Before building your network, it is essential to realise that you are only looking for 5 people who see the value of building their networks and are prepared to invest a small amount of time each day doing so.
Imagine for a moment that you do find 5 such people, and they find 5 such people. You would now have 25 in your team. It’s easy to see how rapidly your group will expand from there. It all boils down to finding a few network builders who will also commit to finding a few network builders.
Once your team starts to expand along with others in the CC, just imagine the immense possibilities for us to advocate for one another and potentially discover other business opportunities.
You may already know some people who you believe see the value of building their networks and are likely to be willing to commit a small amount of time each day to build their network proactively.
That’s a great place to start.
It’s worth doing a brainstorming session – just start by making a list of anyone you can think of.
The reason for doing this (without pre-judging) is that writing one name will often make you think of another.
Then examine the list and think about the value they may gain from learning how to build their network and working more closely with you.
Often you have people in your network that you’d like to collaborate more closely with, but until now, there has been no easy way of making that happen.
The next step is to have a ‘Discovery’ call with them (this could be by Zoom or phone). However, before making this call, you will have much more confidence when you learn how to have a great Discovery call.
What’s the objective of your Discovery Call?
Ultimately, you are looking to on board a few great network-building partners.
In other words, people who see the value of building their team and advocating for others.
Imagine you are starting a new business. Say, an accounting practice.
Would you be looking for partners that you believe are at least as committed and effective as you are?
Or would you be happy to invest a lot of time helping your partner develop to your level of commitment and expertise?
Obviously, you are looking for great team-building partners who will also look to rapidly develop their teams.
Remember that you are not looking to on board everyone – just the people who are excited about what we offer and who you are excited about being part of your team.
You are not looking for customers.
You are looking for people who could be great network-building partners.
So, the purpose of your Discovery Zoom call is to determine whether or not you want to offer your candidate the opportunity to experience the CC by attending one of our workshops. They would then also participate in a CC introductory session.
In some cases, after asking some questions, you may decide to end the call without inviting the person to an Introductory Zoom.
Following are some great questions to ask yourself as you progress through your Discovery call:
- Do you have a good feeling about them?
- Have they indicated that they see the value of building their network?
- Do you think they are “givers” by nature?
- Are they a good fit for the CC culture?
- Do you like them enough to give them the benefit of the doubt?
Note that you can quickly end the call with words such as:
“It’s been great chatting; if anything comes up, I’ll give you a call”.
There is so much we could talk about regarding the Discovery call.
You will also learn some great tips about the Discovery Call when you attend Workshop 5b and also by watching a great video on the Discovery call.
Many of our members comment that the skills they learn by improving their Discovery call also help them achieve much better results in other areas of their business (and life).
With more experience, you will gradually improve. So relax! Don’t worry about ‘stuffing it up’ (there are plenty more fish in the ocean).
Following are some tips that will help you have great Discovery calls and manage your time.
- Keep it brief
- You don’t have time for a long rambling conversation, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you can connect with people (especially if you’ve selected well in the first place)
- One thing that will help you have a brief Discovery call and improve your overall efficiency is using a calendar booking system such as Calendly.
- Calendly is easy to set up.
- If you use an event type such as “A 15-minute chat with Me”, your invitees will know that it’s a short call (even though in practice, it may extend a bit longer)
- A booking system such as Calendly saves you having to engage in frustrating and time-consuming communication to try and find a time you are both free (it’s so much easier to offer them your diary of available times and let them choose a time that works for them)
- If you are not already using a booking system, it’s worth Googling Calendly.
- Learn how to quickly connect with the person you believe may be interested in building their network
- It’s always worth remembering that many people communicate, but few connect.
- The ability to connect is an art you’ll develop over time.
- Your energy and enthusiasm are vital
- As we say, it’s not the words you say but the music you play that matters
- Smile
- Ask ice-breaking relevant questions
- If you don’t know them very well, you must view their LinkedIn profile and comment about things such as where they live. For example, I notice you are in Melbourne – did you manage to get to the tennis?
- Ask questions that lead the conversation where you want it to go.
- For example, Mary, I love your profile. Especially the part about collaboration and building business relationships. I feel the same way very much, and it is really why I suggested we meet ‘face-to-face’ on Zoom. Could you explain a bit more about the value you see in collaborating with others?
- Always remember that questions are the answers.
- The better you get at asking questions, the faster you will achieve your objectives (this also applies to most other things you do in business);
- The person asking the questions is in control.
- Understand and progress smoothly and effectively through the following ‘phases’ of your conversation
- Gather information;
- Highlight the value of building a network with like-minded others;
- Gather information about your candidate’s current focus and attitude regarding network building;
- Ask enough questions to determine if they are a good candidate for your team;
- Over time, progressively build a list of questions that you find work well for you.
