What face to face networking groups are you a member of...

wecandobiz · Aug 28, 2008

... are they any good and what online services do they provide to help you network between weekly/monthly meetings?

We have just started collecting details of what networking groups our membership are members of at WeCanDo.BIZ (available under Edit Profile to existing members). This is with a view to providing some useful online networking facilities in a few weeks time.

So far we are asking if people are members of BNI, Business Referral Exchange and Ecademy, as well as Chambers of Commerce, Business Link, the FSB and Forum of Private Business.

Are there others that have big memberships that we should include? I am especially interested to hear about networks that you attend that don't offer much to facilitate online networking between meetings, as we are likely to get the greatest level of support from the leaders and members of such networks.

Let us know which you support and what you think.

My thanks in advance.

holidayinyourpocket · Aug 28, 2008

I was a member of 4Networking for a while and they're pretty good - shame they've been blacklisted from this site for spamming and the MD rubs up a few people the wrong way.

Great concept. Let down by some of the people involved.

Yourlocaltrades · Aug 28, 2008

4networking rocks!

agarrett5 · Aug 28, 2008

I find that 4N is the best way for networking. My business has tripled from 4N. Networking is a great way of expanding your business. People prefer to use people they know and trust and feel can do theuir job properly. Theres no better way of doing it than to get to know someone. I have found 4N one of the best ones around here.

I feel theres a place for all networking groups and I have found that 4N works best 4 me

irhudson · Aug 28, 2008

4Networking works for me.

Why are they blacklisted here?

agarrett5 · Aug 28, 2008

can my posts please stop being removed I have not posted anything offensive.

Red Dwarf · Aug 28, 2008

4Networking has made my business. The biggest boost thanks to Mr Hudson in previous post.

Yes, if the MD had any hair, and was female, he would be the 'little girl with the curl'. But he is an invaluable friend, and goes way over the extra mile to help as many people as he can. If he was angelic as well, you'd have to be suspicious.

Yep, he rubs some people up the wrong way, but a majority of people, he helps.

MD is a side issue anyway. 4N offers the widest and deepest matrix of marketing opportunities to start ups or fragile one year businesses. If you fail to improve your business in 4N, the likelihood is you need to get some professional marketing help.

Yourlocaltrades · Aug 28, 2008

Dont knock it till ya tried it!!

sorry, www dot 4networking.biz / welcome .htm

wecandobiz · Aug 28, 2008

OK, to all those giving the thumbs up to 4Networking, how much do you use their website to network and how good is it for that?

IH

agarrett5 · Aug 28, 2008

I use it all the time and it has tripled my business since January

Alpha · Aug 28, 2008

I notice that there are suddenly a number of people who have joined today extolling the virtues of 4N.

Looks like Brad is desperate for new members

sending people like Gil Bray over to sign up.

Oh and if you really want to get banned SJG I'm sure I can oblige

ps for All you 4N'ers who have joined to advertise your forum ....live links are not allowed unless you are a fully paid up member so I have removed them all (Saves me PM'ing all off you).

pps As you can see Brad 4N is no longer in the filters as the idiots that used to come on here before to disrupt everything are no longer (In fact we notice Mr Arkwright is banned from everywhere apart from UKBF lite).

Goody · Aug 28, 2008

Use it daily. It's a great referral source - and provides me with a good number of orders.

4N is networking for people who understand what networking is all about. No short term gains, no false promises, no nonsense. Not many rules - and a MD who's not afraid to speak his mind.

Alpha · Aug 28, 2008

For what it is worth and I'll point out that these type of networking groups are not really part of my marketing strategy, I would say that the 4N concept is probably the best of the ones mentioned. Many of the others expect referrals to be given at every meeting. At least 4N allows members to meet and learn about each others businesses and the individual characters who run the business. It is then up to the member whether he can do business with the others and whether he respects them sufficiently to refer to others

irhudson · Aug 28, 2008

Thanks for the compliment, RD.

4Networking combines the power of a well-designed website with well-run fortnightly face-to-face meetings.

I'm a member of many online and offline networks and it is definitely the most effective and enjoyable.

