Building a business by referring others first

In a recent post I suggested it was a good idea to work out who else is needed when you do business. This simple exercise means you can work out which other businesses give you the most referral opportunities. Both for giving and receiving.

Someone asked me a couple of days ago if I could give an example. Some years ago I was involved in an Internet start up. We provided high speed internet connectivity to business clients in City of London in the days before broadband! Before we opened for business we built relationships with other providers of services in the Internet, IT and Telecoms space. Services that would be complementary to ours and that our clients and potential clients might also need. Some of these may have been competitors in some respects, but we felt that if they were right for a client then we would not be and vice versa.

These other businesses included providers of:

• consumer ISP services - we were b2b only.
• computer and computer network equipment - we did not sell this equipment.
• email and internet software.
• internet security.
• computer cabling suppliers.
• data storage.
• telephony and telephony equipment.
• e-commerce.
• web design.
• internet hosting.

Most of the time when we spoke with potential clients they might not need our services at the time, but they needed one of these others and we referred them. This kept us front of mind for both our potential clients and those we referred. 

Over time all of our business came through referrals from these sources. The 'potential clients' became clients or referred others as a result of the help we provided for them. Those we referred then stated doing the same for us. Many of these relationships also resulted in more collaboration, but that's another story...

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

Who else is needed when you do business?

Last week I was with a group of Professionals and Small Business Owners in Birmingham learning more about Referral Marketing at the Referral Institute's UK & Ireland Conference. The theme of the day was about how you can dramatically increase your referred revenue. One topic covered by Trey McAlister was about understanding 'Contact Sphere Professionals'. These people are in a position to regularly refer each other.

It is worth spending some time identifying this group for your business. Who else is often needed when you do business? What opportunities do you uncover as you go about your work? What other opportunities could you uncover as you go about your work?

This process of identifying them also gives you an idea of the opportunities you have for referring and building your inner network. As you do this for them you are demonstrating how they can do the same for you and others. You are advocating them and providing the motivation for them to do it for you.

You really can get all the business you need through a close knit group of like minded business owners like this. That is provided you are all committed to the success of each other and are all in a position to regularly provide opportunities to each other. You need to meet regularly to strengthen your relationships and exchange opportunities. Why not find a convenient networking group that you can do this in?

You are also adding value to your client relationships by showing them you have their success at heart and not just your own.

Good Networking!

Dave Clarke

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

Do you meet the right people when you go networking?

In a conversation with the partner in a professional firm last week he said "I know networking is about building relationships and not selling directly, but I never meet the right people". I asked him who the right people were and he tried to explain. He found it difficult and rambled on a bit.

I suggested (gently) that he might like to give it some thought because then he would have an idea where he might find the 'right people'. He asked if I had any tips that might help and I said he could start with where his referrals came from today. He mentioned a couple of sources which was great because now he will be looking for networking groups with others like them.

I also suggested that when he finds that group he should invite his current referral sources too. That way he will be building his Inner Network* and strengthening the relationships with his current Advocates*.

*Explained in more detail in the NRG Advocate Marketing System.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke

How to get your Network to Advocate You

In 'How to get what you want from your networking in 2010' I wrote about setting yourself targets for your networking activities as part of an overall strategy. The ultimate aim of your business networking is to create a network of advocates who regularly promote you and your services without being asked or paid and when you are not there.

The number one way of getting your network to regularly advocate you is to advocate them first.

Remember habit 4 of Stephen R Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is think Win/Win. Applying this in networking means developing a giving mentality and becoming an Advocate for others.

In this podcast I explain this and some of the other ways of motivating others in your Inner Network to advocate you.

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Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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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
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Building your Pride

A couple of people recently have asked for advice on selecting people for their Inner Network. At the Referral Institute Conference last week Dawn Lyons and Jill Green spoke about the lessons you can learn from the different roles played by the members of a Pride of Lions in organising around a common goal.

Networking is about helping others as a way of growing your business, but it is important to build your pride with others committed to the same approach and with access to the right markets. People who will share your passion for what you do and who you can be passionate about too.

After the conference Dawn emailed me with some more on the subject of building your pride:

"The key to building your own pride is to first realize you have the right to select your pride members. Select wisely! Select pride members who are:
1) professional
2) they understand how to refer you
3) they believe in and are highly skilled in referral marketing
4) they have a want to and a desire to help you
5) you also enjoy referring them to others

Start slow and build your pride to 4-8 members and watch your referral business grow!"

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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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

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Keeping track of your referrals

I facilitated a networking breakfast on Friday 7 at the end one of the visiting members asked if she could say a few words. She shared that the NRG business networking group she belonged to had been a great factor in her success. Much of her business was a result of the relationships she had made in the group. It was not all, however, down to direct referrals. It was sometimes 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 6 steps removed, but by tracking back to the initial source she knew which relationships were critical to maintain & nurture.

If you don't keep track in this way you run the risk of upsetting your referral sources by not keeping them up to date with the results of the positive Word of Mouth they are generating for you. You could potentially miscalculate the return on investment on some of your activities and end up dropping some for the wrong reasons.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Networking and Masterminding

One of the problems in running your own business can be taking time out from the day to day to chat about things and get ideas from other perspectives. People who are very successful in business surround themselves with people with different skills to themselves and different ways of looking at the world.

As you develop close relationships through networking it may be appropriate to find a small group where you can help each other achieve your overall goals. I am involved in a couple of these groups where the members act like a 'virtual board' for each other.

As I wrote yesterday Networking can be about much more than new business. A small mastermind group or virtual board can provide you with a much needed sounding board and challenge you to make sure your plans have a reasonable chance of success!

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

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How do you get people to advocate you?

One question that I get asked by people is how to get regular business from networking relationships. Getting other business people to recommend and advocate you is what networking is all about for many people.

This podcast explains how to set about motivating others in your Inner Network to advocate you.

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Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Who should be in your Inner Network?

At an event last week someone asked me who would be an ideal connection for me? I explained that it would be someone running another network or providing complementary services to large numbers of Service Business Owners and Partners in Professional Firms. He said that gave him a great insight into the people that would be ideal connections for him.

In this podcast I talk about building close relationships with others who provide a complementary service to the same target market as your ‘Inner Network’. This will help your networking to become a regular and reliable source of new business.

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Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Who do your potential clients listen to?

According to the survey I wrote about in my column for the National Networker, Reasons for Networking, most people are Networking for more business.

If networking isn't generating the results you want it could be for a whole number of reasons. One reason could be that you are spending time with people with no access to your market and no real understanding of what you do. The likelihood is that many of the people you meet may not have access to your target market or anyone with influence in your target market. It's worth taking some time identifying other suppliers to the people you deal with. Maybe ask some of your clients who they take advice from.

You can then start to go about your networking strategically and ensure your word of mouth is getting to the right people with the right message. This includes joining the networking groups where others work in similar markets to you and building that network of advocates to spread positive word of mouth in the right ears.

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

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How to focus on the right people when networking

In a 121 meeting a couple of days ago the subject of how to find the 'right people' to network with came up. Successful networkers build relationships first and business follows. They are giving people and give freely without expectation or condition to the people they want to help. Over time this leads to similar being given back in referrals, support and other resources. They will often focus their business networking on giving to those people they are most able to help and that is often those operating at a similar level to them in similar markets. This makes sense as they will find opportunities for helping those people much more easily. When they subsequently receive those referrals, support and other resources they are highly relevant to them.

Listen to more on finding the right people for you in this podcast, 'How to focus on the right people when networking'.

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

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