NETWORK LIKE A PRO: Fishing for Referrals

Network Like A Pro with Dr. Ivan Misner

Just like fishing, the process of meeting people, staying in touch, and then asking for their business is something you can do time and time again.

But do referrals happen by accident?

A few years ago, a longstanding member of a business networking organization was talking about canceling his membership—not because he wasn’t getting enough referrals, but because he was getting too much business.

That’s right. Despite a full year of getting great referrals, Steve’s friend, Mike, didn’t feel that the results proved that networking was a viable business strategy for getting more referrals. He felt that the business he got was based on “chance occurrences”—one person knowing another, who happened to know him—and despite the fact that he kept getting these referrals as a result of his networking contacts, it couldn’t possibly last. So he left the group.

Even though Mike’s misguided reasoning led him down the wrong road, it raises a good question, and understanding the answer could help your business. The question is simply this: Despite the chance nature of networking, is meeting more people something you can count on as a consistent means of getting more business?

Mike’s challenge boiled down to two things: repeatability and understanding. His training told him that the way to get more business was to target a certain kind of customer by calling people from a demographics-based list. If he didn’t have enough business, he needed to make more calls. How many more? He could figure that out, too, because the amount of business he got was directly proportional to the number of people he talked to. It was a repeatable process that he fully understood.

On the other hand, clients he got from referrals always had a story line that he couldn’t see being repeated. Sally knew Jim, who ran into Sue, who happened to be in his group and referred Mike the business. This led Mike to conclude that the results were coincidental and couldn’t possibly be repeated.

Mike’s reasoning wasn’t entirely off track, as far as it went. If you focused on the specific people who gave you the referral, rather than the process and relationships that allowed it to happen, then no, you couldn’t consistently get more business from networking. Or to put it another way: Sally knowing Jim, who runs into Sue and ultimately gives Mike a referral is probably never going to happen again in exactly that way. But if you step back and ask, “Is it possible that somebody will know someone else who’s looking for my services and will then give me that referral?” Well, that’s a whole other story—especially if you focus on building relationships so that there’s always a “somebody.”

What led Mike astray was this: he was thinking about hunting when he should have been thinking about fishing.

A Long and Winding Road

To understand how getting referrals is a lot like fishing, you need to look at the process from a different perspective. When it comes to networking and passing referrals, it’s not about who’s giving what to whom. At no point in this article do we say, “For every referral you give, you can expect one in return.” Nor do we say that when you hand out more referrals, other business professionals will automatically do the same. It just doesn’t work that way.

Think of referral giving in the context of the Abundance Mindset (see NETWORKING SUCCESS: You Can Have an Unlimited Supply of Referrals!), which is the awareness that there’s more than enough business to go around. If you hear of a business opportunity that would be well suited for a referral partner—in other words, not your kind of business, but hers—think of it as “excess business.” When you pass this kind of excess business to others in the form of a referral, you’ll wind up attracting more prospects who want to work with you.

Call it an act from the referral gods. When you do good things for others, those good things have a way of making their way back to you—often from a different person or group of people. Even if it seems that you’re not benefiting from the referrals you’re giving to others, take note of all the other business that “just happens” to come your way:

• The guy who stumbles across your website and gives you a call.
  


• The old prospect you haven’t heard from in months who suddenly wants to get together for lunch.
  


• The inactive client who wants to renew his contract with you.
  

Even though it seems happenstance, some or all of that is likely to be new business you attracted by giving away other business (in the form of referrals) to people you know.

Networking with a Net

Referral networking is a lot like catching fish by casting a net. Each fish comes to the net by a different path; each has a “story” that is not repeated. You don't’t focus on a particular fish and then try to get it to come to the net—in fact, you usually don’t even see the fish until you pull in the net. Instead, you focus on the action of setting the net. You know that if you set your net correctly and consistently, fish will eventually come, no matter what path they take to get there.

The same is true for getting referrals. The process of meeting people, staying in touch, and then asking for their business is something you can do time after time. You don’t have to worry about how a specific referral got to you, because you understand the process of setting your net.

And here’s the best part: Just as with fishing, your net can be working for you all the time. You don’t have to be there whenever someone you know runs into someone else who could use your services—which means you can be “fishing” in many different ponds simultaneously and reaping tons of new business. This is especially true when you’ve become a referral gatekeeper and begin to get referrals not only from your own network of contacts but from the networks of others as well.

