It's More Than I Thoiught

Last week I attended a networking event in Findlay for those clients of Flag City Online. Now I gotta tell ya' until just recently, I just didn't think those city online directories were really worth anything. But then I got to know owner Karla Lewis better.

For Karla, the online directory is just the jumping off point. Beyond that, she hosts now monthly networking events for all her clients. That's just one thing she does, but I want to focus on that today. I had to arrive late for the event (which Karla knew about) because I had an appointment in Toledo that morning. As I arrived, the assembled group was beginning to do introductions with a twist.

Evidently when each person arrived they somehow received the company name of another person in attendance. (I'll have to find out the logistics from Karla!) Instructions must have been given that each person was to find out about the other person. Then during introductions, instead of self-introductions, each participant gave the introduction for the person theyhad been paired with.

The introductions were wonderful. People bragged about each other. As a new member of the group, I found out quite a bit more about people that I thought I knew pretty well.

Hats off to Karla for making this community be REALLY connected.

Want Members?

Several Business Network International (BNI) chapters in Findlay, Ohio want more members. They could have a traditional "visitor day" (and have in the past) but these chapters think outside the box. They want to help all organizations in the area to be more successful. With that being said they are planning a group networking event. They are inviting the local service clubs, GreaterFindlayInc., Hancock County Leadership and any other groups that solicit for members to be involved.

It reminds me of my friend, Tom Fleming's, BNI chapters in his Tampa, Florida area. All his chapters help each other to be successful. If one chapter falls below 25 members, all his other chapters work to help this one chapter to regain its strength. They realize that if every chapter is healthy, they all will benefit.

So without knowing the "Tom" story, this group is planning a similar task. They want all groups in their area to enjoy strong membership.

Do you want to bet that they will be successful?

Time for Dues

Recently several people have told me that they are not going to be renewing their membership in an organization. And the comment I've gotten from each person is, "I gotten all I can from this group."

Whoa! What an attitude. And for those people, I just smile a fake smile. First of all, I realize they just don't get it and second, the organization is better without them.

So as you begin to determine what groups you will be a member of next year, it would be a good idea to ask yourself, "What value have I given to the group?" If you can't give a good answer, maybe you should pay those dues for one more year. Make it your goal that when you leave the group next year they will all feel very sad.

Because you know right now if you leave, the remaining members will probably be thinking, "Good riddance. That person was a drag on our group. I would never recommend him for anything."

Just a Few of My Favorite Things

This morning I am heading out to Findlay (Ohio) to attend GreaterFindlayInc's morning meeting they have named Fresh Brewed. I always look forward to this monthly event.

Here are my reasons:

Informational

In just a little over an hour the program is set so that I get a little tidbit about what's happening in all parts of the community. It's kind of fun to continue to be educated and now that a little over a year has gone by since I began attending these meetings, I am beginning to feel like I'm a little in the know. (I have a long ways to go still!)

Crowd Attitude

Maybe it's just the AM crowd, but everyone is friendly and happy to be there. There nothing better than getting a lot of positive energy first thing in the morning!

Interesting People

While there is a core group that attends, (just like with any group) there are always new faces. That adds to the diversity of my education.

No Wasted Time

The meeting has a strict structure so no time is wasted and even though different faces take on different jobs each time, the meeting follows that agenda to a "T."

It's About the Members

The GFI (A.K.A. chamber) staff go out of their way to have the meeting be about members. They realize that they are not the organization, but that they help to make the organization for the members. Bravo goes to Dionne, Jeremiah, Diannna and Alissa.

What do you like about a group you attend?

Friend or Foe

In the past week or so, I've been to several networking events.

Let me give you the contrast.

At one, I was welcomed, chatted up and general made to feel like it was a great thing that I graced everyone with my presence.

At another one, I signed my name at a personless table and that was it. No one welcomed me. Each was too busy conversing with someone they knew.

We've all done it. Friends are usually a lot more fun to talk to than unknown people.

What does your group do to make visitors feel welcome AND want to come back.

Do you have certain people who are there to be the link to the rest of the group?

Does your group view an outsider as an OUTSIDER, or do they see an opportunity?

Think about it.

In my opinion three groups that have done a wonderful job recently are WEN (The Women's Entrepreneurial Network), BNI and GreaterFindlayInc's morning Fresh Brewed event.

Tell us about yours.

Helping Children and Education

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you've read the letters BNI quite a few times. It stands for Business Network International, the world's largest, oldest and most successful referral organization. Ivan Misner started this company over 20 years ago, when he needed to add to his client base. And the rest is history.

About nine years ago, Ivan and his wife, Beth (second from right in photo at the right), decided that they wanted to share some of their success. They formed the Misner Foundation, which supplies grants to schools and programs that benefit children and education.

