If you are one of those dedicated people, who invests a lot of their time developing a network of contacts, I have a question for you:
“How valuable to your business, (in financial terms), is your network of contacts?”
I ask this because in my experience, many small businesses focus almost exclusively on developing networks of people, with little influence in their marketplace!
A VERY low leverage activity!
You can end up wasting thousands of pounds worth of your time and money on local networking events and joining networking groups; whilst simultaneously limiting the time you have to actually RUN YOUR BUSINESS! A lose-lose situation.
Although a local Accountant or Bank Manager can be an excellent source of credible referred business; not everyone in your local business community has credible access to your target market.
Without credibility, a lead or referral is worthless!
This is because when a person who lacks credibility recommends your business to someone, you become associated in their mind with that ‘non-credible’ person. I wrote recently about a Lawyer whose law firm has suffered terribly; after he joined a networking group and had his good name associated with some hard-sell tactics, used by a few of his fellow networkers to generate leads!
Of course, one of the most effective ways to network today is from your desk! Millions of people have totally ditched traditional, time-consuming networking, for free online networks. I use one myself called Twitter which is excellent!
There are also more formal online networking groups like ecademy and linkedin that you might like to explore – neither of which I use or endorse! In any case, the costs will be massively lower than traditional networking. So will the demands on your time – essential for people like us who run small businesses!
Well said and good point. This is a very refreshing perspective that is not always mentioned, especially the issue of time “trade-off.” Good work!
Hello DL,
Thanks for the comment.
Many people only look at the financial cost of joining a networking group or attending an event – without seeing the ‘actual’ cost.
Business owners who would not spend £1500 on a professionally designed, highly optimised website that could generate a fortune in sales – will waste 5 times that amount in money and time; attending dead-end networking events/groups.
I agree that leads are worthless without credibility. That is why it is very important to build a trusted network with which to exchange referrals with. I just wanted to mention another online networking site that I think is a great tool.
The company Referral Key is a small business networking site that is focused specifically on allowing users to build a trusted network where they can exchange and manage referrals. I have been using it for 8 months now and it has definitely helped me grow my tax preparation accounting firm.
Hello Mike,
Thanks for the comment.
I’m glad you have found that referral group useful. It’s always helpful to receive feedback.
It may be different for a freelance writer than for other small business owners, but I really hesitate to “cherry pick” contacts. If social media is about connecting with people on a human level, then you never know where your connections will lead… so why network with only the apparently credible?
I try to network with specific groups of people – social media, mom writers, writers, and those involved (as I am) in public safety; the line between friendship and source has been considerably blurred in all cases.
I may be totally missing what you’re saying – I would not want to be associated with “hard sell” types either – just worry that others might misread as well and bypass “non-credible,” yet very valuable, contacts.
I am glad to have met you Jim. I’m tucking all these little golden nuggets in my brain and shaping what I hope will be an effective, professional and profitable social presence. Your input has been invaluable.
Kudos,
Mark
Christina,
Thanks for the comment.
The point I was making is that most small business owners develop networks of people who are not in the market for their services, and who lack the credibility to introduce or refer business to them.
I have to admit, I am struggling to understand how a contact can be, as you said, valuable (commercially) and yet lacking in credibility?
As a marketing provider to small businesses, I focus heavily on the credibility of a network – because from a sales point of view, a network of people with no requirement for your service and no credibility is very poor.
To just ‘get out there’ and waste one’s time swapping business cards or adding random people to your social network makes no sense.
It’s about surrounding yourself with people who can help you and your business to grow.
I strongly believe it is massively important to ‘cherry pick’ as you put it. You have to be selective about who you associate with and who you associate the name and reputation of their business with.
Hope that helps.
Mark,
Thanks for your positive feedback.
The whole reason this blog exists is to help people achieve better results. Glad you find it useful!
@Christina,
Remembering that this is a sales and marketing blog & that he said he was talking purely about business, “Why would you want to build a group of people around you who lack credibility?”
That makes zero sense.
Start mixing with the wrong crowd and see what it does to your reputation on-line or off-line.
Shaun.
Then maybe we all define credibility in different ways. Of course I’m not going to hang around with cop wannabes or parents who tweet only about their toddler’s diet. But I’m not going to snub the people I do follow just because they aren’t “likely” to hire me as a writer, or to be a source for my articles.
Christa,
Judging from your comments it seems your initial suspicion was right, that you have misunderstood this post.
No one has suggested snubbing anyone. It’s about deliberately developing a great group of good people around you and your business.
That’s all.
Shaun,
Thanks for the comment. I agree with it.
This is, as you say, a marketing blog. My posts regarding networking are designed to help people develop their businesses. We are all welcome to associate with or network with anyone we like. However, my readers seek to develop networks to help them grow their businesses and that means being selective – always.
Hey Guys,
I think Christa would be right if this were a general blog, but it’s not. Its about winning business. Go tweet with your buddies for sure, but dont confuse that with networking or marketing.
