The art of network buildingThe recent boom in the number of networking and referral groups in the Fox Valley indicates a handshake and a smile are still the best way to conduct businessStory by Jeff PottsWhile 21st century businesses seem to rely more and more on instantaneous electronic communication, there is still something to be said about the success that comes with an old-fashioned handshake and a smile. “In such as high tech world it’s easy to lose touch of human relationships,” said Terry Misfeldt, one of thousands of Fox Valley business professionals relying on a more traditional way to doing business: face-to-face networking. A decade ago a friend invited Misfeldt to attend a meeting of the group Business Network International. A formally organized professional referral and networking group, Misfeldt hoped the experience would become a catalyst for business success. He wasn’t disappointed. A full 10 years later, Misfeldt is not only a proud member of BNI, he’s also a director with the organization helping to administer nine BNI chapters in northeast Wisconsin. He looks back at his first referral through the group and comments on its success: “It paid for my dues for the next ten years,” said Misfeldt, who owns a Green bay-based marketing company called Simply…Success. Networking and referral groups are as varied in size and structure as the professions from which their members come from. BNI relies on a highly formal business model including annual membership dues, mandatory attendance policies, and strict bylaws limiting the types of members by their profession and the kinds of business activities in which they are involved. Limiting membership to one person per professional category in each chapter ensures loyalties are not divided, while this close network of business professionals also helps to minimize the need for the dreaded cold call. Members of BNI meet weekly for a structured 90 minutes. They follow a 20-point agenda including open networking time for their members. Everyone at the meeting gets one minute to talk about their business and one select member gets 10 minutes to showcase their talents and offerings. Time is also allotted for members to give testimonials about products, services or other professionals they feel are worthy of the business support of the larger group. Their philosophy is “givers gain,” said Misfeldt. “I want to share information, help you understand my business, and give you information to help you,” he said. “In return you’ll want to help me.” The BNI philosophy of “givers gain” revolves around their more formal approach to networking. They have a screening process, ask for references, and require an application from potential members. A new member can only join if a current member invites them to a meeting. If the group feels a potential new member will be a good fit, they are asked to continue through the application process. They believe the more formal the networking and referral structure, the more efficiently it will work. Misfeldt points to their attendance policy. “If you only meet once a month there’s no commitment to the group,” he said. “We keep attendance – we want to know we can count on you.” It’s a model that seems to work. In 2006 BNI member referrals topped 120,000 generating more than $187 million in business in Wisconsin alone, Misfeldt reported. In 2007 they’ve already surpassed $212 million. In addition to the strict structure, there is a cost to this type of opportunity that not every business owner feels they can afford. BNI dues cost $330 a year. One such recently formed group in the Fox Cities is New Horizons Business Alliance. “We felt like we wanted to take (networking and referral groups) in a different direction,” said Jason Henrich, director of member services for the group formed earlier this spring. “The majority of groups go in and meet each week, everyone stands up and says who they are and what they do – we want ours to be a referral group, but also a marketing group. As a group we look for ways to promote businesses and our strengths, not just connect our members with each other.” Their approach is equally “strength in numbers” and “for the good of the team” – almost a business within a business, said Henrich, a financial planner with Ziegler Wealth Management in Appleton. Prospective members are required to participate in meeting even before they are considered for membership. Henrich said the group needs to get a feel for a prospective new member as much as that person needs to get a feel for the group. After a few meetings, they’ll collectively decide if it’s a good fit for both the group and the new member. Dues for the year cost NHBA members $100 – per year. Meetings for New Horizons Business Alliance focus on the people more than the individual businesses. The group conducts the traditional segments of a networking meeting: introductions, sharing good news and casual networking. But it also looks at collective marketing strategies, considering ways to leverage their strengths and try to focus on the success of the group through the talents and expertise of the individuals. Henrich said a number of people found their group to be exactly what they were looking for, while others, after attending a few meetings, decided it wasn’t a perfect fit. “If they decide not to join, then we’re not wasting anyone’s time. Likewise, a number of people find this to be exactly what they are looking for. They can see our energy and want to be a part of it.” Another local referral group, Fox Valley Tips, is a more loosely structured business-to-business networking group committed to sharing news about local business developments, referrals and expertise. Only a few years old, Fox Valley Tips meets on a bi-weekly basis over lunch to share new business leads and offer members new sales opportunities, said Heather Vander Heyden, a business development representative for Fox Communities Credit Union who helped launch the group and currently serves as its chair. The Fox Valley Tips group is flexible, doesn’t cost anything to join other than the cost of lunch each time, but still only allows one member for each industry segment. There’s also two chapters of Referrals America in the Fox Valley, organized within the past three years with many of the same goals as the other groups. Referrals America doesn’t just look to put its members in touch with one another, they consider themselves an alternative to traditional advertising by virtually growing a member’s in-house sales force, said Brian Neville, president of Mortgage City LLC in Appleton. Neville started and now administers the two Referrals America chapters in the area which total nearly 35 members. The Referrals America model, as Neville explained, revolves around the concept that other group members will not only patronize your business, but also go out into their respective professional and social communities and promote your business to non-members. “When you go to a meeting, you have 20 sales people there,” Neville said. “You’re able to get in front of the other members and tell them the kind of customer you’re looking for.” As a member of the Fond du Lac Area Association of Commerce and the chair for its Communications Council, Goeden attends the AC’s 4-year-old Coffee Connections, a monthly networking opportunity for members of the association. Similar in concept to formal, weekly networking and referral meetings, Coffee Connections are hosted by a different business each month and allow each of the 40 to 50 people attending about a minute to introduce themselves and their business in front of the others. There’s plenty of open networking before and after the meeting to get to know one another more personally. Goeden describes the atmosphere as very casual but equally productive. “Instead of simply shaking hands with someone this gives people a real opportunity to conduct business – to have a conversation and really engage other professionals,” she said. For a small business owner like Goeden, the success of networking and referrals is even more important when you consider the cost to participate. “Big bucks,” she joked. “(The Fond du Lac Coffee Connection) costs two dollars and two business cards to attend.” The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce offers a similar networking opportunity for its members through its monthly Sales Club. Held the second Tuesday of each month, Sales Club meetings are held at the chamber office and allow each person attending about a minute to introduce themselves and their business in front of the others. Whether it’s the more formal structure of networking and referral organizations or the less formal atmosphere of a local club or business association, the opportunity to meet and work with other professionals is too valuable to pass up. “People like doing business with other people they know and trust,” said Henrich. “Whatever your business is, nothing is more important than building relationships. That’s the true value to a group like ours.” |