Archive for the 'Business Coaching' Category

Make networking part of your relationship-building strategy, and you’ll see real results.

Networking: The process of meeting people, staying in touch and then asking them for business, requires patience and practice…. It’s a little bit like fishing.

I heard a story a little while ago about a fellow net worker who was planning on canning his networking memberships because he believed that his referrals were coincidental.

Despite a full year of getting great referrals, my fellow net worker did not feel the fortnightly connection with others in the business world was a viable business strategy. Their belief was the business they were being referred was purely generated by “chance” — one person knowing another who “happened to know them” — even though these “chance occurrences” were coming directly from their networking contacts, they believed it couldn’t last and subsequently left the group.

Your getting the Irony of this right?

So the question is now raised… despite “chance” is networking something you can rely on as a consistent means of getting new business?

Of course it is.

There are two major factors that platy a part in Networking being successful for your business. Repeatability and Understanding.

If you step back and ask, “Is it possible that somebody will know someone else who’s looking for my services and will give me that referral?” Well, there’s that repeatability–especially if you focus on building relationships–because there’s always a “somebody.

Then the Understanding. If you focus on the specific people who gave you the referral, rather than the process and relationships that allowed it to happen, then it’s unlikely you will consistently get more business from networking. Focus on the relationships, people talk.

Networking Is a Long and Winding Road

When it comes to networking and passing referrals, it’s not about who’s giving what to whom, and it’s hardly a straight line. If you’re thinking, “For every referral I give, I can expect one in return,” it’s time to put that idea to rest. Reciprocity is nice, but networking just doesn’t work that way, energetically yes, with direct person to person networking… No.

Think of referral-giving in the context of the Abundance Mindset, which is the awareness that there’s more than enough business to go around. If you hear of a business opportunity that would be well-suited for a referral partner–in other words, not your kind of business–think of it as “excess business.” When you pass this kind of excess business to others in the form of a referral, you’ll wind up attracting more prospects who want to work with you.

Call it a gift from the referral gods, but when you do good things for others, those good things have a way of making their way back to you–often from a different person or group of people. Even if it seems that you’re not directly benefiting from the referrals you’re giving others, take note of all the other business that just happens to come your way.

• The guy who stumbles across your website and gives you a call.
• The old prospect you haven’t heard from in months who suddenly wants to get together for lunch.
• The inactive client who wants to renew his contract with you.

Even though it seems “coincidental”, some or all of these occurrences are likely to be new business you attracted by giving away excess business (in the form of referrals) to people you know.

Network With a Net
Referral networking is a lot like catching fish by casting a net. Each fish comes to the net by a different path–each has a unique “story” that is not repeated. You don’t focus on a particular fish and then try to get it to come to the net–in fact, you probably don’t even see the fish until you pull in the net. Instead, you focus on the action of setting the net. You know that if you set your net correctly and consistently, fish will eventually come, no matter what path they take to get there.

The same is true for getting referrals. You don’t have to worry about how a specific referral got to you because you understand the process of setting your net.

And the best part is your net can be working for you all the time. You don’t have to be there whenever someone you know runs into someone else who could use your services–this means you can be “fishing” in many different ponds simultaneously and reaping tons of new business. This is especially true when you’ve become a referral gatekeeper and begin to get referrals not only from your own network of contacts but from the networks of others as well.

When it comes to networking, there is no coincidence about referrals. They are the inevitable cumulative result of the day-to-day activities of relationship-building. And even though those efforts can’t be measured as easily as cold calls, the results are far more powerful.

Happy Networking!

Kim Rowe

National Student Liaison

Another day, another installment of wisdom!!!

Here’s an article I read this morning which I thought you might like and was quite apt for today… plus I love Zig Ziglar…

When you plan and prepare carefully, you can legitimately expect to have success in your efforts. When you recognize and develop the winning qualities that you were born with, the winner you were born to be emerges. When you plan and prepare to make a sale, for example, you can legitimately expect to make a sale. Although not all your expectations are going to come to pass, you give yourself an infinitely better chance of succeeding by taking the proper steps. Regardless of your goal—losing weight, making more sales, furthering your education, earning a promotion, saving money for a new home or an exotic vacation—you can expect to achieve your goal if you plan and prepare for it.

Also understand that the path from where you are to where you want to be is not always smooth and straight. The reason for the twists and bumps is simple, and it has nothing to do with you. It has more to do with the fact that not everyone is as interested in your success as you are. Some people may accidentally hinder your efforts; others who are in competition with you and have little or no integrity may try to sabotage your efforts.

Keep in mind, though, that when you hit those roadblocks, your character, commitment and attitude are the determining factors in your success. Carefully review your plan of action, seek wise counsel, and be particularly careful to feed your mind good information. An optimistic, positive mind is far more likely to come up with creative solutions than a mind that dwells on setbacks and difficulties.

Bottom line: expect success and you can achieve it!

by Zig Ziglar

Kind of ties in with the Accelerated results classes I am running for you doesn’t it!

- Review Your plan of action

- Seek wise councel (email me action@thecoachinginstitute.com.au – all your business questions)

- Feed your mind good information (get the answers on your Accelerated Results Classes)

- Together we will come up with creative solutions for your business!!

Check out your class schedule or for more detail email action@thecoachinginstitute.com.au

Enjoy and have one of those ‘extra special’ days!

To YOUR Success

Kim Rowe

National Student Liaison