How Important would you say Network Building is to you?
Ultimately this is the most important question you can (and should) ask.
You can gain a great insight into where your guest is at by the way they answer this question.
Guests are much more open after the Hub
After hearing what the MC and the speakers have to say and having experienced the friendly “no pitch” atmosphere of the room, guests start to become more relaxed and open.
After the Hub has done its work, it’s a great time to find out how we may be best able to help people.
This is the time to ask them questions to see where they are at and what they have understood.
Questions are the answers
After the Hub catch up and ask questions such as:
- From what you saw tonight, does the purpose of the platform resonate with you?
- Are you keen to deliberately build your network?
- Why do you see network building as being so important to you?
- What would be some of the most important things you’d like to achieve from building your network?
- Have you thought much about the difference between networking and network building?
- Do you like the idea of building relationships before expecting advocacy and ultimately transactions?
- How about we catch up for 15 minutes or so before the meeting next week?
- Great, I’ll send you a link the video the MC mentioned and a calendar invite for next week
When you ask questions your guests you will often give you a good idea about how important network building is to them.
Most importantly, you may be able to determine any barriers they may have such as:
- If they are young, they may be concerned about whether they will be taken seriously by people who are already successful in business
- Some will be super-focused on developing new business for the business they have just started
- Employees may feel they have nothing to offer in a business environment
- Many will be concerned about how they can fit this in with everything they have on their plate (how much time commitment is this going to take)
- Some may be uncomfortable in large crowds interacting with strangers (even though they know they need to)
Listen & become Intuitive
Sometimes, it is not what is directly said but more what is indicated by their body language.
Learn to “read between the lines”.
If you suspect there may be a problem in a particular area – ask them.
You seem a bit hesitant – would I be right in saying…..?
Explain the importance of the Workshop
- The Workshops have to be experienced to know just how great they are!
- They add a completely new and highly necessary dimension to the Hub
- At the Hub, our main job is to focus on our new guests
- We often have 2-3 or more guests attending the Hub
- Which means we are often unable to interact with the people who attended in prior weeks as much as we’d like
- We definitely want to build a relationship with those who have returned and that’s one of the main reasons we have the Workshops
- The Workshops provide a great opportunity for you to get to the other people who are committed to building their networks
- At the Workshops, you’ll hear great good news stories
- Which helps everyone to see just how effective this system is
- And we also have great talks which help equip people to build their networks
The Importance of explaining the Workshop
Sometimes people are hesitant and they don’t want to seem “too keen”.
They need time to process it – perhaps to come to the conclusion that building a network is very important.
Often they will return to the room when you are busy talking with new people.
They can often slip between the cracks because they feel they are being ignored at the Hub.
That’s why it’s important that you follow the process and explain why we have workshops – on the first night they attend the Hub
Just so you know – we are not ignoring you – we are just busy dealing with new people – the workshop solves this and is the next step
Your objective: Move people who have said networking is important to the next step
- You want to be building relationships with people who are looking for what we have to offer
- Most attendees will be looking to get ahead and will be at least curious as to how Network Building (our way) can help them
- Also, they will usually be impressed by the atmosphere in the room, how welcome they were made to feel, how they were introduced to others, what the speakers had to say and how you looked after them
Setting up another meeting is critical
- The invitation to meet again creates a decision point for them – they can listen to Video-1 and think about how important it would be for them to build a network
- All you want to do at this point is to get the next step – the worst thing you can do is talk them into and keep talking till you talk them out of it!
- Besides, you usually just don’t have time to spend with just one person
- They are more than welcome to come back next week and soak up the atmosphere.
- However, you probably won’t be able to spend much time with them because you will have more new people next week.
- In other words, it’s far better for them to have a 1-on-1 sit down with you where you can get to know more about what they are looking for and answer any questions they may have
Introduce them to relevant others
As soon as possible introduce your guests(s) to your Coach
Your Coach (and other Coaches in the room) can help you move people onto the next step by asking questions such as:
Has Fred (you) organised a time to catch up with you next week?
If you find that someone has a concern such as : I’m just out uni – will people take me seriously?
You can introduce them to people in the room who have had exactly that problem and have overcome it.
And you can let the person you are introducing them to know where they are at.
I thought you are one of the best people I could introduce Mary to as she is concerned about _____and I know that was also an issue for you.
Also, by introducing them to people at the Hub who could be good contacts for them, it demonstrates what could be possible for them if they decide to become consistent players.
Obviously, advocacy is better than a mere introduction.
However, before you can advocate for them, you need to know like and trust them.
TIP
In the week prior to the Hub, email your coach a link to your guest’s profile.
That way, when they meet your guest, they will know something about your guest.
Nothing helps more than someone saying: yes I looked at your profile and……
This adds credence to the claim you made when you were inviting them that you would line up some others for them to meet on the night.
Your Coach typically knows more people in the Connect Collaborative than you.
As such, they may be able to introduce your guest to more relevant others than you may be able to.
Your Main Goal: Book A Time (BAT)
If you like this person and believe they may be someone you’d like to help build a network
Your main goals:
(1) book a catch-up time (ideally before the Hub next week).
(2) let them know it will help a great deal to view the video (Video-1) you will be sending them before you next meet.
Good Question: How about I send you a link to a video with more information and we book a time to get together before the Hub next week?
Great – Would 6.45pm work for you? Perfect, I’ll send you the link and a calendar invite.
Don’t wait till your guest has attended several more Hubs – suggest a catch up while it’s fresh in their mind.
That way you can explain more about the Workshop so that they realise there is a lot more to this than just the Hub (as good as it is).
When you do sit with a guest following the Hub, they may not be ready to proceed to the NBS yet – that’s fine they can attend the Hub whenever they like.
However, when you do catch up, you’ll be explaining the benefits of the Workshop, NBS trial and the time flexibility permitted (eg every second Monday) with the consistency that is needed to make this work.
It’s up to them – you don’t want to be working with unwilling (or non-solution-oriented participants) – especially when you have a lot of others who are keen to go right now.
Equally, we don’t want others to miss out because they have a misunderstanding of the benefit / value or the time commitment required – it is a balance.
Most people will be curious enough
If network building is important to them, most people will be curious enough to go to the next step of listening to the video and setting a time to meet with you.