I was given recently given a book by John Brandler whom I met at a “hidden networking” event that my “competitors” never attend. They’re the best for me.

John is an art consultant and we had both, independently, decided to dip our toes into a network that was off the beaten track. The book is a great guide to fusing new & old techniques to help businesses gain new clients. This post is about why some networks remain hidden, connecting with the gems and how what you are “known for” can help you meet the right people.

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Hidden networks – why do they hide?

It could be because 25% of people polled didn’t like being “sold to” at events. My mate tweeted “the other 75% are too polite to admit it”. There are loads of invitation only events in and around London. I’m not talking about the events where they say it is invitation only and then you find that you can go as long as you bring someone else or pay a fee.

This is one example where the chairman likes to vet people before they arrive. This makes a lot of sense. There are so many supposedly similar networking groups it makes sense to protect the brand to avoid being tarnished with the same brush as “speed networking”. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. No particular sector is excluded. Giving them a feel for the brand before an event gives visitors an inkling of the etiquette of a new group.

Joining the dots – with relish

John Brandler and I met a couple of times and we’ve connected each other to relevant contacts.  We had already shared a cuppa or two when we found ourselves in the restaurant in Selfridges one day – a totally random meeting. We were there to meet other people yet had a quick chat and John asked me if I’d heard about the book.  I told him I hadn’t yet was really interested and a week later it turned up in the post. John’s brand went up in my estimation that day and I felt I owed him one so I’ve invited to him to a workshop as a thank you.

I’ve also contacted the authors, the book is called Fusion, connected with them on twitter, facebook and LinkedIn. I’ve added the book to my reading list on LinkedIn and had a meeting to see how we can help each other or work together. I’m also talking about their book here so there’s a potential audience of millions that will hear about it. I’m not saying this so I can get free books so please don’t send me any. It’s what I do when I connect with an exceptional theory, idea or explanation. I enjoy doing all this because it enables us to continue the conversation we started in our meeting.

Connecting and polishing the gems

The gentleman who took me to the “hidden networking” to meet John for the first time is Michael McQuade a surveyor (with a real specialism in party wall disputes) whom I met at a breakfast network in Kensington. Michael is Irish and a very good man. We got on well and were keen to explore our respective specialisms. So we scheduled a meeting and he invited me to a discreet event. How were we to know when we first met that he went to school with my cousin in the deepest countryside in Eire? We know what we do and have a good reason to help each other.

Networking will unearth hidden gems that you have things in common with. By sharing contacts, ideas and embracing at least one form of social media you can get your name out there and reach people who you have no chance of reaching by other means. Michael and I had no idea at the time that it would lead to me writing a review of someone else’s book. And I know who to call when a particular surveying specialism is required.

Wrap up: The people you meet know other people. They will connect you as soon as they know who they should be connecting you to and the all important “why should they?” Believe me when I tell you it’s not money.

Top tip: Err, read the book. I’m not on any commission yet I think it’s unique and doesn’t just regurgitate stuff that has been said before.

You might want to consider if “Fusing” is right for your clients and I picked up a few gems that I will comment on in the New Year. My aim is to show you how you can link them to your networking efforts. I’m always looking for new ways to make this easy for my contacts and this book helped me do that.

New for 2012. The questions I get asked virtually every week are going to be answered in videos, interviews and vlogs. The one in this title is the most common. Watch this space for FAQ’s and answers.

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“As the oldest form of marketing, networking still plays a major role in marketing your brand, product or service.” So say the authors of Fusion, a book about The new way of Marketing, who advocate having a VKUM – vision, key messages, USP’s and mission statement. I agree with them. This post is about why what you stand for is important, how do you define your vision in messages and how can USP’s and mission statements really help people remember you?

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What’s your VKUM?

I call this ‘your story’. Whatever you call it others want to know what it is. Talk about it with impact, panache and resonance to whomever asks “what do you do” and you will find it easy to meet your dream clients. Even if the person who asks met you at a random dinner party.

If you want them to think “I need that” you only have a tiny window or the opportunity may be lost forever. You have as little as 5 seconds when dealing with busy people. Especially if they’re not at an “organised” networking event. They don’t want to listen to a “pitch” full of features. They want to hear something that interests them.

