Business Development Blog

The last few weeks have been nothing short of amazing.

As I've begun to drill down and clearly identify and articulate what I do for attorneys, CPAs, and financial planners, a literal avalanche of opportunities has presented itself.

Our positioning statement is: We help established small- to medium-sized professional firms leverage their book of business by shifting their relationship to that book from one of transaction-focus to one of strategic asset development.

I will be speaking about the power of LinkedIn® to facilitate that process at the Small and Solo Law Conference in Los Angeles this week put on by the Rainmaker Institute, LegalTech, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.  It began with a clear articulation of what I was trying to accomplish and a conversation with Stephen Fairly.  I've written for the Magazine that is being launch at the conference (and I've been asked to potentially write a series) and there are some more exciting things in the works given the relationships I am building. I will continue to update you as things roll out.

Suffice it to say - if you have an attorney in your network, invite them to subscribe to this blog.  We'll have lots of resources for them in the not too distant future.

I've also begun in earnest to address the CPA market. 

What I've found is that many small to medium firms have no marketing plan whatsoever.  They grow primarily by organic referral.  Our Business Development Intensive is perfect for this market because we work with these firms to tap into their already existing client base to determine their markets, find and work their leverage points, and design a systematic approach to firm growth. 

One firm I worked with grew by 25% in 6 months.  And this was a well established, highly regarded firm here locally (Phoenix Market). 

We are also now offering, in partnership with a marketing firm that has served over 6000 professional services companies, a comprehensive 2-day marketing audit that leaves the firm with a roadmap of exactly what additional marketing steps to take to achieve the results they are looking to accomplish.

I'm looking for suggestions to position this new offering into the market (via word-of-mouth - We'll be using some of the marketing strategies we espouse in other media) so if you have any, or know someone I should be speak to please let me know.

I also recently spoke at the Women in Insurance and Financial Services Phoenix Chapter launch on June 10th.  If you are a woman who works in financial services or insurance, I would recommend that you contact Tisha Diffie, the president, and get to their next meeting in August.

I found as I was speaking, many of the women in the room understand that the strategies that had them reach a certain level of success now leads to a plateau in production.  As I spoke about leveraging their networks and using LinkedIn® to help facilitate the process, the lightbulbs began to go off.  I expect that many of those in attendance will be going back to their book of business with a different set of eyes and I'll be looking forward to hearing from some of them as they apply what I spoke about.

Again - if you know a successful producer who has plateaued, please introduce me.  I can help them.

As always, I welcome your feedback and input.

The journey from Small Time Clever Continues.

Raymond Chip Lambert
Network2Networth
Your Outsourced Business Development Training Partner

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When I begin an engagement, I ask this question to all of my clients and invariably they come up with answers like: my building; my client list; my equipment; my Accounts Receivable.

I've been reminded of the real answer repeatedly over the last few weeks.

If you look from a macro perspective - YOUR NETWORK is your largest asset.

And not just in an abstract way.

It's the relationships that are right there in front of your face that make the difference.

With the shift in my business, I've begun to re-audit and build out my network.

I'm seeing my connections and relationships in a completely new light - given my new perspective.

And the conversations I've been having are helping me re-write my website, redesign my messaging, tap into new resources, and frankly, reconnect with people that it's been too long since I have talked with.

I'm clear I have some work to do to re-establish some relationships and maybe even clean up some messes I didn't realize I'd made.

But that's the beauty of it all.

Even if I have to eat crow.

I'll be revising the text and purpose of my website over the next few weeks.

Please check in and let me know what you think.  Your feedback is appreciated and welcomed!

Raymond Chip Lambert
Network 2 Networth
Your Outsourced Business Development Training Partner

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I had a great conversation with the CEO of the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce, Rick Kidder, last week about the shift that has been going on inside my business over the last year and I asked him what he thought about the name of my company - Network 2 Networth.  What he said was a a kind of confirmation for me.  A reinforcement of what I knew on some level - but couldn't quite put into words.  He said that it struck him as "small time clever."

Now some people may think that statement is a bit straightforward - but given the history of my company and product offering, it brought something into relief for me.  I desperately need to re-brand myself and what I'm offering.

A bit of history - Along with a fantastic group of folks, including Betsy McGrew, Joel Bez, Butch Leiber, and many more, I presided over the growth of one of the largest chapters of BNI in the world - The Biltmore Power Chapter.  At one point we had over 80 members and were passing record amounts of referrals.  I learned quite a bit about network building and relationship building.

Through that association, Betsy McGrew introduced me to the Certified Networker Program, offered by the Referral Institute, and I quickly became a licensed trainer for the Program. Over the course of 3 years we trained over 300 students - at the time the largest number by far - and produced some fantastic results with people.

