How much business do you want to generate from your networking?

One of the questions in a previous post, 'Developing a networking plan', was 'how much business are you looking to generate via word of mouth?'.

Here are some things you can look at to help calculate this;
1. Revenue Target for year:
(What is the amount of business you want to generate?)
2. Average Transaction size:
(What is your average deal size?)
3. Number of deals required (1/2) =
(Divide the amount of business by average deal size)
4. How many prospects do you need for a sale =
(What is your closing ratio?)
5. Total prospects needed (4 X 3) =
(Multiply the number of deals by the number of prospects)
6. How many referrals per prospect =
(Not every referral will be a prospect)
7. Referrals required (5 X 6) =
(Multiply the number of prospects with referrals)



Now for the really important part. The number of referrals you need is the amount you need to be generating first for other people in your network. This will give you a good idea of the amount of time you need to invest in your networking activity.

As I have said previously the best way to generate referrals is to give them first.

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

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Developing a networking plan

"It pays to plan ahead it wasn't raining when Noah built the ark"

Somewhere in your office you may well have a business plan.
Even better, you may have a marketing plan!
If you do does it include your networking activity?
If you don’t know where you are going with your networking how can others help you?

The second of our '10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks' is develop a plan.

Answer the following:
- what is your target market?
- what are the problems you solve for them?
- how much business are you looking to generate via word of mouth?
- how much time can you devote to your networking activities?

Identify others likely to have access to your target market
- how do you get to know them?
- how can you help them achieve their goals?

When you can answer these questions you are have the basis of a networking plan which you can begin acting on right away.

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

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Getting comfortable with how networking works

I had a One2One meeting with an NRG-networks member earlier this week. He wanted to update me on a new business he was involved in and get my views. When I first met him four years ago he had just bought a franchise. That was his first foray into the small business or SME world. He explained that in his first year he had beaten the previous best first year by more than double.

We explored how he had managed to do that. He explained that NRG-networks were the first network he joined and then others followed. He attended regularly and helped everyone he met by offering them some valuable input in their marketing communications. He didn't sell to anyone, but referrals and business flowed his way.

In yesterday's post, 'The same networking rules apply in the real world & the online world', I featured Seth Godin talking about networking and explaining that "Networking is all about helping people achieve their goals reliably and repeatedly then guess what? They start to do the same for you!"

Tip 1 in my '10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks' is get comfortable with how networking works. It's not about meeting people once and moving on. It is all about building relationships first and may require a different approach to the one you are used to.

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

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The same networking rules apply in the real world & the online world

I just watched this great video posted by Debbie Weill on Youtube. In it Seth Godin answers the question "Is Social Networking important for small business?" and provides some great insight into how to network.



Thanks to Nicholas Braak for signposting this on Twitter & Ecademy.

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

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business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

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10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks

You could be forgiven for thinking there was a battle being fought between offline & online networks with some of the messages from organisations in both camps. The reality is that the online networks give us a really effective tool for supporting our offline business networking activities. They only do that, however, if we go about both activities strategically.

I have been an active member of online networks since I discovered them in 2003. In an article on the NRG-networks website I share my top 10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks:

1. Get comfortable with how networking works
2. Develop a plan
3. Identify the people you already know, like & trust
4. Identify the offline networks to join
5. Show a genuine interest in other people
6. Always follow up contacts
7. Identify the online networks to join and start a blog
8. Make online contacts and build relationships first
9. Arrange contact meetings
10. Develop Networking Advocates

More on each point in the article, top 10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks

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

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The power of leverage in business networking

One dictionary definition of leverage is "the mechanical advantage or power gained by using a lever". To illustrate the idea I remember using a small lever in a school physics lesson to easily move a large rock.

In business networking you can use the equivalent when a trusted contact of yours has influence with someone in your target market with a problem that you can solve. This can be a great way to get in front of much larger organisation than yours. If you build a relationship with someone that regularly deals with these larger businesses then you can use your relationship as the lever for the introduction.

