to achieve it in the time you set. Then add that activity to your diary. For example…

  • I will meet one new potential client per week
  • To achieve this I will sub one additional BNI Chapter per week
  • When visiting the Chapter I will arrange a one-to-one with at least one person in these industries…
    • Marketing consultant
    • Web designer
    • Social Media Marketing consultant
    • SEO expert
    • IT Support person
  • To achieve this I will also ask for highly specific referrals in my own BNI Chapter, such as people in specific companies I’d like to do business with

The above is an example only. You should pick occupations likely to generate relevant business or referrals for you. This highly targeted approach works because it’s clear what a person has to do to achieve his/her goal.

At the end of the time period you set, check your results and see whether or not you achieved your goal. If you did achieve it, either set a new goal or keep doing that activity.

If you didn’t achieve your goal you can change the…

  • Goal itself
  • The amount or nature of the activity
  • Both of the above

This approach works best for your business when you select an income-based goal. You may wish to start with an easier goal, such as a certain number of new introductions. But I recommend you plan to move to an income-based goal. Here’s why…

An income-based goal forces you to think more deeply about the activity you’re doing, and how to maximise the use of your time. This has the power to greatly increase the amount of money you make from business networking.

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Myth: The 6 Degrees of Separation

April 5th, 2010

There’s a common misconception that each of us is no more than 6 people away from every single person on the planet. That someone you know…

  • Knows someone who…
  • Knows someone who…
  • Knows someone who…
  • Knows someone who…
  • Knows someone who…

…knows the President of the United States.

The “6 Degrees of Separation” myth is based on an experiment conducted in the 50s and 60s.

The resulting number 6 was true for just under 1/3rd of the participants. It wasn’t true for more than 2/3rds of the participants. What’s more, the experiment was limited in scope to the United States – around 5% of the world’s population.

What the experiment showed wasn’t that we’re all connected. It showed that some people are well connected.

If you want to be in the 1/3rd that are well connected, it’s going to take knowledge, training, practise and action.

In my view, it starts with working out who you’d most like to meet. As soon as you know where you want to get to, you can start working on how. One of the best ways is to join a networking organisation such as BNI, BRX, NRG or similar.

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Better Results from Business Networking

March 30th, 2010

The key to getting better results from business networking is simple. Build a better network. Here’s how it’s done. There are 3 types of referrer…

  1. Reactor
  2. Promoter
  3. Creator

A reactor is someone who tells others about you when the opportunity arises. For example, a person might say ‘I really need a web designer’. The reactor says ‘I know a great web designer!’

A promoter tells others about you despite not being asked to do so. For example, a promoter might tell a friend he has just had the best holiday ever, and encourages his friend to use the same travel agent.

A creator generates valuable opportunities on your behalf in ways that are likely to work, and go far beyond promotion. I given an example of this below.

The key to improving your profit from business working lies in identifying who your best natural creators are. And that starts by writing down the name of every person you know, and indicating what type of referrer they are for you (i.e. reactor, promoter or creator).

Examine your list and identify your best creator. This is the person who generates referrals of high quality on a regular basis.

Once you know who your best creator is, work out why they refer business to you. Make sure you fully understand what they get out of the relationship. If you’re not sure, pick up the phone and ask. Then go find more businesses like that.

Here’s a personal example. My #1 creator of new business is Intune Computer Services. Here’s why…

  • I offer 4 products they can resell as his own (i.e. white-label)
  • It costs almost nothing to offer them to their clients
  • By doing so they gain a greater share of their client’s IT spend
  • By offering extra services they can exclude potential competitors
  • By offering extra services they may secure new clients and introduce their core products in future

What’s not to love about that from their perspective?

I’m not suggesting you white-label your own product. For you, this may look a little different. As soon as you understand the mechanism that drives your best creator, you can ask to be introduced to more of them.

Even better, you’ll have a thorough understanding of why it’s in their interests to use your service.

If you’re a member of BNI or another business networking organisation, this approach is like gold. It gives you a specific focus that makes it much easier for others to refer business to you.

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