Setting Your 2023 Strategy to Meet New People & Get Referrals

By Jill C. Lublin

It’s a New year and you are planning everything about your business, but, have you planned your Networking? In this article, I want to guide you on how to set your Goals to meet New people, Deeping relationships, Accomplish specific tasks, and Create a Strategy.

1. Identify Your Objectives: know precisely what you want to achieve. When you’re clear about your goals, you can explain them to others. If others understand what you need, they will be better able to help. The clearer you are about your goals, the more likely you are to create a plan that will accomplish them.

Three Golden Nuggets to use as your goals at every meeting are:

• Meet new people.
• Deepen existing relationships.
• Accomplish specific goals.

When you set your goals to get referrals and build relationships, it’s easy to be diverted. Other opportunities frequently come up that look more promising. You are most successful when you create a plan, develop a strategy, and stick with it.

• Step 1: Define your targets. Identify the people who are the most likely to buy your services.
• Step 2: Select an approach. Send a postcard to 50 potential customers informing them about your availability and the wonders your services can provide.
• Step 3: Set targets. Try to connect with a specific number of people.
• Step 4: Follow through. When they show interest, promptly follow up because they may not remember you as time passes.

2. Meeting New People: every business needs an influx of new clients and customers, so try to meet people who could be potential clients, resources, or referral sources. Try to find them through new organizations and those in which you are already involved.

Key places to meet new people are the traditional spots, for example:

• On lines. A brief comment or complaint about the line, a compliment about what the person is wearing, or a statement about the event can open the door. Since people are just standing and waiting, they usually welcome the opportunity to talk and make new contacts.
• In the ladies’ room. Most women are friendly and chatty, and restrooms are natural places to connect. Women often make small talk while they check their hair and makeup.
• Where food is served. People sneak away and escape to areas where food is served because it gives them a break from the action and helps them relax. When you wander into these areas, it’s natural to start conversations with brief comments such as “Workshops always make me hungry” and “Those muffins look homemade.”

3. Deepening Relationships: referrals are a large part of some businesses, make a special effort to nourish or deepen your referral relationships. Select events that you know certain people will attend.

Being flexible is more efficient. When possible, review the attendees’ list before the event, or do it as soon as you arrive, which is another reason to arrive early at events. Then take note of which people you would like to contact; make a wish list.

When you find people to form strategic alliances with, “serve them in an extraordinary way before you ask anything of them,” Tommy Newberry teaches. “Find out what they need, what would be of value to them, and offer to help them get it. Don’t charge them; just help them. Do them a favor. Put out far more than you expect to receive and do it well in advance of the time the relationship is formalized or becomes established.”

“Then, when you want to formalize the relationship,” Newberry notes, “you won’t have to sell because you’ve laid the groundwork. And he will be willing to help you because of how you’ve served him.”

4. Accomplishing Specific Tasks: When I have specific tasks to complete, I make it a point to set aside an exact time for the task. If I don’t, something is bound to come up and the opportunity can be lost. Or we may find that we don’t have enough time to deal with the matter fully and properly.

Always confirm meetings to accomplish tasks. If you arranged to meet someone at a certain time, send a confirmation email. If the event will run for a day or less, send a confirmation email a day or two before the event. If the event will run more than one day, send an email a day or two before the event and reconfirm with an e-mail or call during the event.

5. Creating Strategy: When you attend a networking meeting or event, devise a clear strategy. Know exactly what you want to accomplish and create a plan to see it through.

In devising your strategy, do the following things:

• Reaffirm your objectives. Identify what you want to achieve in both the short term and the long term.
• Set financial targets. Decide how much business you hope to generate from each meeting or event. If you don’t make financial projections, you can’t judge whether attending the meeting or event was successful.
• Select your targets. Decide how many people you want to meet and what connections you wish to make.
• Plan how you will approach them. Practice exactly what you plan to say until you can rattle it off in 10 to 15 seconds
• Have brochures, handouts, business cards, and other supporting materials to distribute
• Be able to expand on your 10- to 15-second opening if asked and be prepared to answer all questions.
• Prepare specific questions that you can ask to start conversations: Why are you here? Is this the first time you have attended?

6. Education-Based Marketing: Education-based marketing works because people are barraged constantly with sales pitches, arm-twisting, and BS. They’ve heard every promise and every claim and want to decide for themselves. They want enough information to make their own decisions, so give them what they want.

Find great information to give prospects by looking at industry developments over time. You can find trends and facts that others may not have spotted. Your research can reveal the changes that have occurred in markets, customers, methods, materials, distribution, pricing, competition, and many other areas. Then tell prospects key facts that relate to them.

Focus on each of these areas as part of your meeting new people to get referrals strategy and I know you’ll see results!

Jill Lublin — Short Bio — (Pronounced Loob-Lynn)

Jill Lublin is an international speaker on the topics of Publicity, Networking, Kindness, and Referrals. She is the author of 4 Best Selling books including Get Noticed…Get Referrals (McGraw Hill) and co-author of Guerrilla Publicity and Networking Magic. Her latest book, Profit of Kindness went #1 in four categories. Jill is a master strategist on how to position your business for more profitability and more visibility in the marketplace. She is CEO of a strategic consulting firm and has over 25 years of experience working with over 100,000 people plus national and international media. Jill teaches a virtual Publicity Crash Course and consults and speaks all over the world. She has spoken on many stages with luminaries such as Tony Robbins. Jill also leads an intentional kindness community. Visit publicitycrashcourse.com/freegift and jilllublin.com