How do you define your vision in key messages?

Your vision will be what you are eventually known for. Whether you’re passionate about children and delivering training to Mum’s or passionate about art and advising people on collections, you will have a good idea of what you want to be known for. Once you have worked that out you can start to develop key messages.

When networking you have a fantastic opportunity to tell your story and gauge the impact. People cannot always hide the fact they don’t get what you do. Networking helps you determine who doesn’t want what you have. The human element (most of us want to help each other) means networkers point you in the right direction. They can tell you who wants what you have or that they just don’t get it. That’s why networking still works today, it’s like minded people helping each other.

Why are people interested in USP’s and mission statements?

Busy people you meet are interested in what you have to offer them, then they are interested in you. Your USP’s are what you offer that other people don’t. Or what you offer that the person you are speaking to doesn’t already have. If you owned a poodle parlour, you might offer a reminder service much like a dentist. Simple, yet effective in these busy times.

The mission statement could be something like ‘ensuring no poodle has a curl out of place’. Combining these two elements when meeting dog lovers who ask what you do will certainly get their attention. You may think that only poodle owners are interested in this. Perhaps, yet if my best mate had a poodle that they loved I would not hesitate in making the connection. Saying you run a poodle parlour will mean I compare you to other poodle parlours I know about. Being the cheapest may not last forever.

Wrap up: Having a story can turn informal social meetings into business contacts. Initial interest can be developed with key messages and USP’s when appropriate. Combining offline and online networking ensures contacts remember you for what only you can do. Your vision and your mission.

Top Tip; The book has a to-do list for each form of new marketing mentioned on the home page for Fusion. Pick one that you are at least partly comfortable with and check if you are doing as much as you can to maximise the ROI. Find someone that uses a similar platform and compare results.

P.S. I recently got married and blogged about social connections making it happen. It’s got pictures which this blog is sadly missing.

Contrary to what I had been told, the day of our nuptials didn’t pass really quickly and I was able to savour every minute. I can remember every magical detail. My wife is an Operations Director and the wedding was in Sicily (where my wife Josie is from). Read on to find out how we did without a wedding planner, how we found some of the ‘wedding network’ connections and………did it really go smoothly?

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Why is a first impression so important?

Anyone that has been married will tell you that suppliers seem to add an extra zero when the word wedding is mentioned. It initially proved difficult to find someone with experience of planning a wedding in a small Sicilian town. When we did, we were distinctly unimpressed with the response of those we approached, even though some had been recommended. We decided to find our own venue, photographers, florists etc. I could go on yet we all know detail that goes into a “one-off” event is immense.

My wonderful wife dovetailed with her equally delightful sister in Sicily to find everything and everyone we needed by asking their existing contacts. Josie, Maria and I agreed we had to meet everyone face to face before we picked them. That wasn’t easy yet it was imperative because the day had to go without a hitch. And there were a lot of cogs in this wedding wheel.

Does ‘word of mouth’ always work?

Just one example was our want for two photographers who had worked together before. If one couldn’t travel we wanted a reserve and we found such a pair in Cambridge via word of mouth. These were one of few UK based suppliers. Coincidentally, I had been asked to work for Best of Cambridge who had heard about workshops I had delivered for Best of Richmond. I was able ask my Cambridge contacts about the photographers too and that gave me even more confidence. We went on to make sure I delivered the workshops and met the photographers on the same day. My wife makes these things happen!

Everyone played their part in the run up and the day itself was truly Magical. The only glitch on the actual wedding day was when one of the hairdressers turned up late. This pushed everything back and would have left one of the bridal party with an odd set of locks. Luckily, the embarrassment was avoided because the other hairdresser made good time and saved the day. However, this could have been avoided because ‘word of mouth’ had warned us.

What if ‘word of mouth’ is ignored?

People in business network in order to generate business via word of mouth. It sometimes takes the place of a first impression. My nephew-in-law (Carlo) had initially expressed his concern that the ‘late’ hairdresser had been late in the past. He heard this through the “grapevine” – the oldest network there is. For some reason, this went under my radar – ‘listen to Carlo and all young people’ is a lesson I learned from hindsight. Bad news travels exceptionally fast in close knit communities, much like online communities. So make sure the vast majority of your news is good news.

