I’ve had the privilege of networking with speakers at events and actually speaking at events. I’ve found interesting differences in the way people go about it. This blog is how to build engagement with your target market and how to avoid putting them off.

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Networking at seminars

I always recommend getting there early and leaving later than most, the trick is not to outstay your welcome. Getting there early gives you the opportunity to spend time with the hosts before they get inundated with arrivals. Staying late means you can catch some time with the speaker because they usually hang around when they’ve finished and they’re, typically, less stressed (and more open to chat) when their stint has finished. No matter how many times I present, I’m always nervous. Yet I’ve picked up techniques that mean I’m fine as soon as I get going.

In the meantime, you can mingle with fellow delegates which is a lot easier if you have had the chance to see who is attending. The hosts will happily point you out to people as they arrive. It allows them to move people into the event, which is their main concern when a bunch of people arrive at the same time. That nearly always happens so get there early, avoid the rush and and relax whilst people you want to meet are introduced to you.

Do’s

As well as the above, you can take a sneaky peek at the list of attendees. If their badges are laid out across the table at the entrance, a quick scan will reveal people you know or might want to meet. You can maximise your time if you have a few focused conversations.

However, please do have random conversations with people that you don’t know because the seminar is something that you have in common. You can break the ice with the subject matter and ask how they got interested in it. Don’t forget to ensure they warm to you by focussing on them in the first instance.

Don’ts

The main thing is to avoid the hard sell. If you’re in general conversation, keep it that way. People just can’t help asking what you do, even if it is because they want to find out if they could be a useful provider for you. Don’t tell them what you are (an astronaut), tell them what you do (further the existence of mankind). People want to be interested and intrigued. If they are turned off by what you do, don’t get disheartened. There are other people that want what you have to offer. Don’t miss an opportunity when you are asked, make it compelling. And please don’t forget to follow up with those that are interested. It might not be them that needs your help yet they may be interested because you can add value to their network. And that goes a very long way in times when trust is thin on the ground.

Example of a classic faux pas

Imagine you are a host or speaker at an event. You have arranged a successful event or overcame the nerves and presented very well. The audience are happy and fill in the feedback forms. Some are even asking you to follow up because they are interested in finding out if what you do will work for them. Now imagine one of them approaches you and tells you how brilliant their services would be for your clients. Naturally, you will ask what they do. And off they go, into a lengthy spiel that makes you hope that someone interrupts.

The disappointment would kick in when you realise that the sole reason they attended was to turn you into an introducer. They have no interest in your service, which is why they turned up late and they offer you an introducers fee before anything else. It dawns on you that they have taken the seat of someone who wanted to attend. Someone that could of become a paying client and reward you for the effort you made in staging the event. Instead you have been offered the chance of becoming a “salesperson” for someone else. It wouldn’t feel great. So please, don’t do that.

Wrap Up: Seminars and exhibitions are great places to network – turn a social conversation into something tangible for business. Apart from the 5 questions in our free downloads, you can talk about the event and reasons for being there.

Top Tip: You don’t have to get there early or stay late. When time is of the essence you should aim to do less networking and spend more time at each event that you attend.

Jason Cobine, The Networking Economist – Building Profitable Networks

First Impressions

This article is about people messing up their first impression with online antics. There are alternatives so read on to discover how to avoid wasting time online.

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Following up

Having met Dan I felt comfortable connecting with him on LinkedIn. This was in the days when discussions were common in LinkedIn groups and they didn’t all end up following Godwin’s Law.

It’s a great way to build rapport and then a mutually convenient business relationship.  So I was very surprised to receive a direct LinkedIn message saying “We have been connected for a while now and I’m wondering when you are going to send some business my way………my services are detailed on my profile”. I thought Dan might have hit the “email all my contacts with a template message” button. So I left it at that.

God loves a trier, apparently

A week or so later I received another message. It explained that “it seems pointless us being connected unless we had done any business together”.

