Opportunities Captured:
Five Tips for Networking On Purpose

By Michael Roby

Banks send a steady stream of employees to various networking events. Chamber of Commerce and civic group meetings top the list of networking opportunities. Other networking opportunities come in the form of civic responsibilities, including various local and regional boards and government service. Relationship development and networking for the basis of community bank marketing.

Networking on purpose maximizes the time spent by banking professionals as they interact with people in the communities they serve. Follow these tips to grow your relationships and your business while serving the communities in which you live and work.

Please note; certain organizations such as civic and service groups need participation by people that are passionate about the group and its objectives. Do not try to fit round pages into square holes by forcing participation by employees whose passions. Gifts and talents do not match those needed by a certain group.

1. Develop an institutional networking strategy. If your colleagues network without a plan of action, you always make friends, but don’t always drive business. Certain networking groups may be over or under-covered, without any means of measuring your success. Those bankers involved might be involved with organizations that do not suit the bankers’ interests and talents.

2. Target organizations that offer significant networking potential. Build your plan around those organizations that offer the best combination of community service and business potential. Every community offers a wide variety of groups that need the talent of your bankers for their mission and goals, and offer business development opportunities.

3. Develop target relationship lists. Review membership lists for the respective groups to which you belong and serve. Identify potential business opportunities within those groups. List specific business opportunities that might result from your participation with each group.

4. Assign relationship development goals. Measurable goals include numbers of selling meetings with the people you target for relationship development. Also ask your bankers to be responsible for gathering information about people in their respective groups. Develop an institutional protocol for learning about their passions, interests, and backgrounds, and record that information in your CRM program. Share information about your best prospects in officer meetings.

5. Keep Score. You can’t manage what you can’t measure, so develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of your networking efforts. Consider incentives for participation and success to your employees for successfully developing these relationships to the point business is generated.

Marketing is much more than slogans, advertising, and promotion. Your best relationships form the heart of your marketing plan. Networking excellence provides the most cost effective marketing plan for your institution. When you network on purpose, your efforts grow your customer base, and maximize profitability.

About The Author:

Michael Roby is a nationally known sales and marketing strategist, and professional speaker. Mike helps banks and broker-dealers grow their businesses by helping them build strategic marketing plans and with results-driven sales training. He writes frequently for professional magazines, and is a featured columnist in “Bank Advisor Magazine.” In addition, he is the author of “The Ultimate Small Cap Business; Building a Financial Advisory Practice” (http://www.ultimatesmallcapbusiness.com). Mike’s blog has been listed as one of the top sales and marketing resources on the internet. He can be reached at http://www.michaelroby.com.

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