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Christmas is almost here and most people are thinking about family, Christmas presents, holiday arrangements and certainly not about networking activities.

However, the bills will continue to arrive and somewhere along the way, we need to make time to plan our marketing and networking activities for the year ahead.

This is why The Sydney Networker in future Blogs will concentrate on showing you how to save hundreds of dollars on your networking activities....

You can create word-of-mouth for your business. You can do it yourself. It's called DIY Networking and you can do it! You should do it yourself.

Word-of-mouth is the most effective means to advertise your brand. A lot of data exists showing that customer word-of-mouth is more effective, more cost-effective than other methods of promotion.

Building referrals is just as important now as if was in the past. In fact, it's much easier and more cost effective now to develop and build those relationships than it had been in the past. What is more difficult is keeping those referral conversations alive and focused.

How do you do it? How do you inspire your customers and business associates to tell others the great things about you and your business without it costing a fortune in time and resources?

We'll discuss this next month and give you some links to articles which will help you to run your own effective business referral network.

Tony Benner
Corporate Focus PR
Tony.Benner@corpfocus.com.au
Sydney, Australia

There continues to be much hype these days suggesting that social media is the best way to grow your business, however research shows that to have success in business it is important to join a business organisation or a face-to-face networking group.

Being an active member of a business organisation or networking group allows one to build lasting relationships with like-minded people, many of whom can refer business to you.

Many business groups, such as chambers of commerce can offer additional benefits such as discounts on products and services for the whole membership as well as having a free directory listing as part of the cost of membership.

Many business networking groups, such as Amcham, give members the chance to present their business to the group whilst others are able to arrange specific business advice for members.

Being a member of an industry-specific business organisation is a great way to contribute to the growth of your industry and keep up with advances in your field, as well as an excellent opportunity to learn from others who may have more experience or new ideas.
General business organisations provide opportunities to interact with people in other fields, which can be quite enlightening.

Many general business organisations exist for a particular purpose, such as to provide networking for businesses in a specific geographic area.

Others, like Rotary and Lions, focus on community service which can greatly enhance your small businessd profile in the community.

It is usually a good idea to be involved with say three non-competing organisations, such as a chamber of commerce, a community group like Rotary and a face-to-face networking organisation.

Continue to be active in the rapidly changing world of social media, especially if you are running a local business. However meeting with other local business people and being an active participant in your local area will do more to help sell your products or services that lots of tweets on Twitter.

Tony Benner is the Managing Director of Corporate Focus PR, a public relations and social media consultancy based in Sydney.www.corpfocus.com.au   pr@corpfocus.com.au 

Global networker and BNI Founder, Dr Ivan Misner says you don't have to purposely become a networker to reap the benefits of social capital -- otherwise known as the value behind your social contacts. As long as you take as much care in raising and investing your social capital as you do your financial capital, you'll find that the benefits that flow from these intangible investments will multiply your material returns many times over.

Take for example a colleague of Ivan Misner who is a book editor. He often works long hours in isolation, surfacing only occasionally to communicate with an author or publisher. So, how does someone with such little contact with people build social capital? It's simple. He eventually ventured out in search of others.

His editor friend met and wound up collaborating with a small group of writers who were forming a professional organisation. He helped the group attract new members, publish a newsletter, schedule presentations and speakers and arrange conferences with editors and agents. While the organization grew, my friend made several new friends among the founding members. One of those connections helped him land a job that he kept for 12 years. His friend benefited from another connection who gave him a steady flow of freelance editing work.

Even though his editor friend didn't know it when he began this low-key form of networking, he was building social capital.

Relationships Are Currency

How many times have you, or another entrepreneur you know, attended a networking event where you met a number of good people but never spoke with them again? Although small-business owners are often so busy they find it difficult to remember what they had for breakfast, it's a shame to ignore new contacts you can potentially turn into new business.

