Speed Networking - Building Profitable Business Relationships

It's not always what you know; it's who you know.
This oft-quoted phrase has a negative connotation, implying that your talent is unimportant. This is, of course, far from the truth.

So how about

It isn't who you know, but who knows you and knows what you know.

This phrase provides the clue to the underlying value of Speed Networking. A strong network extends your sphere of opportunity far beyond your direct contacts.

Speed Networking membership profile:

Owners and Directors of SMEs senior managers

Professionals from local, regional or national organisations

In other words decision makers.

Why Network?

Typically in today's economy we face the following challenges:

• Margins under pressure
• Not generating enough new business
• Cost of advertising and marketing
• Need to develop new business contacts
• Business may be successful but not sure how to reach the next stage
• Frustrated at not having a sounding board for business problems and ideas

Traditionally

Attending regular networking events is not successful, difficult to meet enough people, having to address the whole room, no time to find out what everyone does or establish the beginning of long term relationships.

Speed Networking

Is a structured, focussed, but fun way to meet 22+ (average attendance) companies' in short face to face meetings? Attendance can be at any event venue in our network, we have no subscription fees just pay online and turn up.

Getting the most from Speed Networking

By David Ferrer's, inaugural Chelmsford Speed Networking event

Yesterday I was the speaker and a delegate at a Speed Networking event. The other attendees included telecoms sales people, hotel marketers, lawyers, accountants, tax advisers, a VAT specialist, a will writer, a head-hunter, a marketing adviser, a relationship advisor from a high street bank, financial advisers and software sales people - altogether a reasonable cross section of the SME community.

Sitting opposite some 22+ different people and listening to their efforts to sell me their services was a very interesting experience. The first point that was noticeable was how little preparation anyone had done. In other words I often did not get a clear idea of the three basics of any business:

1. What the business does

2. Who it's for

3. What will make prospects buy the product or service?

These three points should be the foundations on which every business is built.

The organisers are at pains to tell people how to use the event i.e. "say what you do, why you're different, why you're here and what you want," but only one person told me what they wanted. She wanted me to introduce her to all my customers without giving me a clear idea of how I or my customers would benefit from her company's services. Talk about one-way traffic!

How Networking Really Works

Networking is about building relationships with people that eventually lead to valuable business exchanges. The key point about networking is that people do business with those they trust, respect and like. It takes time to create that trust, respect and friendship.

Look at it this way - the first time you went out with your current partner, wife or husband, did you expect to ask them to become your partner for life on that first date? No, you probably went out for a considerable period of time before you made the decision that this was someone with whom you wanted to spend the rest of your life.

It is the same with building business relationships - they take time to mature. But when they do mature they tend to have tremendous longevity.

So my view on speed networking is that it is a valuable place to start a new relationship, but don't expect to walk out of your first meeting with any new business.

The Key to Success is your Follow-up

The real value will come from how you follow up on the contacts you make and how you develop relationships with those people.

I would recommend, as a minimum, planning a series of follow up e-mails in which you highlight the value you can provide in different areas that might be of interest to a prospect. For instance a lawyer might talk about trusts, conveyencing, and litigation etc. - a marketing service might talk about research, graphics, copy-writing, response etc. Each should be the subject of a different e-mail.

You will be able to make your follow-up more specific to your target if you spend time at the speed networking event taking a real interest in each person you meet and finding out as much as you can about their interests, needs, desires and concerns.