How’s your game?

Today’s feature article has been guest authored by fellow Sales Coach and contact of Vanessa’s, Adrian Miller. In it she tackles the issue of dropping the ball while networking. Our clients and seminar delegates will know that here at Zee2A we use the analogy of a relay race and talk of ‘dropping the baton.’ The principles are exactly the same.

For more top tips on getting the most from your networking why not take a look at our best selling Performance Tuned Networking ‘Seminar-in-a-Box’. It contains over three hours of powerful instruction you can work through at your own pace, and really start ramping up your results in this area!

 

Don’t Drop the Networking Ball!

(Guest authored by Adrian Miller)

Dropping the ball in the game of networking is akin to not catching a fly ball in baseball. Others are counting on you to successfully execute the play and keep the game going. Let the ball drop too many times, and you’ll be booted off of the team.

Networking is entirely about follow through. Just like in baseball, a networking introduction is like a spectacular ball that is heading right for you. You need to keep your eye on it and reach out if you’re going to make the most of the opportunity.

Too often, individuals get busy and forget to make contact with leads that were given to them or don’t follow up with the individuals who facilitated the introductions. Both slip ups are grievous errors in the realm of networking and can really tick off those who have put time and energy into helping you. If you’re guilty of lack of networking follow up and follow through, don’t be surprised if you’re given the “three strikes and you’re out” treatment from your colleagues and acquaintances. No one is going to continue to help someone who isn’t appreciative.

Don’t let yourself be demoted to the minor leagues of networking. Follow these tips and stay in the game:

Say Thank You

As soon as you obtain a lead from someone who has facilitated an introduction, thank them! Don’t wait for a week to go by, and don’t blow it off as something of little importance. A networking lead is a gift, so be gracious even if you don’t think it’s going to amount to a new business opportunity. Write a hand-written note or offer to take them to lunch. Don’t just send a lame, half-hearted thank you email. Remember, no one is going to go out of their way for you if you’re not enthusiastic in your response!

Keep Organized

Use a system for keeping track of your leads and who has provided them to you. Don’t let the information get buried in your email or on your desk.

Follow Up Promptly with the Lead

Develop a rule for yourself for the maximum amount of time you will take to contact a new lead. Ideally, it shouldn’t take you longer than 24 hours to make that first contact.

Follow Up Promptly with the Facilitator

Your work is not done once you’ve had that initial conversation. Now, you need to contact the person who facilitated the lead and give them an update. This step is frequently forgotten but vitally important to maintaining good networking relationships.

Reciprocate

Networking is not just about you receiving new contacts. It’s also about you reciprocating the favors bestowed upon you. Be generous about helping others, making introductions, and offering assistance whenever you have the chance.

©Adrian Miller. Adrian Miller is a sales trainer, consultant, speaker and author. She launched her firm Adrian Miller Sales Training 21 years ago and works in a vast diversity of industries providing real world solutions for real world situations, on-site and through webinars and teleclasses. She recently started Adrian’s Network, a virtual business networking community that is gaining new members every day. Adrian can be reached here.

Three Pitfalls of Strategic Partnerships

Many small businesses spend far too much time chasing strategic partnerships that never get to the point of delivering referral business, and thus waste effort that would have been better used elsewhere.

What goes wrong?

And how can we ensure early success in our strategic partnerships?

 

If you’d like the answers to those questions, you need to read this week’s Marketing Edge which will be published by email first thing on Wednesday morning.

Sign up for your free copy at www.zee2a.com and make sure you have verified your subscription before midnight tomorrow (Tuesday 24^th November).

 

Feel free to read previous issues at: http://www.zee2a.com/MarketingEdge/index.html

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Give Great Referrals!

A number of my mentoring clients belong to networking groups that rely on members making referrals to each other.  Many of those referrals consist of little more than a name and telephone number on a piece of paper, making follow up quite daunting.  I frequently hear reports like ‘it was no better than a cold-call’ or ‘they weren’t expecting my call’.

 

So the question arises – how do I make sure that when I give a referral it is a warm one, with value?

 

Here’s one tactic I use and suggest you give it a try:

 

I like to send an email, copying both parties that are being introduced to each other, in to the message. The wording would be something along the lines of:

 

“Dear Jill (and Anne)

 

Anne is currently redecorating her office and I told her about the brilliant work you did at Becky’s office.  I gave her your number so no doubt she’ll be ringing you in a day or two.

 Anne: just to confirm, here is Jill’s number *****

Jill: Here is Anne’s number to follow up ****

 

All the best

Vanessa”

 

Or you could try something like:

 

“Hi Richard and Ben

 

It struck me that the two of you may not have crossed paths yet, but it may be worth having a chat to explore possible synergies.

