I was in a taxi driving to the airport from Moscow center with a lawyer who was visiting from the UK and we started talking about what I do. I told her I help businesses attract a regular supply of prospects through referral marketing by building relationships that drive success. She became really interested in the conversation and said that when she opened her business she would contact me.
Then I mentioned networking and she said “oh but that doesn’t work.” If I hadn’t sat down, I would have fallen down. You see to me as an expert in networking, they are all part of the same thing. She then explained that in her corporate world, networking was what you did with people from the same profession to find another job, masked as networking, for the good of the business. Lawyers met with lawyers, marketers met with other marketers, and healthcare professionals met with other healthcare professionals. Unfortunately, this is a sure route to failure.
Even if they were really looking to find business, they ended up looking for people like themselves because they were uncomfortable, or just didn’t know where to go or what to look for. With a few exceptions, there is no new business in people of the same profession so she arrived at the conclusion that networking doesn’t work. So there was my challenge. Why would her company pay for her to learn to network when all it did was put her on the job market?
What would have been helpful to her is to know the difference in the types of networks to give her the best chance of having success.
There are 3 types of networks and all have their purpose:
Information Networks
This is the place people go to meet people just like them. To share information, glean information. Information can be extremely important to any business and hence these networks should not be ignored. These tend to be where many corporate employees or managers go to network.
Support networks
Yes, you guessed it, these are where we go for emotional and sometimes-financial support. This includes friends, ethnic groups. Some of my Indian friends are members of communities that are incredible as support structures. The American teachers community is also brilliant at this: Charities, school groups etc.
Referral Networks
These networking groups are designed to help people get business and find clients. They could be a group that is based on supporting each other through giving referrals such as BNI. It could also be a networking group like the BBG or ABC in Dubai that provides opportunities for people to make connections that can lead to business.
So ask yourself, “which networks am I in, and are they the right networks based on the need I have?” Just that adjustment could mean the difference between “that doesn’t work” and dramatic success.
Phil Bedford is the Referral Institute Master Franchise owner for the Middle East. Phil is also a member of the Referral Institute Executive Circle and world-wide Top Producer.
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