News/Blog

Everybody watches the news, reads a newspaper or googles what’s going on to gain insight into local and world event. Begin to look at “the News” differently by looking for opportunities for referrals. Every part of “the News” presents problems or significant issues of one kind or another. Train yourself to see problems and opportunities where an ordinary person wouldn’t.

The News is filled with opportunities for you to act as a “go-to person” for the people in your network.

With the right mindset, a news article can turn into information or a resource that could be beneficial to you or someone in your network.  

We understand that a lead is different than a referral but if you change your mindset and become the go-to person for these issues, you can help your network turn leads into referrals.

Questions to ask yourself when listening to “the News”

1.) What are people saying?

2.) What are the problems or changes happening in the environment you are reading about?

3.) What is happening that could have an impact to you or one of your network partners?

4.) Who is in need of services because of this information?

5.) Where are the networking opportunities?

Build YOUR Networking Group

Joining a networking group is a great strategy to have a consistent opportunity meeting with other business professionals to develop business relationships that can provide referrals, exchange business ideas, and develop your business skills.

Members can get discouraged if they feel they’re group does not have the proper industries that can help their profession grow. What they fail to do is take responsibility in making the group their own. Networking Groups welcome all types of members and encourage you to invite them in order that you make the most out of your time.

It is important you take some time to strategize on how you will form your meeting so that you can get the most out of it. Below are some tips to help:

- Know your business’ target market

  Sit down and look at what you are offering and look around at who you think would be perfect for your product or service. Geographic, demographic and psychographic are the three main ways you can find your target market.
  Know how to explain exactly who you are after and your referral partners will know how to reach them easier. You'll be more focused, more effective in your marketing strategies and be able to get a greater return from your networking group. (For example, a wedding planner would be a connection with a wedding photographer)

- Know your complimenting industries

  Identify business professionals that compliment you rather than compete with your business. They have similar target markets and naturally provide a source of referrals for one another. They are in somewhat related but non-competitive markets. (For example, a wedding planner would be a connection with a wedding photographer). Make a list of all industries that compliment your business.

- Invite

  Do not be hesitant to invite these industries to your group. There is huge value at this group for them, YOU! It is worth their time to attend any meeting that has a complimenting industry involved because they know the referrals are there. It is up to them to earn them.

- Ask your Fellow Members to Invite

  Make sure when you are speaking to the current members of your group that in addition to a referral, you are also requesting for them to invite these complimenting businesses. And to make sure they use “YOU” as a good reasoning for them to visit.

- Develop your sales strategy

  This goes for all the members in the chapter, it is important that you have developed a simple system for your referral partners to be able to refer you. This will take some practice; the complimenting industries will be who you use to measure the success of your sales strategy. If they are not able to easily refer you, especially with the fact they meet your target market daily, it could mean your sales pitch needs some work. Ask your group members for input and criticism to help develop this pitch.

We are each other’s Sales team.

1. Have a system

Before you sign in to a zoom meeting, make sure you have a plan. Set aside time on your calendar 24-to-72 hours after an event to follow up with the people you met. Literally block the time out as you would with an important appointment. Additionally, how will you capture information at the event? Have a note pad and take notes to remind yourself of the topics you discussed. It’ll pay off later.

2. Prioritize the contacts

Everyone you meet is not equal. It would be great if we could follow up with everyone in the meeting with an hour-long personal meeting and learn at leisure about what they do. But let’s be honest, most of us don’t have this luxury. So think about the people you see and decide who you’ll connect with on social media, who’ll get a follow up email, and who’s just not important enough to reach out to. Consider those you either had a great personal connection with or who may be a potential client or strategic partner and they are the ones that should be your top priority to cultivate and grow the relationships.

3. Remember that small things become huge

Take note of the special events and interests of those in the meeting and reach out. Keep in mind someone’s birthday, someone new in there field, received a promotion or had some other milestone event. Use these items as opportunities to reach out. In your conversations, if issues come up that you can help with, be a resource. Perhaps someone at a networking event mentions their husband is recently unemployed and looking for an executive career coach. If you know someone appropriate, contact them with the information or make the introduction. Or if someone mentions they know Instagram could really help with marketing their business but they don’t understand what to do, send them a helpful article with some tips. Action items like this will help you stand out, be of value and be extremely appreciated because they show you listened.

4. Do what you say you’ll do

Often at a networking event you may promise to make an introduction or send a new contact some information about an event or an organization. Following through with those promises is a great way to build trust and credibility with a new connection. Conversely, if you say you’re going to do something and don’t do it, you’ve really made a bad impression. In the future when you see that person again, it will be an elephant in the room with both of you thinking about the fact that you never followed through with what you promised. Uncool!

5. Open your network

Ask your new contacts who they’re looking to meet and try to make a few introductions within your network to help them out. You can also tell people to feel free to look at your social media connections and let you know if there is anyone you can introduce them to that would be helpful. Note you don’t have to do this with every new contact. Some people will take advantage. Make sure you have vetted people in some way or gotten to know them better before simply opening your network.

