The Group

Often 'groups' form and get together cyclic such as weekly or biweekly. The group has as it members other folks with the intent (supposedly) to exchange 'leads' or referrals for one another.

In theory this idea is stellar. In practice the idea has major issues and that is the main reason I am blogging. Let's assume for a moment that you attend such a group. It has 25 members. If only 10% 'get it' and truly network then 2.5 people (there may be a really short guy) are working their little asses off to find referrals for others inside the group. Each one (and a half) can produce 5-10 solid referrals a week. Easy. Lets stay conservative and go low...5. 5 X 2.5 = that's about 13 referrals a week.

I lost you. I lost you at 'each person....5-10 solid referrals a week'. I lost you because you may have never produced that number, if any, referrals. I do. Yes really. I do. I do because I am trained to do. Trust me, if you want to you can too.

Back to our assumption; if 20% 'get it' the number doubles to 26 +/1. But if half of the group got it then they would be generating 50 referrals a week for fellow members. Ea-freaking-zee. That would average to two solid referrals for each member.

The other 90% are either vampires or simply refuse to let this information sink in. The may be rubber monkey sellers and many are but they may also just be following the leader how is untrained as well. Sad too because with just a little more effort the entire group will raise their own income potential by four hundred percent. They would also lower the cost to capture new clients to almost zero. Do some math here...

Profit = Gross$ - cost to generate gross$. The biggest expense is often the cost to capture new clients. So reduce that cost to almost zero and raise the potential by 400% and you now have a serious reason to re-examine networking. And your 'group'.

So while many may think I am writing this blog for my ego, the ones who read this may suddenly see the value in networking and by looking deeper, they should see MY hidden agenda:

Profit.

Networking right results in easier, more profitable sales with much less hassle on my part. Period.

How do I find the right group? You don't. You find the right people in the group.
How will I know? Easy, did they try to sell you a rubber monkey or did they teach you who to look for as a referral?

Rubber Monkey Sellers beware. I am just getting started.

soon I am going to name the RMS I deal with often.

One rule we need to cover now:

All things being equal in today's economy we will but from those we Know Like and Trust.

RMS are hard to like because they are annoying. Hard to like = hard to know. Hard to know= hard to trust. Hard to trust = no sale.

get your RMS to read this blog.

Listen for the sound of profit

Have you ever opened your wallet and money was inside you did not know was there?

Ever said "Holy cow how did that twenty get there?" Me neither.

I have, however, pulled clothes from the dryer and found a bill or two. Obviously the washer/dryer did not create the money. I had failed to remove the money from my very own pants. ☺

I have also opened my wallet only to find the twenty I was sure rest snugly inside had mysteriously vanished. This seems to happen at most inopportune times. Then upon reflection I recall having pulled the magic twenty from the wallet during a previous encounter with a cash register. Likely one at Walmart.

There is a sound one makes when finding money...the sound is cha ching. There is a sound one makes when losing money and it is @@#&!

These sound have varying tones and become easily learned by listening.

If I told you that it is possible to hear the sound of profit before the profit hits your wallet would you think me nuts? Okay here goes:

You can. Maybe not right now but with some study and focus you surely can...and will.

But we need to re-speak the rules and the laws and the foundation.

Be willing to learn
Be willing to listen
Be will to do.

Caring for the group precedes the group caring for you.
Giving to the group precedes the group giving to you.
Telling about a fellow precedes the fellow telling about you.

Never happens any other way.

The sound of money is in the dance. The other guy teaches (willing to learn?) while you are listening (willing?) you how to find referrals for him. He tells you step-by-step exactly how to do this. He does not hire you as a rubber monkey seller. He teaches you what to look for and then what to say. Now all you have to do>>>

Is be willing to do it.

When you do this thing he taught you you make him money. Cha ching.

The sound of YOUR profit is the sound of his teaching.

This is the wash cycle.....the dryer is where you find your money.

Be willing....

Willing:
1 : inclined or favorably disposed in mind : ready

Inclined
1 : having inclination, disposition, or tendency

Big meaning for a small word. In short this means you have to be set at the factory to be favorably disposed in MIND. Mind first. First dude. First.

For where the mind leads the heart will follow.

If your mind aint into 'willing' then you aint into willing. Game over.
So if networking is going to really serve YOU then YOUR mind has to be factory set a certain way.

Is it? Are you naturally inclined to give? Are you the one who enjoys secret acts of kindness?

Do you enjoy giving AND absorbing?

Willing to learn is more than a simple, over-stated rule, it is one of the key ingredients (recall there are three) to networking. In fact, it may be THE most crucial rule since the others revolve around this one.

Most people see themselves as good students but seldom are. Rather, they want to be more a part of the teaching session than the learning session. Often, these are the folks who know more about others business than the other. (?) They tend to present ideas about how the other guy can do his job better or ideas of marketing that surely no one else thought of. (?) (?)= sarcasm

Enter "Dance" : As fellow networkers we dance with one another. Music is seldom playing. The dance has a rhythm wherein the flow, if-you-wish, is between two members who exchange, in theory, concepts, ideas and data about their own business so that the other person in the dance has a better idea of who/what/how the other does his job. This exchange has a two-fold purpose with ONE goal. To help each other know more about the other so that each can then search (and this means activiely search) for solid referrals for the other.

The dance also allows each other to enter into a deeper relationship and to begin forming a type of friendship. From my own experience I can share that nothing is more valuable than two business 'friends' who are netWORKING for each other. I am a salesman in sorts for some 45 people. D-A-I-L-Y!

So it is in a dance we are willing to learn.

This would seem obvious but it is not. I have been in a dance wherein the other fellow would bounce in and out of the conversation. While 'in' we talked about him or he told me what I should be doing. While 'out' he looked around the room and was involved mentally with whatever it was he was thinking or seeing. He even made a self centered comment about MY ideas. No relationship was formed because he was not WILLING TO LEARN.

I was willing to learn and I learned he has no intention of helping me... or you...or himself. He is a vampire.

Dances done right are priceless. Dances done wrong are costly.

Hear me clear: networking goes both ways and the good and the bad get spread. Our dance resulted in my stopping any and all work I was/am capable of stopping based....on what I learned during our dance.

Rude? Hardly. I send my fellow networkers into homes or offices of my current clients/friends/family and if Mr Bounce has the inclined nature to ignore his part with me he will do so with the very folks I expose him to. That would embarrass me and cause me grief I simply do not need.

He was not willing to learn. I was and did. Game over Mr Bounce.

As time passes I will speak with others about this dance and my experience and in his stead, I have another who does the same job as his...and they will get the referral.

This may shock some...get over it. Either learn to network right or keep cold calling. Networking has nothing to do with YOUR business and everything to do with everyone else first. First dude. First.

Most new networkers see networking as a captive group to sell product to. And never figure out why they are doing worse.

Be willing to learn. Willing will lead to profit.

In order to learn we must:

Be Willing To Listen

Vampires suck

News flash! Some people think YOU care about their stuff as much as they do. These same people think they must be ahead of you on the road. If not, then they some how have the right to ride so far up your tail they can put stuff in your glove box.

The thought never hits them that maybe the deer ahead may leap in front of you causing you to slam on the breaks and suddenly back bumper boy has a nano second to go from 8 billion MPH to zero and has 6 inches to do it. He stops alright....but not by using his breaks. Physics plays a huge role in how his head pierces the windshield. You stop by applying emergency pressure to your peddle. But you had time to react to the issue at hand. He stops because an object in motion stays in motion until the object in front no longer is in motion.

If it only happened to the stupid.

Same basic 'laws' apply in sells/sales/sails. (not so sure about the last one but made sense at the time) an object in motion tends to stay in motion until the thing in front stops suddenly. In our case, the economy just stopped. BAM! Now we have a pile up on the road to success and our road (us net workers) has been detoured. Or totally blocked.

Networking has no hidden teachers or secret yoda networking masters. It has but three simple rules:

1) Be willing to learn
2) Be willing to listen
3) Be willing to do.

And three simple laws:

1) Caring for the group first always precedes the group caring for you.
2) Giving to the members first always precedes the members giving to you.
3) Telling others about a fellow member first always precedes another member telling someone else about YOU.

And only one basic foundation.

It never ever happens any other way.

Never ever ever never will it happen any other way. Argue the point till the cows turn blue or your face comes home. Networking has one direction. Right.

Imagine yourself in a networking circle...as big or small as you head will allow. Your job (net-WORK-ing) is to find good referrals to the guy on your right. (we'll get into good later) and his job is his right and so on and so on. At some point IN THE FUTURE the guy to your left hands YOU a gig.

