Relationship Networking 101

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Have you ever been to a great restaurant, and you just can’t wait to tell your friends and family? You excitedly tell them about the great food and wonderful atmosphere. Unwittingly through your “spoken advertisement” you have begun to “Network Market” for the restaurant. Network marketing of this type is great because it’s free and, it also comes with an “emotional” guarantee your friend or family has said that it is great, so it must be great. Word of mouth is truly the best form of advertising. Most businesses spend up to 50% of the price of their goods on marketing.

Let’s take Relationship Network marketing a bit further. Let’s say that the new restaurant that opened is named “Skye”, and the owner’s name is Robert. As you are enjoying your meal, Robert moves throughout the restaurant greeting the guest. When he reaches your table he asks about the service, and the food. He tastefully asks how you heard about Skye. Now the Networking comes into play. First we will cover the main marketing, and then the sub-marketing.

Robert tells you that he would like to invite you back to dinner for free, and asks if you would be so kind to tell some friends about the restaurant. He then goes on to tell you that for every friend you refer to the restaurant you will receive a free dinner coupon, and a check for 10% of the value of the friends meal. He then gives you a dozen coupons to give to your friends. After a year, you are receiving dozens of small checks and free meals, and your friends are happy because they have found a great restaurant. Soon Robert’s only problem was to find seating for all of his guest.

Roberts marketing pays off, not only does he build an extremely large and loyal client base, he also makes friends with individuals of all walks of life. Guess who comes to dinner at Skyes, business people, judges, doctors, lawyers, bankers, jewelers, mechanics, politicians, local press and brokers. Robert makes sure he gets to know them all. Soon, Roger has a powerful place in the community. He gets great press reviews and gets invited to great parties where he can network with other movers and shakers.

Now, there is yet another sub level, that allows Robert to Network for his guest. He can now refer his patrons to Doctors, to lawyers, to mechanics etc… Robert will now provide “word of mouth” advertising for his clientele. The web of the Relationship Network never ends.

So, how can Relationship Networking help you as a FileMaker developer? There are numerous ways.

· Find new clients
· Learn more about your market and other markets
· Meet experts that can help you
· Find out about your competition
· Developer partnerships
· Lower your expenses
· Become involved in markets that were previously unobtainable
· Form a support group
· Form an investors group / become affiliated with known investors

So, who would make a good Networking prospect? Where can I meet them? If you are a FileMaker consultant, there are numerous individuals that would make great prospects.

A great place to start is anyone that can provide sound advice on investing, banking, accounting and taxes. As a consultant, you are running your own business, your own show. The more you learn about how to handle your money the better. Take time to get to know your bank manager and loan officers. You may need them as your company grows and you may need a loan for more office space, advertising or office equipment.

Another group to network with is attorneys. Attorneys can help you protect your product as well as give you insights to incorporating as well as create and review contracts. Attorneys can be extremely important when Non Disclosures and Non Competes need to be reviewed. Attorneys also tend to have a large network of contacts, find a qualified attorney and stick with them.

Places of worship are another great place to network. Typical congregations are made up of ALL walks of life.

Another great contact to make is anyone involved in the Media. This could include radio or tv personalities, ad agencies, copywriters etc… People involved in the media have tons of contacts and may be able to give you some exposure. Try submitting story ideas about your company, think of unique ways to market yourself. Attend public events where they are likely to be.

Network with other consultants. Most cities have “local” publications that list different organizations that are meeting. Find some that share your same interest and join them. If none exist, and you are passionate about what you do, form your own group. Surround yourself with individuals that are knowledgeable in other strategic markets.

Find out what events local business leaders, and movers and shakers attend, make sure you attend the same functions so you can make contact. Try the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, or the local Lions club.

Lastly, Network with those in the supply and demand chain. If you are a FileMaker contractor, you may have to be a jack-of-all-trades. This may include networking, set-up, installation, debugging, being asked to help with other hardware issues, advice on software etc… Work with local suppliers where you can build a relationship. Choose to deal exclusively with one vendor for a particular product, ask that they refer you to customers for work.

The main obstacle you will face will be yourself. And the largest factor is usually the time limitations that we put on ourselves. Yes, our lives are hurried, but part of networking is allowing others to take some of the burdens off of us. Think of a large network as a tree of answers and advice. Each time we need help with a decision that would require a lot of research, reach for the tree, and grab an answer. If you have a great network, many times the answer and the advice you need is just a phone call away.

A word of advice, great contacts are not easy to come by, so it is important to remember the little things. Create a database that holds facts about your most important contacts. These include Birthdays, Anniversaries, wife’s name, husband’s name, favorite restaurant, favorite sport or team…anything that will give you the ability to send them a quick card or email and let them know that they are important to you, and that you are thinking about them. This is extremely powerful!

Dale Carnegie once said, “You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you".





This article was written by Stephen K Knight. You may use this article on your website, or email copies to friends as long as the article remains in its completed form with the authors name included.

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