On the contrary, the well prepared hairdresser is considered a hero. His reputation has grown overnight and everyone that is asking about him is hearing good things. The wedding was also featured in the Sicilian press. We had no objection to this happening because the band were brilliant. When we met them they were full of personality just like they were on our Big Day. Guess where we found them? YouTube.

Wrap up: Word of mouth is a prelude to a first impression. Don’t forget to ask your existing contacts for help when you need something, they usually want to help you. LinkedIn, Facebook, twitter, etc. are all platforms people can use to introduce you  or others – if they want to. The word of mouth you receive about other people is often unavoidable on these platforms, so make sure yours is good.

Top Tip; Always have a Plan B. Having a contingency photographer became a real benefit as my Mum fell ill before the big day and wasn’t allowed to travel. Yet she is looking forward to seeing how both our days unfolded in pictorial form. A happy side effect of contingency planning.

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What is networking auto pilot?

Auto pilot is a fantastic way of maintaining a course once it has been set. Yet it’s pretty useless if you’re stuck on the runway. Networkers going through the motions of networking might not be getting what they truly deserve for their efforts. Typically, auto pilot networkers have the same conversations with the same people or are saying the same thing to different people. They prepare an ‘elevator pitch’ yet people they meet still don’t seem able to help them. They’re probably quite willing.

How can you tell when somebody is on auto pilot when networking? It’s when you ask someone what they do and they automatically tell you what you are. You probably don’t do this yet how may people do you meet each week that tell you the name of their job when you have asked them what they do. You ask them “what do you do?” or something similar and they tell you what they are, their job title or job function (sales director for an IT company is one example). It’s actually crazy – it makes no sense at all. Yet it happens every day!

Why is it a mistake?

Nearly every day I engage with people and we get round to talking about business, when it suits them of course. When they ask what I do I let them know what it is they will get by working with me. I may have spent years gaining different job titles certificates, experience and people I work with are still more concerned with the return they get on their investment. So I tell them what that is likely to be when I first meet them. A ‘story’ doesn’t have to be action packed or a tear jerker. Yet it must have resonance with the people you are likely to meet or they won’t remember it or tell others about it.

When someone tells me their job title or job function instead of what they do I have no idea who I may be able to connect them with in my network. There are loads of Sales directors in IT companies but they are not always able to express what they bring to the table in a networking environment. Sure, I spend time asking them questions to find out more. More often than not they provide tremendous value and I’ve developed techniques to work out exactly what it is they have to offer and whom they should be speaking to. It benefits me too because I have a cracking network of suppliers whom I’ve met when networking online and offline.

What should networkers do to generate interest?

Getting off the networking runway or changing course means they have to make an oscar winning first impression so people interested in their ‘story’ can help them take off or reach a revised destination.  They are the co-pilots, they support and steer a craft in the right direction. They can continue to do so whilst you are busy providing your products or service.

Without engaging people and helping them understand what they can really do for their contacts networkers run the risk of being ready to provide tremendous value that too few people know about. When someone is asked what they do it is an opportunity to win business from their competitors or provide something truly unique. If they’re on autopilot they miss opportunities that they will remain oblivious to. Do you have or even need a story?

Wrap up: Networking doesn’t always work. Ever feel that you were continuously taxi-ing and getting ready for take-off. Perhaps you’re been in a network, everyone should know what you do by now yet you’re not getting your fair share? ‘Why networking doesn’t always work and what networkers can do about it’ is the title or our Special Report. Sign up to our RSS feed to be among the first few to get their own advanced free copy.

Top Tip: There are some networkers who are tasked to only speak to specific types of people. You’ll find them awkwardly peering at name badges before engaging in a conversation. Don’t worry if they ignore you – it’s because you’re not on their target list for immediate sales. Rather than squinting and craning when meeting new people just hold out a hand and announce “I’m Jason”. Please insert your own name . When they reply with their name the conversation has started if you know what to ask.

P.S. Next time I explode the myth about not being able to network in social settings or with strangers. It involves a healthfood café, a queue and an inventor. Not your typical networking combination!

