Why follow up is so important

I ran a business networking seminar this week when I asked 2 questions.

1. Do you agree that all things being equal people do business with and refer business to the people they know, like and trust?

2. Do you agree that all things being unequal people STILL do business with and refer business to the people they know like and trust?

The answer to both was a resounding yes, so I asked another.

"Why then do you spend most of your networking time getting to know lots of people a bit?"

You don't get to know, like and trust people by meeting once or twice. You get to know them by spending time in conversation with them and others at regular networking group meetings and by following that up with One2One interactions. That's follow up and you don't get to know, like and trust someone without it.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking tips

---

Do you spend too much time meeting new people?

In a couple of seminars and One2One sessions this week we have discussed the amount of time spent on Networking. We have then broken that down into time spent in different aspects of networking:

1. Meeting new people
2. Getting to know existing contacts better
3. Spending time with your Inner Network
4. Building trust with your close contacts or advocates

Most people agree that before people buy from you or refer you they need to know, like and trust you and that takes time. You need to meet first, but then you need to keep meeting the people you like to really get to know them and build that trust.

The people I discussed this with during the week were spending nearly all their networking time on meeting new people with almost no time left for the most important relationship stuff. Getting to know the people they like and have already met. Then building trust with the ones they know and like.

Do you need look at your networking time?

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Who do you already know, like and trust?

I have used this quote from Bob Burg before:

"All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to
— those people they know, like and trust."

I meet many business owners and professionals who end up constantly searching for new contacts when networking. It seems that it is very easy to forget those that we already have a relationship with.

I met with a partner in a consultancy firm last week who had carried out a business diagnostic for nearly 100 companies a couple of years back. What a great database of ready made contacts without having to meet anyone new!

In a recent podcast, 'How to start building your network', I spoke about identifying those people you already know or have worked with. A little bit of reconnecting can produce brilliant results.

Some of those people already know, like and trust you!

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Getting to know you

I have written and spoken before about people referring business to people they know, like and trust. Maybe this is in the wrong order and it should be like, know & trust. Many of us make an immediate judgment about liking someone or thinking they like us! The knowing and trusting bit takes longer, but sometimes it is assumed quickly and disappointment follows.

Many people seem to think that attending one meeting with people is enough. You do not generally get results after one networking meeting, but after a series of interactions when you really get to know someone.

You get to know someone by meeting them regularly & by engaging in conversation with them. Regular attendance at a networking group is a great way of building up a good number of relationships where people get to know each other. At the appropriate time it becomes natural to take some of these a little further. Then you can find and agree things that build the trust you need for a long lasting and mutually beneficial business relationship.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Joining a networking group can be like joining a Gym

A couple of people have asked me recently, "What will I get if I join one of your networking groups?". My answer is that we concentrate on recruiting quality people and facilitating quality networking. What you get will be a direct result of how you follow up and the effort you put in. Consider the analogy of joining a gym or fitness club.

We are approaching the time of year when many people join a gym with the aim of getting fitter or losing some weight. However, we all know that paying the money is not enough. You only get results if you put the effort into training, and often you need a personal trainer to really get going. The same is true of networking and you have to put the effort into getting to know people and investing in relationships first. Understanding how networking works is a good start. As Bob Burg said:

"All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to
— those people they know, like and trust."

Business Networking is about finding other business people who operate in similar markets to you, and building relationships to earn that trust. Once you understand and commit yourself to making it work you can actively do the things that will make your networking effective and productive.

Over the next few posts I will revisit some of these things for you:

http://business-networking.blogspot.com/2008/12/do-you-know-what-you-want-from-your.html
* Have you got a System?
* Who do you know already?
* What is your Target Market?
* Is your Proposition clear?
* Who is in your Inner Network?
* How do your grow your Advocates?

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

How to make your follow up productive

A couple of days ago in 'Why follow up is so important' I wrote about the importance of follow up in networking. You get to know people by spending time in conversation with them and others at regular networking group meetings. You get to know, like and trust them by following that up with One2One interactions.

You should treat that as an opportunity to really understand the other person rather than an opportunity to pitch. If you are not regularly finding yourself able to give referrals, connect people and share your knowledge then you need to be asking better questions. It is by getting to know, like, and trust people and giving them opportunities that will produce opportunities for you as people reciprocate.

