Networking Doesn't Work!
Carly Twigg
Helping You Stay Organised & Elevate Every Occasion | Virtual Assistant, Event Planner, Venue Stylist & Florist | Founder of YesDear.uk & Buds and Blooms Staffs
Do you find yourself investing time and effort attending lots of networking events, with very little in return?
Are you starting to think that it is pointless and that it doesn’t work?
Do you find yourself regularly passing out business cards but rarely having regular meetings with the same people?
Without regular meetings, it is almost impossible to strengthen relationships with your peers, to a point where they truly know you and understand your business enough to easily and comfortably refer you. You cannot simply turn up and expect that attending a networking event will give you a return on your investment. You have to invest time, you have to work at it. Networking alone does not work. When you combine it with getting to know other businesses, and understanding how you can first help them, the returns will come.
BNI is the number 1 referral marketing organisation in the world, because we start with business and continue to maintain professional business standards throughout everything we do.
Members across Staffordshire and indeed the world, are succeeding because they focus on building strong unwavering bonds and relationship with their fellow chapter members. They meet weekly enjoying time out of the office to focus on their business with like-minded professionals. They have a support network of experts around them, who they can turn to for advice when needed.
We must combine networking with behaviours that are proven to grow relationships and generate business.
BNI is a Business. It is run as a business which helps our members to succeed. You wouldn’t run a business with no way of tracking your return on investment. In BNI we offer a quantifiable way to track the effectiveness of your networking activity. This means you can easily track the behaviours that help you to achieve your return on investment.
If networking isn’t working, you really need to ask yourself if you are working on your networking. You cannot just show up for tea and cake with a handful of business cards and expect people to refer their trusted contacts to you. This takes time.
For networking to really work, you have to work on networking. When you do, the rewards will come.
Extra Resources:
To help you better understand this topic, you might want to read: The Networking Disconnect
#BNI #Giversgain #BNIFamily #ReferralMarketing #Networking #Networkingdisconnect
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About The Author – Carly Twigg:
I am an enthusiastic Referral Marketing Expert, dedicated to supporting local businesses, helping them to grow and succeed through the power of BNI and Givers Gain.
I am currently working to support and facilitate the launch of 3 new core groups: BNI Moorlands - Rushton Spencer, BNI Revolution - Rugeley, BNI Unity - Uttoxeter, We are growing some fantastic groups of motivated business professionals.
I am an avid believer in Givers Gain and work hard to maintain strong relationships with all of our members. I actively encourage 121's to enable me to help and support our members with any BNI or referral marketing queries they may have.
Contact Carly:
T - 01782 571950
Connect on LinkedIn - Carly Twigg
BNI Executive Director Staffordshire ? Helping Business Owners & Entrepreneurs generate more new business ? Marketing & Sales Opportunities ? Referral Networking
5 年Great article Carly - thank you for sharing your advice for success with networking
Redefine your leadership impact, one conversation at a time | A trusted space to pause, to rethink, and to be challenged | Bilingual (French & English)
5 年Networking works. We just need to find the right network that serves well our business and ultimately our clients. Going for my second visit to BNI Global?Guildford Chapter tomorrow at 6.30am. I am keen :)?