The most powerful way to network is to enhance the revenue of opinion leaders. Realize that before receiving business-related endorsements, you must first “send business.”
Cultivate the endorsement of key opinion leaders. Most successful networkers are very unselfish people. “You must give before you receive.”
The very best networkers identify and then prospect the advisors and role models of the affluent. For example, helping trade association presidents with their obligations leads to business.
Most affluent people are members of trade groups:
- The speed of intragroup word-of-mouth recommendations is many times faster than the speed of intergroup communication.
- Dollar for dollar, the most productive way to penetrate the affluent market is to network with its members, their advisors, and key members of their important affinity groups.
- High-performance networkers gain endorsements for reasons that go beyond the basic product or service they offer.
- High-caliber networkers focus their efforts.
8 Faces of Networking
Talent Scout
Most affluent individuals are either successful self-employed business owners or self-employed professionals. Why not act as a talent scout for the affluent.
Before you develop an affluent market strategy, you need to address this question: What types of industries within your trade area contain the highest concentrations of millionaires?
Few cold callers have ever said to a prospect: I’m a devoted supplier of your trade association. I also want to be a Talent Scout to you and your membership. I have an affinity for your organization. You’re the head of one of the most important trade associations in your industry. I’m sure that your members expect great things from your administration. I imagine it’s lonely at the top sometimes. I would like to help you meet the needs of your membership. I can supply you with a highly qualified speaker. He can address the future of “our” industry. He is a top analyst. There will be no charge for this service.
Seek out problems that other people have and solve them for your clients.
- Focus on the big dogs.
- Enhance your credibility. (Write)
- Target the Flagships within the Affluent Convoy. (Deliver speakers to shows)
- Offer More than the Core. (Be a talent scout)
- Recruit Top Suppliers.
- Target Suppliers of Suppliers.
- Continue to Enhance Your Image as an Expert, Apostle, and Networker. (It often takes a full year of networking before this strategy begins to pay dividends.)
The Revenue Enhancer
Truly gifted suppliers, however, offer more than the core. They all published articles in the top food industry trade journals. Ask the question, “What are your most pressing needs?”
The most important thing you can do to convert a prospect into a client is to say: “Give me a stack of your business cards. I have many clients who are likely to buy from you.”
You can’t sell equipment to a customer who has no customers. Referrals are among our most important products. Enhance your customer’s revenue – go out and get them business.
Prospect fundraisers. They bring in money from affluent people. Enhance the revenue of their children (coach their teams)
The Advocate
Write personal letters and trade journals advocating that you are involved and care about your clients.
An advocate is a person who speaks and/ or writes in support of another’s cause. Many high-grade networkers are ardent supporters of their clients’ causes. These causes are usually more important to clients than any product or service. Aggressively support their causes, even if it means writing to Congressmen.
Read and do your homework on your customer’s industry…read what they read.
The Mentor
“Do you know any other dealers who might benefit from my services?”
1. If you wish to sell to the affluent, first gain the endorsement of their affinity groups.
2. Once you have gained such endorsements, display your offering at the trade shows and professional society meetings of these affinity groups. Promote your offering in their trade and professional periodicals.
3. Donate part of the revenues you generate from affinity groups to their respective associations.
4. Telephone the headquarters of every affluent affinity group you wish to target. Ask each of these organizations the fundamental questions of influence networking: a. What public relations firm represents your organization? b. What law firm? c. What accounting firm?
5. Hire the top-quality public relations professional who already represents the most important affluent affinity group that you have targeted. This professional will place important news items and articles about you in the publications of affluent affinity groups and will help you gain the endorsements of these groups.
6. Consider hiring the law firm and the accounting firm that represent the affinity groups you wish to target. Part of the professional duties of these firms should be to help you gain the endorsements of the affinity groups they represent.
7. Target networks of networks if possible. Can you imagine the advantage of being endorsed by an affinity group that represents thousands of affinity groups? Are there such groups in America? Yes. Take as an example the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). It is the professional society of paid executives of national, state, and local trade, professional, technical, and business associations. Its monthly publication, The Magazine for Association Executives, is read by 20,000 executives who manage thousands of affinity groups!
8. Deal with service providers who have more than basic skills, who will network for you. Why deal with a public relations professional who can only do public relations, with a financial consultant who can only hawk investments?
Talkers are often perceived as hawkers, whereas writers are looked upon as experts. Write an article and enhance your credibility.
The Publicist
Generating publicity and related endorsements for others it’s often more important than promoting oneself. He goes out of his way to supply ideas, wisdom, and case studies to various reporters.
If you will give me referrals to your clients, I will have articles published about you and your firm. These articles will enhance your growing reputation. They will appear in the trade and professional journals that your target audience reads.
The Family Advisor
Networkers can help families solve these problems by referring them to skilled specialists, thus playing a role akin to that of the Talent Scout.
To be an expert in any area of business, one must meet two requirements. First, one must have superior skills that are product based. Second, one must be viewed as an expert by market prospects and clients and even by the relevant media.
One can be perceived as an expert by peers. But peers are neither clients nor prospective clients. Increasing your knowledge of product or service won’t help. Instead, cultivate the clients.
The Purchasing Agent
Broker and negotiate deals for others.
Negotiates the purchase of homes, automobiles, and other expensive items for members of his network.
The Loan Broker
He who obtains credit for clients will always have clients.
Rules of Networking
Rule 1: Identify those professionals who already have an influence network composed of the types of people that you want as clients.
Rule 2: Align yourself with those who will actually make you part of their influence network.
Rule 3: Be willing and able to contribute to the network.
Rule 4: Be patient and have a long-term view of the benefits of creating an influence network.
Rule 5: Spend more time with key centers of influence than you do with your peers, colleagues, and competitors. Why not start reading journals that contain information about the important players in the professions of accounting and law, Instead of your own?
Rule 6: Solicit business on behalf of the members of your influence network.
Rule 7: Act as an intelligence officer and publicist for the members of your influence network.
Rule 8: Entertain network members.
Rule 9: Interface with several centers of influence.
Rule 10: Endorse only those who are qualified to provide the core product or service.
Rule 11: Network for higher causes.
Rule 12: Recruit, recruit, recruit new members to your influence network.
