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When looking to grow your business, utilizing your existing
network is often a quick win. But working with friends can bring its own
challenges. Discover how you can leverage your network and transform personal
friendships into business ones.
It’s an age-old saying: don’t mix business with pleasure.
For some, working with immediate family or close friends is a nightmare. For
others it is a bond that cannot be broken, no matter what happens, and you are
better working together to make the business a success.
Friends and family is one thing, but what about
ex-colleagues? You may stay in touch every so often, but as ex-colleagues move
to new companies and climb higher up the career ladder, they can often be
invaluable when it comes to new business.
Whether it is an in-road into a new company, an introduction
at an event you are both attending or a referral to a potential prospect,
maintaining relationships with ex-colleagues and peers is key to cultivating
your network and ensuring your sales pipeline remains healthy.
If employees leave your company on good terms, keeping in
touch on a regular basis can pay dividends for your company down the line.
According to the business networking organisation BNI, 98% of businesses place
a significant importance on the value of word of mouth in winning new business,
and ex-colleagues can be prime advocates to recommend your company to others.
Read on to discover three ways that you can utilise your
existing network of ex-colleagues and transform personal relationships into
business ones:
1. Capitalise on the potential within your immediate
network
Rather than concentrating all your efforts on growing your
network by constantly meeting new people, focus on forging quality
relationships within your existing circle of contacts. Ex-colleagues and
employees can potentially open a number of doors for you in their new
companies, as they can readily and willingly endorse you since they know your
background and your work.
Start by keeping in regular contact with your ex-colleagues,
to avoid becoming ‘out of sight, out of mind’. It does not have to be a series
of constant emails or phone calls. A networking event or industry conference or
presentation that is relevant for you both is a great way to keep in touch,
while allowing you to expand your network by meeting other professionals. If
they have a colleague that is a relevant prospect for your business, ask your
contact to invite them along. It allows you to meet them in a non-formal
setting.
Make networking at events and conferences a less daunting
task by arranging to meet a colleague. Not only will a familiar face give you a
boost of confidence to network, but you also open yourself to being introduced
to their network.
2. Using social media to keep in touch
We would all love to spend our working day networking and
attending various events to grow our business. Unfortunately, in the
time-sensitive world we live in, this is simply not an option.
Social media is the perfect platform to keep track of
ex-colleagues and their rise up the job ladder. LinkedIn and Twitter are
effective platforms for this: allowing you to ‘like’ and retweet ex-colleagues’
updates –whilst avoiding the hard sell at all times. Be sure to share useful
content through social media with ex-colleagues to ensure you stay front of
mind when they are due to make a business decision in their new role.
You can also use your ex-colleagues as a go-between when
looking to expand your network. If they have a colleague that would be valuable
to know for new business purposes, ask them to introduce you to connect on
LinkedIn.
3. Transitioning a personal relationship into a business
one
Why is it that so many of us find it difficult to transition
a personal relationship into a business one? Reaching out to friends in a
business capacity can sometimes feel awkward, especially if it is out of the
blue. Think of your ex-colleagues as a bridge to meeting new contacts, as they
can help facilitate a discussion with new contacts and help open doors for you
within their company.
In order for your ex-colleagues to do this, you need to
champion the principle of ‘pay it forward’. The key to this is to unearth ways
that you might be able to help them solve their problems or achieve their goals
too. Or, you might also be able to put them in touch with someone else who can
help, even if you are unable to.
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