Remember, being successful with your networking follow up has a lot to do with planning ahead. Have a system in place where you are reaching out to people in your network every 30 or 60 days, or whatever works for you. Think about setting up quarterly phone calls with people in your network to simply hear about what projects they are working on or what challenges they are facing. It’s less about you and more about how you can serve them. All that good karma will come back to you.

The 60 second introduction is not unique to Trusted Business Partners; in

 fact it is not even unique to Tips (referral) Clubs. It is an integral part of

 most business, clubs, social gatherings and service organizations. The elevator s

peech is used in everything from board rooms, to churches to family reunion, or just standing in line at the bank. 

The reason may not be to state your business and what you are looking for (like how we use it at a TBP meeting). For example it could be to let others know who you are and how to contribute to a common goal within an organization, etc.

 

I have heard countless elevator presentations over the years, some great ones and many that could have used a little work to get their point to the target audience    

The great ones all had one thing in common, they were prepared. With that preparation came the focus off taking the speech from point A to Point Z all in Just a 60 Second Span. 

The goal of having a well prepared and rehearsed elevator speech, when it comes to structured networking should be to teach your fellow members to be your extended marketing arm in the course of their daily activities. 

You might be thinking to yourself its only 1 minute, I can wing It I’ve been doing this for a long time. This attitude on the surface is not good if only for the fact that while you are trying to think of something to say, you are not giving the people speaking your full attention. 

I know where that train of thought is coming from. I used to feel the same way. In fact I felt that sometimes it was better to adjust my speech to react to something that was said in the meeting. It wasn’t until later that I found out the true consequences of not having a prepared speech. 

Your elevator speech should be ingrained in your mind until it becomes a reflex, so that no matter what the situation is it’s there at your fingertips to use on a moment’s notice. 

My “Ah Ha Moment” came a few years back when I was backstage at a convention getting ready to go out in front of hundreds of people to receive an award. There was a person there also waiting to go on stage. This person would have been my perfect power partner and I would have never thought I would have had an opportunity to meet him. We started talking to kill the couple of minutes before we went out to address the assembly. He ask me what I did and I went blank. I don't even know what I said. He got called to the stage before I could recover I went out about 10 minutes later and never saw him again. 

“If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all truly successful people I’ve met over a lifetime, I’d say it is the ability to create and nurture a network of contacts.”– Harvey Mackay, founder, Mackay Envelope Corporation

Successful business professionals build and nurture their Network of Contacts. The average person sees networking as simply attending business and social events, passing out and picking up business cards. Professional are not only collecting business cards, but also handpicking exactly who they want to network with based on who can help them the most. Successful business professionals know the most valuable assets they have are their personal and professional networks.

The difference in strategy is profound; the average person sees this as a distasteful operational strategy of using people to climb the ladder of success. A professional sees it as a symbiotic, synergistic relationship of give and take. Friends do favors, grant privileges and create opportunities for friends. It’s the emotional nature of man to want to help people who have helped them.

P.R.I.M.E. is an acronym we use to describe achieving a level of relationship where your customers see you as a key resource and a contributor to their customers' businesses.

P is for Primary. According to Webster's dictionary, primary means, "First in time, rank or importance." It suggests:

1. You become pre-eminent in your customer's mind. You are the first person who comes to the customer's mind when a problem or question in your area of expertise arises. You are vital to the success of your customers' operations.

R is for Resource, a source of help or supply. You become an extension of your customer's organization. You enhance their capabilities to understand, anticipate and solve problems, and build their business. You and your team bring the ability to critically diagnose the situation, as well as gather the knowledge and ideas to help them create solutions that they wouldn't have thought of on their own.

I is for Involved. It means you will carry out a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship based on trust and respect. When you are involved, you have your customers' best interests at heart. That means:

1. You sincerely care about their concerns.

2. You know that what is best for your customer is ultimately best for you and your company.

3. Quality business is not a hit-and-run proposition. You look for every opportunity to strengthen the relationship, keeping it at a level of satisfaction that neither you nor your customer will be looking for ways to get out of it.

M is for Managing. 

A P.R.I.M.E. resource helps people understand their situation, their risks and their opportunities, then collaborates with them to determine how to achieve the required results. They do it in such a professional, credible and non-threatening way that the customers require them to execute the solution.

E is for Expectations. Customers will look upon you as a P.R.I.M.E. resource when you consistently manage their expectations based on the issue that has been diagnosed. It is critical to expand the customer's understanding of the problem, the consequences and costs associated with it, and the financial impact. Co-create the expectations of the solution, what it will be like when the problem is resolved and finally help determine the decision criteria that will enable the customer to select the best solution.

How to Become a P.R.I.M.E. Resource

This involves building strong relationships with your customers. Here are a few pointers on how to do it:

1. Build a reputation for excellence based on trust and dedication.

2. Be a scholar. Keep up with market conditions, new products or services, technical standards, industry trends, advertisements and personnel changes.

3. Use a conscientious, professional approach to your customer's critical issues.

4. Polish your professional sales and problem-solving skills continually.

5. Know your customer's world -- their associations, their industry, their marketplace, their customers.

6. Be the customer's advocate. Work to smooth all problems your internal systems may create for your customers.

7. Know what the competition is doing. Report back to your company any information you gain.

8. Remember that you are just as important as the product or service your company offers.