How NOT to Network

No-one can deny the value of networking as a viable way to make contacts and get new clients.

Yet so many people do it badly it is worth looking at the things NOT to do.

1. Selling – the worst thing you can do is immediately launch into “sell mode” once you have met someone new.

Having met a new contact your number one goal is to start building a relationship and you won’t do that by trying to sell to them.

Look at what you can do for them and as the queen of networking, Robyn Henderson says, “earn the right to ask a favour”.

Remember that people do business with people and most times with people they like. No-one “likes” someone who sells to them before even getting to know them.

2. Assuming - as you usually have no idea who your new contact knows, not maintaining the contact simply because they are don’t look like a potential client is a big mistake.

Every contact you make has value.

Your role is to find out what that value is and then see how it can serve both of you. It may simply be in who they can introduce you too and missing that can cost you dearly.

Some of my best contacts have come “through” someone else, not by meeting them originally!

3. Not follow Up – not following up on a new contact is a great way to destroy credibility, not to mention appearing rude.

Because so few people actually follow up and even fewer do it well, you have a marvellous opportunity to “stand out from the crowd”.

Send a card, send a personalised Voice4Mail message, phone them – DON’T send an email…. at least not to start with. If you wouldn’t send an email to follow up a “first date” don’t do it with a brand new contact!

Have a “plan” and then use it.

Networking is still the single best way to build business IF you do it well. Otherwise you may as well spend the day at the beach!

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Test

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).

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A Job or a Business – which do you want?

Many of the SME’s I meet at networking meetings tell me about the business they have. Yet most don’t have a business – they only have a job. You see, if income stops when you do that is a job. I show people how to change that!

Recently I attended a seminar about “Buying & Selling Websites”. Fascinating topic and great presenters – Matt & Liz Raad.

At that seminar I met a young woman who is the typical “success story”.

With 4 children under 5 and thus not working, she knows that her husbands’ income will not be enough to support them. So she spends hours and hours and hours creating a website that sells teachers aids that she also creates with her background as a teacher. That simple…… or so it sounds until she tells me that it took years of long hours and hard work with sometimes only 4 hours sleep at night.

While she still is only servicing the Australian market at present, her business now turns over in excess of $3million a year.

Two lessons to be learnt here!

1. It only takes two things to be successful in business. A passion for what you do and a willingness to do whatever it takes to make it happen,
2. The Internet is the future for the majority of industries.

You see many people have a passion for what they do. That is not hard. It is the other part, the hard work that they stumble on. Doing whatever it takes to make it happen. This is where many people fail. But not our ex-teacher. She was prepared to do whatever it took to make it happen. So she deserves her success.

Regarding the Internet it seems that websites are like houses and can be bought and sold. In fact our presenters shared with us that here in Australia over the last 6 months the top 18 websites sold had changed hands for a grand total of …….. $360 million!

So I have three questions for you.

1. Are you passionate about your business and does it show?
2. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to make it successful – or moreso?
3. Does your business have an internet component where you are making money while others (and you) sleep?

I can’t help you with the first two. But I sure can with the last!

If you are an accountant, coach, consultant, marketer…. in fact anyone with a decent client base, then I can show you how to have your own Internet based business that has the potential to replace your current income.

Just email me at geoff@geoffkirkwood.com or take a test drive at www.australiasbusinessmentor.com/guidedtour

Most of you reading this blog will do “nothing” – the few will take action and so reap the rewards!

Do you add or deduct?

No one can deny the success of BNI as a networking and referral organization. It exists in well over 40 countries and probably has the largest membership in the world of any similar organization.

So it comes as no surprise that many have copied it and tried to set up in opposition. Yet few have really succeeded. And there is one good reason for that – their approach. They don’t add, they deduct.

If you are going to copy something the secret to success is to improve it, to add to what already exists, not take away from it! Give extra value, not less! Improve, not devalue! And therein is the secret to the success of Global Network Builder.

Rather than devalue the programme, they have added to it. They have kept the basic formula and improved it by firstly retaining:-

• an attendance requirement
• exclusivity of category
• weekly breakfasts
• a strong leadership structure
• self managed groups
• measurement of results
• accountability of performance

….. and then adding the following:-

• a specialized weekly training segment
• accountable goal setting sessions
• focused brainstorming sessions
• high quality workshops
• on line coaching by the worlds best
• off line coaching by local experts

All of this has the goal of providing education on all aspects of networking and referral marketing at the weekly breakfast. Members are reporting greater learning and therefore greater results.

Given that many SME’s have entered the business world with little or no formal education in word-of-mouth marketing such comments are not surprising.

So the question to answer is “does your networking organisation add or deduct”?

Tips on becoming a Master Networker

In a recent article on Fox Business, Kristen Askin proposed that one of the first steps to becoming a Master Networker was to send an email after making a contact.

Having built my reputation to becoming The Referral Master® over the past 30 years I have to say I was astounded at this advice. Yes, it is advice in becoming a networker…. maybe! But a Master Networker? Definitely not!

One of the concepts of networking – and really the only reason for doing it – is to turn those “contacts” into “relationships”. Relationships with people that know you (Visibility), believe and trust you (Credibility) and who will eventually refer you (Profitability). You definitely won’t do that with an email.

