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View Full Version : do networking groups still work in todays economy?



huggytree
09-03-2012, 12:39 PM
i was in a BNI group for 3 years...the first year was great, the 2nd year saw the lead $ cut in 1/2, and the 3rd year it 1/2'd again...i wasnt even making my wages coming to the meetings.....so i quit

my old group had 40+ members....at one point we were looking into a larger meeting place and expected to get 50+

i talked to a current member this past weekend...my old group now has 5 members....if i couldnt get a good lead w/ 40 there's no chance of anyone getting any leads at 5....so the group is dead

i found the reason for me was the focus turning to 'cheap'......instead of 'quality'....the further the economy went down the more new members who's company focus was on 'being the lowest price' was taking over......and those new low price members seemed to go out of business 1 a month.....it brought in horrible leads for me and we had a large turn around of new members monthly

ive thought many times about joining a different group to test the waters....

do networking groups still work in 2012? anyone in one?

vangogh
09-04-2012, 11:57 AM
I never found them all that useful for me, however I know they've worked for others. I think the general idea still works and always will. Networking will always be a part of business. I think more of that networking is moving online though. Naturally people will still network offline in face-to-face meetings and that will always be the best way to cement relationships. Business networking groups never struck me as being about building strong relationships and the kind of relationship they offered can more easily be found online now.

It's possible what your seeing is limited to your specific group. Since you've had success in the past, it's probably worth giving another one a try to make sure. I have a hunch though you'd do better to move this kind of networking online.

KristineS
09-04-2012, 12:04 PM
I think they can work, but you have to have a group of sufficient size, and there has to be an equal ratio of getting and giving leads. I think where it often goes wrong is that people focus only on what they're getting and not on what they're giving.

I'm with Vangogh in that I think the future of a lot of this stuff is online. Social media really only works well if you build relationships, so you have to invest the time but, if you do invest the time, I think the quality of information and support you get is better. I've seen several local businesses do really well with Twitter and Facebook. It takes some strategic thinking and following, but it can be done.

huggytree
09-04-2012, 04:11 PM
it could be limited to just the group i used to belong to....but i looked into a different BNI chapter and it was experiencing the exact same issue....they had dropped from 35 to 15

i thought about it today.....i used to get customers asking me for the phone # of other trades...i dont get that anymore....i used to be able to ask the customer 'so what is your next project going to be'......there is no longer a next project for people

i thought about how things had changed from 5-10 years ago to now....people are very different.......i think this recession is going to effect people the way the great depression effected my father.....i dont think as badly, but i think we are different as a people than we were 10 years ago....

my first year in BNI got me $40,000 in business...my sales were around $200,000....so it was a major thing
when i left i was getting $12,000 from BNI and my sales were $400,000+

there are a bunch of generic networking groups around town....just people creating their own....no fee's or charges....if i could find a 'contractor only' one id give it a shot again

the good thing about BNI is it forced you to come up with a lead....when i left i was getting leads w/o phone #'s....leads that werent really a lead

Steve B
09-05-2012, 07:53 AM
Start your own contractor group. I started my own pet services networking group. We probably don't get nearly the amount of leads that we would from a BNI group - but, we help each other out in many other ways. You don't need to pay an outside organization for the ability to have lunch or breakfast with other people with common interests.

huggytree
09-05-2012, 09:44 AM
i may just do that....how many are in your group Steve?

LeadGenGuy
09-06-2012, 02:16 AM
I tried it out for a year, with mixed results. This was 2 years back. The problem I had was the time and the generality of the group. It was much more efficient to spend 30 min speaking in front of 30 targeted leads than it was to spend a couple of hours of breakfast every month for a year.

Steve B
09-06-2012, 06:45 AM
We peaked at 10 members. Right now we're a little lower because we recently added a website and had to collect some dues to pay for it. We had a few members that don't need anymore business so they dropped out.

Home - Bluegrass Pet Services Network (http://www.BluegrassPetServices.com)

Harold Mansfield
09-06-2012, 01:28 PM
People aren't different. The technology is. You can get far more done and make far more connections at your desk with a high speed internet connection, than you can driving across town to a 2 hour meeting with 40 people.

You probably don't get those referral suggestions anymore because the information is readily available with a few keystrokes from a smart phone and you can get the reviews of many people, ratings, BBB info, licensing info, and so on, rather than asking one person at a time.

I agree, things have changed, but people haven't stopped doing business. They are just doing it more efficiently.

That being said, I've never thought of a Networking group as a way to get customers. Because they are all looking for customers too. I've always thought they were exchanging ideas with like minded business professionals.

