“Real networking is the one that bring you business, profitable referrals, and help you grow your business in a supportive community.”
First generation of online professional networking like Plaxo, Linkedin, xing, viadeo, ryze are loosing slowly credibility simply because a majority of business people using them see no impact on their business. Many have invested lot of time and sometime money in these networks, but still have nothing to show for it.
The Old networking sucks!
Have you tried networking for your Business? Can You measure the business outcomes of your networking effort? Is it worth the time, the stress, the uncertainty, the investment you devoted to it?
Recent studies and testimonials on business networking are revealing that 92 to 98% of professionals and business people on social or professional networking websites and clubs obtain No business impact from the time and money they invest in networking, and are unable to measure any impact they assert.
What is the solution?
These are trying times, Most of us can no longer afford to waste our precious time and resources on tactics that just don’t work.
Leads groups are the most successful marketing effort for your dollar that you can find anywhere. The major advantage of choosing leads groups as a way to expand your business is that they are a highly focused, results-driven method of marketing and promotion. In leads groups, individuals are highly motivated and are able to track their results more accurately.
Leads groups have enormous potential in our current economic climate. They give you the opportunity to make real connections with other professionals and see identifiable results almost immediately. All of this begs the question: why not start your own leads group today?
What is a leads group?
Leads Groups or Referral networks are marketing initiatives taken by local small business owners with the purpose to share sales leads, business opportunities and provide support to each other with testimonials, cross-selling, joint-bid, insider information and knowledge sharing.
Sometime leads groups are referred to as Leads clubs, Trusted Networks, Leads sharing Groups, Leads exchange Groups. Chamber of commerce mixers could be referred to as leads groups too.
How Leads groups work?
Leads groups and referral networks are made of 10 to 30 businesses owners or representatives.
Each member of a leads group act as an Opportunity Reporters™ for other members. Wherever they hear about a business opportunity, they immediately report it their leads groups members to consider.
Well managed leads groups meet regularly (minimum 2 times a month) to review the group’s performance in passing qualified leads, strengthen peer to peer relationship, and furthermore give opportunity to each member to present his business in front of the group. As members learn more about each other business, they will gain trust and be more eager to give referrals.
Leads groups and referral networks are very powerful tool to receive free qualified leads and business opportunities from peers. Additionally, members share marketing and sales ideas as well as professional advice with fellow participants
2 kinds of leads are shared in a leads group or Referral network:
Start Your own Profitable Referral network
The reason most people don’t start their own leads group is because they’re afraid. Others tell them that their idea will never work and that they will fall flat on their face. But the truth is that many people have done it and taken their business to a whole new level.
The advantage of starting your own leads group is that you get to be the decision-maker. By leading the group yourself (rather than passing the role around), you’ll form a solid foundation for your members. This sense of stability is what is lacking in many groups today, which means that you have the chance to build a working model that will be successful for years to come.
Starting your own group is totally free, so it’s relatively low-risk. You can hand pick all the members to ensure that they will be reliable associates with high-quality referrals. You can also manage the sub-niches in your category to ensure that there is no competition between members.
Anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit can excel at starting a leads group. Take your future into your own hands and start your own group today!
The renaissance of leads groups means that business people spend no money on advertising and less time in networking, yet grow their sales, visibility, and brand awareness. It’s the wave of the future.
You can create or join a referral network or a leads group now, go to Linkcrafter and join for Free.
John is a management and marketing consultant in New York. For years he was a top networker on LinkedIn.com. Being that LinkedIn was THE professional networking site, John thought that he was doing pretty well by having over 4,000 working business relationships. He met a lot of interesting people and did what he could to drive sales.