Let me share a story. A few years ago I was running a business where one of our largest suppliers was one of the big mobile phone operators. We got to know some people there and found that we could help with a problem they had. They had insufficient resources to deal with many of the requests they got regarding potential new applications. We offered to help with some of these. Later on they advocated our services as a 'must have' to a couple of large media companies which led to some very lucrative contracts.

We would never have been able to even speak to these media companies without the leverage that was created by someone within another large business introducing us. That leverage was possible as a result of the help we first provided in building the relationship first.

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

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Do I know you?

These words appeared alongside a stern looking man in an advertisement in a 1950s business publication:

“I don’t know who you are.
I don’t know your company.
I don’t know your company’s product.
I don’t know what your company stands for.
I don’t know your company’s customers.
I don’t know your company’s record.
I don’t know your company’s reputation.
Now — what was it you wanted to sell me?”

The moral of the ad was that sales starts before your salesman calls and was promoting advertising in McGraw Hill Magazines. The original can still be seen on their website (http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/aboutus/images/ad_maninchair_lg.jpg).

Most business owners and partners in professional firms I meet say they have no problem selling. Their main problem is getting in front of the right person. Building trusted relationships through networking means you can refer your network to their right people and, in turn, be referred to yours.

Becoming an advocate for someone means unreservedly recommending them when you see the right circumstances. When someone is given that sort of word of mouth referral the recipient knows all about their reputation, what they do and why they are there.

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

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Walking your talk

Have you noticed the way children learn from what we do rather than what we say? The same is true of the people we network with. They learn far more about us from how we act than from how we introduce ourselves. It is vital in building a trusted relationship that you demonstrate that you are both consistent in what you do and that your actions are congruent with your message.

I hosted one of our NRG business networking groups in Reading on Friday. On Thursday I received a phone call from a business owner who wanted to come and who said to me, "I just wanted to check it was ok with you that I attend as I also run a group for another networking organisation."

I explained to him that we actively encourage cooperation and collaboration between networks. It is one way of demonstrating to our members how we build business relationships in the same way as we facilitate that process for them.

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

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Baby Boomer Entrepreneurs, What You Can Learn About Twitter From Teen Entrepreneurs

Are you confused about how to use such social media platforms as twitter and facebook? Are you wondering how to keep your friends easy to follow and yet looking to follow and make new friends, then let me introduce you to Stanley Tang.

Stanley is a teen entrepreneur who has some insights on these subjects. He recently found a video by another teen, Min Xuam, that he thought was so good he decided to share it on his blog. It is called “How Twitter changed my life”. It isn’t the only strategy for how to used twitter and facebook, but it is a great strategy. This slide show, How Twitter Changed My Life, is well worth the time.

I was most impressed with the suggestion that you tweet not about what you are doing but what has your attention. This is a massive revelation for me. It really helps me understand why I love reading certain tweets and why others do not capture my interest.

Twitter is probably not a fad. Even if it is a fad, we baby boomer entrepreneurs must learn to effectively communicate with our markets. Teen entrepreneurs are creating new tricks for us old dogs to learn. Let's keep on learning so we can stay on the porch with the big dogs.

You can follow Stanley on twitter at @stanleytang, Min Xuam at @minxuam, and even me at @
ShallieBey. You can get a free twitter account by going to www.twitter.com .

Shallie Bey

How to get something done

"There are three ways to get something done:
do it yourself, employ someone, or forbid your children to do it."

That's a great and amusing quote from Monta Crane.

Many owners of small businesses and professional firms, however, seem to think there is only one way and they try and do everything themselves. There is nothing more unrewarding than spending a day trying to sort out the administration and accounting that would take a professional little more than minutes per week. We had the tax return deadline in the UK recently and there were more than a few business owners scratching their heads over carrier bags full of a years receipts!

There are a great and growing number of providers of outsourced administration, bookkeeping and VA services. You can 'employ' someone to take on that work very cost effectively whilst you concentrate on building your core business and its value.

Remember that networking is a great way of finding suppliers and team members as well as growing your business.

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

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business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

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