It went on “If you don’t send me some work in the next 2 weeks I will sever our connection.” I assumed Dan meant on LinkedIn – surely he wasn’t going to send the boys around? I severed our LinkedIn connection in about 5 seconds.

What should I have done?

I should have sent him an email telling him about the time that other people had wasted on LinkedIn, before they asked us to help them, plus their testimonials.

Or perhaps stayed connected out of intrigue?

Yet those would be a waste of my time.

Because I am not Dan’s salesperson and he may never realise that.

I am on LinkedIn so people that I have met or connected with can work together when the time is right. Quite often I am one of the people that gets work out of these relationships. That’s not because I’m “doing a Dan”. It’s because my network was built with a purpose and is choc-full of people that will probably, sooner (want) or later (need), the services I provide, or they have relationships with lots of people that do.

Wrap up; Dan should have spent his time advertising. Which you can actually do on LinkedIn. Even if someone desperately needed Dan’s services it’s impossible for me to connect him.

Top tip; The ultimate compliment in business is not an award. It is someone having enough trust in you that they are confident to introduce you to someone you can work with.

Jason Cobine
The Networking Economist
Building Profitable Networks

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Speednetworking sharpens your knife

I met Ruth at an exhibition, which had a half hour speednetworking session. You have to get to the point quickly when time is so short. We both participated. Until then, Ruth hadn’t actually realised that her networking strategy had been unproductive yet had felt that nagging doubt that, when people smiled and made polite comments when she told them what she did, ultimately they had no idea just how beneficial Ruth’s business could be to their lives. One nagging doubt and many missed opportunities.

Ruth had been telling people what she did and no-one was taking any significant notice. There had been follow up cups of tea with some, further meetings with others. Yet the inevitable had happened. People had unsuccessfully tried to sell to, or build a strategic partnership with, each other after meeting at a networking event…repeat ad infinitum. It’s a very  common strategy yet I don’t think it’s adopted on purpose. It’s the strategy that befalls everyone who hasn’t designed their own. Let’s call it networking auto-pilot.

What’s in it for me?

Like most people Ruth had been telling those that asked “what do you do” about her role. Nearly everyone does that…..partly because “networking” businesses encourage them to. And partly because nearly everyone does it, networking auto pilot again.  Yet it’s not even answering the question. Hardly anyone tells the enquirer what they do. Never mind enlightening the enquirer about what they might find useful in the “I do this” box. Auto pilot ensures the answer is more about the role than the ultimate purpose of that role.

People don’t really want to know what you do. They really want to know what you do that will benefit them…..or their family, friends, colleagues. Their network. Hard and soft benefits are useful because hardly anyone I have met does only one thing for one person. Most people provide hard tangible benefits and the vast majority provide additional soft intangible benefits. I’m open to challenges on that point. So test me out by making a comment below if you think there is a role out there that involves doing only one thing.

Hard benefits, Soft Benefits or no benefits?

Hard and soft benefits allow you to capture the interest of people that need different things. Ruth can now say one simple sentence to two, or more people, at the same time and have them both want to pay her for different things.

Ruth can mix it up too. Because no-one does one thing and some are enormously skilled, how you answer the “do” question can vary depending on who is listening. An FD will have different goals from a HR Director. Telling the FD what the HR Director needs to hear will leave her thinking that she doesn’t need what you offer. Yet the HR Director will fall over himself to get his hands on what you offer. Because nobody else has offered him what you have. Not even his current supplier who are competing with you for pounds that could be in your sales figures. Additionally, Ruth has a handful of things she could say to different people. Whilst Ruth can’t help the World, she can say specific things that grab the attention and the interest of the right people.

So organising your networking is partly about saying compelling things to people that need your services. And then following up with those that paid proper attention or were actually interested.

This doesn’t waste time like those that are telling people what their role is called and following up on an all or nothing basis.

