There are myriad ways to grow your network–giving speeches, publishing books, establishing a regular newsletter or blog, getting involved in professional associations, doing probono work etc. I advise professional services firms on building their brand and relationships using these techniques all the time.
But before I encourage them to invest in new ways to reach out to their broader community of potential clients, I want to be sure they are optimizing the relationships they already have.
Happy clients, frequent collaboration partners and colleagues already are familiar with your professional expertise and personal credibility. They are often eager to help spread the word of your abilities both to help you and because knowing good service providers enables them to help others too.
Here are some best practices to leverage the network you already have:
- Define your network broadly. Recognize that a robust network includes several types of people. These types include Economic Buyers (who can actually sign a check for your services, Influencers, Fellow Consultants (upstream/downstream/related), Past Clients, Former Colleagues, Subcontractors etc.
- Reach out Regularly. Aim to “touch” everyone at least 4 times a year. 12x/yr is gold standard. A touch may be a newsletter, article, invitation to an event, personalized note with something of value, meeting/lunch, or visit to their desk. A few easy touches include the following:
- making the rounds when you are “in the office” at a current or past client. When you have a meeting at the client's office, eat in the cafeteria, wander the halls, and schedule coffees with old and new contacts
- subscribing to Google Alerts of all prospective and client companies, so you can follow up with contacts when something important happens
- sending out a note to your contacts anytime you have a relevant article or speaking engagement
- Ask for help from happy clients. Make it a practice to ask everyone you work with for a quote and referrals. Be specific in your ask. If you haven’t been doing this, do a one-time cleanup of all past clients with a note that says something like “I am updating my website and wanted to ask you if you’d be willing to write a quote for me to use in my marketing materials."
- Don't rush the relationship. When meeting a new potential EB, remember you goal is to set up a peer-to-peer trusted advisor relationship. Don’t rush the first deal, but rather focus on building a relationship and establishing yourself as someone who asks good questions, listens carefully and occasionally offers a valuable tidbit or insight. The goal of the first meeting is to have a second meeting and to build a broad foundation for future discussions. You don’t want to be seen as a vendor or commodity
- Focus on economic buyers. If your time is limited (and whose isn't) focus on the ones whose success depends on the quality of your work.While fellow consultants can be great referral sources, the person most likely to get value from your services is the one writing the check.
In summary, if you are just starting to dedicate time to networking, focus first on people you already know, and within that group, focus on potential buyers of your services. As you find yourself with more time and resources to invest in your marketing efforts, you may broaden your reach. Until then, the most efficient place to start is where you already have some credibility and success.