The key to improving your social capital isn't the number of contacts you make. What's important is making contacts that become lasting relationships. Imagine if you were putting together a marketing plan for the coming year and you called five close friends to ask them for help -- in the form of either a referral or new business. Now, imagine cold-calling 10 people for the same reason. You'll most likely have better luck with your close friends.

How can you deepen your relationships with contacts and improve your social capital? Here are four steps to get you moving in the right direction:

Give your clients a personal call. Find out how things went with the project you were involved in. Ask if there's anything else you can do to help. Important: do not ask for a referral at this point. 

Call all the people who have referred business to you. Ask them how things are going. Try to learn more about their current activities so you can refer business to them.

List 50 people to stay in touch with. Include anyone who has given you business in the last 12 months (from steps 1 and 2) as well as any other prospects you've connected with recently. Send them cards on the next holiday.

Follow up. Two weeks after you've sent cards to your contacts, call them and see what's going on. If the contact is a former client or just someone you've talked to before, now might be the perfect time to ask for a referral. If it's a prospect you're calling, perhaps you can set up an appointment to have coffee and find out if their plans might include using your services.

Social capital is the international currency of networking, especially business networking. After just a few weeks of putting these steps in motion you should have more than enough social capital to tap into the rest of the year.

www.bnisydneyinnerwest.com.au  

BNIBusinessIndex.com has released its worldwide business survey findings for the first quarter of 2011.
BNI Executive Director for Sydney Inner West, Tony Benner said almost;1,500 business people participated in the survey, including 268 people from Australia and NZ.
The results indicate that, overall, the global economic state is improving - 69.4% of the respondents for the first quarter of 2011 feel that business is growing or growing substantially compared to this time last year).
This number has increased since the prior BNI Business Index Survey which was conducted during the last quarter of 2010. Respondents to this same question at that time weighed in at 67.8%
Many people from Australia and NZ wrote about the earthquakes, cyclones and flooding and challenges these events that has dramatically impacted their business. One respondent stated that the natural disasters in Australia have made people much more reluctant to spend money on services that they perceive are not absolutely necessary.
Despite some of the written responses expressing negative perceptions of the economy, the survey results are promising. With 69% of the respondents saying that business is better today than a year ago, things definitely appear to be moving in the right direction.

A good networker has two ears and one mouth and should use them both proportionately. When you meet someone in a networking environment you should listen more than you talk (especially if it is the first time you met). Consequently, in books like The 29% Solution and Networking Like a Pro, I have written a lot about the kinds of questions you should ask when you meet someone for the first time.

Recently, I was at a networking event and, at the end of the conversation, someone asked me a question that no one has ever asked me before at a networking meeting. She asked, What is the most amazing thing that has happened to you today?

I love that question because it is so positive and unique. It made me stop focusing on anything other than the question at hand and required me to be completely present in the moment because I truly had to think about what the greatest thing was that had happened in my day so far. At the time, I shared what came to mind with the woman who asked me the question. However, it is interesting to note that today, many months later, what I remember most is that question . . . not whatever amazing thing happened to me that day.

Dr Ivan Misner, Founder Chairman of BNI

www.bnisydneyinnerwest.com.au

BNI Founder, Dr Ivan Misner, comments:

The business I am in involves a lot of coaching and guiding of franchisees to teach them how to coach and guide entrepreneurs, salespeople, and professionals to generate referrals for themselves and others.  Sometimes this feels a little like herding cats - entrepreneurs hate being told what to do and it takes a real skill set to move them in a direction that involves a lot of hard work but will help them achieve the results they want.

One of the biggest challenges I have in this process is not with the actual entrepreneur or salesperson but with the individual I am coaching to be able to guide the entrepreneur or salesperson. These people have gone through many hours of training, tend to have a fair amount of field experience, and have support manuals that exceed a thousand pages of documentation to assist in the process.   They are true experts. I have discovered, however, that sometimes expertise can actually be a problem. Just because your expertise may arm you with the knowledge to recognise the solution to a problem or challenge, it does not mean other people are going to automatically believe you know the solution and/or want you to actually tell them the solution.  I know that sounds counter intuitive; however, if you have  ever raised a child, you know that this is often times absolutely true!

