Judging by the number of times he’s been on the show, you might get the impression that we rather like Dr. Ivan Misner.
And you would be correct. We like Ivan Misner a lot, not just because he’s an all-around good guy but because he shares a wealth of useful information about business networking.
After all, he is the founder and chairman of BNI, the world’s largest business networking organization.
On a recent show, Misner told us a key aspect of networking is the giving and receiving of referrals. But, as he explained, this is more of an art than a science.
“The thing that people forget is that networking is an opportunity to build relationships. All too often people use networking as a face-to-face cold-calling opportunity,” he said.
That’s ironic, Misner said, because very often people at networking events are there to sell, not buy. He calls it the “networking disconnect,” and it has huge implications for how to get referrals.
“Building a powerful personal network and getting referrals is really about building relationships, and that’s why people don’t want to do it – because it takes time,” he said.
“If your network is a mile wide and an inch deep, it will never be successful.”
Misner said it helps to get our minds around the concept of VCP: Visibility, Credibility, and Profitability.
“You go to networking events to try to be visible to people who don’t know who you are, to work on your credibility with the people who do know you but not very well, and to continue with your profitability with those people that you already have relationships with and are getting referrals from,” he said.
“You talk to people differently based on where you are in the VCP process.”
Too many people, Misner said, want to make a withdrawal from a business relationship before there’s been an investment. They have things completely backwards.
Meeting new people is another solution to the problem of how to get referrals, Misner said. But the secret is to meet them through people with whom you’ve already established a relationship.
If you’ve invested in that relationship over time, it’s perfectly fine to ask for an introduction.
“That third-party introduction is so much more valuable than just walking up cold and saying, ‘Hi, my name is Ivan,'” he said.
We talked about a lot more, including how best to follow up on a contact. Click here to listen to the full interview with Dr. Ivan Misner, founder and chairman of BNI.
