Create a networking plan to save time and energy (#154)

In other words, don’t go to the grocery store on an empty stomach!

I’m guessing that most of you have made one or two trips to grocery store before dinner, when you’re mildly hungry, and you don’t have your shopping list on your phone. If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself wandering down the aisles without a clear purpose. Networking and relationship building can be a similar experience. If you don’t have a plan, you’ll probably be unfocused, less efficient, more exhausted, and frustrated with not having much to show for your efforts. A plan and a goal for your networking efforts will pay off with greater results and productivity.

I recently worked with a client who runs a successful digital marketing agency.  One of the agency’s long-term clients unexpectedly reduced their marketing budget. My client was the only person in the agency doing business development and sales. She had a great network, but no structured sales plan. She was feeling both the pressure and the responsibility of carrying all the business development duties. She came to me with for help with her goal to increase sales before year end.  She was tired of the chaos of her outreach efforts and she wanted her staff to develop networking skills so they could contribute to connection-building with key people.  She knew her efforts were inefficient and inconsistent, and she was feeling desperate and overwhelmed.   

“Paper, (that’s what everyone calls me.), I’m now solely responsible to make up a big financial deficiency. I don’t have the time to be the only one selling and networking for business.”  I took a deep breath and was excited because I’ve witnessed this situation several times. And I’ve successfully jumped in to turn the situation around and maximize the team’s efforts through the ALLSTAR 100 networking process.

“Ok so let’s make a plan and get you organized. We’ll get the rest of your team onboard for doing online outreach and meeting new people for lunches and sales calls.  When can you start?”

“Let's meet next week.  How much time do we need together?”

“To start, we need an hour together to explain the process. And then you need to set time each week to make a plan for your meetings, to do the research on your prospects, and to evaluate your sales progress. This is kind of like doing laundry on Wednesdays and grocery shopping on Thursdays -- after dinner.  Create a plan with regularly scheduled actions.

At our first meeting, the conversation to make her plan went like this:

Paper: “What is your desired outcome in six months?  How many sales?  How many clients?  What is the typical size of the project or account?  And, who do you know.”

Client: “I don’t know where to start.”

Paper: “Let’s start with the sales goals and the size of projects.”

Client: “Ok, the sales goal is $250,000 and each project is at least $50,000. The projects with smaller budgets are good for morale but require the same amount of work.” 

At this point in the conversation, I made a mental note to revisit the question of what types of clients and projects would be ideal.  Planning is part reality and part dreaming of what you really want for clients.

Paper: “What about industries, possibly 3-5? Where would we find projects of this size and where have you already had success with current clients and in what types of industries?” 

My client was scribbling on her sheets of paper and I had to ask what she was doing.

“Wow, you’re writing a lot of notes.” I said joyfully.

Client: “Well, this exercise is sparking me to think of people I can meet with or people I already know and are in my network.”

And so the building of the networking and business development plan begins.  The plan doesn’t have to be perfect. You merely want to get a plan down on paper or on a spreadsheet so that you have something to refer back to on a daily or weekly basis. I recommend setting a goal 3 to 6 months out so that you have time to do the work but not so far out that you don’t see progress.

Making her plan was the starting point my client in going through the ALLSTAR Networking Process. 

·       First, we set a clear goal to drive her actions: Increase sales.

·       Next, we talked about segmenting clients and projects:

o   How many new clients?

o   What is the optimal size/budget of a project?

o   Which industries have been the most successful in the past?

o   What are 3 new industries to target? (e.g., healthcare, retail, hospitality)

·       Then, we set a timeframe. What’s the most realistic timeline? 1 month, 3 months or 6 months?

We poked holes in the plan and iterated until we felt the plan was solid. And then we started creating a list of people to contact and when to contact them. My client committed to doing more research – both online through LinkedIn and in person through existing connections – to expand the list.

Pro tip: Existing clients are hot spots of relationships and you want to start with those past wins first.

Know that starting a plan is the hardest part. You’re actually doing that now by reading this email!  Take a deep breath and imagine what it looks and feels like to meet your definition of success in one month, six months and twelve months.  What do you need to do to have the relationships and people in your ALLSTAR network who will help you reach that goal? Which industries do you want to connect with to meet new people? Who are past clients you want to reconnect with to grow more business or tap into their network?

If you’re not inspired by integrating financial targets into your networking plan, don’t worry. You’ll start seeing the monetary value of your networking as you gain momentum meeting people and working toward your goals.

As you build your Plan, don’t be overly concerned about locking in all the details of company names and contact people right away. The Plan is a draft that evolves over time. It’s a framework to provide direction on the people you want to meet and the businesses where you’re likely to generate results. To expand your network, I recommend selecting several industries that you’re familiar with, and at least one new industry that you’re curious about and where you’ll have the freedom to experiment within your Plan.

Assignment:

Define your Plan. Create a spreadsheet or a grid to track your progress [see example template below]. 

Action 1. Establish your sales time frame. Is it one month, six months or a year? Knowing what success looks like defines the path ahead. Put this goal in the header of your spreadsheet to keep your target front and center for your efforts.

Action 2.  Identify 2-4 industries where you’ll focus your networking efforts as you move forward. Review your past successes so you know where you can reinforce your wins.  Add new categories to expand your network of referrals.

Action 3. Begin to populate your plan with names.

Rock on,

Cathy Paper

• Hire Cathy Paper, National Keynote Speaker, as a speaker on networking, caregiving and sales.

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• See past media and articles at: https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/bio/26621/Cathy+Paper

• https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2024/01/29/a-howto-guide-to-networking