All the News that Fits

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” ~~Mark Twain

Most people read the newspaper every day yet only a few Master Networkers read with intent. This week we examine this rich source and provide two exercises to develop your skills, as well.

Most news subscribers simply review the information to stay current with local and global events, chuckle at the comics, track their favorite sports teams, and little else. Occasionally they may review specific classified ads or check movie reviews and the like.

“The paper holds their folded faces to the floor…and every day the paper boy brings more” ~~Pink Floyd

This skimming is fine although it leaves many opportunities untapped. Each page, if not each article, opens doors for others in your network. With a little training of your mind you can see these and pass them along.

Let’s consider a possible scenario.

One day you are reading the paper and notice that Adams, Baker, and Carlson have lost their lease on Shangri-La Office Park. Moving this organization will be a big task and you wonder who could handle such an endeavor. Knowing that Sonya is a certified project manager between projects you give her a call and send the article in an email.

This is just a lead, little better than a cold call. Certainly, if you have any connections to ABC or Shangri-La you would pass that along, as well. In our scenario, however, you have nothing to add.

Sonya is a professional networker, though, and scans through her LinkedIn connections to find a close friend who knows the CEO of ABC. It turns out that they went to Law School together. Sonya gets past the gatekeeper, meets the CEO, and secures the business. This is a win-win-win solution. Do you think Sonya will appreciate and remember that you started the process? As a Master Networker, I guarantee she will. One of the philosophies of a professional networker is to give without remembering and receive without forgetting.

Your action this week is to begin developing these skills. Pick up today’s paper and read it to find opportunities for two people in your network. They are there. You will probably find more. Accept the challenge to find two and share them with the professional you have in mind. If you found two per day, Monday through Friday, after a year you will have helped more than five hundred people in your network.

The second action is to go back through today’s paper and find leads for you, too. Look through your network to see who can help turn these leads into referral opportunities.

These skills will enhance your networking ability for the rest of your life. Start small and start today.

Special offer: If you are Triangle BNI member the local Triangle Business Journal has partnered to make a special offer. With local readership of more than 30,000 professionals with an average household income of $265,000; 51% owners and partners in their businesses; and 74% are decision-makers in upper or middle management. Please contact triangle@bizjournals.com and mention Triangle BNI.

© 2023 by Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.

Ask. The World Turns

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” ~~Robert Frost

The most effective method to grow your business is by word of mouth marketing—specifically, by referral. When surveying business owners about this all claim to use this. Once probed further, though, we generally find that they have abandoned the process as unsuccessful. See if the typical experience lines up with yours. They usually ask a few key people and keep the request vague (“open” is their term.) “I am looking for anyone that needs my services.” That might be a new transmission, their deck rebuilt, to sell their house, a new bank account, etc. After receiving a few polite promises to “keep that in mind” with no tangible results, they stop asking.

Who do you know that is looking for a new bank account?

That is not an easy sort, is it? For those of you that truly want to help, here is the process. You need to stop whatever you are otherwise thinking about, mentally scroll through everyone you know, consider whether or not they are looking for a bank account…wait a second…I have no idea who’s looking for a bank account. Let’s think about the last conversation with a specific person (trust me, few referral partners ever get this far) and replay that conversation in memory. “We spoke about the football team, their golf game, their new car, their trip to Florida next month, their job, their in-laws…No; I don’t think they need a bank account.” Seriously, how many of the 250 people you know on a first-name basis do you want to perform this exercise on? Can you expect your business partner—who isn’t even in your business—to do more than that?

If your referral partner even considers one this fully they are hard-pressed to consider many more. The person asked gives up quickly and unless the person asking is totally oblivious, they stop asking for more, as well.

This is all very counterintuitive, since we do not take the time to examine what we are asking people to do. Please stay with me here. It is important.

Who do you know who needs a bank account? How would you possibly know that? Heck, you might even need a new bank account and not even realize it.

I grew up in upstate New York and snow was a common driving environment. In fact, one of my earliest driving pleasures was taking the VW bug out to the department store parking lots on Sundays to “do doughnuts,” which is sending the little rear-engine vehicle into an intentional spin, like my own personal tilt-a-whirl. It was great fun.

As winter drivers we learned to regain control in a skid by turning the wheel into it. I boldfaced that since snow season is upon us and a reminder is always a good thing. Although that is the more effective driving technique it is totally counterintuitive.

The same is true in asking for referrals. I fully realize that anyone walking into your bank branch office that wants to open an account you can help. It doesn’t matter if they are married, single, young, old, Christian, Muslim, straight, gay. I guess the only qualification is that they need to be breathing.

