Business Solutions by b$olutions

Building Your Contact Sphere November 17, 2006

I’d like Anne to read you something.  Go ahead Anne.  Mortgage Broker, Appraiser, Home Inspector, Title Company, Attorney, Insurance Agent…..

That list represents three things.  Who can tell me what they are?  OK.  First, it is a partial list of Anne’s Contact Sphere.  As we have been discussing, the Contact Sphere allows you to go to your client not only as the expert in your field, but also a knowledge broker.  You are the one who is connected in every aspect needed by your customers.  You’re the go-to guy.  A contact sphere extends your brand.  When someone hears “Financial Advisor,” establishing your brand drives and image into people’s mind to think:  Rob.  If someone says, “Contractor,” people think “Bruce.”  Your contact sphere broadens this brand so that now when people who thinks “Georgiann when they  as the “Identity Theft expert” will think of you when they hear “Health Benefits” and “group auto and home insurance.”  They think of you three times as much! 

The second thing this list represents is the categories missing from our BNI chapter.  This is Anne’s sphere.  But remember, we can all be in more than one sphere.  And therefore, each of these categories can operate in more than one sphere.  For instance, the attorney can be in a real estate sphere or a business services sphere.  There are others of us that would find an attorney useful.

The third thing this list is for Anne is her invitation list for the Visitor’s day.  Anne is using visitor’s day to build a stellar contact sphere for herself.  It’s nice to be in BNI because we all help grow each other’s business.  But, if we all had our ideal contact sphere – BNI is a GREAT place to be. 

So here’s what you do today:  Put together your idea sphere of influence.  Built a list of categories that you know would help you to generate business.  Then, think of everyone you know who fits these categories.  Send them invitations to the Visitor’s Day.  Send each of us your list and ask us to invite people we know in these categories.  Hey, it’s OK to be selfish in this!  Think of yourself.  Build our BNI chapter into your ideal sphere.  You will have an opportunity to give in helping others find their ideal sphere. 

What to listen for during the Marketing Moment November 10, 2006

As we all know, you have to give referrals to receive referrals.  We have three ways to learn how to give a referral for our BNI associates:  First, we have the Key Note address.  We can learn in 10 minutes quite a bit about our associates business.  Also, we can do one-on-ones and learn.  And then there’s the marketing moment. 

To give a good referral, we must know a few things.  First, we need to know what products and services our associate offers.  We need to know the features and benefits, where the products and services are used, and under what circumstances.  We also need to know which product and services the associate is focusing on out of all those that he or she may offer.  Next, we need to know what to listen for when we’re talking with people.  For instance, for life insurance, we know that she should listen for life changing events.  These are times when life insurance needs should be reviewed.   

We also need to know what we should say when we hear the trigger words.  For instance, when we hear that someone put a new addition or new siding on their house, we might say, “You know, you really should look at your house insurance policy because it may not be enough to cover the added value of your house.  I know a person who can probably give you that extra coverage and you may not even have to pay more!  May I have Jackie call you?”   

Next, we want to know who the specific targets are for our associate.  For instance, for Don, we know that an ideal customer is a dentist or doctor who takes credit cards for payment.   

Each week, as you listen to the marketing moment, write down each of these four pieces of information for each person.  Then, each morning, as you plan your day, review the sheet.  If you are going to visit or run into any of your associates’ targets, you can listen and plan what to say to obtain a referral for them.

Driving Spheres of Influence November 3, 2006

Previously, we’ve discussed spheres of influence.  In networking, a sphere of influence is made up of those associates who together you can drive a lot of business among you through referrals.  In a sphere of influence, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.  Together, you can bring more value to customers than individually.  We think of members of spheres of influence as associates who together can work with a single customer to complete a transaction.  For instance, suppose our customer is buying a house.  He needs an attorney, a real estate agent, a mortgage broker, a home inspector, and an insurance agent.  After the close, he will need a home remodeler, a landscaper, a flooring provider.  This group is a sphere of influence.  The traditional way to get a sphere of influence going is to meet periodically to understand each other’s business, set goals, and trade leads.  The sphere of influence agrees to promote each other’s business throughout the transaction.  By making this pact, no matter who discovers the prospect, all benefit.   

Another way to operate is to take a more active stance.  Instead of waiting for a client to come along, you can market your sphere of influence.  Target a market segment, define a joint service offering, and pick a marketing method – ads, the web, radio, joint seminars, any method that’s right for that market segment.  As an example, let’s pick startup businesses as a segment of customers.  What are their needs?  Well, they need brochures,, business cards, a website at minimum.  They may need a logo, a lawyer for incorporation, letterhead, office space, rental office furniture, a computer system, insurance, a business plan, business banking, an accountant, a business plan.  So how about putting together a Business Starter Package with options to buy all of the stuff in one spot!  We can produce a brochure or flier for this business offering, put together a website, do a pay per click ad to drive entrepreneurs to the website.  Everyone benefits -  Internet consultants, professional writers, business advisers, attorneys, printers, insurance agents, office equipment providers, computer system providers, you name it.   

This same idea can be used for many different customer segments:  For the real estate example above; car dealers, a marketing package could be created. with promotional products, ads in yellow pages or news papers, radio spots;  for the health care community, it could be a total office solution with computer systems, office equipment, stationery and business cards;…the list of ideas goes on.