It is a fact that companies who do not network are
missing tapping into a rich
stream of new contacts and new business that can
make them more successful,
profitable and help them to understand their
customers and the marketplace
better whilst testing their message and its
effectiveness. The other fact is
that many people who do network make mistakes
which can cost them winning new
business in volume. Now we all make mistakes, so
what can you look out for and
how can you maximize your networking activities by
avoiding costly errors?
1. Prejudging People
You cannot afford to prejudge people; you simply
do not know who they know or
who they can connect you and your business to. I
have had some of my best
referrals from people who I initially thought could not
help me. We've all heard
the saying, never judge a book by its cover, but many
of us do. Instead, give
people time and your attention. It is also worth
mentioning on the flipside that
all that glitters is not gold, be open-minded and don't
jump to conclusions.
2. Not Following Up
People go out there, get the contacts, business
cards and introductions but fail
to follow up or when they do follow up they are trying to
sell. Top referral
achievers know how to follow up and they follow up on
all contacts and keep in
regular contact. The people you meet at business
networking forums are there as
equals, they do not want to be sold to and they
definitely do not want to be
treated as prospects. They may become customers
or clients in time and
that is fine, but your objective is to find out about them
and build rapport with
a view to becoming an advocate of their business. It is
also worth remembering
that in business, as in the sporting arena, top
performers develop skill and
success through persistence and a focus on
continuous improvement. Please
understand that networking is a marketing tool and
not just an event that you go
to. I would implore you to follow up, don't hesitate
don't even allow that
little voice in your head to put you off, JUST DO IT.
3. No Clear Objective
You want quality business, right? So your
objective should be to build
relationships on the following 3 criteria: know, like
and trust. *Know - getting
to know your contact first is vital, a good way to get the
conversation going is
to ask open- ended questions in which the person
cannot easily answer yes or no.
For example, how did you get into this business?
What type of businesses are you
looking to be referred to? *Like- this is all about
building rapport and getting
on well. Many business referral clubs have an annual
membership investment fee
of £500 to £600, which is great. However, too many
people undervalue the unique
opportunity that this investment can give them and
their business. You should be
looking to get a return of 40 to 50 times your
investment and then some. *Trust
- mutual beneficial business relationships must be
built on trust, so as we are
talking about your reputation, there must be no hidden
agendas.
4. Not Listening
Your ability to listen is one of the most important
skills to have and it will
give you the edge if you can learn, develop and
cultivate it. This isn't about
just hearing what is said it is about understanding
and taking in what people
really mean. Real listening will require your complete
focus and attention. What
are people really looking to achieve? What do people
think is important about
their business, job, personal ambition, and family,
what is important to them?
Usually people don't listen because they are too busy
focusing on what they want
to say next in a conversation. Remember practice and
write down key areas of
importance, so the next time you speak or follow up
you can ask them about their
interests. You have 2 choices you can be an
interesting person or you can be an
interested person, you decide!
5. Talking about what you do
Talk in terms of what benefits you deliver to your
clients, suppliers, customers
and contacts. Talk enthusiastically and be specific do
not go into detail at an
initial first meeting at a networking event. Try to get
over, what is unique
about you? Why do you do what you do? How do you
deliver more value than others
in your sector? Please do not fall into the trap of
saying that it is your
service or quality of your product that differentiates
you, this is far too
common and generic, explain how, and explain why.
Explain any guarantees. Also
let people know who you want to be referred to
specifically, NEVER say anybody
or everybody as you will usually get referred to
nobody, because this is not
specific enough.
6. Short Term Thinking
Don't be a hunter or a deal chaser to get the best
results from your networking
activities. You need to take a long term approach and
you cannot afford to have an
attitude of "what's in it for me" or "what can I get out of
this". You must replace
this with the mantra, "How can I help you?" or "How
can I serve?". Go out there to make
a positive impact on someone's day. Effective people
take a farming approach to
networking, they focus on cultivating relationships for
mutual long term benefit
and they definitely do not chase deals or instant
sales. You may attend a
networking forum and if you do business initially,
that's great!
However, this should not be your primary
objective, as referral's work best if
you develop a "know, like and trust" strategy as
mentioned, When you get a referral
you want to know, that it is the type of business you
want and importantly you
want to know that you are going to get paid for your
product or service so to
protect yourself follow these 3 simple steps;
Step one - get to know your networking colleagues,
know what they do, know what
they like and don't like, know what they stand for and
what they are about.
Step two - get to like them, get them to like you and
build a relationship whilst
developing rapport.
Step three - build trust and make sure they're reliable
and test their reliability
on little things first. I cannot stress how important it is
to know, like and
trust your networking colleagues. You cannot afford to
introduce the wrong person,
solution or company to your valuable network, clients,
contacts or customers if they
cannot perform. More importantly you cannot expect
others to introduce you and your
company to their valuable contacts if you cannot
perform and successfully deliver on
your promises. People who you recommend
represent you, so don't cut corners!
7. Letting Fear Get The Better Of You
So you feel nervous about going up to a complete
stranger and introducing
yourself, you feel apprehensive, this makes you
normal. We were all taught as
children not to talk to strangers. As a kid this strategy
was given to you to
protect you. In certain situations or circumstances
today this may be advisable,
however in most cases it definitely does not apply
now. In business talking to
complete strangers is a way to generate interest and
contacts for your products
and services. If you only talk to the people you already
know and deal with, you
will miss out on opportunities to make new
connections. Set a target for yourself
before you attend any networking event. Decide how
many new contacts you want to make
or how many strangers you want to meet. Above all
make it fun, turn it into a game
and take yourself out of your comfort zone and I
promise you that with practice,
determination and action you will look back and think,
what was I worried about!
You will also find it to be one of the best business
decisions you've ever made.
So what next? Well that it is up to you, but I would
encourage you to find a
professional business networking organization,
which can help you become more
successful and improve those skills. I firmly believe
making networking part of
your marketing activity will be one of the best
business decisions you can make
and it will be fun too.
© John B Fisher All rights in all media reserved.
