Social Networking Tips

Stand Out in Your Networks

Ever wonder why some people get a ton of referrals, business and results with Social Networking and others don’t?  If you think about it, it is quite simple.  People stink at building relationships.  Let’s face it….the majority of professionals today are chasing money.  They are so focused on “conquering” and are all about “what is in it for me” instead of thinking “What can I do for you?”.

The concept of giving to get seems to have been lost for many.  Let’s take a look at traditional networking.  They say the difference between regular folks and regular folks who are millionaires is one thing….networking.  If you aren’t networking, then you aren’t serious about your business.

Is it enough to just network?  NO!  For just a moment think about the last networking opportunity you attended.  Here is what a typical situation looks like…..people show up (for the most part), they have their business cards ready, they start chatting with whomever they come across, they immediately find ways to talk about their business, they might ask the other person a few questions (just to be polite), they force their business card on them and then go onto the next person.  Most professionals are more concerned about what is being served for lunch versus the people they are meeting.

So let’s try this again…..imagine this….

1. You call the organizer of the networking group ahead of time to find out who are the top professionals they recommend you connect with.
2. You show up with the intention of meeting 2-3 of these highly recommend professionals.
3. When you find these 2-3 people, you let them know you specifically came to meet them and ask if you can learn more about their business.
4. You then ask them 5-6 on point and targeted questions all geared around understanding how you might be able to assist them.
5. You then let them know (only if you can) that you would like to refer business to them.  Could you schedule a one on one so you have more time to learn about them.
6. You schedule that appointment on the spot.
7. You thank them for their time, ask them for their card and let them know you will be confirming the appointment with them.
8. You move to find the next person.
9. After the meeting, you send a handwritten thank you card telling them why you are grateful you met them and what you are most looking forward to in your meeting.
10. You send them an email thanking them, confirm your meeting and send them a simple agenda for the meeting.
11. A day before you send them a reminder email along with you cell phone number.
12. You call them the day before to let them know how excited you are about the meeting and how wonderful it will be to refer them business.
13. You meet with the person and use the agenda you created to learn about their ideal client, what a good referral looks like and to generate a list of 2-3 possible connections you can make for them.
14. After the meeting you send them another handwritten thank you card telling them why you admire them and 3 things you learned in your meeting.
15. You send a follow up email thanking them for the meeting and provide a list of the 2-3 people you plan on connecting them to.
16. You then send an email to the person and the person you want to connect them to. In the email you give a brief introduction for each person and the reason why you are connecting them.  You then designate one person to make it their responsibility to set up a meeting.  You state what you feel the purpose of their meeting.
17. You then follow up with the person you originally met with and schedule another meeting to talk about what happened for them.

This may sound like a lot of steps for networking.  For me, if I am going to do something then I am going to maximize my time and money.  If you don’t plan on generating results and don’t care about referrals then don’t follow the 17 steps.

I am continually amazed at just how “careless” and ineffective business professionals are at networking.  Time is money.  It takes about 3-5 hours to attend a networking event.  (You have to include drive time, preparation and the actual meeting – this does NOT include follow up – most professionals skip the follow up)  For me, every professional I meet is another person for a great relationship.  It is about the quality of your meeting not the quantity.  Most will tell you, they never forget me if they met me at a networking event.

Social Networking is NO different than traditional networking…..it is just done online.  You can do the exact same 17 steps with Social Networking.  Imagine what would happen if you did.

So what are you planning on doing right now to make a difference in ALL of your networking efforts?  Online and Offline.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking