He Says . . .
It is all about ROI (return on investment) ... right, guys? Time is money. Relationships are money. Time and relationships are money. If the time I am spending is not yielding me the correct amount of results, then that relationship HAS TO GO! How we men think: "The last thing I need is another 'relationship' with a man or a woman that goes nowhere ... in terms of business. I need to know that my time is profitable. It is all about the bottom line, the ROI, the transaction ... 'THE SALE!'"
Women, I am now going to show to you a formula that was given to us (men) before we went into the business world. Passed down from father to son, father to son ... for generations. This is the first time it has ever been revealed to members of the opposite sex. This is our key to success over the last 500 billion years.
ROI Formula for Men.
Sex of person x Age of person x Education x Years of experience Number of people in their network x The median of years of relationship with each person people under 32.5 years of age and people over 52.25 years of age.
When you have that number, then multiply it by 3.14666 and then convert to a fraction.
Once you have the fraction ...
Please tell me you weren't actually doing this! You don't really think I am serious, do you?
The reality is, there is no mathematical formula for success when it comes to networking. As men, we like to think there is, but we have already pointed out in this book, sometimes we men (as a gender) are not the sharpest knives in the drawer.
So here is reality. Forget everything I said above the "Please tell me you weren't actually doing this!" Measuring our time, money, and energy investment is important. Measuring the actual results we are getting from our networking and referrals is important. I believe in it, I do. But, what is it that I am really measuring? Relationships are not possible to measure on paper. Networking results come from investing time and energy to a relationship. They develop through giving, caring, and wanting to help others. Let me ask you a couple of questions: Who is going to give you your next big referral? How much will it cost you and when will you receive it? I am pretty sure you cannot answer these questions. Why? Because YOU NEVER KNOW. You never know who is going to give you the next big referral.
The key to getting results from your networking associates, male and female, is the level of their sincerity in wanting to help you. What is the way to measure another's sincerity in helping you? Not sure, but that would be a cool formula.
We as men don't want to waste our time at events or with people who "don't get it." How do you know those people? You know. It is instinctive. (Unless of course you are one of those people who really don't get it or even get what I am saying here.) We have our life experience, our learned intelligence, our street knowledge, and our emotional intelligence that helps us to decide when a relationship is worthwhile to continue. Nobody can really teach us this. It comes from the inside.
Please make sure you are measuring the bottom line results you are getting from your various activities. Then step back and look at how you are investing into the relationships from those activities. I want you to look at each relationship and question whether it is worthwhile for your business and then look at it from their perspective. What ROI would you say are they getting from their relationship with you? Let's remember, your opinion on this does not matter. It is what they think and believe that matters to them. However, it needs to matter to you, because if they are not seeing you as a value asset and you are not seeing them as one, then the two of you have a great opportunity to develop a relationship that could end up being very beneficial to both of you.
Men, women are good at this part. We are to focused on the formula. The formula is nice, measuring is important, but the person, the relationship is what matters more. So, track and measure.
She Says . . .
Time is often an in-demand commodity for most women. When we look at the statistics for the time spent networking between men and women, it comes as no surprise at all that men belong to more organizations, spend more time attending events, and on average spend more time per week networking than women do. Yet men state that they get less business from their networks than women do. Are men and women guessing about their time and results? Or do they actually have systems? In my work with hundreds of businessmen and women around this very topic, it is very rare that I find a man or a woman actually tracking their personal time and results.
One gentleman named Eric had an impeccable system around his activities and his results. He knew exactly how much time he was spending, what organizations were developing results for him, and how much money he made from each and every activity. In ten years, I have only met one person who actually could show me his system. Most of us just guess at our time spent and results, often estimating or guessing considerably over or under the actual.
If you a networking for your business, you have to measure your results. Time is money, and you cannot regain lost time. If I lost everything I have today, I know that given enough time I could recreate my wealth. The key is, would I have enough time? For women it always comes down to time, time for our family, time for work, time for friends, time for our self and others. To make the best use of our time we have to start by measuring our results.
I know, I know! I hear it all the time, you don't want to commercialize your networks, you don't want to seem pushy, you don't want to infringe upon the relationships. I just want to remind you that this is a book about business networking. Business requires measurements!
Measure Your Groups.
* Make a list of all the groups that you are in right now.
* Ask yourself, why am I in this group and write down the reason.
* You have your list, now which of those groups still serve a purpose for you?
* How much business are you getting and how much are you giving to the people in those groups?
* Are you in groups just for support or did you intend to get and give referrals in the group?
* How long have you been a member of the group?
At the end of every year or before you decided to join another group, go through this process, and then decide what groups you are going to keep and which ones you are going to leave. CAUTION: Do not join groups, sit back and wait for things to happen, then walk away and say it did not work. You get out of any group what you are willing to put in. Take a look at yourself before you blame others or the group for your lack of referrals or business.
