Tracking Networking Success

How to track your networking so you know it’s actually working for your business

When was the last time you attended a networking event?

Did you keep track of who you met? Did you follow up with them? And also track that?

I’ve always known networking was important.

So much so that my boss used to tell me “Everybody in town knows who you are. I can’t go anywhere without somebody bringing up your name.”

But the question was, were those networking events really even working for me? Were they bringing in business? Was I actually making more money than I was spending on these activities?

Truth is, I didn’t know. Because I wasn’t tracking.

And let me tell you, it wasn’t easy to sit down and come up with a process, but what happens when you don’t have a process??

You wing it. And you and I both know that businesses don’t live and definitely don’t thrive by just winging it. Not tracking is a surefire way to go broke.

Track to know what’s working and what’s not

A lot of business owners track one thing – sales.?

They know how many calls it takes to get an appointment. How many appointments it takes to get a sale.?

That’s a great start – now take that exact process and use it towards your networking.?

Which networking events are getting me leads? Which leads are actually buying and turning into clients? Which clients are now referring me to other people?

Your time is your most valuable asset as a business owner and you need to make sure that what you’re spending time on is actually the right stuff.

If you find yourself joining associations and going to events just because it’s a good time and the drinks are flowing, it doesn’t mean it’s actually good for your business.

Take inventory of where you’re going, who you’re meeting, and how that is turning into actual value for your business.

Know your ROI in networking

So, here’s one thing to start out with to know what’s actually working –?

What is your first touch point? Where did you first meet or come in contact with your lead?

Is it a lead from a marketing campaign? From a referral? From a cold sales call? Do you even know the difference?

If you don’t know what you’re spending your money on and the results you’re getting, you’re just gonna keep spending money and HOPE it works.

Hopium is a thing, but it’s not an effective way to run your business.

When you go to networking lunches, brunches, happy hours, etc. you spend a lot of money on drinks, food, and admission. Not only should you be keeping track of what that spend looks like, but are you getting a successful ROI out of that? Or are you just getting business cards and phone numbers?

Networking is not just an extra thing you do in your business, it is an important investment and that’s how you should look at it or else you’re just not playing the game right.

So start tracking your first touch points. And it doesn’t have to be in a fancy CRM system. I started out and have always used tracking in a basic Excel spreadsheet. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be!

Take action, get feedback, take action again

After you’ve tracked who the referral is and what the first touch point was, you can add even more helpful information – Did they actually meet with you? And did you close them?

And you know what I love about that? It’s really simple.

It takes time and it takes effort, but it works.?

I started by listing out the events and associations I was a part of and kept track of how many people I met. I continued to attend the events and over time, I saw which events were benefiting me and which ones were a waste of time. From there I could get more laser focused.

What happened after that was I quit all of my happy hours. That may not be the best option for you, but for me it worked.

And I gotta admit, I’ve always sucked at following up with people. So I knew if I was going to get a meeting set with a potential client, it would have to be done in person, at the event, and tracked.

And through that I found I just wasn’t asking enough people for a one-on-one meeting outside the event. Once you know and start tracking which events work and which ones don’t, then you can start focusing on what to do inside of the event to make your networking even more effective.

Use your network around you

It’s pretty simple. You can’t do step 3 before you’ve done step 1. You don’t want to cancel all your memberships, leave all your events, trash any networking opportunity that you don’t think is working before you start tracking.?

So the first step? Start tracking.

After that, evaluate what’s working. Should you continue to pay fees to an association or organization that I’m not getting any value from? Should I continue to pay in the currency of time to go to an event where it’s all just other sales people or should I get laser focused on finding the events with business owners? Clients who will actually be able to use my product or services?

Go even deeper and gather people in your circle to see who they’re meeting, where they’re going, and people they know who are striving in the networking game. If your circle around you aren’t your ideal clients, then they could possibly be valuable in their Rolodex and who they know in their circles.

Maximize your potential to get business by utilizing the people and groups you already have around you.

Have a small board of directors, if you will, to evaluate what events are coming up, who’s going to be there, and who you need to meet.

And even from that, find out where other connections are going for events. Check their LinkedIn profiles, ask them at the events, and make sure you track all of it.

Develop a process to track all of this valuable information because with more information and knowledge, you have a better chance at success and turning your networking into your biggest ROI.

Main takeaways:

1. Start tracking now to know what’s working and what’s not
2. Know your ROI in networking
3. Take action, get feedback, take action again
4. Use your network around you

As always, if you’ve got any tips or tricks of value out of this, do us a favor, and make sure you’re subscribed to our newsletter! Become one of our Champions, Visit SuccessChampionNetworking.com & email us at: [email protected]

Donnie Boivin is the Founder and CEO of the Success Champion Networking, a 4x best-selling author and host of the Growth Mode Podcast.

#Networking #SuccessChampion #Business

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