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This post is about unstoppable power of word of mouth. Once it’s started, the ripple effect takes over. If the word of mouth is interesting to enough people, you can’t help hearing about it – even when you might not want to. Read on to find out why a ripple is better than a splash and get a top tip for turning the tide in your favour.

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Do you need to make a splash to start a ripple?

A teacher recently told me about networking worked from a consumer perspective. We got talking about the dictionary term of networking – “to form business contacts through informal social meetings”. He had never networked as far as he was concerned. He found that the dictionary was far removed from the description of networking events he had heard about. I reassured him that not all networking events were the same, not everyone splashes you with their sales pitch.

He was trying to tell me of the effect word of mouth had on him, so I asked him to explain. He recently had a toothache and told his Mum that he was going to visit the dentist in the centre of Town. His Mum told him he should go the dentist “up on the Hill”. His toothache subsided and a similar conversation with his neighbour ended similarly.The dentist has helped his neighbour’s wife. Later that day a telephone conversation with a friend ended the same way. “They must be really good with toothache” he thought to himself.  And now he really needed someone that was really good with toothache. I told him that this was a networking result, some people network effectively within their existing network.

How do ripples start? And are they always a good thing?

It can start with great service and a ripple can be measured if he asks his new clients where they found out about him. Are they always good? Recent events have proved otherwise. Perhaps the dentist “in town” had suffered a ‘Murdoch’. Maybe he hadn’t started any ripples by offering a standard service? In either case, a different sort of ripple starts, the tide turns. You can start ripples easily enough yet stopping them takes some doing – no matter how big or small your organisation may be.

No-one had mentioned any other dentist, just the dentist on the Hill. They were clearly the go-to person for the local community. This dentist is so good his clients happily told others about it with no incentive other than to help someone else. I explained to Mr Arscott that networking results were about word of mouth reaching the right people at the right time rather than pitching at business networking events. Whenever a dental problem is mentioned he gets a mention. The ripples have a life of their own. I’m going to name this sort of ripple an Arscott. It’s a really helpful ripple.

Why is word of mouth so powerful?

When I asked which dentist he plumped for, Mr Arscott told me he had made the effort to go up the Hill and was pleased with the treatment he received. Now he was telling me and I’m telling you, the ripples continue. When I enquired about his reasoning he thought for a moment.

Then he announced that one of the reasons was to avoid looking stupid! I asked how he had come to that conclusion. He explained that he would have looked an idiot if he had not taken the advice, gone elsewhere and still had a toothache. He just knew that the people he had chatted to were bound to ask how his tooth was when they bumped into him again. When he does, the ripples will continue.

Wrap up: Are personal brands grown this way? Who is telling people about you? When you generate word of mouth you’re helping people make good decisions about their needs. They will thank you if you help their contacts and they can share your story with others. I had a ripple that crossed the Atlantic. If you have a story about a ripple, let us know in the comments section below. Go on, start a ripple.

Top Tip: Work out who you have delighted recently or who has delighted you. Could you start a ripple? Are you on twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or other places where word of mouth goes viral? The ripples and waves of public opinion are happening daily. You can ride the waves if you let your network know what you can really do for them. Don’t forget to kelp them first!

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Beyond Networking is a networking results company. Saving time and generating more leads is everyone’s dream. You could attend one of our briefings. To see if you can save time and effort when networking get in touch for an exploratory chat. It will take 15 minutes and you can tell me to get lost at the end of it if you like.

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Networking events are often where it starts… yet not always

I met Jane at a breakfast meeting and found her to be really friendly. We could have met anywhere really. We had only just met when Jane said we should collaborate. It is one of my favourite words so I was pleased when we agreed it would be prudent to catch up on the phone first. I love making progress that way to explore if we could help each other. Phone calls, Skype, ‘face to face’ online networks, LinkedIn, twitter et al help us build relationships.

Jane started the conversation by telling me that she had a fantastic 70/30 collaboration in mind for me. If I purchased their service for a 70% discount I was then allowed to send a message to all my contacts telling them they could get 30% off. This was the strangest form of collaboration I had heard of. I hadn’t even found out what benefit the service would provide to a buyer. It already seemed one sided.

Why do some collaborations simply not add up?

