I spoke at a  luncheon recently about networking and one young lady posed an interesting question that I would like to take the time to address here.

“I know that I need to network, but can you tell me which groups would be a waste of time.”  I am sure there was more conversation around that question than I am posting here, but that was the gist of the question.

My response to her was, “All networking without a strategy is a waste of time. It is not a matter of the organization being a waste of time, it is the strategy that you use within the organization  that makes it effective.”

BNI is structured systems intended to create success for it’s members but many people will leave the organization saying “It” did not work for them.  An organization cannot work for you, you have to work the organization.

What is your strategy?  Why you are networking?  Are you prospecting, looking for people to buy your products or services?  For instance, if your clients are dentist and you want to find more dentist, then most likely you are not going to find them at a chamber event.  You will need to do some research to find your target market!

Are you looking for referral sources,  other professionals who work with Dentist?   Who are these  professionals  and where do they hang out?    When you find the 6-8 people who work with the same client type that you do in a non-competitive way, your networking becomes far more effective,  more strategic.

When you have the people who can help you build your business you can then network for them.  Go to events as a team and work the room for each other instead of yourself.   Maybe it is not that you need to network more, but you need to network more effectively.  It is more about you and your strategy than it is about the organization you are joining.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

I regularly meet with prospects and help them understand how much business they are getting from their network.  It is very enlightening and they are always surprised by their results.  Do you know your referral percentage?  No?  Don’t worry, most people don’t know, but it is very enlightening.  So, grab a pencil and a calculator and I will help you find your “Referral Percentage” here we go,

1. List 4 people in your network (not customers) who have passed you the most business by referral this year.  For instance Tom, Sue, Bill, Kim.

2. Now, for each person write the number of referrals they have passed you in the last 12 months.  Tom=4, Sue=12, Bill=5 and Kim=8

3. Think about each of those people, how many people do you believe each of them know?  On average, we each know about 250 people. So, Tom=300, Sue=500, Bill=800 and Kim=200

4. Next step, add all of the referrals you have received together, in our example it would be 29, and then add all of the network members together.  In our example, it would be 1800.

5. Last step, you will need your calculator to complete the process,  29 divided by 1800 equals .016%

What is your percentage?  Are you surprised?  Did you have 4 referral sources?  Many of my clients are shocked and frustrated when they do this exercise.  It is possible to increase this number.  The very first time I did this it was .010 and I was shocked.

Here is the real question, what are you going to do to change this percentage?  What steps can you take to develop a higher referral percentage?   Hint:  Stop adding people to your network, instead start digging deeper into your network and develop stronger strategic relationship!  Start with the 4 people you listed here and if you did not have four then work on the ones you have.  When you are sure that you have increased that relationship, then move on to create a new one, until your have your “Four”.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

Everyone knows how important marketing is, but somehow it always falls to the bottom of our to-do lists. Here are some ideas for quickie marketing tactics that add up to just 30 minutes per day.

Make Some Calls: spend 10 minutes researching a potential new client and then take five minutes and give them a personalized call or e-mail to let them know about the services you provide. This is a modified cold call and is quite effective, especially if you are able to identify a way that you can immediately help the prospective client. TIME: 15 minutes/day

Pitch the Media: everyone knows that PR is a powerful tool, but we usually think of it in big, expensive terms. For a gradual approach, pick one publication and research it to get a feeling for the types of stories covered and who writes them. Then send a concise e-mail to the appropriate journalist, editor or assistant editor with your idea. Follow up with a phone call (you’ll usually have to leave a voice mail) and then move on to another publication. TIME: 4 hours/month

Attend Networking Events: research appropriate groups, and then during each meeting seek out just one or two potential customers or referral sources and focus on creating a relationship with them. This approach can have much higher results than spreading yourself thin and trying to connect with everyone in the room. TIME: 1 hour/month