Frank: “Good morning Bob… How are you doing?”Bob: “Doing well. How about yourself?”[sip of coffee]Frank: “Ah, you know… Another day, another dime!”[waiter approaches the table]Frank: “Sir, can you please bring me some jelly for my toast?”
Let’s be frank… have you ever realized a profitable return on your investment from those networking groups? I’m not talking dollars and cents, alone. I’m talking about all the time you spend going to the meetings and events. Time is money! Imagine if you had spent that time having a one-to-one conversation with an existing customer about passing business to one another? Networking groups that have no accountability; that don’t encourage know/like/trust between members; that aren’t focused on a givers gain mentality; those networking groups are a waste of your time.
Consider This
A networking group where people are actually looking for ways to GIVE YOU REFERRALS?
What about a group where people are encouraged to meet OUTSIDE the weekly meeting so they can get to know/like/trust each other so they can be more confident and more effective at passing quality referrals?
Ahh… quality referrals. You mean someone will be expecting my phone call?
Oh wait a second… you’ll like this one… a networking group that tracks “thank you for closed business” dollars and other activities like # of referrals given and received, so they can measure how productive the members are in their networking efforts. I think it was Tom Peters that once said, “What get’s measured gets done.” Yeah, THAT’s an entirely separate blog entry in itself.
Business Networking International (BNI) is the dream networking group I’ve described that actually does all of the above and more!
The Lesson Learned
When you start your new business, be sure to find a local BNI chapter and get plugged in. Give it your all, and give it time! How long depends on what you do. But remember, you need to build your trust with the other members before they’ll start giving you referrals. One great way to do this is to setup those one-to-one meetings with chapter members, and pass lots of referrals to them! And be sure to ask for that specific referral… someone in your group may be your connector!
Let me know your experience with networking groups. What works for you?