- Highlight the value of building a network with like-minded others
- If (after asking some good questions) you believe they are interested in building their networks, consider taking some of the following steps.
- Give a brief background on yourself – be sure to speak about how network building has helped you
- Learn some key phrases that highlight the value of building a network with like-minded others. For example:
- “For as long as I can remember, people have emphasised the value of networking. However, I feel we’ve actually reached a point in time where networking is no longer an optional extra – it’s really something we’ve got to become better at. Would you agree?”;
- “When you think about it, the reason networking is so effective in gaining business or other opportunities is simply that: Anyone can promote anyone but themselves. If we attempt to sell ourselves, it’s usually very ineffective, isn’t it?” (Watch them nod in agreement);
- “On the other hand, if we have many others genuinely advocating for us, we typically solve some of our biggest problems; for example, gaining high-quality business with minimal effort and cost; would you agree?”;
- “The real problem is that no one has taught us how to build a relationship-based network of like-minded others. I have found that the networking that has been available to date has often been transactional rather than relationship-based. Of course, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the transactional approach if you are up for it. Still, I find many people (myself included) find a relationship-based approach far more pleasant and effective. How about you?”;
- “I’m looking for people who believe in building relationships and trust through advocacy. How about you?”
- “That’s why I and a few others have put together a great online-based group of people who want to engage in relationship-based network building rather than transactional networking.”;
- “Looking at your profile and from our conversation so far, it seems you also see the value in building your relationship-based network of others who will actually advocate for you as well as you for them.”;
- “How important would you say it is for you to build your network?”
- Suggest experiencing the CC
If your candidate seems to be excited about building a relationship-based network, suggest that they experience the Connect Collaborative first hand by attending one of our Workshops during which they would sit in on an introductory session.
You don’t need to go into more depth during your Discovery call; the CC Intro facilitator will handle that.
- Be prepared for questions
In the end, there are just a few commonly asked questions.
This means it’s easy for you to learn how to handle them!
However, don’t feel the need to cover all possible questions before they ask them!
If they don’t ask you any questions, they may be keen to attend a CC intro session, knowing that it will probably answer most of their questions.
That’s why it’s good to let them know about our intro sessions reasonably early in your conversations.
Following are some frequently asked questions:
Question 1; I am keen to build my network, but what sort of time commitment would I be looking at?
“Well, the great news is that the time commitment is significantly less than that required to attend physical network meetings!
Because all our network-building is done online, you don’t have to travel to meetings, and our meetings tend to be shorter and more focused.
Typically that will save somewhere between 1 and 3 hours per week.
Perhaps even more importantly, because our meetings are all online, you have national and international reach.
It’s up to you how much time you invest.
In the beginning, we realise most people will need to make some adjustments to fit consistent network-building into their calendar.
It really comes down to how important you feel it is to build an advocating network in advance of when you need it.
Question 2; Is there a cost?
Yes, but I believe it is very reasonable compared with other options.
The first month is free as we only want people on board who have experienced and see the value.
Unlike most networking models, there is no upfront commitment; you don’t have to pay a year’s fees in advance; you pay as you go.
Also, you can cancel your subscription at any time, so there is no risk at all.
The small amount of our subscription should not be a barrier to them checking it out further. However, if the subscription cost is a barrier, this may signify that the CC may not currently be a good choice for the person with whom you are conversing.
Question 3; I already have a great network – what is the point of expanding it further?
An excellent way to answer this is with another question such as:
“How much does your existing network pro-actively advocate for you?”;
The conversation may then continue along the following lines:
“Not a great deal, but I know that if asked, they’d do anything for me.”;
Your reply might then be: “Do you really want to have to keep asking? Wouldn’t it be better if you built your network in a culture that continually reinforces the value of proactive advocacy?”;
The more Discovery Calls you do, the better you’ll get.
To start with, you may feel nervous and that you didn’t ‘flow’ very well.
Don’t worry – you’ll get better with consistent practice.
Make use of the other resources available.
There is so much to learn when it comes to interacting with others.
We hear a lot about the value of learning people skills and self-development.
And it’s true!
It’s so worth being committed to personal development; it makes all the difference!
Also, consider taking advantage of the following:
- Role-playing conversations with your Connector or someone they recommend;
- Ask your Connector questions about how you may have been better able to answer a question someone asked you during a Discovery call;
- Attend the Workshops, covering how to improve your conversations. These workshops are interactive, so you can ask questions and benefit from the questions asked by others in that workshop.
