Slot 7: The A, B, C and D's of networking

Networking like a maniac? Not getting the rewards - lets look at what might be going wrong and see how we can stop being so manic and more strategic about our networking activities.

At the begining of this BNI term I sent out a survey asking you what you would like to learn about. Second on the list, aside from how to invite more visitors, was "how do I get more referrals?". You guys all obviously get networking. You have a strong contact group here who can act as a core part of your networking strategy. You may be attending other networking events and be going hell for leather. Unfortunatly - its not just about paying up, turning up and sending out invoies. You need a strategy for networking - just like you would need a strategy for any marketing activity. I'm going to give you the strategy.

1. It all starts with a list. List out all of your contacts. You might have 100 or 250 of these. Where can you find them?
1. Your invoicing software
2. Your address book
3. Your social club
4. Your networking organisation
2. Don't stop until you have at least 100 names. In know you didn't do step 1 properly so go back and check out
   
1. Your mobile phone
2. Your phone bills (for numbers)
3. Your chamber of commerce
3. Now that you have your names we are going to prioritise them into A, B, C and D lists. Can anyone tell me what these lists are? [Wait for someone to claim they should be ordered by how much money they spend with you - then tell them they are wrong - aren't you so smart ;)]. We order them by their ability to pass referrals.
4. The A list are the top 10% (10 - 15 names) by their ability to pass you referrals. These guys are likely to pass you six referrals in a year. (one every two months).
   
5. The B list are the next 20 - 25% who have an ability to pass you one lead a year.
6. The C list is the remaining 50%. These guys you need to market to. They don't deserve your face to face contact but they do deserve some general marketing attention.
7. The remaining 10%-20% are wasting your time. FIRE THEM.

When you have a clear idea of who your top networkers are - you are in a position to spend your time more wisely. There should proabably by up to 5 of your A list in this room today. Maybe its only 1 but there should be at least 1. Then look after that A list. Focus on them. How do we do that?

By finding THEM business.

Givers gain.