What to do if your business networking group is in the doldrums

Is your network group slumping? Try the following suggestions

By Robyn Pearce

How many times have you attended a business networking group and walked away with a handful of business cards or referrals that ended up in the bin? Sometimes you didn’t follow up. Other times you did, but the quality of the connection was zilch or close to.

At the last Auckland Chapter meeting of Business Builders Group, Neil Swanney from Canopy Group led a great discussion on how to make the most of belonging to a networking group.

Questions to ask yourself, or the group if you’re having a think-tank on growing your organisation:

1.      What is our purpose? Is it referrals, business education, making friends in similar fields, or … ?

2.      How is this going to happen?

3.      Why should this work?

4.      So, what could go wrong?

5.      Ways to develop

If we’ve joined a networking group to grow our business, it's usually in hopes of getting qualified leads from members. We expect it to work once we’ve gained the trust of our fellow members. (This presupposes that we’re good at what we do!) We want to be trusted to take good care of the friends, colleagues and families of our fellow members.

If we're good at getting and giving quality referrals to our fellow members, we can be sure the group membership will flourish. One feeds the other.

So, what goes wrong with this ideal picture?

• Maybe we sit back and wait for a lead opportunity to present itself.
• Maybe we don’t know how to “sell” a colleague’s unique service to a qualified lead
• Maybe we don’t really know what our fellow member’s value proposition is
• Maybe we quit the group before it has time to mature
• Maybe we don’t take part-ownership of the organisation and help it grow and develop
• Maybe a member doesn’t have the trust of the group

At least three things are needed to overcome most of those problems:

Time: Trust is not arrived at instantly. In our instant-gratification society, some people aren’t prepared to give group relationships time to mature and for trust to build. Patience and application are needed!

The right KIND of referral: If a member has joined in order to grow their business, and no referrals come their way, eventually the lack of ROI from their time and money will cause them to leave. So let’s look at how to give a quality referral.

Just giving a name to someone is not a quality referral. Instead, it’s more likely to be a waste of time. Problem is, in many cases we won’t know when someone needs a particular service. However, we probably do know people who service the type of prospect your fellow-member needs. For instance, an accountant will know if a business owner needs less traditional financing services such as Pacific Invoice Finance. 

A quality referral might go like this: ‘Margaret, is it okay if I give your name to John Smith? He belongs to the same business group as me, and I’m really impressed with the calibre of the guy. He’s the go-to guy when people need XYZ. I’ve heard of some of the types of problems he’s solved, and it occurred to me that he could be of value to some of your clients.’

Effort: 

• If someone sits back and expects quality leads to come to them without putting energy into some kind of exchange, they’re expecting the car to run with no accelerant. It’s a two-way highway, not a one-way lane.
• One-on-one meetings are the best way to really get to know a person, find out about them as individuals, drill down into the type of client they serve and find out who would be a good centre of influence. Set a goal to meet with at least one or two of your fellow-members each month.
• Look for ways to serve the other guy first, instead of focusing on your wishes. Develop a culture of generosity.
• Expand your group by bringing more guests, especially if you have interesting guest speakers. Dig through your database and match events to people you’re already connected to. LinkedIn is a fast and easy way to do this. Scan down the names that pop up on your feed. And don’t forget your past clients or prospects. Then pick up the phone. DO NOT rely on an email or LI message.
• When you invite an existing contact to come to one of your functions, it gives you a non-confrontational reason to keep in touch and deepen the existing relationship, adds value to your members, and brings extra ears for the speaker. On a business level that might even lead to extra business for yourself. Buckminster Fuller called it the Precessional Effect  

Take ownership of the welfare and growth of your group:

Some people don’t have the patience to give their involvement in a group time to develop and thrive. An organisation is only a vehicle. The individuals are the drivers – the growth of the group is only as good as the input of the individual members. And the drive and energy of a group comes from the injection of new members. Keep bringing in potential new members as well as guests.

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Learn more about Business Builders Group, with its focus on Know, Like and Trust, and with groups around Australia, Singapore, South Africa and Auckland, NZ, by calling the facilitator nearest you for a free introductory session. Time Management specialist and author Robyn Pearce is the Auckland facilitator.