Why You Want (and Need) Industry Partners
I want to share a story with you about Tom and Bob. They lived next door to each other. They both decided to build a redwood deck patio in their respective back yards.
Tom started by going to the neighborhood lumber yard and bought one board and brought it home. He then returned to the lumber yard and bought another board. He continued going back and forth to the lumber yard each time returning home with one board to build his patio deck.
Bob decided to call the lumber yard and order enough wood to build his deck and had the lumber delivered to his house.
Whether you’ve ever built a deck before or not, it’s easy to figure out that Bob was able to build his deck a lot faster than Tom.
This same principle holds true in deciding how you want to build your business. While the redwood deck example is rather obvious, most networkers build their business the way Tom builds a redwood deck, one customer at a time.
That’s right, every time you go to a networking meeting and try to make one sale or find one referral, it’s like going to the lumber yard for one board.
When you start looking for an Industry Partner, it’s like you are searching for a lumber yard instead of a board. Why build your business going from place to place looking for one at a time? When you have an Industry Partner, it’s like having a lumber yard. Finding an Industry Partner is like finding someone that has a supply of what you are looking for.
This coming week, at every BNF meeting, everyone will be working on “Discovering Your Industry Partners.” After spending over a decade studying business networking, here’s what I’ve discovered:
There are industries that can align with your business that you have not thought of. One BNF member has a business that helps individuals that are downsizing to sell off their “extra stuff” that has accumulated over the years. When discussing industry partners, he had not thought of funeral directors. When it was pointed out that after the death of a spouse, there are often times items to be sold that the surviving member has no idea of their value. Quite often, the surviving member may not even want to be involved in the process. This BNF member’s business provides added value to funeral directors and the families they serve.
It’s game time.
It’s time to start thinking BIG. It’s time to stop thinking about one board at a time. It’s time to take your business from surviving to thriving. It’s time to master the art of business networking. It’s time to start generating more referrals.
This week at each meeting, you’ll dive deeper into “Discovering Your Industry Partners.” This is going to be a total game-changer for you!
Building a lucrative, long-term business takes time. Discovering Your Industry Partners will be the first step in shortening your time frame towards massive success.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “If I had four hours to cut down a tree, I’d spend the first three hours sharpening the axe.” Discovering Your Industry Partners is like sharpening your axe. This first, most critical step, in expediting your growth and long-term success, will make the rest of your job easier.
Once you’ve identified your Industry Partners, all of us in BNF will journey along side you as continue up the Partnership Path. Through the Business Networking Formula, you will begin to find individuals in each industry that you can begin to develop a relationship with, starting by getting to know, like and trust them. Eventually, you will begin to make referrals back and forth.
It’s important to see that you don’t have time to build your business by yourself. You don’t have the time to knock on every door, visit every store, attend every meeting, to find all of the customers you need. You also do not have the time to work with everyone, so it’s crucial to your success we identify which professionals, in your industry, are the most likely to pass you business.
Before we work together to identify your Industry Partners, it’s important that you’ve watched the Math Behind the Formula training. Do it now! It makes it quite clear why we’re extremely focused on Industry Partners and why you only need a handful of on your Alliance Team. It’s important for you and your success. It’s time for you to start living the life you deserve.
You are networking for a reason. You want better results. You want more success. The Business Networking Formula is just that…a formula. If you don’t follow the formula, you won’t get the success you are searching for. If you want to bake a cake, you must follow the directions. If you don’t, you won’t get a cake that looks like the one on the box.
You’re here. You’re in the game. Watch the training video and let’s gear up for an awesome week as we begin an incredible journey on the Partnership Path!
Caution: As you move down the Partnership Path and move closer to having your Alliance Team of Industry Partners, you will need to be prepared for an increase in business.
At BNF, we believe in you and your business. We are committed to helping you master the art of networking if you have the passion and desire to do so. It’s not going to be easy but if you make clear goals, turn your learning into study and your study into improvement and results, anything is possible.
As a member of the Business Networking Formula, there are training videos and step-by-step instructions on how to create and travel the “Partnership Path” which includes Math Behind the Formula and the nine stages. Go to www.businessnetworkingformula.com and check out some of the free networking training videos and see where there is an upcoming meeting in your area and RSVP today.