When it comes to networking, there is no coincidence about referrals. They’re the inevitable cumulative result of the day-to-day activities of relationship building. And even though they can’t be measured as easily as cold calls, the results are far more powerful.

Called the "father of modern networking" by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His newest book, Networking Like a Pro, can be viewed at http://www.ivanmisner.com/. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company.


For more information, please visit Ivan's TNNW Bio.

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NETWORK LIKE A PRO: Fishing for Referrals

NETWORK LIKE A PRO: Referral Marketing: Top Ten Ways Others Can Promote You

Network Like A Pro with Dr. Ivan Misner

Has anyone ever said to you, “If there’s anything I can do to help you with your business, let me know”? And was your response “Thank you. Now that you mention it, there are a few things I need”? Or did you say, “Well, thanks, I’ll let you know”?

If you’re like most of us, you aren’t prepared to accept help at the moment it’s offered. Before you can do so, you have to make the connection between specific items or services you need and the people who can supply them.

Systematic referral marketing helps you do that by determining, as precisely as possible, the types of help you want and need. Some are simple, cheap, and quick; others are complex, costly, and time-consuming. Here are some examples of the ways others can promote you and your business.

1. Display or distribute your literature and products. Your sources can exhibit your marketing materials and products in their offices or homes. If these items are displayed well, such as on a counter or a bulletin board, visitors will ask questions about them or read the information. Some may take your promotional materials and display them in other places, increasing your visibility. They can include your fliers in their mailings or hand them out at meetings they attend. A dry cleaner attaches a coupon from the hair salon next door to each plastic bag he uses to cover his customers’ clothing; a grocery store includes other businesses’ marketing literature in or on its grocery bags or on the back of the printed receipt.

2. Make an announcement. When attending meetings or speaking to groups, your sources can increase your visibility by announcing an event you are involved in or a sale your business is conducting, or by setting up exhibits of your products or services. They can also invite you to make an announcement yourself.

3. Invite you to attend events. Workshops and seminars are opportunities to increase your skills, knowledge, visibility, and contacts. Members of personal or business groups you don’t belong to can invite you to their events and programs, which gives you an opportunity to meet prospective sources and clients. Even better, they could invite you to speak at their event, effectively positioning you as an expert in your field.

4. Endorse your products and services. By telling others what they’ve gained from using your products or services or by endorsing you in presentations or informal conversations, your network sources can encourage others to use your products or services. If they sing your praises on a CD, MP3, or DVD, so much the better.

5. Nominate you for recognition and awards. Business professionals and community members often are recognized for outstanding service to their profession or community. If you’ve donated time or materials to a worthy cause, your referral sources can nominate you for service awards. You increase your visibility both by serving and by receiving the award in a public expression of thanks. Your sources can inform others of your recognition by word of mouth or in writing. They can even create an award, such as Vendor of the Month, to honor your achievement.

6. Make initial contact with prospects and referral sources. Instead of just giving you the telephone number and address of an important prospect, a network member can phone or meet the prospect first and tell him about you. When you make contact with the prospect, he will be expecting to hear from you and will know something about you. Better yet, your source can help you build new relationships faster through a personal introduction to that person. Ideally she would provide you with key information about the prospect while also telling the prospect a few things about you, your business, and some of the things you and the prospect have in common.

7. Arrange a meeting on your behalf. When one of your sources tells you about a person you should meet or someone you consider a key contact, she can help you immensely by coordinating a meeting. Ideally, she will not only call the contact and set a specific date, time, and location for the meeting but will also attend the meeting with you.

8. Publish information for you. Network members may be able to get information about you and your business printed in publications they subscribe to and in which they have some input or influence. For example, a referral source who belongs to an association that publishes a newsletter might help you get an article published or persuade the editor to run a story about you. Many companies showcase topic-specific experts in their newsletters; you could become the expert in your field for some of these.

9. Form strategic alliances with you. Of all the kinds of support that a source can offer, this one has the greatest potential for long-term gain for both parties. When you engage in a strategic alliance, you’re in essence developing a formal relationship with another business owner that says you will refer him business whenever possible and he will do the same. This works best in businesses that are complementary. For example, a handyman would find advantages in forming an alliance with a real estate agent because they continually encounter people who need home repair work done. Conversely, a handyman probably deals with homeowners who are considering selling their homes after he’s finished making repairs. Such strategic alliances can work with a number of other businesses (CPAs and financial advisors, mortgage brokers and real estate agents, hotel salespeople and event planners, and so on). The key is to find the person with the right complementary business and then make it work for both of you.

