Do you have enough in the favour bank to start making withdrawals - Simone Douglas

Introduction

The importance of earning your stripes and proving your value before you go asking for favours
 
Funnily enough, people often fail to do the maths. They then get to a point where they’re desperate. For instance, they might really need to fill a course or an event, and it goes from them being very pleasant about it with their marketing to pleading requests for people in their network to send out invitations to people in their databases or to call ten people and tell them to come along. 
 
This is a common one, but generally, networking maths is all about asking for a favour, regardless of what that favour might be. 
 
The value of the favour that you’re asking has a direct correlation to how much credit you need to have in the favour bank.
 
How well do you leverage your networks? Do you tap into the people you know for the insights, contacts or ideas you need to achieve your goals? Do you ask to be introduced to people you want to meet? Do you ask people to share their lessons learned or to act as a referee?
 
It’s common for people to feel hesitant to ask for favour. Moving past fear however is essential to unlocking the potential of your networks to enable your success.
 
It is easy to get distracted by all the noise in the business world at large but jump day is your chance to settle in and work on your business and this season on your networks in ways that allow you to make the most of your opportunities today, tomorrow and forever. 

IBGR is a global community of commerce committed to your success and our programming is designed to give you the tools and resources as well as the one percenters you might be missing So buckle up because it's time to take an objective look at whether or not you are truly a centre of influence on playing in the outfield.


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​Show Objectives - The Why
The purpose of today’s show is to give you some insight into what it takes to build networks that you can use.

Networks deliver three unique advantages: private information, access to diverse skill sets, and power. As business owners we see these advantages at work every day, but sometimes we fail to consider how our networks regulate them.

When we make judgments, we use both public and private information. These days, public information is easily available from a variety of sources, including the Internet; but precisely because it is so accessible, public information offers significantly less competitive advantage than it used to.

So now more than ever it is the private information you receive and give within your networks that makes the difference. The value of your private information to others—and the value of others’ private information to you—depends on how much trust exists in the network of relationships.

So we need to earn our stripes first.

Key Issues - Owner Perspective:

1. Do I have a network that works or a book full of contacts?
2. Who in my networks lives within my circle of trust?
3. Where do I live within my key contacts circles?
4. How do I comfortably leverage the networks I have to help me and my team succeed?

What You Need to Know - What we will be covering

1. The important things you can do to make calling in a favour easy - . Long before you ask a favour, invest in building strong relationships. 
2. Why knowing what you really want is the first step - Recognise when the real favour you are asking is to be referred to someone else.
3. Why you have to give before you take - if people perceive you to be stingy with your time, energy or support they are unlikely to be willing to do you a favour when you need it.
4. Asking for help is good for your relationships in your networks - Asking for a favour isn’t necessarily imposing and doesn’t have to be seen as overstepping boundaries. Often letting someone help you allows them to connect to you more because as humans we are programmed to help.
5. Remember the real value is in the follow up - A delay in getting what you need doesn’t mean the person no longer wants to help.
6. Don’t bail before you say thankyou - Even the smallest favour deserves acknowledgement. Remember you may want to call on an even bigger favour in the future.

What you need to do​ today
 

1. Ask yourself the question - have I been stingy with my time, knowledge and resources of late or have I been looking to help my networks.
2. Work out where you could put in some more effort to get to know what your networks need and what ways you can lend a hand.
3. The people within your circle of trust are the Aces in your hand so get them together over a lunch or a dinner and let them meet each other.
4. Work out what you really need in order to be able to achieve your business goals this year, introductions, resources, opportunities and start asking for the things you need from the people you trust.
5. Create a system to expand your network, including both structured and unstructured events in your diary.
6. Take the time to find out more about the people you’re building a relationship with - free from judgements or assumptions.
7. Plan to spend time putting lessons learnt and aha moments into practice.  Let me know how it goes.
8. ACT! Nothing changes if you don’t set aside time to make it happen so once you have worked out what you need to do start putting timelines and deliverables on your action plan. 

At the end of the day you get 100 percent of what you don’t ask for so take a leap of faith. Be thoughtful, respectful and gracious but don’t allow the fear of the word “no” to get in the way of asking for a favour. 
Be generous with your own time, knowledge and attention and everyone is more likely to benefit. Be willing to lend a helping hand and in turn people are likely to want to support you when you need them to.


Shows
Previous: Episode C4.04 
How to stand up and stand out without being an oxygen thief 
The importance of listening to build relationships and how to ask intelligent questions that aren’t just about opening doors to talk about yourself.

Next: Episode C4.06 
Channel the Chameleon - adapting your communication style to suit  - How to identify communication styles and personality types at a networking event and what do you do once you have

Written by Simone Douglas 
The Publican & Licensee of the Duke of Brunswick Hotel, Executive Director for BNI Adelaide North one of the biggest networking organisations in the world, the driving force behind South Australia’s leading social media agency, Social Media AOK and best-selling author with her first book “Seriously Social – turning your online game into real-world gain”. and  “The Confident Networker”

Simone also serves as Deputy President of the State Chapter Committee South Australia for the Franchise Council of Australia and sits on the Franchise Advisory Council for BNI Australia

You can connect with Simone on any of her seriously social platforms
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