More from Your Networking

Not long ago we did a survey at one of our NBG Signature Events looking for topics our members would like more information and even training around.

The number one answer was – More ROI on Networking.

We talk about this A LOT at NBG and have several videos and blogs focused on this exact topic.

Regardless – here we go….

To get more ROI from the time, money, and effort you spend networking keep in mind these cardinal rules:

Don’t think with your wallet

If you go there with the focus of getting clients, leads, and referrals you might make a sale or two, but you are not building a sustainable business. You may see some short-term success, but your business will not grow. You will be on the networking super-highway and never be able to slow down.

It is NOT about getting clients that day

It is about increasing your referability, building your reputation, connecting others to resources, and expanding your circle of influence.

It is about showing others that you are not only great at what you do, but you also care about helping them grow their business and circle and are an open book and resource to them.

It is an exchange of resources and information between people who are genuinely building relationships with one another.

Go there with the focus on making connections, building relationships, and finding ways to be a resource. 

Networking is a CONTACT Sport not a competitive sport

Remember, the other people in the room are not there to take business away from you! Even if they do the exact same thing that you do. Everyone there is (or should be) interested in seeing each person’s business grow.

Most importantly – networking is making contact with others and gathering information, so you have a natural way to follow up with those that you meet.

Helps you to build out your entire TEAM

We can’t do everything alone – even if we think we can. Networking allows us to tap into other people knowledge and experience so we can learn from their struggles and their successes.

OK – so that is the mindset you need to have about networking – let’s get into some nitty-gritty:

Let’s first assume that you have these down-pat…

…a way to introduce yourself that is intriguing and memorable

…brand messaging that sets you apart from your competitors

…confidence and a favorable approachability factor

Great

Here are a few key components for the ‘day-of’ the event:

• Be on time (even early) and try to meet others as they arrive – don’t get caught in a private conversation with one person as people are pouring in.
• Don’t sit down – you lose your approachability factor and your energy!
• Leave your phone in your pocket or purse – better yet…leave it in the car. That way you are not tempted to use it as a pacifier.
• Have 2-3 well thought out conversations starters that are not “So, what is your business?” Try something more original. I like, “What brilliance do you bring to the world?”
• If you have a mobile business card or a QR code for people to scan…have it on your screen. Don’t make them wait for you to find it and bring it up. Have it ready.

Immediately after the event:

• Be sure to make a few notes on everyone you met. Do it now, before you forget. We use the TEAM ESPN sheet from Networking is a Contact Sport. If you are a NBG Member here is a video in the Video Library from a session we did on this strategy.
• Place the new contacts or new information into your CRM and add your follow up tasks with dates for completion (we suggest a regimen of at least 7-9 touches and those are automatically assigned as tasks in our CRM so nothing falls through the cracks)
• Send any promised information or connections within 24 hours.

Alright – that is great – pretty straightforward and nothing really new.

Now what?

There are a few schools of thought here. Many people still swear by the 1:1 “Let’s get together and have coffee” ritual.

So, they schedule 2-3 coffee or lunch chats per week. They try to weed through all the people they meet and reach out to the best possible prospects or strategic business partners and spend hours and hours scheduling, attending, and following up on hundreds of coffee chats each year.

Think about it – if you do an average of 2 coffees per week

That is 104 coffee meetings per year

At 2 hours for each one (the coffee chat plus drive time) = that is 4 hours each week or 208 hours every year…having coffee.

That is 26 full 8-hour workdays each year dedicated to coffee hours.

Now, if your conversion rate is high with this strategy – great!  You are in the minority. But keep doing it.

For the rest of us, there might be a more efficient way to build those relationships.

Consider this, if you spend 4 hours per month rather than 12 hours and meet with just as many people, have those conversations and connections, and build those relationships – wouldn’t that be better?

I am sure I heard a resounding YES! Not to mention it is easier on the wallet and the waistline.

Do this instead: pick 2 dates per month you want to get together with people. Choose a morning time and a lunch or early afternoon time.

As you meet people, make it part of your follow up to invite them to one of these 2 gatherings.

You get to meet and develop relationships with more than one person at a time AND they do too! A win for everyone involved.

PLUS, if you have ever had to endure a 1:1 meeting with someone who just wanted to sell you something, you will not only bring them into your circle (without the sales pitch) but will also be showing them a better way to do business…by your example. (And you don’t have to squirm out of the meeting)

We all know that we sometimes meet a few folks that we don’t necessarily feel compelled to meet with individually, or even in an intimate small gathering like we just discussed. But again, that person could become the best referral partner ever!  You just don’t know.

Here’s an idea…invite them to an event you are attending. I don’t know, say, like, a Network Build Grow event.

What does this do?

• Makes it so you don’t have to meet with them 1:1 or have them take a spot at one of your gatherings
• Shows that you are willing to open up your network to them
• Keeps you as a ‘star’ in their eyes because you introduced them to others (also one of the benefits to inviting people to a small gathering)
• You do get to interact with them again – because you never know!

SO – with all that said, how can you increase your networking ROI?

News Flash = there is no magic answer.

Yes, all of the above might seem elementary but are you doing it?

Take a really close look at what you are and are not doing. Remember, just because we KNOW something, and know we SHOULD be doing it, doesn’t mean we are (or I would be skinny and younger looking).

At the very least you should implement the following:

• Think with your heart and mind – not with your Wallet
• Have a killer introduction that makes you memorable and intriguing
• Have 2-3 Conversation Starters at the ready
• Have a digital business card (LinkTree is my go-to)    
• Have a well thought out multi-media follow up plan
• Have a strategy to further build the relationships that is an efficient use of everyone’s time

Networking is not rocket science. It is really about getting to know other human beings. Don’t make it so complicated that you burden yourself into non-action.

Go to an event – meet people – do consistent follow up – and enjoy the new relationships that are born.

Need more ideas? Take a look at some of the other BLOGS by clicking on the “Networking” filter. If you are a member – there are several recorded Signature Events and Ask the Experts on this subject in the Video Library inside the NBG Platform.

Happy Networking!