And how many times has someone told you they are too busy to join your networking group – yet they always complain that they need ways to grow their business.
The problem may be in the way you are asking them, not how busy they are.
People who haven’t been part of a successful business referral networking group, hear the word “networking” and think about standing on the side of the room waiting for someone to come talk to them, and when it happens, only being pitched to buy their service.
You have to be responsible for breaking down that wall and getting them into your group for a visit to start changing their minds.
Let’s start with the first ask. Here are 4 questions to start with that only need 4 Yes’s to get that first meeting.
- Would you like more business this year?
- Would you like to make more money?
- Are you in town next week?
- How about joining me for breakfast/lunch?
That seems too simple. Your right it is simple. Its also the most effective way to get someone past their initial hurdle. You aren’t asking them to “network”. You are asking them if they need more business. The only people who are going to say No, are those that haven’t figured out how to grow their business. They are struggling to stay afloat with the business they have. You don’t want these people in your group anyways. Your group is going to grow their business, and if they don’t know how to grow, they are going to leave you after 6 months, or they are going to fail every time you give them a referral.
Now that you are past the initial question, they may still have the issue of saying they are too busy to join. Ask them what makes them too busy? Are they busy growing their business in other ways, or busy doing the day to day operations that keep them from growing their business?
If they really want to grow, they need to learn to delegate. This is something that you have probably already learned wither through interaction with your networking group members or before you joined. Share you experience and get them thinking about what could happen to their business if they could really “find the time to grow it”.
Once they start thinking. Tell them about the core values of your networking group. Tell them that you always start and end on time so they know what the commitment is. Tell them that it’s a business meeting
