Let’s rethink our business sphere relationships

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.com^TM program currently uses these spheres, so your feedback is certainly appreciated. 

Have a great day!

Keep your members in order

Your chapter meeting is a presentation…from beginning to end. You are presenting yourself, and your chapter is presenting its worthiness to visitors and members pondering renewal. But that’s not all. Your chapter is demonstrating its cohesiveness and your sphere is presenting its strength.

Hopefully there’s some general order to your meeting that is standardized from week to week. That standard will capture and communicate your organization’s business philosophy. So we’ll leave that strategy up to you. For this blog, let’s focus on our little infomercials…call them 30- or 60-second presentations.

If you’ve been a chapter member for a while, you’re aware of a particular phenomenon. Certain people within your group, even within a business closely related to yours, just “don’t get it.” Where you fit in the business world hasn’t clicked with them, and you know you would get some referrals if it did.

To address this issue, let’s view some 60-seconds from our seat across the room. Up pops a realtor. Then a nutritionist. Next is a gift basket salesperson. Then a direct mailer. And a banker. Then an IT guy. And so on. Variety can be impressive in its own right, but it’s not cohesive.

Imagine the scene we just painted from the eyes of a visitor. You were one once, and you probably required a few more meetings for even half of what you were seeing and hearing to start to sink in…and more still to learn what this meant for your business. If I’m the visitor, or a member who “doesn’t get it,” you’re not making it easy for me to remember your place. Your value.

Bring some order to my mind by ordering your Spheres. We’re not talking permanently assigned seats…because one person can function in multiple spheres in different roles. Then again, assigned seats might not be such a bad thing…to actually stand and speak where you “should be.” Where I can visually place you in an order that shows your value to those around you.

Let’s take our seat again across the room and watch some 60-seconds. “I’m the realtor.” Then… Mortgage lender. Appraiser. Inspector. Real estate attorney. Home and auto insurance. Security system. Painter. Carpet Cleaner. And so on to another sphere: Marketing consultant. Web designer. Print designer. Printer. Direct mailer. Sign manufacturer. Advertising salesman. Etc.

You can even arrange how one sphere leads into the next.

Ah…now I see the strengths of your chapter, and of your sphere, and I even have a better idea of where you fit. If you keep this up, I just might get it.