10. Connect with you through online networks. When people connect with you online, you can notify them about your events or projects, and you can receive the same kind of information from them. They can see your business profile and biographic data and can refer you to people in their networks. Once connected, they can provide recommendations and testimonials for the rest of your network to view.

Called the "father of modern networking" by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His latest book, Networking Like a Pro, can be viewed at www.IvanMisner.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company.

For more information, please visit Ivan's TNNW Bio.





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NETWORK LIKE A PRO: Referral Marketing: Top Ten Ways Others Can Promote You

NETWORK LIKE A PRO: Debunking the Bunk About Networking Groups

Network Like A Pro with Dr. Ivan R. Misner

As a business professional, I can tell you from personal experience how effective referral networking has been in the success of my own businesses. But some people still need to have a clearer picture of how it works and how it can be effective in their own businesses, so I decided to “debunk” some of the myths and misconceptions that people hit us with from time to time.

“I tried networking. It didn’t work. What’s different about this?”

It’s a common misconception that simply attending a networking event will bring you new business right away. It won’t. Neither will just reading this book; there’s no silver bullet in these pages.

Networking is simple—but it’s not easy. If it were easy, everyone would do it, and do it well. But they don’t. That’s because it’s a skill, like cooking and golf and carpentry, that takes knowledge, practice, commitment, and effort to learn and apply consistently. You can’t just go out to the golf course, buy a club and a ball, whack the ball around a bit, and think you’ve played a round of golf. Neither can you walk unprepared into a gathering of potential networking contacts and suddenly become a competent networker—no matter how gregarious and sociable you are or how many books on networking you’ve read.

Networking is about forming and nurturing mutually beneficial relationships, which brings you new connections with large numbers of people, some of whom will become good customers. Networking also puts you in touch with other resources, such as industry experts, accountants, and lawyers, who can help your business in other ways.

Over time, you will get new business and your operation will grow stronger and more profitable. Will it happen overnight? No, and your new customers probably won’t be among the first 10 or even 100 people you talk to, either. New business will come from people your networking contacts refer to you. But first you have to form solid relationships with your fellow networkers.

Some people go to a chamber of commerce mixer, exchange a few business cards, then say, “There. I’ve networked.” Wrong. That’s only the beginning. You have to attend a variety of events to broaden your networking base; follow up with new contacts and learn all you can about their business, their goals, and their lives; maintain close ties with established contacts; provide referrals, information, and other benefits to your fellow networkers; and generally cultivate these relationships and keep them strong and healthy. That’s networking. Only after you’ve been at it for quite some time will you begin to see a return on your investment. But when it comes, the return is strong and durable.

“Aren’t most networking groups just people like me who are trying to build up a new business?”

When you go to a presentation or a seminar on networking, you might get that impression, because the people you meet are there to learn something new, and so they tend to be younger folks. But if you go to a regular networking event or join a networking organization, you’ll soon see that many of the people there tend to be older, established business people. In fact, in the typical business networking group, the members range in age from the 20s through the 60s, and based on a study done at St. Thomas University, two-thirds of them are over 40. There’s a good reason for this. It’s usually the seasoned pros who have long since recognized and learned to use the benefits of networking to bolster their business. Many have used networking throughout the life of their business and are fully aware of the competitive advantage it offers. Older networkers often serve as mentors for younger businesspeople, which can be an enormous advantage to someone who is new to the art and science of networking.

The best networking groups are the ones whose membership is diverse in many ways. That is, it will have not only older and younger members but also a good balance of men and women, a mixture of races and ethnicities that is representative of the community, and a wide variety of professions and specialties. Such a group offers the best opportunities to get referrals from outside your immediate circle of acquaintances and experience—which puts you on the fast track to expanding your business.

“If my customers are satisfied, they’ll give me referrals. Why should I join a networking group?”

