Effortless Networking

My sister-in-law in India is starting a business. Last week she asked me if I could help her find some books with some technical information.

I replied saying that I had a client (based in the US) who is an expert consultant on the topic. Would she be interested in talking with him instead?

Well, here’s the email reply I got:

“Thanks Didi….YOU ROCK!!

I’ve written to Tom, asking him how much he would charge for a consultation on this project. Am now waiting for him to get back to me.

Hopefully I can get this ball rolling soon. Am very excited. Hope he can help!”

And you know, this email made my day! (I know, simple things make me happy.)

So why am I sharing this story with YOU?

To make two points:

1. First, this is an example of business networking in real life — outside business mixers and networking groups.

   You have no control over when such opportunities will show you. But when they show up, and you can act on it, it really makes a difference to all the people involved.

   My sister-in-law is clearly excited, my client Tom will be happy to get new business I’m sure, and as I already mentioned, it made my day to connect these 2 people.

   Also, even though I didn’t gain anything tangible in this interaction, I gained something very important (besides personal satisfaction): goodwill — with 2 people.

2. Second, I was able to refer my sister-in-law to Tom because I have a good understanding of exactly what he does.

   I know it sounds obvious — but think of how many times someone has told you what they do, and you have no idea what it means.

   For instance, many years ago at a business mixer, a gentleman told me that he runs a “full service print shop”. When I heard this I wondered, what does “full” include, and does that mean there “partial” service places? And why would a business offer partial services?

   My impression is that most people in such situations don’t ask for clarification (although if you did, that would be an great way to start a worthwhile networking conversation).

   My point is, if you’re not clear about what a person really does, how can you recognize an opportunity to refer business to him or her?

So I’m curious to know: what has been your experience in this area?

I’m just returning from a month-long trip, and still recovering from jetlag (and a bad cold)! So while I work on getting better, here’s a great resource for you, especially if you’re a business owner.

It’s called the “Create the Dream!” magazine. Here are the highlights of the January issue:

• Fusion Marketing
• Small Business Collection Strategies That Work
• Copywriting For Those Who Hate It
• Effortless Networking
• Testing & Tracking Your Marketing Efforts
• A Little Known Small Biz Tax Deduction
• Book Reviews
• “Brand” New You in 2008
• Do Your Potential Customers Forget About You?
• Tricks of the Ebay Powersellers
• Selecting A Retail Location

Click here to download this issue.

Happy reading!

I got this comment recently:

“[My biggest challenge in business networking is] Motivating my referral partners to enthusiastically refer a steady stream of clients to me every single month.”

Here’s the brutal and honest truth:

1. First, it takes long time to build up a “referral engine”.

   You have to find the right people — those who have access to the kinds of leads you want.

   Then, you have to make sure these people are willing and able to send you quality leads.

   Just because they can, doesn’t mean they’re ready to do so. You have to demonstrate your credibility and earn their trust first.

2. Second, even after you build this “referral engine” there is no guarantee that the referrals will flow in regularly and consistently.

   You really have no control over this.

   Influence, yes; control, no. You can encourage people, provide incentives — but, in the end, you have no control over what they actually do.

   Think about it: how often (and how consistently) are you able to send referrals to people in your network? Why do you suppose this is?

3. Before you despair, here’s the third fact.

   The best and most effective referrals come from your satisfied customers.

   This is something over which you have a LOT of influence. So cultivate this source of referrals.

   I recently published two success stories from business owners who do just this.

   Check out Sandy’s story and Jeremy’s story to see what they do.

The good news — I think — is that you can use networking to accomplish other things while waiting the referrals to flow in. I cover this in Lesson 5.

In a nutshell: you can network your way to other business building opportunities, that work quicker.

Just a couple of questions for you today.

If you’re using business networking as the main (or only) way to market your business,

• How did you choose this method? Based on what factors?
• Is it the most effective method, given the nature of your business? What makes you say this?

I find that many people are frustrated with their networking efforts.

I’m curious to hear about your opinion and experience, so I hope you’ll post your comment below.