Posts Tagged ‘small businesses’

Having been on the networking circuit now for just over 2 ½ years one of the mysteries I will never understand is why some networking groups have a “lock out” rule. By this they mean that if there is already a member in the networking group who provides a specific service another member in the same field of business cannot join. The theory behind this principle is that you will get all the business from the group instead of having to compete with a rival. It seems to me that there is something fundamentally flawed with this principle. It is basically – wrong! (said like a large bell ringing). Why? Because people buy people. As a small business we want to surround ourselves with business partners that we get on with, people who have similar understandings to our own and people we generally like doing business with.

If I join a networking group I want to be able to have choice. If I don’t have a choice then I will have to look outside of the network should I not particularly “click” with the only person in the room providing the service that I need.
The advantage of not adopting a “lock out” policy is all about the variety of characters you meet in the room – hopefully vibrant characters with their own little quirks and idiosyncrasies. How boring it would be to sit in a room where there is only one type of person from each field/service. Now when I say ‘how boring’ I must confess that I haven’t witnessed the situation personally because as I don’t agree with the principle I don’t join those types of group. I have however, often been at networking events where there have been over 5 or 6 Virtual Assistants in the room with each of us providing very different services but still under the banner of “Virtual Assistant”. When this happens, rather than feel threatened, it’s useful to find out what services your competitors actually undertake (that you might not) and use the situation to ask them if they would be willing to promote your services or form a collaboration – which in turn extends the services that you are able to provide.

I was recently contacted by a gentleman who was seeking the services of a Virtual Assistant providing all the services of a PA i.e. diary management, letters, flight bookings etc. As I don’t provide all the services he required I was pleased to be able to pass him on to another VA who does exactly what he was looking for – therefore providing a solution to his request. How disappointed he would have been if I had been the only VA in the group unable to provide the service he wanted!

There are, no doubt, some networking groups where this lock out practice may well work. For example in situations where the attendees are from large organisations and sending representatives on their behalf – so there is no point in having 3 or 4 reps from the same company. However as most networking groups are designed for small businesses let’s keep the new characters coming in and let’s keep the doors open to every sector – allowing everybody more freedom of choice.