Choosing the Right NetWork, Part III — Access

In Part II of Choosing the Right NetWork, we discussed Going Where You Are Celebrated.

This month, we are going to look at access in relation to NetWorking.  Access is a major factor in making the decision as to which NetWorks one might choose.  After all, access to the right contacts (especially decision makers) increases our chances of developing relationships which, in turn, produces more referrals.  When we think of access, however, we typically ask ourselves two basic questions:

1.)    Who is my target market or may target professions? and,

2.)    Where do they “hang out”?

In other words, if we are looking to do business with accountants, we would want to find those NetWorks in which they would participate and join them as well.  Of course, if we want to do business with C-level executives of Fortune 500 companies we would need to look at those organizations in which they are active.  While this may seem like common sense to most people, I still find plenty of business owners wasting their valuable time trying to find their dream clients and customers in the entirely wrong NetWorks, thereby living their own nightmares.

In order to stop the so-called “insanity”, the most effective NetWorkers take the following steps:

1.)    View a NetWork’s published membership roster online at their website

2.)    Attend a few meetings before deciding to join

3.)    Interviewing business associates that are already members of the group to find out who’s involved

4.)    Talking to a few key clients as to with which NetWorks they are involved

5.)    Speaking directly with a NetWork representative

While it is important to note that when speaking to a representative of any NetWork, remember for whom they work.  It is not always easy to tell which representatives have your best interests in mind and which ones are motivated by signing up yet another member.

Additionally, just because a representative of a NetWork tells you that a particular company is a member, it does not necessarily mean that this is the right organization to join.  Often I hear from my clients about going to NetWorking events under the pretense that the one or two companies on their wish list of prospects will be in attendance.  While the companies were indeed in attendance, my clients inform me that those companies had their own reserved tables for guests.  To make matters worse, those people my clients were looking to meet showed up late and left early, leaving no time for introductions before or after the event.  Depending upon my mood I will tell my clients that they’re lucky that they even showed up at all!

When evaluating a NetWork for access to people of influence, it’s important to find out:

1.)    Who are the most influential members?

2.)    Exactly how active are they in this particular NetWork?

3.)    How many events do they attend on average?

4.)    How often do they cancel their attendance from the event?

5.)    If they run an organization with multiple employees, do they still attend or do their employees do most of the NetWorking?

6.)    How approachable are they?

There are several NetWorks out there that do provide access to those of influence and they do this in many ways.  Some will offer special events like book signings or “meet and greets”.  Others come in the form of exclusive NetWorks for decision makers only...no salespeople allowed (as a rule of thumb, it’s never a good idea to mix NetWorking and sales anyhow).  Still others offer one on one mentoring/coaching as well as mealtimes with top trainers and decision makers for free.

It pays to do your homework to find out which NetWorks provide they level of access to suit your needs.  A little time spent up front can save you considerable frustration later on.

Next month, in Part IV of Choosing the Right NetWork, we will look at the biggest investment an effective NetWorker must make.  Stay tuned!
 

Kovitz Enterprises, LLC
Connecting, Educating and Inspiring Business
18 Rockwood Road
Levittown, PA 19056