Crafting a successful networking meeting
Cultivating a solid referral network of practitioners is one way to keep your private practice running on autopilot. Creating this network may start with curating a list of practitioners who have complementary services to yours. Most times, initial contact with a new potential referral source will be made through a personal and friendly email, one that sets you apart from solicitors and spam. You will want to be clear about your intentions to establish a mutual referral relationship and that you would enjoy meeting with them, ideally in person, to begin your relationship.
Why might you want to spend the time meeting in person when you can simply agree over email to put each other on your referral lists? In-person meetings give you all the information you need to ensure successful referrals and trusting business relationships. A strategically-crafted networking meeting will leave you knowing the practitioner’s personality, business preferences, and the nuances of their work – plus, your new referral source will know the same about you.
It may be tempting, particularly if you are new at private practice, to tell your potential referral partner that you are happy to work with “anyone.” You may say that you are a “general practitioner” and shy away from sharing about your specialties or specific professional interests.
While it may seem that presenting yourself open to all business growth is a good way to sell your services, when speaking with other practitioners, it can do the opposite.
Your lack of clarity can leave the other practitioner wondering about who you truly are. When you aren’t confident in your business preferences, it can leave the other practitioner wondering if you are too inexperienced to know who you are as a clinician. If your lack of clarity comes from fear that your business won’t grow if you become too specific, this fear can be felt by another practitioner, leading them to lack confidence in your abilities.
Openly sharing with others about your preferences will help create and maintain a solid and trusting business relationship since, really, no practitioner likes to work with “anyone and everyone.”
If that were true, you would welcome folks into your practice who disrespected your time and office policies. You would happily work with clients who are unmotivated to change, or people who are prone to blame others for why they aren’t progressing.
Telling others you are open to any type of referral may seem like a good way to keep referrals coming in, yet it is important to remember that your business does not succeed because of an influx of referrals. It succeeds when you and your clients have a strong working relationship. The more your referral sources are clear about who you are and who you work best with, the more your business succeeds and the stronger your networking relationships become.
When you leave your networking meeting, you will want to feel confident that the other practitioner knows exactly who you are as well as your business agenda.
You will want to leave knowing enough about them that you become excited as you envision referring your clients to them for supplemental support.
Some of my favorite networking conversation starters are:
“I would love to hear about some of your most inspiring moments at work.”
“Paint me a picture of your ideal client.”
“If I was to refer someone to you, how do you like that referral to happen?”
“What are your business pet peeves?”
“What kind of referrals are not appropriate to send to you?”
Carefully crafting your networking questions can create an environment where both parties feel comfortable to be authentic and can “talk shop” with candor. The clearer you communicate your business preferences, the stronger your networking relationships become. Strong networking relationships are more likely to produce referrals that turn into rewarding clients.