LeTip Networking - Hedging your bets

Networking - the big picture

Any one in sales and marketing, anyone with a product or service they want move, anyone who wants or need to make money should know about networking. It’s the big 'N' word.
Let’s talk networking, you know, the standing around balancing a drink and chatting to people trying to maneuver the conversation in the direction of “let me have your card” at which point you will promptly present them with yours. Then after the obligatory three to five seconds of appreciative glancing at it, the card is stowed away in the left side pocket to be conned and analyzed later as the information is stored in your data bank. Does this ring a bell? What about the endless cards at various festivals that say thinking of you, I just wanted to stick advertising promotional specialty under your nose so that you might think of us if you or some one you know needs our service.

There is a better way. There is an American way that really works, and you will find it in the networking clubs. I found it in LeTip. Go on say it again LeTip, I’m sorry if it sounds French. At these weekly club meetings everybody gets everyone else’s card and what is more you get a chance to stand up, while no one interrupts you, and say exactly what you do one time so you don’t have to repeat yourself over and over again. To stay in a LeTip club you have to give business leads to other members of the club, and your performance is measured. I know it sounds crazy, but let me tell you that in my club, the Executive LeTip of West Los Angeles, which has about ninety members, we produced over three and a half million dollars in business last year, generated amongst ourselves. Now you do the maths say there are a hundred of us, divided equally that is $35,000 each. Would you turn your nose up at and extra 35G’s, not me. Read the Time Magazine, Los Angeles Times and the New York Times articles and you will see that this phenomenon is getting the attention of top business analysts. Fortune Magazine made quite a point of it.

The bottom line, is do what works best for you. Personally I can not see the point of spending time and socializing with people who are not sufficiently interested in what I do, to find out about the quality of dental care that I provide to my patients. Life is too short to spend with people who do not support your business, the trick is to find people you like in various professions and cultivate the referral base. That is the opportunity LeTip gives us. A great concept started by Ken Peterson in San Diego, and now going world wide. Get on the band wagon check out LeTip and see why I made my choice and why I am so pleased with it.