SCORE and the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association hosted a βHow To Make A Million Dollars Networkingβ workshop on Jan. 27, during which a panel ofexperts, including executives from BNI, Good to Glam and Tucson Business Club, shared their best advice on generating referrals. The panel was facilitated by Paul Bellows of Be Good at Doing Good.
Here is an overview:
- Your time is your most important resource. If you are looking to generate referral business, be strategic and seek out ways to be more profitable and productive with the time you invest. Too many people spend time networking to collect lots of business cards, but not a lot of business.
- The most powerful referral partners are called strategic partners. They are well connected to a large number of your potential clients. You need to understand who your strategic partners are. They can send you significant amounts of business on a consistent basis. Too many people look for clients at networking events when they should be searching for strategic partnerships instead.
- A group of people will accomplish more than an individual can. Join the right group for your business, and leverage the power a group represents. Too many businesses visit several groups and never join any of them. Being a member of the right group will deliver much more value than being a visitor of many. Read the recent Biz Tips article on selecting the right group for your business.
- Once you have identified your strategic partners and joined the right group, it is time to build those relationships.
Do research before you meet so you know something about them. Bring value to the first meeting, maybe it is a referral, an introduction or a speaking engagement. Do not sell yourself, that will come later. Do everything you can to make a great first impression.
There were many other great tips shared at the workshop. Make networking and referrals a part of your marketing plan for 2017.
