Why networking is not building your business?
In my experience, there are 3 reasons a business does not grow even if the owner is networking.
The first reason is your core product offer doesn’t work.
This assumes you have been in business at least 3-5 years, and you have proven offers. Your offer is not working at the networking events.
Your audience is probably fatigued, or you need to change it up. It could also be the wrong group for you, or the wrong group for the offer.
The second reason is that your business lacks strategy.
I spoke with a group of 10 business owners and only 1 of them had a strategy.
Here is what they shared about their business strategy:
- The strategy helps keep them on track of what they want to accomplish
The strategic plan should provide bumper rails, or wiggle room, or guiding you. You don’t want it so tight that there is no flexibility and so loose that it’s not a plan. A strategic roadmap also allows the owner to grow and try new things.
- The owner does regular touch points
This is a recommended practice because it keeps you active in your strategic plan. I recommend one or two times a month for certain activities. And quarterly to measure the overall progress.
- They wrote the plan down
This owner wrote the plan down. When the plan is in writing, it is easier to communicate internally to the rest of the team.
The third reason is they are working IN their business, not ON their business.
When entrepreneurs are only in networking groups, they are not building their business. A networking group is working IN the business, it’s the day-to-day, the operations, short-term solutions.
The business often was doing the same thing they did when they started, nor created anything new. They haven’t added additional revenue streams. Or using the same products or the services that the parent company offers.
A strategic plan will move the business forward. Consider such items as:
- The team that you have in place
- Goals that you want to accomplish
- Assets available in the organization
- Core activities that you have in your group
The ON the business is the strategy, the long-term solutions.
If you don’t have one, we will love to help you out. So, please click the link below and let’s schedule a call.
This post is Day 10, Wednesday, August 18, 2021.
00:00 intro
00:21 It may be either of these options.
00:30 Does your audience have fatigue
00:37 Most likely reason
00:51 1 in 10 owners had this
01:20 Easiest step to do right now
01:34 Working on or in the business