5 tips on how to network

122 Gems of Effective Networking

The 5 Secrets of Networking from Angel L. Ramos, MBA

1. Prepare
2. Work The Room
3. Build Relationships
4. Focus on giving vs Receiving
5. Follow Up

How Deep are your networks and relationships

Networking is a big discussion topic as well as becoming big business as more networking groups appear online and offline.  Where I live it seems that at least each week a person is creating a new ‘meetup’ group for business networking (even if there are 10 already offered), or another breakfast, lunch or happy hour to meet and greet like-minded business people.  Attending networking functions in itself can be a full-time job.

And then there is LinkedIn (which I love by the way!).  LinkedIn was one of the first social media platforms that took professional networking online and still remains the leader in that space today (for B2B relationship building).  There are at least 2 million groups that one can join on LinkedIn to create discussions and expand one’s network.  In fact, 89.7% of users find LinkedIn moderately-extremely useful in growing their network and developing their business.

Networks are not only about numbers; more importantly it is about the relationships developed through the networks which then ‘deepens’ the network and increases the ‘net’s worth’.  Relationship building has become easier thorough technology yet I find that the face-to-face or phone call is still one of the best ways in establishing the foundation, building that trust and then solidifying the connection.  As we all know a lot can be sensed via verbal and non-verbal communication; so much can be misinterpreted through ‘text’ or email nowadays.

So the question arises and to reflect upon … Are my networks deep in numbers expanding the globe?  Are my networks deep in substance where the majority of people on my list know how I ‘do business’ and maybe a bit about me personally and vice versa? 

Networking is about ‘giving and take’ and ‘contributing and accepting’.  When we find out a little more about the PERSON than just surface stuff – e.g., what she does, how long he has been in business, etc. – we are then starting to form roots that can grow the value of that person within your network.  The ‘give and take’ is not just about sharing articles or referring people; it is also about giving a little bit of your ‘self’ to that person to become more connected with him or her.  By doing that (and with discernment of course), it can then increase their level of trust by revealing something about them, for example, being a keen landscape photographer. 

Never underestimate who is your biggest ‘fan’ in your network.  This is where, I believe, by getting into a more heart-to-heart and possibly philosophical conversation with colleagues, you find out who your truest allies are within your network.  Many times we don’t know who our biggest fans are especially in these days of social media with the many outlets we can use to make a difference in one’s life.  Just because someone ‘likes’ your post may not reflect their level of admiration (although ‘likes’ are always welcome).

True networks are priceless; like precious gems they must be taken care of to maintain and also increase their value.  By creating more ‘depth’ in substance, your ‘net’s worth’ will increase.

Referrals ... A Gold Mine Gone Begging!

from a leading Accountannts coach:- 

Having worked with, consulted to and advised partners of accounting firms as well as countless owners of small to medium sized enterprises across Australia, New Zealand, North America and the United Kingdom, I discovered that without question – THE most wasted opportunity for all of those businesses  - accountants or otherwise was:

FAILING TO ACTIVELY ASK YOUR EXISTING CLIENTS FOR REFERRALS.

Ask any small business owner: “What’s your number one source of new business?”  The vast majority will tell you: “Word of mouth, referrals from our existing customers”.

Then ask the next and most critical question:  “Do you have a system for consistently generating referrals?”

The answer, almost 100% of the time, whether accounting firm or SME:

Nope.

Like those small businesses, accounting and professional services firms typically fail to create a system for generating referrals.  Many firms have systems for tracking where new clients come from and others have systems for thanking referrers however, ALL BUT NONE have a system for actually GENERATING referrals from your client base.

Let’s explore this HUGE opportunity for your firm, to do that, let’s start with a simple calculation ...

Make a note of your average annual fees per business client, for example, $3000 p.a., $5000 p.a., $8000 p.a., $12,000 p.a., $18000 p.a., $23,000 p.a. etc.

