Are you wondering why your networking efforts aren’t producing leads? Have you or your salespeople made the personal investment in attending networking events, and holding follow-up 1:1’s, but you can’t quite seem to create productive business relationships?
If that sounds familiar, you are certainly not alone.
I’ve built my business largely through referrals, but it didn’t start that way. I invested lots of time and effort in “networking”, and often wondered how long it would take to pay off.
It took time to build a broad network of referral partners and resources that I felt confident recommending to my clients, and others within my network. By placing focus on serving my clients and colleagues, reciprocating referral relationships naturally formed.
As I look back at my own journey, I learned a lot through the building process. This article is dedicated to sharing 5 areas I’ve found to be key in creating impactful referral partner relationships.
Key Takeaways
- Networking is a valuable activity when it’s done right.
- Invest more deeply in qualified contacts with strong alignment.
- Take the time to learn how the referral partner helps their clients.
- Developing new relationships with a serving mindset, viewing it as a two-way street.
1–Establish Trust & Credibility
Before a productive networking relationship can begin, there must first be a foundation of trust based on authenticity, and a belief in one another’s credibility.
Whether in-person or via video call, I usually get a sense for both of these foundational elements in our initial meeting by gauging things like…
- Do they represent themselves well?
- Act and talk professionally?
- Do I envision them projecting credibility if I were to refer them to a client?
If I am at all skeptical, I typically don’t go out of my way to invest additional time exploring the relationship. Networking is about finding the right match, not force fitting when alignment is off. A person’s first impression is usually an accurate representation of who they are.
After I get a sense that trust is developing, I shift my focus to validating subject matter credibility. I will usually ask some pointed questions about the new contact’s background, experience, and how they measure their success.
I follow this up by asking them to verbally walk me through a real-world client scenario. This doesn’t need to be formal case study, just a casual sharing of what they typically encounter in their specialty by looking through the lens of a specific client scenario.
I’ve found this format provides helpful insights into the resource’s problem-solving approach, how they engage with their clients, what they define as a successful outcome, and more.
2 – Find Proper Alignment
Alignment screening starts with verifying that there is ample overlap in the client environments we both focus on.
We won’t be effective at supporting one another’s clients if we aren’t playing in the same sandbox. Some of these things can be researched ahead of time but I’ve found the best way to determine fit is through productive dialog.
For example, I seek networking partners focused on B2B small and mid-sized businesses whose relationships are in the C-suite.
Those specialized in any of the core areas shown on my Business Ecosystem illustration tend to nicely complement my Fractional Sales Leadership focus that centers in the “Sales & Execute” area of the business.
The key point is to have intentional thought behind how you define your ideal networking partners. This empowers you to be laser focused when screening the heavy flow of networking inquiries and productive as you conduct your own outreach.
Doing this well impacts your most precious asset – your time!
The other critical area I carefully explore is that our values and philosophy are aligned. A strong fit in those areas gives me confidence that we can successfully work through any challenge that may arise in a shared client setting.
3 – Articulate How You Help
One of the most important parts of networking is being able to quickly relay your expertise. If the networking partner asks you for more information related to your field, it’s helpful to share it a way that is relatable.
For example, to relay my expertise in the area of sales methodology, I may ask the contact a few questions about their own sales challenges. This way, I can frame my expertise in a context that the partner can relate to by sharing helpful tips to overcome the roadblocks they are personally facing.
That tends to be the perfect segue into a client short story. I’ll outline a client’s problem that prompted my involvement and share the process I guided them through to create a corrective action roadmap. Ultimately, I’ll share the impact case that justified the client taking action, how long it took before they experienced tangible results, how we measured success, etc.
Stories are memorable and when meeting so many people each week, they tend to stand out. Story telling helps the referral partner quickly connect the dots between your specialization and the needs of their clients and associates.
Another technique is dropping your new contact an article you’ve written that also relays how you help or common questions you encounter.
Click the following banner for one of my go-to articles…
4 – Demonstrate Effective Communication
When you are in the early stages of developing a new referral relationship, effective communication and follow-up are key.
If someone isn’t committed to following through on next steps that were agreed upon, or doesn’t communicate in a professional manner, then the chances of turning that relationship into more than just an acquaintance are very low.
Another factor to assess is the new contact’s communication style and temperament.
Do they listen carefully and respond to inquiries on-point both verbally and in written format?
Do they seem adaptable to handle diverse client personalities?
I don’t want to refer someone who is difficult to work with that could potentially leave a bad taste in my client’s mouth.
I’ve found that referral partners with high levels of integrity will be cautious about who they associate with, especially when it comes to those they invite into their client settings.
It’s important to understand the way an associate performs is a direct reflection on the person who introduced them.
5 – Be Intentional
Being intentional in your networking can mean different things depending on the nature of your product, average transaction size, etc. Your networking development focus may be narrow and specific or broad and wide to achieve your objectives.
For some, attending general networking events held by a Chamber of Commerce may be beneficial. For others, it may be more worthwhile to attend events targeted to a more specialized audience.
Networking takes time and developing mutually beneficial relationships is an even bigger commitment.
You need to maintain a sizable list of networking targets and be committed to investing the necessary time to isolate those that have strong potential.
After all, where you really get a return on your time investment is by going deeper with networking partners who have alignment in the areas I mentioned.
I hope some of the insights shared in this article gave you some new ideas on how you can continue building and contributing to your network!
If you’d like to discuss additional ways you or your salespeople can diversify and strengthen your lead generate strategy, contact me at: 321.229.8910 or [email protected].
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I am part of a national group of Senior Sales Leaders who collaborate to share insights like the examples shown in this article. We formed because of our shared passion to help business leaders exponentially grow their revenue.