Perhaps you’ve wondered why inferior providers are getting the deals you deserve?

Maybe those that get the most from your services don’t “get it” when you first talk to them?

Annoyed that exhibitions have proved a waste of time?

Worried that your team are networking yet their follow up is not working?

We deal with these concerns, and others about networking, on a weekly basis.

*”Jason helped me to make my networking time more productive. He allowed me to understand the ‘hard and soft benefits’ that my clients achieve when working with me. Following my training session, I was able to implement a workable follow- up system to separate contacts from exhibitions and networking meetings into different groups. This advice has been invaluable.”

Top tip: When people ask you what you do, articulate what you that is good for them.

Wrap up: Not everyone wants what you do, yet nearly everyone knows someone that does.

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Problem solved?

All 8 participants had developed profitable businesses that employ great people, yet one particular hurdle was said to be the speciality of a certain person, known to us all. Stuart dived in and stated that he couldn’t agree that the problem would be solved if it was referred to said individual. His reason?

Not that Poppy had messed up royally. Not even a disputes over the quality of the work or the amount invoiced for it. It was a lot easier to resolve than those reputation killers.

Follow up

Stuart was clear that his person was not to be trusted. Yet all that had been done, or not, was a failure to reply or update her connector. A simple task, probably a 1 line email, a quick text or a voicemail would have kept Stuart in the know. That’s all he wanted, not a fancy lunch or introducer’s commission. Just an update.

We all know that this makes sense and there is no doubt there is someone out there that I have failed to keep informed. Yet I use computers and their like to remind me because that works for me…the vast majority of the time. Stuart reminded me how important it is to keep it simple. Keep in touch with those that recommend you because they already have everything they need to recommend you again.

Earning trust

Poppy has no idea what went on when she wasn’t in the room. Neither can you when you cannot be there. Yet you can control what is said about you. I actually really like Poppy, I think she is vibrant and honest and warm….yet I now need more proof before I can introduce her with confidence.

That proof can be a new recommendation or customer testimonial Poppy shares with her network. Or someone else saying that Poppy went the extra mile for a client. I hope she does.

Top tip: When shared, most experiences reveal that someone has already overcome this hurdle. And knows what not to do next. Some unnecessary hurdles can be negotiated by referring to the right people.

Wrap up: You’ve heard about online reputation management. What about offline reputation management?

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LinkedIn email traffic is cloaked with spam messages

There seem to be far more ways to get to me than there used to be. I am surprised by the number of email from people or entities I have no interest in that land in my inbox. It seems that this is the price to pay for Publishing content, you are not the only one with a send button.

A recent development has taken me by surprise. I’m not upset when LinkedIn released a new feature allowing people or companies to spread their word. I’m allowed to use the technology too. What did surprise me was that, when I clicked to announce my interest in a service, I was tipped into a black hole.

We don’t know what we’re doing 

Thinking it was a mistake or a broken link I visited the website of the company and contacted them. I then get a message from someone who has no idea who, or what part of their organisation, actually had placed the message.

That is maddening. I find a gem in amongst many irrelevant rocks and I have to throw it away. The company that got me clicking are well known to me. In fact, I value what they have to offer. Yet I’m annoyed at them now. I am left with the impression that their service is not slick and their ability, never mind their willingness, to attend to issues that crop up is non-existent.

Blanding, not branding

It reminded me of an article I wrote titled “what are you doing to your brand on LinkedIn”. Not the snappiest title ever. It was about arguments that people get into when discussing bland subjects. The arguments will never go away even though discussions in some groups are dwindling. This is because some people have always wanted to publish, yet LinkedIn had no such mechanism, so they used discussions to get their point across.

Now LinkedIn let’s them publish almost anything they want, they no longer need the veneer of a discussion so they won’t get the feedback that illuminated discussions. One point I would like to make about Publishing on LinkedIn is a correction of a point of view I held previously. They have confirmed that whatever you publish is yours when I initially thought LinkedIn owned it. Which is good news if the audience decide it is relevant and bad news if it’s bland. Your messages are mini-publications too. So listen up for constructive feedback.