Here is a list of four things you should be measuring:1. Time. How much time are you spending in the group or with individuals? A part of good networking is building good relationships. In the world of business networking we build relationships that have a benefit to both sides. Building relationships take time; how much have you invested?
2. Give. How much business have you given to others? I cannot complain about not getting business from a referral source if I am not giving business from that referral source. It is important that you track the referrals you have given to others and what was the result of that referral.
3. Receive. How many referrals or leads have you received from the group or individual? This is key. What have you received from the group or the referral source over the past year? How many referrals or leads have I received from a person in my network or a referral source?
4. Result. How much money have you made as a result of the leads and referrals you have received? This relates to item 3, Receive. I get a lot of leads and referrals from people, but which of those are closing and which ones are not really very good? You may find out that the people you are giving good business to are only retuning low level leads to you.
If you find that you are not getting the results you expected from a group or a person, then take a look at what you may have communicated to them. Go back and decide if you have not been clear in your communications about what you want or need, or have you hit the wall with a taker who is happy to take your referrals, but not so forth coming when it is time to give you referrals.
Women often do not go through this process of measurement because it feels to calculating. It is infringing on the relationships. I beg to differ with all the women who have told me this; this is business networking. Measure your results and then you can manage your time. If you are not getting the results you want you can stop, reevaluate, and change course if you need to.
REMEMBER: If your network is not working, there is no business happening, and it is your fault. As long as you remember that it is your fault and you take full responsibility for it, then and only then, do you always have the capacity to change it. If you are not measuring you will never know if it is working or not.
Our time is limited ladies, and our three-ring circus calls upon us constantly, we must measure if we are going to make good use of our time.
The Survey Says . . .
Effectiveness of Networking.
We combined the answers to two questions to determine how effective a business tool networking actually is. One question asked how much time participants spent networking and the other asked what percentage of their business was derived from networking. Our analysis showed a linear correlation between the two factors. The more hours a person spent networking, the more business they derived from it. The correlation shown in Figure 8.1 is exactly that.
FIGURE 8.1-Percentage of Business by Hours Invested Weekly Averages It is important to note that the average (mean) weekly hours each survey participant spent on networking activities was 6.31. In other words, during a one-week period, people spent a little less than a full workday engaged in networking activities of some kind.
Interestingly, the majority of people who stated that networking did not play a role in their success (51.5 percent) spent two hours or less on networking! Clearly, those people who spent only a little time in the process felt that networking was not an effective way to build their businesses because just as in many other aspects of life, you reap what you sow. It's no wonder the people who didn't invest as much time also did not realize as much reward. This demonstrates the direct relationship between effort and rewards in networking.
The typical person in this survey generated 46.70 percent of all their business through referrals and networking activities. Men averaged 43.96 percent of their business through networking and referral activites and women averaged 49.44 percent of their business through networking and referral activities.
Quality Time Invested Returns Greater Rewards This last set of data is very interesting. We found that out of the 12,000 global participants, women spent less time networking (6.19 hours compared to 6.44 for men), yet generated a higher percentage of their business through the process (49.44 percent compared to 43.96 percent for men).
The quote below supports the power of following up as a productive technique for getting maximum results within time constraints, since women gain more business without investing as much networking time.In most groups, find that only a small number of people are prepared to network and follow up properly. Women are much better at following up. My mentor taught me well when he said that the fortune is in the follow-up.
Why would women spend less time and get a higher percentage of their business from referrals than men? This is a question that puzzled us a great deal. I'm afraid we have more questions than we do answers about this particular issue.
Since women tend to be more "relational," based on the survey findings, are they networking without thinking of it as "networking"? In other words, are they actually networking when they feel they are socializing without a business purpose?
Women have often told me that they are responsible for more things that men are, such as child care and various household responsibilities. Consequently, are they more focused in the limited time they have for networking than men are? Are they just being more productive because they have less time? I really can't say, but it is a question worth investigating.
Neither of these questions are answered in the data, and I am not suggesting that these ideas are true. They are simply posed as questions. Why do women spend less time networking and yet claim a higher percentage of business through referrals than men?
Here-the data is clear. They do both.
He Says . . .
We men spend more time and get fewer results. That's not good any way you look at it. Why would that be? Fault lies either in our technique, knowledge, or practical application; or possibly all three. Maybe it's a good ol' boy thing. We go out to network with our buddies and spend time hanging out together, but not meeting any new people. We are doing business with our "buds" but aren't doing "more" business with our buds.
Here's what really confuses me. We've found that men are results-oriented and very focused on transactions over relationships. If that's true, if we are all about the results of the transactions and women are not as focused on the transaction, sale, or results, then why are they creating more business in less time? Is it me, or does this also make us look like idiots?
The short answer is that people want to do business with people they know, trust, and like. They want to give their money to those they feel most confident in. If I don't know or trust you, it just isn't going to happen.
Men, I think we need to learn from the women here about focusing on quality, rather than quantity time. No surprise there!
She Says . . .
