Episode 19: Networking meetings: Should you go to grow your consultancy?

I speak to lots of HR consultants....

And when I ask them how they're getting new clients...

Or how they're planning on getting new clients...

Networking is the top answer I always hear.

Whether they're a start up, independent consultant or growing consultancy.

You've probably been to a networking event before, or thought about going to one in the past.

So in this podcast episode, I want us to discuss if networking is the best way to grow your consultancy and is it the best use of your time?

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Let's start by looking at the pros and cons of networking...

The first pro of networking is referrals.

I know a lot of HR consultants that go to networking meetings because they find it very good for referrals and recommendations.

There is rarely someone in the room that they can directly sell to...

But the people that they do meet will likely refer work their way in the future.

The second pro of networking is learning opportunities.

You're obviously in a room of other business owners and I think  speaking to other business owners is a healthy thing to do...

And there are lots of things you can learn...

You can pick up new perspectives, understand cross industry strategies that work well and you can also figure out what's going on in other industries from a HR perspective...

Which might enable you to tap into new industries that you've never thought about before and target them with specific services that you know they need right now.

This, I think, is probably the main reason why I would go to a networking meeting.

It's a great way to do market research.

And then we have our third pro of networking which is support.

Running a business can be a lonely place.

You can not only learn from other business owners, you can also be there to support one another.

And you may find yourself creating a new networking support group of likeminded individuals as a result.

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So that's the pros covered, let's move on to the cons.

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The first con of networking is that it can be expensive.

Sure, some groups are pretty affordable, but others can demand big membership fees.

You've also got to think about all of the other costs involved like travel, loss of billable time and maybe a new outfit if you're feeling fancy.

And here’s the issue: there’s no guarantee of a return on investment.

Networking is, by its very nature, unpredictable.

You can spend all this money and leave with nothing but a few business cards and some small talk.

It’s a gamble.

The second con of networking is that it eats up a lot of your time.

Whether it’s showing up at in-person events or attending virtual ones, you’ve got to be present.

It’s not something you can automate or outsource.

And because of this, it’s unscalable.

It’s kind of like selling your hourly rate.

You can only bill so many hours out in one day and you're capping your earning potential as a result.

It's the same with networking. You can't scale this beyond your available time.

And the hours you're spending at networking is time you're not spending on
billable work, strategy, or scaling your business.

The third con of networking is that it's untargeted.

Networking events often include a mix of professionals...which is great.

But it's unlikely that they'll be the type of client that you'd ideally like to work with.

Most businesses that go networking are on the smaller side and might not have the requirement or budget to work with a HR consultant.

I always say this about targeting start ups - unless they're big financially backed start ups for instance.

They just don't have the budget or the requirement.

And it makes your life so much harder.

Instead, you want to be targeting businesses that understand the value of HR and have the budget to spend on it.

And the fourth con of networking is that it's a big sales fest.

A lot of consultants I speak to complain about this.

You go to networking events, and you see the same people every week.

It's hard to meet new people and it just feels like a big selling fest.

So, It’s hard to make meaningful connections in that kind of environment, especially if you’re trying to focus on building genuine relationships.

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So now you've heard my pros and cons...

Let's go back to the original question of this podcast.

When it comes to growing your consultancy is networking a good use of your time?

Don't hate me if you disagree.

But my honest answer is no.

I think there are other, much more effective ways, at growing your consultancy.

And I would much rather you spend your time getting better at marketing than going to networking meetings.

Because then you can systemise your consultancy's growth and make it scalable.

An example of this is by using my 3 step system.

I use this simple 3 system system in every business I work in.

Step 1 is to grow multiple audiences like your LinkedIn connections and email marketing list.

Step 2 is to build a relationship with your lists.

And step 3 is to convert the relationship.

You should follow these steps in chronological order and they become your funnel.

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So in episode 17 and episode 18 of my podcast, I spoke about how you can create an automated lead generation system for your consultancy following this 3 step system.

And I suggested a campaign that you could do using your LinkedIn profile and clever software called Meet Alfred.

So, let me summarise this again for you quickly.

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First of all, I would highly recommend choosing a target industry at a time to focus on to keep things simple and to make our messaging highly relevant.

You would then use software like Meet Alfred to connect with business owners or decision makers in your chosen industry and send a nice connection message that says something similar to mine:

Once they've connected, you can then get Meet Alfred to engage with their profile by following their personal and business page and liking a few of their last posts.

And then a few days later you can go in with your first initial message.

Which could sound something like this:

Quick question...are you using HR software at the moment?

Best Wishes
James

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So for me, this type of campaign will help you start conversations with more of your target market than what networking ever could.

And better still, it's a campaign that's completely automated and doesn't suck up all of your time.

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But if you do want to go to networking meetings then see it as a list building exercise.

Go there and get everyone's contact details and add them to your email list so you can keep in touch with them.

Go there and ask them if they have any people issues at the moment or if they know any friends that they could refer you too.

And go there to do some market research.

But if you'd rather protect your time and create a scalable systems to grow your consultancy in the future, then please get in touch and I'd love to start helping you today.