Anybody with an exposure to business networking understands that referral marketing hinges on your ability with the one-to-one meeting.
A one-to-one meeting involves two people: you and the person you’re meeting. It’s purpose is to build the relationship, establish trust and become credible as a source of your particular product or service in the mind of the other person.
As you can see, the purpose is not to make a sale (i.e. a one-to-one is not a sales appointment).
If you spend your time at a one-to-one trying to lever a referral out of the other person, you’re not investing in the relationship, trust or credibility in the mind of the other person. Your focus in a one-to-one must be on the relationship. This is crucial.
This implies that the objective of a one-to-one is not to secure a referral either. Most networkers understand there’s little to be gained from selling at a one-to-one. Not seeking to prise a referral out of the other party is a little harder to swallow! Here’s why this is a crucial key to your success in business networking.
Your goal is to build the relationship, and go on to have both parties develop mutual benefit over an extended period of time. Business networking is not a ‘wham bam thank you mam’ kind of thing. If you’re going to be successful you need to have a good reason to continue the relationship beyond the one-to-one. You need a reason to call back.
When I attend one-to-one meetings, I do have a referral objective in mind. My objective is to find a referral for the other person rather than myself. In fact, I deliberately don’t focus on myself. And I insist on going second. This way I give the other person the lion’s share of the time.
During the meeting, as I find out more about the other party, I start making a list of potential referrals. I ask questions to qualify specific people on my list and make sure I understand exactly the kind of person they want to be referred to.
I then leave the meeting, and approach the people on my list to see if they’re interested in what the other party has to offer. I can usually generate a couple of referrals for the other person. And that gives me an excellent reason to call him/her back. What could be more welcome than a person calling with one or more referrals?
This is a great way to build the relationship, and increases my importance in the mind of the other person. It makes me credible, at least in the sense of delivering on what I promised. And it builds trust because I am trusting him/her with my network.
It’s the perfect way to follow up a one-to-one, and almost always guarantees me further contact with the other party.
I really like this idea. It makes a LOT of sense to me. In my own BNI Chapter we were all encouraged to join a Power Team, but nobody had the first clue what to do once we were in them. As a result they turned into a pointless gab-fest.
A power team is one way to boost your business through networking. I tend to find most BNI Power Teams are subverted by the chapter, and end up focussing on visitor generation. This is a massive opportunity missed, and I heartily recommend that people resist this unholy urge.
The only use of a power team that makes sense (to me, anyway) is the pursuit of a business objective. And BNI provides an excellent structure in which that can occur.