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How to Tell if Your Investment in a Networking Group has Paid Off

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Do networking groups really work?

How can you track their effectiveness?

Will they really help you grow your business?

These are just a few of the questions members of networking groups continue to ask themselves week after week, meeting after meeting. They want to know if it is all worth it. So how can you measure the success of your networking groups? For starters, keep track of…

•      The number of leads you generate through Business Networking activities.

•      How many new partnerships resulted from your Business Networking activities.

•      Most Importantly, has any of this resulted in an increase in business?

In the end, the only thing that matters is your return on investment (ROI). So if these networking groups are not resulting in more business, then why deal with them? But these groups obviously work for some people, or they would not still be attended.

So maybe the problem isn’t the networking group, maybe it is the networker, aka you.

The trick is to know HOW to deal with networking groups. Remember, these groups are not a magical way to gain business. They require work. They require you to build relationships. If you only attend meetings to receive business, expecting an immediate increase in revenue, than you will go home disappointed.

As one article put it, its netWORKING, not net WAITING.

Instead, take the time to connect with people. Learn who they are, not just what they do. And most importantly, ask how you can help support them. If you are not giving referrals to others, what incentive do they have to give referrals to you? So help foster a relationship that is mutually beneficial.

But don’t just end your interaction at your networking event. Have a follow up plan: maybe a phone call, email, personal note, or a follow up meeting. Continue to build upon the relationship you started cultivating at the networking event. Let them know you enjoyed talking with them and will think of people to connect them with (and ask them to do the same for you).

In the end, people do business with other people. To be more specific, they do business with other people that they like. So get out there and start cultivating mutually beneficial business relationships!

If you have any questions, contact Springboard Business Development by calling 410-832-7560 or click here today!

At Springboard we offer outsourced sales solutions for businesses in the professional services arena. It’s simple, while you focus on delivery, we bring our sales expertise and connections to focus on your business development challenges.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:

Networking Groups – Do They Work? BizNik.com

 

Business is All About Building the Relationship

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Revenue is made from transactions.

Businesses grow through relationships.

Relationships build long term business, while transactions are just about the present. Today’s buyers are looking for someone they can trust, someone who delivers.  If you sell for the transaction your customer is treated like a commodity. So you must build the relationship first, then make the sale. This shows your customer respect and will have them coming back to you the next time they have a need.

Remember, a single sale is nice, but steady business is the key to long-term success. So engage with your potential client and dig deeper. Get to know your client, his/her company, and company’s needs.

Respect is at the heart of building business relationships. As one article put it, respect is the “glue that holds together the functioning of teams, partnerships and managing relationships.”

Too often, salespeople go into meetings and focus on their product, throwing information and sales figures at their potential client. But, in the end, clients buy relationships, not products. This means that it’s less about your product and a whole lot more about how you connect and engage with your client.

In the end, no matter how objective your potential client may be, when it comes to choosing a supplier or business partner, most people prefer someone they know.

If you have any questions, contact Springboard Business Development by calling 410-832-7560 or click here today!

At Springboard we offer outsourced sales solutions for businesses in the professional services arena. It’s simple, while you focus on delivery, we bring our sales expertise and connections to focus on your business development challenges.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well!

Sources:
Business Relationships LeadingInsight.com

Business Relationship Management ImpactFactory.com

How to Build Relationships for Business Success Suite101.com

 

Using Your Time Wisely

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Running your own company is no easy task. You have to address every aspect of your business with the utmost diligence and, let’s face it, you just do not have the time to give everything the attention it deserves. So where do you cut corners? Can you afford to cut corners?

There has to be a better solution.

There is. Outsourcing.

What if your business could outsource business development to a team of professionals at a fraction of the cost? That’s where Springboard comes in. At Springboard we offer outsourced sales solutions for businesses in the professional services arena. It’s simple, while you focus on delivery, we bring our sales expertise and connections to focus on your business development challenges. Springboard focuses in the four critical areas of business development:

Exposure

•     Networking

•     Speaking Opportunities

•     Social Media – research, connect with and directly interact with potential prospects, join and become active in relevant groups, post pertinent articles/white papers to help you be seen as an expert

Partnerships

•     Identify potential markets for partners

•     Research who’s who in the marketplace

•     Connect with and Directly interact with potential partners

•     Make introductions to client once identified and qualified

Prospecting

•     Lead Generation

•     Lead Qualification

•     Understanding of Prospect Needs

•     Introduction to Client as the expert to handle the identified need

Communication

•     Managing the communication before, during and after the proposal

•      Asking the questions you can’t ask

•      Ensuring we’re on the same page as we move through the buying process

When done right, outsourcing will both help your company grow and save money. This article from About.com outlines the top 4 advantages to outsourcing your business development needs.

  1. Focus on Core Activities: Every aspect of your business requires great attention to detail. Outsourcing those activities in which you simply do not have the resources to address properly, will allow you to re-focus your time without sacrificing quality or service.
  2. Save Money: Perhaps you do not have the money to hire another, much needed employee. Instead of ignoring some aspect of your business or hiring an employee that you cannot afford, outsource your extra needs to a well-qualified company. Outsourcing will often cost less than hiring a full-time employee, meaning you are getting the attention to detail you need, but at a fraction of the cost.
  3. Flexibility: Instead of hiring seasonal workers/employee during your busy season, outsource your additional work.
  4. Continuity & Risk Management: Outsourcing will provide a level of continuity to the company while reducing the risk that a substandard level of operation would bring to the company.

If you have any questions about outsourcing, contact Springboard by calling 410-832-7560 or click here today!

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