Networking: Schmooze or lose

 

“Oh my god, not another bloody networking event!” I hear you say. All of that schmoozing is enough to get up your goat, unless of course you know how to reach your target market en masse via your business connections?

 

So just what is required to boost your business networking to deliver a stream of qualified prospects and paying clients to your door on a regular basis?

 

 

Every business on earth seems to have a marketing plan. This raises the question: if so many of us have a marketing plan, but a large majority of our business comes from referrals and networking with other business owners, then why in hell don’t we have a networking plan?

 

Businesses are still failing to structure their networking efforts around getting measured results. So, if no one is doing a networking plan, what does it consist of and how should it look? Let’s take a squiz.

 

 

Like any marketing plan that we create, there are always several lead streams designed and directed into our business. Hence, if one fails, we have twenty others to lean on. Networking is exactly the same. Don’t expect to network with a small number of individuals and have your sales go through the roof, unless they are a targeted group and you have spent time developing the relationships required to generate leads en masse.

 

Networking provides endless opportunities for businesses, especially when some of the more innovative techniques are deployed. Your networking plan will consist of networking events, cross promotions, host beneficiaries, joint promotions, referral campaigns and affiliate campaigns. Each of these strategies can be implemented via your existing and future business networks to help you gain reach and momentum with your marketing and networking efforts.  

 

The old days of networking for the odd referral here or there are gone. The focus has been widened to include sending your marketing messages via your existing business contacts and their databases (such as creating a promotional offer for another business owner’s database and then having him/her forward it on via email). Suddenly, instead of going to a networking event to sell to the people you meet, you are establishing alliances through which your promotional material can be distributed, thereby expanding your reach and leveraging your contacts.  

 

To generate great success from your networking efforts, clearly identify the key areas and results you wish to achieve via networking with other business owners, and ensure all of your staff are aware of them. They may include such targets as:  

·        Mass exposure via joint promotions, host beneficiaries, cross promotions

·        Key referrers into particular organisations/companies

·        Alliance partners

 

Your special events list will include a schedule of all the networking events, trade shows and seminars you plan to attend to reach your core objectives. Please note here that to develop real results, individuals will need to bump into you consistently over a period of several months to remember who you are and to develop trust in what you say. Allow for repeat visits to repeat events to maximise your results and earning potential.

 

Create a default diary in which you schedule time on a weekly basis to touch base with key contacts and further establish business relationships. It will be necessary to touch base every couple of weeks with individuals and businesses from whom you are seeking a steady stream of referrals. See how they are going and offer any kind of assistance.

 

Adding these strategies to your networking plan will go a long way towards building up a well-greased networking machine that works for you. Instead of networking for individual sales, shift your focus slightly and draw your attention towards key contacts who can introduce you to their databases. The slight shift in focus will mean real bottom line results for your business.