Networking News - November - Crickets or the Roar of the Crowd, Which One Describes It Better?

At this point in the year, most of us are looking to see if what we've been doing this past year has worked.

Of course you also need to review your marketing and networking to see what your ROI (return on investment) has been.

So. Crickets or loud roar?

What I mean by crickets is silence, zero activity. And it's important to note that just because you are busy, doesn't mean your networking is working for you. For most people, work expands to fit the time allotted. OK, so you are busy. How much revenue is being generated by your networking efforts?

So how do you measure your networking ROI?

Alot of networking groups tell you that if you make back your financial investment, that's a good return on your investment. But is it really?

Let's say your networking group costs $300 per year to join. (Hey that's way cheaper than a yellow page ad!) Should you be happy when you make $600 back? That's double your investment. What about $1200? Or $2000? Would that be a good ROI?

I say NO!

The reason why? - Your TIME investment. The one thing you can't buy back - is your time.

When figuring out if your networking group is really giving you a good return, consider the following:

1. The annual membership fees - anywhere between $100 and $1000 per year depending upon the group.

2. The meeting fees. - Oh sure you paid the annual fees, do you also have to pay dues for the room? for lunches? What about fundraisers, special events, fines or penalties? Always consider the worst case scenario when estimating how much this costs you.

3. The TIME investment. It takes TIME to form relationships and most groups have some kind of attendance policy. Consider - how long does it take you to GET to the meeting? How long is the meeting? How many times per week? How many individual 1 - 2 - 1 meetings should you be doing per week to get the results promised?

Now while I don't agree with having an "hourly rate," because that just sets you up to trade time for dollars, I do believe you should have a sense of what your time is worth.

So, if my time is worth $250 per hour and realistically I need to spend at least 12 hours per month being with this group, I need to make around $36,000 + membership fees PER YEAR to get a good ROI.

So if your hourly rate is $25 per hour in that group you're looking at $3,600. $100 = 14,400, well you can do the math.

Did you know that in BNI the average "seat" is worth $27,000 per year (meaning that's the average members make). When you do the math, that's an eye opener. Bear in mind this is the AVERAGE - meaning people like the mortgage broker and the real estate person will make significantly more. Many will make significantly less, depending upon the price point of their item or service.

I am not saying those numbers are impossible and I am not trying to slam BNI or any other networking group. I just want you to be AWARE of the potential ROI in the grand scheme of things.

Now there are some ways to increase your results in a group like that. I often talk about them. Things like knowing who your target market and strategic alliances are can help you to accomplish your revenue goals in a group like that. When you have stellar elevator speeches and laser focused 1 - 2 - 1 meetings these kinds of groups can make networking and marketing easy for you. And of course feel free to ask me for help if you need it. (FYI my 2 best ebooks are on sale in the side bar to the right.)

So what if you've read this and are a bit shocked and unhappy with your networking results. What else can you do?

You could go to educational or self development workshops and seminars. The strategy here is to go to the most expensive ones you can afford that interest you.

Why?

Because the more people are willing to invest in themselves, the more likely you will find people who get networking and strategic alliances, are qualified to find you clients, maybe by joint venturing and who might be willing to spend money themselves.

You could join or start a mastermind group. This is a group of either a few or many business people who meet specifically to help each other be successful by suggesting various resources, opportunities or strategies.

Or you could look for a group that is filled with potential strategic alliances for you. A mover could join a group where Realtors meet, get on the calendar and speak about what makes them trustworthy and reliable. A consultant who works with fortune 1000 companies could join a networking group of executive assistants. If you teach social networking, join a social networking group or groups like Facebook or Twitter. Do you see how this could work for you?

Remember you are the average of the 5 people or groups you spend the most time with. If the majority of the members of your networking group can best be described as "not for profit" (and they aren't a charitable organization) then perhaps it's time to move on.

Be with what you aspire to be. If you are always the leader or the strongest member of your group, find someplace where you're not the biggest fish in the pond.

Remember networking isn't about your ego or feeling important. It's not necessarily about playing leadership roles in every group you join. Sometimes it's not even about growing your business.

Sometimes networking is about putting yourself in the position to grow YOU. And, after all, aren't YOU your most valuable asset anyway?