Wrap Up; I do recommend that you share things on LinkedIn and take advantage of it’s many features. Yet if you do get people to click, make sure they can get in touch easily. Publishing may be a facility that isn’t around forever yet it has proved popular so it may become an application they charge for.

Top Tip; If you are going to publish on the internet, why not publish a blog on your own website and tell your LinkedIn contacts that you have taken the plunge?

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Soft skills or hard skills?

Recently, a few LinkedIn discussions have been about training and a move away from a prescribed model of Continual Professional Development (CPD). The change of strategy is aimed and improving the services and outcomes that people buying legal services receive. This is on a similar theme to a recent blog describing how some people need soft skills, others hard skills and why they end up with the wrong thing.

If this happens firms will still use CPD yet any lack of improvement in the firms outcomes will be down to the partners rather than blamed on inadequate training resources. Their biggest challenge will be finding and keeping the most valuable resource. Those that continue with a tick box approach will find their best talent moving to firms who invest seriously in their people. They want skills that they can use rather than being bored silly in “classrooms”.

Interest in prescriptive courses falls

The discussions have confirmed large firms create their own training management programmes. No surprise there then. However, it appears that their trainers don’t like the sort of repetitive delivery some CPD courses have them undertake. In fact, all firms pick their own training yet some have been quickly picking from a list that’s sent to them.

If the list dwindles because interest in prescriptive courses falls across the sector, they’ll have to think again. In an ideal legal services World, feedback from COLP and COFA reports would help determine Professional Development requirements. Feedback from clients will develop sets of soft skill requirements. Feedback from staff appraisals and colleagues would enable a double check to be put in place.

All these systems should already be in place at firms. Yet how many smaller firms have only paid lip service to these regulations? This is another opportunity to turn regulation into a positive. Those that already do these have all they need to get real with their investment in talent.

Best practice or recommend trainers?

Firms can also share best practice or recommend trainers who have made a real difference for their firm. LinkedIn is a good place to do that. Naturally, some trainers will advertise in any discussion you start there. Most solicitors are used to ignoring those comments and being open could lead to other benefits. Such as client work introduced by other fee earners that they would normally turn away.

More important is the opportunity to check which courses to avoid. He who saves his staff time also saves his company money. Think about the amount of time you’ve spent undoing “training” staff received elsewhere. Your clients are making use of the recommendation economy, especially when they want to know who they should avoid if they want a return on their investment. You should too.

Wrap up: It appears regulators are realising that an industry with similar issues appearing across the sector might have an issue with the training available. Some people think the CPD badge is a mark of quality. It is not that sort of guarantee.

Top tip: Ask staff what training they hate or would love. I have never been a fan of receiving or delivering training without an assessment of it being needed and guaranteeing a desireable outcome.

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Finding Networking Events in London

When invited to a 20/20 cricket game by someone I had know for years, I didn’t need any sales spiel yet they told me that other invitees brought the added benefit of developing Strategic Partnerships. When  the day arrived I found myself in hospitable surroundings and great company. These events are a bridge between business and social and we were all keen to enjoy the game.

My comrade and their friend arrived and it wasn’t long before I noticed that this ever so nice new chap was distracted. It transpired that the only reason he was on his mobile was because someone who had accepted his invitation had suddenly gone under the radar. He had not only financed the event yet also taken time out that could have been invested in fee generating work. They were not answering. Had he invited the wrong person?

Plugging away or drowning?

He was determined to use all methods of contact (calling, texts, email, etc.) and my concern was that he was missing opportunities to build a stronger relationship with my comrade, never mind me. We were just starting. A case of “work with what you’ve got” not what you haven’t. There were some interesting conversations related to his sphere that he missed out on.

