6 Different Types of Business Networking

Six different types of business networking that may work for you:

1. Service Organizations
2. Open Business Networking
3. Exclusive Business Networking
4. Online Networking
5. COI Networking
6. Shot-gunning

Service Organizations: This type of networking is when you join an organization that has a mission of service. Business networking is a by-product.  The primary focus may be educational or to raise funds for worthy causes.  Examples would include: Rotary, Optimists Club, National Association of Woman’s Business Owners, Kiwanis and the Chamber of Commerce (However Chambers do have open and closed business networking events also.)

Open Business Networking: This type of networking is when business people get together to meet each other in order to be visible, connect and form relationships. Leads or referrals can be given and received.  Several attendees may be in the same profession. There is no exclusivity. They may not meet on a regular basis. Usually membership is not required and there are no attendance rules. Examples would include: Chamber networking events, Young Professional groups, Better Business Bureau networking events and local networking groups open to all businesses.

Exclusive Business Networking: This type of networking is when business people meet on a regular basis in order to form reciprocal business relationships and to develop referral alliances.  A person will usually have to join after a few visits.  There are usually attendance rules. There is exclusivity which means that there is only one person representing each business category.  The meetings usually have a purposeful agenda that is geared toward giving and receiving referrals. Examples would include: Gold Star Referral Clubs, BNI, and LeTips.

Online Networking: Online networking is a growing industry. Some of the sites used to connect businesses are Facebook, LinkedIn and Google Plus. These sites are dedicated to connecting people. Online networking can be successful if manage well, but overwhelming if not. It is recommended that you limit yourself to doing a few groups very well. Don't mistake a connection for a relationship.

COI Networking:  That is when you develop a plan to network with your personal Circle Of Influence. This works best when you have a well-thought out plan to continually make yourself visible to past clients and the people you know. Some ways to develop these relationships include: breakfast or lunch meetings, email campaigns, sending cards, promotional gift giving, attending events together and office visits.

Shot-gunning: Shot-gunning is when you do a little bit of everything, without a plan. Although connections and sales can be made, it is difficult to form lasting relationships without consistency.

There are many ways to business network. I suggest that you form a plan using two or three methods that work for you. Remember your purpose for business networking, which is to form long-lasting reciprocal relationships that increase your business.

Acquiring Business - Your Toughest Business Challenge

-- Gary Keller, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Keller Williams Realty Intl. and author of "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor," said:

"I've found that acquiring business is the toughest challenge for professional service providers."

When an entrepreneur starts a new business, they may or may not be aware of all the challenges that are ahead. But, for most, the rose colored glasses will come off pretty quick. Some of the challenges may include, lack of capital, low sales, and tough competition.

How much do you think your business would improve if you had three or four bonafide high-quality referrals each month? How much would your revenue grow if you had friends in business that referred their clients to you?

When you look at the multiple reasons that the Small Business Administration gives for why over 50% of businesses fail within the first 5 years of opening, it's easy to see that a good portion of challenges could have been resolved with more sales. Therefore, it makes sense to me... and maybe to you too, that learning how to convert everyday contacts into referral sources should be every business person's top priority.

You can't just blue-sky yourself into more sales. It takes work. So does business networking and relationship building. Building referral relationships may or may not generate immediate sales, yet I encourage you to get started today. How? You can start by stirring up some ideas on who would be good referral sources for you and your business.

Here are 4 ideas that will help you capture more sales with referrals.

1. Create an online Facebook Group with a community of people that you have something in common with. It may be a group for your neighborhood, local school parents, or  in regard to a favorite hobby. Build those relationships into friends who refer.
2. Email, call or visit with all of your past and current clients several times a year. Let them know that you welcome or even reward referrals.
3. Attend local business networking events with the intention of connecting with two or three business people that might benefit from receiving referrals from you and who also would potentially send referrals to you.  Don't know what to say? Check out Bob Burg's 10 Feel Good Questions.
4. Join or start an exclusive industry business networking group, where you are the only person representing your industry.

Although, I could go on for pages and pages on how to create a never-ending stream of referrals, I'm going to stop right here. Let's not get too complicated. I hope that you will get started today with at least one of the four ideas that I've suggested.

Please call me if you need some advice on how to network yourself into success. Beth Davis 918-933-4864.

We have to BE before we can DO...

Today, I would like to pay a small tribute to an old friend, Zig Ziglar. His inspirational life and inspiring words shaped many lives, including my own. On Monday, I heard his son, Tom, quote his father as having once said, "You have to be before you can do, and you have to do before you can have."

