Business Networking are you overdosing ????

Don't get me wrong I love a bit of networking particularly where it involves golf, food and drink

For many people business networking has become a way of life, the concept of meeting like minded entrepreneurs and creating trust in the hope of acquiring new business is wonderful and does work. Business network groups spring up everywhere and every month there is a new group/community inviting you to spend time in their meetings. The question I raise is do some people simply spend too much time at networking events at a cost to their own business.

There are people involved in this form of business promotion who live and breathe it. I can see that it does provide many people with more than just promotional value and can give people in business a needed confidence boost to be part of a business group, often once they become known in once circle these people join every network group around and often create a social life from their network contacts.I know a number of people who have little self confidence who thrive in these environments. Yet what is the true value to a business in pure time spent.

Networking face to face is a very good thing but I would ask you the question what are the alternatives to spending many hours a week sipping coffee and socializing on the slight chance you may get publicity and maybe a lead. There are people who spend up-to 15 hours plus a week maybe they gain maybe they don't but have they ever stopped to calculate

Some 15 years ago I took the decision to reduce my involvement in networking after my own experiment suggested i was losing business by spending a morning at such meetings.

The first step was to evaluate results over 4 meetings. My first task was to log meticulously who I met and what benefits I expected to gain as a result of the person to person meetings.

In 4 meetings I listed per meeting between 6 to 8 people that I engaged meaningfully per meeting of those 27 persons 5 were new to me.

So out of the 22 people, most I had known from joining 3 years previous. Of the 22 known to me I had converted 6 customers in 3 years and of the new introductions 2 were way out of my area. This meant that I had an opportunity to promote myself to new 3 local persons which I did with usual great enthusiasm. The 4 attendances took up 16 hours I never met or came across those 3 people ever again.

Yes Yes Yes I know i cannot measure referrals by members that go on out of my earshot and back in day to day life and obviously that is a factor in favor of attending

The following month I decided to set aside the same mornings as the networking events and try spend that 16 hours of my time in a quiet room with a PC revisiting old ground.

Day 1 spent 4 hours reviewed diary meetings back 2 years & contact info in diary

Day 2 spent 4 hours extracting info from old note books went to a period of 6 months from 3 yrs ago

Day 3 spent 4 hours reviewing old emails from a 12 month period 4 years ago

Day 4 collating the list of information and contacting ex customers/clients from contact database

In the 16 hours spent quietly working I sent out emails reconnecting with long lost clients, making phone calls, reminding ex tenants & landlords about us and saying hello to old business social contacts who had referred friends relatives colleagues to me in the past.

Result. Tailor Made re-acquainted with 300 persons. Responses from 140 and new instructions/inquiries 38.

These figures date back many years ago and are the only ones I have methodically measured. I still continue to practice these type of reviews of existing info. Yes some of those people I recontacted I did know through social networking for business but I do feel the harvest I reap that sits in my records can be more productive.

I am not saying do not go to networking events at all I am simply questioning the value of over attending with the same people.

As always there is a balance to be found and its often worth reminding one self about the options. I am off now to review my diary for Landlords we no longer act for from 5 years ago

article Francis Payne Tailor Made Letting Agency Tailor Made Letting Agency Poole Town Centre office 01202 770040

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