Glasgow business networking group - Why invite visitors to Club Five55?

Well hello there, my name is Jonathan Clark and welcome to a quick training video on how to maximise your return to GET THE MOST out of your business networking.

This is a quick how to video to help you build your network, so you can reach your goals faster and more easily.  So you’ll make more valuable contacts who can introduce you to more potential clients, making your life easier.

Today’s topic is about inviting guests to take a look at your group.

QUICK STORY...

The other day I got a Cold caller at my door, with a clipboard

I let him do his script… then I had to tell him I’m not really in the market for what he’s selling

But then I asked him - tell me, do you like knocking on doors and pounding the streets?

You’ll be really glad you came to my door… cos I know a better way to get clients…

Why you should invite guests

Yes you get points for bringing a visitor.  Yes you get points if they join.  But beyond that there are several reasons why you ought to invite people.  Let’s talk about the bigger picture

New people are the lifeblood that keeps a networking group buzzing and healthy, therefore every group needs guests

More people in the room = more referrals.  You make more money.  Everyone benefits.

You need to talk about the benefits of business networking with other like-minded business owners

A visitor is always a good result for a group, even if they don’t join – someone ends up doing business with them.  So they may turn into paying clients. 

Also You can’t do everything on your own – the more people who can help you, the easier it gets.

You need to build your contact sphere – the number of other business owners that you have at the other end of the phone.

Networking groups lose members, so it’s vital we bring in new blood to keep the group vibrant and healthy.

It’s also great PR when a local business visits the group and hears what it’s all about, who we all are, chats with several members and takes away all of our business cards.  Does that make sense?

What it means

The fact is - The average visitor spends money with the group, regardless of whether they join or not.  Someone usually ends up doing business with the visitor.

If they join, great - you now have a new member to build a relationship with and share each other’s connections

There’s always somebody in the room that can help you reach your goals, and you can help someone else reach theirs.

Statistically If you grow a group by 10 members, the referrals should double!

There are plenty of people to invite to the meeting

Average business person has 1000 contacts- Between Your phone, your clients, your Facebook friends, your little black book, your suppliers, your LinkedIn connections and your Christmas card list.

When I started, if someone had given me the chance to stand up in front to 20-30 local business owners and decision makers I’d have sold my granny for the chance!

How to invite?

Let me give you a script to help you invite people to look at this group.

Are you in a position to handle more clients?

Great - I am working with a group of local business owners who are looking for a professional [category] to pass referrals to.  Would you be interested in meeting them?

Always remember to tell them to bring lots of business cards.

Now you can run that script by Text, email, phone call, face to face, or private message on LinkedIn or Facebook

Be as brief as possible, get them along to the meeting [pick them up and bring them if need be] and let the meeting do the job for you.  People need to experience a good structured meeting, meet the members, hear the presentations and see the professionalism to be able to judge.

One veteran networker I know used to tell a story of helping out at a Cumbernauld group

There’s his next door neighbour

What are you doing here?

I’ve been coming for a year now – half of my clients come through this group.

Had been scared to invite him.  Pre-judged him – oh he won’t be interested.

Wondered where you were going all suited and booted at that time of day

You can always invite cold - Postcard adverts on supermarket notice boards, local directories, van signage – but I’d rather bring in people I already know, like and trust.

What If You Did?

Realise that YOU’RE DOING THEM A FAVOUR by inviting them.

The average member makes money from being part of the group!  You can help them add money to their bottom line.

You’ll soon come to realise that most long term networkers look at other local business owners and think they’re BONKERS to say no

What if your group grew by 2 or more new members every month?

You can actually see how the energy goes up when there’s a guest in the room – everyone ups their game

If you’re already a member, have a think about who you could invite for next time.

If you’re a guest – now you know how you got here!  But if you’d like to tap into the power of having a ready-made sales team acting as introducers for your business all year round, then speak to us at the end of the meeting.

What's Your Goal For Your Networking?

