Building your business is all about leveraging your strengths within the context of your prospects' needs, then networking with as many of those people as you can. The most successful networkers have developed a thorough strategy planning process. This process includes: Identifying the major components of the broad, deep network you hope to establish; studying the different types of networking organizations and how they fit into your overall strategy; and identifying the types of business people that make up your target market.
However, there are some final pieces to the process. The first of these is you: how do you fit into your own strategy? Second, where will you find the people you want to interact with and make part of your network?
To start, let's identify some of the strengths and skill sets that you bring to the table as a business professional. I've discussed these before, but they bear repeating, because answering these questions truthfully and thoroughly will really help you discover important things about yourself.
· Are you a "people person"?
· Do you enjoy public speaking?
· What kind of professional background did you have before starting your business?
· How long have you lived in the area where you do business?
· What other natural skills do you have (such as time management, staying organized, keeping clients focused) that don't fall directly into your business expertise but are valued by people?
Once you've got that written down, ask yourself, "What group of people or target market is best suited for my services?"
As an example, if you're an extroverted consultant who worked for a big insurance company before starting your own business, then insurance companies, and maybe even their agents, would be a terrific target market for you. A group like this would value the expertise you bring to the table, and by leveraging your previous work experience, you'd be able to talk in a language they understood. You'd probably have great success closing the deal when engaging these prospects.
A great place for you to network would be any insurance trade association that met in your area. Health insurance, property and casualty insurance-you name it, there's an association for it. So, instead of spending your time in places where insurance professionals might or might not be, you could focus your networking energies on attending events where your target market shows up in force.
As another example, let's say you're a real people person who dabbles in public speaking. Your services lend themselves to small to medium-sized firms-fewer than ten employees-and you're looking for places to meet them. Because speaking is one of your strengths, part of your networking strategy could be delivering a presentation at your local chamber of commerce or business association. That's a great way to meet a lot of people at once, and it's something we recommend to our clients who want to interface with the small-business market.
Take it a step further. Look at the industry groups you've had the most success with in the small business market, and start networking at their monthly trade association events. Now you're speaking in front of your target market at the chamber, and you're meeting them individually at their industry-specific networking events. For saturating your target market, this would be hard to beat.
People have told me, "Well, that sounds great, but I don't want to limit my prospect base by talking to only one group of people." Fair enough. As business professionals ourselves, I know how hard it seems to get new business. So the last thing you want to do is feel that you're networking to just one group.
However, when you establish two or three target markets that leverage the inherent strengths of your company and focus your networking there, what you'll find is that your prospects will start calling you with their business. Why? Because you obviously know your stuff and are willing to spend some time to get to know them.
Building your business is all about leveraging your strengths within the context of your prospects' needs, then networking with as many of those people as you can. It might mean talking with some of your friends and family ("Hey, I'm rolling out a new program that has me talking to a lot of business equipment companies. Would you happen to know of a person who works for a business equipment firm here in town?").
It might also mean attending every industry specific association meeting within a 50-mile radius of your office. Or it could be both. But what it doesn't mean is running all over town "networking" with anyone who happens to be in the room. That's sure to be an exhausting way to acquire new business. A successful business creates a network that is an inch wide and a mile deep, not a mile wide an inch deep.
Start by identifying your strengths (what do you and your business bring to the table?) Then determine which group of people would be most receptive to your message; they are your target market. After that, figure out where those folks are most likely to hang out, then focus most of your networking time in those areas. It's as simple as that.
Called the "father of modern networking" by CNN, Dr. Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author. He is the Founder and Chairman of BNI, the world's largest business networking organization. His latest book, Networking Like a Pro, can be viewed at http://www.IvanMisner.com. Dr. Misner is also the Sr. Partner for the Referral Institute, an international referral training company.
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