I just figured out that Scott Allen and I share a mutual project called "It's Time...In Search & Praise of Network Marketing Excellence", a new book by John Milton Fogg, author of the best selling Nework Marketing book of all time, 'The Greatest Networker in the World'. More information on John's project and my contribution will be coming soon.
Meanwhile, Scott Allen has placed a portion of his interview with Networking Times on his blog. Here is a snip (NT is Networking Times, Me is Scott Allen):
More from Scott Allen's post.NT: What do network marketers most need to learn about networking?
Me: The relationship is more valuable than the transaction. People need to understand that the lifetime value of a relationship–even with someone who never buys from you, maybe someone you never even tell about your opportunity–the lifetime of the relationship itself will be worth more to you by orders of magnitude than any one individual sale itself.
NT: Sometimes you have both the relationship and the sale…
Me: Right, but people often try to jump in too fast. A guy in a discussion forum recently described how he was trying to meet people and build a referral business, but it wasn’t working. The email he was sending out was very nice: he would introduce himself and say, “I want to learn more about your business so I can refer business to you.” He thought he was being selfless. But this was his first contact. How can you refer business to me when we don’t even know each other?
NT: And people weren’t born yesterday.
Me: Right: they understand what’s implicit. If you’re saying you want to refer business to me, you’re also expecting me to refer business to you.
NT: He was trying to do too much too fast.
Me: Exactly. The initial conversation, and we’re already talking about referring business. One of the most important tips of networking is know where you are. Understand the context. You have to look around and see, what are the posting rules, what’s general feel of the conversation. You don’t walk into Toastmasters, get up to introduce yourself and give your thirty-second business pitch. It’s not appropriate. The same thing is true online. You’ve got to know your context and be appropriate to that context. The top network marketers know that the three-foot rule is not what you do. If there is a three-foot rule, it’s this: Anybody within three feet of you is worth getting to know a little better.
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NT: When do you tell someone about your opportunity?Me: When you have permission. This doesn’t necessarily have to be explicit permission. Ideally it will be, if you’ve done it right, they’ll say, “You know, tell me a little more about that thing you’re doing.” It doesn’t necessarily mean they want to be a rep, but they want to know about what you’re doing, because they care about you and what you do, and they’re interested in being a part of your life.
NT: Because you’ve honored the context of the relationship and not forced it on them.
Me: Exactly. But they may simply give you implicit permission. They might tell you about something, like not having enough energy or not having enough income, and that in itself gives you permission. But whether it’s implicit or explicit, the right time to talk about something is when you have permission, and never before.
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