Business Networking Blog

Many professionals are vested in traditional methods of networking such as meet up groups and business card exchanges. As a small business owner myself, I understand that some professionals may find it intimidating to completely take advantage of emerging technologies. Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with networking with associates you know and trust regardless of the venue, so long as your referral relationships remain reciprocal and fruitful. But for those who are constantly looking for ways to generate new leads and strengthen their existing business network, but who are most comfortable meeting associates over breakfast, utilizing online referral tools in conjunction with your meet up group can be a very rewarding strategy.

It is very easy to begin reinforcing and generating new referral relationships online by leveraging your existing meet up group. You can confidentially invite associates you know and trust from the group to exchange referrals with you. Because it is unlikely that all members in your group will be equal contributors, you should invite only those associates who are willing and able to reciprocate. This strategy will also allow you to effectively exchange referrals anytime the opportunity arises and will keep you fresh in your associates mind regardless of the groups scheduled meetings. Seasoned networkers are probably going to find that they have quite a few relationships which exist outside the group. By managing a strong network of select associates, which exists both within and outside the group, it is also likely that you will become an even more valuable referral partner to your meet up group. As your network grows, so will your revenue. Furthermore, online tracking reports will help analyze your relationships and strategically allocate new leads where they are needed.

When considering digital referral campaigns among other strategies, we realize that this is certainly just the tip of the iceberg. Online tools such as Referral Key provide members with an undeniable advantage. Even power networker and BNI founder Ivan Misner acknowledges this unique advantage, “Over the past few months, I’ve been doing quite a bit of research about online networking. And the more I read (and work on the net), the more I realize that if you’re in business today, you definitely need to be on the net". Online referral management and meet up groups are analogous to snail mail and email. To unlock their full potential, small business professionals will at least need to become comfortable with utilizing both.

Referral promotion campaigns are about thanking people and reinforcing reciprocal behavior within your business community. Choosing the right premium can make all the difference. While cash incentives are universally appealing, you may want to reward your referrers with a special gift. Gift cards, tickets to events, or even gas cards are just some of the few ways you can say “thank you” while removing the impersonal nature of a monetary reward. Think about choosing gifts that have a high perceived value within your community. Ten dollars is ten dollars, but a ten dollar gift certificate to Starbucks may be a tasty part of your referrers morning commute for a whole week; presenting them more opportunities to reflect on the positive nature of your business relationship.

Tickets to events can generate positive word of mouth dialogue between clients and potential clients too. Let’s say you reward your referrer with a couple tickets to a ball game and he takes a friend. It’s likely your name and services will be mentioned. This increases the chance you’ll be thought of if the friend needs services like you offer. In a nutshell, there are many promotional premiums that work. Consider what your client base will appreciate and plan accordingly. Create a referral promotion campaign today and see positive results tomorrow.

Consider These 3 Steps.

1. Am I confident in my potential partner’s ability to deliver quality services?
2. Will I send this potential partner qualified leads?
3. Will this partner send me leads?

If you answered “yes” to all three questions it would be counter-productive to not solidify a relationship.

To their determent, many shy small business owners can be apprehensive about solidifying potential referral relationships.

Because both you and your potential referral partner do not live in a vacuum the best time to invite a new partner is “now". Many of the most successful networkers may have several similar professionals within their circle but you want to be the “go to guy". By making the first move you are saying “My business is healthy", “I can keep pace with your growing business” and “I am confident in you".

Naturally, there is an equal and opposite consequence to procrastinating. If you are confident in you and your partner’s ability to be mutually beneficial then invite them today. Track your relationships and you will become very skilled at gauging the early stages of your partnerships.

Like a picture, a referral invitation is worth a thousand words. It is the proverbial hand shake with a limited window of time to be acted upon.

Think of your business before you post

When you post content to the internet in the comfort of your office you may feel as though you are miles away from the delicate “egg toss” that is small business networking. Many of us associate critical business moves with activities such as addressing the concerns of a long-time client or solidifying a strategic alliance with a new business associates. We often go to considerable lengths to maintain tact and decorum when communicating with our referral partners because small pieces of information can say a lot about who we are and the quality of our business. In an age of overwhelming information opinions are formed and reputations are created based on the most minute information.

Amongst many factors reputation often emerges as the most important when developing alliances between small businesses. It is becoming increasingly important to recognize the link between the reputation of your small business and the content you post online. As “googling” prospective partners, clients and businesses becomes second nature to us, we may want to consider our audience even when we post personal content. Many social and business networking sites make it all too easy for potential clients and associates to link those “pictures at your brothers wedding” or “that funny story from the boat” with your business. As wholesome as we may perceive our personal lifestyle to be it is unlikely others will agree with every joke and story on our homepage. Unless you’re a photographer or a fiction writer, keep your online profiles clean, concise, and up to par with your business values. As any great catcher, football coach or poker player will tell you, what you don’t show is just as valuable as what you do.

Decrease the Noise

Large networking sites seem to be offering everything under the sun accept a viable business solution. Surprisingly though it is the simple methods that seem to have been able to add the most value to our small business networking.

“Net noise” hurts productivity. You may be asking, “what’s net noise?". “Net noise” is any distraction or application which provides little value to your business. Our corporate counterparts are learning the hard way as managers continue to fight the battle against lost productivity due to “net noise".

What about those of us who are managing ourselves? It becomes increasingly important that small business owners evaluate the gains we experience from referral networking, against the time spent networking. Larry Bodine at Law.com agrees, “What if you gave a party, hundreds of people showed up, but almost nobody talked to each other? That describes the state of social networking for lawyers on sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and the new Plaxo Pulse.” The real world equivalent would be setting up your office at your favorite tavern; you’d probably spend a lot of time socializing but that doesn’t mean that your business would be any better off for it.

Recently TechCrunch posted an article on why Web 3.0 will mean “less” and not “more". Eric Schonfeld of TechCrunch explains,"I need to know what is important, and I don’t have time to sift through thousands of Tweets and Friendfeed messages and blog posts and emails and IMs a day to find the five things that I really need to know.”

Taking “the long way home” may be a good way to relax after work but it is not the most productive attitude to take when referral networking online. As technology causes our professional and casual life to collide, successful small business professionals will still differentiate the two.