Understanding the principles behind Networking
Networking is a new and exciting marketing tool. But Networking is not new. You may have heard of “The Old School Tie”? That is giving business to members of a favoured community. In that case your old school chums or even ex-members of your old school whom you may never have met before. I would also like to mention The Masons, The Round Table and The Chambers of Commerce.
So Networking is simply about doing business with members of a favoured community.
But why do we like to network? We like to belong to a group. It gives us a feeling of security and safety. But in business, it means we can trade with members of the group with a greater degree of trust. However, in modern networking communities or clubs is that still true?
Formal Networking Groups
Most of us have heard of the Breakfast Networking Clubs. There are a number of them. They tend to have similarities. Firstly they meet on a frequent basis. Secondly the membership is the same each meeting, apart from visitors and new members. Commonly they run along a set format. They encourage insularity to keep all business within the group, as far as is possible. By having a membership that attends most of their meetings and by encouraging insularity they find that business actually results from this form of networking. However, not everyone likes this format and not everyone likes to get up early in the morning.
A lot of the success of these types of Groups is that the Management spends time to ensure that members are linked together and are shown/trained how to network and get business.
Additionally, as the group is inwardly focussed it is essential, for the group to succeed, that members of the community trust each other. Just because they are a member of the community does not make them either good at their job or trust worthy. When this is not true it can destroy a group or at least cause members to leave.
Informal Networking Groups
The most common form of networking being formed now is a more casual networking environment. These events tend to be in the evening and at a venue where alcohol is served.
There is no formal plan of action for each meeting and every member is left to their own devices. This can work very well but all too often new members to networking do not understand the rules and find they get virtually nothing for all their efforts. The solution being adopted by such groups is to Host the event and ensure every member is introduced to the sort of people they are looking to meet.
These type of meetings are favoured by many because of the more relaxed environment but they are far more difficult to generate business from, unless you follow the unwritten rules. But what are the rules?
They are not secret. In fact we all know them because they are the same as applies in a social environment.
- Make Friends
- Locate people who know the right people
- Keep to subjects you know about
- Be interesting to other people
- Be active
- Call after the event
- Meet
Let’s see how this translates into Business Networking.
Make Friends
At a party to feel comfortable and at home you look to people you can become friends with.
So why should you adopt a similar approach when you are networking for business? The simple answer is that it works. For Business Networking your objective should be becoming liked by members of that community. People buy from people they like and trust. You are not seeking deep and long lasting friendship, though that can result, but to be found as a nice guy/gal.
Ask yourself the question, ‘Do you prefer to do business with someone you like, or someone you don’t know?’ I assume your answer will be that given a choice you would almost always select someone you know and like rather than take a chance on a stranger. So remember that when networking. Spend time getting to know other members of the group. Not like a butterfly, that flits from one person to another, never stopping to get to know a person or ever getting known. As a rule of thumb, set your target at no more than 6 contacts an hour. That way you can find out what they do and they can find out what you do. Personally my target is 3 an hour.
As in your social life, the best way to get people to like and trust you is to ask about them. So after your introductions, ask them about themselves and their business. Not only what they do, but also how they got started. Remember your six friends. How, Why, Where, Which, When and What. Concentrate on the open ended questions and let the other person speak. They will tell you so much about themselves you will be amazed. Don’t talk about yourself or your businesses initially; just encourage the other person to talk about their business and themselves.
If they are worth working with or being friends with the contact will ask about you and your business. If they don’t, move on. But the key is to get to know them.
If you are going to get to know someone, and they you, you need a strategy. I find it easier if I look to get the following questions answered.
- Do I like this person? If there was no business advantage would I want to spend time with this person? If the answer is no then move on; would you want to spend your life with people you don’t like?
- Would I buy from this person? This will tell you if you are likely to be able to develop a good working relationship. If you don’t trust or don’t like the person, identify why or move on to the next contact.
- What are they an expert in? If you spend enough time to understand their business you will be able to understand what they are an expert at and if you think you could be of use to them. You cannot introduce anyone to them and they to you if you do not know what they do and visa versa.
- Would you introduce your contacts to this person? If the answer is no, either find out why or move on to the next contact. Remember, if you introduce people to this person they will feel obliged to reciprocate. So the more you introduce the more people will introduce sales leads to you. Always look for people to introduce to them and do not worry about people being introduced to you. It will follow naturally so don’t worry.
- Who are they looking to talk to? Having spent time in getting to know them and understanding ‘what they are an expert in’, you need then to identify who they want to make contact with. It may be their ideal clients or it may be the sort of people who can introduce potential customers to them.
Locate people who know the right people
No doubt you will have heard of the phrase “Keeping up with the Jones”. This tends to be about snobbery or maintaining or raising your social standing in the community.
Such people make an effort to identify the right people to know, the members of their community whose views are seen to be held in high regard. By associating with such people it is hoped that ones own status will rise. Whilst in this case they copy things that these people do, that aspect is not relevant here.
In business, whilst status is not the desired result normally, it is something that will benefit the business by increasing the number of sales enquiries.
The main advantage of seeking out influential people is that they know people who may buy your companies products and/or services. If you can convince that person to be an Advocate of your company you could get access to their contacts.
These influential people are more valuable than any individual client and should be sought out by all businesses. They will continue to give you introductions over the years and their value to you and your business could be measured in the £Millions or certainly in the £Thousands.
