Making The Most of Local Networking

By Bill Doerr
Sales and Marketing Editor

Bill's section is brought to you by qAlias

15 Second Executive Summary

Attending a number of recent local networking events has reminded me of some good lessons that are definitely worth keeping in mind if you want to leverage your local exposure factor and see meaningful results for all your time and efforts.

Many people feel they ‘show up’ but often leave with a feeling that they didn’t make the best use of their time or the potential opportunities at the event. By doing a few simple things, you can leave these events feeling your time and effort will produce a great ROI.

The lessons are very simple, do-able and highly effective, too.

Lesson 1: Learn Who’s Attending

Before attending any event it’s good to know who is there. Or, at least planning to be!

Most events are sponsored. And, planned. So ask the host for a list of potential attendees before the event takes place. More often than not you’ll get one! Review who’s supposed to be there. You’ll probably find people you’ve wanted to meet and voila! – now you can. You may also use this ‘advance’ information to help you decide what to bring and why. Recently, I noticed that someone I’ve wanted to meet was planning to attend an event I was attending as well. I brought one of my special reports for her. I was even able to personalize it. When we met at the event, I presented her with her personalized copy of my signature Special Report. Needless to say, she was impressed. I easily secured a follow-up meeting after the event and the expectation she has about me is far better than if I showed up ‘cold’. Yes, it takes planning. But boy, it’s sure worth it!

Lesson 2: Qualify Your Contacts

I really should say, “DIS-qualify”. Here’s why. Most people are good people. But, if you are seeking to find someone you can work with to grow your network or business, then not everyone is equally qualified to consume your time, money and energy.

My suggestion? Identify who has the ability to help you reach your business objectives and learn who doesn’t. That way, you invest your limited time, money and energy on those people where it will do you the most good!

I find the following system is helpful to ‘grade’ a networking contact. Use a simple scale of ‘1’ or ‘2’ or ‘3’ where ‘1’ means someone isn’t likely to know or come into contact with the kind of person who can best appreciate and respond to the benefit you offer; ‘2’ means you’re not sure; and ‘3’ means they are definitely likely to know the kind of person you want to meet. Then, put your time into further qualifying the ‘2’s and cultivating a relationship with the ‘3’s.

Lesson 3: Be a Host

There’s nothing more comforting than to be introduced to someone else by the host or hostess of a party. Unfortunately, there’s not enough hosts to go around. But being a host is more of state of mind than anything else.

So here’s your chance! Act like you’re the host of the event or venue. Bring people into contact with one another. You’ll be very appreciated and they’ll be better for it, too.

Lesson 4: Help The Other Person First

This is a fundamental issue. The best networkers I know (and I know quite a few!) are people who seek to help the ‘other’ person find some connection of value before they seek to satisfy that same need for themselves.

I like to ask, “Let’s suppose I ran into someone who is a candidate for your services . . . how would I know???”.

Unless you’re talking with a crashing boor, you’ll probably be asked the same question in return. In fact, it’s almost guaranteed!

When that happens, ask the ‘Magic Question’. Right after you’re asked what you do, tell the other person simply – e.g. “I’m a ___________; I help _________s to __________”. Keep your answer simple. Say what you have to say in one breath of air – no more. Then, without pausing, add, “Tell me, if you or a friend . . . should ever need to know someone who does what I just told you I do . . . does anyone come to mind that you would either use yourself or refer to a friend?”.

If they don’t have someone they’d use or refer, offer to be their ‘friend’ in your business.

If they do have someone they’d use or refer, acknowledge that fact. But then ask if they feel it’s a good idea to know more than one person in a field they may need. The way I do this with men is to ask, “If you were a football coach, would you want more players on the bench than you have positions on the field?” Their answer is, “Of course!”. From there, it’s easy to ask if you can apply to ‘sit on the bench’ in your field – in case they ever need another player because their existing relationship in your field is ever unavailable or lacks a specialized skill (e.g. some lawyers are litigators and others do transactional law) they may need. If they agree that makes sense (and most people do!), invite them to invite you to ‘keep-in-touch’ and ‘stay-in-mind’. Try it. It really works!

Lesson 5: Follow-up!

It’s easy to forget that your work isn’t finished until it’s all done! After attending any event or venue where you connect with new people, it’s critical that you bridge the initial contact venue and move into the everyday world of the person you’ve met.

At a minimum, send a notecard with a personal note after meeting someone. Why? For starters, no one else is likely to do this. Consequently, you’ll stand out from the crowd just by doing this simple, civil courtesy. Etiquette is a lost art. Demonstrate you have a modicum of manners and you’re sure to leave a lasting and very favorable impression.

Want to go even further? Invite the person to receive your email or snail-mail marketing communications on a regular basis. This is why you have a newsletter or e-zine. Use it!