You may have heard the phrases ‘work the room’ or ‘sell through the room’. I hear them regularly yet I think Jane mistook the time we met for an opportunity to find people to turn into clients and then advertisers. We had only met once and the next time we spoke I was offered a ‘special’ deal. I still don’t know what they do.

In my World a collaboration involves two or more parties winning. It never involves one getting a sale whilst the other ends up with a service they do not require and spends time, effort or resources advertising it. They could be spending this time promoting their own product or service. A collaboration should mean an equal win/win for parties concerned. Or as close as possible to it.

Is this a debit in the brand bank account?

Our conversation about collaboration turned into a sales pitch and I politely explained that I didn’t require the service. According to Jane, that meant that I couldn’t offer the service to people I knew. Which indicated someone could be missing out. I think that someone is Jane even though she tried to persuade me otherwise. If I did recommend Jane would she will go in for the kill and ‘hard sell’?

I don’t know anybody that appreciates that so I wouldn’t feel comfortable making an introduction. Even worse, I have no idea what their service does or who it benefits so I can’t let people know when I do meet them. These are debits in the personal and business brand accounts. That’s branding. It has to be congruent to work and even the largest organisations struggle to pull all the pieces together. What does your follow up say about you or your company brand?

Wrap up: Whenever I hear the name of Jane’s company it will conjure up negative thoughts and images, despite the great first impression that Jane made. Nobody’s perfect and you can’t please everyone. I am often asked; ‘If everyone I meet networking is there to sell, how can I generate sales?’ I developed a guide that helps people take the first step when engaging others. You can download your own copy here today.

Top Tip: After you have established if there is a mutual benefit in meeting someone visit them at their premises. If it’s the sort of service where you may end of dealing with the team – your contact may often be abroad – you might want to meet their team too.

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The sharing of this quality information is to give you an inkling of the things I can help you with. To find out if anything I do will save you time and effort with very little risk click here to learn more.

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Why are events, cards, contacts, meetings and shared drinks unreliable measures?

Put simply, collecting contacts and undertaking these activities do not always lead to income. They are all costs if they don’t produce a reasonable return. Sure, they are all nice things yet most people are networking to generate business. If they don’t cost you money they cost you time. And time is money, right?

I grant you that some people network for support and others find suppliers.

When the focus turns to generating income you could have hundreds of contacts, schedule weekly one to ones or the other time consuming activities mentioned above and still not generate any real results. I remember when I was employed, I had sales managers who expected the sales force to get business every time they visited an event or networked. With the self employed or a partnership it takes time for the pressure to build yet pressure can be paralysing.

What can you measure to gauge a busines networking ROI?

Income and profit are the very good measures for a Return On Investment. Twitter is very topical yet has become apparent that having lots of followers does not relate directly to income. You can have hundreds of contacts without generating any income. I’m not saying that no-one generates income when networking. Of course they do. Yet some are more successful than others.  Register here for your free advanced copy of our special report about why networking doesn’t usually work for most people.

Take a look at your income for the last 3 months, 6 months or 12 months and work out how much of it has emanated from networking. If you haven’t got a customer relationship management system that makes this clear take a look at your client list name by name or sector by sector and work out how they found you. Or how you found them. Write the total percentages on a piece of paper. What are your initial thoughts when looking at this total? Are you happy, sad or indifferent?

How should you measure the true ROI?

First work out how many networking “events” you go to in an average week, fortnight or month. Make sure you include your online activities. If they involve people and discussions – it’s a form of networking. Then work out the time invested in them. That’s the time spent preparing, time spent travelling to and from, time spent at the actual event and time spent following up. Also add the cost of the event and the cost of any food or drink consumed whilst there. Don’t forget the travel cost. Especially if you drive – petrol costs have soared.

If you go networking every week multiply these figures by 50. If you go fortnightly, multiply by 25. If you go once a month, multiply by 12. Then compare the amount of income you wrote on the piece of paper to the figures you just calculated. If you are a “fee earner” you may already know your hourly rate so you can compare that with your networking rate with a little mathematics. What are your initial thoughts when looking at this total? Has your mood changed?

What I think may be immaterial. What really matters is what you think of the return of your networking investment?