This exercise is meant to keep you from expecting anything from the ones to whom you send work. Not that they won't send back...just expecting it can be fatal in networking.

Relax, the meetings are not really a circle. I just wanted you to imagine the concept of NOT expecting things from any one source. Not at first.

Expecting gigs is being a vampire. Expect= vampire. We'll spot you a mile away.

Sop let's get into the rules.

Be willing to learn.....

The guy who sold rubber monkeys

There certainly is a guy who sales rubber monkeys. There would have to be! Right?

Have you met him? I haven't met him (or her) and I have been around the world twice. Never ever heard one soul utter the words "I sell rubber monkeys."

Yet I have seen rubber, vinyl and even plastic monkeys. I saw one the other day in an acupuncturists office! Of course she knows me well enough to know the story. So it was, to me, a joke. Damn good one too IMHO.

So it seems safe to assume there is a rubber monkey maker and a rubber monkey buyer. But where is the rubber monkey seller?

I doubt he exists. Rather, if one is so inclined to buy a rubber monkey then he seeks out the rubber monkey. In other words, the rubber monkey wanter must find the rubber monkey without the aide of a salesman. Hence no rubber monkey salesman likely called the rubber monkey wanter and said "Hey! I sell rubber monkeys do you want one?"

Before we go further here is a good place to admit I may be wrong. Please prove me wrong....go sell rubber monkeys. Then get back to me.

Or... understand that what we are trying to do is sell but not by selling. Yes we have to sell to get sells profits but not by selling. Rather we sell by not selling, We let them buy.

This either does or does not make good sense to you. Either way, it is right. So since it is right then the issue may be you do not get it. Not that 'it' is wrong. YOU might be though.

When was the last time you got a call and the caller wanted to sell you something? How did that go? That's what I thought.

When was the last time you had junk mail where suddenly you stop dead in your shoes and scream "HEEEELLLLLLL YEAH I want one! This morning I had no idea these things even existed but now...NOW I got this card and see the photo of the thing and life is never going the be the same without one of these....things! I am calling right now!"

Yet your box was full of those very cards. Less then .5% of folks who get this crap respond. One half of one person per hundred. Wow..be still my beating heart. Let me be clear, I gotta send out thousands and I gotta do it 7 times before you respond? Stellar idea. When we are done can you ignite my head please?

I have a limited amount of time, energy and even less money. I had rather put what I have left to good use.

My time means as much to me as your does to you. In fact, more.

If you are selling in any manner such as this YOU are selling rubber monkeys. And it pisses people off. It serves neither of us well enough for you to keep doing it. There is a better way.....

Let me know who wants your rubber monkey and I will gladly look for them for you.

This, my friend, is networking.

Or do you suck?

In networking meeting/groups/events, the ones who tell about rather than tell how suck. They are vampires ONLY involved to try and sell everyone in the group.

The Rubber Monkey.

It is highly likely you and I have never met. So, since this is post (do we call them posts on a blog?) number one, allow me the chance to properly introduce myself. Then we can shake hands, sit down have some coffee...(or fruity rum for V) and discuss a thing or two about a thing or two.

I am Phil Ruthven and I own C Spot Stop, quite possibly the best carpet cleaner on the planet.

I am good at my job for one basic reason: because I like the gig. Period.

All of my gear is in a dirty Ford van, white...no phone number on the side. The area code is there: 321- - - but nothing more.

"Hey, how do we contact you? Are we supposed to guess?"

Nope. You're supposed to know. And you'd know if ya asked the right question to the right person.

That question would go something like this:
"Hey Bob, do you know any good carpet cleaners?"
Bob would reply: "Good? I know the best carpet cleaner on the planet!"

Marketing gurus may not agree. But I didn't ask them. I asked 'networking gurus'.

Networking is marketing but marketing is not always networking. Stop. Really! Stop. Go back and re-read that. Do it now.

Get it? If you do understand that simple sentence then please feel free to hang out. I have some diet coke and ice cream in the ice box...make yourself at home.

I did not invent the methods I use nor do I claim to have any special spin on them. I simply study some guys who use this networking thing as the way to capture more clients easier and at higher profit margins.

So if this topic is of interest, take a seat on the bean bag, pull off your shoes and ask Chris to rub your feet. He's good at what he does too.

So did I ever tell you about the guy who sells rubber monkeys?