Casual Contact Networks
These are general business groups that are composed of people from various, overlapping professions. They hold monthly mixers as well as regular business-focused seminars. These groups include Chambers of Commerce and similar organizations, and they offer a great opportunity to make contacts with many other local business people (a chance to build your contact sphere as well as your business). However, because they do not restrict membership to one person from each profession, you will most likely encounter your local competition at these groups' meetings.
Formal Contact Networks These are business groups that meet weekly for the purpose of exchanging referrals. They often restrict membership to only one person per profession and tend to be very structured. These groups include Business Networking International (BNI) or local Chamber of Commerce referral networks. They offer a highly focused opportunity to build contact sphere relationships, but they do require a lot of commitment (building relationships is a journey, not a destination.) A word of advice: don't divide your loyalties; joining more than one of these groups may hurt your effectiveness.
Community Service/Civic Organizations
These groups provide an opportunity to give something back to the community, but they also offer the chance to meet and build relationships with local "movers and shakers." These groups include Rotary, Lions, and Kiwanis Clubs and they meet on a weekly or monthly basis. Be aware, though, that this type of group requires a long-term commitment and, in most cases, you can't discuss business.
Professional Associations
These are typically known as "knowledge networks." Members tend to be from one specific industry, which is the case with the ASM (sub-contractors), BAGB (builders), NAHB (home builders), and NARI (remodelers). The goal of this type of group is to exchange information and ideas.
Professional associations (PA) can be broken down into three sub-groups:
PA 1: These are the industry associations that you join with the goal of increasing your company's knowledge base.
PA 2: These are your customers' industry associations that you join with the goal of attaining new business.
PA 3: These are your referral source's industry associations that you join with the goal of building your contact network.
Professional associations offer a fantastic opportunity for industry-related training and advice, but keep in mind that your best customers, as well as referral sources, may belong to these groups as well. If this is the case, don't hard-sell the group, as they will assume your only interest is monetary. Work to develop relationships by showing genuine interest in the group.
Depending on your time constraints, I suggest selecting at least one, possibly two of these groups to join. However, ? and this is crucial ? no matter which groups you participate in, remember this: What you do in these groups is net-WORK, not net-SIT or net-EAT. And if you want to build a prosperous word-of-mouth business, you MUST work the networks you belong to. This means you need to be involved ? attend meetings regularly, maybe join a committee and offer support when asked.
Lastly, please remember that referrals won't happen overnight. Members really need to feel comfortable with you ? to get to know and trust you ? before they will refer you to members of their personal network.
It is up to you which groups you eventually join, but I suggest joining a Professional Association for its industry support as well as a Formal or Casual Contact Network for its active business-building opportunities. If you enjoy giving back to the community, I suggest joining a Community Service organization in lieu of a Contact Network.
I will be writing a question and answer article each month for Contractor Power. If you have a business-related question you would like me to answer in one of my upcoming articles, please feel free to contact me at info@paradigmstrategies.com.
Also, I offer a FREE business planning report - The Seven Proven Steps to Increased Profits - that I feel you would find of value. To get this report, please visit our Website www.paradigmstrategies.com (click on the "FREE Report" drop-down box), or go to our special Web page www.paradigmstrategies.com/freereport1/.
Other Articles by Kevin Lister
Business Performance Q & A
Growth Through Differentiation
Marketing Success in 2006
About the Author
Kevin Lister, founder and president of Paradigm Strategies, the business advising firm to the trades, is a leader in the field of business performance improvement. He possesses nearly 20 years experience in business management and consulting, effectively operating his own ventures and assisting others with realizing business success.
With an entrepreneurial spirit and CEO's point of view, Kevin brings hands-on expertise to helping building contractors, sub-contractors, and suppliers. Kevin has deep knowledge and understanding of the trades, based on 14 years in the construction industry, a family history of owning trades businesses, and a genuine interest and enjoyment in helping blue collar enterprises.
Kevin possesses a Masters in business administration (MBA) from Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a Bachelor of Science in marketing from Bentley College. He teaches management and marketing for the University of Phoenix Online.
Kevin is a member of several professional and business organizations, including the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC), the Builders Association of Greater Boston (BAGB), the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) and the Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts (ASM). |
