Networking – A Great Asset: Part 3

Hopefully you’ve had the opportunity to put last month’s networking “How To’s” to work. This month we are going to give you more of them. Here they are.

■               Have your Elevator Presentation together and ready at all times. (1 minutes presentation) If someone asks you what you do … do you say I’m a Financial Advisor or do you say something like this: “I’m full time helping people like yourself build wealth and secure themselves and their families against the unexpected in the now and in the future. I’m in the “Peace of Mind” business. I’m a Financial Advisor.”

■               Make it clear what you do: Do your relatives, friends and business associates know what the many products and services are that you offer. Do they know the benefits your clients receive and what your unique differentiators are. Many Financial Advisors miss out on tremendous opportunities because their friends, relatives, and associates do not know exactly what their profession entails, what a good prospect looks like and the benefits received by the Financial Advisors clients. How often do people close to you say “I didn’t know you did that.”

■               Be the “Host” or “Hostess.” I have a friend who continually gets drinks and munchies for other people when at social functions. He does such a great job of doing this many people get the impression he is the host even though he is a guest. This demonstrates “who you really are.” Remember “caring is what caring does.” Try it … and watch the results.

■               Don’t’ attempt to sell during social functions. At networking functions the prime goal is to “break the ice” and set up an appointment for further discussions and exploration. By attempting to sell yourself and your product while your new contact is trying to socialize could be perceived as insensitive, selfish and inconsiderate. The exception to this rule is when the other party literally asks you to do business here and now. That’s when the two of you slide off to a quiet corner for a few minutes to complete the discussion.

■               Personal Introductions. Personal face to face introductions by the right people really fast tracks a relationship. On the AAA potential clients sometimes it is better to wait a week for a Referral Source Person’s schedule to open up … and have that person personally introduce you to the AAA Prospect rather than phone a week early just utilising the Referral Sources name. One Financial Advisor picks up the entire bill for happy clients to invite 2 or 3 AAA Prospect couples for dinner or a braai at the Referral Sources house. The Financial Advisor and his wife attend and he says he gets new clients very quickly this way.

We will wrap-up the Networking Series in the next post. Have a great day.

Networking is a powerful way to expand your influence in order to find contacts to do business with. In addition, for finding contacts who may be able to invest in your business, lend money to your business or you personally. Always make sure that if you are going into a loan, that you produce a loan document with www.kasu.ca

The is copyright of Knowledge Brokers Internationa, Bill Gibson. For permission to use or duplicate this content, contact Bill@kbitraining.com.