In recent days, several clients and friends have told me that they are finally doing business with companies I introduced them to about 3-4 years earlier. Some of these fall into the category of “easy money.”
It’s very gratifying to see one’s time and effort pay off. Those were warm referrals in the right ballpark…and some right on target. As always, I’ll continue to try to make the most of all of my contacts.
When someone does that for you, remember to pay it backward. People call it reciprocity. This may sound like going a different direction, but it’s really the same thing as paying it forward.
On one end of the spectrum, we have the business networking chapters and members who follow procedures and go through the motions throughout their networking life. After all, certain methods propagate because they work. Or we follow them because we’re told they work.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have the members who simply must go their own way and (often) rail loudly against the establishment. For whatever reasons, they need to do their own thing…hopefully with a careful look at their motivations and the repercussions. Whether the urge to strike out for new territory is born of ego or creativity will remain to be seen.
Your chapter needs a mix of both worlds. Use the proven methods as a framework…most of us need this framework…but don’t assume that the frame is the final work of art. Take creative liberties where it makes sense for the growth and strength of your group.
Dynamic groups are better suited to weather times of attrition or turnover. Who would want to join a stale group that’s procedurally correct but lacks an entrepreneurial business spirit?
In a way, your group must be self-seeking, or self-protecting. You fight for each other and turn away even your own parent organization if its activities take you away from your business focus. (Their goals will not always mesh with yours. For example, have they ever started another networking group right on top of yours? Or take over your meeting with a long sales message? Is that helpful to you, or do they compete against you?)
You can push back and still have a healthy relationship with your organization. You can play by the rules and venture out of the box. You can…you must…be loyal to your business family and still maintain some autonomy. Try it, and you will be a stronger, more profitable group for your members and your parent organization.
You may annoy them at times, but you’ll make your parent proud.
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When disaster hits a town, small businesses play a critical role in the recovery. (After all, half of the people in the U.S. are employed by small businesses.) If the business community can get back on its feet quickly, then it provides income, stability, and a base for new growth.
Fast Forward Restart needs your help
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Since then, 220 businesses have been guided by expert coaches through recovery and into stronger positions. These efforts have bridged social and economic differences and brought entire communities into a new era of prosperity. Now, many of these companies want to “pay it forward” and help others in their time of need.
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Your micro-donation can make a big difference
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Have you said, “I refuse to participate in the recession”? If you’ve made that claim, what you probably mean is that you’re going to keep networking and making sales so that your business isn’t harmed by the recession…and perhaps even grows. Nothing wrong with that.
But you are participating. Unless you’re doing something truly groundbreaking or growing the market as a whole for your type of product/service, the sale you make comes at the expense of someone else. So, you may be taking bread out of somebody else’s mouth…or forcing them into foreclosure.
Instead of refusing to participate in the recession, how about pledging to help beat the recession. Take the focus off of yourself and put it on others in need. Give to others. Network for the sake of others. Create jobs for others. Go beyond the reciprocal thinking of Givers Gain. Just give, and find new ways to do so.
These may be tough times, but don’t stay in a bunker by yourself.
The term “business sphere” generally means people who are in similar or related industries. Networking groups tend to use this general language to formalize the bonds between members who have common business interests. But members are often confused or torn between spheres, unsure of the proper interaction.
A key phrase in the previous paragraph is “common business interests.” Within a small, sales-oriented group, our interest is not an industry. Our interest is in making a sale.
Thus, a business networking Sphere is best defined by a common sales target. If you and I both call on the same type of person, then we can more easily qualify the customer and introduce each other.
In the illustration above, we find that six basic spheres will nicely accommodate 24-48 members (with 4-8 members per sphere). This is a manageable division for the average chapter. One member may actually participate in 3-4 spheres, with one sphere serving as home base.
Two initial, overarching spheres would be labeled B2C and B2B. Some chapters fight to be one or the other, but most chapters contain a blend. Even with this simple division, a number of members would be able to stake a claim to either sphere. That’s fine. Spheres are not intended to exclude members, but to highlight areas of potential strength.
Two spheres likely to arise from the B2C sphere are the subspheres Residential Real Estate and Health. Folks in Real Estate sell to homeowners and other people in the home buying process. Health members also sell to individuals, as do the members who remain in the more general B2C sphere. Their success lies in selling to common clients.