If users of this Site have not tried it yet, they should do so asap.

wecandobiz · Aug 28, 2008

Alpha said:
For what it is worth and I'll point out that these type of networking groups are not really part of my marketing strategy, I would say that the 4N concept is probably the best of the ones mentioned. Many of the others expect referrals to be given at every meeting. At least 4N allows members to meet and learn about each others businesses and the individual characters who run the business. It is then up to the member whether he can do business with the others and whether he respects them sufficiently to refer to others

I certainly know that referrals are expected to be given at BRX, possibly also BNI too. This does, of course, help to ensure that as many people as possible gain from new members joining, rather than the new member just taking what they want. And I guess it needn't put pressure on individuals if they were also WeCanDo.BIZ members and took to each meeting the Biz Needs they received for the week that they couldn't satisfy themselves.

But back to my OP, I am really interested in what value 4Networking -- or other -- members get from the websites in between the face to face meetings. Do these groups offer online networking as successfully as offline?

FreelanceSEO · Aug 28, 2008

What kind of online networking do you have in mind Ian?

4N has quite a vibrant forum, I guess all forums are really a vehicles for networking-type activities.

Red Dwarf · Aug 28, 2008

Alpha said:
I notice that there are suddenly a number of people who have joined today extolling the virtues of 4N.

Looks like Brad is desperate for new members sending people like Gil Bray over to sign up.

'like Gil Bray' - what does that mean? I don't think you know the first thing about me to make a judgement? It's 'Gill', btw.

I signed up to this forum about 3 months ago, and the reason Brad asked me to look at this thread is because we were discussing this very subject at breakfast (because we can) this morning. So it was topical.

I am not given to toadying to anyone, incidentally, and like Ian, I belong to a number of networks. I speak as I find. 4Networking has worked for me. Hope UKBF works for you.

PI Guy · Aug 28, 2008

As a member of both forums (and others), i can honestly say that I get different things from the different groups.

I really don't think that UKBF and 4N are in competition with one another and they have 2 distinct business models.

Even if you discounted the fact that one has breakfast meetings, the forums themselves are very different to each other and both have an appeal but for different reasons.

I would really like to see both management getting along with each other. Just my 2 pennies worth.

wecandobiz · Aug 28, 2008

If I can steer this topic back to where it started off...

I had a look round 4Networking today and I see it has some well supported forums. Are people doing business through the forums? Do any members of BRX or BNI (or others) reading this get online communities there too and are they helpful in generating new business?

IH

Alpha · Aug 28, 2008

wecandobiz said:
If I can steer this topic back to where it started off...

I had a look round 4Networking today and I see it has some well supported forums. Are people doing business through the forums? Do any members of BRX or BNI (or others) reading this get online communities there too and are they helpful in generating new business?

IH

I know its stating the obvious but with regards to the benefits obtained from 4N you would get much better answers asking the question in their forum rather than this one

Ian D · Aug 28, 2008

I'm been a 4N member (on and off line) for 2 years and both aspects have worked well for me. I was formerly at BRE(X) member and as part of the membership got free Ecademy access, which is also the BNI on-line tool of choice I believe. To be honest I found ecademy of little benefit and if I didn't have the 4N forum I'd be using UKBF rather than any other choice.

chs117 · Aug 28, 2008

spend long periods of very early mornings to realise that network groups dont really work.
1. If you go round the table and ask who uses each others services, you wont find many members using members services.
2. If you ask a reasonably close acquaintance to join, he/she will have high proportion of joint contacts. It doenst really add much to the kitty.

IMHO Network is good for early start ups with a time expiry of about 6 months.

Hope you can beat the bookies

Red Dwarf · Aug 28, 2008

spend long periods of very early mornings to realise that network groups dont really work.
1. If you go round the table and ask who uses each others services, you wont find many members using members services.

The point is not to sell to those in the room, or necessarily buy off them. However, each of the people in the room will have contacts outside the room therefore mutliplying your chances of making a good business contact.

I don't think I've gained any business directly, but I've gained a great deal indirectly. And I have used suppliers in the room.

Guess it illustrates why some people don't gain anything from networking, whilst others do. :redface:

Aug 29, 2008 · Aug 29, 2008

there are vast amounts of opportunitys in networking groups for much more than just selling services.
i have to disagree and say that networking groups do "work" in so far as connecting people and sharing services, ideas and knowledge which is what they are suspossed to do.

