How recently have you been in touch?

I was involved in a discussion yesterday about the importance of the Christmas Trading period to many in the retail and leisure trades. With the year many of them have had it could well be make or break time. Now is the time to act to ensure they maximise their business in the next couple of months.

One thing that came up in the discussion was the goldmine that many of them are sitting on without realising it. The gold in this mine is their existing customers. Many businesses concentrate on looking for new customers all the time and forget those people they have already done business with.

Make sure you keep in regular contact with people you have already done business with. Give them some added value and they may well spend more with you. Do it consistently and they will be amongst your best sources of new business from the people they know and influence.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Keeping track of your referrals 2

I wrote yesterday about the importance of keeping track of your referrals. You may think that is limited to direct contact of some sort, but I have also found that much of the business generated via the internet has its root in referrals and word of mouth. I was phoned a few weeks ago by someone interested in opening a new NRG Group in an area we don't cover. I asked how he had found us & he said Google. When we met I asked the question again. Whilst it was true that he had found our website via Google it was because someone we both know had suggested me to him. I was able then to thank the referral source and update him with what had happened.

Many of the people who found us via google also turn out to be via Word of Mouth. More than half of the  searches  that found our website include NRG suggesting someone recommended or referred them in the first place.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Keeping track of your referrals

I facilitated a networking breakfast on Friday 7 at the end one of the visiting members asked if she could say a few words. She shared that the NRG business networking group she belonged to had been a great factor in her success. Much of her business was a result of the relationships she had made in the group. It was not all, however, down to direct referrals. It was sometimes 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 6 steps removed, but by tracking back to the initial source she knew which relationships were critical to maintain & nurture.

If you don't keep track in this way you run the risk of upsetting your referral sources by not keeping them up to date with the results of the positive Word of Mouth they are generating for you. You could potentially miscalculate the return on investment on some of your activities and end up dropping some for the wrong reasons.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Is the idea of a sales funnel now outdated?

In 'McKinsey: Shooting holes in the Sales Funnel' Bob Apollo writes about an article in a recent McKinsey Quarterly review on the consumer decision journey.

Bob writes how the conclusions can equally be applied to the B2B buying process. As Bob says "the increasing importance of word of mouth, recommendation and reputation in the B2B buying process has transferred information power into the hands of the prospect".

I have reported similar findings on the increasing importance of word of mouth previously. So if you are in the the B2B or B2C space make sure that you have a strategy for influencing the people your prospects turn to for this word of mouth.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Is offline networking still relevant?

In 'Networking has never been more important' I wrote about the answer I gave to Rod Sloane when he asked "is networking still relevant in 2009". The question comes nearly 40 second into this 2 minute Audio Clip:



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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

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
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Offline still most important for Word of Mouth

A couple of years ago in 'Word of Mouth: The real action is offline' I wrote about research from the Keller Fay Group revealing that 72% of all word of mouth interaction took place face-to-face.

A recent report from Mintel finds people still prefer real-life recommendations to online.

So while Social Media and Social Networks are becoming increasingly important in maintaining and building relationships don't forget to focus on the offline.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

How do you get your new business?

One of the questions I often ask the owners of small businesses is "How do you get your new business?" The most popular response is "Recommendation or Referral".

The response is to be expected, but what is often surprising is that many of these people do not know who gave them the recommendation or referred them. For some of them this leads to much unproductive 'networking' activity almost entirely focused on meeting lots of people.

The best networkers know exactly who is referring them. This means they can concentrate their business development time with the relationships that really matter to them. In a really productive networking group you will often find at least one sub group of people that are using the regular meeting to maintain these quality relationships. These people will spend most of their 'networking' time in regular groups and One2One time with the members.

Do you know who is referring you and where you should be investing your networking time?

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Using Social Media to spread Word of Mouth

Yesterday I wrote about the conversation I was having with a Service Business Owner about Twitter. On Friday last week I attended an excellent presentation from Internet Pyschologist Graham Jones about increasing website traffic with 2 simple steps. The Two steps are firstly to generate regular and consistent content, then promote it.

