Imagine a caveman in primitive times who has no hunting tools
and never leaves his cave. It is pretty clear he will not
survive for long. Running a business today is much the same.
If you do not have a good product or service and a means of
letting people know you have it you will not be in business
for long.
How do you get the message out?
There are a number of ways to let people know you have a product
or service they need or might like. Advertising is the most
obvious. It can be expensive but it gets your message across
to a large audience. Promoting the business through a public
relations campaign is another. This could take the form of
sponsorship of an event, charity support or even writing articles
like this one! But while all these methods are effective,
nothing works better than a personal recommendation. How often
have you, for example, visited a restaurant after someone
told you they had had a good meal there? This is fine of course
but not too many people go around singing the praises of a
particular service. The opposite is true if the service is
bad! People have no hesitation in spreading the word if they
have a bad experience. However, if you do indeed have a good
product to offer, what is the next best thing to a personal
recommendation? The answer is a referral, and a great way
to get referrals is through networking.
What is networking?
Networking is something we all do unconsciously for the most
part. If your social life consists of participating in sports,
business groups, religious activities or just shopping or
visiting bars you are constantly networking in that people
get to know what you do and you get to know what they do.
Consequently if someone ever tells you that they are looking
for a particular product or service and you happen to know
someone in your ‘network’ who could provide what
they are looking for there is a good chance you will suggest
that person.
Taking networking a stage further
The importance of networking has not gone unnoticed by management
gurus. Formal networking groups now operate in many countries.
I belong to such a group in Jakarta that is run by several
Chambers of Commerce. Every Wednesday morning it meets at
7.00am with breakfast thrown in and finishes promptly at 8.30am
so that very little time is lost from the business day. The
format is simple but effective. It starts with each member
giving a one-minute presentation on his or her company, product
or service. After this, one of the members each week gives
a 10-minute more detailed presentation. This is followed by
an education slot when a different member each week covers
various aspects of networking.
Business ‘on a plate’
Finally the meeting goes round the table to see who has brought
referrals to the meeting. Each referral is noted on a triplicated
slip of paper which is transferred on a plate from the referrer
to the recipient. This is conveniently known as receiving
‘business on a plate’. Numbers are limited to
around 30 and there can be only one representative for each
product or service. Visitors are welcome but if a second real
estate agent should come along for example, he or she cannot
be admitted as an official ‘member’ if there is
already a member in that profession. The visitor must stay
on the sidelines until the first one drops out or can be the
first in the profession to join a second group. Regular attendance
is essential; absence of more than three weeks in a row can
lead to loss of one’s place. It is acceptable however
for a colleague to take your place; a fortunate rule for someone
like me who makes frequent trips to Bali! The important thing
is to ensure your message is constantly repeated so that it
is reinforced in the minds of other participants.
I will go into more detail in the next article and show how
networking can benefit companies, both large and small, professionals,
small businesses and even individuals who are not in business.
Colin Bloodworth is a senior financial adviser with Financial
Partners International. The views expressed are his own. If
you have any questions relating to personal finance you may
contact him at 021 520 8099 or
colin.bloodworth@financial-partners.biz