Wrap up: To calculate your Return on Investment or Return on Engagement you must check your income and/or profit. Work out what you have gained from networking. The result may surprise you. Is there something else you can do to generate more income for the same investments? Or should you invest more time leveraging results from the network you have already built?

Top Tip: A fantastic benefit of networking is meeting highly talented individuals who have left corporations. Some of them are new to the SME environment and like mixing with people in similar positions – you can find them on the networking circuit. Their advice is available for a fraction of the investment that their previous employers’ would have charged.

Register here for our revolutionary new briefings or workshops or call today for a networking audit.

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Or register here for your free advanced copy of our special report about why networking doesn’t usually work for most people.

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Conflicts seem to be all the rage

If you believed everything you read in the media the World seems to be rife with conflict and there are less newsworthy conflicts evolving in business – most often called conflicts of interest. Indeed they happen so often that the Financial Services Authority mentions them in their rulebook. However, this was a “softer” scenario where relationships were at risk rather than a regulatory slap on the wrist.

Bert asked me to help “Cilla” because he understood what I did and had received a testimonial from the happy client he had introcuded me to previously. Once I had built a relationship with Cilla I was asked me if I could help them with an additional service. Fantastic, yet this was something I am not qualified or trained to provide. This is usually a cause for me to smile because it means I can provide an introduction for one of my network. Yet in this case, I knew that Bert’s entity provided the service and enquired why Bert had not been asked. The answer didn’t surprise me. The person that had been asked to provide a few options seemed expensive. How did I tell Bert and protect client confidentiality?

Surface problems often reveal deeper concerns

Shopping around usually happens when a sales person has failed to show the value that their product or service provides. The prospect will then want to compare it with an alternative that seems to provide the same thing – for a lower cost. The prospective client feels they are comparing apples with apples. Both apple sales people have failed to make it clear what they are really offering. So they are always under threat from lower cost alternatives.

This deeper concern is one for Bert to think about so I felt it was right for me to let Bert know yet I had to check with the mutual contact that it was OK to do so. The last thing our fledgling relationship needed was a phone call indicating that I had been sharing our confidential conversations with anyone else. When I did check Cilla was fine about it and even went on to comment that “it might encourage a reduction in price”. Fair enough I thought, we are in business to make profit and lowering anything thought to be a cost seems likely to help achieve that.

How can conflicts contribute to relationship building?

I let Bert know and he said he would get back to me after he had checked what was actually going on. Which he did. His colleague had done the best he could. So perhaps the sales force had been told that price was the main consideration of any prospective client. What would happen if one of Bert’s corporate competitors had been given the opportunity? Could they seal the deal and go on to undermine Bert’s offering? I think so, but your thoughts are just as important. I’d love to read your comments on this.

Bert was very grateful that I had mentioned this to him and went on to say that he appreciated my predicament and was OK with me introducing someone who could provide an alternative. We agreed that it shouldn’t be a competitor and an independent expert was required to truly address the contact’s concerns. Luckily enough, I knew the right person and the introduction was made. Bert and I scheduled a face to face to explore what had happened and he subsequnetly asked to meet the person I had introduced. After all, he may have other clients that make similar requests in the future and if his team are not up to it it makes sense to have experts he can rely on.

Wrap up: Conflicts happen all the time yet it’s how you handle them that counts. If you are ever in doubt about the sensitivities of networking introductions, try putting yourself in the shoes of the parties concerned. What would you like to happen if you were either party?

Top Tip: It’s an old adage yet avoiding “biting the hand that feeds you” should be remembered when networking. It is far easier to maintain relationships with those that introduce you than start from scratch. However, remember to keep an “eye open” for new and interesting people that can help your clients. They emerge all the time. You just need to know what you’re looking for.

Don’t forget, if you want to improve your networking results sign up to our RSS or email feed at the top right of the page to receive details of posts, top tips, special offers, events and promotion’s.

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It was 31% by the time the poll was closed

Why do groups get a bad name?

The commitment and quality of members was cited as a reason in the debate. This may be true yet the leadership are the key players. Not just the leadership around the table. The quality of the learning and development is vital. If the programme is aimed towards helping the group to grow, it should be complimented by developing ways to improve the results of the membership.

