Business Networking and Sex - Ivan Misner [20]
I personally would rather have fewer people in my network netting me the lion’s share of my profits than dozens of friendly new connections not bringing in any cash! Men, are you with me? Do you agree that plumping up the bottom line is what networking is all about?
Man Team, I’m sorry to have to do this to you. If you agreed with me on that then you’re wrong. If that’s how you’re running your networking agenda, then you’re most likely losing quite a lot of business. Moving around comfortably in networking circles and averaging the greatest possible bottom line over time requires that you do a few things differently. First of all, you’ve got to play by women’s rules instead of your own. Women want strong relationships, and if you cater to that, not only will you build your circle of trust with the ladies, but your new relationship skills will also allow you to build more long-term connections with men.
She Comments . . .
When we women build up the foundations of relationships over time with proof of loyalty and quality performance, then we feel that bridge of strength and trust begin to build. That’s a relationship! Once the trust begins to grow, we have confidence. When confidence and trust are achieved, loyal and ongoing business-related results follow. Doesn’t that seem like a better way to do things, guys? Don’t you first want to know who’s going to leave you high and dry and who’s going make you shine before you put your reputation on the line and bring them into your inner circle?
He Responds . . .
We men don’t quite do it that way, do we? If someone I network with isn’t connecting me to financial gain in one way or another, then I pretty quickly determine that they aren’t an asset to me and don’t continue putting effort into the relationship.
Wait a minute. Does this really make sense, guys? Can you really make a determination that quickly on whether or not a relationship is going to turn up something big for you later on? Can you really predict who’s going to give you your next high-net-worth referral and when they’re going to give it to you?
I am certainly not suggesting that you forget about the “bottom line” or remove it from your definition of success. What I am strongly encouraging is that you expand that definition to include the relationship-building process to yield more business over time.
One more question: Can you remember the last person you decided not to keep in contact with anymore because they just weren’t sending any business your way? Are you positive they weren’t going to send you a very high-net-worth referral in the future? Let that ring in your mind for a while. Don’t beat yourself up, though.
One Man’s Journey Through Feminine Networking Realization
Since the beginning of my career I had a sense that getting to know people was important. In the scheme of staying on top of showcasing my business I already also knew back then that the most important ways to market myself were also usually connected to the most productive sales venues. Though I understood the importance of connecting socially to others to increase the bottom line, I didn’t call it networking; rather, I just thought of it as getting to know people.
When I learned about the concept of focused, structured networking, I dove in with enthusiasm. I thought that the strategic development of relationships for the purpose of people helping one another excel in business was very cool. In fact, I thought I was pretty good at it.
In the beginning, it seemed to be working. My business grew as did the sales calls, referrals, and closing ratios. I considered myself successful in networking. It wasn’t as consistent as I thought it would be, and as time went on it started to lose its effectiveness. Naturally, I saw this as a sign that I needed to increase my group population, so I invited more people to be part of my network. I also stepped up the requests for leads and referrals. Then it slowed down even more, and I was stumped.
As I struggled to understand why my hard work