 

Richard: Ben is a *** who works with **** and helps them to ****

Ben: Richard does **** with **** and helps them to ****

 

Here is Richard’s telephone number and email address ******

And here is the same info for Ben *****

 

There may not be any immediate business in it for either of you, but it’s always a good idea to expand our professional networks, isn’t it?

 

Regards

Vanessa”

 

This type of introduction works particularly well because it hangs on the fact that you have a relationship with both parties, so there is an element of referred credibility all around. Richard and Ben both trust me, so they are more likely to trust each other and start off their relationship on the right footing.

 

Go on, give this method a try with the next batch of referrals you do, and see for yourselves the much better level of response.  Then please come back here and leave me some feedback!

Are You Fishing in the Wrong Pond?

If you’ve been a subscriber of the Marketing Edge for a while, you no doubt recall my article in January about “Networking That Produces Results – How to Work That Room!”

Today I’m not going to focus on working the room, but on working the entire concept. I’ll be discussing three essential elements that absolutely have to be at the forefront of any networking that you do. I am taking it as a ‘given’ that you are in the professional services arena, are offering a premium service, and are not trying to be the cheapest provider in town.

1. Fish in the Right Pond

If you had set out to fish for Cod, would you take your tackle out on a barge on some English canal hoping for success? Likewise if you were aiming to catch Rainbow Trout would you set out on a deep sea vessel heading for the Atlantic? Of course not! You would have done your homework in advance, known where the highest concentration of your ‘target’ was, and set off to fish in those waters.

Networking should be no different. In order to get the highest return on your investment (that’s your time and money) you simply have to be doing your networking where your ideal prospects are.

There are a great many different networking organisations to choose from that you may feel overwhelmed by the choices. I wholeheartedly recommend that you take full advantage of attending as a visitor, as many times as the group allows, before making any commitment to join. Investigate, do your homework, and make sure that the fish you want to catch are swimming in that pond!

There is a school of thought that suggests it doesn’t matter where you network because networking is simply about meeting people and making connections. I totally disagree. Pure business sense and sheer economics mean that lots of low value connections, not turning into money, equals a high cost of conversion and low return on investment. It simply has to be about quality not quantity, which brings me nicely on to the next point:

2. Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thinly

To make a genuine success of your networking efforts and get tangible value out of it, it is imperative that you be an active, visible member of the group (or groups) to which you belong. This comes back to the quantity issue. Ask yourself: Can I be an active, visible, highly involved member of a whole host of different networking clubs? To get the most value out of my membership how much time would I have to dedicate to attending events? Over the course of a week or a month, how many hours am I spending at these events? How many work days does that equate to? Now the killer question: Do I have to compensate by catching up on work in the evenings and at weekends?

Hmmm.

Never forget that you have a business to run. Spending time and money in marketing efforts that get poor or wishy-washy results is going to have disastrous knock-on consequences. I’m not saying that your networking is getting poor results, but it introduces the third point.

3. Frequently Evaluate

If we keep doing the same things, we will keep getting the same results. That’s why it is crucial to frequently evaluate what we are doing and examine what results are being obtained from those efforts.

We do, of course, also need to factor in the cost of membership to all these clubs, plus any additional out of pocket extras like the breakfasts or lunches there. How does that fit in with your overall marketing budget? Can you think of ways to get more ‘bang for your buck’ by getting in front of your prospects in a more targeted way?

Many fish migrate to other waters during different seasons, or because of other changes in environmental factors. So too, do we need to frequently evaluate whether our ideal prospects are still swimming in the pond where we have cast our net.

Back on the issue of quality rather than quantity another area that demands close evaluation and scrutiny is that of the quality of business or referrals that are being obtained within the group. If the best referrals you are getting are names and numbers on a post-it note, they are likely to result in nothing more than a cold-call at best. Take an honest look at your conversion ratio: How many of these leads are being turned in to paying clients? How long does it take?

(A simple way to warm up a referral is to ask the referee what they know about the prospect and their needs, and then encourage them to make a warm introduction. It’s important that the approach is made by the person that the prospect knows and trusts. It can even be as straightforward as just arranging a phone call or exchange of emails between you and the prospect. Try this tip alone and see your conversion rates sky-rocket!)

You absolutely have to ensure that any networking you do fits in with your overall marketing strategy. (You do have one, right?) If your weekly commitment is turning into a glorified breakfast club or ladies tea-party it’s time to refocus, reprioritise, and re-evaluate what may be better uses of your time.

©Vanessa Deakin and Zee2A Limited 2008. Would you like to reprint this article? You may do so as long as you include the copyright notice and the following paragraph: Vanessa Deakin, Operations Director at Zee2A, is a Marketing Coach who works with Professional Service Executives frustrated and disappointed with their current growth rates, marketing efforts, and business profitability. Through one-on-one and group mentoring programmes she helps them to skyrocket their results and break their own best records. To learn more, sign up for her e-zine, or make an enquiry please visit our website at www.zee2a.com