Isn't that the truth? Of course, one reason we loved Zig, who passed in 2012, is because he always told us the truth.

If you ever listened to one of Zig Ziglar's motivational and inspirational speeches, you know what I mean when I say that he made you want to be a better person.

You can make positive deposits in your own economy every day by reading and listening to powerful, positive, life-changing content and by associating with encouraging and hope-building people. Zig Ziglar

In today's world, I often see business people and entrepreneurs who tend to get ahead of themselves. I'm sometimes just as guilty. We think that the fastest way to success is to have the right techniques and systems in place, so we can do what we need to do to create more business. We try to generate sales with the latest tactics and we learn how to create relationships based on the advice of the newest best-seller. We get ahead of ourselves by doing in order to have the success we desire and we try to skip the step of "being" the right person for success.

A long time ago, I confided in a business friend that I was over-whelmed with too much to do. He said to me, "Beth, you need to BE for value, not DO for value. The problem is, you've got things in reverse. You've been trying to do for value."

I never forgot those words. They hit me solid, like an arrow in a bulls-eye. Since that time, whenever I catch myself over-doing it, over-volunteering, and trying to DO everything I can to succeed, I stop and take a breath. I remind myself that it is best to BE before I DO.

Each day, like Zig said, we can make positive deposits into being better, more loving and giving people. Thanks Zig! Thinking about you today.

To start your own business referral group, go to: www.GoldStarDirectors.com.

Secrets to Great Stories that Sell

“Stories have power. They delight, enchant, touch, teach, recall, inspire, motivate, challenge. They help us understand. They imprint a picture on our minds. 

Consequently, stories often pack more punch than sermons.

Want to make a point or raise an issue? Tell a story.” 

- Janet Litherland 

FIRST: Stories should be interesting and should hold our attention!

SECOND: Stories should help us come to our own conclusions. (Which is the conclusion the storyteller wanted in the first place.)

HERE IS THE SECRET: 

You will sell more from what people conclude from the story then from the story itself. People will believe what they conclude on their own.

Here is are two short stories:

Gloria owns a local print shop.  When it came time for her 60 second presentation during a networking lunch, she told a short story about how she stayed at the shop three hours after closing time in order to put the final touches on a wedding invitation that she promised the bride would be done the next day. The bride wanted a tiny ribbon and bow at the top of every invitation, which had to be glued by hand. Gloria worked hard and skipped dinner that night to get it done. As a result, at 8:00 am the next day, the bride was over-the-top delighted to get her invitations exactly as she wanted them and on time.

David was an attorney.  His client was always talking about finishing his will but kept putting it off. One cold and stormy weekend night David got a call from his client’s wife. The client was hospitalized  with a serious condition. Without giving it a second thought, David grabbed his hat and coat and rushed to the hospital to serve his client’s needs. Fortunately, the client recovered, but because of David’s caring service, the whole family continued to use him for all their legal needs for years to come.

    

The first thing these stories do is hold your attention, because they are touching and interesting.

Secondly, as the listener, you have come to your own conclusions about Gloria and David. The stories paint pictures of  committed and caring professionals who are hard-working, dedicated and well thought of. But let’s say that someone just told you, without telling the story, that David was a dedicated professional or that Gloria was a great printer. You might not have been convinced. However, when you are allowed to come to your own conclusions, you believe it. People always believe what they conclude on their own.

“Stories… you’ve got to tell them to sell them.”

- Beth Davis, CEO Gold Star Referral Clubs

5 Engaging Ways To Stay Connected to Past Clients

I once heard Joe Stumpf of "By Referral Only" fame say, “The system is the solution.”  

Building your business by referrals is both a philosophy and a mindset and it takes a system to make it all happen. By creating a system to keep in touch with and to stay connected to your past and current clients, your connections and your fans you can consistently reap referrals. 

Your past customers may have known, liked and trusted you at one time, but will they remember you? Will they refer you to their friends a month or year from now?

How are you staying visible? What are some engaging ways to stay in touch?. Newsletters are great, but what else can you do?

Consider all the ways you can stay connected with your contacts. Be creative. Then, create a systematic plan so you can consistently stay in front of your connections and fans. A plan might include Facebook time from 3:00 to 4:00 pm every day, blogging on Monday and Wednesday or shooting a short video every Friday morning. You might set a deadline for yourself to get a newsletter out by the 20th or to write an article for a neighborhood newspaper once a month.

