Art of Networking
Building Community
By Jim Blasingame
©2005

"I am a rock, I am an i-i-i-island."

These are the title lyrics of a 1967 Simon and Garfunkel song. Paul Simon wrote it while he was "finding himself" in London.

Perhaps this attitude worked for Paul. But for small business owners, being an island is not a good plan. So how do you make sure you don't become an island? Build a community—preferably, several communities.

Webster's Dictionary says a community is "a unified body of individuals." Let's take that definition to the next level by making it possessive, as in, "Your community."

Not your geographic community. Rather, the community of people who know, support and depend on you—WHEREVER they may be. And here's the pivotal point to understand: in your community, as Webster might define the term, you are the unifying force.

It's pivotal because there is great power in recognizing the unifying influence you have on your community, especially when you exercise that influence for the benefit of all the members, including you.

Success and community
It's important and productive to think about the power of community as leverage in your effort to carve out a niche in the marketplace. Because being able to create and unify a community that's available to you—and you to it—is essential to small business success.

Dave Longaberger, a learning-disabled stutterer who turned his father's basket-weaving hobby into a billion-dollar-a-year business, said it this way, "Your success will ultimately depend on the relationships you build." Community.

So, how do you build your community? One word: networking. In "Masters Of Networking," Ivan Misner, president of Business Network International wrote: "The most successful people surround themselves with a well-developed, sophisticated support network." Community.

Chicken or egg?
There is no mystery here: the egg—networking—definitely comes first, followed by the chicken—community. Networking without an awareness of, and a goal toward, building communities is like what Texans call an urban cowboy, "all hat and no cattle." If you're networking without unifying those contacts into communities, you're wasting a lot of people's time, including your own.

Networking done well produces many different kinds of communities: business communities, friendship communities, vocational communities, etc. And in the 21st century, it's important to realize that your communities include people you have met, plus those who are part of your virtual communities.

Building, unifying, and influencing communities is a proven way to be successful, and an excellent way to create happiness for all of the members of your communities.

Write this on a rock…
Master carpenters build houses. Master networkers build communities. Get off of your island and start building.

Jim Blasingame is the creator and award-winning host of The Small Business Advocate Show, which is the only nationally syndicated weekday radio/Internet talk show in the world dedicated to small business. Jim conducts over 1,000 live interviews every year with small business experts and entrepreneurs. Find Jim at www.jbsba.com.

Jim's Web site, SmallBusinessAdvocate.com is a leading-edge online resource featuring a LIVE weekday Internet simulcast of the radio show, a daily REPLAY feature, and thousands of streaming audio ARCHIVES. Jim is a huge BNI supporter and many of the ARCHIVES are of past interviews with BNI Founder, Dr. Ivan Misner. Jim has created a community where entrepreneurs and experts can come together to improve the world of small business. You can listen, read, ask a question, find links, subscribe to a free newsletter and much more. It's all free, interactive and "dedicated to small business."


The Unwritten Rules of Referral
How to employ other people's contacts, client, and clout to generate a flood of new business.
By John Jantsch

Nobody likes to cold call. Okay, very few people that I know like to cold call looking for clients. For those of you that fit that description, I have some good news. Stop it. Don't cold call ever again. Instead, let other people do it for you by systematically generating all the referrals you can handle.

That's right, many business owners have built their entire business using this one simple, but powerful strategy. People want to do business with other people they know, like and trust and by creating referrals you automatically borrow upon some one else's trust. For the small business owner this is a crucial point.

You see referred clients, if properly qualified, will turn into your best customers and will likely put a higher value on what you do and be less likely to leave for price.

So you get that you should generate referrals and maybe you even do so occasionally, but you want to generate a flood of referrals, right?

Here's how:

Deserve referrals

If your business or service doesn't wow someone, then who is going to refer you? Consistently generating referrals is a bit of a mindset. Tackle every customer you generate as though your sole purpose in serving them is to generate a referral. Now, would that change your approach to service? Now you're not a sales person, you're a service person.

Target referral sources

Just as you must target your clients, you must also target those clients, vendors, influences, peddlers or contacts most suited to generate the kinds of referrals you are after. Then you must educate them on just exactly who and what makes a good referral for your business.

Ask

People love to give referrals. Think about the last time you got a great deal on something or someone went over and above to help you. What was the first thing you did? You told everybody, right? Don't be shy about asking for referrals.

Tell them how you intend to follow-up

The single greatest reason your friends, neighbors and clients may resist handing over referrals is because they had a bad experience in the past. They gave an eager sales person the names of their family and he still hasn't stopped hounding them. Let them know exactly what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. Ease their past concerns and don't hound your referrals.

Make it easy for them

Don't just ask if they know anyone who might need what you do. Give specifics. I know a financial advisor who wants to work in certain high-income neighborhoods. When he meets with his clients he puts a list of 50-75 names in front of them and asks if they know any one on the list. He always comes away with several highly qualified leads.

Let them participate

Don't just jot down names and head out into the night, ask them to call, email or write on your behalf. Hand them a suggested letter of introduction that explains what you do and why you will be contacting them. Get your client to mail a letter on your behalf. Placing a call on your client's recommendation can open some doors but nothing beats a heart felt letter of endorsement.

Ask for testimonials

One very passive way for people to refer business to you is to ask them to write a letter that details some of the very specific benefits that they have gained working with your firm. The more the merrier.

Follow-up

When you acquire a lead, make sure that you act upon it quickly and make sure that you keep the communication open with your referral source. Let them know how much you appreciate their help and always let them know if you turn the lead into a client. Cigars and single malt scotch are my preference.

Reward them

There are many, many ways to encourage your clients and contacts to send you referrals. You can give them free or discounted rates on their own needs as a reward. You can send them a thank you in the form of a discount to pass on to a friend. You can give them cash. You can create a contest among your clients and give away a special prize to the client who refers the most business. You can create your own currency and give it away as an incentive. You can partner with a non-profit agency and give a portion of all referred business to that agency. You can send a gift to someone's office, such as balloon bouquet, and generate so much buzz they are forced to talk about how great you are.

Finally, don't forget to make generating referrals an expectation of every client relationship. Let your clients know going in that you fully expect them to be so thrilled with the service you provide that they are expected to give you ten qualified referrals within the next six months.

Just making this simple statement to every new client you land will help him or her realize that they made a great decision to choose to do business with your firm.

John Jantsch is a marketing coach and the author of Referral Flood -How to generate a flood of new business without spending one dime on advertising. Referral Flood is an insider's roadmap to referral marketing featuring over 50 real-life referral marketing examples, over 4 hours of audio CDs, sample letters and other referral marketing tools.

"Tips From an Expert"
Referral Flood features a networking article by Ivan Misner and promotes, links to and endorses BNI in the chapter on network building.

Find out more at www.ReferralFlood.com/BNI.php