With 20 mins to “kick-off” he received a text apologising for something “coming up”. No-one else within 20 minutes (we tried twitter) wanted the ticket and it’s a short fun filled event. They must have known long before that because their office was at least an hour away from the venue. Our obviously frustrated fellow sports fan had travelled even further than his guest.

Doing the decent thing isn’t always easy

Yet they could have put him on warning something might come up. I don’t mind being “first reserve” when opportunity knocks. I suppose the nature of humans not wanting to give bad news or offend someone often means that they end up offending someone….or two, or three people. After all, your personal brand is not what you think, it’s what people say about you when you’re NOT in the room. Being up front takes communication skills yet it shows you value people and their time.

Without knowing them personally, there was no need to take a further interest in their business updates on social media because it is imperative that people in their sector keep ALL lines of communication open. They might not be getting opportunities that are suited to their technical skills, or even worse, getting recommendations from clients that do know them.

Wrap Up; Hosting events is a fantastic way to grow a brand yet no shows are inevitable. People that don’t attend are often talked about in conversations they are not a part of.

Top Tip; If accepting invite to events make sure you really can make it or have a last minute reserve in mind.

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How you met?

I recently met a gentleman called David who happened to be a solicitor. We met at the best networking in London, I’m not going to reveal where it is – you can contact me or attend our briefing to find out.

We found we were both interested in growing our business exponentially, building a team that would be engaged and dedicated and also structure the business in a way that protected our intellectual property yet allowed us to sell for the highest price when we wanted to.

What happened next?

David and I agreed to discuss how we could help each other at another time because the event was full of other business people and we wanted to make sure we connected with as many of them as possible. We all seemed to have the same things in common.

We both want to be a head of the curve and almost raced to contact each other. However he had a PA to contact me and coincidentally, Sandy was a lady I had met at a networking event previously. So it was easy for us to converse and she understood why we were putting time in our respective diaries. One could argue that Sandy vouched for me when David wondered who he should follow up with?

Who is ahead of the curve?

David is definitely ahead of the curve in his sector. I know this because he explained he was always looking for new ideas and found that all of the areas we discussed were true were real in his business as well as other peoples. This is unusual because most professional I have met seem to think that only those experienced in their sector could ever understand exactly what they are going through. Yet business is business, with few exceptions.

Actually, once I do get into a conversation with a professional they see that we do understand that their practice is not the same as the traditional business and the conversation tends to flow. Interestingly, David had not made a mistake that the vast majority of firms do. He hadn’t put all his staff’s details and experience on their website. He had provided case studies of where they had provided excellent service. This showed that he valued his team highly enough to make sure that they weren’t going to be easily headhunted by competitors looking to add high value people to their firm.

Wrap up: Staying ahead of the curve means he will be increasingly profitable. Doing the same as your competition or repeating the same process, even listening to the same advisors is akin to madness.

Top tip: If you are a solicitor, involved in a law firm or related to someone that is let them know that headhunters recruiters and other firms are delighted to find full details of their next commission proudly displayed on someone else’s website. Alongside the e-mail address and phone number of the talent that has been invested in and developed. One major law firm is no longer adding staff details to their website and has even stopped using recruitment companies because their brand is so attractive they receive enough CV’s to keep them in talent heaven for years.

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Who are these people?

Delivering regular briefings means we are kept up-to-date with what happens outside our network by people whom we would never have met if it weren’t for social media. A recent delegate came to the conclusion that the majority of her income came from a few people, which is not at all unusual.

Natalie also realised that there were very similarly placed people whom she had a relationship with that would open the floodgates with a little bit of attention. Not the sort of attention that would make them feel sick, attention that would make them feel valued.

What is a Networking sleeper?

Networking sleepers are people that you already know. They like you,they trust you yet they’re not 100% sure about your product or service. This is because they may not have experienced it all and are not close enough to someone who has. We’ve all had the feeling at some point where we decided “if it’s good enough for X it’s good enough for me”.