What's really neat about this foundation is that it is right in line with BNI's referral philosophy. A grant application can only be submitted if it is referred by a BNI member. Now, if there is an organization that surfaces through some other way, Beth will put them in touch with a BNI member in their area, so that a relationship might develop that will lead to a referral.

The grants are $1000 each and Beth's goal is to give as much of the money away as possible. If you'd like to hear more about this you can listen to a podcast here.

If you would develop a foundation, what cause would it support?

You Mean, You Think I Can Help?????

Yesterday, my day was wonderful!

After launching a new Certified Networker class in spite of the snow, I met with a couple people from the Findlay chamber (or GreaterFindlayInc. as it is now called.) It was such a refreshing meeting.

I felt like Sally Field at the Oscars several years ago when she was amazed that they like her!

Jeremiah Gracia,VP Business Development and Dionne Neubauer, Vice President, asked how I thought we might partner to help the members of the chamber succeed even more. They had some ideas, I had some ideas and we're going to collaborate to determine what works.

Their open-minded welcome was very different from what I've experienced in the past with other similar organizations.

As I said....a breath of fresh air.

And You Went, Ate and Left?

It always amazes me how with a little encouragement, a room of very diversified people can help each other.

Last Friday, we had our first Educational Preview of the year for the Certified Networker course. The ultimate goal is to have people want more of what they're given in the two hour session, so they register for the course. Devious, aren't we?

A second, very important objective is to get the participants to connect with others in the room so they can help each other. Sometimes it works better than others. I don't think it has anything to do with the occupation of the people. I think it has to do with if I'm "on" that day in presenting and also with the attitude of the participants.

Last Friday was the best. Right from the start I could tell that this group had "a helping mindset." When we had a break, even though my direct instructions were, "To get with the person in this room you can help," they didn't hesitate. They immediately wanted to trade cards and schedule appointments with each other. It was fun to watch.

So my question is, "Why doesn't that happen with other networking groups?" I am particularly thinking of chamber events. It is my experience that people come to eat, try to sell themselves and then leave.

How can we change that mindset, so instead people arrive early to connect, find out what others need and then schedule appointments before leaving? Or is that like trying to turn an ocean freighter at sea?

Feeding the Hand

Yesterday I wrote a post about analyzing the groups you belong to. One important aspect of membership and involvement is using the group to make connections for your networking contacts.

That's right, instead of just trying to further your own success, what about only connecting with people who can help others in your network?

As people become better networkers, clearly understanding their target market in relation to their business success and networking, one fatal mistake I see is shortened vision.

Let me set the scene.

I will use the example of BNI (Business Network International) because that's the one I know best, but of course you can insert the name of any group.

For those of you who don't know BNI, let me give you a very short explanation.

Local BNI chapters are composed of business people meeting for the purpose delivering referrals to one another. Within each chapter there is just one person per profession. Also within each chapter, Power Teams will form, sort of like sub groups of the whole. They typically will have similar types of prospects and then can more easily help each other. Sometimes the PT will meet outside the regular BNI meeting, too. This is a good thing because they concentrate on helping one another and developing strong relationships so they are very comfortable referring best clients to each other.

OK, here is where crazy thinking will creep in.

Ever so often, the members of the Power Team will say, "Why should we meet with the big group or any other group for that matter? We're all we need. We don't need any of those other people." And before you know it, they have resigned their position within the chapter.

Here's the challenge of this mindset.

The group becomes inbred. Eventually it probably dies out because no new prospects are coming to the table. They are recycling the same old client/prospect list each time they meet. They are meeting no new contacts who might lead them to a great new prospect. In time each member's value diminishes to the rest of the members of the Power Team.

And that's why isolationism doesn't work. You have to keep going out to various other groups to bring "food" back to the nest. And that's how I look at Power Teams or any other similar group. It is a safe nest. It is good. It is a place to be nurtured and fed. But you can starve to death if no food is being brought back to you.

What groups do you belong to in order to specifically feed your referral sources?

Belonging

Many times, people will evaluate the groups they belong to at the end of a year (or the beginning) to determine if they will continue their membership with each group. I encourage that. There is nothing worse than wasting both time and money.

However, and you'll notice that I put that in large type, sometimes the wrong or incomplete criteria are used when doing the analysis.

First of all, what was the original goal for belonging to the group?

Was it to get more business, to develop referral relationships, to gain more knowledge or to give back to the community?


Second, are you doing all you can to achieve the above goals?
Are you an active member, do you go to the meetings and do you participate on committees?


Third, is the group what you thought is was going to be?

Does it meets its mission, fulfill its promises and deliver value for the members?


Fourth, does this group help you to deliver to others?

If you only go to groups to gain for yourself, you are going to become known as only a taker. But if you attend group meetings looking for connections for your other networking contacts, you are leveraging your networking capital. I'll write more about this tomorrow.

