Here’s why you AREN’T Getting GREAT ROI from your Networking

You network to get RESULTS.

Each person wants different things from business networking.

For some its more clients, for others its support, for others its confidence, for others its partnerships, for some its all of the above.

It doesn’t matter what you are wanting from your networking.

The reality is you could be getting BETTER results.

There are 3 Reasons that you aren’t getting better results.

Know these and your return from networking can improve over night.

If you aren’t getting a GREAT ROI you need to change what you are doing.

I wanted to share the top 3 reasons most business owners don’t get the ROI they could from their networking.

Here they are:

So let me know which one do you need to improve most?

Related Tags: Gold Coast Business Networking

Find out more about our next Networking Event

When you network, are you frequently cornered by people who aren’t a good fit for your business that leave you thinking “How do I end this conversation?”. Do you collect dozens of business cards only to find that none of them lead to real connections?

This shouldn’t be a part of anyone’s networking experience, and yet for many of us, it is. Networking should give you an opportunity to build relationships and enjoy a flow of leads while energising and motivating you, and providing you with a great financial and time based ROI.

Make sure your next networking experience is a great one by using the following five ‘Must Do’s’ to improve your relationships, connections, and brand during networking sessions.

Must Do No.1 – Meet the Organiser

Want to know who you should meet? Ask the organiser. They should know everybody worth knowing in the room, and can help point out potential networking opportunities that will most likely to be receptive to meeting with you.

Must Do No.2 – Have GOOD Questions Ready

It’s not enough to know who to network with. You also need to engage with people and explore if they’re a good fit for your business. Not sure where to begin? It’s as simple as asking them to tell you more about themselves, which will help in creating trust and a worthwhile connection.

Must Do No.3 – Enter the Conversation

At some Gold Coast networking events you might not know anyone, and everyone will seem to know someone else. You need to know how to join the conversation and become a part of it. Pay attention to people’s positions and stances. Don’t try and join conversations with two people that are ‘closed-off’ – those people that are deep in an individual conversation.  Join a conversation where people are in an ‘open-stance’.  Also have something to say to start the conversation when you join a group and also something to say in case an awkward lull in conversation occurs.

Must Do No.4 – Exit the Conversation

Not all conversations will go the way you want them to go. When this happens, know how to gracefully exit it without causing offence.  Have some ‘Classy-I’m-out-of-here’ lines that you can use to break away from a conversation or group.  It’s the networking equivalent of the “Four Weddings and a Funeral” line where the strange rich-friend starts chatting up a lady and she says she’s waiting for her husband.  Rich-friend, skulls his drink and says “Oh look at that I’m out of wine, I might go get another”…

Must Do No.5 – Always Follow Up

The most important ‘Must Do’ to get value out of your networking is to follow up. Keep yourself front of mind with leads by putting automatic processes in place and setting aside time to facilitate the growth of the professional relationship.  A great way to do this to is to reach out to good connections comment about the event or meeting them and simply ask them “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Now that you know how to improve your networking odds, why not join our Facebook group so you can start engaging with our community and ask any questions you might have? See you there!

Related Tag: Networking Events Gold Coast.

Find out more about our next Networking Event

NETWORKING EVENTS 

The other day, I was speaking to someone who had joined the Business League to attend our Networking Breakfasts. They told me that although their first year with us had been amazing – with a great financial knowledge and community return – that their progress had plateaued, stagnating their results.

I could tell that they were frustrated after investing time and money, and that they were thinking of throwing in the towel. Thankfully they didn’t! All they needed to hear was that they were stuck on one of the seven levels of networking, and that the next level was just around the corner.

The first level of networking is where you are a NEWBIE. We’ve all been there, and you might even be there right now. After this, you become the GROUPIE, and start group networking, testing, and building relationships. If you’re a Business League member, it’s when we introduce you to our 90-day impact plan to make the most out of these first 3 months.

The third stage, the BUILDER, is when you start building relationships and begin gaining traction and benefits from them. It’s where most people start to plateau, as they learn that building relationships and rallying people doesn’t create new business. This is the stage where the member mentioned above had started struggling.

So how can you move past this stage?

To ascend to level four as the PARTNER, you need to form strong partnerships and relationships that move beyond being social, to providing a ROI.

In the fifth stage you become the BRANDER, forming a brand that can be used to repeatedly expose your business to a larger networking and partnership community, and remain front of mind to those who are exposed to it.

The sixth, penultimate stage is where you your results become ORGANIC. You start achieving organic networking results.  You don’t know where all the connections come from. This should happen by itself, thanks in large part to your earlier efforts.

The final stage is where you become the INFLUENCER – the go-to person in your area of expertise who gets invited to speak or present your insights to other businesses.

Want to get to the next level? First identify where you are. Once you’re ready to take a step to get to your next networking level, visit our Facebook Connection Hub and get the conversation started so we can keep you moving onwards and upwards.