Red Dwarf · Sep 1, 2008

I believe networks do work so long as people realise that the onus is on themselves to make it work for their business. Viewed as a pure business tool a network will put you in touch with a group of people that would take time to access individually during a busy business schedule.

Then have two options. Sit back and wait for business to come to you, or work out how you can best exploit (used in the business sense) the opportunity presented by the network.

Because 4Networking is not a formal referral organisation a la BNI, questions are raised on the 4N forum from time to time about 'business worth'. Over time I've realised that just joining a network is not going to guarantee you business, you have to learn to use the network. It's a bit like buying a car, sitting in it, and then complaining that it doesn't constitute transport, because it doesn't get you from A to B.

Ashley_Price · Sep 1, 2008

At BNI we meet every week. We get a quarterly magazine both online and printed, there are also books for members, we have regular free training events to help improve our networking, presentation, referral skills, etc.

Interestingly, looking at 4N map on their site the south-east seems to be completely barren of any 4N networking meetings; with near Portsmouth in the west and Croydon to the north being the closest.

Red Dwarf · Sep 1, 2008

I belong to BNI too, so was not a pop at BNI! The two work in very different ways. 4N hasn't expanded into the South East as yet.

BNI and 4N offer different opportunities. 4N has a whole raft of marketing opportunities available to members, whilst BNI do more training. There are enough non-networkers out there to keep both going in expansion terms for several years to come. Even if you join BNI, you still have to get off your backside to get some business for yourself or others.

So the post was about where the onus lies for making a network work, the networking organisation or the networker?

Ashley_Price · Sep 1, 2008

I've realised that just joining a network is not going to guarantee you business

There is so much truth in this statement. People join things like BNI, don't take up any of the training and then wonder why it doesn't work for them. We've had several pass through our Chapter like that; and Ivan Misner (the founder) tells a great story of how someone came up to him complaining about BNI not working.

Ivan replied, "Well, let's look at your experience. How many referrals are you passing to other members?" This chap replied "Well, one or two every few months I guess,"

Ivan says "Okay, how many 1-2-1s [meeting with another member of your Chapter on a 1-2-1 basis outside of normal meetings] do you have?" The chap replies "Well, I've not really got round to doing these."

Ivan asks "What time do you get to the meetings?" The reply: "Usually just before breakfast starts"

"What training have you done?" "Oh, I don't have time to go to those."

So Ivan looks at this man and says, "Well, if you had come to me before joining and said 'I don't plan to pass many referrals; I'm not going to meet with my fellow members outside the normal meetings; I'm not going to get to the meeting early enough to network and chat with the other members and I'm not going to do any of the training' then I would have told you that BNI wouldn't have worked for you."

With BNI - and any other good networking organisation - you only get out of it what you put in.

Red Dwarf · Sep 1, 2008

Then there are the individuals (usually those with bit of fat in the budget to fund a point being proven for them), who are sceptical about networking, or believe they, or their business, are above networking. They join, then sit back and wait for the network to fail to deliver business, so can say 'told you it wouldn't work for my business'.

Met a business owner a couple of months ago, who had a great business, fantastic service, but nil marketing. Suggested networking fastest route to market. He said networking didn't work for him, had been to two meetings, no business resulted, so gave up. So not to be put off, I thought might be able to help if he had some membership still to run. So asked which network he had joined. 'Chamber'. OK, so when did you join? Twenty years ago. Thankfully, I managed not to laugh.

Ashley_Price · Sep 1, 2008

In that person's defence I know the Lewes Chamber is/was very poor (in both networking and money) it had so little money it never put on any events and everyone I spoke to that were members said how they hadn't got anything from it. I couldn't understand why they stayed members.

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What face to face networking groups are you a member of...

wecandobiz

holidayinyourpocket

Yourlocaltrades

agarrett5

irhudson

agarrett5

Red Dwarf

Yourlocaltrades

wecandobiz

agarrett5

Alpha

Goody

Alpha

irhudson

wecandobiz

FreelanceSEO

Red Dwarf

PI Guy

wecandobiz

Alpha

Ian D

chs117

Red Dwarf

Red Dwarf

Ashley_Price

Red Dwarf

Ashley_Price

Red Dwarf

Ashley_Price

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