So seek Advocates or potential Advocates and make friends. Remember people do not introduce you to their contacts easily so you will have to work harder than you would to win a client. You need to build trust, you need to build a long term relationship, you need to prove your expertise, you need to prove that you are interested in them and what they get out of the deal and prove your products or services will build the reputation of your Advocate.
So what does the Advocate get out of the deal? It could simply be a commission for each introduction or sale from an introduction. This is good for both sides with a built in motivator for the Advocate. In many cases this is the route many businesses take with Professional Advisors such as Accountants and Solicitors. They introduce you to a client of theirs for a commission. It works well. However, do not sit back and expect the money to ensure you retain your Advocate. You should realise that others are making similar offers to that Professional Advisor.
All Advocates respond well to being treated as important people to your business, as they are, so I adopt a policy of regular meetings and “Thank You” cards in addition to commission payments. Whenever I am out and about I also promote their services/products and become an Advocate for them. I take every opportunity to give them compliments (deserved one ONLY). I make them friends.
Other Advocates will not take commission. This can be for a variety of reasons. They may be your personal friends. They may want to retain their independence from you in the eyes of theirs clients and contacts. But you must do all as I have suggested to ensure they know how much you value their friendship and support. In many cases these people are more interested in their reputation and introducing you must enhance that reputation.
These people must be thanked often, and like all Advocates they must be kept informed of the progress you are having with their introductions.
The key to successful Advocates is the building of trust and friendship. The two most important aspects you must bear in mind whenever you are networking. But Networking is an ideal location to identify and recruit new advocates.
Keep to subjects you know about
When you are out socially and talking with people, you will always come across the person spouting forth on anything and everything, an opinion for every occasion. These people are not of interest, so make sure you are not also dismissed similarly by talking about yourself too much and by claiming expertise on too many things.
You need to understand what you and your business do. Not generally, but specifically. You need to understand what you are an expert in.
Yes you can do this and yes you can do that, but what is your ‘Hot Button’? What gets you excited? What are your ‘Soap box’ issues? What could you give a talk on without notice?
There are a number of ways to identify what you are an expert in, but whichever way helps you, make certain you do know what it is. You cannot expect people to introduce you to others if even you do not know what you are an expert in.
You need that same information about whomsoever you are talking to so that you can understand who to introduce them to.
Do not fear writing notes on their business card so you do not forget important things about them or promises you make.
As in other areas develop a strategy.
Having a Plan of Action is important and to ensure you have the right plan, write it down and review it constantly.
Be interesting to other people
You may be enthralled by the mating rituals of the blue nosed elephant fly but not everyone else is. So don’t talk about it unless talking to another oddbod!
Whilst networking the newbie often feels they have to talk about business. That is not true. In a social environment we talk about loads of different topics and business may be just one of them. The same is the case in a Business Networking environment. Yes talk about business but talk about other things as well.
Be Active
We have talked about Strategies, Action Plans and priorities; but all are a waste of time if you don’t get out of your office and attend Networking Meetings or get online and interact with other business people.
So under this heading the recommendations is to “DO MORE”!
Find out about all the events in your area and attend. Most, you do not have to be a member; you can attend as a Guest. In the UK, there are a number of central resources to locate these events like
Just do more than you do now, but review … review … review.
Bear in mind it can take a number of visits before you start getting introductions so concentrate on giving introductions and the reciprocation will follow.
Call after the event
At each event you attend you will collect a number of business cards. You will get back into the office and seek to file them. DON’T! We cannot have your new contacts feeling like the girl you met at the Pub and promised to call, but didn't.
Enter the details from the business cards into your Database of Contacts. If you don’t have one start one! Use Outlook, as it will not involve additional cost or any other suitable CRM System.
But for a contact to be useful you need to make contact with them. You could send an email or a letter. Remind them where and when you met. Make a positive comment about your discussions with them. And suggest that a meeting might help the both you to understand how you can be useful to each other. Keep the note informal, unless the individual proved to be a very formal type of personality.
If you feel a meeting is not appropriate then simply say you will see them at a future meeting of The ????? Club. Here is a suggestion.
Hi Bill
It was great to meet you at The Restaurant Bar & Grill last night at The Downtown Liverpool Networking Club.
As this was my first visit it was nice to meet a friendly face, even though you support Everton!
We obviously have things in common and I would welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss further how we can mutually benefit each other. I will call you on Thursday at 10.00am if that’s OK with you.
Keith A Ayres
ClarityClarity
Business & Strategy Advisor and Training Consultant
In this note we are informal (telling the recipient we consider them a friend) and we tell the person why we want to meet them and that it may be beneficial for them as well as ourselves. Use your own words but make sure you contact everyone you meet, because even the most unlikely encounter may result in future business for you.
Meet
Networking is part of the Sales Process. You are not attending these events for fun; you are there to generate sales for your business. Always remember this.
The biggest reason for most sales failures is that no one actually ‘asked for the business’. Don’t make the same mistake!
Make an appointment to meet with each of your contacts outside of the networking environment. Here you can focus on the specifics relevant to attaining sales for your business.
Conclusion
Networking is about selling your business. But it has to be done correctly or you will not succeed. Follow these suggestions, personalise them to suit you and your business and start to make money out of networking.
