They Wait, and Watch – Paying Your Dues in Networking

I’ve heard from people that they do not have time to wait on network marketing. They complain that they were on some forums or that they attended some networking meetings, but never got anything out of it. Generally, there were a few key reasons why it did not work, but the two principal ones are:

1. They expected to be able to go in, advertise their business, get a flood of response, and walk out.
2. They left and stopped going when their expectations were not realized.

Under those circumstances, it never will work. You’ve got to pay your dues – you’ve got to be patient, and kind. You have to be interested in other people, develop relationships, and find ways to be helpful (even if it is just offering a little advice on something you know about).

If you don’t do that, and if you don’t KEEP going, you are wasting your time.

Networking is HUGELY powerful! We are talking BEYOND virtually any other form of marketing! And it is generally highly cost effective. But it takes time to get started. It is only after you’ve paid your dues in TIME that it starts to pay off. And then it starts slow, and, like a snowball rolling downhill, gains an awesome force and momentum!

You see, when you go and introduce yourself, everybody is nice, welcomes you, and asks you what you do. You tell them, they tell you what they do, you exchange business cards, and both of you go home and either file the card and forget it, or throw it away and forget the person who gave it to you. You did that, didn’t you? Everybody else is just like you!

Go back again! Do it all over again! Only this time the people will greet you like they know you, even if they forgot your name. You’ll notice that the next time only SOME of the people you met the first time are there. The ones who are there are watching you, counting the fact that you are there again, weighing it in the balance. This time they’ll still forget you, and forget what you do.

Keep going. They are still watching you. But after you’ve been there 6-8 times, after you’ve been there more than you’ve NOT been there, after you’ve kept on introducing yourself, kept on stating your business name and what you do, something starts to happen. It is slow at first, but they begin treating you not like someone new, or a piece of furniture, or even someone nice to chat with, but like a BUSINESS PERSON! And there is a difference!

See, in networking groups, there are the “wannabes”, and the “real” business people. Wannabes come and go. They hit and run. They are inconsistent. Real business people are stickers. They are dedicated. They last. Their business hangs in there.

So many people come in and introduce a new business, and then disappear. So when someone new comes in, everyone waits, and watches. They are going to let you prove yourself before they consider you to really be one of them.

Once you cross that bridge though, you’ll get a call from someone who says they were referred by someone in the group. Someone in the group will finally talk to you about their needs in a way that gives you the opportunity to do business. Once that happens, word gets around. It happens again. Little by little, it grows.

You may think you do not have time for networking, but I’m telling you that you don’t have time NOT to do it! With it, your business will show significant growth within a year, and you’ll be able to see that the momentum really WILL be there. Without it, in a year, you’ll still be working hard for every single customer or client. Me, I’d rather have them come to me, pre-sold. Saves me tons of time and marketing expense!

So if you are on a shoestring budget, find ways to effectively network. We’ll be giving a step-by-step breakdown for online and offline networking in a few days. It’s worth the effort.