The B2B sphere may hold an equally wide variety of members. Subspheres include IT, which also sells to the CFO and operational side of a business, and Marketing, which does not. Marketing’s tie-in to the other B2B members is often strongest when selling to business startups and relocations.
Financial and legal professionals are good examples of chapter members that are likely to serve either B2B or B2C clients. They anchor whichever of those spheres they consider to be their primary focus.
A great prize for any networking chapter is the member who can either get the ball rolling on a deal that impacts many members…or the member who calls across functional areas within a company and can involve several spheres. I have an idea of what some of those occupations would be, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Also, let me know what you think of our illustration of sphere relationships. The ChapterTracker.comTM program currently uses these spheres, so your feedback is certainly appreciated.
Some people look at the ChapterTracker.com program and say, “We wouldn’t use that. Tracking numbers isn’t fun.”
Nonsense! Here are three reasons why…
1. Please…Don’t tell me you hate to see your investments increase in value. If your next portfolio summary shows a 50% increase, you’d probably break into tears while falling on your knees and thanking God. Right? When you’re making money, it’s fun to count it.
2. Many of us truly enjoy analyzing numbers. Aren’t you glad your CPA, financial planner, IT guys, etc. like numbers? So…instead of ignoring the benefit of tracking your chapter’s performance, encourage your “numbers people” to jump in and do the tracking. If they’re good at what they do, they’ve probably already assumed this task. Tell them about ChapterTracker.
3. Even if you insist that tracking numbers isn’t fun…and for some reason you don’t involve your “numbers people”…you need to track anyway. Refusing to measure your business is a copout that will lead to mediocrity at best.
If your business networking chapter isn’t tracking revenue and referrals member-to-member, then visitors (and the members themselves) are left to wonder why. The two most likely answers are that you’re either ashamed of your group or you’re too unprofessional to measure your performance. Please don’t leave that impression!
Ask any business coach: “Should we track our business, or should we muddle through blindly?” (If they say you should muddle along, please don’t hire that person as your coach.) Yes, you need to measure your performance. You need to pay your taxes. You need marketing. This is Business 101.
Measuring your networking group’s performance is a business basic.
Trust is a huge factor in passing really nice referrals. Hazel Walker’s recent blog (click here to read it) highlights lessons that many of us have learned the hard way. Then I received the following quote in an email from my friend, Randy Brunson:
“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence.”
-George Washington
[A quick aside: Randy has a short, weekly email commentary that mixes financial and moral viewpoints...click here to visit his site...just email him and request it.]
Here’s the rub. We guard our best clients and contacts very closely, and our associates must prove themselves before being introduced. AND with newer clients or contacts we don’t know well, we’re still unsure about introducing a new associate. BUT…especially if you’re in a closed networking group together…people need to jump in and try the new member out. Likewise, you want them to try your services or products.
Give them a try personally. It’s probably safe to guess that you’ll be thrilled 20% of the time, that service will be average 60% of the time, and that you’ll wish you had kept your money the remaining 20% of the time.
You may have to “take a bullet” to find out. Here’s my horror story… My wife and I hired a handyman in our group who had received many positive reviews to remove wallpaper and paint our master bathroom. His new employee tore into our sheetrock, tried to paint over wet primer, and spilled paint in our tub, shower, and floor grout. The insurance claim was several $thousand, and I had to rebuild the bathroom during my wife’s 9th month of pregnancy. Sweet.
Such extreme “bullets” are hard to take initially. But in most cases, giving a person a try has many benefits:
In most cases, the business boosts your group immediately.
You find out if you can recommend the person.
That person will (hopefully) reciprocate.
You provide your group with positive or negative feedback that over time will help strengthen the group…whether through trust or removal.
Everyone speeds up the trust process. Speed has its own value.
You allowed the person to join your group, so go ahead and risk a flesh wound.
Both of these sites offer some terrific, simple benefits. (Most folks are still trying to figure out the more complex benefits.) I’ll mention two benefits later and get to the point of this post.
LinkedIn and Plaxo are two different faces (not really even different approaches) to the same end. I don’t mind that they want to remain independent, viable businesses…but how long will they make us do double the work? If you’re on both, aren’t your networks on each one basically the same, although one may be larger because you use it more? This is like using two accounting packages. It’s a pain.
So, LinkedIn and Plaxo…figure it out. Try to share (login, database, etc.)…and compete with your other services and products.