But a few things bothered me.

One - the material was largely a rehash of Dr Ivan Misner's written material.  A way to repackage his books.  It wasn't done in a way that people could systematically apply the material.

Two - there was a lot missing.  Being a business coach and having worked with people in the implementation of their client development strategies, the material was surface and didn't really address the subtext that people deal with as they learn new skill sets.

So, staying true to my license, I delivered the material as presented and added the missing elements.  The results were incredible.

Then in March 2007, I parted ways with the Referral Institute.

I pulled back, looked back over the previous three years and took my own coaching.  I applied the 80/20 rule and looked at the students who had the most success with what we taught.  And an amazing thing happened  - a clear profile emerged.  And a clear set of things that they consistently asked me for and asked for coaching around.  My perfect client was almost never a run-of-the-mill BNI participant.  They were often advanced in their career and had a completely different set of issues than a typical BNI type business.

So I drew up a new curriculum, brought in a fantastic collaborator, and created our Business Development Intensive.

We've had over 70 students through the program in the last 12 months and the results have been off the charts.

So now to the crux of the issue.

Shortly  after meeting with Rick, I attended the CEO Advantage program (also through the Scottsdale Chamber) and presented my dilemma to the group - I feel caught between old branding and new - and old perception of what we

delivered and the  new reality.

So over the next few months, I am going to be asking for input from the current course participants, and talking to the old course participants and sharing what is happening.

And if you are a reader of this blog - I'd love to hear from you.  What issues have you dealt with in regards to re-branding and re-messaging when you've gone through a shift in your company?

Raymond Chip Lambert
Network 2 Networth
Your Outsourced Business Development Training Partner

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In the last several weeks I've had the privilege to speak to some pretty intelligent people who have had various levels of success in their businesses.  And as someone who puts on live events (see our LinkedIn® Live! Event in Phoenix) I find it intensely interesting that people still don't get that it's not just about who you meet.

That got me thinking about how to effectively communicate what I know about networks, the nature of networks, and the impact that has on business development and referrability.

The first thing that came to mind were those annoying Verizon®  commercials with the technician in the horned rimmed glasses.  He was on the phone with one person - ostensibly testing the quality of the network - and behind him were the thousands of people that were BEHIND the network.  The power of that message is that it's not just about the one-on-one of the phone call - but the network that's behind it. (BTW - read about how effective that branding campaign was) Can you hear me now?

The second thing that happened was a phone call I had with a gentleman from Oklahoma City, Kirk Shelley.  Kirk is interested in what happened with the Ron Paul phenomenon.  Grass roots organizing.  Millions of dollars donated to an "unknown".  A message that got out regardless of how the corporate media covered the story.  Blogs.  Social Media.  This is the true nature of a network. Can you hear me now?

Then there's the Internet. A network of networks.  Think about how that has impacted your life.  How you collect and manage information.  What can you do today in 10 minutes that even 10 years ago was next to impossible? Google? E-mail? LinkedIn® Can you hear me now?

In my humble opinion, placing a "networked" technological backbone (known as social media software) behind humanity's aspirations will revolutionize humanity the way the Internet revolutionized (and continues to revolutionize) information.

Go back and read the "Cluetrain Manifesto".

See how much it has influenced the online world over the last 10 years.  See how much markets (which are networks) have begun to create technologies to be heard. (Blogs - You Tube - Social Bookmarks, etc.) Can you hear me now?

And finally, there was a poll in the Phoenix Business Journal about "21st Century Networking" and some of the responses highlight the current state of thinking - at least by respondents - around networking, social networking sites, and social media.  People still don't fully understand the implications.

Online social networking, is not necessarily about the one-on-one connections.  It's about getting access to what's really in the NETWORK.  Graduates of my Business Development Training know this. Of course real world networks are important - that's what social media is about.  It's about connecting with people you know in real life.  It's about sharing resources, knowledge, connections, etc.  It's about discovering new tools that will make your life easier, more enjoyable, productive, or profitable and sharing those with the folks in your network.  And with tools like LinkedIn®, MySpace®, Facebook®, etc. you can begin to meet your markets where THEY are - know what THEY think.  Know what is important to THEM.

When you understand this - you can begin to speak what my friend Jon Ward refers to as their 'Tribal Conversation'.  And when you do that, you are no longer an outsider looking in.  You are someone who is one of them - who has solutions to their problems.  Who speaks their language.  Who knows their friends.

And that, my friends, is the opportunity of a Network.

Can you hear me now?

Raymond Chip Lambert
Network2Networth
It's Much More Than a Book of Business!™

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