So, let us say you are an expert.  You know you are an expert.  You know that you can help someone else.  You also know that this someone else is a grownup who runs their own business or is an independent sales rep who chose their particular career for good reason . . they like the freedom of being independent.  How do you move these people in the right direction?

I had a person who worked for my company who once went into one of my locations and was appalled by how badly things were being run by the members of the group.  She let them know in no uncertain terms what they were doing wrong and how they needed to turn it around. Her assessment of the situation and the solutions she proposed were spot on but her presentation of them was all wrong. She was so blunt with the group's members that she received a very negative reaction from them and ended up leaving the place an even bigger mess than it was when she first walked in.  When I met to with her to talk about how she might have done things differently, she grew furious with me for not supporting her since she was right and the members of the group were wrong.  I was not arguing that she was right -she was.  The problem I had was how she handled the situation - in that area, she was completely wrong. I tried to explain this to her by sharing one of my favorite sayings relating to the dilemma: Do not burn down the barn to roast the pig. In other words, do not make things worse than you found them when you were trying to fix them in the first place.

She could never really wrap her head around the concept that people may not welcome her advice with enthusiasm and agree with her stance on an issue when she was clearly right.  Eventually, we got an expert to work with that group who listened to their issues, built relationships with the group members, and then coached them into achieving the greatness they had within them. It is important to note that this process took time and patience.

There are two things I try to teach people in this situation.

First, People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. If you want people to listen to you when you are coaching them or re-directing them, they have to know that you care about them and want them to succeed. If they do not know this down to their core - they will not listen to your advice. Ever.

Second, is a saying given to me by mother on a paper weight when I was about 16 years old and I was running an uphill battle for a student council race. My mother gave me this paper weight (which is still on my desk in my home to this date)  The paper weight says: Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else have your way. When she gave me that, she explained that I had to learn how to work with people - not through people.  She said that even if I did know the answer to a problem, it did no good if no one else believed me. That advice helped me win the election and it has helped me many times throughout my life.  I have to admit that I do not always use it as well as I can -  however, when I do use it, things almost always go more smoothly.

The bottom line is this: being right does not help much if no one is willing to follow you.

Sydney business people are invited to BNI Tiger Chapter and to hear a special presentation on ldquo;Fishing for Businessrdquo; by Richard Poi, Area Director for BNI Sydney Inner West and UTS Tutor in E-Marketing.

Richard will demonstrate how to build your business by applying fishing techniques to your networking activities.

The event will be held on Tuesday 16th November at 7:30am at the Coronation Club, 86 Burwood Rd, Burwood, Sydney.

During this meeting you will be able to meet other business people who have joined this  chapter. You will also see how BNI can help build your business.

Also, please join us in celebrating BNIrsquo;s 25th Birthday! Bookings to bni@people.net.au or 0407 366 140.

BNI Founder, Dr Ivan Misner says developing an effective word-of-mouth strategy that results in a strong referral-based business takes endless time, energy, effort and, above all, commitment. The actions and steps necessary to create a successful referral-networking campaign are simple, yet far from easy; they take tremendous dedication and drive, and results can be a long time in coming.

So why should you put forth the time and effort to develop a word-of-mouth strategy for your business?  Because, if you commit to doing it right and donrsquo;t give up, the payoff can be unbelievably high.

In fact, many businesses have become so adept at referral marketing that they get most of their sales through referrals and spend little or no money on advertising mdash; and they never have to place cold calls. Some of these businesses hire most of their employees through referrals, manage complex financing arrangements and even procure necessary products through referral contacts they have cultivated for many years.

But a referral-based business can reward you in ways beyond those measured in dollars. Dealing with people you like and trust is a better way to live and work than sparring with strangers all day long. You may even find the relationships you form with your referral sources more important than the dollars your new customers bring you. Such relationships are central to both the referral-generation process and the satisfaction you derive from your work.

