Skip to main content

Networking In A Free Group Pt 2

In the previous post I discussed the basic structure of free networking groups. As mentioned, we aren't to pay dues or fees for the networking. This being said, we have to suffer through some fellow networkers who just don't know the prospects we want to meet, or they are just not very good at the whole networking process.

I am a member of networking group that is sponsored by a wholesale club. I consider it "free" because even though I am a member of the club, this is one of the perks, and apparently it's not offered at all of their locations. We meet once a month and the wholesale club furnishes us with coffee, fruit, sweets and some door prizes. They have a small investment in the process but it gets a lot of business for them.

We usually take turns going to the front and giving a quick "elevator speech" or commercial to the crowd. On a slow month we may only have 20 people show up and sometimes we have over 50. At the end of the meeting there are door prizes supplied by the wholesale club, like sets of pens or a flower arrangement, as well as prizes that the networkers may bring. For instance, I think everyone who shows up regularly has won a copy of my book at this point. 

When attending a free event like this, the key is to stay consistent. There is a core of about 15-20 members who show up at least ten times (out of twelve) each year. The rest may come a few times never to be seen again. And there are always those who show up once, feel like they wasted their time and disappear. 

Because I have been attending this group on a consistent basis since it was formed in 2009 I have formed some great relationships, professionally and personally. Not only are we good at referring each other but we do so as friends. 

Then there's the guy that thinks he's going to show up once, and sell the rest of us his product or service. We really haven't even gotten a chance to get to know him but he's there to sell something to us. He should be trying to build referral relationships. Don't be that guy!

I have gotten a lot of business out of this group. Members have referred me to others and some have even bought from me. I do my best to reciprocate in kind. That's referral success!

Another way to make the most of a free group is to invite your prospects to attend. Since I work with a lot of small business owners, I will mention the group at the wholesale club when I meet with a client. Many will mention that they were unaware of the group and are interested. I meet them there, introduce them to some of the others and they appreciate it. It's a win/win.


I'm also a member of a differently structured free group. The only requirement for this group is that you offer products or services for senior citizens. Since I sell insurance, and seniors buy insurance, I made the cut. It's mostly comprised of businesses like home health care workers, people who sell durable medical goods and assorted caregivers and facilities, who I otherwise probably would never had to opportunity to meet. But there are also others such as elder law attorneys, estate sale professionals and realtors who specialize in relocating seniors. 

This group is fortunate enough to have a young lady who organizes it all out of her office in a hospice facility. Since there are no dues or officers, which is fantastic, she asks for volunteers for members to host us at their facilities. In my case, I hosted a couple of times, buying some sandwich platters and soft drinks and using a meeting room at my church. No one expects anything fancy. 

She also finds a speaker each month. We have had presenters talk to us about a range of topics from elder abuse to planning for final expenses. Most are actually very interesting and engaging, but I have to say the most disturbing was the podiatrist who shared slides on an overhead projector of infected feet, while we were eating lunch no less. 

Not being a shy kind of person, I have also spoken to the group. Speaking as an authority on a subject helps build credibility. And I've even gotten some good referrals out of it. 

Don't think that just because a group is free is has no value. Just be consistent and patient with the process. And as always, stay healthy!

Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Telemarketer's Leads - A Dumb Story

For a brief few months I worked as a telemarketer for a small firm owned by a young married couple. The husband was a bit of a hot head and kind of a jerk on occasion, but his wife was nice and had to put up with the guy.  One of their clients was a mobile home company that wanted people to come to the lot and see how awesome their singlewides and doublewides were. As telemarketers we offered incentives like a cooler and camera (back when they weren’t part of your phone) and other assorted giveaways. We got a small commission if we could book the client. My coworkers and I would call from a list of leads that our employers had purchased from someone. These leads were supposedly “qualified” ahead of time, meaning that they had been vetted to meet the needs of the client, the mobile home company. Unfortunately, most of the leads were useless. The people we spoke to didn’t live in the right geographical areas or their incomes were too low.  “Why aren’t you guys closing anyone?” the boss w
Post a Comment
Read more

Planting Seeds Vs. Landmines

Analogies are everywhere in business these days, but the sales profession has some of the best ones. One I have used for years is that when prospecting and marketing for clients, you should be leaving landmines everywhere, because sooner or later, someone will "step on it" and your sales will blow up. Recently, Davan Johnson, a coworker and friend of mine, appeared on my YouTube channel and we discussed prospecting for clients. He used the analogy of "planting seeds" while "preparing for a harvest". I chuckled as I explained that I preferred my more violent analogy. "I'm attaching life insurance applications to the landmine," I said. Feel free to use either analogy when you consider your prospecting plans. Both have the same principle, which is to always look for opportunities to meet people and tell your story.  You never know when one will blossom or explode. Ch ris Castane s is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through
Post a Comment
Read more

How Lame Will Your Holiday Party Be This Year?

Over the years I've worked with, and for, many companies, large and small. And as each of these companies varied in size, structure and philosophy, there was also differences in how they handled the issue of a "holiday" party.  As the Christmas party became a Holiday party (and to be fair, not everyone celebrates Christmas and I can respect that), the parties themselves morphed into several formats, or worse, just disappeared altogether.  One company I worked with left the issue to each location's manager to provide for a small "get together" and a small amount of petty cash could be used for refreshments. Since our location was rather small, the manager would order a few pizzas and provide soft drinks in their home. There was an unofficial "bring your own" policy for alcoholic drinks and we even had a gift exchange.  It was all good and everyone behaved, however each year we would receive some story from the home office about how another location&
Post a Comment
Read more