So as you review the groups you belong to, do you need to resign, step up your involvement or continue as is?

Scanning Ahead

My friend, Deanna Tucci Schmitt and I did a podcast on Talkshoe.com (Episode 17) recently. It may be available to listen to, although I had difficulties at the end, pushing the "stop recording" button. Technology and I just don't get along! Anyway, that's NOT what this post is about.

It is about what we discussed. Our ditty was entitled Networking Goals. The way Deanna and I prepare for these podcasts is that we have a quick conversation as to who is going to lead (the darling) and who is going to learn (the doofus). On this one, I was happy to take on the darling mantle!

Below are some steps that we discussed that can help you to make your networking work for you in the year to come.

1. Create a spreadsheet-type calendar all on one piece of paper with the months across the top and the name of each organization or group you attend down the side. (Rebecca Booth, Marketing Goddess, has a great example of this at her website.) Each square will correspond to one month and one group. Within each box, draw hash marks for each time you will attend the group within that month. (For example, BNI members will have at least four hash marks per month. Some chambers only meet once per month, so that square would have one mark.) The reason for doing this is to create a visual map of all the organized networking you will do in the next twelve months. Because some groups do not meet during the summer, you might see blank spots in the calendar. Knowing about these ahead of time means that you can plan other networking or marketing avenues during those times. Planning is the word to remember.


2. Now take out your appointment book and mark all the meeting times as appointments. As a new year begins, many times we forget to transfer the meeting times and dates to our new schedule. With electronic calendars, recurring appointments may have been set to end in December. Be sure to adjust those end dates so you don't miss any networking opportunities.

3. Accurately forecast your marketing budget. Yes, you know how much the dues cost for each organization, but what is the real expense. As a supportive member of each group you will be expected to participate in events that are spread out through the year. For example, if your professional association plans one large trade show per year and the cost of participating is $500 (plus the expenses associated with "stuff" you need for the booth) you'll need to add that $500 to the budgeted amount for that organization. Or if your group plans three events per year with a $50 ticket attached, you'll need to add $150 or $300 to the budgeted dues. The larger amount would be if you plan to take a guest with you to each event, which is probably expected.

4. Develop a written list of members you want to get to know better. After all, the reason for belonging is networking. This step will help you to know who to schedule appointments with, which will put those above marketing dollars to work. Networking is all about developing relationships and you can't do that by being just a face in the crowd. To make this even more efficient, insert the names of people on your list into each month. This will help you to have a plan for inviting.

5. One more list! This one is for people you'd like to invite as visitors to your groups. Again having the list will help you to plan ahead, making the calls to invite in advance. Those prospective visitors will have find time for these meetings on their busy calendars, too. Taking guests with you to meetings brings more value to the group and you are seen as a positive resource. Selfishly, it gives you the opportunity to build stronger relationships with your guests, too.

Using the five above steps is a way to organize and be ready to network with the best.

What steps would you add?

Networking Gone Wrong

Today I went to a networking lunch.

It was a demonstration of how it should NOT be.

We were called to our lunch tables at 11:45 AM. The president proceeded to talk for the next hour. The food sat on the buffet table the whole time, salad getting limp, entree getting dry.

Now if this had been an exciting or interesting program, it probably wouldn't have mattered.

But it was boring. One good point was that at least PowerPoint was not used!

I had brought a guest. I had paid for her lunch. She didn't even get to eat her lunch because she had to leave at about the time when we were finally released from torture (my opinion) to go through the buffet line.

I could tell you more, but is it any wonder that this group struggles to gain membership. The program was not about our audience members today, but all about self-congratulation for ALL (and I mean all) that was accomplished in the past twelve months.

What groups do you see doing things really well, and what have they done?

Rules for Success

Does your networking group work for you?

Really, the question should be, "Do you work for your networking group?"

You see, we all join such groups hoping that they will be the magic bullet to more sales. Right?





And then we sit back and wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And then we quit, because, "That type of networking group doesn't work for me."

Here are six thoughts about how to work for your networking group.

1. Set aside 30 minutes each week to create a specific referral request for yourself for next week and to work on fulfilling your members' requests from this week.

2. Schedule the above 30 minutes into your calendar as an appointment with yourself.

3. During the 30 minutes, make at least three calls on behalf of a member or members.

4. When you meet with members outside the regular meeting time, help them to tell you what they need in a more detailed manner than they have time for in the meeting.

5. Pick one request from a member each week to try to fulfill even if you don't think you can. Ask everyone you talk to, if they can help you to make the proper connection.

6. Review the notes you've taken during the meetings. A request from three weeks ago may now be one you can help with because you've met someone since then who can assist with the very request.

Networking groups are not an easy way to more business. They are a focused way to more business. And on the way to helping others be more successful, you'll find success yourself.

How much effort do you put into your networking group?