Emails are great tools for conveying information – no question about that. They are absolutely useless for establishing and building a relationship.

First, they do nothing to create TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness) in the mind if the receiver – if everyone sends an email how will you stand out?

Second, they are subject to the most popular button on a keyboard – DELETE – and once that happens you are forgotten.

So if you want to be seen in the same light as everyone else, send an email to start a relationship.

However you will never be a Master Networker starting that way.

From Visibility to Profitability – step #5

Goals for Networking

Networking is an essential part of “word-of-mouth” marketing and as such needs planning! Aside from social interaction, turning up to a networking function without a plan is a waste of time and money.

So what should your plan include?

1. The number of new contacts you plan to make

2. What your priorities at the function will be

3. How you will turn these contacts into relationships

For me I aim to make 5 new contacts at any networking event. I set that number because I know I have time to develop them into valuable relationships and referral sources. There is no value at all in winning the prize for the most cards collected……. as if there was such a prize! After all do you really have time to properly follow up on 25 or 50 contacts? And what level of exchange did you have when you met those people? The key here is quality, not quantity.

Next I have a plan – a step-by-step plan – for my follow up. I have yet to meet someone who has a better one. More to the point, mine produces results….. and business!

My goal with this plan is to create TOMA – top of mind awareness – with my contacts. I want to be the 1st person they think of when a need arises for my services. I want to stand out from the crowd, not blend in with it. Can you say you are “top of mind” with your contacts? Given that your follow up plan is probably the same as everyone else’s then you probably can’t.

The plan is detailed in the July 14^th edition - 5 Sure Fire Steps to Million $ Relationships!

It is laid out and easy to follow so it only remains for me to wish you “good networking”!

From Visibility to Profitability – step #4

Now that you have your basics ready (like Twitter, LinkedIn, Business Cards, etc.) you are ready to start expanding your contact sphere and start looking for business.

Step number four is to start attending some networking meetings.

So which ones and why?

I recommend at least two types:-

1. A weekly “close contact” referral group like Global Network Builder or BNI

This group will build your inner networking circle, improve your knowledge of referral marketing and increase your referral business.

Because these groups only allow one person per business area, once you build  trust and credibility with the other members and train them on what to look for, you should start receiving referral business.

The secret to these groups is the attitude of the members where each member is looking out for each other.

2. A regular group like a Chamber of Commerce that meets monthly.

The value of such groups is that you will expand your network and learn from other members as well as some interesting speakers

They will normally have more than one person in your area of business yet this can be a plus as there may be an opportunity to do a Joint Venture and/or have someone to refer work to if overloaded.

Next issue we will at a surefire plan on developing your networking contacts into relationships!

From Visibility to Profitability – step #3

Our next step in the journey from Visibility to Profitability is to create a twitter account.

Go to Twitter and create a free account.

Some things to be aware of: -

* Create it in your own name – the Internet and search engines like consistency.

* Use the same photo of you as you have elsewhere on social media sites – again consistency

* Be very clear about what you will be using it for

Twitter can be used for a variety of purposes yet the most successful way is for sharing information.

So be very clear about who your target market is? This will have a bearing on what information you share. For example you wouldn’t tweet a link to an article about the stock market if your target market were alternative health practitioners. Your tweets need to be consistent with the market you want exposure too and who would both benefit from and be appreciative of the information.

Having created your main twitter account you may also wish to create several alternatives. A personal one with a nickname; an alternative one for another business and a crazy one for a hobby. All accounts can garner a following as long as you are clear about the same two basic things that govern a business one.

So, who do you follow?

That depends on who your target market is AND who wants to follow you.

The material you tweet about will often govern who wants to follow you as they do searches for people tweeting about key words. And so can you. Try a programme like Tweet Adder which will enable you to search for people by keywords.

As well as accepting connections from people who want to follow you, then start building your list by searching for the people you want.

 

From Visibility to Profitability – step #2

Our next step in the journey from Visibility to Profitability is to create a blog.

A website may also be a good idea yet a blog can establish your expertise and reputation so much better and faster and thus achieve more visibility.

Why is this so?

A website is often about selling your product or service. A blog is about sharing ideas and information that can be of value to the reader – a vastly different focus.

So how to do a blog and what to write?

There are two easy options for creating a blog and one slightly harder.

* Use Google’s “blogger” – it is free and with a little flair you can design an attractive looking page. Its one disadvantage is that you don’t own the domain and under certain circumstances you can lose it. In addition, if it becomes very popular you can’t sell it.

* Use “WordPress” – it also is free and has two versions. One at wordpress.com is where WordPress host the site and you end up with an address like http://thereferralmaster.wordpress.com/. The other is at wordpress.org where you organise hosting of your site.

Both of these you can do yourself with a little online tuition.

* Have a site designed especially to your requirements by a website designer and hosted at your domain name.

What to publish? Here are some guidelines:-

• Content that is of value to the reader.
• Issues relevant to your niche.
• No ads or sales pitches.

How often to publish? Opinions differ and much will depend on your time availability. However options range from once a day to once a month. How often you publish will depend on your time availability and the topics you want to cover. Once a month is far more valuable than once a day IF what you have to say is new, interesting and engaging to the reader.

Remember your objective here is to increase your visibility so that the marketplace will become more aware of you.