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As business people, we all know the potential downfall putting all your eggs in one basket (AKA having one client or customer make up too large of a percentage of your company’s income). Does the same hold true for networking?
Some organizations stipulate exclusivity as a part of the terms for being in their networking group. And that does make sense on some levels. After all, you do want members to pass leads and referrals to each other. Yet what if the networking group members in your sphere of influence don’t pass you leads or referrals right away? What if after a few referrals, the leads stop?

At My Pinnacle Network, we feel networking should resemble a marketing plan. The more successful plans include a mix of things—PR, advertising, social media, e-mail marketing, etc. All those tools promote your business and typically complement the other—e.g. posting your press release on your Facebook page and tweeting coverage. Your networking efforts are the same.

It’s great to make a networking group your primary leads/referral vehicle. But that should not preclude you from attending other networking events, being a member of a chamber or informal networking with people you knew from previous work and business efforts—even if it conflicts with professions of members of your networking group. The reality is utilizing multiple networking vehicles makes you more valuable to members of your primary networking group?

Why, you might ask? By putting your networking eggs in several baskets, the more likely you are to meet people who you can be leads/referrals for your business and the people in your primary networking group.

If you’re in a networking group, there is no substitute for a one-on-one meeting. In addition to first-hand information about your fellow group member’s business, you invariably learn a bit about them as a person and that can make it easier to connect them to potential leads and referrals. But there is one thing every person in a networking group should be doing in addition to one-on-one meetings and that’s being more social—social media, that is.

If your fellow networker has a Facebook page, like it.

If they have a Twitter page, follow it.

A LinkedIn profile, connect.

Finally, if they have an e-newsletter, sign up for it.

This will not take the place of a one-on-one, but will provide you some background information beforehand and enable you to stay current with what’s going on with them afterwards.

And if your group has its own social media presence—like My Pinnacle Network—do the same as above. Also, get in the habit of posting your social media posts to their social media pages.

A common complaint frustrated networkers voice is about not receiving leads or referrals. That can be a valid complaint, but on your end, you have to make sure you are doing everything in your power to make it easier to refer you. Making your networking group part of your social media efforts can be a great way to stay front-of-mind with your fellow networker.

Ordering flowers for your sweetie for Valentine’s Day seems like a slam dunk, no-brainer and an easy way to get in good graces with your better half. Yet if those flowers have a generic card with little or no sentiment, you can see why the gift may not be as well received. The same can go with networking.

During the course of a one-on-one, if you’re listening closely, you may think of people who can help your fellow networker. Well intentioned, you give your fellow networker a phone number or e-mail address and say, “Call/write Bill and tell him you know me”. Unfortunately, this can be a dead end for a number of leads and the reason why is very similar to the Valentine’s Day flowers: it lacks your full participation.

If there’s someone in your address book who you think would be a good lead for somebody in your networking group, go one step further. Make the introduction yourself. While it may not be practical to do so in person, an e-mail introducing your fellow networker and your contact adds a seal of approval.

“Bill, I’d like to introduce you to somebody from my networking group. He’s in the ___ business. I thought you two might be able to help each other out. I’ve cc’ed him on this e-mail so he can reach out to you directly.”

Does this guarantee a successful referral? Not necessarily. But what it does is take a cold lead and warm it up a bit so that when you do reach out to the lead, they are not blindsided. And the further you are from a cold call, the more effective your networking efforts will be.

Did George Washington really say, “I cannot tell a lie…” when asked whether he cut down the cherry tree? Whether he did or not is probably not important as important as the message itself. And it’s a great motto to take into your one-on-one networking sessions—honesty.

That’s not to say that people lie while networking. But it’s fairly safe to say some networkers are prone to exaggeration when it comes to talking about their company’s capabilities. For example, the website designer claiming to be an SEO expert, when in fact it’s a service they farm out. Not that there is anything wrong with offering a service that you don’t actually do. Just be up-front about that.

When somebody refers business to you it’s more than your reputation on the line. It’s theirs too. Overpromising on what you can deliver puts several relationships at risk.

Lead and referral passing is supposed to be a win for all—the person who gets the business, the person who passes the referral, and the business who benefits from getting services from a trusted source rather than having to do an extensive search on their own. By maintaining an honesty is the best and only policy, you ensure that win for everyone and earn trust for future referrals down the road.

There are books, blogs any number of resources out there to tell you how to be a better networker. None of those networking techniques will mean much unless you follow up in a timely manner with the people you meet.

There’s really no correct way to follow up. E-mail, phone call, snail mail, tweet, text, you name it. What does matter is conducting that follow-up in a timely manner. The typical guideline for follow-up is within two business days.

While timeliness is a key component, so is what you say. “A nice meeting you” note is fine, but will it leave much of an impression? Probably not.

In your follow-up, mention a topic you discussed with the person. If you talked about their business and some particular issue they were having, reference that. You don’t necessarily need to solve the problem but it’s important to get across that you were listening and took somewhat of an interest. The very last thing you want to do is follow up and have the person on the receiving end feel like you only followed up because you want their business.

One easy, unforced way to follow up with people you meet at a networking event is to ask if it’s okay to put them on your mailing list (if you have a company newsletter). This accomplishes a couple of things. First, it’s a fairly easy thing to do (e.g. “it was nice meeting you at the ___, would you mind terribly if I put you on our mailing list so we can keep in touch). Second, it shows consideration of their needs and not wanting to add yet another unwanted e-mail to their inbox. Nine times out of 10, they will respond favorably to that kind of request and your connection is now made.

My Pinnacle Network Founder Steve Dubin was recently one of 65 contributors to an article entitled 65 Tips for Getting Business Referrals. Steve is number 58. While 65 people contributed, an interesting footnote is how many of those individuals offered essentially the same advice, namely: Ask for the referral.

How many of you will ask satisfied customers for a referral? Probably an even more appropriate question is “how do you ask for that referral?”

It’s nice and neat to include a note in an e-mail asking for a referral. But think of how many times you have seen a similar line in an e-mail or perhaps an autoresponder after buying a product or service. Did you send a lead or referral?

Now, think about a time when you asked a happy and satisfied client/ customer for a lead or referral. Or, if you haven’t, has somebody ever asked you for one? What was your response? Did you follow up with a referral? Or, at the very least, did you try? There’s nothing wrong with asking by e-mail for a referral. But I’m willing to bet you get more results by asking in person.

Of course, the big part of asking for a referral is having a happy and satisfied client or customer. That means: 1. Being good at what you do; 2. Offering exceptional service and; 3. Doing both for that particular customer. You really do need to be certain that you have delivered for a customer or client before asking for that referral. Your opinion and theirs could differ and that could lead to some awkwardness.

What if you’re unsure?

Usually you know but there certainly is a chance that their expectations will be higher than yours. A litmus test could be asking for a testimonial. Again, something to better ask for in person or over the phone. If they balk or hesitate, you may have your answer. If they say “sure, love to” then you have your green light to take it up a notch and ask for a referral.

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