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Selecting Relationships
One of the issues we all face when we network, is that of identifying if someone you meet is the right sort of connections for you. It is easy to argue that all connections are right, but when you have a few hundred or a few thousand you’ll quickly realise that it become a real task to look after all of them.
As a result, I suggests that you categories everyone you meet into one of the following three categories as quickly as you can. Then as time moves on you can divide them into further groups explained afterwards. The main categories are as follows:-
Tyre Kickers - These are those people who you meet who have connected with you simple because they can. They have no intention of developing a relationship nor are ever likely to purchase anything from you, or from anyone you recommend. They tend to be selfish and often have egotistical issues. Need I say more?
Boot Lickers - These are those people who wish to impress you because they want you to buy whatever it is that you sell. They normally come straight to the point and promote and advertise what they do. They ask you to recommend them to others you may know, without any real understanding about how networking works. With a little education they can sometime be brought around, but personally I ignore them.
Contact Stickers - These are the people that you wish to meet and to get to know. They stick at what they do, are usually quite tenacious, are diligent and often quite persistent people. You’ll see them networking all over the place, week in week out. They are the ones who get to know you and want to advocate you to others.
Sub Groups
Once you have identified who your Contact Stickers are, you can then work with them and help them become better at what they do. Some will drop by the wayside, but with a little help you can develop the relationship further. I try and break my Contact Stickers into four sub categories, A’s, B’s, C’s and D’s as follows:-
Group ‘D’ - for Delete, Dispose or Distribute. These are those people who really do not make the grade, who do not really operate in your area and who have little use to you. Delete them from your database, dispose of them to others or distribute their details to others who they might be more compatible with.
Group ‘C’ - for Could Be. These are those people who you have collected in that you feel have some value. They will definitely need some support, help and encouragement to make them a valuable contact. With a little effort they will probably move up to the ‘B’ subgroup. No to expect too much from these people. It is not them, just their understanding of networking is not that advanced yet.
Group ‘B’ - for Bears. These are those people who really understand what networking is and they will connect everyone and their dog to you if you give them a chance. They are like huge bears, charging around, doing what they think is right, even causing problems at time. You can fault them for their desire to help, and the action they take. The object is to tame them and move them to group ‘A’.
Group ‘A’ - Advocates. These people you just love. They know you, they know and understand what you do, they actively look out for opportunities for you, they make great warm introductions regularly. You just lov’em! Likewise you get to know what they do, and you are always on the lookout for introductions for you.
These are the basis concepts that The Business Advocates Partnership has been based upon..
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