Yes, customers can be a good source of referrals. Immediately after an especially good experience at your business, a happy client may talk you up to a friend who needs the service you provide. But it often ends there. A customer who is merely satisfied is not likely to go out of her way to tell others about you. And here’s the kicker: a customer who is unhappy with you will tell a lot of people—eleven times as many as a happy customer, by one study. Customer-based word of mouth can hurt you more than help you.

A networking partner, by contrast, is always on the lookout for good customers for your business—just as you are always looking for people to send to your networking partners. Your fellow networkers also know more about your business and the kind of customers you want, and they are experts in marketing you by word of mouth, the most powerful kind of marketing that exists. This kind of referral generation lasts much longer and brings you a steady stream of high-quality business, the kind that doesn’t turn around and go to your competitor as soon as he holds his next clearance sale. You can get more good referrals from one or two loyal networking sources than from all the customers who come through your doors—and the customers you’ll get are the kind you’ll want to keep.

Called the "father of modern networking" by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His latest book, Networking Like a Pro, can be viewed at www.IvanMisner.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company.

For more information, please visit Ivan's TNNW Bio.





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NETWORK LIKE A PRO: Debunking the Bunk About Networking Groups

NETWORKING SUCCESS: New To Networking? No Problem!

Networking Success with Ivan Misner, Ph.D.

Build Your Networking Skills, One Step at a Time


As a business owner, one of your primary goals is to continue to fill your pipeline with new business. One of the most cost-effective ways to do this – particularly for a smaller business – is through networking. Before you can begin to be an effective networker, it’s important to identify some of the strengths and skill sets that you bring to the table as a business professional.

* Are you a “people person”?
* Do you enjoy public speaking?
* What kind of professional background did you have before starting your business?
* How long have you lived in the area where you do business?
* What other natural skills do you have (such as time management, staying organized, keeping clients focused) that don’t fall directly into your business expertise but are valued by people?

One of the biggest roadblocks to networking is the fear that being more of an “introvert” impedes any successful attempts at trying to network. In fact, it’s a question I get quite frequently: “How do I network if I’m not a naturally outgoing person?”

Go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief—because you don’t have to become Mr. Public Speaker, Person About Town, to be a successful networker. Most business people, given a little real-world experience, naturally develop a certain level of comfort in dealing with customers, vendors, and others in their day-to-day transactions. Even people who are not gregarious or outgoing can form meaningful relationships and communicate.

Over years of teaching people the art of networking, we’ve found many techniques that can make the process a whole lot easier—especially for those who consider themselves a bit introverted. For example, volunteering to be an ambassador or visitor host for a local business networking event can be a great way to get involved without feeling out of place.

Think about it. When you have guests at your house or office, what do you do? You engage them, make them feel comfortable, perhaps offer them something to drink. What you don’t do is stand by yourself in the corner thinking about how you hate meeting new people.

By serving as a visitor host at your local chamber event, you effectively become the host of the party. Try it! You’ll find it much easier to meet and talk to new people.

Online Networking: Building Your Social Capital at Your Desk

If it is taking you a bit longer to get used to face-to-face networking, remember that thanks to technology’s continuing advances, you can also network without ever leaving your desk – online networking is a very effective way to connect with potential clients and referral sources.

Computer technology and the growth of the Internet have made it easier than ever before to connect with large numbers of people. Online networking gives you broad reach at low cost and effort. What it doesn’t do, however, is provide a forum where relationships can deepen naturally. The nature of the medium strips out communication cues such as facial expression, tone of voice, and body language, restricting communication to the verbal. This is why emoticons were invented—to help convey whether one is happy :D, angry ):o, or perhaps just joking ;). Text messaging on mobile phones is even dicier; sometimes THX C U L8R just doesn’t do it for gratitude.

Online networking has a rude etiquette all its own. Communications are more direct and blunt, less polite, and this often comes across as aggressiveness. It’s easy to get “flamed” online—that is, encounter open hostility—when you’re chatting or messaging invisibly behind the curtain of cyberspace. In person, social norms dictate more restraint.

This is one reason it’s usually better to use online networking with people only after you’ve established a relationship with them by traditional means. To develop trust, respect, and true friendship, it’s hard to beat in-person conversation and the occasional handshake or pat on the shoulder.

Offering Advice to Break the Ice

So we’re back to the challenge of doing some face-to-face networking when you haven’t had much practice at it, or are not sure how to “break the ice.” To get you started, you might want to try offering some free professional advice.