Asking for living people keeps it open (my term is “vague”) and sends your referral partners into the “We’ll call you” corner.

How can you be more specific? Who needs to open an account? Too vague. Why do they need a new bank account? Knowing that, it is far easier to recognize them.

Consider what your bank has to offer new account holders. Who would find that appealing?

Answering a few of these questions up front will be more useful. Mark Sheer, author of the book Referrals, recommends a simple two step statement and question that is very effective. In fact, he recommends that you never change a word.

Here it is: “I’m expanding my business. Who do you know who…?”

Let’s try that for our banker.

“I’m expanding my business. Who do you know who has a child in college locally?” In order to be more helpful, I would name a few local schools, as well.

“I’m expanding my business. Who do you know who is a Real Estate Attorney?”

“I’m expanding my business. Who do you know who manages a church or community fund?”

Let’s take one of these and expand the mental process for your referral partner as an example. “Do you know anyone with kids at UNC or Duke? Do you know anyone with students at NC State or Meredith?”

Now, with this little bit of focus the person can run through their mind and pull out anyone with college-aged kids, sorting from the 250 they know down to 75 that qualify. Some may be in school, some may be out, and some may not be going to college at all. Along the way they will find they know people in the alumni associations, university professors, and season ticket holders who can also be good entry points into the college student market.

When you asked for anybody you got nobody. When you asked for a specific population you find a number of candidates.

I took a look at Wikipedia and found that there are more than 5,000 universities in the United Sates, an average of 115 per state, with 14 million students (4.75% of the US population.) Our banker wants to add 40 new accounts per month. Would it trouble her in any way if every new account was an NC State student? The answer is clearly no. Is it possible to find 40 new accounts per month from that population? The answer is clearly yes. Commit to that population, market heavily, and make it easy for new student account holders to bring their friends in as referrals. Could you run a contest among fraternities and sororities and offer playoff tickets to the winner and a pizza party to second place finishers? My guess is that your client that runs a pizza shop would probably donate the prize, as well.

By focusing on NC State students you may be conceding attorneys and church secretaries, but that is just temporary. Once the student program is running itself then you can turn your attention to another group, such as that.

Your action item this week is to internalize these concepts and select a single specific market. If you need help in this area return to week 3 Picture the Perfect Customer and week 31 Elementary My Dear Watson.  Write three specific “who do you know?” questions and send those, via email, to every client you have. If you belong to a networking group bring these three specific questions to the group and use them as the basis for your weekly presentation. Commit to stay with these three questions until you master them.

© 2023 by Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.

With a Little Help for Your Friends

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” ~~Albert Einstein

I considered using the famous quote from The Three Musketeers by Dumas, specifically, “All for one and one for all” to open this week’s entry. It is also appropriate and reflects how a Master Networker, like you, is ready to back up your business partners when the opportunity presents itself. Trust me, they always do.

We talked about ten traits to develop in week seven. The bottom five include:

6: Commitment to networking 24/7. Master networkers are always tuned in…

7: Gratitude. The more you do this the more chances you will have…

8: Helpfulness. Master networkers actively seek out solutions…

9: Sincerity…

10: Dedicated. The master networker is dedicated to working their network…

These five traits are wonderfully combined in this week’s strategy. The cornerstone is sincerity and integrity. If you do this just to gain a competitive edge, you will not have the success as it is designed. It is far better to wade in and help someone without keeping score. A friend of mine refers to this is NATO-Not Attached To Outcome. Golf certainly benefits from this attitude on some weekends.

In two weeks I will elaborate on reading the newspaper with the Giver’s Gain mindset. For now, consider many things that affect your business partners directly and have no apparent impact on you. These can include regulations, construction, events, etc. to simply name a few.

Let’s say that a local government initiative is underway to change how a strategic partner’s business is run. Imagine that the state board is holding a public hearing to discuss requiring that Realtors pay for property staging service. Right now, your Realtor friends may or may not use staging services, as needed. Some pay for this by building it into their fee. Others recommend the benefit and let the buyers negotiate directly with the stager. For others, staging is not likely to have significant impact on the transaction or not welcomed by the buyer.

If you see that the board will hold hearings about this you can mobilize your support by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper about this. You can also send that letter to trade journals that are Real Estate specific and send a copy to every Realtor and Mortgage Broker you know. You can do the same for other professionals that work closely with these experts—such as Closing Attorneys, Home Inspectors, and so on. Home Stagers, too.

