Networking groups that meet face to face tend to fall into two categories. Irrespective of whether the group meets for breakfast, coffee, lunch, drinks or an evening meal some are open to all, and some only to businesses that do not compete with another.
The first is a general opportunity for business people to get together. ..on a turn-up-when-you-feel-like-it basis. So you could meet 7 accountants in one meeting, or find 5 other businesses that do the same – or roughly the same – as you do.
The benefit of this kind of networking is that it is usually quite relaxed. You have to take the initiative to follow up with people you find interesting as you may not meet them on a repeat occasion, which means that there are no expectations. You have the chance to meet the “competition” and in fact may find that you could work together.
The second type of networking where only one type of business is allowed to be present means that effectively you are defending the space against other comers. Usually these groups meet more frequently, and there is an expectation that the members will use people in the group to supply products and services, and recommend them to others. So there are more risks and more rewards. If group members do not deliver to a professional standard there can be problems, but when businesses work well together and develop professional relationships the potential is unlimited.
For a healthy networking life it is important to have a core of trusted peers, but also get into new networks and meet different businesses.
Part of the joy of networking is in introducing different business people to each other for their benefit. The gain to you, the networker, in addition to a warm fuzzy feeling of doing good (which is important!) is that you become viewed as a go-to person. You effectively become the centre of the network, and your business gets viewed highly as well. Once your business is known and trusted people are more likely to buy from you.
The best solution is to find a “core” group that resonates with your values, and where you can contribute to others, and also to go to other events to find new businesses and keep your network working.
Good post Jean – people often get scared of groups, believing that there’s a catch or something in for the rest of the group and put up a barrier. I attended a business circle group for a while ( had to stop due to logistics) where we met once a week for breakfast. Everybody had a one min opportunity to introduce themselves to the group, as there were guests each week, but this also really gave individuals a great chance to practice their ‘pitch’ out loud in a comfortable environment. However the etiquette of the group was to pass on a qualified referral to another member which had amazing results, as you had to be accountable to the whole group, as to how you dealt with that referral, a week later, which built great ‘social proof’ and sent your business viral in a non competitive group.