Let’s say you’re a real estate agent talking with someone at a networking event who, although not ready to buy a home today, is heading in that direction. You could say something like this:

Well, I know you’re not interested in buying a home right now. But when you’re ready to start looking, I’d highly recommend checking out the north part of town. A lot of my clients are seeing their homes appreciate in the 10 to 20 percent range, and from what I understand, the city is thinking about building another middle school in that area.

See how it’s possible to offer some value-added advice without being too salesy? A statement like this acknowledges that your prospect is not currently in the market (first sentence) but still demonstrates your expertise, so he will remember and perhaps contact you when he’s ready to move.

This model works for just about anyone in a service-based industry in which knowledge is the main product. If you’re a marketing consultant, give your prospects a couple of ideas on how they can increase the exposure of their business. Don’t go overboard; maybe a technique you read in a magazine or tried with one of your clients. Just give them something they can “try on” to see if it works.

Not only will this open up a good conversation with the person (while you’re out networking), but if you play your cards right, who do you think they’ll go to when they’re in need of your kind of service? When it comes to building rapport and creating trust, nothing does it better than solid, helpful information provided out of a genuine concern for the other person.

Become a Trusted Source for Quality Referrals and Contacts

Another way to ease into networking is to provide a referral or contact. This could be a direct referral (someone you know who’s in the market for this person’s services) or a solid contact (someone who could help in other ways down the road). Let’s say you’re networking and you run into a person who owns a printing shop. You talk for a while, you hit it off, and even though you don’t know of anyone who’s looking for this person’s selection of print services right now, you’d like to help him out. So you say:

Jim, I don’t know of anyone who’s actively in the market for printing services right now, but I do have someone who I think could be a big help to your business. Her name is Jane Smith, and she’s a marketing consultant. I know a lot of her clients need business cards, flyers, and things like that printed, and while I don’t know if she has a deal on the table right now, I think you both would really hit it off if you got together.

You see how easy that was? You stated right up front you don’t know of anyone in the market right now. You then followed up by saying you do know of someone who you think could help and briefly described how. Chances are, this will sound like a good idea to your new contact.

Being new to networking does not have to be a barrier to building and maintaining relationships that will help grow your business. Simply identify your professional skill set and make it work for you: Volunteer to be a presenter or host at a local chamber, civic, or networking event; offer professional advice as a way to develop a new relationship; and be willing to share your valuable relationships with others so they will identify you as a go-to person for trusted referral sources. Before you know it, you won’t remember a time when you were anything but a solid, professional networker.

Called the “father of modern networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. His newest book, Networking Like a Pro can be viewed at www.IvanMisner.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company (www.referralinstitute.com).

For more information, please visit Ivan's TNNW Bio.






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NETWORKING SUCCESS: New To Networking? No Problem!

BLUE THING #10: BackTalk: Comments From Our Readers

NEW: At the bottom of every TNNW article, we now feature a "click-on" COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE button. We want your opinion on every article and every author!

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However, the audience needs to enter the hero’s world and appreciate the hero’s point of view. Then the audience needs to go on that journey as well."
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BLUE THING #10: BackTalk: Comments From Our Readers

NETWORKING SUCCESS: Business Networking Predictions for 2010

Networking Success with Ivan Misner, Ph.D.

2009 is almost over (and many are glad about that!), and it's time to look ahead. I have before me my crystal ball. I am looking into the future, and this is what I see for 2010:

1. First, the economy IS going to improve. OK, this isn't a"networking" issue, but it IS important. Have faith. Look for opportunities. Focus on what you do best. You will have a better year next year, but you need to focus on solutions and get out of the quagmire of problems.
2. Online social networks will continue to grow in prominence. OK, I didn't need the crystal ball for that one. However, consider this . . . digital schmoozing may continue to grow, but so will the frustration over how to convert that technology into viable business opportunities. This is an emerging field, and much of it will be established over the next few years.
3. Companies, small and large, need to create a social media strategy. What's your plan? Oh . . . you don't have one? Big mistake in 2010. You need to start working on one now. Don't know where to start? Do a little research. There are some really good experts out there who can help you in this area. I've been working with Social Media Expert Mirna Bard this year, and she has really helped my organization create a strong, cutting-edge social media strategy that we are now pursuing globally
4. Victims of downsizing will become active in networking groups (both face-to-face and online). Many people have been laid off. My experience in running BNI, the world's largest networking organization, is that within a few months of an increase in unemployment rates, there is almost always an influx of new members into networking organizations. I am confident that there will be such an influx in 2010.
5. We will begin to see more of an integration between face-to-face and online networking opportunities. Online networks will do things to promote face-to-face opportunities, and face-to-face networks will begin to integrate online networking more effectively into their programs.
6. We will see the slow death of the "one-way" website. More and more, companies will create websites that operate in two directions. They will not only provide information to their customers but will also seek feedback from their customers. Blogs, interactive newsletters, social network sites, consumer feedback groups . . . all of these will continue to grow in importance for companies.
7. Face-to-face networks will continue to grow, IF they stay true to a fundamental mission of helping people grow their businesses. Nothing beats networking in person (see my blog on this subject from earlier this year).
8. Companies that succeed in 2010 will remain agile and will focus on relationships. Technology is a tool. Relationships are king when it comes to networking. Companies who are creative in using tools to enhance the relationship building process will be the leaders in a company networking program.

Well, there it is. Those are my predictions for 2010. What do you think of these ideas AND what, if anything, would you add to these business networking predictions?

Called the “father of modern networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. His newest book, Networking Like a Pro can be viewed at www.IvanMisner.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company (www.referralinstitute.com).

For more information, please visit Ivan's TNNW Bio.





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NETWORKING SUCCESS: Business Networking Predictions for 2010

NETWORKING SUCCESS: How And Where People Network

Networking Success with Ivan Misner,
Guest Writers Lisa Harris and Alan Rae

As business people, we tend to believe that the best way to get a result is to be there in person, yet we have only so many hours to spend on promoting our business.

We also know that there are countless online networking activities we could be participating in but it is not always clear which online networking sites are truly beneficial and it can be difficult to figure out how much time we should devote to online networking in order for it to be effective.

One of the things that has changed in the world over the last five or six years is that we no longer trust the experts very much; instead we trust our peers. Therefore, in order to try and get some answers to our questions about how much time we should be spending on networking and where we should be networking, both face to face and online, we thought the best thing to do would be to ask our colleagues—people like us whom we have met through networking and whose judgment we can rely upon.

Last autumn we did just that. We created a questionnaire to ask people like ourselves how much time they spent on networking, what specific marketing tools they used, and what the balance was between online and offline networking. The final question we asked them was how they liked to network—which events worked best, what size group proved to be the most beneficial for them, and how the process of trust development played out for them. In the end, 650 people completed the questionnaire. Most were from BNI, Ecademy, or LinkedIn.

It took us a while to work out what they were telling us but the main story is ultimately very clear, not to mention pretty interesting. Based on the results of our questionnaire, below is a summary of how the majority of professional businesspeople we heard from spend their time in regard to their online and offline networking efforts. These are very useful facts to consider when contemplating a strategy to adopt concerning networking your own business, both online and offline.

The most common amount of time that business owners spend on promoting their business is 12-15 hours. This covers everything from sales to networking to online and conventional marketing and promotion.

Face to face networking activity proved to be overwhelmingly important to our respondents. However, it is also clear that LinkedIn has become an important networking environment, especially for small businesses.

Other tools our respondents typically use to promote themselves are workshops, PR, online advertising, and email (25% or more use these tools regularly and/or depend on them).

Online, LinkedIn and Ecademy seem to be favored locations while offline BNI and other structured face to face events seem to be where people are focusing their networking efforts.

Most people reported that they prefer to network in groups of between 20 and 40, but some people reported that they prefer much larger groups. Larger groups appear to be more popular with larger companies, European companies, and high growth and global companies.

So, what are the underlying reasons which drive people to larger groups and online activities? We know from some earlier interviews we carried out that the people who most effectively utilize online media also seem to be good face to face networkers and that some of these people use technology to “Punch above their Weight.” In other words, they use technology as an alternative to becoming conventional growth businesses.

We decided to check out whether scalability of the business makes any difference—i.e. whether or not the business is limited by demand rather than by its ability to supply, or whether a local vs. a national or global orientation has more of, or any, effect on what people like to do.