Time is more often in greater demand for women than men, because of their balancing act between family and profession, so they rein in their formal networking hours to accommodate those demands. When we examine the statistics, it comes as no surprise that men belong to more organizations, spend more time attending related events, and on average also spend more time per week networking than women do, yet report less business as a result of working their networks than women do.
Since their time is limited, it is mandatory that women make tidy use of the time they do allot for networking, leveraging their efforts to maximum potential. Men in general have more time to network and connect with others in the business world, so women need to produce more results in less time to compete effectively with them.
WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN: SHOP-A-HOLIC ALERT Have you ever shined up a pair of very good shoes you'd forgotten about and been impressed by how lovely they are? Sometimes a quality current or even old connection can work the same way with some attention, nurturing, and of course, buffing. Don't forget about the "shoes" already in your closet and become an unsatisfied shop-a-with a closet full of many, but shallow connections (cheap shoes).
Our study shows that the more time a person spends networking, the more successful they are. Therefore, if the hours a woman can work are limited by her lifestyle, it follows that her potential for results would be limited also. Her only alternative is to find better ways to utilize the time she has, choosing groups that fit her family life. Necessity is the mother of invention, right? Predominately, women in this predicament have chosen groups that meet midday since mornings and evenings are traditionally family social time reserved for attending to kids out of school, household obligations, mealtimes, etc.
Most business professionals spend a lot of time running from one networking event to the next, meeting more new people in hopes that they'll sell a product or service to someone in the room. This time-sucker becomes frustrating to women when their ambitious intentions position them behind the eight ball, partially because they cannot make it to as many meetings as they feel would be appropriate to fuel their business with. Contrary to this frustration, when women focus on quality over quantity networking they find their double lives as busy moms and business owners can work together and produce positive business results.
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE.
Women take the slower, steady path to networking, stopping along the way to invest time in building their relationships, while men sprint the mad dash straight to getting business fast by skipping some of the developmental, middle steps in networking. At the finish line, men seem to have a quicker return for their time, but it is the women who are winning the race, breaking through the ribbon with deeper, and more fruitful, connections.
Potent networking requires planning. It's important to stay organized with your time and decide which groups you'll get involved with and how much time you'll allow for each of them. Keeping a dedicated calendar to parse time, just like with a financial budget, helps keep time expenditures on track. This kind of organization seems to allow most of us women to manage our options. Women are very adept at juggling calendars with multiple priorities on it.
The next step after budgeting time is to set goals to accomplish in our groups. This requires follow-up time post events, which we also budget for.
The more systems we "install" into our networking credo, the more success we'll generate with limited time. Most people know vast numbers of other people, but actually spend a lot of their time trying to meet even more new people, thinking ever larger numbers of acquaintances will be good for their careers, but we know now how that is not the most productive use of our time.
Most of us remember the caution from our parents to choose a few things and do them very well, rather than only being a little skilled at many things. Relationships work the same way!
We are far better off concentrating on adding people to our networks systematically, limiting the system to numbers we can manage in a quality way. Allowing us to do what we have always done for our families, remembering birthdays, anniversaries, and other important relational information about our network.
Speaking to quality, people are far better off concentrating on adding people to their networks systematically, limiting the system to numbers they can manage in a quality way. Ask yourself if you can remember the birthdays, family members' names, hobbies, previous conversations, and life desires of the number of people you currently are socializing with. If the answer is no, it's time to get more organized, assess your numbers, and step up the quality in your relationships with people already connected to you.
The Survey Says . . .
The Connection Between Tracking and Success.
The old saying that we "treasure what we measure"-and vice versa-turns out to be highly relevant in networking. As we explored the extent to which survey respondents correlated success and networking, we discovered that most of the people who credit networking for some of their success also maintain a system for measuring the dollar value of their networking activity. Conversely, most of the respondents who said networking played no role in their success had no system for tracking any money generated by their participation in networking groups.
In a world where news media frequently reports the latest sports scores, stock market numbers, and even the weekend's top-grossing films, wouldn't you think common sense would motivate business networkers to track how much they're making from their efforts? Unfortunately, common sense isn't all that common.
FIGURE 8.2-Tracking Financial Success by Using a System High-performance professional networking requires the same attention to success metrics as a pro athlete, stockbroker, or even the local cineplex. Why? We can affect what we can measure by changing what we do. In other words, what we can measure, we can change. After analysis, our world can be shaped to how we want it to be-successful. Figure 8.2 shows a proven example of this truth.
Track Your Garden, Watch It Grow How do you keep track of the birthdays, anniversaries, and other important events in your life? Most likely, you use some sort of calendar-something as simple as a wall-hanger or as sophisticated as the newest day planner. In other words, you use a system-whatever works best for you.
More importantly, why do you use any sort of calendar system? Because those birthdays, anniversaries, and other important events are also important to the people in your life. You value your relationship with your spouse, so you keep your eye on your anniversary date. You value your relationships with family and friends, so you keep track of their birthdays.