If you're anything like me, if I don't plan it and put it in my smart phone to remind me, the chances of it happening are pretty slim. So, make some decisions, talk it over with your team, write your plan down, schedule it and make it a priority to get started this week.

Here are 5 engaging ways to stay connected:

Use permission-based emails that give value and education. Link to some interesting blogs and articles. Send Newsletters that contain news and humor. I like to use ConstantContact for my email campaigns. It's simple and easy to manage with an unsubscribe feature.

Blog for your audience. Entertain your connections with enticing content. Share valuable information that is closely related to what you sell. Educate people so that they continue to know, like and trust you enough to do more business with you and to refer you to their friends. I like Google's Blogger best. That's just my preference. When I finish with a blog, it seamlessly blasts it out on Google+. Then my husband, Todd, sends it out to our other social media sites. If you need help with content join Copyblogger.com. 

Video and YouTube are excellent ways to demonstrate what you do. Post your short videos on social media websites along with your blog. When I create a video, I just use my smart phone, which is set up on a stand in front of me. I make sure that the background is fairly neutral and that the light source is behind the camera and not me. It's fast and easy to upload it to YouTube. I don't personally care for videos shot from a laptop camera. It can have a fish-bowl look and nobody wants to look like a fish. 

Create a Facebook Group. Like-minded friends and customers can grow into a community with common interests. Post a weekly topic and encourage comments. Connect to your blog and company videos. Encourage discussions. This one only takes minutes to set up and you'll be amazed at how close you get to the people who join your group.

 Events can be fun and are a great way to stay connected. Invite your past clients, current connections and friends to at least one event a year. For example, you could invite them to  join you at a sporting event, charitable fundraiser or a seminar. Consider having a party to watch a great TV show or an event like the Oscars. Better yet, once a year have a family day at the Zoo, rent a bowling alley or have a business networking event.

Keep in touch and stay connected.

You are only as limited as your imagination.

Keeping Customers, Friends and Members

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management.  It is a strategy used to develop stronger relationships with customers in order to generate loyalty and sales. Today, we not only want to keep customers, but our friends, online and offline, and our members in our business networking groups.

Unfortunately, the most common CRM method that we see in small businesses is hit or miss, like throwing darts at a board with a blind fold on.

Guessing at what your customer’s wants and needs are will rarely produce results.

Keeping your customer relationships alive and thriving is the key to their loyalty.

Basic Tips for keeping your customers:

The customer is a priority.  Customers are smart enough today to know when your focus is more on sales then on them and their needs. When you lose focus on the customer, you lose loyalty and sales.

 

Understand your customer.  Gather information about who your customer is, where they go and what their needs are.  Do surveys, get point-of-sale feedback, run contests or set up a social media group. Just listen.

Find a system that fits your company.  Experts will agree that over 70% of CRM systems fail. Why? Lack of commitment to the customer and lack of understanding about what methods best supports their business. What works for you? Infusionsoft, Salesforce, SendOutCards, Constant Contact or a combination?

Start small and manageable.  Develop a plan.  You might begin with an email campaign, social media or a newsletter first. Then when those first steps demonstrate results, your company can look at the next element of your strategy.

Get everyone on board.  From salesman to manager, get everyone connected to your CRM strategy. Don’t let disregard for the company’s vision fracture your strategy.  Empower your staff and sales team with knowledge, inspiration and tools.

Now you see him, now you don't...

Lack of visibility will cost you business.   

We often speak about the importance of the Know, Like and Trust factors in referral marketing. But the formula is not complete without Visibility.

There is a common misconception that just by belonging to a business networking group you should get referrals.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

"Where did he go?"

The members of your group still need to get to know you, like you and trust you. They can’t do that if you don’t show up on a regular basis.

One doesn't generate trust without consistency. In fact, your referrals will begin to decline the minute you start missing meetings, even if you have a substitute.

There will be times of sickness and other emergencies that cause you to miss a meeting. That’s understandable.

However, when attendance is poor, the trust factor begins to deteriorate. The missing member will seem unreliable and will lose credibility. Fellow members may wonder...

· “Where is she?”

· “Is this how he runs his business?” 

· “Will she show up for my client or send someone else?”

· “I manage to get to the meetings on time, why can’t he?”

· “We must not be very important to her.”

· “Is there something wrong? What’s going on?”

As for profitability, empty chairs can’t give or receive referrals and there is always one of your competitors in the wings ready to take your business.