What we found was very interesting. It turns out that it is not the scalability of the business that makes the difference. It is whether or not the business sees itself as local (defined as getting 80% of its business within a 50 mile radius) or national (or even international) in scope.

Companies who want to operate with a larger reach use online tools more. They are:

• Twice as likely to use LinkedIn (40% vs. 20%)
• Much more likely to use Twitter (10% vs. 2%)
• Twice as likely to use online social networks (30% vs. 15%)
• More than twice as likely to run a blog (25% vs. 10%)
• More likely to value chance encounters (22% vs. 14%)
• Three times as likely to prefer a group measured in 100s and 1000s (16% vs. 5%)

This shows us quite clearly that companies who want to operate with a larger reach believe that going online and trying to reach a much larger, random population is worthwhile, and that companies who want to operate locally do not value online marketing nearly as much.

Thomas Power, Chairman of Ecademy, believes that a key challenge in marketing is to meet and become liked by the fifty people who can most affect your business. We think what we are seeing here is that if you have a local, non-scalable business—like a small, community-oriented, organic vegetable business, for example—you can find those 50 people by conventional, local networking.

However, if you are trying to promote ideas or scalable services nationally, you will benefit from the random connections that open, supportive networking gives you.

Another thing we found particularly striking about our survey was what all the groups surveyed had in common across the board.

They all believe that you need a core local support group. Furthermore, in all four categories, the mode (the option) that most people chose in regard to the size of the group they prefer to network with face to face was a core group of 20-30 individuals.

In addition, they all believe that trust is generated in the same way—by listening, practicing Givers Gain®, and following up with people quickly. Having a good reputation is based on the social proof of others’ good opinion, evidence of enthusiasm and commitment, and the reciprocity of giving referrals before expecting them.

Most of all, however, you must develop the characteristic of clarity. Being clear about what you do, what you stand for, and what benefits you and your business offer to people who might use your services. Only if people like you, trust you, and know what you do will they refer you to others, regardless of whether you are dealing in online or face to face networking.

Since the overwhelming majority of our survey respondents were offering business services, and most business in that industry comes by referral or recommendation, this gives us some real food for thought.

Where does your business fit into these findings? Do you feel that spending more time online would benefit you or not?

Lisa Harris is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Southampton. She has completed a number of research projects with Alan Rae investigating how ‘early adopters’ of new technology are using Web 2 tools to ‘punch above their weight’ through a combination of online and offline promotion, collaboration and networking. She can be contacted at l.j.harris@soton.ac.uk, or http://www.lisaharrismarketing.com

Alan Rae is Managing Partner at Ai Consultants, the research and consultancy arm of Free Spirits Ltd a successful internet trading company. Alan has run small businesses in IT, Business Training and Research since 1981 and is an expert in how small companies can use internet related tools to improve their operations and marketing. He has developed training and information packages for the European Union, the British Government and the business schools at several British Universities. More at http://twittercom/alanrae or http://blog.howtodobusiness.com

Called the “father of modern networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. His latest #1 bestseller, The 29% Solution can be viewed at www.29PercentSolution.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company (www.referralinstitute.com). For more information, please visit Ivan's TNNW Bio.





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NETWORKING SUCCESS: How And Where People Network

NETWORKING SUCCESS: Ask For a Written Testimonial

Networking Success with Dr. Ivan Misner

Make it standard practice to ask clients and contacts for testimonials and you’ll build your credibility and your business.

Written testimonials influence our actions and choices in myriad ways, sometimes without our even thinking about them. For example: You and a friend decide to catch a movie on Friday, but your tastes don’t always coincide. So, you open the local paper and, together, check out the film reviews written by the paper’s resident movie critic. You decide you want to go to dinner first, but there are so many restaurants in your area that you don’t know which one to pick. So, you open up a local magazine that always features restaurant reviews, and you scan the recommendations of the magazine’s food critic.

Even more powerful than these “professional” testimonials, however, are those that come from trusted personal contacts. If you have enough time, you might call or e-mail a couple of other friends to get their movie and restaurant suggestions. You’re likely to follow their advice, too, because you know that they know your likes and dislikes pretty well.