As I wrote in 'Applying the 7 habits to your business networking' habit 5* is 'Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood'.

*From the best selling Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking tips

---

Building trust with a new contact

In a One2One meeting with an NRG-networks member last month the person said to me,

"My business has always come from recommendation (word of mouth). Usually as a result of some work I have done for a client where I have done a good job and built a relationship. My problem is that with a relatively small client base I am not getting enough referrals. I understand that networking is all about building relationships first, but how do I move from meeting someone to starting a business relationship?"

That question is not unusual and the answer is all about how you engage and follow up after making contact. I thought it worth sharing the first steps that some of the successful networkers use intuitively. These were confirmed in the findings of the NRG business networking research I mentioned in 'How to build trust in business relationships'.

In order to start building a relationship you have to have some sort of agreed follow up. When you meet someone you will have an initial impression of whether you like them or not. If you do or feel you may in time then the first thing is to give full attention to them. Ask questions about them and their business to establish common ground. Once you do that you will get an impression of whether you can help this person over time. Do you know people or information that will be useful to them?

Your follow up can take a number of forms;
1. agreeing to chat at the next group meeting
2. keeping in touch with email if you have permission
3. putting them in touch with someone
4. sending some useful information
5. committing to a group the other person is a member of
6. arranging an informal (One2One) meeting to get to know them better

The informal meetings are the key way of establishing trusted relationships. This will not be appropriate as a first step in many cases, especially at one off meetings. Joining a group of like minded individuals in some sort of membership group is a sign of commitment and a signal to the others that you are placing some trust in them. Like many things that you want to receive you must give first.

So to gain trust you give trust first.

Good Networking
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Can you refer the other people in your networking group?

In a recent One2One meeting the person asked me for some advice about a networking group she belonged to. She said "I have given it my best for more than a year, but I haven't received any referrals". I asked about the number of One2Ones she had with other members and the referrals she made for others.

It turned out that she hadn't been able to make many as most of the others operated in completely different markets to her. I suggested some other groups where she was likely to get to know, like and trust people with similar markets to her.

A good question to ask yourself when evaluating which groups to join is whether you regularly have the opportunity to refer the types of businesses represented in the group. Then whether you can envisage getting to know, like and trust them first.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Ways of helping your advocates to refer you

I spoke at an event last night about the NRG Networking Advocacy Model*. The model suggests that effective networking is a result of building trusted relationships with your Inner Network. Others that share the same target market as you and provide a complementary service to yours. Over time you will actively refer and introduce some of these as you get to know, like, trust and rate them. Some of these will form your Advocate Network, the small group of people who regularly go out of their way to find introductions and referrals for you.

The speakers at the Referral Institute Conference last week all reinforced this view of networking. Sarah Owen addressed the subject of helping others to advocate you as you advocate them. The very act of advocating someone else is motivation for them, but only if they know! Unless you educate them on this and what you are looking for they will probably miss opportunities.

In your One2One interactions have you made sure they really know what you do and where? Can they pass on why you are good and what you love about your business? Do they know how you want to be promoted and who specifically you want to meet? Is there anything else that would make you stand out?

They may be saying things about you that you could use yourself.

*My previous post 'The Advocacy Model: Develop Advocates' has more detail and links to further posts on this subject.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

How are you Building Trust?

For someone to advocate you and your services they need to know, like and trust you. They need to trust that you will deliver. It can be difficult to build this trust with someone who is not your client. As part of building a relationship you may have to find some way of helping your network experience what you do. They might need to see, hear or get a sense of it for themselves.

One way of doing this is sharing your knowledge through blogs like this. Another is delivering seminars. The seminars before NRG lunches are delivered by members to give other members & guests the benefit of their expertise.

I was at a lunch on Friday when Colin Newlyn offered a free 30 minute telephone business coaching session to other members to demonstrate his services. What are you doing to share your expertise and give people that important personal experience of your service?

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

Are you talking enough with the people you already know?

One of the issues I hear most often from Directors and Professionals in small and medium sized businesses is how to generate business in new markets. I facilitated a peer to peer 'Boardroom' session recently where half of the issues raised were around this topic:

"How do I reach the companies I want to provide with a new service?"
"How do I get people to my networking group?"
"How do I get to relevant SMEs?"

Many people think the answer is to search for new connections on social networks or find new places to meet lots of people. The problem with this is you can very quickly run out of resources including your precious time. Stretching yourself very thinly in this way probably means getting to hardly know lots of people. Not the way to generate new business.

