When my wife and I became pregnant we went to NCT classes, and I’m very glad we did, with friends made there which will last a lifetime. I’ve often equated a good start-up community with NCT classes, but for your business - it doesn’t give you all the answers, but simply knowing that you’re not alone, and that you have other founders you can call on when times are tough is hugely valuable in it’s own right. Not to mention the inevitable strategic partnerships which can directly benefit your business.
Knowing the importance of partnerships I offered a workshop session for resident Future Space companies on the subject, looking at a variety of tactics to build a network, and in turn to generate leads. Lots to unpack, and too much to include in this blog post, but in summary for B2B companies there are four pillars of new business lead gen which include clients referrals, partner referrals, events, and marketing.
The ‘referrals’ within this mix can account for 50% of total new business revenue, and I’m sure if you’re involved in sales for a B2B organisation and did some analysis of your lead sources you would find the same to be true for your own company, or in that kind of range anyway.
As much as it counts when it comes to recommendations on a tradesman, or a garage for your car, or a restaurant, it does for high value professional services and technology too. Referrals carry weight, they say something about the referrer as well as the referee, and
they tend to convert at a higher rate than cold leads as the levels of trust between the parties is already high on 1st contact. Trust is an important word when it comes to B2B buying decisions, and referrals come with implied trust built in.
So although a comprehensive business development strategy should include activities which generate leads from all four sources, in many cases referrals are something which are often allowed to ‘just happen’ and therefore often an area where improvements can be made.
It’s also the most likely source of ‘short term’ leads as if you can generate some referrals from your network they should convert quicker than those you generate from cold outbound activity, or those that come to your organically. I therefore recommend a 6 step process of building out a partnership strategy:
- Audit current partnerships to identify potential value exchange
- Formalise agreements with existing partners where relevant
- Create a mind map of other businesses ‘fishing in the same pond’ as you
- Approach potential new partners with a clear value proposition (ideally based on the existing partner relationships which you have formalised)
- Nurture the relationships
- Remunerate partners accordingly and where relevant
For those of you who are looking to grow your network, and/or are going into an industry where your professional network is limited, you might add in networking and public speaking to the mix, i.e. people you meet through these events become part of your network, and in time become referring partners, or indeed direct clients.
Again the term ‘fishing in the same pond’ is relevant here - make sure that your networking is strategic and that you're in the ‘right room’. As I said before the great thing about organisations like Future Space is that they come with this kind of network baked in, it’s one of the main benefits for getting involved.
So if you’re reading this, and you run your own business, but you’re not currently formerly involved in a professional network of similar businesses, I implore you to add this to your goals for 2021. It could be another challenging year, and being part of a community makes it so much easier to deal with.
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