This is because Mr or Mrs X is someone whose opinion you value highly, you know they make good decisions and are honest in their appraisal of things they have tried or tested.

Dream introductions are made by skeletons

Some of the delegates that attend our briefing are 100% certain that connecting to a particular person will open their floodgates. They don’t realise that these prize contacts are inundated with similar requests. It’s a nightmare trying to talk to people who have heard it all before. It’s much easier when other people are motivated to work on your behalf whilst you rest.

Natalie realised that there were a few people that could open doors for her – she also realised she had to give them the key. There were several types of people that Natalie needed to engage and each of them needed to know something different. So she developed a “skeleton” keys so that when they were at any of the doors she wanted opened they had the the means to open them.

Wrap up: Arming herself with “skeleton” keys meant she could distribute them to her sleepers and allow them to unlock doors in their own special way. She now needs a flood fence system!

Top tip: Make sure you understand how to motivate the different people you need to build your business profitably. Everyone can be motivated yet not in the same way or by the same methods.

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Professional or Business Development?

What’s the difference between professional development and business development? In my experience professional, or technical, development helps reduce the costs of an organisation. One clear way to demonstrate that is the fewer mistakes a business makes the less it pays in compensation or insurance premiums.

Business development increases the income of a business. You could also provide examples where each discipline helps visa versa yet they are usually scenarios that take longer to play out.

How do I decide?

I read an interesting article recently by someone who had made some mistakes in business and they were quite clear about where they thought they had erred. They were also enlightened enough to realise that noticing you have made a mistake doesn’t mean you are not going to do the same thing again. Even more revealing was their realisation that the questions asked when things aren’t going to plan usually reveal tried and tested answers, no matter who is asking the asking the questions and who is delivering the answers.

The writer went on to explain how the questioning of the answers would be far more revealing and better for businesses long term than just listening to the same old stuff every time things didn’t go to plan. Around the same time I read the quote “whenever you fall over, pick something up”. Yes, learning from mistakes ensures you progress. This reminded me of an interesting interaction I had with a lovely man called Frank.

I need your help but we don’t

After piquing the interest of Frank, he started asking for more information to take back to his business partners. There’s only so much information you can provide until you have got under the skin of a business and understand what solution might be appropriate for them. Yet we did our best, and each step of the way we were in agreement it was the right thing to do. This is not unusual. Some people make decisions quickly, because they already know what they want. Others take their time, because they need to think about what their situation is, their people and whether their team will thank them for bringing us in.

The management team declined to meet us, and told Frank that they felt his technical qualifications were the barrier to him winning new clients, or his lack of a full set, like some of the people in their sector. Frank said he was inclined to agree with them, after he had endured four two-hour meetings discussing the subject. I sensed they had worn him down.

Out of the blue, a month or so later, I received an email from Frank. It explains it hadn’t gone unnoticed that I am connected to one of their hot prospects on LinkedIn and his company would love to be connected to them, so they could sell them something. It’s not unusual for me to receive these requests and some are very easy to make connections for.  This message was impossible to forward.

Considering that our discussions had been about how they were having trouble engaging their target market it was a little odd receiving this message asking us to spend time and effort making connections for them…….. because they previously said they knew how to do it themselves.

If they continue down that route they make never get the chance to showcase their professional and technical expertise. It’s all well and good being technically proficient but if you can’t find new clients or approach them when you know who they are, you could spend a lot of time and waste a lot of money preparing to be the most qualified person in your sector with the least profit.

Wrap Up: Frank is a real gentleman and seemed to be quite aware. So I expect pressure from the partners in business pressured him into sending a message asking me to do, for free, what his partners said they already knew how to do.

Top Tip: Before you invest time, and money, in any more learning or development assess what your business actually needs. If you are not having new conversations with clients or prospects there is little need to upscale your technical expertise.