A Cocktail Party Isn’t Networking

By Mark Fulton

Soon after I launched my business-coaching practice in 1995, I discovered that I had a serious marketing problem. Nobody I met understood what a business coach is. “I’m a business coach,” I’d say. “Oh, what sport?” was a typical reply, often accompanied by a look of utter confusion.

I tried conventional marketing approaches — brochures, direct mail, print advertising, the Yellow Pages, even radio. Nothing worked.

In a moment of blazing insight, I realized that advertising a business that no one understands makes about as much sense as trying to convince my terrier, Toby, that the veterinarian is a nice person who just wants to help him.

Finally, it occurred to me that I needed face time with prospective clients in order to educate them about what I do and how I can help them achieve their business goals. Networking — meeting with groups of people who are looking to promote their businesses through word-of-mouth referrals — seemed to be the perfect solution. At networking gatherings I could tell people what I do and how I do it. Then I’d just sit back and wait for the phone to ring.

My first foray into networking took me to a half-day gathering in a hotel meeting room where I spent the morning hopping from one table of fellow networkers to the next. At each stop, everyone at the table had 60 seconds to pass business cards and deliver a sales pitch for his or her business.

I collected a mess of business cards, ate a lot of Danish and listened to a speech on how to network effectively. What I didn’t do was get a single client — not even after I wrote follow-up letters to everyone I had met.

I concluded that the key to networking was not just meeting a bunch of other networkers, but developing relationships with people who could open doors to clients. Regular exposure to the same group of business people, I reasoned, would create synergy (a good networking word).

Consequently, I joined a couple of networking groups that met for breakfast once a month. The result? Nice meals, pleasant company and a couple of referrals. We all enjoyed telling stories about our latest triumphs and tragedies, but the groups I joined had no specified procedure for passing referrals to one another. So we didn’t. Then the groups dissolved.

I was invited to attend a Chamber of Commerce “Business After Hours” affair so I could meet other members and experience one of the benefits of joining the chamber. Maybe it was just a bad night, but the soiree I went to was little more than a nice cocktail party with good food.

It was up to me to wander about and introduce myself. After a few minutes of swapping business cards, I decided to pig out on the shrimp.

That was my last attempt at networking until recently, when a friend introduced me to Business Networking International (BNI).

Founded by Dr. Ivan Misner in 1985, BNI is the world’s largest networking organization, with chapters in nearly every state and six foreign countries. Misner is the author of Business by Referral: A Sure-Fire Way to Generate New Business and The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret. He is on the business administration faculty of Cal Poly University.

BNI takes a decidedly methodical approach to networking. Each weekly meeting is run with clockwork precision. Introductions are made, each member delivers a one-minute introduction to his or her business, someone gives a longer presentation and referrals are passed from member to member, often with a great deal of fanfare.

There are more than 50 BNI chapters in Virginia alone and more are being added every month. BNI’s Web site, www.bni.com, provides contact information. (More information about BNI appears on Page 7.)

I was impressed enough with BNI to join a local chapter. My group is relatively new, but growing quickly. In less than a month, I have signed four new business-coaching clients. And the breakfasts at our meetings are pretty good, too.

Networking can be a valuable marketing tool for most businesses, but you should ask yourself a few questions before joining a group: How often do I want to meet? How committed do I want to be to regular attendance? How hard am I willing to work to generate business for people in the group? Should I join a group that offers exclusivity for my type of business or caters to a particular type of customer?

If referrals account for a significant portion of your business, it is in your best interest to make networking work for you.

© Copyright 1999 Mark S. Fulton