So, the next time you find yourself doubting whether your networking efforts are really worth it, remember: If you donrsquo;t give up, and you continually devote yourself to working on making your word-of-mouth strategy better and better, the payoff can be enormous both financially and in terms of happiness in business and life.

One of the friendliest and most natural ways to make contact with a referral source is to buy her products or services, whether in large or small dollar amounts.  It’s important to note that the purchase doesn’t necessarily have to be from her primary line of business–perhaps a ticket to a fundraiser, a used car, a computer, even a box of Girl Scout cookies from her daughter.

By purchasing something from your network member/referral source, you become one of her customers. As a customer, you are high on her priority list; she will be more inclined to do business with you and give you information, support and referrals.  This approach also increases your source’s interest in getting to know you and staying in touch.

Tips for purchasing from your network:

• Analyze how you are spending your money now.
• Decide how much you want to spend.
• Test your relationship with the people you buy from now. Do they know you? Do you benefit from doing business with them?
• Identify the products and services your sources offer that you want or need–or the purchase of which might benefit your business in the long run.
• Are you buying products and services from people and organizations that see you as an individual? Do the people you buy from know your name and think of you as their customer? There’s a big difference between being a customer of Sears and being a customer of Joe’s Shoe Store.
• Use your purchasing power in a way that gives you more benefits and builds relationships.  Buy at least half of your products and services from people you know; however, don’t do it in a way that makes them feel obligated to buy things from you.

BNI (Business Network International) plans to open a Brunchtime Chapter in Sydney this month.

To be known as BNI Brunch ‘n’ Referrals, the Chapter will hold an Information Meeting for interested members at the Canada Bay Club in Five Dock on Thursday 17^th June at 10:45am.

BNI’s Executive Director for Sydney Inner West, Tony Benner, said that the new chapter was being formed to cater for business people who are busy sending their children off to school at a time when other BNI chapters usually meet.

“The new brunchtime chapter is also for people who simply cannot function at 7am – we are not all morning people,” he added.

BNI is an international word-of-mouth referral organisation with chapters throughout Australia and 47 other countries.  

A BNI chapter provides professionals in a variety of occupations a weekly opportunity to meet with each other and pass qualified referrals.  At each meeting, members briefly introduce their businesses and share the types of referrals they would like to receive.

 “Because only one person from each business category is allowed in each chapter, a person can "lock out" competitors by quickly joining a new BNI chapter.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about BNI or attending the Five Dock meeting on 17^th June can reach Tony Benner on +612 9279 1194 or 0407 366 140.

To mark International Networking Week for 2010, BNI Sydney Inner West has arranged a breakfast presentation on “Fishing for Business.”

The presentation, to be held at Dolcissimo Ristorante in Haberfield (Sydney) on Friday 5^th February at 7:15am, will demonstrate how to build businesses by applying fishing techniques to networking activities.

Using the right bait to hook more clients whilst tackling your database are just a few of the subjects to be covered in this innovative presentation

BNI’s Sydney Inner West Executive Director, Tony Benner, said "The goal of International Networking Week is to recognise and celebrate the role that networking plays in the development and success of businesses around the world."

"Between 1-5 February, business people in Australia, USA, Canada, Europe, India, SE Asia and dozens of other countries will be invited to luncheons and/or breakfasts to hear speakers discuss the benefits of networking in today’s business environment.”

He said the focus of these events will be to bring together representatives of government, businesses and the community to network with each other, to understand the concept of good networking and to listen to talks by key networking specialists from across the world. These speakers will offer advice and information on how businesses can grow and succeed through good networking practices.

“The purpose of International Networking Week is to raise the profile of networking in the wider community, recognising it as an essential tool for success in today’s business climate.”

For further information or comment, please contact Tony Benner,

Executive Director, BNI Sydney Inner West, Tel. +612 9279 0261 or 0407 366 140.