Here are the two simple benefits I mentioned. If you don’t have a profile on one of these sites, you need to get with the program.
1. You are much less likely to lose track of individuals as they change companies, email addresses, etc. This goes both for friends and for people you contact infrequently.
If you’re into business networking, you’ll find that a tremendous number of contacts go bad within 4-5 months. But…if they have a LinkedIn account and update their profile, they stay in your network. Or, if you get laid off and are locked out of your work computer, you can still contact everyone.
On the personal front…have you ever had a pretty good friend who moved, switched email addresses, and didn’t let everyone know? In today’s society, we keep charging ahead, and that person falls off of our radar. It’s really too bad that LinkedIn didn’t exist when I was in school…just think how large my contact base would be right now!
2. If you’re somewhat active on these sites, you maintain a presence in the minds of your network members. When you post what you’re doing today, or connect to another person, or write a blog entry…your network can see what you’re up to. Like when I post this blog, many folks will see the title and click through if they’re interested.
Show a little life, and people will think about you. What they think about you is up to you.
Introverts can be some of the most amazing givers. So if giving is key to networking, then we shouldn’t be surprised that introverts can be good networkers. They may have fewer people to give to, but they make the most of their network.
“Givers Gain” has an almost spiritual ring. Doesn’t this phrase sound like a universal truth, a guarantee for good behavior? No wonder we’ve seen such tremendous growth of the Church of BNI. And the apostles of the Referral Institute.
(Yes, I say that tongue-in-cheek. Most great brands find their loyal following built upon the real substance of their products and services. That’s why BNI and RI are among the leading business networking brands.)
Our motivation for giving
But let’s look at our motivation for giving…and the possible outcomes. To keep things simple, let’s make our list of motivations short:
I give without wanting anything in return.
I give, even if I don’t get a reward, but I might, so that’s great.
I give to get.
Please vote on the poll below, and I’ll report our findings. And be honest, because those around you know what you’re all about.
Answers #1 and #2 are both fine. But you might as well land on #2 because you will gain something. Look at the basic beliefs of any society or religion, and something’s coming your way. You will be rewarded…just maybe not on this earth.
If you chose Answer #3, that’s a fine answer for business (which may not apply so well in your personal life). There is a time for such a clear-cut stance. It’s okay to earn money for your family, to pay the bank, etc. In a very real sense, you’re giving to get.
There are certain people who should bring you business because you give them business. If they don’t, then your business and your family suffer, and you may need to find a more reciprocating ally.
Gainers Give?
However, it’s best to avoid over-spiritualizing giving to get. Nobody can promise that if you give a referral that you will get one in return. You are more likely to get one…but then again, your reward may just be a pat on the back in heaven.
Give referrals whenever possible. The best networkers believe in the “givers gain” philosophy (what goes around comes around). If I help you, you’ll help me and we’ll both do better as a result of it. In other words, if you don’t genuinely attempt to help the people you meet, then you are not networking effectively. If you can’t give someone a bona fide referral, try to offer some information that might be of interest to them (such as details about an upcoming event).
Perhaps Dr. Misner will chime in, as I don’t want to put words in his mouth…but his phrasing seems to suggest a “you’ll scratch my back if I scratch yours” approach. Victoria Trafton of Referral Institute East Central Arizona affirms this more utilitarian understanding in one of her articles, “Giving is Good Business.” Click here to read it…please ignore that it’s a bit dated.
Wouldn’t a “more spiritual” approach be “because I’ve already received (whether money or something else), I want to give”? But what do we get when we give?
What we gain from giving
Let’s take a look at our possible gains. Again, we’ll simplify:
Money or materials.
Honor and recognition.
Spiritual rewards.
That last one’s tricky, isn’t it? You might give all you have and suffer great hardship, then receive your reward much later. On the other hand, if you’re clearly giving to get, your reward is probably here and now.
We could expound, but this isn’t a sermon. (And please don’t get mad, because I’m not talking about any specific society or religion.) The point is to know why you’re giving and to whom you’re giving…and then give, give, give.
You can do great things for your fellow businesspeople. Great giving. But know the real reasons and keep track of the real results. You’ll be able to direct your group to spend extra effort on behalf of the members who are giving, but not getting.
Posted by Jay F. Rowland 
Posted by Jay F. Rowland 
Posted by Jay F. Rowland 
