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Quickstart - How To Optimise Your Networking - Part 1
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Quickstart
Grow a Profitable Consultancy and Still Have Time for a Life
In this issue
Note from Beverley - A Common Question
One Step Further - How To Optimise Your Networking - Part 1
Personal Reflections - To Quote Bananarama!
Note from Beverley
I am often asked by business owners and those starting out as consultants "how can I raise my profile and meet new clients and contacts" My first answer is almost always network, network, network. So for the next 2 newsletters, I thought I would recap for some and introduce for newcomers how to optimise your networking to really make it a key part of your marketing pie.
Have a good week.
Beverley
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647
One Step Further
One of the best ways to get business is through networking. That's what the majority of people told me when I started out and it has turned out to be very true. In fact for the first 2 years I was in business probably 95% of my clients came through networking.
So what is networking, what makes it so invaluable to its supporters and how can you maximise your networking time?
My definition of networking is
"Creating mutually beneficial relationships with like minded people with whom you can offer and receive value, knowledge and support over time"
I remember when I first established One Step Further I went along to a network evening in central London at which various entrepreneurs and senior city executives were to speak about their businesses and what they had learnt on their paths to success.
They say that the number one fear is public speaking; death is number two and in the top five is walking into a room full of strangers. Well that evening that was firmly my number one fear. I arrived early and walked into the area where I was offered a glass of champagne and an attendee list. I scanned the list and suddenly felt that awful feeling of "what on earth am I doing here?" Senior Manager of company X, MD of Company Y, Director of ABC, I was in awe of a list of names! However, I was determined to brave it out.
As people started to arrive I smiled nervously at a few people praying that someone would take pity on me and speak to me. Fortunately they did and we had an interesting 10 minute conversation about their business. I managed to repeat that scenario 2 or 3 times that evening before being released from my fear and ushered into a room to listen to the speakers, all of which were highly entertaining and gave me inspiration for what might be achieved if you follow your passion.
That was April 2003 and all through that first year, I continued to attend similar events. I soon became the one introducing myself to the nervous newcomer hoping for someone to talk to.
So what changed?
I decided that if I focused on other people's business, other people's interests and engaged them in conversation it made for a much more enjoyable experience. Sooner or later most people do say, "So what do you do?" which comfortably let's you talk about what you offer without it appearing a "sales pitch"
I have also found that if you are up front about why you are at these types of event and actually say what you want, people respond. I spent my first 5 or 6 networking events gaining confidence speaking to different people and learning about their businesses and getting more comfortable talking about what I offer and how it might benefit them. I have also learnt that just attending an event doesn't get you the business.
You need to have a goal for each event, be it - help 10 people with a problem, target 5 people in sales positions or speak to 10 people in the IT industry. Having a goal gives you focus, enabling you to maximise your time and start you on the road to building meaningful and useful relationships. However, getting 20 business cards is not a good goal and doesn't get you any where in itself. Networking is about people and relationships and not about who can collect cards the quickest and then go home and spam the poor people with sales pitches - an exaggeration? - may be not!!
Gaining contacts doesn't get you the business either. You need to have some method of follow up. For example, phoning them the next day or sending them some material or useful information to them.
Personally I send all new people I meet an email which serves 3 purposes.
1. It brings me back into their thoughts.
2. It gives them my contact details (in case they mislay my business card!).
3. I offer them the opportunity to access my free ecourse and subscribe to Quickstart which gives them immediate value.
I also enter all their details into my contacts database with a note about what their business is about, what we discussed and any memorable snippets about them. This also enables me to be able to refer them onto people who might be looking for their service at some future point and to send them some valuable resources or information that I subsequently come across. This approach really works for me.
I have now become much more focused about which events I go to and why. After all if an event is not going to have people there that may generate business or business relationships in areas that my business is focused on, it is another "time stealer"
Networking is a critical part of the "marketing pie" but without careful planning and thought it can be time consuming and unproductive. In order to avoid networking becoming another time stealer, I have 10 tips to maximise your time at networking events so look out for those in the next issue of Quickstart.
Personal Reflections
Have you ever noticed that many organisations have mission statements, a vision and a set of stated values/principles and yet how many of those organisations live and breathe those statements either internally or outwardly to their suppliers, stakeholders and customers really?
So what's the point of spending time, money and effort on defining them in the first place?
Until I set up One Step Further I believed in missions, visions and values but had never really lived nor seen the impact of living them. I soon learned that being what you say you are, acting like you say you act and being authentic with who and what you say you are can be a real differentiator. Of course it will attract and detract and that's OK (providing you attract and detract those you want to!)
When I got involved with Total Flow, we decide to create our values and live them. We live by 3 fundamental principles, which drive and govern our behaviour and thinking internally amongst our team and externally with our clients/potential clients and partnersand I thought I would share those with you.
Your Remarkability is Our Future
* We will only be as good as we help you to be
* We will enhance our brand and reputation through enhancing your brand and reputation
* We will evolve and grow because we help our clients to evolve and grow
* We will be remarkable through creating remarkability with and for everyone we work with
Awesome or Nothing
* If it's worth doing it's worth doing exceptionally
* No is sometimes the answer
* Be brave and go beyond what you think might be possible
* Be innovative, challenging and always create value
* Doing nothing is sometimes the answer
Yes You Can
* You have permission to be brave and remarkable
* You have permission to make mistakes
* You have permission and the capability to learn
* You have the capability to do what you think is a bit scary
* Be confident in our support of and for you
These 3 principles embody Total Flow and our approach with our clients. We are different because we have decided to be. We are taking risks and challenging typical client consultant relationships because we know there is a better way and we create something worth talking about because anything else is of little value.
* Are we there yet? Nowhere near.
* Are we evolving? Absolutely.
* Are we creating value? The picture is emerging! - but our clients will tell us
* Are the opportunities out there? Yes there are.
So why not have a think about how can you differentiate your business by defining your values and living them?
And so to quote Bananarama - "it ain't what you do it's the way that you do it, that's what gets results"
Best Regards
Bev
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647 |
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