I spoke at an event recently on the big mistake that means networking doesn't work for many people. I asked the audience whether the best business came via recommendation and they agreed. I asked if they agreed that people recommend people in business that they know, like, rate and trust. They agreed again so I also asked whether they thought a good networking event was one with people they mostly didn't know. They agreed with that too and that is very often where the problem begins. Getting to know people takes time and the vast majority of people you meet once will remain as strangers.

The best way to get to the people you don't know is not by yourself. It is through word of mouth. It is by getting to know and supporting your close network even better than you do now. Grow advocates amongst them and they will recommend you to the people you don't know yet.

Good Networking!

Dave Clarke

Are you networking with the right people?

In 'The circles (no more strangers)' Seth Godin writes "It's so tempting to seek out more strangers." He makes the point that trying to reach strangers is expensive and you may very well upset your true fans. He uses an excellent graphic (shown to the right here) to illustrate his point that delighting and overwhelming your true fans is a better strategy than chasing after strangers.

Many business people and professionals give in to this temptation and concentrate their marketing efforts on strangers. Building word of mouth from the people they already know can be neglected and their behaviour in networking can be similar. Their networking is all about finding and connecting directly with the people they don't know.

The key to successful networking is to take the opposite view. Instead of looking for strangers it is about building strong relationships where you get to know, like, rate and trust each other. Instead of spending time with people you don't know try investing quality time in building the right relationships. I think it is worth repeating what I wrote last week in 'How Networking Really Works. A small number of people you get to know really really well can give you access to all the new people you want to meet.

Effective networking is about support and sharing knowledge and finding advocates who recommend and refer you. Good networking groups provide the environment for you to strengthen existing relationships & build new ones. It is much easier and more enjoyable to develop your business in an environment like that.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

How to decide where to spend time online networking

At a couple of meetings last week people asked me which online networks they should use. People tend to read the buzz about Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter etc & assume they need to be on them all. They can often feel daunted at the prospect of somehow incorporating all these into their networking.

I replied that the approach to networking is the same as offline. It is all about building relationships where people get to know, like and trust you. The important consideration for business networking is that the people you build those relationships with are in a position to refer you in the course of their everyday experiences. You should be networking online and offline in the networks where those people are members.

As I wrote in 10 top networking tips to increase business with the effective use of offline & online networks:

"Business Networking is about finding other business people who operate in similar markets to you. Then helping them and building relationships to earn that trust so don’t expect instant results. Like anything worthwhile, networking takes time and application. Take the time to develop relationships and create a network. Don’t expect to walk into a room of strangers or simply post a profile online and come away with business – it just doesn’t work like that!"

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking tips

---

Do you know where you are starting from?

Over the last week or so my inbox has been full of well meaning advice about goal setting and new year resolutions. The same topics have seemed to dominate on blogs and social media. One thing has been missing from a lot of what I have read - the importance of knowing where you are starting from. You may be a lot nearer to your goals than you think. One of the common mistakes people make when building a business network is thinking that it is all about making new contacts. Don't forget the people who already know, like, rate and trust you.

I shared some tips on how to identify the people already in your network in a short podcast that you can listen to here:

Powered by Podbean.com

I heard someone say once that if you don't know where you are going then any road will do as you don't know which one to follow. Equally if you don't know where you are then you don't know which road to take.

Good Networking!

Dave Clarke

Is Facebook good for your business?

I am often asked "Should I be on Facebook?". The people who ask are often the ones who think they can 'get business' from Facebook.

Facebook is a Social Network, not a Business Directory. See Social Networking in Plain English for a great quick video on the subject.

Participants in a network are involved in relationships around some sort of mutual exchange. Social networks like Facebook are great for keeping up to date with your friends, acquaintances and peers.

The subjects discussed in social networks include business so should you spend business time interacting with people on Facebook? That really depends on what you are selling so ask yourself a question;

'Is facebook a good place to find and connect with those people with access & influence in my market?'

If the answer is yes then join and start adding value in groups that are relevant. Start your own group to interact with those people that you already do business with and they like interacting on facebook. I do that and generate well qualified paying guests for our membership groups. They are attracted or invited by people they know, like and trust already.