Now make a note of how long an average client stays with your firm, e.g. typically, 5 or 7 years.

Now calculate the two i.e. your average annual fees per year, per business client, multiplied by the number of years they stay with you.  For example: 

$7,000 x 7 Years = $49,000.

That means every business client is worth $49,000 in gross revenue to your firm over time.

Now ask yourself this question ... Would you say, that over those 7 years each client would refer to you at least one other business client?

If the answer is ‘yes’ which is the typical response from most firms, then in reality every client isn’t worth $49,000, in fact they’re worth $98,000.  They’re worth that via the value they add to your firm, by speaking positively about you to their colleagues and associates.

(If the answer is ‘no, we wouldn’t get 1 per client over time’ then frankly, you have some work to do within your operations.  When you offer quality products and services and high customer service, referrals come naturally.  Please note: your average fee per annum may be too low e.g. $3,000.  It’s very difficult to add real value to clients and go over and above ‘standard compliance’ servicing in that price range. To quote Tom Peters: ‘we are rewarded to the extent to which we add value’, you may need to rethink your average hourly rate/value pricing to be able to offer more value to clients AND therefore, have talking about you positively as a result.)

Given the enormous value of a client and their referrals to you and your firm, the key then is to spend some time developing a system that captures referrals rather than leaving it to chance. 

Just remember the three magic rs of referring

record, reward, remind

RECORD … the details of who has been referred when they make an initial seminar booking and when you enter their details into the database. That way you’ll know who is getting referred, who they are getting referred by and who is doing the most referring.

REWARD … referees generously and also make referred clients feel special because they have been referred by one of your top clients.

REMIND … clients regularly about referring people they know. It isn’t a case of sitting back and letting them come to you. It’s important to continue to maintain that WOW service experience and also to continually remind ‘A’ class clients about the need to refer.

The Birth of the referral economy

written by Steven Rosenbaum for Forbes in May 2014

Sometimes, it takes a series of events to turn a number of unrelated instances into a glimpse into the future.

The other day I was talking to a friend about hiring. It’s gotten hard, harder than ever. Not because the tools are hard, but in fact because they’re easy and cheap.

Anyone can post a craigslist ad. The most expensive ones cost $25. And anyone can respond to a craigslist ad, and they do. So a post the other day for a Senior Sales Manager resulted in resumes from an Undertaker, an IRS Agent, and a High School Student. Seriously. Hundreds of responses, few of them even remotely responsive;  SPAM resumes. Yes, I know -it’s my fault for using craigslist. Fine,  I also posted to LinkedIn LNKD -0.83%, and a number of other quality pubs. So far, no luck. 

But – the truth is – what I really want is a referral. Someone I know who can say “here’s the perfect person for you.”

That would be sweet. And, I’d pay them for the referral.
Chances are – we may be about to arrive there.

Marketers are calling this trend; the birth of the Referral Economy. It’s a self-help system where people share and monetize their social network. Because these recommendations happen between trusted friends, the customers trust referring users and the recommendation is inherently non-commercial.
In real estate, the potential to change the way apartments are listed and rented is huge.  The founders of a startup called Circumrent see their mission clearly.

“From being scammed by brokers to spending weeks trying to find the perfect no-fee apartment and save money, it’s safe to say that we’ve ran the gauntlet of renting an apartment in New York”,  writes 20-something founders Nikhil Gregg and Vamsi Katragadda. T

he way that Circumrent works, the current tenant shares his plans to move out with his or her social network. The result – qualified renters see the space first,  landlords and tenants are able to save broker fees, and the former tenant (the referrer   gets paid for sharing the apartment with his network.) Not only does it save costs and get qualified tenants,  Nikhil told me that New York apartments are vacant for 28 days on average, costing landlords money. So efficiently connecting tenants with rentals reduces vacancy rates as well.
Once you see the power of referrals, the impact easily spreads across sectors and markets. 