Now I think I’m the one being misunderstood. I’ve gotten half a dozen leads from “tweeting with my buddies” and much support on starting/running a freelance business from same. Caring about them as people/friends = trust – something every successful business needs.
Christa,
I think it’s great that you tweet with your buddies and that it has given you half a dozen leads.
As a marketing professional, I choose to use a more focused approach to networking.
By the way, my twitter name is @jimconnolly – Feel free to say hello!
Leigh,
One of the best things about a blog is the fact that people with different ideas and opinions can share them.
Christa may well have been asking a question that others have wanted asked, but not.
It’s only a small percentage of any blogs readers, who actually comment.
I think businesses are slowly realizing that it’s not so much who you know any more, but more what they can offer. The “old school” method of networking just isn’t as valid today as it was 1, 5 or 10 years ago. The business world and the way to work in it has changed – the needs of businesses need to change with it.
@ Leigh. I disagree – Twitter continues to be one of the best methods of business networking and lead generation around. Knowing how to use it this way is the trick – it certainly shouldn’t be dismissed as just somewhere to “tweet with your buddies”. This view is why so many businesses and owners don’t get social media and all it can offer.
Danny,
I have been developing networks for over 20 years. I think the thing that’s changed most, is the way people do their networking.
For example, you just commented here – and I know that this means thousands of people will get a ‘taste’ of you and what you are about.
If they want to connect with you, there’s a link from your name to your site or blog. They can then find out more about you and if it’s a good ‘fit’ – you might make a great contact.
In the 1990′s this would have been impossible.
Thanks for the comment!
@Danny,
You got that wrong about my comment. I DO USE Twitter for networking, as you suggest.
I said that lady should not confuse networking with tweeting with her buddies.
“That lady.” Hmm.
FTR: I didn’t know a single one of my “buddies” before I got on Twitter. I met some through another SN site I joined around the same time. Some I found on Twitter Search. All were part of my networking strategy. Some have become friends. But we all help each other out, in many different forms… business and not.
Clear now?
@ Leigh. My mistake – apologies for the confusion.
@ Jim – great point. I think this amount of interaction and instantaneous way of seeing what someone is all about has (thankfully) led to the maturing of comments.
I see a lot less childish or spammy comments left on blogs now – perhaps that’s due to the types of blog I visit, or the readers of these blogs. But overall, the quality of comments are vastly improved from before.
Additionally, I think apps like Backtype.com will continue to improve comments – knowing what anyone is saying online is a great motivation to leave something worthwhile!
Danny,
Sadly, spam is a real problem for anyone who runs a blog. I use Akismet, which catches all the obvious stuff – but I have to check comments too.
I have post-moderated this blog since day 1. For those who don’t know, that means I allow anything my spam filters don’t catch to be posted – but delete anything that’s obvious spam.
Usually, if something has been caught by mistake, the author of the comment will contact me and let me know.
Some great comments and a few ‘odd’ ones. That’s the kinda mix I like to see!
Love your posts Jim and thanks for all your ideas.
@ Jim. Akismet is one of the best spam filters I’ve come across – it’s generally spot on with stopping the right comments.
I like to encourage discussion (much like your good self), so I’ll usually have my spam filter set to allow previously authorized commentators. Worked so far
My style is like Christa’s, both offline and online. I don’t know what value someone else’s network has, so I treat everyone as an equally valuable contact. Sure, I target people I want to connect with who are overt influencers, but you never know who may be the favorite nephew of the person you’re targeting.
Changing the line of discussion a bit, I don’t understand the rejection of LinkedIn in the original post. With its Q&A section and the ability to establish oneself as an expert in a topic, along with its “professional online Rolodex” quality that really encourages people to utilize it specifically for networking. I also appreciate its utility for a quick update to my Outlook contact list anytime someone updates a LinkedIn profile with new contact information, and the ability to form groups.
There are more new apps that I haven’t checked out yet, such as the reading list, that can help build your professional profile if you want to approach them that way.
Since I don’t want to spend all my time updating profiles in multiple spaces, that’s my main one and I just point to it from other apps such as Twitter.
@BarbChamberlain
Agh! There is a sentence fragment in my previous comment. I started a thought, got interrupted, went on with something else and didn’t read again before posting, which is most unlike me.
I bow my English major head in shame.
–barb
Barb,
Thanks for the comment. Where did you see a ‘rejection of LinkedIn’?
I said that as I am not a member of it, I cannot endorse it. I then go on to link to LinkedIn (and ecademy) from several of my posts so people can check them out. I also say that both of these offer a better return than ‘traditional’ networking.
Whilst it would be unprofessional of me to endorse something I have never used, I am happy to state that people have told me they get a lot of value from their membership of LinkedIn.
Barb. You start off by saying that you network with anyone in case they have a nephew who will use you then say that you target people who are ‘overt influencers’.