 Well hello there, my name is Jonathan Clark and welcome to a quick article on how to maximise your return to GET THE MOST out of your business networking.

This is a quick how to article to help you get clear on why you’re there and the value of building your network, so you can reach your goals faster and more easily.

So you’ll make more valuable contacts who can introduce you to more potential clients, making your life easier.

Today’s topic is about setting an income goal for your networking.

Now that reminds me of a quick story...

I launched my own business in 1997 and I was a shy introvert who found it hard to say hello to people I knew.  I’ve been to a lot of networking events in that time and most of them didn’t work.  What I mean is, I didn’t get any business from them.  It took me a while to realise why – it wasn’t to do with the group or the people - it was that I just wasn’t doing it right.  And I certainly didn’t have any real goal or target in mind when I went.

So why is this whole goal setting thing so critical to your business?

You took time out of your day to get here and made the effort to chat to new people and introduce yourself.  That takes confidence and can be challenging.  Well, we’re here to make sure you get a good return on your investment for the time, money and energy you spend talking to people at networking events, so you should get more business and make more money.  We’re going to discuss how we’ll get you there.

So it’s essential that you have an outcome for being here.  You have to ask yourself “How much money do I want to make from networking? Now I know you probably haven’t been asked that question before, and that’s a good thing, because that means this is going to make an impact.
But just think about it - How can you hit a target you can’t see?

Every ambitious business owner sets goals, and must continually keep track of their progress towards that outcome.  If that little voice in your head isn’t telling you a clear figure, alarm bells should be ringing.  We’re all about generating income for our members, and the freedom and security that that offers you, so it’s vital you have a figure in mind.

Now, the world famous sales trainer and motivational speaker – the late Zig Ziglar – once said “You can’t be a wandering generality, you have to be a meaningful specific.”

We train our members to become very good at the process of networking effectively.  In fact, at the time of recording this video, 70% of my clients have been referred to me by members of my network.
Statistically the average business person knows about 1000 people – if you take your mobile phone contacts, your Facebook friends, your LinkedIn connections, your Christmas card list – you actually know about 1000 people.  But how many of them act as introducers and talk about you to their friends, family and colleagues?

So let’s get you to decide a specific amount of money you’d like to earn in the next 12 months
Just ask yourself - What would be a good target – how much money do you want to make from networking in year one?

You might want to write a number down.

Let’s get something concrete – tangible.
Do you want to add an extra £10,000 to your bottom line?  £25,000?  £100,000?
Get a figure on paper.  I’ll give you a moment to seriously get your head around that question.

Now, think about what an average client is worth.  In real terms.
How much is an average sale in your line of work?  What do you take home in cold, hard profit?

OK so now divide the big target figure by the average sale value = that will quickly give you the number of referrals you need in the next 12 months to smash your target.


You see, we’re not happy for you just to break even, so we want to be crystal clear on  exactly how much you want to make from this vast referral network you’re now part of.

Look at what the average referral is worth to you?  The bread and butter client?  Imagine how much a GOOD referral would be worth?   And what would a dream client look like?  Just suppose you focused on the big ticket clients…

Now paying clients is just one way to hit that target.  There are in fact 17 ways you can make money from networking – we’ll reveal what they are in a future article.

Picture yourself getting warm referrals from the members of this network, not having to search for new business so much and freeing up your time to focus on the things you want to do

So after 25 years of being in business, I now walk into a room with a plan, a target, I have a strategy and because I was also trained to keep track, I know that three quarters of my clients come from business networking events.  But I don’t just go networking, I USE networking. So I’d end with this question – are you just going to networking events or are you using networking events?

If you’re already a member, this is probably the first time you’ve thought about it like this.  You might want to look back at your membership and total up exactly how much money your business has earned as a direct result of networking.

If you’re a guest and you’d like to tap into the power of having a ready-made sales team acting as introducers for your business all year round, to help you accelerate towards that figure, then speak to us at the end of the meeting.