Danielle Morrill of Refer.ly told TechCrunch: ““The entire internet is monetized this way and people are often getting monetized without them even knowing it,” Morrill said. “Any site that has a ‘Buy’ button has an affiliate program. 

But it’s hard to become an affiliate. The process for signing up is pretty long.”At Refer.ly, you can create your own product links. If a product you suggest ends up with someone in your social network buying something, you get paid. The comissions are small, but heck, it’s the thought that counts. If you’re endorsing a product, why not get a bit of cash for helping the product along?

The “recommendation economy” is increasingly important as growing number of consumers are tuning out traditional advertising and relying instead on their peers’ recommendations according to Deloitte. Smart and, engaged consumers are sharing their interests and broadcasting their opinions about the products and services they like. Through posting on social networks, blogs, and community sites, they share their decisions  and why others should trust their experiences.  Says Deloitte; “A recent Nielsen study found that 84 percent of global respondents trust word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family—making it the most highly trusted among digital and traditional methods of receiving recommendations.”

There’s no doubt  - the power in marketing is moving from the brand with the largest checkbook,  to the consumer with the largest social network. 

 As this happens,  thought leaders and social ‘alpha’s’  are going to find their recommendations and leadership gives them a newfound economic value in the world.  Media noise is replaced by human recommendations - and that makes creates a new economy around the power of the Referral.
Bad landlords and bait-and-switch brands beware. The Referral Economy has arrived.

Creating a Lifestyle Business - Strengthening your referral network: Relationship Development Meetings

Referrals are the lifeblood of and usually the most effective way to market any business especially a Lifestyle Business.  Cultivating your referral network requires time energy and effort.

Relationship development meetings with centres of influence can provide excellent return on investment when done effectively.  Following are some guidelines for conducting relationship development meetings:

Purpose:
The prime purpose of the relationship development meeting is to develop trust.  Trust is manifest when we are meeting 4 criteria:

1. Propriety - Are you proper?
2. Competence - Can you do the job?
3. Commonality - What do we have in common?
4. Intent - How do you do business? What are the rules?

This list is in order of importance 4 being the most important.

Process:
• Set a time and place that is suitable to both people - a cafe can be good.
• Be on time - Being late says loudly that you are not reliable.  If you get caught up in traffic, SMS or phone to let them know you are running late.  - this helps to establish propriety
• Divide the 1 hour into two sessions. - ideally 30 minutes each but not necessarily
• Establish trust by confirming the purpose of the meeting, how you expect the meeting will run and what benefit they and you will gain from your time together. -  this process helps to establish intent the most important element of trust.
Invite your guest to go first by asking them to tell you about their business.  The law of psychological reciprocity tells us that if we ask someone to talk about themselves eventually they will feel the need to ask about you.
In the first part:
• Tell them a little of what you already know about them and confirm your understanding
• Seek commonality through shared attitudes values and beliefs?
• What does their business do?
• Who is their target market?
• What is a good referral or connection for them?
• Ask them for a simple way for you to tell other people about what they do.
• Important note - ask permission to take notes. - this reinforces positive intent
In the second part:
• Get them to tell you what they know about you
• Clarify any misconceptions.
• Seek commonality through shared attitudes values and beliefs?
• Define your business and purpose succinctly so that it is easier for them to explain to others
• What does their business do?
• Who is their target market?

Tell stories about how you have helped other people like them or their clients - competence
Thank them for their time and establish rules for follow up - intent

Other notes:

Have a book to record your notes in that is specifically set aside for Coffee Meetings.  You can then refer back to it when you are able to give them a referral.  It also keeps you on track during the meeting.

When it is your turn to talk about your business, keep to the facts about what you do.  Do not waffle.
Write down in the front of your Coffee Morning Book points that you want to cover about your business.

Invite them to come along to a networking event that you are attending and offer to be their 'Wingman'.  This will quickly build a greater level of trust.