Ultimate follow-up? Ask someone, “What do you do for a hobby?” Then search online for articles related to that topic you can send them a hyper-link to view online. Over time, you’ll find you’ve collected a virtual ‘library of links’ for all manner of content that you can email to someone a few days after you meet them with this simple subject line: “Just thinking of you . . .”. As a way to demonstrate an attitude of thoughtfulness, this is pretty darned hard to beat!

Summary

Your time is a limited commodity. Therefore it’s precious and valuable. Networking events, business conferences and everyday opportunities inherently hold great promise but, if you don’t plan to make the most of them, you probably won’t.

The five lessons described above will, if you apply them, help you enjoy an above-average ROI for the time, money and energy you invest in meeting with new people anywhere.

Bill Doerr,CCO of SellMore Marketing, LLC is the creator of The Preferral Prospecting System™,


The Expert Directory™, The Client Machine™ and The Ultimate Client Development System™.

He is an Authorized Duct Tape Marketing Coach and a licensed facilitator of the Get Clients NOW! program. Bill uses these resources to 
help service providers generate more awareness in their marketing area, interest in their services, and revenues in their bank. You can reach Bill by phone at: 860-798-6964, online: www.getnewclientsnow.com by email: billd@sellmoremarketing.com or through the TNNW Blog: http://thenationalnetworker.blogspot.com

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Making The Most of Local Networking

Are You Working Way Too Hard for Far Too Little?

By Bill Doerr
Sales and Marketing Editor

Bill's section is brought to you by qAlias

15 Second Executive Speed Read

Marketing, like many things is something you either do by design or by default. And, if it’s ‘default’, it’s ‘de fault’ of you for not doing it ‘by design’.

In this article, you’ll learn some insights gleaned from some recent conversations I’ve had with people who are doing their marketing by design. And, as result, are doing it with much better results than those who aren’t.

THE BACKGROUND

I made two blog posts recently. In one I mentioned how I’ve been waiting for a contractor to get back to me on a project for my home. With fall setting in last year, he said, “Let me get back with you on this in the spring”. I said, “OK”. Well, spring came. And now it’s summer. I never heard from the contractor. And I have a check waiting for him to do this next little project. So now I’m talking with another contractor and the first guy’s lost a ‘low-hanging fruit’ opportunity.

A second post was about a certain business person – a realtor. This person is, on a personal level, a nice guy. Personable. Pleasant. I’m sure he’d do a great job for you if you asked. But as a marketer, he effectively cancels out his ‘strengths’ as a personable professional by being a marketing mess.

For example, he mails out ‘one-size-fits-all’ postcards addressed to ‘__________ or current resident’ (wow, super duper extra points for that one!) and often on topics that are of no interest, value or relevance to me or anyone else in my household. Consequently, his ‘intrusion’ marketing is amateurish and borderline offensive. In each piece he mails – and to his credit he does mail regularly – I can’t recall a distinct offer to contact him. Nor have I ever received a follow-up phone call asking what I think of his mailings or if I have any interest in knowing more about his services.

I guess he believes his recipients are psychic and will just ‘get’ that he wants you to call him. Must be he comes from the ‘Hey, look at me -- I’m on the moon’ school of marketing! And it seems he assumes that all he must do is ‘show up’ on my mental radar screen on a regular basis and if I need or want a realtor, then he’ll get my business. That may work for some people. But I doubt it works for most. And if this guy’s not careful, I’m betting a more thoughtful and intentional effort by an even less capable realtor will produce more transactional opportunities.

I don’t want to rip this guy a second you-know-what and I don’t know if he’s truly ignorant of how to cultivate a relationship properly or if he’s just afraid to engage with prospects in a forthright and deliberate manner or what.

Regardless, it’s definitely NOT the way you want to go about courting someone’s awareness and affection to develop a productive business relationship over time.

THE INSIGHT

If you buy (and I sincerely hope you do) the reality that most prospects for your services are likely to develop a recurring need or desire for the benefits your services offer . . . over time . . . (also known as the ‘lifetime’ value they offer a marketer like yourself) then it’s incumbent on you to find a way to ‘keep in touch’ and ‘stay in mind’ so that, when (not if!) the next ‘need-to-know’ occurs in a prospect for your services they will already:

1) know you (you’re a recognized ‘bogey’ on their radar screen),

2) like you on a personal basis (they find you to be an attractive personality)

3) trust you to have integrity (your words and deeds align), and

4) respect you as a professional (you’re seen as a credible expert in your field)

So, what you want your marketing to do then is make certain that these four outcomes occur for you better and more frequently than they do for your competitors. Fair?

