EMBiz: Make Networking Work for You
Laurel Mintz, CEO & Founder
Hi guys Laurel Mintz here with Elevate My Brand and this EMBiz is all about how you can elevate your brand through your networks. So you guys know that I’m the networking queen but the thing you probably don’t know is that I’m really really deliberate about connecting with my community. So I’m going to give you a few tips that you can do to make sure that you are leaning on your network to grow your client base.
Number 1 - Know your network's value. How many of you guys have a stack of cards sitting on your desk collecting dust? I know that I used to be that way. You need to build your database in a really deliberate and authentic way. So making sure that you have, whether it’s a mailchimp newsletter, or even just using an excel spreadsheet to start with, it’s really important that you collect all of those pieces of information. I always say that your database, whether you’re B2B or B2C, is the most valuable part of growing your business, other than of course the depth and the relationships.
Number 2 is about building that depth of relationships. So making sure that you’re consistently orbiting your contacts, and by orbiting I mean just making sure that they’re aware of what you’re doing, that you’re networked together, that you’re grabbing a coffee, or sending them an e-blast, or a social post. Make sure that you’re touching them as frequently as possible. Now when we talk to our clients about this we tell them that they need to do 3-5 touchpoints. It’s the same thing if you’re trying to build out your network.
Tip Number 3 is all about cross promotion. So you can’t just touch a person once or twice and expect them to remember you, and expect you to be top of mind when someone asks for a referral in the marketing arena. So a really great way to build your network is to be deliberate about developing a cross promotional program. What does that look like? That could be using social content together with another agency or another company that does ancillary non competitive work. That could be cross promoting through an event that you’re co-sponsoring. That could be cross promoting through blog content. There are a million different ways to do it but that also means that then you are talking to their audience in a consistent and frequent way.
Now that you’ve built your entire network in a very authentic and intentional way, the next piece of course is to ask for the referral. I cannot tell you how many times people have connected with me, said that they had a great piece of business or that they needed my help and then crickets. We’ve all done this. Making sure that you ask for the referral is like asking for the sale. And be assumptive about it. Making sure that you are really following through on all of these steps is the best way to consistently connect with your network and make sure that you’re making your network work for you as you grow your business. I think that’s enough for now. Stay tuned for more from Elevate My Brand.