Mistakes… They are only bad if you don't learn from them. Now, there are different levels of bad. You can put the wrong creamer in your coffee bad, or the Three Mile Island, nuke the east coast of the United States bad. But if you live to tell about it, you can always learn something (if you want to).

Oops ?

Have you ever just spaced a meeting? I just did that, twice. The same day, place, and time a week apart.

I was going to have a coffee with a new Raleigh buddy, Chip Royce. We get together at a coffee shop halfway in between where we live, so it's not just around the corner for each of us. We periodically meet to brainstorm theories on getting potential customers' attention. It's always enlightening, and just plain fun.

I spaced the first meeting, and Chip graciously said let's reschedule. The next week, a text saying, “Are you on your way?” got me singing that Brittany Spears song, “Oops, I did it again.” So I panicked, apologized (again), asked him to wait, hopped in my car, and rushed to the coffee shop!

Luckily, another friend of ours (Sarah Finnerty) showed up and entertained Chip while he was waiting for me. Sarah stayed and the networking commenced.

Get Out or Stay In

Although Chip and I try to solve as many world problems in an hour meeting (which always goes two or more hours), this one had a networking theme. How can networking generate business?

Networking is a tool for meeting people. It can be performed online, or in person. It has real costs of time and often some money.

There are so many free and paid options. You can find lots of free-flowing or slightly structured meetings. You can also find highly targeted ones that are totally structured like a BNI or Vistage.

Finally, there are those one-on-one meetings like I had with Chip and Sarah. I also do at least 2-3 get-to-know-you Zoom calls each week.

All of those have one cost that is either overlooked or avoided. TIME!

Tools We Pay For

If we have more money than time, we may fall for the un-networking traps. These can be disguised as lead-generation services, list-scrubbing tools, and even AI business matchmaking tools.

A CRM is a great tool to pay for, but if you or your staff are not habitually using it, it can get stale and expensive.

Unless you have paper and an abacus, you pay for accounting in the form of software, staff, and/or companies or freelancers.

CPA (Certified Public Accountants) are limited in the data that you collect and provide them with. I am sure you track expenses down to the penny, but do you track your or your staff's networking time?

The Cost Per Acquisition

How much does it take to acquire a new customer? It's a very findable number if you add up all the tools and expenses you pay for. Often overlooked is the staff or C-level time to network, have a one-on-one meeting, and talk with referrals.

We tend to lump the time we spend on networking, relationship building, and meetings in general as the Cost of Goods Sold. It's generally recorded as salary but rarely tracked as a system.

That means you want to track the time consumed on an initial meeting or networking event, and then track the time for follow-ups, relationship building, and proposals or invoicing. It sounds like a lot of extra work, but it's helpful to know the actual cost of acquiring new business relationships.

ROI #1 – Relationships On The Internet

Using a tool (CRM like Nimble) you can create a record of who you meet, the date of the meeting, and the time spent.

ROI #2 – Record Of Interest

Then you can add notes for every subsequent interaction. That way you not only have a way to track the time, but you also have a record of interactions that can be useful if you need to reassign the relationship to another person or department.

ROI #3 – Return On Investment

In B2B business, it can take months and even years to build enough of the know, like, and trust to turn a contact into a referral or a customer. If you know the time it takes, you can use that as a template, planning tool, and accounting information to evaluate the long-term and lifetime ROI of each customer.

Divide and Conquer

Every business is different, but who tends to network depends on the company size.

Small businesses lean towards having the owners get out to network. Mid-sized business count on the sales team to network. Large companies generally use tradeshows and conferences to spread the corporate gospel. C-level can join peer groups. All are valid and helpful.

There is no reason why someone in accounting, the shop floor, or even the C-Suite can't and shouldn't be given the time and encouraged to network. It can be an association, chamber of commerce, or some less business-focused organization like Rotary or United Way. All have value for you, your business, and the business community at the same time.

Documenting interactions and meeting to discuss can do more than create business, it can help you all get the pulse of the current business climate and the community at large.

Final Thoughts

Even though I showed up late to the meeting with Chip (and Sarah), it was time well spent. We all had questions and answers, and I garnered a better understanding of the Raleigh business community, its key players, and most important… the idea for this post.

Oh! And I got a branded gift that Chip found for me on a Freecycle-style website! BACON (Building Authentic Connections Online Networking (and in person).

“Technology is a compulsive and addictive way to live. Verbal communication cannot be lost because of a lack of skill. The ability to listen and learn is key to mastering the art of communication. If you don't use your verbal skills and networking, it will disappear rapidly. Use technology wisely.”
– Rick Pitino

Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about how you and your staff network! Do you enable or hinder people from getting out to the community on the company dime? Are you tracking your connections and not just customers? What is your definition of success when it comes to building business relationships?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.