So it is in business. Before people come to your firm for a particular product or service, they often want the comfort of knowing what others have said about you. Let’s say you refinish hardwood floors. Many consumers, before they let you haul your refinishing equipment into their house, will ask you for either written testimonials or phone numbers of people who can attest to your work. You may even have experience with another form of testimonial: providing references when applying for a new job. Those references are expected to respond by written or spoken word about you and your work performance; quite frequently, a testimonial can clinch the job for you. That’s a lot of weight riding on someone else’s words!

Testimonials carry a level of credibility because they come from someone who has direct experience with your product or service. Consumers generally place more trust in a testimonial from another consumer than in a business’s own marketing message. They believe that the average person is unbiased and has nothing to gain from providing a testimonial. The business stands to gain—or lose—everything, so its own words are seen as less trustworthy. Although most businesses are truthful with their customers, it’s not hard facts but consumers’ perceptions that drive their decisions.

Recognizing consumers’ skepticism, some businesses make a practice of asking for customer testimonials. Ditto for businesses that serve other businesses. If anything, a business can be an even more demanding customer than an individual consumer, because it has its own reputation and ability to function at stake. Thus, a written testimonial on professional letterhead from one business to another is a powerful word in your favor, especially if the business represented on that letterhead is itself highly credible.

Have you ever asked a satisfied client for a written testimonial? I recommend making this standard practice for your business. Written testimonials can be used in many ways to enhance your credibility and set you above your competition—your business’s website, for example. Some websites have them strategically sprinkled throughout so there’s at least one testimonial on each page. Others have a dedicated page where a browser can view several testimonials at once. Both designs have their advantages. Either way, scan each testimonial to keep it with its letterhead. This will enhance its credibility—and yours.

If your business attracts a lot of walk-in clients, it’s helpful to display your written testimonials, each encased in a plastic sheet protector, in a three-ring binder labeled “What our customers say about us” or “Client Testimonials.” Keep this binder on a table in your reception area, where your customers can browse through it while they’re waiting for services. It’s a good way to connect with your prospects and enhance your relationship with current clients.

Another way to stand out from the competition is to include testimonials with your business proposals. This strategy works best if you have a wide variety to choose from; you can include a section of testimonials that are most relevant to a specific proposal.

Here are three keys to successfully using written testimonials:

1. Ask for testimonials at every opportunity.
2. Guide the content of your testimonials.
3. Update your testimonials.

Make it standard practice to ask clients (or other contacts) for testimonials. At what point in the sales cycle should you ask? This is a tricky question, but in general, ask for no testimonial before its time—which may be before, at, or after the completion of a sale or project, depending on your client, your product or service, and your own needs. Let’s say that one month before finishing a project, you call your client to ask how things are going. The client tells you that she’s very happy with the results and that her life or business has changed for the better because of your product or service. At this point, your testimonial detector should be pinging loudly. It’s the right time to make your pitch: “That would be a great thing for other people to know about my company. Would you be willing to write me a testimonial on your company letterhead by the end of the week?”

If the answer is yes, the next step is to coach your client in writing a testimonial that fits your needs. Ask her to tell why she chose to work with you, how she benefited from your products or services, how you solved a problem for her, and what other people should know about your business. What things are most people concerned about when using a business like yours? Ask her to address those issues. Don’t be afraid to offer suggestions; you’ll make it easier for her to write an appropriate testimonial, and the result will be more valuable for you.

Finally, review your testimonial file or binder at least every two to three years to identify testimonials that are no longer valid or credible. Specifically, you may want to discard or refile a testimonial that:

• is from a company that’s no longer in business;
• is/was written by someone who has left the company;
• represents a product or service that you no longer offer;
• has begun to turn yellow with age; or
• needs to be updated with new statistics from the customer.

So, now that you understand what testimonials can do for your business, try asking for three written testimonials on company letterhead this week. Make it easy for your advocates: specify what you would like their testimonials to cover, based on what you know of their satisfaction or successes from using your product or service. Ask for them to be typed on company letterhead, signed, and submitted by a certain date.

One more thing: Remember the law of reciprocity? It works here too. If you want to truly motivate someone to write you a testimonial, write one for him or her first.

Called the “father of modern networking” by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder & Chairman of BNI (www.bni.com), the world’s largest business networking organization. His latest #1 bestseller, The 29% Solution can be viewed at www.29PercentSolution.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company (www.referralinstitute.com) and writes a regular blog at www.NetworkingEntrepreneur.com.

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NETWORKING SUCCESS: Ask For a Written Testimonial