By now we’ve all gotten the Facebook invites to events we can’t attend by “friends” we don’t even know.  Maybe you haven’t, maybe you’ve only gotten the stuff from Evite or maybe you were invited to a baby shower or tupperware party… the point is that we’ve all been invited to events and we’ve all had a negative experience at least once being invited.

Inviting is a skill

Inviting people to a networking event is a skill.  You can just call any business and invite and you will have moderate success as long as you have thick skin and sound pleasant.  Whether they show up is a different story.

Before we get into the process of inviting, it’s important to know what you are talking about!

What’s the benefit of this person coming? Who’s going to be there?  If you know this person, then it’s easier to convey, but if you are cold calling businesses, then you want to your “Value Proposition.”  It’s THE WHY of why someone would want to go to this meeting.

Here’s some common why’s

• Referrals or Leads passed
• Other professionals
• Education
• Prize?
• Food?

Common Objections

• The person doesn’t want to be “sold” anything
• No signups for new business (MLM)
• Cost
• Fear of public speaking
• Never done it before

Here’s the method to invite and have good success:

1. Invite by phone or in person – “Hey this is Joshua Jarvis and I wanted to invite you to a business networking event.”
2. Remind them by phone again after they agree.
3. Have someone from the group call them before the event and tell them they are looking forward to meeting them there.  Preferably someone that can refer business to them.
4. E-mail them a follow up each time.

Make sure you don’t just do this but you also want them to feel welcome as soon as they come to the event.  Introduce them to people that can help them grow their business.

Networking Goals?

Most business professionals have some goals.  Fewer have written goals.  Fewer still have a written plan on how to achieve those goals, but almost no one we talked to had any networking goals.

Then why do you do it?

It’s not just a social hour, it’s not the sometimes free coffee or bagels or donuts, although many go for this reason.

You network to build your database, you network to receive referrals, you network for leads, you network to connect to other business professionals, you network for recognition and you network to market yourself.

Why not attach obtainable goals to this?

Why not determine the amount of business you would like to receive from a given activity.  If you want referrals, how many?  How many referrals from one networking group do you want?

Here’s a simple idea for you to help.

1. How much is your time worth? (let’s say $50/hr)
2. How much is your average client/customer worth? (let’s use $500)
3. How much time are you planning on networking each week? (3hr)
4. Let’s take the time times the hourly wage ($150) a week.

So, per month it’s costing you $1,200 to attend networking events and meet with people.   So you need at least 3 referrals per month from your efforts to break even with a little profit too.

What if you don’t get 3 referrals is your time wasted?

No, you might make a few connections that could lead to big business later on.  That’s what networking is all about.  However, that’s why you must be INTENTIONAL about your networking so that you don’t waste $1,200 a month or $14,440 a year!

At first glance, time management might seem like an odd “skillset” to talk about for networking.  Afterall, the meetings typically have a set time and even the “coffee” meetings are usually set up in advance in increments of 15 minutes.  That’s actually the point.  There are two main points to your time management skills needed to really build credibility within a group or another person.

1. Time block the meeting

If you go to a regular meeting like the Chamber Thursday, or a BNI group, or anything else, you will want to make it a standing appointment on your calendar.  I really want to hammer home that you need to make this a real appointment.  Too many times I’ve seen business owners say they want to to network and build relationships and then they don’t show up to an event where the other referral partners are waiting and counting on them.  Furthermore, you are losing mindshare when you don’t show up.

Think about it this way, every week you get to make an impression or a “touch.”  If you miss that opportunity, especially in an open networking meeting setting then you are going to miss that opportunity and open the door for someone else.  This is especially true if you do not have a deep relationship with the people in the “group.”

2. Be True to the time you have scheduled

As important as it is for you to be on time and present for the meetings.  It’s just as important for you to wrap up any meetings you set with others.  This shows you respect their time, especially if the conversation is one-sided.  You wouldn’t want to go over your time if you were on a sales call and you wouldn’t want someone else to go over their time, so don’t do it here even if it’s tempting.

In the end, time management skills are necessary in sales or being an entrepreneur, and they are absolutely essential to build your credibility with people.

If you do any networking or business at all you know that people come from all walks of life.  Just as important as understanding where they are coming from and their personality it’s also important to understand cultural differences.