Again, check your motivation against the list of five traits above. If you do not have a strong opinion about home staging, do not dive in. If you are only doing this to shine the spotlight on yourself, do not join the fray. If, however, you feel strongly that this would have an impact and feel your voice will add value then dedicate yourself to the cause.

When professionals see this some will call to thank you. This is a great time to deepen the relationship and influentially make referrals to other professionals that can enhance the Realtor’s own Power Team.

We will go a little deeper in this arena in two weeks and your action this week sets you up to gain more benefit now and then.

First, figure out what your partners are reading—their trade journals. That is an easy question to ask and also stay tuned in while in their offices, in their cars, meeting them outside, too. Certainly, align their interests with your own. If you don’t care, don’t bother. When you do care, however, the passion will motivate you and cement your relationship, as well.

Second, once you have some background and find an issue that matters to you, ask your strategic partners if and how it might affect them. The process alone is valuable. Once you uncover an issue that resonates take the third step and offer to write a letter on behalf of their industry. One for all and all for one.

© 2023 by Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.

Follow Your Dollars

“If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.” ~~Jim Rohn

My parents used to joke when I was a kid that we built our dentist’s new office. Braces were expensive, after all. Seriously, though, I am sure you have some businesses you support on a regular basis—veterinarian, auto repair, eyeglasses, lawn care, and so forth. When was the last time they returned the favor and sent you any business?

This is actually easier than you might imagine but is not without some effort on your part.

The first thing to do is actually assess the scope of the opportunity available to you. Rather than trust to memory I highly recommend you get your checkbook(s) and credit card statements and start working through them. Take the last six months as a representative sampling. You can add older, bigger ticket items later.

For each vendor (especially the personal local ones although grocery stores and power companies are worth considering, as well) fill out the following details:

1. Name (business/contact)
2. Frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.)
3. Monthly amount
4. Annual amount
5. Five year amount

A monthly hair stylist at $40 per visit is $480 per year. How long have you been going? Five years? That is $2400.

You can see that this will add up quickly so do this for every business you work with. Armed with this you can move to the next step.

Many of these businesses would be willing to work with you; they just do not have a system or viable method. This is where you must be creative and find that solution for them.

Again, this is easier than it might appear. Look through your list and tackle those you do the most with and have the best rapport with.

Here are a few examples to get you started. Certainly, post any other ideas you have, too, to help others.

Let’s start with a Financial Planner that regularly uses the hairstylist (and looks successfully well-groomed as a result, by the way.) How can these two work together? As a customer, what does the Financial Planner do when in the chair? Read, watch TV, chat. Here is an opportunity—if you can see it. I recommend that the Planner meet with the Stylist away from the salon where they can talk. It might be good to actually buy them coffee (or lunch) and recap the relationship before pitching the idea. Here is a possible scenario.

Dawn: Thank you for joining me. I wanted us to get away from the salon to talk business. I have enjoyed being a client for the past five years and was very glad to refer some of my clients to you, too. I wanted to ask if you would be willing to help support my business, as well.

Carol: I very much appreciate your business and the referrals. What do you have in mind?

Dawn: As a client I receive your quarterly newsletter and see that you have local businesses advertising in there. Would you give me space for a year?

Carol: Gladly, Dawn. The annual rate is $500.

Dawn: Actually, Carol, I was hoping you would do that at no charge in return for the referrals and loyalty over the years.

Carol: I have never thought about that before, but it makes sense. I am glad to give you the space. Is there anything else you would like me to do?

Dawn: As a matter of fact there is. Could I leave one of my newsletters in your waiting area?

Carol: Please do.

Smart business people can appreciate that reciprocity works both ways. If your Stylist (in this example) is reluctant you might want to reconsider a different service provider.

What could a veterinarian do for a carpet cleaner? The carpet cleaner brings her pets to the vet and many of the vet’s other clients have animals that make a mess in their homes. The carpet cleaner could regularly clean the vet’s lobby. The veterinarian could include an occasional (or even regular) article on carpet care in his newsletter—written by the cleaner. The carpet cleaner could leave brochures and business cards in the lobby. The vet could sponsor a fundraiser or other event. They could share a business expo booth together. The possibilities are endless.

Your action step this week includes two components. First, do the analysis of where you are spending your money. This is great for budgeting, anyway. Then, brainstorm all the ways you can work with your biggest vendors and commit to approaching three over the next week. This is a strategy with a lot of upside potential.

© 2023 by Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Stephen Hand of Triangle BNI.