Make a second appointment with them in one month's time at this meeting.  Diarise together.  Let them choose the next venue.
At the second meeting let them know you are specifically going to see how you can bring them a referral or an introduction and ask them to do the same.  You will be amazed at how effective this is for a referral for you.

Please make sure that you pay any bill..  They are your guest....

If you have any question, or comments or you would like some help in creating and preserving your own Lifestyle Business feel free to phone +61 (0)417 883 688 or email me at leonard@actioncyclelearning.com.au to arrange an obligation free initial appointment.

Employees ignore everything in their resume except this!!

WRITTEN BY Max Nisen @MaxNisen

Don’t obsess over format and wording, 
Obsessively tailoring a cover letter to such a job isn’t as important as you might think either.

As we’ve said before, job ads are mostly redundant. They describe an ideal candidate who the company doesn’t actually expect to find. In fact, if you perfectly match a job, you’re likely a bit overqualified!

No, statistically speaking, there’s one thing that matters far more than any of these so-called bits of advice: 

Do you know someone at the company? A candidate with such a referral is much more likely to have their resume read, land an interview, and, ultimately, get an offer.

Referrals account for  between 30 and 50% of hires in the US.

In a paper published earlier this year, researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and MIT studied data from a financial services company, and found that while referrals only made up about 6% of total applications, they resulted in more than a quarter of hires. That’s more than the number hired via online job boards, even though those job hunters accounted for 60% of applications and 40% of interviews.

In fact, a referral who gets an interview has a 40% better chance of getting hired than other candidates.Another recent paper from researchers at the University of Minnesota and UC Berkeley found that these hires aren’t necessarily more skilled or smarter than other applicants. But researchers found that the referral hiring advantage exists across a big range of industries, in this case trucking, call centers, and technology.

A recent story on the phenomenon at The New York Times (paywall) found that at EY (formerly Ernst & Young) 45% of non-entry placements are referrals after an aggressive move to increase them. The figure from Deloitte is 49%. At Sodexho, referrals are 10 times more likely to be hired, reflecting research finding that lower skilled jobs tend to be even more referral-dependent.Employees are frequently incentivized with bonuses to refer people, usually with some tie to retention so they’re not passing along people who aren’t very good. It’s usually in the $1,000-$3,000 range. But the technology industry has taken things to extremes, offering upwards of $10,000. Some 70% of firms have formal programs to encourage referrals.

There’s a reason companies prefer to hire people who are referred. Such applicants have been shown repeatedly in studies  to be significantly more likely to stay at a firm for longer, and to be more productive. This might be because the workers are better matches, or because they have a pre-existing mentor or monitor in the person that helped hire them.

Referrals also come pre-vetted—to a certain extent—and cost less to find.Of course, there are down sides to the referral obsession. People overwhelmingly tend to refer those who are like themselves. A significant majority of referrals tend to be people of the same gender and race, and of a similar educational and socio-economic background. That can lead to a great deal of homogeneity in the workplace.
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Perhaps the biggest current real-world example is Silicon Valley. Referrals are much more common in strong labor markets, and tech certainly qualifies. That has helped contribute to a workforce where some 80 plus percent of employees employees are men at the industry’s leading companies, and almost all white or Asian.

For those without the inclination to network, this can be tough news to hear. But the data is clear:
making connections pays off more than another dozen online applications.

There is not one person who should not have referron on their phone!!!

Become a first follower and create a movement!!

Some key Lessons:-

• Its the first and second follower that transforms the lone nut into a leader
• THe third follower becomes news
• The 4th and 5th - its ok to dance - lets create some momentum!
• Yep, you are now part of a crowd

Without the follower , the leader is a lone nut!!
With the follower, he becomes a genius, a thought leader and a guru.

Who are your followers? Are they your advocates? Is it easy for them to do so?

#Referron and #keynected can help your advocates become seen as your second and third followers - to create momentum and then a movement!

Refer a person you know like and trust and create a movement for him!!

enjoy!!