The Effective Joined Up Networker

 In my experience most business owners would not describe themselves as rain makers. I’m sure many business owners have from time to time wished they could outsource their marketing and selling to someone else, and let them get on with delivering their business service/product - i.e. the reason they started the business in the first place. However, the smaller the business the greater the need for every employee, to play their part in the business development.

 My client proudly reported her two new client wins. Just as I was about to start celebrating, she then mentioned in a quiet voice that she had lost two new clients. They had apologetically told her that friends had just set up an accountancy practice, and so they were going over to them. But, if they mucked up they would be back very quickly. Some small crumbs of comfort!

A ‘hot’ prospect? It’s enough to make a professional with business development responsibility start to salivate!

But, what do we actually mean by a hot prospect or as we often call them ‘warm’ leads.

Ford Harding defines a lead, in his great book ‘rain making’ as “the opportunity to talk to a prospect face-to-face about a need that he has acknowledged”

Great definition.

It also identifies one of the big mistakes we all make – not qualifying the lead. In his definition it clearly states that you have the opportunity to talk to the prospect face-to-face. How many of us define a lead when someone somewhere intimates that they have need of our services?

 You have your social media policy. Tick.

Worked out yet how to implement it?

This is the challenge that is raised at many forums and events I run. How do you actually implement it without stepping on your staff's personal privacy?

It's one thing to strongly recommend that staff do not post stuff on facebook when drunk, but another to be able to monitor this and then take action. After all if the member of staff is not connected to any  customers  or potential customers on facebook, then what does it matter if they post up a status when drunk? But, how do you as a company know they are not connected to any customers on facebook?

You could just ban your staff from being connected to customers of the company on facebook. But this is shortsighted. After all, you actually encourage employees to recommend the firm's services to their family and friends. You can't then tell them that because their mother is now a customer of the company that they have to unfriend them on facebook.

 The Excedia Group have been very lucky to be able to recruit two new high-calibre, quality employees to join our team. Sue and Lisa are both intelligent, amenable and eager - and we plan to invest in them for the future.

As a result I am so enthused as to how the future will unfold for our small but growing company. However, the majority of businesses, small and large companies and professional service firms would have overlooked the opportunity to obtain such high talent as Sue & Lisa.

Why you ask me?

Quite plainly, Sue and Lisa are not looking for a traditional 9-5 Monday to Friday role. The main reason for the appeal of joining Excedia was the desire to be a working mother and to be there for their children, as well as feeling mentally challenged and providing a worthy role as part of a team. I am also a working mother and am fully aware that priorities are bound to change when children join the clan - however the strong sense of wanting and needing to have a meaningful career outside of having a family may not.