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2o23zthaf36d2a0&oseq=

By Richard Poi, Area Director, BNI Sydney Inner West, AUSTRALIA

Good review s and favourable comments are continuously being received about James Cameron’s latest blockbuster film, “AVATAR”.

Amidst all the action and the superb special effects wizardry, AVATAR has a subtle message.  It is a message that we can all relate to: relationships, communities, understanding and building strong networking links.

There are several lessons we can learn from Jake Sully’s interaction with the Na’vi people and apply them to our behaviour in our networking environment or when crossing environments that are socially or culturally different from ours.

Like Jake, it is quite often that we get thrown into situations where we have to find our way – especially with people in different social and business circumstances.  We need to learn and communicate, and in doing so, build our relationships to earn credibility and trust.  By establishing a firm status, then we gain acceptance as a worthy long term business partner.  Jake did this by learning the Na’vi language and their indigenous activities like archery and riding the amazing Banshees where teamwork is the utmost ingredient to success.  In our world, we sometimes indulge in our prospect’s recreational interest by playing golf to build rapport culminating in a business deal.

In AVATAR, much emphasis is placed on “linking” and communicating, e.g. Na’vi using the tip of their pigtails to connect with the flora and fauna of the forest and telepathy in some special instances.  In most cases, there are elements of mindfulness and respect to living beings in an eco system on the moon Pandora. 

We do the same when we network.  We are always mindful of what the other person’s expectations of us are and how we should react so as to gain mutual acceptance.  Jake’s “communicating” with the Banshees, the Mother Goddess Eywa, and the Sacred Tree of Voices are notable examples.  In our one-to-one meetings, we engage in a two-way communication by attentive listening and sharing.  We may not have telepathic powers but we can study body language and close business deals at the right time.  We may not have the Na’vi pigtails to tap on responses but BNI tells me regularly: you have two ears and a mouth, so use them proportionately.

Relationships built on a strong foundation create extensions to outer tiers of relationships, like growing vines, spreading and reaching out to form a massive network that serves to achieve a common cause.  Feel that surge of excitement as we cheer and jeer as Jake rallies support from neighbouring clans to fight the Sky People!  When we network, we need to find that commonality of interest from which grows a lasting strategic alliance to realise our networking and business goals. To be successful, we must collaborate.

Isn’t AVATAR a great movie, as it inspires us to network more intelligently and strategically when we next hit the arena?

"Networking is the kind of social and professional interaction that came naturally to businesspeople throughout most of this nation’s history, especially in smaller communities. But as villages grew into towns, towns into cities and cities into megalopolises, the sense of community and the close, personal business relationships that went with it gradually disappeared. The rise of large retail chains and multinational corporations, along with the demise of small businesses under the stiff price competition from these giants, further weakened the natural networking that existed.

The disappearance of community-based networking has left a vacuum that is now being filled by strong-contact networks. Business networking organizations such as BNI create a virtual main street for business professionals–an environment and a system for passing referrals that is the 21st-century equivalent of the traditional model for doing business.

As Eric Lesser, in his book Knowledge and Social Capital, notes, “Without a shared understanding of common terms, activities and outcomes, it becomes very difficult to reap the benefits associated with building social capital.” The power of business networking organizations is that they provide these common terms, activities and outcomes in a system that is designed specifically to accomplish this goal.

When you join and attend meetings in a business networking group, you build social capital in a number of ways. You gain the trust and friendship of fellow members; you provide valuable referrals; you contribute knowledge and skills to the effort; you become more knowledgeable and improve your social and business skills. Not least, you get out of your cave–the self-imposed isolation that many business people fall prey to.

Like financial capital, social capital is not only earned and accumulated, it can be spent. The international networking organization BNI has Givers Gain as its guiding principle: The good you do comes back to you over the long term and often in indirect ways. You accumulate social capital by providing help, advice, information, referrals and other benefits to your fellow networkers, with no thought of a quid pro quo. By gaining the trust of others, gratitude for value provided and a solid reputation for integrity and expertise, you become a person whom others wish to help whenever an opportunity to do so presents itself.

