Connect and Commit for the Long Term

By BNI & Referral Institute - Apr 26 , 2011

By Lester Salvatierra, BNI Area Director

It’s going to take an investment of at least two to three years to build a good diversified contact database.

It takes time, but it’s worth it. To build your contacts, you’ll have to attend an average of five to seven networking events per month. Your event mix should include chamber, civic, professional group, referral networking group, and even spiritual and social events. Attending a variety of mixers will assure that you meet a good blend of professionals in your region. Remember, the farther you network from your office or home, the farther you’ll have to commute to make those valuable follow-up appointments. Keep that in mind when scheduling your activities.

Once you’ve completed your third year of serious network marketing, you should have compiled somewhere from 500 to 2,000 contacts for your database. You should have met with at least 10-20% of those contacts for a coffee meeting, depending on your type of business. There’s a good chance you’ll bump into some of your contacts, if they’re on the same networking circuit as yourself, at other similar events so you can continue to build ongoing rapport with them as well.

But what about the other 75% — or those 300 to 500 people you don’t have time to meet personally? What about those who are worth keeping in touch with, but who may not be your top priority?

Develop a plan, not only to follow up with, but to maintain constant contact with all those people in whom you invested your time and energy meeting. What’s the sense of doing all the work with early-morning meetings, after-hour mixers, or daylong conventions if you’re basically going to ignore your contacts?

Let me outline a plan that has continued to bring me referrals long after my first meetings.

1.      Subdivide your contacts into Tier 1, 2, and 3 connections. Tier 1 will be high interest: potential referral partners and direct clients. Tier 2 will be individuals who target similar clients as you or they could be potential clients (on a smaller scale than Tier 1), for your products or services. Tier 3 will be loose affiliations with whom you network in a variety of areas and who could potentially be good allies for your business. Take the time to break down your database so you know where to focus your energy.

2.      Get on the phone! The personal call is still your best bet for building strong connections and maintaining them. Rotate your calls, but make sure that your best clients and Tier 1 connections get at least 1-2 calls per month and more if business between you is building. I speak to one of my lender/referral partners almost daily.

3.      Develop an email newsletter or contact system so everyone in your database gets touched at a minimum of at least once per month. Up to twice a month is acceptable, but any more than that is annoying. I have some advisors who send out something almost every day and I have had to politely “opt out” of their program. Your entire database should receive your email communication (Tier 1, 2, & 3). This keeps you top of mind and your brand going in the right direction. Make sure any system you use allows the receiver to cancel (opt-out) of your emails.

4.      Send them paper mail! Mail that you send directly to your contact still works beautifully. Sending a postcard, greeting card, or letter is imperative in this day of impersonal contact technology. I plan one mailing per quarter. Basically, I try to send out three to four mailings per year, and more when budget allows. Send simple messages, such as reminders of things to come or to express your gratitude for their loyalty. I find postcards to be the least expensive means of doing this, and they still get the message across. Holiday greetings for any holiday still make a personal impact and are highly recommended.

My contact recommendations are simple, but how many people follow them? Based on my unofficial polls, most business people will employ one or two of these techniques, but not consistently. Make a commitment to yourself – make a point to follow through on all four of these action items for 12 months. Don’t skip anything: Make the calls, send the emails, send the cards. After one year without missing a beat, you’ll see your sales volume grow by at least 20%.

Make your customers and network contacts feel valuable, appreciated, and remembered, and they will honor you with business for years to come.

Lester Salvatierra is an experienced Finance Specialist with First U.S. Finance (http://www.FirstUSFinance.com). He helps small to mid-size companies lease or finance a wide variety of equipment and special projects for upgrades and expansions. He is also a networking pro and BNI Area Director in Ventura County, CA. Lester@FirstUSFinance.com Ph: 805-217-9896