Too Many Duplicate Industries In Your Networking Meeting?

Years ago when I started networking Jim Messner who had ran the Calgary Business Network who mentored me, was of the opinion that it did not matter how many other people with the same industry was in the same club. Jim had 25 years experience at that time, and he was a Realtor which was a very competitive occupation. He went to many meetings where there were other Realtors and they never felt threatened around him, mostly because he was confident in his own skin and he was not threatened by them. I never heard him stand up and say he was the best at what he did, and he always treated everyone in the room with respect. He always had something intelligent and unique to share to the group, but he always got some business from his networking. Most of it came from following up, and that was unique, because I can’t tell you how many people attend networking meetings who don’t follow up with those who were present.

In 2013 we took over an organization that had one person, per industry in a club, with no duplicates. In our live clubs we have always maintained that standard and we are very diligent with it. Even more so than our competitors who will put a life insurance agent, an investment broker, a group benefits expert, and a private equity guy all in the same group, even if they all work for Investors Group. In the live settings where people would meet for lunch each week, it was important to members to protect them from competition, so we honored that.

Why We Don’t Need To Limit Competition In Online Networking

In online networking things work a little differently. The room is capped at 25 attendees. The first 25 who enter into the group get to come in. After that we send them to later meetings. Each week the people in the room at that time changes. We have several meetings that people can attend. Some are Canada Wide, US wide, or Alberta Wide. As they grow in attendance we will even launch meetings for cities. The point is, there is always another meeting one can attend if you arrive and find there are 4 mortgage brokers in the room already and that is your industry. All of these meetings are included in the basic $59/month fee, as well as the training meetings.

The other possibility is you stay. Find out who you can collaborate with. Find out what your competitor does exactly? Is there any circumstance that they would refer you, rather than take the business? Recently we witnessed a Calgary mortgage broker recommending others to use the gal from another city, and he had some business in that city that he did not want to follow up on, so she got the client. Book one-on-ones with guests and Members, especially if they are from your city. If you are in the room from Red Deer and there are 3 people there from Red Deer and the other mortgage brokers are from Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver, how much of a threat are they to you anyway? The reality is, people want to do business with those that they know, like, and trust. They perceive that they can get to know you better if you are closer to them geographically, so that alone could win them over to use you or refer you.

We Are Not Your Competitor

Sometimes the marketers and IT folks hear that The CIBN puts on Social Media Boot Camp, and they see 2 other marketers in the room when they attend the first time, so they don’t join. That is a wasted opportunity. What they don’t realize is that everyone in the room probably specializes in something, and through collaboration and connecting they would gain more customers. They also do not realize that when we put on the Social Media Boot Camp we give away all of our secrets to whoever is in the room, and they can take that information and create new offerings for their clients or resell it. We have been doing some really out of the box things that have been working, bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we have the data to back that up, and these are not things that can be found on YouTube.

Most importantly if they attended the Social Media Boot Camp we would continually refer to them as the professional in the room. We give away all kinds of strategies in those sessions. Most people are empowered, but they are also equipped with the knowledge that marketing costs money and that they should be spending significant amounts of money on their marketing. Whatever professional is in the room, is going to pick up all of that business as the afternoon progresses, because business owners do not have the time to do much of it on their own. If the marketer builds relationships with the attendees afterwards they will also get a significant boost in referrals because now these people see the value in what they do.

The Real Gold Is In The Follow Up

At every meeting I tell people over and over, book a meeting from the meeting. How many do it? Not enough. The reality is we will see 3 people from ACN in the room in a meeting (and three meetings where there are zero), and none of them follow up with anyone, because they are all thinking the other one is going to do it. Therefore nobody picks up the business. It is gone. The Members and guests continue to pay more for their gas, electric, POS machines, and phone bills, because zero follow up happened from that meeting. 

The real gold is in the follow up for everyone. Even if someone receives 3 calls from people they are going to go with the one they identify with, and most often that is the one who reached out the most. It is usually the one who tried. The most money is made by the one who is most persistent and who follows a process. People usually don’t buy from the networking meeting directly, and even when there is a first meeting, there are only a few sales made. Most sales are made in the second, third, and fourth appointments. If you are not having that many meetings with prospects, that is why your sales ratio is low. It has nothing to do with, who was in the initial meeting competing with you. Chances are they are not doing it either.

Join The Network – Use The Network

Members do business and refer to other Members. That is how networking works. Don’t worry about who is in the room as a competitor. Many of them are also guests, which means the other Members are not that open to them yet anyway. Join the CIBN organization. Tell the Members that you are a Member when you call. They will immediately perk up to listen to you. If they don’t use your service themselves, keep talking to them. Ask them for referrals, because networking is actually not about who is in the room anyway. It is about who in the room knows the person that you need to know, and have you won them over, so they will search through their haystack to bring you the one needle and save you searching through hay.