In a recent article with Jeffrey Gotimer, Eddie Mayen shares his perspective:

Do you know what they call people from Colombia in Colombia? They are called Colombians. Similarly, people from Guatemala in Guatemala are called Guatemalans and in Panama they are called Panamanians. You get the picture.

You see, all the people from Latin American countries do not become Hispanic until they come to America. Hispanic is a general term used in America to identify anyone who speaks Spanish or comes from a country where Spanish is spoken.

Why is this important? According to the US Census, there are almost 50 million Latinos in America who come from over 20 different countries that have Spanish as their official language. Latinos in America represent an annual purchasing power of $1.2 Trillion. It is a huge, starving, underserviced market that is ready for anyone looking to make more sales.

Be careful, however –and this is my point — that it will be difficult to effectively reach all Latinos with an all-encompassing message. What is important to Costa Ricans might not be as important to everyone else. For example: While Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) has become a cause of great celebration in America, it is of relative insignificance to Latinos who are not of Mexican origin.

Here are some ideas of how you can separate yourself from being just another sales person to Hispanics:

1. Your marketing pitch in other languages should be just as good as your “good stuff” in English.  Expect 2nd rate results if you put forth 2nd rate effort.
2. When networking with Hispanic clients, never open with or say, “Let me get right down to business”. As a matter of fact, don’t even think it. In Spanish, it translates to “no gracias!” Latinos are about friendship first and business second. Build a friendship and there will be plenty of time to get down to business.
3. Nothing is more important to Latinos than family. It is a bond that connects them to their heritage and who they are. Sharing a fun story about your family is the quickest way to establishing rapport and it will show them who you are – not just what you are selling.

Networking Tip #160 – Business Networking Tips that Work. What to do when your cell phone goes off in a network meeting. Pretend it’s someone else’s cell phone, or just whisper so that no one can hear you.

Seriously, having your cell phone go off in a meeting of any kind is not only rude but destroys your creditability.   Your ringtone may be totally cool, but what you just told me was that you don’t think this meeting is as important as your phone calls and that you could care less what I think of you.

In other words, you’re cooler than me.  Networking is about building relationships with others and relationships are built on “caring” what the other person “thinks.”

Please comment below on your funniest experience with this one or tips on how not to get caught.

This howcast video shows you how to network.  Not necessarily the best advice in the world, but it does give you the basics if you’ve never done it before.

It amazes me time and time again how effective this strategy and question is for networking groups, but:

What is your Passion?

It sounds a little funny, but when you are talking to another business owner it’s a great way to find out more about them.  Newsflash! You’re building a relationship, so this is a perfect question.

When people talk about their passions and you engage them genuinely they will want to be more open to you.  You are much more likely to be able to share your contacts and pass referrals if you know what motivates someone.

We just finished up our Networking With Intention Kickoff event and felt that it was a success in terms of the goals we set.   The real test will be what the participants do with their new contacts the made.

When you enter a networking event you should always ask yourself, “why am I here?”  Most don’t ask, but if they do ask, they’ll usually say to get more business.   As with most things in life, you have to dig a little deeper.

CAREFUL! Networking is hard work because it requires relationship.  Otherwise everyone would sing it’s praises and call it Netselling.

If you dig deeper, you’ll find at it’s core, networking is about relationships and connecting.   So you need to connect with people at the meeting then you need to develop the relationship.  This is where the appointment comes in.

What you do on the appointment is almost the most important thing.  If you approach the meeting with a inquisitive attitude about the other person, you’ll almost always win.  Likewise, approaching it as a Sales Appointment usually results in a burned bridge and a failed sale.

Everywhere you go it’s twitter this and facebook that or is it vice versa. There’s groups, linkedin, ning and more. A group forum on Social Media from Stanford said that in 10 years, no one will call it Social Networking or Social Media, it’ll just be another thing that we do or have like an e-mail address or website. We’ll call it a profile.

Our business cards might read, “check out my profile” which then proclaims what sub-sites you are a member of. Of course, the panel jested that in the future our business cards might just touch one another and give this information away. That’d make life easier, or would it?

In any case, I just wanted to send a simple reminder. All the social media activities you do, no matter how closely you follow the Seth Godins or if you read Pete Cashmore you still can run the risk of losing your time and energy to Social Media.

Technology has a purpose and it has power to connect you to many more people than say, doorknocking will, but will the conversations and relationships be vertical or deep?

Make sure you are using the social networks “with intention” to create real relationships that foster new business or otherwise, your just socializing.