I have a friend who is owns a local yard cleaning/pooper scopper service. Business is booming. There's money in poop. He doesn't do it by going to business networking groups. He doesn't spend a lot on advertising. He doesn't even have a website (It's a franchise, he has a page on the company website), just a Facebook page. He does it by participating in every single community activity that involves pets or families. And he walks away with clients, referrals, or an increase in calls every single time. It also helps that it doesn't snow here so he's working year round.

If you are a local business, THAT's the way to go.

Steve B
09-06-2012, 04:09 PM
that's funny how different things work differently for people. A friend of mine has a poop scooping business also. He's been doing it for 14 years. He also participates in those community things and NEVER walks away with any new business. He keeps doing them because it has eventually built some name recognition and he considers it a contribution to the organization he is supporting. He gets a lot through Google adwords and organic hits on his website. After 14 years, he gets a lot of referrals also.

I also rarely get any business directly from community events.

Harold Mansfield
09-06-2012, 04:38 PM
that's funny how different things work differently for people. A friend of mine has a poop scooping business also. He's been doing it for 14 years. He also participates in those community things and NEVER walks away with any new business. He keeps doing them because it has eventually built some name recognition and he considers it a contribution to the organization he is supporting. He gets a lot through Google adwords and organic hits on his website. After 14 years, he gets a lot of referrals also.

I also rarely get any business directly from community events.

Perfect example of how everything doesn't work for everybody, or how even recreating what works for someone else may not work for you. Lots of variables to consider that make all the difference from location, demographics, even execution. What works in Vegas, which is a relatively new city, with mostly new home owners, that own mostly new homes (10 years old or younger), that don't have big yards OR grass, where it never snows...is different than doing it in the seasonal, mid west, older city, with older homes that all have grass and larger yards.

You can miss a few piles hidden in grass, or a section behind the garage, maybe even get some help with occasional rain or hose it down, but you can't ignore it sitting on hot concrete in a city where you CAN'T use the hose to wash anything down more than 2 minutes a day, 3 days a week and you only have so much backyard.

Plus we have a scoop law, so he gets work from apartment and condominium complexes, home owners associations and even parks.

Different enviroment.

Wozcreative
09-07-2012, 12:38 AM
I personally enjoy going to these networking events, but I am naturally a really quiet person so I don't do very well selling my own design services in person. It's definitely my fallback, but I know I need to work on it! Needless to say, I have never came out with a prospect. There are usually some interest, but nothing concrete.

There was once ONE phone call but the guy thought he could get a website for $500, hoping to sell a service he had no knowledge of. Anyway, I have another chance in November to try again!

Business Attorney
09-07-2012, 09:58 AM
I think what Harold said about what works for one business doesn't work for another is absolutely correct.

Another important factor is the make up of the networking group. I have talked to several people who have been in networking groups and, anecdotally it seems that they rarely work, but I have a former partner who has been in a successful self-formed networking group for years. By "self-formed" I mean it was a group that came together without an umbrella organization but simply put together a core group and steadily added the right components. It is a group of business professionals (attorney, accountant, insurance broker, graphic designer, etc...) and they selected people who added value to the group. If they wanted to add a marketing consultant, they would select someone who already had a compatible clientele, not just someone's neighbor who happened to be a marketing executive who was a recent victim of corporate downsizing and trying to get a consulting practice going to pay the bills.

If you end up with people whose business is not compatible with yours, the chances of getting anything out of it are no greater than chatting with another parent at your son's Little League game and occasionally coming across a lead. It may happen, but it's due more to chance than the time and effort you are putting into the group.

neil@camisonline
01-24-2013, 08:09 AM
I was always worried about recommending people that I didn’t know at networking groups, particularly to the larger clients of mine. There is a significant risk that if you recommend someone that isn’t any good then they’ll damage your own reputation. Furthermore I found some of the networking events really unstructured in that they just chucked everyone in the room of a big hotel and let them get on it with it. Having some sort of theme and agenda would have been better.

I think now with online marketing you can have far more success for the equivalent cost you’d pay for a networking group membership, also with the likes of PPC there isn’t any contracts and you can turn it off whenever you like and you don’t have to get out of bed at some early hour!

joept
02-14-2013, 11:31 AM
For me I have attended just a few networking events and they have been great in terms of generating interest for my businesses. I'm a personal trainer and online marketer and I have walked away with qualified leads on every occasion. I think it really just depends on the power of your message whatever your there to promote and gain connections with. I have also connected with other professionals and it has been invaluable the information I have gained. even for online business, I have spoken to people who were looking to expand their operations and develop their business and have ended up doing a joint venture with one person. It may be hit and miss but personally I think you get out of it what you put in, talk to everyone and be passionate about what you do, buzz creates more buzz, success breeds success.

vangogh
02-15-2013, 12:28 AM
It may be hit and miss but personally I think you get out of it what you put in, talk to everyone and be passionate about what you do

Good point. What you put into it goes a long way toward what you get out of it. I do think the other people in the group matter too. There's something of the luck of the draw involved. You could end up in a group that isn't going to work for you. It's not necessarily even the group's fault. You could end up networking with people who simply don't have the connections to help you. However in that case your point applies again as it's up to you to put in the time to find the group that will work for you.

patrickprecisione
08-05-2013, 09:55 AM
I've heard good things about BNI groups, although I've never been in one myself. I suppose they can work depending on your business.