A colleague of mine worked for several years with a financial advisor who was a very passionate networker. In fact, he founded a chapter of an international networking organization and became very active as the president of the chapter. He gave more referrals than anyone else in the chapter; however, he got very few referrals back in return.

He came to my colleague a little frustrated about this. My colleague told him it takes time to build trust, especially in the financial services industry. He recommended several books on the subject and suggested that the advisor attend some training programs my colleague was offering. The financial advisor’s reply was a complete surprise. He said, “Train me to train the programs.”

My colleague said, “Aren’t you concerned that you’re already giving a lot more that you’re getting?”

He said, “Yes, but I know that trust takes time, and giving people valuable training at my expense will build trust.”

He became my colleague’s lead trainer and assistant director in Winston-Salem, N. C., and continued to give even more of his time and energy than he ever had before–even though he had been very active in his previous leadership role. His network rewarded him in an amazing way. Over the next 24 months, he received referrals worth $36 million–proving once more that givers always gain in the end."

The holiday party is a great time to meet people but . . . you should have a plan!

Everybody goes to parties, and the holiday season is full of them. It’s also a business slowdown season for many of us who are not in retail. The holiday parties are NOT just a place for free food and drinks.

Holiday parties and other social mixers bring new opportunities to network, even more than the rest of the year.   The holidays are times when we are more likely to see people in a social setting, and this setting definitely lends itself to building relationships.

Most people think of networking only in traditional networking venues, such as the chamber, strong-contact referral groups like BNI, and other business-oriented gatherings. But that’s not using the power of networking to its fullest.

It can be the best time to introduce yourself or have a friendly conversation with one of your superiors. Making an impact on someone important can be a real career booster; it could open the door for new job opportunities, promotions and/or new business.

In order to make the most of “holiday party networking,” here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Be prepared! If you’re going to hobnob, try to know whom you are talking to, what their job and role in the company are and what they’ve done this year for the organization.  Use this info as a way to start a conversation. If you know some of the people who will be in attendance, do a Google search on them.  Do some homework.
• Ask questions. Some suggestions: How did you start the business? How did you take the business international?  How did you start franchising? What were some of the challenges with . . . ? Have you read any good books lately? (My favorite is: How can I help you?)
• Have a “teaser” topic ready. Approaching the end of the year, every business wants to increase profits and performance in the New Year. Have an idea ready that describes how you can improve your sector in the coming year. (Word to the wise: Don’t give away the goose; set up a meeting to discuss the details.)
• Use this introduction as a segue for a future meeting. As mentioned above, you don’t want to “end” the conversation at the party. The end game here is to open the door for follow-up. You want to be able to connect with the person after the party, one-to-one.
• Don’t have more than a couple drinks. It’s a party, but it’s not YOUR party. You don’t want to be stinking of liquor when you approach the people you want to connect with. Impressions count. Make the right one.
• Be confident of your value. Introducing yourself to an executive can be an intimidating experience, so give yourself an informed pep talk. Before the event, make a list of the things you’ve done over the past year and understand how what you do may integrate into discussions. Once you’ve got this down, there’s no reason you shouldn’t feel good about yourself. Consider how what you’ve done can integrate with the executive’s interests.
• Honour the event. Make sure when networking at a holiday party–or any non-traditional networking event–that networking is supplementary to the reason people are there, so don’t treat it like a chamber mixer.  Be sincere.

Don’t act as if you’re in the boardroom giving a presentation; keep it natural and leave them intrigued. The real emphasis must be on “finesse” at a company holiday party. Yes, it is a great networking opportunity–but if you overtly “sell,” you may turn people off! After all, it is a holiday.

You can network anywhere, including events where it might not at first occur to you to try it–and, paradoxically, it’s at these non-traditional networking settings where you’ll often get the most bang for your buck.