They’re scary and dangerous. Then as business owners we realise we HAVE NO CHOICE but to get out there and make contact.
Listen, I'm an introvert – I found it hard to say hello to people I knew! I had to learn these skills if I wanted to be able to pay the mortgage at the end of the month.
But we’ve all experienced it – standing awkwardly in a room full of predators being hit upon by some slick salesman in a pinstripe suit ramming his card down your throat, and wondering how many steps it is to the exit. Or being approached by another business person but drying up after “What do you do?”.
Even if you have no issues with mingling and meeting new people, where do you find the time? You’re so busy seeing clients that you don’t have time to market. Or perhaps you have NO IDEA where to go to meet useful contacts.
Trust me – I’ve been there…
BUT FIRST A QUICK DEFINITION:
Business networking is an effective low-cost marketing method for developing sales opportunities and contacts, based on referrals and introductions - either face-to-face at meetings and gatherings, or by other contact methods such as phone, email, and increasingly social and business networking websites.
The truth is you need to get out there, work the room and be seen – meet people face to face, so you can educate them on what you do and the type of clients they can introduce you to. Remember it’s now what you know - it’s who you know - and who knows you! If you want to make money you need to make contact.
Whether you’re a small business owner, a new start up or an experienced entrepreneur, the honest truth is that you want to sell more stuff than you currently are, right? Wouldn’t if feel amazing to walk into a room full of decision makers and own it? Picture YOU… being able to confidently walk up to anyone, and know exactly what to say without sounding like a sleazebag. Gradually building up a team of well-trained introducers who will work FOR you sending you clients with their endorsement.
Or you can cold call…
Who This Is For…
This course is for business owners, entrepreneurs and sales professionals that want to make connections and provide value to the world.
Professional people who want to network effectively but find they are often overlooked at ‘networking events.’
Ambitious entrepreneurs with big goals
Who this is NOT for…
If you are fully comfortable meeting people, eliciting information and already get a lot of value out of conventional networking events, this course might not be valuable to you
Land your dream clients without cold calling ever again, using our 8 step “Turn Your Contacts Into Contracts” method…even if you think you have zero contacts right now.
What makes it different? This course was written by a full-time networker who is a confirmed introvert, but more than 70% of my clients come from networking, including many big name companies that you’d know. With 25 years in business, Jonathan teaches measurable, trackable and proven methods that work in the real world and add thousands to your bottom line. And if for any reason you’re not completely delighted by the course, I’ll give you your money back. Fair enough?
Jonathan’s story. When I started out all I had was blind faith that what I did worked, and a burning desire to help people. I had no training, no experience and no one to advise me. I did have debts and bills to pay. The pain of that drove me to dive in at the deep end and make it up as I went along. Twenty five years later I’m still in business, running three different ventures and I love what I do. But I wouldn’t advise you do it the way I did. Learn from my mistakes, model what works and enjoy having a smooth transition into owning your own profitable business. Is that what you’re looking for?
I was scared of reading out loud in school. I was the shy, specky skinny kid who was nervous and locked up tight. I was diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer by the time I was 19 through fear and anxiety. Then I abandoned the security of a salaried job, pursued freedom and went full time self-employed in 1997. When I was starting out I had a burning desire to help people [I still do], and I had enthusiasm and energy. I had no qualifications, but I had studied and learned some methods and had practiced them often enough I was itching to help real people in the real world.
At that time I had no qualifications, I had no Coach to mentor me, I had no plan of action, I wasn’t even sure I could pull it off. Here’s what I did, and this practice building strategy was all I knew because it worked before for me in party plan and multi-level marketing – I put up small Postcard ads in shop windows with my phone number on it. I just stuck some postcard adverts up in shop windows all along Great Western Road in Glasgow for 50p per week, and hoped the phone would ring.
Fortunately it did. Inadvertently, without any clue, I’d chosen the right target market and a perfect niche. I was offering students help with exam stress. My adverts were in the studenty area of Glasgow and it was exam season! Talk about falling into a river of gold!
My fees were £25 per hour, because I’d done a quick scan of all the local competitors I could find and that seemed to be the “going rate”. That’s what everyone does, isn’t it?
What about premises? Well, I didn’t have any and I couldn’t afford to rent a room, so I worked with clients in Hotel receptions – warm, dry, free coffee and it looked good!
So I’m a one man band in west central Scotland, I know I’m good at what I do and I can really help people, but no one knew I existed. So I had to get my name out there. I tried expensive magazine and newspaper adverts and sat by the phone hoping it would ring. Listen; if it doesn’t ring within the first 24 hours after publication, it isn’t going to ring at all. And the telesales people will try and convince you that you need to run it for a few more weeks to build brand awareness. Wrong! All that builds is their bank balance!
I tried Yellow pages and Thompsons directories. It got to the stage where clients from those two sources would never show up for the appointment. So I’m paying venue hire for my room and I have people standing me up.
I got fancy business cards done by a neighbour who was a graphic designer. I bartered with her – a few hours of my work with her and she did my cards in return. I paid hundreds of pounds to get a small ad on a calendar that went out to the local community. Nothing. I learned how to build my own website as the internet became all the rage and I thought all I had to do was get the site up and the phone would ring. Still nothing.
I did a drive time radio ad with Radio Clyde that cost me £8000 for 5 days of ads. In my first year I signed up for Google Adwords and left it running. That cost me £25,000. My best ever advert was a postcard that I sketched together and pinned up on a health food shop corkboard for 50p – that thing brought me bookings for five years! Sometimes the last minute impulsive decisions make the biggest difference.
I tried leaflet drops, notice board posters, I even hired a woman to cold call for me. You name it. If there was a way to get in front of the public I’ve tried it. Some of it worked, some of it died a death.
But I had a mortgage to pay, red bills coming through my letterbox, I started to not answer the phone in case it was the bank calling again, you know? I was scared, and I was living month to month, and what I earned was going right back out again. Course I was getting pressure from my family and my girlfriend who’d keep asking “Are we rich yet?” I was scared to take a day off cos it meant I’m not earning. The bills don’t take holidays. Does any of this resonate with you?
In desperation I joined a networking group in 2000. It was a breakfast meeting held at ridiculous o’clock in a crummy hotel. but I made the commitment. What happened? I got so busy I left. The group passed me so many warm referrals that I got too busy to attend.
Big mistake – what should I have done? Brought in associates, or scaled up.
I still have that business, but in 2010 I launched a third business and I looked at my marketing plan and I asked myself a question that I always ask my business clients. Want to know what the question is?
What did I used to do that worked?
I remembered how efficient and positive BNI had been for me in 2000, so I looked up the website [cos they didn’t have one 16 years ago], saw that the nearest chapter was 10 minutes’ drive away, so walked in and signed up. I spent 7 years in BNI in the top 10% of performers, I was President of the best performing chapter in my region, I helped launch new groups and was a Regional Trainer helping new members learn how to network effectively. Now 70% of my clients come through networking. Want to know how?
I’m in a tough industry at a tough time, yet the business still comes in. I get consistent money coming in so I don’t have to panic. I enjoy networking, I’m a lot more confident walking up to people. I’ve learned the social skills needed to talk to people about THEIR business and how to help them, connect them to other professionals. I can describe what I do in a punchy, effective way, and I can ask for specific introductions.
So I decided to create a course that would teach you the same skills that have helped me. If I can do it, anyone can!