THE OBSTACLE

All that’s well and good. But here’s the problem. It’s not easy to orchestrate all the myriad messages such as phone calls, mailings, emails, etc. that need to be planned, coordinated, implemented, and followed-up in a timely manner so that the lifetime value of your future prospects (which includes your existing clients!) will be realized by you and not some competitor.

While a ‘markitect’ (cute term . . . think about it!) can help you design a marketing follow-up campaign so you maintain a ‘top-of-mind’ awareness with your prospects, you’ll quickly realize that what keeps the potential value of such a plan from being realized is your ability to implement it correctly, consistently, efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner. That . . . is not easy. It’s probably where the saying, “It’s easier said than done” comes from, too!

THE SOLUTION

Fortunately, you CAN do something about this.

Planning is one thing. And, a very important thing. But DO-ing. Boy, that’s critical.

And doing a lot of things – messaging – with a lot of people – your prospective clients -- all the time (potential chaos!) is not a ‘walk in the park’.

As the number of people you’re trying to ‘keep in touch’ with grows, your ability to keep up with the monster of demand you’re creating . . . slows. Until one day you hit the proverbial marketing ‘wall’.

At that point, what will be of immense interest to you is what used to be called CRM.

Unfortunately, CRM has earned a bad reputation with many marketers because the ‘promise’ of what CRM is touted to do is often not realized by the companies that buy it.

Regardless why that is, the idea behind CRM is that you’ll be able to do the right thing with the right person at the right time for the right result you want . . . every time . . . by design, not accident.

Change ‘CRM’ to ‘Marketing Automation’. This term refers to a whole new class of software that’s accessed via the internet rather than an application that resides on your own PC or network.

This new class of software reduces the ‘workload’ of marketing your services and building relationships that, as a result, increases the likelihood of you going to the bank a little more often with a lot more money.

THE RECOMMENDATION

I urge you to learn more about this new kind of marketing automation software. More importantly, learn about what it can do for your revenues – THAT is why you should care.

Recently, I’ve spoken with a couple of leaders in this field and each would, I’m sure, welcome your interest in learning how their software can help you automate your marketing and, as a result, generate bigger and better revenues for your company.

Here are two of my ‘Top Picks’ for a smaller firm or solo-entrepreneur:

Infusionsoft -- by Infusion Software – Phoenix, AZ

Clate Mask, CEO is a highly educated and down-to-earth guy who used a customer-centered philosophy and his own software to become a member of the

INC. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America in 2007. While priced above many in this field, this marketing automation software incorporates many integrated features that others either don’t or you have to buy ‘a la carte’ for more expense.

As a one-stop-shop for improving your marketing, Infusion Software also hosts a monthly webinar with marketing gurus like John Jantsch, Michael Gerber, etc. for both their clients and prospects alike.

Office Autopilot -- by Moonray Software – Santa Barbara, CA

Landon Ray, CEO of Moonray is a personable individual who is also a private pilot – as am I. As such, he understands that a ‘complex cockpit’ isn’t the best way to help you get a productive result. “Simple” he said, “is what we know works best and ‘simple’ is what we deliver in our marketing automation software”. He does. And far better than do many higher priced alternatives. OfficeAutopilot is designed for 1) ease of use – even for a ‘solo’ pilot / entrepreneur and 2) for power – to easily plan, execute, maintain and measure any and all prospect contacts regardless of type – phone calls, emails, direct mails, website visits, etc. Definitely worth checking out!

What I like about each of these solutions is that they have done a better job than most of their competitors in ANTICIPATING what you, my dear reader, want from your marketing efforts (revenues, Duh!) and they’ve created a near custom-tailored solution of laser-focused capabilities in their software that delivers what you need . . . to get the revenues you want.

If there’s tweaking to be done, it’s relatively minor because the marketing tasks you want to do were the driving force behind what their software became . . . i.e. ‘form follows function’ is really true here. And, with OfficeAutoPilot . . . it’s extremely affordable for even a one person business.

While the pricing can vary with the capabilities desired and delivered, if you’re not checking out this kind of software solution to predictable marketing challenges be warned . . . I’ll bet your competitors will be soon -- if they aren’t doing so already!

Next month I’ll be reporting on another but very different solution to help you develop your clientele . . . by design, not accident.

Bill Doerr, CCO of SellMore Marketing, LLC is the creator of The Preferral Prospecting System™,

The Expert Directory™, The Client Machine™ and The Ultimate Client Development System™.

Bill uses these services to help service providers build their business by leveraging relationships and generating more introductions to new business. You can reach Bill by phone at: 860-798-6964, online: www.sellmoremarketing.com or http://www.getnewclientsnow.com/ by email: billd@sellmoremarketing.com or through the TNNW Blog: http://thenationalnetworker.blogspot.com

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Are You Working Way Too Hard for Far Too Little?