I think you may have meant that you target people who are most likely to add value to your network, and then treat them all with equal respect. This is exactly the point John was making in the post.
Ralph,
John’s name is Jim
Hi Jim, the advice is sound, but Twitter is an exceptionally weak marketing tool on its own.
It’s still just a status update tool.
In the context of marketing, it’s a means of initiating a dialogue — one of several — and not the dialogue itself.
If the relationship progresses, then things to move towards proper chat clients, like Skype, where the real business is done, certainly for me anyway…
Wayne,
Thanks for the comment.
I don’t think anyone would see Twitter as a tool to conduct business with. It’s in a totally different space to Skype.
It’s just a great way to meet new people and find answers. I appreciate that I have quite a few followers, but I can ask just about any question and get 100 answers inside 5 minutes. This has proven invaluable to me, when seeking people’s opinions. I have also directly generated around £15,000 ($25,000 US) in new business over the past 30 days, from people who ‘met’ me initially via Twitter.
Jim, when you wrote “I neither use nor endorse LinkedIn” I read it as if it were meant negatively. That’s the kind of thing that can happen in blog posts as well as in email, given the lack of overall context. I’d still say that if you’re writing about the value of one’s network for referrals, LinkedIn’s ability to provide direct recommendations and connections is valuable.
Ralph’s restatement of my comment doesn’t capture what I meant.
My first answer is that I meant what I said–every person I meet has unknown potential in his/her network value. Time getting to know them may lead to valuable connections and if nothing else, treating people well brings good karma.
Of course there are people I’d like to meet and I seek them out. The more people I know, the easier that is, particularly in my community which seems to have about 2 degrees of separation from one end to the other.
The second answer, on more reflection, is that I’m really not that strategic much of the time. I just like meeting people and connecting them with other people and information that may help them. It’s not the least bit calculated and I’m not tallying anyone’s potential network value, let alone checking someone off in my mind as being on any kind of list.
So it’s not really what you’re writing about at all. Yet I know a long list of influencers in my community, people who know me know good things about the institution I represent, and people come to me to get connected to others, so sincerity apparently works just fine.
@BarbChamberlain
Great post Jimbo.
It’s hilarious, reading someone telling you that you are wrong about how to build a great network, especially when they themselves are only commenting here because they found you through one of your networks, twitter!
They may also have noticed how many people are in your twitter network compared to them? (70 compared to jims 4100)
Barb,
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you find your current approach to networking is effective for you.
Helen,
Thanks for the comment.
Everyone is welcome to express their opinion here, they don’t have to agree with me.
I also don’t think the number of ‘followers’ a person has on Twitter is a very accurate way to determine their networking knowledge or abilities.
For example, although I set up my Twitter account months ago, I only decided to ‘develop’ it about 3 weeks ago, when I had just 160 followers! I attracted the additional 4000 people in the past few weeks.
I have not posted a comment here beofre but (Barb) has made my blood boil with her rudeness.
I find it objectionable for her to come here, be offensive to Jim and then use his blog to try and attract twitter followers. Whose going to follow someone as rude as that?
Wow, I managed to write things in such a way as to be taken quite the opposite from what I intended, and I’m sorry. I’ll try one more time & then that’s it.
I strove (too much, apparently) for brevity in explaining why I misread Jim’s initial statement about LinkedIn. I took his wording for a negative when he didn’t mean it that way, and merely added my own opinion about some value to be found in LI. I appreciate his gracious follow-up comment.
In response to another comment, I clarified the meaning of my first comment about how I connect with people.
Nowadays I routinely give my Twitter name in signing off, and I appreciate it when others do the same, or provide a link to a blog or another piece of their online presence. That is a courtesy from others that allows me to get more information if I’m interested, and I see it done everywhere.
You would only follow me if you had interest in Spokane civic life, a bit on social media and public relations, higher education and health care, bike commuting, and my personal caffeine habit.
Personally, I’m not keeping score, attracting people to my blog, or seeking millions of followers on Twitter because that’s not my primary purpose for being here. For some people it is, and that’s the beauty of social media: that it allows for all types of interactions, purposes, and relationships. I’m here to learn from those who are willing to engage and teach, and appreciate the resources Jim and others make available.
For another discussion of Twitter use, people may be interested in this guest post on @ChrisBrogan’s blog: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/guest-post-twitter-to-converse-or-to-broadcast-that-is-the-question/
@BarbChamberlain
Jim,
Thanks for following me on Twitter and telling me about your great blog!
I have a question on the value of one’s network. I’ve found that people form tighter bonds and communicate more effectively in person. How do you account for this when building networks based entirely on the internet? How do you establish rapport with only text, lacking social cues and nonverbal communication? Is the answer simply “great copywriting” as you mentioned in your other post, or is it something more complex?
[...] choose to do all my networking online these days, but whether you choose online or offline networking, the key is to network with [...]