If the programme is not focused on helping members achieve a return on their investment they are unlikely to renew. They will certainly not be speaking about the group in glowing terms. This might explain why a third of those polled thought groups were moderately effective. They might not even have been group members. This highlights the power of word of mouth. Good or bad it spreads quickly.

Only 4% think groups are “very” effective

If members are not finding their commitments are being rewarded they will be happy to say that when a renewal fee is due. So it makes sense to engage them all the way through their membership. This can be achieved if the leaders use case studies of successful members as a benchmark.

Those not receiving the benefits that successful members enjoy need help with development before they are ready to promote a group. Often it’s the other way around. People are often asked to promote a group and told “it’s for your benefit”. They will be unhappy if they haven’t received the results they expected when they joined.

What can group leaders can do to retain or attract members?

The best thing they can do is ask the current members what they think about the group. If they are not positive about being proactive an anonymous survey may encourage them to reveal why. It should be anonymous if you want real feedback. Don’t worry about who is saying what. Look at the results dispassionately.

Strengths, weaknesses and trends will emerge. These can be addressed and then, and only then, can the feedback be used to attract new members. Feedback can be used as a tool to find out what the members really think.  It should never be used to single people out. If there is a real problem with an individual the offer to renew their membership doesn’t have to be made. Discretion is the name of the game.

Wrap up: Groups are all different shapes and sizes and there is a proliferation of new ones springing up online and offline. There is something for everyone yet it’s important to understand what the benefit of joining will be. 

Top Tip: Visiting lots of groups is unlikely to result in an avalanche of introductions or sales. Even if your product or service is something that “everyone needs” there is no guarantee that they will be ready to “buy” you. However, it is a good way to find out where you feel most comfortable.

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Why is “recency” going to increase my income?

  “Recency” relates to you being the last person that I heard of that provides a product or service that I want or need. Corporations are aware of “recency” which is one of the reasons why they invest so much money in advertising. If you’re thirsty you may well think of a brand that invests heavily in advertising before a brand that actually quenches thirst.

In networking, it is often said that the accountant that is the most visible will receive the most introductions. I disagree as every accountant I have met is different and they are probably introduced because of what they do and they way they do it rather than the fact they have an accountancy qualification. I only recently discovered that you can call yourself an accountant without being qualified. That doesn’t inspire confidence.

Why is recency valuable?

Who is telling others about you?

  It certainly helps to be front of mind. Sometimes I win business because I am the only person the “buyer” has met (or heard of) that provides a particular service or product. This is a classic example of recency working. Yet, what would have happened if the “buyer” had met someone else that they thought provided the same thing? Perhaps I would not have been invited to “tender”. Maybe both of us would have been given the opportunity.

A lot of the people that attend our workshops want to ensure they are front of mind and there are a variety of tools and strategies I recommend to ensure this happens. However, I am keen to make it abundantly clear that it’s best to be known for what you do. I’m not talking about the normal version of what you do. I’m referring to the real reason people choose you and stick with you.

What can you do to cultivate your recency?

  The easiest way is to be known as unique. You must let people know exactly what it is you do as early as possible. If you do this clients will not desert you and you will win more profitable contracts. If you are not able to tell them exactly what it is you offer they may leave (or not even “sign-up”) if someone else offers them something that seems similar. Your prospective client may even encourage you to provide the “cheapest” version.

This can be especially soul destroying if you have already worked with the client. Surely they should pick you again because they have already seen exactly what you can do? That might not happen. The worst case is if you are compared every time you win a new contract. Leading to lots of time or money (or both) invested in finding new clients or tendering for new contracts.  The vicious circle continues.

Wrap up: What exactly is your uniqueness? During a conversation with a gent that works for one of the largest brands in the UK he confirmed that most people underestimate themselves and overestimate the larger competition. Are you underestimating what you really do for your clients? If so, you will be getting less than your fair share of the opportunities. Those that are not as good as you are winning because they’re recent.

Top tip: There are statistics saying that we are only able to remember roughly 150 people well enough to have relevant ties to them.  What are you doing to be the most “recent” in your field? If that figure is correct what can you do to ensure you meet 150 people each quarter?

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