| Dear John,
Most attorneys, CPAs and financial advisors love networking. Shaking hands and sharing a laugh is a great way to develop business and build relationships.
Yet many get everything wrong after the handshake.
Here are five steps you can take to maximize your networking opportunities:
Step One: Join a Structured Networking Organization
Civic and community organizations are not the best forum for professionals. While you get some exposure in those forums, they are not designed to help you develop new business relationships and meet people who can invest in you and your services.
Organizations like ProVisors and BNI are designed to facilitate one-on-one relationships and help you promote your ability to solve problems for your clients.
Step Two: Develop and Promote a Focused Personal Brand
What do you personally stand for? What do people get when they invest in you?
The answer to these questions is your personal brand.
I am The Godfather of Growth. This means if you invest your time in me and if you pass me referrals I will:
1). Take care of your relationships as if they were my own family
2). Be loyal to you and protect your relationship with your client
3). Repay your trust in me with referrals and connections in kind
That’s my personal brand and I promote it every chance I get. You must do the same within your network.
Why is this so important? Because people need to differentiate you from everyone else and they need to be able to easily describe what you do.
Step Three: Pass Referrals In Advance, Often and Selflessly
Don’t keep score when it comes to referral relationships. Pass referrals as often as you can and don’t worry if any specific person will be able to reciprocate.
Your goal is to establish your reputation as a GIVER – someone who has an external orientation. You want this because it makes you MAGNETIC. The more you give, the more people will want to be around you.
A good rule of thumb is to pass referrals in a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio. Give 3 or 4 referrals for every one you expect to get back. This rule makes sense because people just don’t get the concept of referrals. They need to see you do it and they need to see it multiple times. Once you’ve demonstrated how to refer and once, they experience your generosity with your network, they will attempt to refer business back to you.
Step Four: Give The Way You Want to Receive
You must teach people how to refer business to you.
This means if you like to get referrals delivered into your office for an in-person consultation, that’s how you should refer people – drag the prospective client into the office of the professional to whom you are referring them.
These days, there are three ways to be referred: on Zoom, via email or on a joint conference call. While my preference is always to meet a new client in-person, Zoom (or Skype or FaceTime) are COVID-safe options.
As an alternative, you can set up a conference call and make your introduction that way.
The least effective option is the email introduction. The only way this works is if both parties are members of a network – like Provisors. Why? The network serves as a point of accountability. Without that affiliation, people may slack off and ignore the introduction. If you are a member of a network and you blow off an introduction, your brand will take a hit. That’s unacceptable.
Step Five: Say THANK YOU
This one drives me nuts.
If someone attempts to put money in your pocket, the least you can do is thank them.
Even if they pass you the worst referral on Earth, your thanks is what they deserve. It’s not just common courtesy, it is also a way to reenforce your brand and develop goodwill.
Faster Ways to Grow
While networking and passing referrals will absolutely help you grow your professional firm, those methods are slow because they don’t employ leverage. If you want to develop a plan for FAST GROWTH, I have an option for you.
I am conducing private one-on-one coaching programs during the next six weeks to help you grow your book of business and create business development systems to achieve your goals in 2022 and beyond. I call this my SALES SPRINT.
Dave Lorenzo’s Six Week Sales Sprint
My Six Week Sales Sprint is you and me meeting once each week and customizing a business development plan for you – based upon your strengths. We will also examine and fine-tune your business development strategy to employ leverage, so you don’t have to work as hard to get the clients you deserve.
During our time together, we will work on your personal brand, develop lead generation opportunities, establish a follow-up protocol and work on your closing script.
You get all of this, with personalized advice from me, for a one-time investment of $1,599. My private clients pay more than $30,000 to work with me. You get me for 6 weeks for a fraction of that, but you must act now. I only have 5 spots available.
Follow the link below to register:
Dave Lorenzo’s Six Week Sales Sprint
Warm Regards,
Dave Lorenzo
The Godfather of Growth
(786) 436-1986
(212) 970-1986
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