Graham mentioned the drop in his web traffic when not signposting & sharing his content via Twitter. As I wrote in 'How do I use Twitter & Social Networks?' Twitter and other Social Media are great for sharing your expertise and building your reputation.

Are you utilising Social Media in this way?

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Engaging in relevant conversations with Social Media

I was speaking with the owner of an Internet Services Business last week about the Seminar I attended earlier in the week from Grant Leboff. I wrote about Grant's views in my post 'Are you the answer for your network?'.

During the conversation he said that he wasn't really sure what to make of Twitter. I said that it was helping me to engage with interested people much quicker than has ever been possible before. Also to track the effectiveness of positive Word of Mouth for your business.

For example a few weeks ago one of the attendees at a monthly NRG Business Networking Event tweeted about his positive experience and a great presentation. The presenter, Ant Hodges, retweeted and one of his contacts asked "What is NRG". Ant replied "NRG is the most effective business networking organisation I have been part of - follow @DaveClarke or visit nrg-networks.com"

Are you engaging in relevant conversations online & keeping track of your 'Word of Mouth'?

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

In a world of thousands of suppliers Word of Mouth is essential

At a recent seminar before a London NRG-networks lunch author Grant Leboff was explaining how sales & marketing have changed.

To illustrate the impact of the Internet he talked about how things were beforehand. In the world of business to business products & services if you needed something you probably had a choice of 2 or 3 local suppliers. You probably saw them all before making your purchase decision and relied on personal recommendations to help in your decision.

Now that you have a choice of thousands on the Internet how do you decide which one to use?

You cannot possibly see them all.

Are you like the seminar audience?

They said they rely more than ever on the recommendation of a trusted contact.

So in this world of enormous choice Word of Mouth is more important than ever.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Is Facebook good for your business?

I am often asked "Should I be on Facebook?". The people who ask are often the ones who think they can 'get business' from Facebook.

Facebook is a Social Network, not a Business Directory. See Social Networking in Plain English for a great quick video on the subject.

Participants in a network are involved in relationships around some sort of mutual exchange. Social networks like Facebook are great for keeping up to date with your friends, acquaintances and peers.

The subjects discussed in social networks include business so should you spend business time interacting with people on Facebook? That really depends on what you are selling so ask yourself a question;

'Is facebook a good place to find and connect with those people with access & influence in my market?'

If the answer is yes then join and start adding value in groups that are relevant. Start your own group to interact with those people that you already do business with and they like interacting on facebook. I do that and generate well qualified paying guests for our membership groups. They are attracted or invited by people they know, like and trust already.

Participants in a Network like facebook or subsets of it may be part of your target market so the question to ask then is 'Does facebook have good numbers of potential customers?'. If that answer is yes then you may want to investigate facebook advertising.

Good Networking
Dave Clarke
Get 7 networking secrets for business success

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

What should you blog about?

At a recent seminar after the monthly NRG-networks lunch at Marble Arch in London Internet Psychologist, Graham Jones, was talking about 2 simple ways to double your website traffic. One of the questions he posed was what was common to the websites we all visit regularly? The answer being content, content and more content.

In my recent article 'top 10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks' tip 7 is that your blog is the cornerstone of your online presence & you build your reputation by sharing your expertise. The important thing is that you are sharing content that is relevant to your intended audience.

I was talking about this last week with the owner of a printing company and he asked me what he should blog about. I asked him about the problems that his customers are looking to solve when they use his services. All of the examples he gave me were about how his business customers were looking to improve the ways they communicated their marketing messages. As a marketer he had a clear understanding of their issues and many practical examples of where he had helped. My reply to him was that those were the things to blog about. The stories, hints, tips, & insights from his clients' issues and problems are great content to add value to others with similar issues.

If he regularly generates that content and communicates that through his network he will build an audience of interested readers. Many of them will know people with the issues and problems that need an expert like him.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Networking Groups are a great route to market

I meet many owners, directors and partners of small specialist businesses and professional firms. They all tell me they get their best business via word of mouth and recommendation. The problem they have is that their existing client base is not large enough to generate enough of it.