Dan Furman
08-07-2013, 06:19 PM
I've heard good things about BNI groups, although I've never been in one myself. I suppose they can work depending on your business.

I've always found them to be a bunch of salespeople exchanging crappy leads with each other.

patrickprecisione
08-21-2013, 08:48 AM
I've always found them to be a bunch of salespeople exchanging crappy leads with each other.

I suppose how much you get out of it mostly depends on both the quality of the people in the group, as well as your line of work. For instance, I was referring to a friend of mine who was a real estate agent and saw a great deal of value in these kinds of groups. But I realize it might not work for everyone.

Sjfine
08-21-2013, 12:33 PM
There is no one answer to this I have found, and all the responses here confirm. Dependent upon your market and marketplace. In many mid to large size companies the owners of the companies send their sales force to get leads, or the sales staff come on their own. So if you are a b2b business the idea would be to get the name of the owner or decision maker from the sales person. If your market is an individual then your conversation with the sales person can be fruitful.
Finding a networking organization where owners show up has a completely different feel, sometimes stuffy but often lively and fun.
Since we all should have at least 3 or better four marketing methods working at any one time - networking groups can be helpful.
I also found BNI restrictive, asking me to refer someone just because they are in my group and not having any real knowledge of their skills or work habits can be a negative to my reputation.

LGCG
08-26-2013, 01:26 PM
There is no one answer to this I have found, and all the responses here confirm. Dependent upon your market and marketplace. In many mid to large size companies the owners of the companies send their sales force to get leads, or the sales staff come on their own. So if you are a b2b business the idea would be to get the name of the owner or decision maker from the sales person. If your market is an individual then your conversation with the sales person can be fruitful.
Finding a networking organization where owners show up has a completely different feel, sometimes stuffy but often lively and fun.
Since we all should have at least 3 or better four marketing methods working at any one time - networking groups can be helpful.
I also found BNI restrictive, asking me to refer someone just because they are in my group and not having any real knowledge of their skills or work habits can be a negative to my reputation.

Agreed. Like so many things with marketing, it's all relative. Try it for your self and see if it works.

Nick
09-30-2013, 10:14 AM
My business growth depends on referrals. Networking for me is very important. A structured networking group with exclusive categories is my 'anchor'. I attend many other 'social' networking events as well. Referrals take time but they have started to come in. Remember, you have to give in order to receive. Also, I measure all this activity with the Referral Metrics on-line tool. You have to measure in order to know how you're doing so you can adjust you're networking/referral strategy for better results.

vangogh
10-08-2013, 01:23 AM
Remember, you have to give in order to receive.

I wish more people would remember that. Sometimes it seems like everyone who wants to network is only looking for what they can receive and forget the giving part. I know it's not true of everyone, but sometimes it seems like the takers far outweigh the takers.

Networking is an important part of any business. How you network can vary. Some people prefer networking with others in person. Some prefer it online. How you do it depends more on your strengths and business, but networking itself is very important.

MasBro
11-10-2013, 03:03 PM
Networking groups just don't seem to get it. They have a great opportunity with social media, but most are stuck in old ways; meet for breakfast, stand up, give your same 'ol elevator pitch to the same people week after week, bla, bla, bla. No one is going to get rich from a networking group.

HERE"S WHAT YOU DO: Inject some life into that listless group by adding a social media component. You'll have to customize it to fit your specific group, but here's the basic idea. Say there are twenty other professionals in your group and each one has an average of two hundred friends in Facebook for example. If each one shares your business in their news feed, you’ll be getting your name out to 4000 people – all will be receiving your promotion from someone they know. I’m sure you will be glad to return the favor to others in the group as well. Do this for Linked In and Google Plus as well. What's cool is that you're getting your message out to thousands of new prospects from a source they already know. Do this right and there si some huge networking potential.

You also need to support each other in online customer review sites as well. Really, you've all used each other in the group. Why aren't any of you writing reviews for one another? Careful with Yelp. Yelp is the most important place to have reviews, but too many from connected people can get reviews filtered (I discuss this more in my latest eBook Yelp Lead Machine (http://yelpleadmachine.com/free-report-small-business/)). I don't understand why networking groups can't seem to figure any of this out, but I don't kow of any that are doing it.

Hope that helps,
Dino