Can you refer the other people in your networking group?

In a recent One2One meeting the person asked me for some advice about a networking group she belonged to. She said "I have given it my best for more than a year, but I haven't received any referrals". I asked about the number of One2Ones she had with other members and the referrals she made for others.

It turned out that she hadn't been able to make many as most of the others operated in completely different markets to her. I suggested some other groups where she was likely to get to know, like and trust people with similar markets to her.

A good question to ask yourself when evaluating which groups to join is whether you regularly have the opportunity to refer the types of businesses represented in the group. Then whether you can envisage getting to know, like and trust them first.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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What's your story?

I facilitated a recent mastermind group where one of the issues raised was about communicating a difficult business proposition. The discussion led to the conclusion that a story would be a great way to do this. In 'Telling a story to illustrate what you do' I wrote about how useful a simple story can be in this regard.

One of the other participants shared a great tip for producing a good story. He had asked 2 clients that were representative of his ideal customers to share their stories of how they had come to choose his business. He then got a copywriter to produce these as short case studies. The stories have been instrumental in helping generate much new business.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Networking and Masterminding

One of the problems in running your own business can be taking time out from the day to day to chat about things and get ideas from other perspectives. People who are very successful in business surround themselves with people with different skills to themselves and different ways of looking at the world.

As you develop close relationships through networking it may be appropriate to find a small group where you can help each other achieve your overall goals. I am involved in a couple of these groups where the members act like a 'virtual board' for each other.

As I wrote yesterday Networking can be about much more than new business. A small mastermind group or virtual board can provide you with a much needed sounding board and challenge you to make sure your plans have a reasonable chance of success!

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Much more than just new business from networking

I was chatting about a mutual friend with the seminar speaker at a Business Networking Lunch last week. He said that whenever they meet he is introduced as "the man who saved me quarter of a million in 5 minutes!".

He went on to explain that a short conversation at a previous NRG event had pointed our mutual friend at a $25000 solution rather then his original quotes of £300000.

As you build trusted business networking relationships they lead to much more in the way of support than just new business.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Where do you get your new business?

I often ask Business Owners and Professionals "Where do you get most of your new business?". The most popular answer is recommendation or referral. There is often silence after the supplementary question "so what is your strategy for generating more recommendation?".

The ironic thing is that most of them will have strategies for other parts of their marketing, but not for the most important! Listen to this short podcast for the simple steps involved in developing a strategy to generate more business from your network.

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Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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The value of networking for advocates

Many people in Business to Business Services report that the cost of lead generation is rising. My colleague Martin Davies was telling me about a conversation he had last week with someone who had calculated the value of Networking for Advocates against paying for leads.

This person had built 10 advocate relationships through his NRG Networking Group. His investment was about £200 per Advocate. His advocates generate about ten leads for him per year each. That's 100 leads for an investment of £2000. In his industry the cost of a good lead is about £100 to £200.

The cost of buying the same number of leads would therefore be between £10000 & £20000. Up to 10 times more! That makes Networking for Advocates a pretty good return on Investment.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Is the idea of a sales funnel now outdated?

In 'McKinsey: Shooting holes in the Sales Funnel' Bob Apollo writes about an article in a recent McKinsey Quarterly review on the consumer decision journey.

Bob writes how the conclusions can equally be applied to the B2B buying process. As Bob says "the increasing importance of word of mouth, recommendation and reputation in the B2B buying process has transferred information power into the hands of the prospect".

I have reported similar findings on the increasing importance of word of mouth previously. So if you are in the the B2B or B2C space make sure that you have a strategy for influencing the people your prospects turn to for this word of mouth.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Giving yourself extra time for following up

At a recent seminar on Social Media most of the attendees said they struggled with doing what they need to do in the time available. I have written previously about the importance of following up, but one of the big things that takes a lot of time is dealing with email.

It doesn't need to take up that much time. I have just dealt with nearly 2000 messages in a couple of hours after returning from a 2 week family holiday. I used the system I mentioned in my post, Time Management and Networking Follow up, to go through them.

Since I started dealing with my emails in this I have saved about one hour every day! That's five hours extra each week for the important stuff. For more good advice on dealing with email see this article from Graham Jones entitled 'Check your email - quick - another one might be in....!'

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Getting results from networking in a Group

Yesterday I wrote about how a Networking Group can be a great investment of your time. In this podcast I share eight things that successful networkers do. If you put these things into practice, you too can begin to get the same sort of results.

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Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Would a networking group help you manage your time?

Someone said to me last week "I can't justify taking the time out to attend networking events in the day". It's a common view especially amongst professionals who bill for their time. My view is that quality networking is time invested rather than time spent.

Time is a really precious resource so you want to make sure you invest your business networking time wisely. This podcast explains how networking groups can actually save you a lot of time.

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Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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