NETWORKING EVENTS

Last year, close to two tonnes of grapes were crushed in Australia in order to create just under two tonnes of wine – totalling $5.1 billion in international sales.

It’s obvious that the Australian wine industry is as strong as it’s even been, and shows no signs of slowing down.
As the owner of Symphony Hill, a family run winery, Ewen McPherson has seen competition increase, as more farmers divert their focus to producing wines. However, it’s a challenging industry to stay on top in; as it’s affected by things like harvests, weather, and even international tastes, yet Symphony Hill has managed to thrive throughout the many years it’s been in existence.

Ewen strongly believe that this is at least partly down to networking, and how he has managed to leverage it to their advantage in a unique manner. Here are just some of the networking related activities we’ve relied on in the past:

• Networking by sharing ideas

Ewen discovered that keeping oneself isolated is a sure-fire way to limit the growth of a business. In this regard, Symphony Hill are open to sharing and networking with other winemakers on matters involving winemaking techniques for different grape varieties, and different levels of grape qualities, as well as in regards to vinicultural practices. They network with people in their industry to learn, grow together and keep raising the standard. Gone are the days of being in a exclusivity, only one-person per category, community. Ewen thrives of talking, challenging and learning from others in his industry.

• Networking through benchmarking

Another area in which Ewen believe’s networking is essential, is when it comes to the quality standards of both the fruit, and its final product as a wine. Collective networking is the only way that a reliable benchmark of quality be created, maintained, and improved upon. Another way in which this is important, is when considering the importance of the export industry. By encouraging wine farmers to be open about their experiences in negotiating exports, it improves the entire industry’s bargaining power and growth potential. An example from our network is Jason Spaull, who is on a mission to make the world safer, through improving standards around Asbestos and bringing people’s awareness to the problems and solutions around removal of asbestos.

• Networking by staying up to date with opportunities

To thrive as a wine farmer, you need to keep your ear to the ground for unexpected opportunities to increase your brand value and profits. The best way to do this is by making sure you’re up to date with changes in legislation and available grants, such as those involving research, development, and export assistance, as well as joint marketing opportunities.
The wine industry might be one most people never encounter in a business capacity, but it’s still one that you can learn from when it comes to networking and business growth.

LEARN FROM OUR NEXT GUEST SPEAKER

These days, it’s more common to hear about a friend or colleague having a business venture fail, instead of hearing about them succeeding. It’s a reality that only a small percentage of entrepreneurs who start out will still be going strong and turning a profit several years later.

Some of these businesses may attribute their failure to events outside of their control, but the reality is there are many mistakes that could easily have been prevented, had they known better. [Read more…]

You don’t have to look far to find dozens of networking groups in Australia focused on business owners – all promising you great results, a return on your investment and other hefty benefits. The Gold Coast is no different.  To be honest it could have more than the average city.  From Meet-up groups, through those BNI and B4B models and the list goes on.

[Read more…]

In 2008, retailer Walmart was experiencing explosive growth – and a leadership crisis. There weren’t enough employees ready to take up management roles, and Walmart needed business leaders ready to hit the ground running. Where could they find such individuals? CEO Bill Simon suggested that they recruit military officers to fill the void. It took just months to place these officers in positions at every level, effectively filling the leadership gap. So what made them so well suited for leadership? Their training made them step up to the task and get things done… It wasn’t that they had detailed expertise in Walmart products it was their ability to plan, lead teams and implement that allowed them to ‘fill the void’.

As someone who’s spent 17 years in the Australian Army, it’s my belief that military leadership has many compelling and effective lessons we can learn from. I may have left the army, but the lessons I’ve learnt regarding leadership are ones that I use to this day with business owners just like you.

At its core, an army functions as a collective. To get every member to buy into group actions, you need to get them to trust your judgement and think like you do. You can’t force it and you need to believe in your own leadership abilities if you want to successfully lead others. The better you lead yourself and your team, the better results you’ll get.

So what are some military leadership lessons that the average business leader can use to improve their networking? Here are two lessons I’ve personally applied to my networking, with great success.

Firstly, know what you want out of the process. Without ticking this box, you’ll never get potential partners to connect with you, you’ll never get people to follow your plan and you will not achieve the outcomes you want. Much like in the army, actions without objectives don’t create results. To excel at networking, you need to be clear on the results you want and the plan on how you are going to achieve it.

Secondly, you need to lead the conversation and the process. This means steering the conversation and including everyone. In an army, you can’t expect your team to perform a certain way if you can’t set the pace by doing it yourself and showing the way. Deep down, people want to be led by someone who is confident in achieving congruent wins and outcomes. If you can show people you are networking with the opportunities and the benefit of what you do and they really ‘buy-in’ to it, they will follow you and your business.

These are just two military lessons I’ve learnt that can be applied to improving your networking. I’ll be sharing some of my biggest Leadership Lessons that are relevant for Entrepreneurs at our next Business Breakfast on May 3rd at Bond University. If you’ve never attended one before, now’s the perfect time to book your attendance!

Related Tag: Business Leaders.