Articles may be reprinted electronically in it’s entirety however, it must include the entire authors byline with an active link back to www.raeuscannon.com/articles. Send a courtesy copy of to raeus@cannonsystems.com. You may not print this article in a paid-for arena or for any commercial use. Contact the author: Raeus Jae Cannon, CNS, Owner of Cannon Networking Systems, at raeus@cannonsystems.com
© Copyright 2006 Raeus Cannon
If Word-of-Mouth is the Destination - Then Networking is the Highway
When we take a road trip, many of us get out a map. Maps have a lot of interesting things on them: small roads, interstates, small towns, large cities, attractions, parks, points of interest, etc.
Marketing our business is very similar to that map. There are many ways to market a business: advertising, direct mail, internet, word of mouth, trade shows, printed materials, etc. Each of these, fall into one of two categories: passive or active. Most business people choose to use more passive marketing because it is easier and requires what appears to be less time, but they do a good job representing us in the market place. Networking is active because it directly brings in prospects, but it does require our time and consistent effort.
Every business wants positive word-of-mouth! It can be the difference between a company going from zero to 60 in seconds or going from 60 to zero! In fact, according to a GfK Roper Consulting study (June 2006), consumers worldwide cite people as the most “trustworthy” source for purchase ideas and information. In fact, 70% of consumers across the globe trust friends, family, or other people when searching for information or ideas on products to buy.
So, how do we meet these people that are willing to talk about our product, service or company? It takes personal time – our time. In order to network well we should create and follow a map. Our map should contain all the face-to-face networking events (i.e. cities/towns we’ll visit) that we would find our target market at.
Don’t attend any event, just to get out of the house or office. Attend specific events where you will find people that need or want your services. Many Chamber of Commerce have an extensive list of local business associations. Make a list of groups or associations that are (or reach out to) your target market (and that you would enjoy attending or have interest in). Once we make this list – attend – and attend regularly. Attending regularly isn’t difficult if we make it a priority. Strive for 100% attendance, that way if you miss once or twice it won’t be a big deal. If you attempt the 100% attendance, you may not make it, but you’ll be close and that helps us to create a good positive reputation.
An important concept to remember is that word-of-mouth and reputation are built on our actions (not our promises). Example: I have known a local sales rep for a couple of years. He is a likeable guy and I always enjoy talking with him. He shows up at a lot of the events that I attend and we almost always have a brief conversation. He always tells me that he is going to attend my upcoming class (whatever it might be). The first three or four times, I believed him and looked forward to seeing him there. But, he never showed up. At first, I took it personally, but then I heard that he does this often to others as well. So now, when he tells me he’s going to do something, I don’t believe him.
I use 4 stages that I call the Drivers Wheel to identify where someone’s relationship is with me. We’ve all heard the Like Me, Know Me and Trust Me model. Based on that model - I want drivers - drivers drive business to my door. So, this is my wheel:
• Bystanders –are people that I’ve seen and met, but are just standing around in the crowd waiting for the bus to show up – 80% of contacts will never leave the station.
• Pedestrians – have goals and are doing things to get there, they have some credibility with me and standing – 15% of contacts will never get on the bus.
• Passengers – are people that I have “picked-up” along the way. They are trustworthy and have similar goals as I do – only 5% of contacts will ever travel this path.
• Drivers – a group within the passengers made up of only 30 people. They drive business to my door and I take extra good care of them. I keep in touch with them regularly.
As my passengers and drivers meet more of their own passengers and drivers, my wheel expands due to the introductions they make to me. Our CAR on this trip is the Contacts And Referrals that we meet along the way. The more consistent we are, the larger our CAR becomes. The larger the CAR we have, the quicker we will get to our destination of Positive Word-of-Mouth. The Highway our CAR is traveling is networking. The points of interest/cities along our trip are the events that we show up at. On this trip, we want to consistently make lots of stops and we want to make the trip often.
If we draw out our map, consistently attend events and keep up a positive reputation, then we will quickly get to our word-of-mouth destination.
Raeus Cannon, CNS, is the owner of Cannon Networking Systems in Knoxville, Tennessee. She works with professionals that want to meet more prospects, quit making cold calls, create more customer loyalty and make more money! She is a professional member of NSA (National Speakers Association), a trainer and author of ABC’s of Networking. If You Network Well – You Never Need to Sell is what Raeus lives and teaches in her courses. Raeus can be reached at www.raeuscannon.com Phone: 865-382-6117 or by email at raeus@cannonsystems.com |
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