That is where networking groups come into their own. If your existing network is not big enough to generate enough word of mouth to achieve your plan then find a couple of networks to join. Ask yourself who else is likely to have access to and influence with your target market. Then find where they network, join those groups and build relationships with others like you. Over time your return on the investment you make in those relationships will far outweigh your initial money & time investment.

A combination of existing clients and appropriate networking groups should be enough of a route to market for most of these owners, directors and partners of small specialist businesses and professional firms.

When you join first join a group take the time to get to know the members and the ways you can help. How you can support, provide information & introductions. How you can help them achieve their goals. Over time as you help the other members achieve their goals they do the same for you. Especially if they know how to help you. So when asked present your proposition confidently & consistently - your target market, the problems you solve and your stories.

In one of my podcasts on this same topic, 'Why join a networking group?', I explain how one networking group saved me 3 years in business development activity.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

How much business do you want to generate from your networking?

One of the questions in a previous post, 'Developing a networking plan', was 'how much business are you looking to generate via word of mouth?'.

Here are some things you can look at to help calculate this;
1. Revenue Target for year:
(What is the amount of business you want to generate?)
2. Average Transaction size:
(What is your average deal size?)
3. Number of deals required (1/2) =
(Divide the amount of business by average deal size)
4. How many prospects do you need for a sale =
(What is your closing ratio?)
5. Total prospects needed (4 X 3) =
(Multiply the number of deals by the number of prospects)
6. How many referrals per prospect =
(Not every referral will be a prospect)
7. Referrals required (5 X 6) =
(Multiply the number of prospects with referrals)



Now for the really important part. The number of referrals you need is the amount you need to be generating first for other people in your network. This will give you a good idea of the amount of time you need to invest in your networking activity.

As I have said previously the best way to generate referrals is to give them first.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

The same networking rules apply in the real world & the online world

I just watched this great video posted by Debbie Weill on Youtube. In it Seth Godin answers the question "Is Social Networking important for small business?" and provides some great insight into how to network.



Thanks to Nicholas Braak for signposting this on Twitter & Ecademy.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Do I know you?

These words appeared alongside a stern looking man in an advertisement in a 1950s business publication:

“I don’t know who you are.
I don’t know your company.
I don’t know your company’s product.
I don’t know what your company stands for.
I don’t know your company’s customers.
I don’t know your company’s record.
I don’t know your company’s reputation.
Now — what was it you wanted to sell me?”

The moral of the ad was that sales starts before your salesman calls and was promoting advertising in McGraw Hill Magazines. The original can still be seen on their website (http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/aboutus/images/ad_maninchair_lg.jpg).

Most business owners and partners in professional firms I meet say they have no problem selling. Their main problem is getting in front of the right person. Building trusted relationships through networking means you can refer your network to their right people and, in turn, be referred to yours.

Becoming an advocate for someone means unreservedly recommending them when you see the right circumstances. When someone is given that sort of word of mouth referral the recipient knows all about their reputation, what they do and why they are there.

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

---

business networking | business networking events | business networking podcast

---

Getting in front of the right person

Most owners of small businesses will tell you they don't have a problem with selling once they get in front of the right person, but they hate cold calling.

They will also tell you that most of their business comes via Word of Mouth.

So why not just wait for referrals from satisfied existing clients?

The problem is that they don't have a big enough client base to survive on this alone. So they need to generate this Word of Mouth from other sources. That's where Business Networking comes in. By creating strong business relationships with other Business Owners you can generate that vital Word of Mouth to get in front of more of the right people.

The more help you can provide to your network in defining the right people the better. Defining your right people will also help you find the right Networking Groups for you. Those where at least some of the members are connected to them!

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

---

business networking | business networking events | virtual board

---

Why offline business networking is vital for web marketing

Research quoted in a previous post, Word of Mouth: The real action is offline discussed how most business is driven by word of mouth.

The same is true about most websites. Most visitors find you because someone else told them about you. More vistors find you as a result of word of mouth than from the search engines! For small businesses finding the right networking groups and attending regularly are a vital part of your word of mouth marketing.

You can watch Internet Psychologist, Graham Jones, talking about the importance of networking to him below:


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

---

business networking | business networking events | virtual board

---