Networking and the 4 Ps of Marketing

In a presentation last week from Gill Hunt of Skillfair I was reminded of the 4 Ps of Marketing - product, price, placement, promotion. In traditional marketing these are taught as the four elements essential to get right in any marketing. The world has changed with the Internet, but they can provide a useful checklist to help in our networking.

Promotion is often the initial driver for a business owner or professional to start 'formal networking'. This can lead to too much emphasis initially on trying to sell to the people you meet. You quickly learn that networking is about building relationships with others in similar markets to you - your 'Inner Network'. The best way to get your network to promote or advocate you is to get in the habit of advocating them first.

The other 3 Ps are useful in working out where to network and who with. Where to find the people who will become part of your Inner Network. If your product is providing a solution to a business problem then you can work out the places you should be networking. It is in those groups where the other members provide similar value (price) services to yours. They should be working regularly with the types of businesses you work with.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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How much should you give away?

In Nigel Temple's excellent Internet Marketing Masterclass yesterday there was a discussion about how much of your knowledge you should give away. A few years ago I sat in discussions where people argued that you should give nothing away. Yesterday most people were happy with the notion of giving away about 20%, but holding back the rest to charge for. It's the old 'Sprat to catch a mackerel' notion.

Most of us, however, are unhappy when we feel someone is holding something back. It gets in the way of building relationships. If you want people to refer you or do business with you that might be a problem!

The World has been changed forever with this thing called the Internet. Most knowledge is now freely available somewhere if you search for it. Some people will pay for your knowledge, but mainly they will pay for the the value you add.

Consider this statement from someone who is very successful in developing his business with networking. This was part of his response to the NRG research into business networking:

"I do not do any cold calling. All my business comes from networking and referrals. Networking is not about selling, it's about building relationships.

Much of the business is a result of doing a presentation where I share ALL my secrets so people know how to do what I do.

Mostly, they prefer to ask me to do it for them. Even though I've explained how they can do it for themselves!”

Nigel was a living example of this in his Masterclass yesterday. The only thing the people attending were really paying for was the cost of the room for a few hours. He was then giving away his knowledge freely for a couple of hours.

Some of those people are now paying for his help to implement the stuff!

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Does Your Selling have the Partnership approach?

Many business owners and professionals are strangers to the world of selling and can run into problems with a misunderstanding of the approach required. Richard White's The Accidental Salesman® is often a very apt description. Successful selling is not about being pushy and looking to 'close' everyone you meet. The best networkers are very clear about what they do and for who - their target market. They are friendly, helpful and constantly looking for opportunities to connect their network with people, knowledge & opportunities. They also understand that people will buy from them when they are good and ready and adopt the same approach of helping and educating prospects.

I attended an excellent Client Attraction Techniques Masterclass from Small Business Marketing Expert Nigel Temple yesterday. I am sure Nigel's stuff will inspire a good few blogs in the days ahead. He touched on the psychology behind the new sales & marketing several times. A powerful illustration was the experience of shopping at the John Lewis Partnership. The Sales Assistants there are truly deserving of that 'assistant' title. They are`there to assist us in making an informed buying choice. Always ready to answer questions and leaving us with the decision at all times. They understand something I learned from a Sandler trainer about Newton's Third Law and the way it also applies in selling. The law of reciprocal actions states, 'To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction: or the forces of two bodies on each other are always equal and are directed in opposite directions'. If you try and push someone to buy something they will push back. I know what my reaction is when I get pounced on as I walk through a shop door.

Nigel suggested spending some time in John Lewis watching them in action. Not a bad idea if you have the time.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Networking has never been more important

Yesterday I answered the question from small business marketing expert Rod Sloane, "Is Networking still relevant in 2009?". The answer I gave was based on my own experience so it was nice to find some supporting evidence from Neilsen's Global Online Consumer Survey. They found that ninety percent of the 25,000 consumers surveyed noted that they trust recommendations from people they know. The following table summarises their findings:



Building positive word of mouth has, indeed, never been more important.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
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Is networking still relevant?

On Monday evening this week I gave a quick interview to Rod Sloane before his talk on 'How to Barack Obama Your Business'. Rod asked me if networking was still relevant in today's Social Media World.

I replied that, in this world of huge choice, networking is more important than ever. Faced with thousands of possible suppliers on the Internet we rely on the recommendation of a trusted friend more than ever.

Rod used his iPhone to record the interview and then uploaded it from his iPhone. Listen to the audioboo interview here.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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What business are you really in?

How many potential profitable business relationships do you leave behind you in your business networking without fully exploring the possibilities. The way you ask and answer questions determines the quality of the initial conversations you have and the connections you will make.

Many of the people I meet networking will give their business category when asked "What do you do?". They will say "I am a solicitor or accountant or business coach or web designer or marketing consultant or insurance broker or financial adviser or whatever their line of business is. This often means little or does not interest & engage the person who asked the question.

In an excellent talk from Rod Sloane yesterday on how to sell more products and services he reminded us of the question that Theodore Levitt asked Corporate America nearly 50 years ago. He asked what business are you really in. At the time the US Railroad companies answered Railroads rather than transport and subsequently lost out to the car industry. He argued that to to succeed your business must not focus on selling, but on providing solutions to your customers. If you focus solely on your industry your product may become obsolete, but if you focus on your customers you can adapt to changing needs. Ground breaking ideas and insights in the early 1960s and still good advice today.

So next time someone asks what you do answer with what your customers really buy from you. If you don't know that then ask a few of them.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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Benefits are only benefits when someone is ready to buy

Grant Leboff the author of 'Sales Therapy: Effective Selling for the Small Business Owner' presented the seminar before a recent NRG-networks networking lunch. His talk was about the way marketing has changed with the emergence of the World Wide Web.

During his talk he spoke about how many people talk about their products & services in terms of benefits. This is irrelevant to most people and as the title of this post says "Benefits are only benefits when someone is ready to buy!".

In the new world created by the web you need to engage with customers and deliver value before they are ready to buy. Build your marketing messages around the issues that your customers have and the problems you solve rather than the benefits.

Sound advice for when you are thinking about how to introduce what you do at your next Networking Event.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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Are you the answer for your network?

At a seminar this week at an NRG-networks event in London the speaker, Grant Leboff, shared his insights into the changes taking place in Sales & Marketing. The web has meant a revolution in communication and massive choice in everything that we need. When we need something now we do two things, we ask our network and we search online.

Do you have a strategy for building word of mouth for you and your business?

When someone in your network gets asked about a problem that you solve are you given as THE answer to that problem? You should be if your networking is effective.

Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

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business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

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