When it comes to networking, we just interviewed the guy who wrote the book. Seventeen books, actually. And founded the largest business networking organization on the planet – with 6,300 chapters worldwide.
Ivan Misner, Ph.D., founded BNI International in 1985 without really intending to do so.
“I’d love to tell you I had this vision of an international organization when I started BNI almost 30 years ago, but the truth is I needed some referrals for my consulting practice,” he said.
Misner was a management consultant at the time. He gathered a small group and promised to make referrals to them – hoping they would return the favor.
Well, you guessed it, soon someone came along who wanted to join and couldn’t because the group only took one person per profession. So she asked Misner to help her start a second group. He reluctantly agreed, but then the need for a third group arose.
“We ended up opening 20 groups by accident that first year,” he said.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Misner said people are hungry for this kind of coaching, and the information just isn’t taught in colleges and business schools. In fact, most people still think networking is about shaking hands and passing out business cards.
But there’s a “networking disconnect,” Misner said. The irony is that most people who show up to networking events want to sell, not buy. Networking events, he said, should be used to connect with people and begin building relationships. Networking is more about farming than hunting.
“You can’t use networking as a face-to-face cold-calling opportunity,” he said.
Effective networking is also about having the right mindset and the right skill set, he said. Mentally, his philosophy might best be called “Givers Gain.” You’re at a networking event to help other people – and hopefully get help in return.
Men, Misner said, tend to be transactional in their networking. They try to get down to business as soon as possible. Women, on the other hand, mostly are more relational – which tends to be slower but yields better results.
Misner urged our listeners to spend time learning how to network more effectively. It’s an acquired skill. Buy some books. Go to seminars. Don’t wing it.
“Word of mouth is a great way to do business. I’m a firm believer in advertising. If you want to build your business, you have to advertise,” he said.
“But word of mouth is a form of advertising, and I think you need to plan it and structure it like you plan your radio advertising or direct mail advertising. And most people don’t do that. So the ones who do have a plan for their word of mouth are generating huge sums of business. It beats the heck out of cold-calling.
“It’s not what you know or who you know. It’s how well you know each other that really counts. It’s about going deep and building relationships with other people.”
Click here to listen to the full interview with Ivan Misner of BNI International.
