Q: I recently started my own
business and have a staff of five people. How do I get each of them
to buy into networking as a way to grow the business?
A: First, let me congratulate you
for even considering this question. Too many entrepreneurs focus on
bringing in new business themselves or in tandem with the sales
force but overlook their support staff as a source of referrals.
Building word-of-mouth for your business is not just the
responsibility of your marketing or sales department. As you might
imagine, it's far better to engage your entire staff in your
word-of-mouth marketing campaign-not only at startup, but also
throughout the life of your business.
Here are some tips on how to engage your staff in
networking:
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1. Include networking in the job description for each and
every employee. Often, if a new hire knows upfront that
he's expected to incorporate networking into his job, it will
happen.
2. Have clear and reasonable expectations. If your
company manufactures a very obscure product, your staff might have
a hard time bringing in tons of referrals. However, keep in mind
that people are more important in the networking process than the
type of product being sold. When you have the right person, he or
she will be able to build a network around any kind of product or
service.
3. Teach your staff how to network effectively for the
company. Hold focus groups where you role-play ways to ask for
referrals from other customers, friends and family. Bring in local
networking experts for in-house trainings. Better yet, send your
staff to a networking class, such as the Certified
Networker Training, available in most markets.
If you belong to a weekly networking group, bring your staff to
those meetings one at a time so each member can see firsthand what
networking can produce. This also helps your networking partners
feel that they know your business better, since they've been
able to meet the people in your company.
The bottom line: Until you teach someone how to do something
effectively, expecting them to do it well-or even at all-is
unrealistic.
4. Motivate your staff to bring referrals to the company.
My wife once worked for a business owner who incorporated monetary
bonuses into her word-of-mouth marketing expectations. For every
new customer, she was given a bonus. It was a win-win arrangement
for the company, as each new customer brought in revenue well above
the bonus amount, and my wife felt rewarded each time one of her
referrals came through the door.
Having a bonus system in place made it obvious that she would be
attending chamber meetings with the boss and developing other
connections in the community while passing out business cards and
fliers for the company. To properly execute this idea, check with
your CPA or tax preparer.
You might even establish a "networker of the month"
status for the staff, using a reserved parking spot or an overnight
hotel stay somewhere fun as a reward. Make the motivation something
that's relevant to your industry and, most of all, exciting to
your staff.
5. Be sure your staff sees you practicing your networking
skills. Often, we as entrepreneurs don't share with our
staff the amount of time and energy we put into building and
maintaining our businesses utilizing word-of-mouth marketing. I
have always felt very strongly about this point. If I am going to
expect my staff to do something, motivate and reward them for doing
it, I better let them see me doing it as well. All too often,
networking is something done behind the scenes and not necessarily
in front of the staff.
One way to change this is to track how much business you brought
in, as well as the staff's numbers. Imagine the pride one
competitive staff member will have when he or she breaks your
number. Imagine the profits your company will realize when everyone
in the company focuses on growing the business.
Networking is a group activity. Make sure to get your whole team
on board with the process.
Ivan Misner is a New York Times bestselling author and
founder and CEO of BNI, the world's largest referral organization
with over 3,100 chapters in 17 countries around the world. His new
book,Masters of Successcan be viewed at www.MastersofSuccess.biz. Misner teaches business at
Cal Poly University, Pomona and resides in Southern California with
his wife and three children. He can be reached at misner@bni.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are
those of the author, not of Entrepreneur.com. All answers are
intended to be general in nature, without regard to specific
geographical areas or circumstances, and should only be relied upon
after consulting an appropriate expert, such as an attorney or
accountant.