Participants in a Network like facebook or subsets of it may be part of your target market so the question to ask then is 'Does facebook have good numbers of potential customers?'. If that answer is yes then you may want to investigate facebook advertising.

Good Networking
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Did you build your network in the good times?

There may be trouble ahead...

Internet Psychologist Graham Jones wrote on his Ecademy Blog yesterday about the tough economic times ahead whoever wins the UK General Election. Everyone knows there will be some serious belt tightening whoever wins, but as he says "It's not all doom and gloom. You have your friends... It will be tough in the coming few years, that's true. But if you have friends; if you have trusted contacts; if you have people who like you, then you will survive thanks to their support."

This is when you find out that networking really isn't selling. It is about developing your route to market through trusted relationships, but it's much more than that. It is also about support and building friendships in business. That happens when you get to know, like, rate and trust others and they do the same for you.

As Graham said the economic situation we now have to face could well prove that it's never what you know that matters - it's who you know!

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

Do you let others see who you know?

In yesterday's post, 'Do you know enough people already?', I talked about getting to know some people really well so that over time they will introduce you regularly to people you don't know.

One of the great features of the online Social and Business networks like Facebook and Linkedin is that you are able to see who else your trusted contacts know and request introductions.

Some people, however, hide their contacts from view. When you build trusted relationships you do that by extending trust a little or more at a time. Allowing your contacts to view your other contacts is one way of extending trust and building important relationships.

It can also be important in an emergency as I wrote recently in 'Facebook proved faster than the Police!'.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

How networking really works

I sometimes meet people who run around frantically to as many events as possible. They meet as many different people as they can and deliver their 'elevator pitch' as often as possible. In my book that is not networking. It is the face to face equivalent of cold calling. It is difficult and time consuming.

The key to successful networking is building strong relationships where you get to know, like, rate and trust each other. As I have written before:

"You don't build profitable business relationships by hardly getting to know lots of different people!"

A small number of people you get to know really really well can give you access to all the new people you want to meet. Effective networking is about support and sharing knowledge and finding advocates who recommend and refer you. Good networking groups provide the environment for you to strengthen existing relationships & build new ones. It is much easier and more enjoyable to develop your business in an environment like that.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

Networking is simple but not easy

I spotted that headline in a recent Ecademy Blog by Ivan Misner. It's a great headline and a worthwhile read.

It got me thinking too. Like many things networking is a simple process, but not easy to do. I am reminded of a quote from Bob Burg:

"All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to — those people they know, like and trust."

Business Networking is about finding other business people that operate in similar markets to you and building relationships to earn that trust. One thing that makes it easy is finding those networking groups where those people already are.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | virtual board

---

Something to do with those business cards you collected

I was interrupted last week at a networking group meeting by someone who wanted to commend something to the group. Positive interruptions that enhance your message are always very welcome! He said it had been a really useful exercise to go through all the business cards he had collected over a couple years after reading the NRG workbook on developing your business networking plan.

He had separated these cards into the four categories suggested in the workbook. He uses Outlook to manage his contacts so he then created these categories in Outlook. He entered the details of any new contacts into his Outlook Address Book and then put all his contacts into those categories. This means he can now manage the interactions he has with his network more effectively. He can also see, at a glance, who he needs to focus his networking activity with.

The four categories of contacts are your Outer Network, your Resource Network, your Inner Network and your Advocate Network.

Your Outer Network is made up of the people that you have met, but have no real connection with. You don't know what you could do for them, but it is useful to have a record of where and when you met. You paths may well cross again and you make that connection.

Your Resource Network is made up of the people that you have met and you know them well enough to recognise they have a particular skill or offer a valuable service. You don’t want to spend more time in developing a relationship with them, but they are useful to introduce to other contacts when appropriate.

Your Inner Network is made up of the people that you have met, have had some sort of follow up and are building a relationship. They share a similar target market to you and probably provide a service that is complementary to yours. We will call them your Inner Network & it is spending time with these people that starts to make networking really work. One really efficient way of doing this is to ensure you belong to the same networking groups.

Your Advocate Network is the small group of people you would go out of your way to find introductions and referrals for. The people you advocate are the people you have already developed a relationship with and you know, like, rate and trust them. It is spending time doing things for these people where you get the highest networking returns.

Successful networkers have up to 30 people in their Inner Network & about 6 Advocates. Do you know who these people are for you?

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke