case study - who should i have coffee with
TRANSCRIPT
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If you had told me four years ago that the man I met at a localbusiness to business networking event would be a mentor,friend, and referral partner responsible for a huge chunk of mynew business revenue, I wouldn’t have been able to pick himout of the crowd.
Although we are encouraged to network and develop ourreferral partner pipeline with quality relationships, it seems likean impossible task to determine who is worth our time andfollow up effort.
When I am asked this question, the answer is simple -
Everyone.
Who Should I Have Coffee With?A Case Study in Networking
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To exemplify the
My company had recently joined a professional networking organization
and, frankly, we were skeptical about the potential return on investment
based on the initial membership fee ($15,000). To make sure we were
getting our money's worth, I was charged with attending as many events
as possible to promote our company, find strategic partnership
opportunities, and help our company to stay top of mind.
During one such event, I met a gentleman
in passing. In line with my networking best
practices*, I invited him for coffee with an
agenda of mutual understanding that the
goal was to simply learn more about each
other. We shared our core services, target
demographics, and growth strategies.
Over the next year and a half, we did not
develop a formal working relationship.
However, I stayed in touch with emails,
sending him news from my company, and
making a point to say hello to him at
events.
infinite opportunities of networking…
*Click Here to Learn Networking Best Practices
A year and a half later, I needed some genuine help. I called on him for anothermeeting, this time to consult on the coming change in my career path. I knew thatwith his experience, connections, and unique prospective as a business coach, hewould be able to to guide me past the rut I was in.
"Make a list of everything you do for your job. Every. Little.Thing. Then, rank those things in the order you enjoy doingthem. You will easily find the top 3-5 things you love doing.
Now, go find a job that is ONLY those things. Stop toleratingall the other parts because you think you have to. If you can't
find a job focused on your passion, make one.
Here's my favorite suggestion:
Wait... it's about to get really good!
This advice LITERALLY changed my life. A simple one hour meeting full ofgenuinely wonderful conversation eventually led me to opening my own business.All from a man I just met in passing at an event.
Once I was up and running, we had another coffee meeting to update him on whatI was doing. (I drink a LOT of coffee!) Within four months, he referred me to a clientof his. Three months later, I received a second referral. Although we had neverworked together directly, we had a strong and longstanding relationship. We had amutual respect and understood each others needs and work styles. For me, basedon his word and recommendation, I was able to sign two clients with very littleeffort.
So, who do you have coffee with? The answer is always, "everyone."
Don’t worry, you won’t have to drink coffee all day, everyday! Just follow these threetips to get, and keep, quality referral partners in your networking pipeline:
Today, approaching the one year mark with both clients, thegross revenue I can attribute to the man I met randomly at anetworking event four years ago is...
over $100,000.
Offer coffee to everyone. Most people will not accept. The act of theinvitation will leave a positive impression on everyone, but only those whoare serious about developing their referral partner pipeline will actually takethe time. They will weed themselves out!
Set aside 1-2 time blocks on your calendar each week for networkingmeetings. You can send out a template invitation and, with the pre-scheduledtime blocks, you don’t to stress over your schedule week to week. It doesn’thave to be a chore for you!
Develop a recurring marketing drip campaign to maximize the value of yournetworking time. Sending a monthly email with valuable information will notonly keep you top of mind with everyone you’ve met, but will put yourcontact info front and center. When they decide they need your services orthey refer you, they will know how to find you quickly.
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